So today i am 2 weeks post op... I AM HUNGRY!!! My first week was okay.. I ate my liquid diet... this last week not so much.. I am hungry and i want to eat.. Not sure if its just the holidays coming in or the holy **** I am banded story BUT i am suppose to be on puree foods.. And i want to eat more then that.. I feel like I am way too hungry and want to eat more.. I KNOW i am not eating as much as i use to but I still have that urge to eat with no restriction.. Am i suppose to feel more restriction ??? Is it just that I am in a post 2 week slump that i want to chew and eat. I did eat a few things that were soft and I did have a cookie and i chewed i am sitting up at 1am when i should be sleeping thinking what have i done.. why did i eat that before ..... did i make the right choice is this going to work for me?? have a ruined my band already??? I have lost some weight but that was last week..

Ok, I'm going to be the Devil's Advocate here.

Other than having surgery and this foreign object inserted around the upper portion of your stomach, what has changed that will make you loose weight?

Think of it as having a new TV delivered to your home, but it is not plugged into the wall socket yet, but you're sitting there complaining that it doesn't work.

That may not be the best analogy, but the surgeon installed the new device, and sent you home to "Heal". Come back in a few weeks and we will see about turning this thing on.

Of course many loose weight, what have you eaten in the last few weeks? That had nothing to do with the band.

It took me a good 3-4 months to get to a point where this thing actually started to do anything. In the meantime it was frustrating, took a lot of will power and discipline (which I have neither when it comes to dieting) and I actually gained weight about 6-7 weeks post-op..

Yes you will hear about people who have never had a fill, and you will hear about people who have been filled to the max and still don't loose weight.

But like any "Bell Curve" there will always be extremes at both ends, and the majority right in the middle where you are right now.

Hang in there, follow your Dr.s instructions. These are lessons that will be very handy and start to make sense in the future. Come early spring all this post-op anxiety will be but a memory.

People call this time "Bandster Hell"

I like to call it "Bandster Bootcamp" or "Basic Bandster Training"

ADD MORE PROTEIN!!!!!

Not picking, but why are you hungry? After my surgery which was dec 1st 2011 I was sore and had gas pains for 3 days! Did not want to eat or drink, but forced myself to at least get half the Protein shakes down, Then the next week i still was not hungry, but able to drink the broths, and crystal light Water, and sugar free Jello. The next week I blended up a low sodium tomato and parmasean Soup and poped it in the microwave and drank that (delicious) it was cold out, and still had everything above WHEN I felt like I needed SOMETHING, but still not hungry ..

And here I am today with restricition and I have not had any fills, Im suppose to go in Jan 5th for the first one. Try adding more protein I went to smoothie king and bought the big container of Gladiator Protein shake it is the best tasting one, you get 45grams of protein per serving. EAS Myoplex is also good and honestly it reall does knock your hunger out. Yesterday I had 1 strip of fajita meat no tortilla or nothing just 1 strip of meat and a big tablespoon of mashed potatoes and a big cup of my crystal light water and I was full !!!! I never thought I would get full of of that ....I usually have at least three LOADED fajitas flour tortillas and all with rice Beans sour cream cheese and grilled onions .

The band has taught me how to eat not only smaller portions, but healthier stuff no fried food, no fast food, no sweets, no bread or Pasta.

What also helps me is to keep a picture of myself when I am at my heaviest ....Whenever the slightest thought comes into mind, look at that picture and ask yourself is this who I want to be? And you will put that cookie down and eat a Protein Bar or a scrambled egg, or fat free refried beans with ricotta cheese and a sprinkle of cheddar.

I have lots of recipes Im learning ...just send me a message if you want more ideas ......good luck

^{I was very hungry starting about 2 wks post op also. It was so hard to stick to the plan but you have to remember it's going to be totally worth it. As you progress to your mushies it will get easier. If your allowed try to puree or mush up some small curd low fat cottage cheese. I find that kept me satisfied for much longer than anything else and it is very high in protein. Congrats on your progress so far!}

Ok honey, first and foremost...cut yourself a little slack. The lap band is not a magic bullet, and we all have days (weeks even) where we screw up. It's a normal part of the process...that's how you learn. You will have periods where you will want to eat anything that's not nailed down, and there will be times nothing goes down right. Right now you are just coming out of surgery, and you need to heal. You can't do that if your beating yourself up over a cookie. Let it go, and relax a little...you'll find the band works better when your relaxed and in control...less emotional eating. And, btw...my surgeon said to me that I was going to have some depression after surgery, you kinda go into mourning. You want the ability to eat like you did before, but that life is over for you now...completely terrifying...but normal. So, I hope that helped you, and remember we're all here for you!!

Kelly

Wow. Today is my 2 week marks and I was coming here to post the EXACT same thing. I don't have advice but know that you are not alone. I am binge eating applesauce as we speak. To make matter worse I GAINED . I went from 291 on surgery day to 275 one week post op. Now I'm up to 278 I already feel like a failure.

I didn't men to hijack the thread. This is just what I need ... on to forgive myself and start over. We can do this.

Relax, and Breath ! This is a one day at a time thing. Every Day is different. Your in Bandster Hell, and your Hungry. That sounds normal to me. Are you drinking your Protein shakes ? This will help cut the Hunger. It's up to you to try to learn control, and it's hard !, but you make your mind up, and do it.

You will see your surgeon and get a fill, then eventually need another one or two before you start to really feel restriction.

This will be a fill after fill time, until you feel restriction. That's how it works.

Once you feel restriction, you will see the big difference that this band makes.

So it's empty now, but in a while you will see the difference.

So watch your eating, workout, Protein Shakes.

I promise,,,, In the long run you will not be disappointed..

Shirley.

I was banded on 12/13 and there were times when I wondered why I went through with the surgery. I feel hungry every day and have a hard time getting my Protein shakes down. I did lose 15 pounds but since I started the pureed stage of my diet I havent lost any weight since. I know its hard, I had times when I snuck a few pieces of sugar free chocolate candy and then felt sooo guilty afterwards. We had a xmas party at work last Thursday and I ate 2 pieces of fudge and 4 small sugar Cookies and felt horrible! I have to learn to accept my mistakes and start fresh each morning.

Hang in there! The band is a tool to help our stomach but we need to work on the way we think about food.