Hi everyone! I got banded 6/20/12 and I had lost 19 pounds already but I already gained 5 back because I can eat anything. I feel horrible! I know the band is just a tool to help but I don't have any restriction whatsoever. I am getting so discouraged.

I feel as if I am never going to be thin

awww hun you hang in there. The first part is always the hardest believe me when I first had mine I wondered what the heck did I do and was super hungry. Once you start getting your fills and get in that green zone you will be satisfied and things will go your way. Chin up and hang in there before you know it you will start shedding those pounds!

It takes most people multiple fills before they have any restriction. Considering you just had surgery 2 weeks ago, I'm guessing you have no restriction whatsoever.

Just curious, are you already on solid foods? Did you follow your surgeon's post op diet?

It was wisely stated on another thread "Just because you can eat anything doesn't mean you should". The band requires lifelong healthy eating habits. Even after you have good restriction you still have to make good food choices and eat the right things.

Oh and FYI- it's a very big misconception that just because you are banded with good restriction you can't eat certain things. This is totally untrue. I have great restriction and can still literally eat anything I want. It's still up to me to make good food choices and not eat unhealthy foods simply "because I can".

Hang in there, it does get easier with restriction but you must get your head in the game and start making good food decisions now and for a lifetime.

Mis73, yes I was following dr's orders till I noticed I can eat anything really. The hunger was so much I gave in. I started solids last week when I was suppose to start soft foods yesterday.

I am just so tired of protein shakes and I really don't know what else to eat. Everything I eat gets me fat, even the food that is "healthy". Where am I so wrong?

Did you ever get tested by an endocrinologist for PCOS? Before I was diagnosed with that, I felt like you do. Then I went on metformin and I can lose weight like anyone else now, just really slow. you should try to figure out whether there are underlying reasons for your issues. Good luck

It is important to realize that the band helps with portion control, but it really doesn't control what we eat. There isn't any malabsorption to make up for poor food choices, the way gastric bypass does.

So, for those of us who are banded, dropping weight isn't just about what you eat or how much. You have to move your body. Walk. Swim. Use resistance bands. Garden. Dig holes and refill them. Do anything to burn calories and raise your metabolic rate.

As for the band itself... I had one fill two months after surgery and then it was a year and a half before I could do the followups because I moved out of State to take care of terminally ill relatives. I lost very little in those 18 months, and while many would consider that a failure, I consider it a success because I didn't gain weight.

After my third fill, things changed. I stopped feeling hungry all the time, and got more restriction. Once I dropped another 30# it was a lot easier to move my body and from there I've noticed a huge difference in my fitness level as well as my weight.

The band is a tool for weightloss, but it isn't a substitute for tackling the reasons why we got fat. Me, I'm a sensualist/foodie who also has PCOS. I love good food and I used to eat too much of that good fool, and coupled with the endocrine dysfunction of PCOS, losing weight is very challenging. I have to stay on top of my foodie-impulses (which the band helps with) and make sure that I'm exercising in order to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. I've also used hypnosis to help with eating-as-self-soothing and to help re-program me to enjoy exercise.

I firmly believe that in the long run, what we get out of weight loss surgery is the effort we put into ourselves.

I found that being faithful to the Pre and post op liquid diet has really shown me how addicted to food I am! It was hard and I have gone through times of anxiety and crying because I can't eat something and I'm hungry! I have forced myself to be strong because I don't want complications with my band so I'm trying to follow everything my dr says.

I think with the band, we stil have to tackle the issues of why we eat and still work on that! The band won't stop you from eating impulsively or emotionally or because you're addicted to food! You still have to be strong not to cheat. I know it's harder done than said. I struggle daily, but knowing and realizing my addiction has made it easier to say stop to myself and know that the impulse to eat something will go away eventually. It might be a few hours, but after those few hours, that food that seemed so important at the time, doesn't even matter anymore!

Hang in there!!!

I was banded the same day as you were, I get hungry occasionally but if I've already eaten what I should...I pop open a protein drink, or have sugar-free Jell-O.

In scared of over eating, it's not easy but you can do it.

6/22 here. The most important thing post op is sticking to the post-op diet. It's not a lesson or being mean - it's to heal your insides. If you eat solid too soon, it could bump the band and make it scar in an incorrect position and then never work correctly. Whatever liquids/mushies you're allowed to have, stick to that. Small portions every hour if you need that much. But the healing is sooo IMPORTANT. Worry about restriction and hunger pains later. If you don't heal properly, it will all be for nothing.

Sorry you're having such a hard time =(

I was banded June 20 as well! At the beginning is was so hard to stick to Clear liquids and Protein shakes makes me gag but I have to do what I have to do to make this thing work! Now I move up to mushy foods and it is a bit easier and get full quick so I'm hardly eating and I'm way to scared to try to eat anything else! Hang in there it will get better! We need to make sacrifices in order to get what we one!!

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