Hi group,

Since I got my band a month ago, I lost no weight WHATSOEVER. actually I gained some

I lost a total of 7 pounds, all of which on the pre-op diet. NON after the band.

I eat a lot now, 2 days ago, I ate 2 phily cheese and steak subs for lunch. I eat big dinner portions (almost like before getting banded), I drink while eating, I eat rice, bread, Pasta and all these hard to eat foods with NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER and still I get hungry all the times and keep munching all night long...

Is it becasue I haven't got the fill yet? But I mean were all of you like this before getting the fills? it feels a little abnormal to me, that my family started making fun of my lousy band. is this normal or not:help: :help:

Thanks a lot

Everyone says it's a gift if you loose before your filled and that the "doctor should have told you that you wouldn't because you're wide open". But it's discouraging when you go to the support group meetings and everyone else has lost a lot since surgery.

I've only lost because I went to weight watchers to try to control this 6 weeks some. I'm keeping my points at 26 and I'm exercising about 2 hours plus per day.

Anyway I've been hungrey like crazy (which I hear is normal) and if it wasn't for weight watchers I'd eat like crazy. I was always good on a diet plan for the first 6 weeks or so. I did splurge this weekend at a birthday party and was amazed at how much I could actually eat - Pasta, bread and cake.

I get filled tomorrow and will be so happy and hope I can tell a big difference. I'll let you know.

Magic I am so sorry to hear you have not restriction but until you do you will have to work hard to get where you want to be. A month out from surgery, you know you should not be eating steak and cheese. Just because you can eat it does not mean to do so. LIVE LIKE YOU ARE BANDED. Pretend it is doing it's job and drink a shake for Breakfast, eat a Protein bar for snack, eat a salad with chicken for lunch, drink no carb, no sugar drinks and lots of Water. Leave the carbs alone or eat them in moderation. Prepare a meal plan and don't forget to move your body. Walk in place during commercials or dance to 3 songs in a row.

Come on Magic it is not easy anyway you look at it, with or without the restriction. To much restirction is hell and no restriction is also.:nervous

Teresa's absolutely right, Magic. You have your band so start letting it work on your head even if you can't feel it working to restrict your intake. Let it put a picture in your mind of a tiny little pouch that half a sandwich will fill completely. Then after you eat that half a sandwich STOP EATING and let yourself feel how full your pouch is. Walk away and let the rest of that sandwich sit there. If you're honestly seriously still hungry an hour later, it will still be available.

Live like you're banded, because YOU ARE!!

Umm... didn't your surgeon or dietician give you a post-op diet? That's not just for weightloss, it's also for giving your body time to heal, and introducing foods gradually so that it's not having to work "overtime".

I'll be 3 weeks out on Wed. I eat as though I have restriction, even though I probably don't now that my swelling has subsided... and just by the simple act of paying to attention to whether or not I'm really hungry, I've been able to keep the portions small and keep the weight coming off. If I wanted to I'm sure I could eat a "normal" meal, but really - I'm pleasantly surprised to learn how little food it takes to truly get past "hungry". That's not "full", or "clean my plate", but just "not hungry".

I would suggest focusing on your Protein and trying to cleanse your body. The more you revert to old eating habits now, the tougher it will be to go cold turkey when you get your fill. At the very least try to remove the biggest potential no-nos from your diet now, so it's easier to do it after you fill... e.g. have those two subs minus the bread.

Try thinking of this as "practice" time - to get used to doing these things now, while a mess-up might not hurt as bad, instead of trying to switch your behaviors 100% cold turkey after a fill. You have to meet the band halfway.

Magic, please forgive that I will sound blunt here, but I don't mean it that way, I feel bad that the food demons are not being tamed with your band. Mine are because I'm swollen from surgery, but I'm sure it will be a struggle in a few weeks.

But, only month out I would not be allowed to eat food like that per my surgeon's instructions. You should still be on soft foods. Did your doctor not give you instructions like that? Did he/she say you could eat such foods? And if he didn't, shame on him, but if he did, I guess the question would be why your not following the instructions?

Magic,

This is gonna sound a bit like a lecture, but I'll try to put it as lightly as I can.

From the information that you've written here, I see 2 major problems.

1st, you're drinking while you're eating. What happens with that is you're literally flushing what you've eaten down, through your pouch and into the larger portion of your stomach. Think of your pouch as a funnel. If you drink while you eat, anything you have eaten will turn to a liquid sludge and flow right through and this will allow you to eat more than you would without drinking while you're eating. When you don't flush the food down, you'll start to feel more satisfied for longer periods of time. DO YOUR ABSOLUTE BEST TO STOP THIS HABIT NOW. You should notice some improvement immediately even though you don't have a fill and probably not much, if any, restriction. *Remember, it takes an average of 3-5 adjustments to get restriction.

2nd, you're food choices are poor. They're high in fat and calories. Even though we don't necessarily need to "diet", we are expected to make the good choices most of the time. That's not to say we need to be angels. I eat what I want to, but I remember I can't have that chocolate cake or brownie every day. Just once in a while.

You mentioned that you expect to not be able to eat certain foods like rice, Pasta and bread. Reality is that some bandsters will always be able to eat these things. I can. Although right now I have only 1cc in my 4cc band, I have been filled up to 2.5cc and could still eat bread, rice and pasta. There is NO FOOD that I cannot eat as long as I eat it slowly and chew it well.

