I have been banded for four months now and I havent lost anything. Ive had 3 fills and am up to 6.4cc in a 14cc band. I have changed my eating habits, become more active and have nothing to show for it. I keep thinking that the problem may be that the band still isnt full enough to give me the help I need. Does anyone have any advice, maybe some things that helped if you were experiencing this as well?

Well, the first thing which comes to mind...what are you eating & drinking? I'm on a restricted diet of protein, which small portions of veggies & fruit. Protein basically rules the diet. I continue to drink the protein shakes for a meal or two. And consume plenty of water, water is essential.

It's a tool, you still need to make healthy choices.

Suggestions:

• Start a food diary, you may be surprised at how everything adds up. Even when we are eating healthy we can occasionally throughout the day snack on a bite here and there and those calories add up.
  
• Exercise- you need to make sure when exercising that you are reaching your target heart rate for your age and weight. You can goggle this and find out how to calculate.
  
• Take your measurements, when losing weight you sometimes will have NSV. Taking your measurements will help you not to become frustrated. When we do start losing our bodies have to adjust to every drop in weight,
  
• Protein, you need to be eating at least 60-70gms of protein a day. Your meals should consist of no more than a one cup volume serving at a time.
  
• Meals, they tell us to only eat 3 meals a day and we should not be hungry for 3-4 hours between meals. I have found that it is difficult to get the calories and amount of protein needed to lose weight almost impossible for me by eating only 3 meals a day with out planned Snacks, My snacks are complex carbohydrates like a banana and a tablespoon of Peanut Butter.
  
• Time for eating, also as important as your food choices are where you eat and how much time you spend eating. You should be eating for 15 to 20 minutes and than stop, it you can clean your plate in 10 minutes your band is to lose, if it takes you longer than 20-30 minutes to eat your food your band is to tight.
  
• Do you always clean your plate and are you satisfied after eating? How long do you stay satisfied and when do you feel like you need to eat again, is it because you are hungry or is your head telling you to eat.
  

When you say that you think the problem may be that the band is not full enough, what do you mean?

The band will never prevent you from eating certain foods, now it may make it more difficult to eat certain foods but honestly the easiest food for a lap band person to eat is junk. The reason junk is easier to eat is that it requires little chewing.

You are only 4 months post op and I know you want to hurry up and lose your weight but it takes time, go back to your doctor, talk to a nutritionist and really exam what you are eating.

Good luck!

LoveTheNewMe gave you EXCELLENT advice!

Not to overly simplify things, but all boils down to basic math. If you're consuming less calories than you burn, you'll lose weight. Unless you have a medical issue that's keeping you from losing weight, the fact you haven't lost in the first 4 months tells me you're likely eating too much. I say this because if even if it were a matter of not eating enough calories you'd still have some weight loss just slowed.

My advice would be to log everything you eat and start counting calories. After a week or two of this, make an appointment with your nutritionist and bring them the food logs. They can look at the logs and help you make positive changes in your existing diet as well as help you establish food guidelines specifically for you and your lifestyle.

Best wishes.

My experience was very similar to yours. I was banded a little over a year ago(11/28/11). I lost 12 lbs the first two weeks and then nothing for the next 3.5 months. My band did seem to give me a sense of being full quicker than before surgery but I fought the hunger(Bandster Hell) every day.

Then I got my 3rd fill at around my 4th month being banded and met with my nutritionist. The weight began to fall off after that. Relax, what you are experiencing is very normal and has happened to many of us. Seems like I was hungrier after the surgery than ever before. But, I was a good boy and ate healthy foods, but maybe not the 1/2 cup I was told to eat.

Sounds like you could use another fill and I strongly urge you to speak to your nutritionist/dietician as soon as possible. She helped me so much.

tmf

track your intake of everything that passes your lips. Empty out the house of the junk tell family that is how they will be helping you. Most people seem to do well when their bands are just over half full (10cc/6.5cc) if you get hungry b4 4 hours get a fill. I did and life has great after that its been 3 mos and just this week I have been hungry and have to watch myself from hunting. If this keeps up this week I will go in for a top off.