I see my WLC in a few weeks, so I'll ask them...but for now I am confused.

I was banded back in 07, unfilled in 08, gained back all the weight I lost (30-40 lbs) and have recently rededicated myself to band living. I started my surgeon's required South Beach Diet two months ago. I lost 20 lbs in 2 months, 5lbs in the past 2 weeks. Sounds acceptable, right? I have an empty band.

I see everybody on here eating a cup at a meal, or 4 oz's of this and that, lots of variations. I see people doing well, I see people having a hard time. I do not weigh my foods, or measure it in Cups, etc. I'm supposed to eat two cups of veggies with two of my three meals as well as a small Protein and a small starch. What I actually do is:

4-8 oz of protein (meat, chicken, fish, etc.)

Cup to a Cup and a half of a veggie

and sometimes cous cous or something but mostly just protein and veggie.

I don't weigh and measure! I journal all of my food and my nutritionist ok's most of what I eat. I cheat once in a while. Get scolded. Start over. I started to exercise two months ago, but stopped totally. I have two new knees and they hurt.

How is it all of you only eat certain measures of food, or portions when some do well and some don't. I eat healthy food in slightly larger portions than ya'll eat. I'm losing weight at a good pace, though I will be asking for a small fill because I find myself feeling hungry after a large meal. Well, most of the time I don't want to eat at all. It's weird.

Is losing 25 pounds in 2 1/2 months because I am SO fat and the largest people lose quicker at first? Will I be looking at weighing and measuring my food when I get a fill? Or am I just doing something right? I feel like I'm not doing it right in comparison to you guys.

Even though the caption below says, "Comparison is the thief of joy."

I feel like i'm not the "typical bandster"..i dont measure food or count calories...i do work out at least 4 days a week and i train hard...i was a slow loser..went some months being stuck at the same weight..it took me a year to loose just 40 pounds and i am having the hardest time losing the last 15 i want to lose..BUT!!!! In the first year i went from a size 20 to a 12..last year my bday outfit was a 16 and this year my dress was a 10..so i have lost more inches than pounds..but that was my goal anyway..best wishes to you..everybody 's journey is different and i dont compare mine to others cuz it just used to stress me out..i think the more you have to lose the faster in the beginning...but that's just my opinion.

Hi pbk, yes initially when you start a diet you always loose fast then it tapers off, I think the majority on here can say that.

I've been banded only ten weeks so I'm still fairly new to this lifestyle change. The reason I got the band is the most obvious, too loose my weight, my second reason is I wanted to stop the yoyo dieting because after twenty odd years of doing that I ended up fatter and fatter and even more depressed about my weight. My third reason I got it was to learn to eat like a slim person and change my non existent activity to being active. I don't count calories nor do I want to, I've done that it worked fine for a while then I got sick of it. My nutritionist has taught me about portion control and if I need to eat carbs, which is fine, she has shown me the quantities and the better carb choices. I no longer want to have this obsession with food and knowing what the right choices are has made it douch easier. If I need a treat then I have one, it's part of normal eating so no need to beat myself up. But now I don't eat a whole cake over the period of a day or a whole box of Cookies in a night. If I get the craving for a cookie I have one and I'm satisfied. Think I've had three cookies in three months. I no longer crave all the rubbish I used to eat, I actually crave vegetables and fresh seasonal fruits. I also do some form of exercise everyday and I actually am enjoying it.

The word diet is no longer a word I use, I've made a lifestyle change for the rest of my life.

I could only have made this change with the lapband because it is my tool to help me get to where I need to get , I couldn't do it on my own. It's taken away my awful hunger which was why I always failed. For the first time in over twenty years I'm finally in control of food and not the other way around.

Argh my battery is going flat so going to hit send and will finish this post later

Some people count calories others don't, it's personal choice. Some people have different eating plans to others. Some can eat certain foods, others can't. There are so many different surgeon instructions.

Some exercise a lot, some don't. In the end I don't think there is a "normal" bandsters. What is important is what works for you to loose the weight.

Glad you're giving it another go and I wish you all the best!

Well one thing that confuses me is why your nutritionist would approve of 2-2 1/2 cups of food per meal. The reason we're told a cup or less per meal is because that is the maximum our pouches are able to hold if the band is in the correct position. It seems counterproductive to eat large portions that would not only result in more calories but a stretched pouch as well.

I measure my portions and I count calories both because I know it's way too easy to over-eat or make the wrong food choice if I don't. I also log everything I eat because it holds me accountable to what I put in my mouth. I know some don't, and that's fine if it works for them, but I want this weight gone quicker rather than slower. Measuring food and counting calories is allowing me to do that.

It's definitely a personal choice and a matter of what works best for each individual.

As Mis73 wrote, I'm also confused that your dietitian would approve of the quantity of food you are having per meal...I would have a concern that your pouch would be stretched and therefore you are able to tolerate the larger portions you mention. Is this dietitian one who typically works with a bariatric patient population?

I measure my portions, because for me that's one of the necessary requirements to weight loss...I don't count calories, as my surgeon advised that was not necessary if i made good choices with food.

I'm a slow looser, because it has been difficult due to physical limitations to get the amount and types of exercise I need for weight loss, and for me it's the exercise that makes a major difference in seeing the scale move.

I still struggle with hunger...and have had to learn ways to manage it. I know that my success for weight loss requires me to have different patterns with eating.