Theresa and the others have given good advice. Live like a bandster, Follow the bandster rules and all will be well. If, for some reason, you didn't get "the bandster rules" or good training by your doctor/nutritionist go to the Inamed website. It details the 10 cardinal rules which are key to success at living with the band and losing weight.

:omg: at 2 Philly steak sandwiches a month out!! That is crazy!!! :confused:

Warning: Tough love coming....

Re: drinking during meals. We all CAN do it. We choose NOT to do it for maximum results.

Re: eating everything.... The band does not make healthy choices for you. If you choose to shove carbs and crap down there, the weight will keep coming and you have wasted your time, money and energy. You have to make healthy choices!! If you can eat eat eat a lot.... then fine. Eat 4 boiled chicken breasts if you want to. Eat a whole package of steamed carrots. For munching, grab a plain yogurt or a banana. I think you were seriously misled if your surgeon told you that the band will do all the work and choices for you. The band is NOT bypass and is a dual partnership in which you must diet and exercise and use the band as a tool for weightloss. It will not be a catch all and it will not stop you from eating stuff that causes weight gain.

Re: a month post op.... When did you start eating hard solids like that? What week? What were your post op instructions? Who is your surgeon? Where were you banded?

Take your small bites slowly, chew well and rest between each bite, about 15 full seconds. DON'T drink before, during meals or after meals. Eat for maximum of 20 minutes and stop. Give it time to settle in your pouch first. The band WILL work and do its job. You have to work with it. :hungry:

Once you deal with the head hunger, life will start getting better, I promise. Just hang in there!:clap2:

Magic...

Please head the advice that the other ladies have given.

You are at high risk for doing serious damage to you and your band.

Megan

Guys thanks a lot for your words

But I'm already eating soild food, becuase my sergeon's instruction was to start eating solid food right after week one. Maybe that's becuase its the MID-band what I got.

Plus my sergeon supposed to be really good (done more than 4500) bands, so all of swells went away 5 days post-op.

I'm not going to kick your butt. Everyone else has already done it for me. You know what you're doing is wrong. You know that you're eating too much. You knew going into this that behavior modification is part of the deal. You knew all of that, yet you came here and admitted it to all of us, <b>knowing</b> what the response would be. Seems to me like some part of you - no matter how small - wants to cut it out and do what you're supposed to do. Listen to that part of yourself that wants to get your act together. I know you can do this.

Magic,

I'm not going to give you a lecture, because I understand that doctors give different post-op instructions. Just because my doctor said to drink liquids for a week does not mean that those instructions apply to you. I will not come to this discussion chastising you and accusing you of cheating.

So to answer your original question, no, you will not feel any restriction until you get a fill. I was eating just like you are 5 days after banding, and I'm still here with no complications. My doctor said that if I was healed up enough to eat meat and bread, my body just healed faster (my doc has done over 3,000 bands).

In my experience, I chose not to diet with my band. I eat what I want because I refuse to go through the torture of counting calories and obsessing over portion sizes. I eat until I am full, and until I got proper restriction, I did not lose weight. Most doctors will not tell that you will still be hungry until you get a fill. Please don't feel like you are the only person this is happening to.

Remember, your stomach was not cut or rerouted. There is no reason to be eating liquids or pureed foods after a month. I see nothing wrong with eating meat and bread, as long as you are not in pain. When you are restricted, the weight will come off. Until then, you can either diet and lose weight the hard way, or eat like you want and be patient.

Magic -- here's my words of wisdom. I spent a long time testing my band like you are right now. Eating things "because I could". Then I realized that that is not the purpose of the band. It is a tool to HELP me, not do it for me. The band will guide you as to how to eat better, but if you try to trick it, you can. And I think this is true at any restiction level -- you can eat chocolate and ice cream all day long even at the tightest restriction level. The point is to learn in this phase and as you go along to listen to your band. Don't spend your time trying to test it or trick it because trust me, YOU CAN.

If you HAVE TO HAVE cheese steak, eat a few bites and stop. Try to assess whether you still NEED the rest. Make healthier choices first. If you cannot control your cravings or your head hunger, try your best to follow a diet from your Doc FIRST. In other words, have a shake. Wait. Then if you have to have SOME of the other foods eat a smaller amount than you would have. If you eat what bandsters are advised to first, then maybe it will help you curb your other eating.

But seriously, let me just answer this question for you that you seem to be asking your band....can you eat it, yes you can. Should you eat it? No, probably not. Listen to the band as much as you can..............a fill will definately help it speak to you in a louder voice..........good luck & go slow............

well heres mine, I am pre-op and I have joined a support group locally, joined this on line group and have a tremendous personal support structure around me. I am eating less and less before I even see the surgeon to help set me in a routine, and all of these fine folk have given mountains of wisdom, now are you willing to climb the mountain and listen to it................

Are they really Philly cheesesteak sandwichs if you are in France? (Just Wondering)

Also, what's a mid band? Do you still get adjustments like the Inmand? I'm so excited to get my fill tomorrow.... I can't wait to fill some restriction.

Magic-

I Googled the "Midband" - it's not used in the US, but it IS adjustable as is the lapband. You need more restriction or you won't be losing any more Kgs. Contact your Doctor to have this done. The website about your doctor and this procedure is not very good and my French is a bit rusty, but it does mention that ongoing support is provided.

Here's the link: http://www.laparoscopic-surgeon.com/visu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=111

Arline