So, I've been having some major difficulty the past week and a half! My hunger seems to be out of control and I don't know what to do! I sent the following email to my surgeons nurse this morning and she quickly replied and said that I definitely needed another fill and that I should call the True Results office (my doc doesn't do the fills because he has such a high volume of patients) to get an earlier appointment. Problem is, when I called, True Results seemed very unconcerned with me and basically told me to wait it out! Here is the email. . .what do you think?

I am writing because I am STARVING to say the least! LOL (funny, but not funny) I had my first fill (2 cc's) on Monday, December 10th, and I followed the 3 day liquids, and today I am finishing up the 3 day soft foods. . . but I am able to consume LARGE amounts of food with NO restriction. Yesterday I had the little single serve microwavable mashed potatoes, and I ate 2 of them back to back with no problem. . . no pains, no vomiting. . . and the worst part is that I could have probably eaten another one a half hour later! My next fill is the day after Christmas (26th), but the scary thing is that I'm really afraid of what I can potentially consume during Christmas with my family. I mean, I eat the right foods, but because my restriction seems to be "hiding" from me, even the good things tend to be eaten in large amounts. . . even when I eat VERY slowly. The slow eating with the little "minute glass" helps, but I'm still consuming more than 1 cup of food. Even if I stop before I'm satisfied, I'm hungry within the next hour! This is an example of my typical diet on regular foods:

8:00 Protein shake w/ Light vanilla Silk

9:30 1 egg scrambled egg w/1 tea. cubed ham & 1 tea. shredded cheese (because I'm still hungry)

12:00 turkey/roast beef lunchmeat w/Laughing Cow Light Cheese & Cucumber Slices

4:00 Protein Shake w/ Light Vanilla Silk (before workout)

6:30 Shrimp, tilapia or chicken breast w/ broccoli

8:00 Hot Tea

What am I doing wrong??

Tiffani

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Straight off my surgeon's instructions: "if you are on good solid foods like a Subway sandwich and are hungry a couple of hours later' date=' well, then you just need a fill! Keeping your band tight is so very critical to your success!"[/quote']

That's what my surgeon says, but True Results is teaching me a lesson in diet tweaking I think, lol!

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I agree with another fill however I was able to eat anything not that I did but when I got my 2nd fill then I notice restriction but I still have water all through the day cause I get REAL HUNGRY LIKE 3 HRS AFTER I EAT so just try to keep a positive attitude & u will get there and let the office know u r just asking to be seen for a fill to help u cause u feel ur eating to much or tell them ur not getting satisified on what ur on also I agree their suppose to help u , so u can help urself hoped this helped I love that I can text my surgeon at anytime & he responds quickly.

My doctor requires at least 3 weeks between fills; as it can take 2 weeks for a fill to take affect. My doctor never gave me instructions for protein based on volume. I recommend that you get a kitchen scale and weigh out your protein 3 ounces per meal. My doctor does not support protein shakes once you've moved to solid foods. Shakes are a liquid and is just going to flow right through the pouch into the big stomach. As mentioned this is a willpower diet for now. For lunch and dinner I would eat low fat low cal Protein 3 ounces and then low fat low cal veggies until satisfied.

This it's my Tervis 24 ounce tumbler and I drink 3 of these daily, PLUS I drink at least 2, 16.9 ounce bottles of Crystal Light and hot tea at night. . .so I think I'm getting enough H2O. . .right?

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This it's my Tervis 24 ounce tumbler and I drink 3 of these daily, PLUS I drink at least 2, 16.9 ounce bottles of Crystal Light and hot tea at night. . .so I think I'm getting enough H2O. . .right?

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You're doing very well on your liquids

My doctor requires at least 3 weeks between fills; as it can take 2 weeks for a fill to take affect. My doctor never gave me instructions for Protein based on volume. I recommend that you get a kitchen scale and weigh out your protein 3 ounces per meal. My doctor does not support Protein shakes once you've moved to solid foods. Shakes are a liquid and is just going to flow right through the pouch into the big stomach. As mentioned this is a willpower diet for now. For lunch and dinner I would eat low fat low cal Protein 3 ounces and then low fat low cal veggies until satisfied.

I too weigh my solid Proteins at 3oz and use measuring cup for everything else. If I eyeball something, it turns out I have huge eyeballs .LOL

Banditiff, another thing that seems to help me is when I'm really hungry between meals, I have a hot cup of tea (Chai) or Diet Hot Chocolate with splenda. I don't know, but it seems the warmth of it settles my grumbles in my tummy.