The most important point, which you have already referenced is that we are all individuals, and our journey through weight loss will be unique to the individual. Certainly I would love to loose the weight I need to faster than I am, but I also need to be able to physically manage through every day...if I exercised today like I used to before my car accident I would not be able to walk for the rest of the day.

There are trade off's to everything...choose your priorities wisely, accept that we will not have identical journey's, stay busy with projects to distract your thoughts away from food, and take a day at a time.

Best wishes...

Just an FYI: When we do not diet for some time, our bodies can store up to 20 lbs of excess fluids. When we begin a new diet, much of the weight we lose in the beginning 2 months will be this Water loss and not fat loss. So, yes, you can expect your extraordinary weight loss to slow to something closer to 3-8 lbs per month. And, as the others have pointed out, you will need to eat less than your dietician has recommended.

tmf

We are all so different. I didn't want my band very tight so I asked my surgeon to be extremely conservative with my fills. I had my band put in December 2010. I was at 268. It's now 19 months later and I'm at about 175-180 depending on week. So, I sit in a size 12 and really wanting to get to goal of 154. But I also realize that this may just be a journey of bumps and turns in the road. I'm thrilled that I can wear smaller clothes. Some days I can only eat barely a half cup of food, other days it seems like more. I'm in the green zone now but in a month I may be ready for another fill as my surgeon suggested October. We will see. It sounds like you are doing an awesome job losing weight and inches. I knew I would be slower and I'm finally ok with this ( I just have to remind myself that this is how I wanted it).

after being on this forum and reading many posts about people being so tight they cant eat and drink and throw up, fills def scare me. i hope that when i srart getting them,my dr will also be conservative also. but like sky says, i dont want it very tight. i feel i am doing what works for me. i cant do what some do as i am not them. i focus on lean Protein and fresh veggies and fruit. but if i spent my day comparing myself to some who are losing faster than me, i am setting myself up for failure.

i like that if i wanted to, i could and can eat what i want but in smaller amounts

its up to me to choose the good things to eat. do what you can with what you have.

we all have to do that.

I was banded 2/1/12 haven't had a fill and have lost 85 lbs. I do try to work out at least 4x a week for at least an hour. I know we shouldn't have more than a cup of food but the times I do I normally don't eat the next meal because I'm not hungry. There are also times (usually when stressed) that I feel tight so I don't make an attempt to eat solids so I'll stick with a protein shake.

We are all different and I think we just all need to try out what works best for us. I have to switch up my calories. Take a week of from exercising. The constant change helps me. But most important keep up with your water intake

I am one of those who doesnt measure food, I dont count calories, but I do watch what I eat and work out 4/5 days a week. I dont want to feel like I am a slave to food or what I'm eating.

I am one of those whose band is on the tight side, but I am planning on having a bit removed as I am working on building muscle and can not do that without the proper calories.

I think your post is on target in that the band works for you in whatever way feels right. There is no right or wrong way... Other than the part about being able to consume 8 oz of meat or other protein. That seems high to me .... but if you are losing at a steady pace don't worry about what I think... Keep on doing it.

I did weigh my food for the first year or so so I understood how much an ounce really was... And I measured out starch like rice and mashed potatoes so I wouldn't over eat more than 1/4c

As far as counting calories... I did that too. But I didn't exercise formally but I started walking occasionally after I lost about the first hundred. To date I have lost 208 lbs without formal exercise. But that may not work for you... So do what does and as long as you and your dr is happy with your progress ...good for you!!

Just an FYI: When we do not diet for some time, our bodies can store up to 20 lbs of excess fluids. When we begin a new diet, much of the weight we lose in the beginning 2 months will be this water loss and not fat loss. So, yes, you can expect your extraordinary weight loss to slow to something closer to 3-8 lbs per month. And, as the others have pointed out, you will need to eat less than your dietician has recommended.

tmf

tmf,

I've heard thatyou lose water weight at first. So, I asked my WLC nutrionist if that's what this was, this 25 lb weight loss. But they have a special scale at the clinic that somehow shows if you've lost fat, or muscle mass. She said the loss is all fat loss.

I guess I'll have to do what everybody else is doing that have no saline in their band, eat smaller portions. Actually, most of the time I do. I still have restriction simply from the band being in place.

I guess I am going to have to get used to losing less weight than I am right now. My nutrionist backs my journalled eating info, completely. I don't ALWAYS eat a larger protein meal, I physically can't. But I noticed that so many people eat tiny portions.

The surgeon's staff have stated that they don't want to do a fill, because I wouldn't get the the proper amount of nutrients. And because I am doing so well so far without a fill. I *think* I am still on the regular diet because I am a repeat offender (smile)

I've changed my life and relationship with food. So I eat pretty well. Just wondering if I get a fill (a tiny one), will I be eating 1 cup of food at each meal? It's been 4 years till I saw my WLC until 2 months ago, I've forgotten a lot. You guys keep me in line.

Thanks for all the post's. I am feeling really down today, then for some sadistic reason, I stepped on the scale. I weigh the same as I did 2 weeks ago. I'm not losing. Tomorrow I will look at it better, but right now, I'm pissed.

I'm fallinto the traps I always urge others to avoid, I'm ashamed of myself. But then, I take into accout that my meals are a bit bigger than some, I eat all the healthiest foods I can and I have to remember that 1. My NUT and LPN are happy with my journal and 2. that I lost 25 pounds. I guess that's at least a good thing.. I'm not gaining.

I'm sorry, I'm beating myself up today. Love you guys...

Polly