So I am 12 days post-op. I lost a few pounds right after the surgery while on liquid diet. Then I was stuck when transitioned to slider foods like yogurt, soup, and oatmeal. Now I am on soft foods and started to GAIN weight . I feel like I can eat as much as I did before the band and I really have to practice my will power, which is not that great or I wouldn't have gotten banded! The tightness I felt around my stomach is gone, so I feel more comfortable than post-op, but I'm scared and disappointed . Any thoughts/experiences??

I know this is a tough time. I lost only 2 lbs in the first 3 weeks after surgery. I was devastated. Then I began to read this forum and there is actually a name for it, Bandster Hell. This is very normal. Type the words "Bandster Hell" into the search engine on this site and read all of the posts of your fellow bandsters who went through the same thing. It did me a world of good because I thought I was losing my mind. You can do this but it will take time and willpower (unfortunately) during this phase of your banded life.

*hugs*

You are still healing. Try not to worry about weight, many of us gained during the healing stage. Stick to high protein foods and you will do fine. Its going to be ruff until you get restriction, hang in there.

There are two types of weight gains/losses. Most of the weight you lose in the beginning will be Water loss. It depends on how much you have to lose. The more you weigh, the more fluids you retain. Fat loss is what you really want. So don't pay much attention to short term gains as they can be just Fluid retention. I can go up or down 7 lbs in one week(all fluides) if I go nuts and eat chips, ice cream etc. If you are eating healthy foods and keeping your caloried count down you probably are not gaining fat.

tmf

So I am 12 days post-op. I lost a few pounds right after the surgery while on liquid diet. Then I was stuck when transitioned to slider foods like yogurt, soup, and oatmeal. Now I am on soft foods and started to GAIN weight . I feel like I can eat as much as I did before the band and I really have to practice my will power, which is not that great or I wouldn't have gotten banded! The tightness I felt around my stomach is gone, so I feel more comfortable than post-op, but I'm scared and disappointed . Any thoughts/experiences??

just because you can eat as much, doesnt mean you should.you need to practice your portion control and eating habits now. by selecting healthy choices.

also, you are still healing. what matters is you resting and taking care of yourself. start to make the changes mentally to prepare you ahead.

tmf is 100% correct. focusing on gains

will make you upset. during the day, eating, drinking , peeing etc will have your body weight will be going up and down. focus on how much better you feel and how loose your clothes are.

I am going through the same thing. I have gained a few pounds back since my initial loss of 10 pounds. I looked on here and realized it is quite common as I am no longer on liquids and even though I am making better food choices, it is not always perfect.

Keep up the good work! It will get better!

I'm right there with you...3 weeks out and starting soft foods. I had been losing regularly each few days and now no loss in 5 days. Intellectually I know that is okay but I am like a kid in a candy store. I started to see dramatic loss the first few weeks and I thought, holy cow this is great! Now that its tapering off I'm a bit more scared. The will-power is hard without a fill yet. I won't get one until 8/20 so about a month away. I am just trying to limit my intake to no more than 1/2 cup each sitting. I was hungry today between breakfast and lunch. Drank crystal light instead and I made it to lunch (seemed endless)...then I brought too much canned chicken for lunch and had to force myself to only eat half of it then log it right away on myfitnesspal so I would be accountable! Food choices are kind of hard right now because I'm afraid to eat too much solid food yet.

Are you exercising? Most of us won't loose without it.

So glad to hear that many of us bandsters are going through the same thing! Thank you for all the advice and encouragement! I will definately look into "bandster hell", I just hope I'm not stuck in there for too long . All the years of dieting and failing...I need for this to work!

I was in BH for over 3 months with no weight loss and no weight gain. It's disappointing when we go into this thinking we'll immediately start losing a lot of weight only to find we didn't read the fine print.

Looking back, for me, it's been a blessing to take longer for the band to begin to work. I've learned much about myself, my eating habits and how to communicate with my band.

tmf