Hi--I had a GREAT loss my first week after banding....17.4 pounds!! Of course I went from probably 3000 calories a day to 300 calories a day with protein supplement. My first week was 100% liquid. Now that I've almost finished my 2nd week and am eating "mushies" for the most part, I've gained a pound back! I am truly eating SOOOO much less than pre-banding that this just doesn't make sense. Do you think it is because my metabolism came to a screeching halt after only getting fluids for a week and it will take awhile to jump-start it again? I am only weighing myself once a week, but today was VERY bummed! I feel good and clothes already feel a tad looser, but that scale frustrated the you-know-what out of me!!! Will things level out after awhile? Appreciate any comments, suggestions or better yet, experiences with the same thing!!

Larry, you've already lost as much as it takes some folks two months or more to lose. Your body has to take a breather after such a drop--I mean, were you hoping it would continue to come off at that rate?!?

PLEASE don't worry about the scale at this point. You have surely heard that the prefill stage is not about weight loss, it's about healing. Your body has lost a lot of fluids and it needs to recoup and you need to heal completely.

Whether you lose any more weight right now or not, by the time your first fill comes around you'll be way ahead of the game already. Relax! 15 lbs. in the first TWO MONTHS is a great weight loss, and you have gotten a great jump out of the gate.

Alexandra,

Thank you! I feel SO much better! I do NOW remember someone saying not to watch the scales as much at first, so I'll heed that advice now that you've reinforced it. Guess I'll let my body get used to this new way of life and let things happen naturally. With such an incredible decrease in calories, I'm BOUND to lose. I just got over-excited at the week one weigh-in, I guess! I know, I know.......patience is a virtue!!! I'm just SO anxious to start noticing baggy clothes and increased energy!! Thanks for your help!! This website is such a blessing to everyone who is thinking about being banded or has already done so and wants to share and/or learn!!

I have this document for download on my site under "links" imtorb. I am also kinda stuck in a plateau just like you. But after reading this document I feel lots better.

Fear of loosing the Weight Loss Battle

You will lose the battle if you are willing to work with the band and do Your part:) But I can almost guarantee:

·You will have plateaus when you first switch to solids until your body gets used to being fed instead of starved (most likely 1-2 weeks but could be 3 like mine was)

·During many plateaus you will loose inches not lbs and finally a larger loss.

·Your loss in the first 30-40 days is a never to be repeated experience so enjoy it Then you begin the long slow journey downward (not upward)

·You will learn the fine art of PB's and what causes them for you is it swallowing air when you eat. Eating too fast.. Not chewing well or too big a bite.. Eating the wrong food for you...and not recognizing the no longer hungry after 1/2 cup (satiation) versus an I want to eat more cause I can or it tastes good or I crave (head hunger).

·You will watch your body shrink and will walk a bit taller literally and figuratively... Start slipping into booths in restaurants. Sit in chairs with arms .. Stop worrying about how strong the chairs are...Not having to ask for an extender belt on airlines.. Finding it is easier to and you have more energy to walk / go up stairs/ Clean house and do a million other day to day activities ... Slip in and out of bath tubs where the Water goes all the way around you instead of damming up and it doesn’t kill you to stand up from sitting on the floor ...Wipe yourself easily in the bathroom.. Watch the years fall off your face and drivers license picture .. Go to a restaurant and order an appetizer and still end up with leftovers to take home..

·Go through doubts and several fills/defills until you hit the sweet spot fill level for you.

·Will have to stop several times along the way to reassess your eating habits (I could eat certain foods and get away with some cheating a bit quantity wise at 359 and still lose .. That had to go at 250)

·I have also found that I have to keep reminding myself 1/2 cup of solids 3 times a day only and drink my water (1 hour after meals until the next meal but not with meals)

·Eat Protein first ..Fruit and veggies second and non-complex carbs last. (Keep the fats, sugars and non-complex carbs low ..Still have them but keep em low).

And believe it or not a plateau that indicates that you need a fill is

1.No weight loss for 4 weeks.

2.You are following all the band rules (8 times out of 10 we want to be able to break the rules and still lose.figuring if we get a fill it will miraculously start us losing without us having to do our part).

3.You are eating foods that are hard and stick in your band for the 3-4 hours not drinking your calories- You are hungry an hour after eating (really hungry not cravings) and the 1/2 cup doesn't stay in the band for 2 1/2 to 4 hours.

