how hungry were you after swelling went down but before first fill? how much food did you eat at a time? any ideas for tricks not to eat too much? freaking out a little bit that I wont eat well prior to my 1st fill... not eatting things i shouldnt and I am not eatting too much by most standards but banded people are different.

Hello

I was banded on July 9th and go for my first fill tomorrow....so when I went for post op appt 2 wks ago the nutritionist said these weeks are trial and error weeks...try stuff see what you can and can't eat....I try not to eat more then 1 cup of food at a time....and very very slowly....

I look forward to not feeling hungy with less food....although all eyes on me on Friday I have a wedding to attend however good news I am down 34 lbs and was size 26/28 and dress wearing on Friday is 2X

how hungry were you after swelling went down but before first fill? how much food did you eat at a time? any ideas for tricks not to eat too much? freaking out a little bit that I wont eat well prior to my 1st fill... not eatting things i shouldnt and I am not eatting too much by most standards but banded people are different.

We call it band hell....you're so not hungry at all and a switch flips and suddenly you are starving. IT SUCKS!!!!! I drank Water all day long in an attempt not to eat. Thank God It only kicked in a week before my puréed foods started! I lived off retried Beans after that, only purée that really stuck with me.

I am seven days post op. I had 10 days of Protein shakes and 3 days of Clear liquids before surgery. I hated it, but was not as hungry as I thought I would be. I have heard a lot of the banded hell once the swelling goes away and before your first fill. I have decided if I get to that point, I will convert to the 3 shakes a day and only eat green veggies if I must chew, like brocolli and cut out all carbs except the carbs that are in my shake. If I survived for 10 days on the shakes and survived the 3 days of clear liquid, I can go back to that. I know from being a career dieter, that if you cut your carbs out you will not be as hungry.

Just my therory. I will see when it happens to me if this theory works.

Buy a food scale! Measure out your 3 oz of protein and then eat about a cup of low fat/cal veggies. You WILL over eat if you don't measure.

I was banded in December and was so hungry and tired of holding back, I attacked a bucket of chicken a week post op. (Hey, if i had self control i wouldnt need the band)

Hang in there it gets better.

I only lost 20 pounds in the first few months after surgery, but once i found my sweet spot i am losing a consistent 2 pounds a week and now I am in heaven.

Dont worry, you are normal, and all of our individual experiences with the band are different.

From being on the board here I see that every doctor is different. I was banded on 6/27/12 and went for my first fill today. At the time of surgery they filled my band with 4cc's...so today they filled me with half of cc. I was instructed to go back on liquids for 24 hours....then 2 days of shakes 3x's a day....then 2 days of mushy/soft then back on food. They want to see me back in two weeks to see how its going. Trying to find that "sweet spot" as SandyMax puts it Before today I had to stop myself when I was eating and yes....I was/am HUNGRY!!!I Im hoping that we find the right fit soon....I dont think this is gonna do it for me....lol. I have lost a total of 27lbs in 6 weeks but of course I am anxious for more to come off lol. Just one day at a time

Whew! I thought I was the only one who was starving! I am about 3 1/2 wks post-op and Im starving!! I do minimum of 2 protein shakes a day, protein water, greek yogurt, broth and of course water, water, water. Wasnt scheduled for my first fill until 9/26, but dont think I can make it that long so they made it for next week. After reading the other responses regarding 'banded hell', I think Im there! And Im scared if I dont get a fill soon Im going to blow this (already lost 17lbs). This is tougher than I thought it was gonna be..but Im in it for the long haul! My health matters to me, and I wanna at least see my grandchildren get married