I'm about 6 wks post op. Had my first fill on Sept 23. 1.5 cc added to the 1 cc given in surgery for 2.5cc total. I wasn't feeling hungry, had lost 12 lbs surgery date to 1st fill. After about a week I noticed my appetite was increasing.:thumbup: At times I could eat almost a full "normal" (pre-op size) meal and sometimes not. When I say "almost normal meal", I mean I can eat a 6 oz steak, part of a salad and a bite or two of potato vs.NORMAL for ME pre-op would be a 9 oz steak the whole salad and baked potato.

I know I am eating less than I was before surgery. There have been days when I track my calories and have eaten less than 1000 calories, and some days when I've averaged 1200 to 1300. I am making healthier choices, but this week I gained 3 pounds. I have been exercising, but struggling to drink enough Water. Have my 2nd fill on Tues. Don't want the surgeon to think I'm not being compliant. I see lots of posts where people talk about eating 1 cup of food. Is this TOTAL food intake?

Sorry if sounds like I'm babbling and running on and on, but I really want to do this right and if I am doing something wrong I want to get it straight NOW. Thanks for any comments and suggestions =)

Since I was getting my nutrients, obviously this can't be true...or at least true in all cases.

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Your metabolism doesn't slow down unless you starve yourself. Starving and 'starvation mode' are two entirely different things

Starving yourself is when you don't eat enough food, which effects your metabolism. Because I eat all day, my metabolism is not effected.

It could've been that you weren't eating enough food reguarly and it was effecting your metabolism, or it could've been that you weren't doing enough exercise.

Like I said, I don't know your situation, but if that's what works for you then great. MY situation works for me :-)

I, myself have stopped losing as much weight when I increased my calorie intake from 500 a day to 1000 a day. Someone else in this thread even said they had to go under 1000 a day to keep losing weight. There is absolutely no problem with that. If it works for you, then great...It is, however NOT an issue.

I'm sorry if I'm sounding rude, but I simply wanted to explain starvation mode to you so you knew that I wasn't doing the wrong thing.

It sucks when people tell you you're doing it wrong - I've worked my butt off since I got my band and I'm pretty proud of myself and my achievements.

I had a junk food addiction and I hadn't been able to exercise because of my joint and muscle pain and back problems, so I started with aqua aerobics and when I got strong enough I started walking.

My weightloss depends on my health quite a bit, so it's very personal to me.

Edit: Optifast contains less than 500 calories a day and is given to patients in Australia to treat extreme obesity. It contains all of the nutrients needed and if eating 500 calories a day comes with a 'anorexic mentallity' then it wouldn't be on the market.

Since I've increased my calories to 1000 a day or less, I've stopped losing as much weight. I think people just need to go with what works for them :-)

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I inserted different quotes that I'd previously stated to answer what you'd said.

I was meeting with the Nutrionist presurgery and she asked if I was using a food scale. I had bought one but was not using it. She said "How do you know if you are eating to much if you don't weigh?" I kind of shrugged that off. After surgery I dug it out; and started weighing my protein. Clearly I was having more protein presurgery than I realized. Not terribly bad since I primarily eat roasted chicken breast no skin. You mentioned being able to eat 6 oz of steak. That is twice what my doctor recommends. And steak is a lot higher in cal and fat than chicken. I have had two fills and only have minor restriction. I weigh my food and put it on a small plate. When the food is gone my meal is done. Even it I still feel hungry. Often times in 10 minutes or so I feel okay but not what I would call full. Until you have restriction you may need to accept that you will still be hungry after eating the recommended amount.