Are you on full solids yet? If so, I would suggest adding more solids to your diet such as protein (fish, chicken etc) as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. An apple doesn't have many calories but is great at helping me to feel satisfied for longer (plus it is great fibre).

This is just how I handled bandster hell and of course, we all face it and deal with it differently.

I just said what the hell. I ate what I wanted, but I did try to eat healthy foods from the lists. You know, Protein, salads etc. It was hard, and I fell of the wagon many times. I was in bandster hell from December 15th 2011 through March 30th 2012(approx). I lost 12 lbs the first two weeks after my surgery(11/28/2011) and then nothing till March 30th. I got my 3rd fill around March 30th and my first nutrition meeting at the same time. I was able to maintain my 12 lb loss from early December just because I ate the right foods and I did eat less due to the band.

But I wasn't going to be in the uncomfortable state of dieting that I had experienced for many years of dieting. No way. But, that 3rd fill did it for me, along with some great advice from my nutritionist.

I see no reason to go through the anxieties of not losing weight till you get a fill that gives you some restriction. I never ate just one cup of food till I got to the green zone. So my advice is to not sweat it so much and enjoy the holidays but eat healthy till you get that one fill that does the trick. Just my own advice.

tmf

Thats the second time I have heard you mention "some great advice from my nutritionist". Can you share?

some great advice on this thread. i agree with all it.

i say if you are hungry, eat and get some more Protein.

if you are still hungry, like maddy, i drink (alot) to see if i am really hungry or if i think i am..and like TMF, def talking with the nutritionist works wonders also...but def not stressing over things that we cant control. just eat and drink what you are (instructed to do) allow your band to work as you are doing great helping it and i am sure you will rock this thing out. just hang in there

Thats the second time I have heard you mention "some great advice from my nutritionist". Can you share?

4 months into being banded I was still ignorant of how the band really worked. I had a general idea but I was eating too many foods every day that added up to me not losing 1 lb per week. She advised me to stop eating certain foods that were adding up to 400 calories a day. That's about 1 lb per week I was not losing due to drinking a beer a day, Snacks that did not satiate and I really can't recall all foods I was eating that were contrary to making the band work. I stopped drinking calorie laden fluids, started to eat snacks that satiate like beef jerkey(high protein), eating more Protein during meals and eating them first.

She asked me to be brutally honest with my food intake and I was able to trim 400-500 calories a day off my intake without suffering. I was able to replace the non essential foods with foods that enabled my band to do it's job. I also picked up my exercise program. I was able to lose about 8 lbs a month for the next 4 months without the discomfort that comes along with "dieting".

Although she never explained it, I now see that I wasn't getting that upper pouch squeeze that tells the brain I've had enough to eat. And eating more protein made the food stay in my lower stomach longer and of course, I now see that protein satisfies longer.

Having said all that, I have to admit I've been a bad boy since Halloween. Went on vacation to Mexico on 11/3 and then Thanksgiving, now there's Xmas parties, Cookies, cakes, food, food and more food. I'm hanging in there with only a few lbs gained but I'm not sweating it because I've got the "tool" to fix it come January 2nd.

Hope that helps?

tmf

I noticed your diet included tea and your getting your liquids in. Are you drinking with meals? I was instructed to only drink up to the time if the meal, waiting 30 mins after to resume drinking.

I've noticed if I am out, say at a restaurant and drinking throughout my meal, I tend to get hungrier later. I visualize the liquids are pushing the food through the band faster, rather than the food passing the nerves surrounding the band at a slower rate to help give my brain the sensation of satisfaction.

Try Protein bars. They tend to be dense and very filling so it takes hours to be hungry again.

I get two kinds from Costco:

Pure Protein, which comes in a blue box. At 1.75 oz, they have 20g protein, 17g carb, and about 180 cals.

Premier Protein, comes in a white box. At 2.5oz, they have 30g protein, 26g carb, and 270 cals.

They taste good and are very filling. It is rare that I ever finish even the smaller bar. I often cut them up into bite sized pieces and put them in the fridge in a baggie.

I noticed your diet included tea and your getting your liquids in. Are you drinking with meals? I was instructed to only drink up to the time if the meal' date=' waiting 30 mins after to resume drinking.

I've noticed if I am out, say at a restaurant and drinking throughout my meal, I tend to get hungrier later. I visualize the liquids are pushing the food through the band faster, rather than the food passing the nerves surrounding the band at a slower rate to help give my brain the sensation of satisfaction.[/quote']

No, I'm not drinking with meals. . .nor am I drinking before our after meals. . . BIG NO NO with my doctor!

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