Question About The Lap Band Green Zone

[cbreeden28 23]

I had surgery in October and got my first fill on November 21. My PA put 3cc's in, but I threw up the Water she had me drink, so she took 1cc out, leaving 2cc's. I do fine at meals now. I chew really well and I watch portion size. However, I still get soooo hungry between meals. For example, this morning I had a bowl of Kashi high protein/high Fiber Cereal for Breakfast at 7:30. Here it is, 9:30, and my stomach is growling something awful and I'm painfully hungry. I'm drinking my Water, but it doesn't help. When you get to the green zone, does this painful hunger go away between meals? In one way, I'm afraid of getting too tight and not being able to eat hardly anything, but then on the other hand, I want this hunger pains to go away.

FYI, this happens even if I have a Protein bar/shake or eggs. I don't think it matters what I eat. I'm always starving about 2 hours later.....

My PA told me she can have a Protein Bar for Breakfast and it keeps her full for 4 hours. She is a tiny little scrap of a woman though and does not have a band. I couldn't imagine going 4 hours between my meals right now. The other night, my stomach was cramping and growling so bad while I was trying to sleep, I had to get up and eat a little something to make it stop so I could relax and fall asleep. I know that's not normal. At least, I hope it's not....

[Cazzy 725]

Sounds like u need another fill, it takes a few fills to get where u dont get hungry so quick, for me anyways, now i easily go 4 hours on most days in between meals, there are odd days tho that i am hungrier earlier than 4 hours, on days like that i eat a snack in between meals like some cottage cheese or some oat bran in a plain yoghurt, i also drink tea and weak coffee ad lib with skimmed milk and this helps stave off the hunger without adding many calories .. Your band becomes loser and needs a fill if u have lost weight since the last fill so it looks like u will be ok next fill. My stomach also growls at me when i am hungry, i have found the band makes your stomach noisy as hell remember most times being hungry is a state of mind, none of us will starve .... good luck

[pollywogg 17]

Also is you stay away from dual textured foods like Cereal and Soup and stick to more solid foods you will feel full longer!

[xavier 153]

I think you should prob get a fill but if not here's some advice that many people might disagree with: I dont want you to get stuck but if you chew your food a little less well, it is more bulky and takes the body more work and time to digest.

Also, when I was first banded my stomach would growl like crazy at really weird times and it tuned out (well I have no idea what it is but...) Iwasnt actually hungry but it was hard to learn that...that may not be the case and you might actually be hungry. In which case, I say eat. Its important to train yourself to heed the body's signals but hopefully a fill will help you space out the hunger.Good luck...

[Shelley64 26]

The "green zone" takes some time to get to. I don't think many people are there on the first fill. I was banded 1/11/11 and I don't feel like I hit the green zone until November. I'm a really slow loser but my doctor was happy with a few pounds in 5-6 weeks. I wasn't happy with it but he was. I got a fill in Oct and honestly felt like it was too tight because I'd eat just a few bites and feel stuck. Well, I finally figured out, I was confusing stuck with full. It take a while to wrap your head around the fact of just how little food we need. You're probably still eating with your eyes plus you're new to all this and food, the band, dieting, exercising is all you can think about. Getting hungry a couple hours after you eat doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. Some people can got 4-5 hours between and some can only go 2-3 hours. EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT. Don't get caught up in how much Fluid one person has in their band compared to you. I was trying to stick with 3 meals a day and maybe a little something in the evening but that just didn't work. I'm better off with a little snack between breakfast and lunch because I can only get a shake down in the morning. I'm really tight in the am so a shake is all I can do plus I love them and it's easy at work. I'll have a little cheese or part of a chobani yogurt a couple hours later if I'm feeling a little hungry. There is an awesome website that you should check out. It really explains why the band works, how the placement around your stomach is important, why eating slow gets you to eat less. Damn....I had the site saved in my favorites but now it's gone. I'll post it as soon as I track it down. It's got some great info on it. Sorry

[cakegirl 12]

I kept getting painfully hungry between meals until a few weeks after my third fill. I can assure you that it's not always like this. Now I don't get hungry until about midday, and once I eat lunch, that does me until at least 5pm.

Just because a certain amount of fill made you too full on your last fill, that doesn't mean that you won't tolerate that same level of fill at some point in the future. Maybe your doc could put in 0.5 and see how you go with that?

[Lollicatt 36]

Im like you, banded in october, only 1 fill., eating good, solid whole foods and 2 hours later my stomach is crazy growling at me and almost burning im so hungry. I take some 0% fat greek yogurt as a snack to hold me over and still with snacking between meals im staying below 1000 cals/day and losing well. I don't think im at the green zone, but I'm actually looking forward to being there. I know it'll take time but in so happy with results so far. Almost 30 down (including preop) hang in there and find some Protein packed, low cal Snacks to hold you over.