I had my surgery in March 2009. I lost about 25 lbs right in the begining and nothing really after that. I had a few fills, but still wasn't loosing. in March 2010 I got pregnant with my third child and had my beautiful son in December. I never had an unfill since I was still able to eat whatever I wanted. So now, I am almost back to what I was when I got pregnant (I had gained a little bit of the 25 back). I'm working out at the gym 2-3 times a week and I am at a stand still weight wise, and I KNOW its because of my eating. I am living like I haven't had this surgery and its not doing me any good.

When I eat, often (maybe once a day) I get stuck when I first start, I have to wait a while for it to pass, or I made a mad dash to the bathroom, and then I finish eating later. Its getting old. I would think its because I'm too tight, but it can't be because I can eat way more than I should.

I just don't know where to go from here. I want to get things under control before I see my doctor if I can because our new insurance isn't accepted by them. Please... any advice? I have no idea where to even begin to start this journey again.

I think maybe you are getting stuck because you are eating to fast or to big of a bite, not because your band is to tight (if you can eat large quantaties). You started exercising, that's a great start! Maybe if you started eating really healthy and did not snack between meals you could get on the right track and definately get back to the dr. They see this often I am sure, and they are the best people to help you. You just had a new baby... nobody is going to judge you! My clinic offers classes for their "banders" they are always having something. I have taken a couple and found them very helpful. I don't know if your clinic offers any or not but that might be an option for getting back on track??? Start keeping track of your food/calories/protien. I find that it really helps me to make better choices if I can see it on paper! You can do it!! And congrats on the wonderful new baby!!!

Getting stuck should not be your indicator of restriction but rather of how you are eating. Having a new baby to care for I am guessing that you are often eating in a hurry, sometimes distracted and perhaps a little stressed? All things that will make me get stuck no matter how tight or not tight I am. You may need to work on those things to solve the getting stuck problem then get a fill to solve the stalled weightloss prolbem.

Thanks guys, I bet you are both right, I am constantly trying to hurry and shove food down my throat to chase after everyone! I guess I'm having a really hard time making the change. I have been out of the game so long that I don't even know how many calories I'm suppose to be eating! Sad huh? LOL When I am pregnant I just eat whatever and I am still in that mindset. No bueno!

Well, I think the average calories is 1000 - 1200. I eat around 1400 and strive for 60g of protien. And you should be drinking at least 64oz of water or more.

When I eat, often (maybe once a day) I get stuck when I first start, I have to wait a while for it to pass, or I made a mad dash to the bathroom, and then I finish eating later. Its getting old. I would think its because I'm too tight, but it can't be because I can eat way more than I should.

So many different thigns going on here. Bear with me. I'm going to break this into two posts so it's not so intimidating. Let's start with the one that's not related to what you're eating, how, etc. -- insurance.

What type of plan do you have? Indemnity? HMO? PPO? That may impact this, but I'll go based off what most people have.

When a physician isn't in network/doesn't accept a particular provider, there is usually a stipulation for "reasonable and customary" reimbursement (I'll call it R&C to make this shorter), meaning your insurance company pays you back a percentage of R&C charges -- typically the average negotiated rate they pay out to contracted providers. So R&C is usually less than the full bill, sometimes significantly less, and R&C payments are typically capped at a percente -- that's a percentage of R&C, not a percentage of total bill. Phew!

For example, you see an OON provider and get billed $400. Your plan covers 70% of OON care, and has determined that $200 is R&C for your procedure. You will get reimbursed 70% of $200, not 70% of $400.

Call your doctor and find out what the out of pocket cost for the procedure is, and what procedure code they bill out under. Then look through your SPD or call your provider and find out what the % cap for uncontracted/out of network providers is, and ask them what their reasonable & customary payment for the procedure code is. Most of the larger insurance co companies offer online estimators to find all this out, as well. That should get you really close to your OOP payment.

Now let's talk band.

Being tight doesn't necessarily mean you can't eat too much. That sounds contradictory, right? But restriction is different for everyone. Lots of people out there (including) me experience all kinds of can'ts with restriction, without ever seeing a physical roadblock to how much can be eaten.

Of your initial weightloss, you should probably expect about 50% of that to be fat loss. The rest is Fluid loss in various forms, and the like. With any major change in eating there is typically an initial period of rapid weightloss (not to be confused with fatloss) as your organs do weird things to try and adjust. And then there's usually not a lot of anything (which is when most diets fail, because people think they're going to continue to see the same loss rates, don't, and give up because "it's not working").

Try switching up the times of day you eat, or your first meal food, and see if you notice any difference. I usually can't eat comfortably until after 4pm. I usually can't drink comfortably until around noon. And I do best if my first food of the day is a warm liquid (e.g. soup) or something dry & crunchy, but not potato- or bread-based. You might just need to experiment and see what works best for you.

With regular workouts and no weightloss, you need to take a close look at your caloric intake. Do you know your BMR? (Basal Metabolic Rate - basically the number of calories you need to simply exist and nothing else). Do you know about how many calories you eat a day?

BMR calculator here: Calculator

How BMR & activity levels work: Article