4.You are drinking your 60+ Fl oz water a day and not drinking with your meal or for at least an hour after.

5.Once you move from mushies to solids.. As much as possible get your nourishment from food that is solid. If you have problems with it sticking in your stoma.try it again chewing it well..Cutting it up finer or chewing it with other foods to keep it from recombining in your pouch and forming a plug (e.g. potatoes)..

6.Try to avoid Soups and or Protein drinks if possible (if you are able to eat your protein you will be full longer - some people have tight bands in the morning and cant eat so have a protein drink)

7.Whenever you hit a plateau.. Keep a food diary and log everything, including water, which goes in and measure the 1/2-cup of solids. Mine grew twice from 1/2 to almost a cup without my noticing lol.

8.Try weighing in once a week to begin with not daily. Later move to once every 2 weeks or once a month. When you are losing slowly weight fluctuates daily with hydration levels etc. At least this way you normally will see a loss and not a fluctuate on or gain. Yes the loses are smaller but they are down not up.

9.Measure yourself monthly ..Often you lose inches before you lose lbs.

10.Don’t compare yourself to others.. We all lose at different rates based on age/metabolism/food choices/ activity level.. But we can all lose

Hope that helps

I downloaded this originally from a yahoo group. It was written by someone called Sam.

I think almost everyone gains after they go from liquids to more solid foods. I wouldn't worry!

I'd just like to reiterate to not focus on the scale so much. I only weigh myself at the surgeon's office once a month, and because of all of the snow right after my banding, I didn't find out how much I'd lost til I was 6 weeks out! lol Weighing once a month makes sure that I almost always see a downward trend on the scale. If I plateau, I don't even know about it...and if I've stayed the same or gained at the next monthly weigh in, I know it's time for a fill. Not the way everyone does this, I know, but it keeps me sane.

So please, count any weight loss before a fill as a bonus! Focus on healing right now, that's what this time is for.

Leo and Tangerine.....Thank you both SO much for the tips and words of encouragement. It all makes perfect sense. One question for Leo......what is a "PB"?? I think I get the gist of it, just don't know what the initials actually stand for!!

Is the 1/2 cup rule forever? There are some days 1/2 cup just is NOT filling me up! And I am eating Protein. Do you sprinkle some type of protein supplement on your food? I feel like I can easily eat a cup sometimes, but should I force myself to eat just 1/2? I am only two weeks post-band, and it worries me a bit that I am able to eat that much already. My Dr. said my band was VERY tight after surgery, but I think things have already loosened up a bit!!

Thanks for all your help!!!

Originally posted by lmtorb

Is the 1/2 cup rule forever? There are some days 1/2 cup just is NOT filling me up! And I am eating Protein. Do you sprinkle some type of protein supplement on your food? I feel like I can easily eat a cup sometimes, but should I force myself to eat just 1/2? I am only two weeks post-band, and it worries me a bit that I am able to eat that much already. My Dr. said my band was VERY tight after surgery, but I think things have already loosened up a bit!!

Thanks for all your help!!!

PB stands for "productive burp". That's when something is stuck and has to come up instead of going down. Stomach acids aren't usually involved, and most people don't get the stomach contractions and heaving that comes with a full-fledged vomit. I haven't PB'd yet, thankfully, and I've been banded for 6 months.

Regarding amounts...I eat until I'm satisfied. Satisfied being the key word. Not uncomfortably full, but no longer hungry. Some days that's a half a cup for me, sometimes it's less, sometimes I can eat a cup and a half and be not full, but satisfied. The biggest thing I've had to learn since banding is to listen to your body, not your mind. If your mind says to keep eating, but your body's had enough, you stop. If your mind says you've had a half a cup of food and need to stop, but your stomach is still growling, eat a bit more until it stops. It's much easier said than done, but if you work on it, it gets progressively easier as time goes on. I love that I've learned how to get in touch with what my body needs, and actually listen to it. I find that I also seem to make much better food choices that way.

Don't worry, this is very much a learning process. You'll get there!

I experienced a bout of pbing recently, and like tangerine said, I didn't have the full fledge stomach contractions. Everything just came up.

I can also eat more then 1/2 cup, Just eat till your satisfied like tangerine said. You shouldn't worry to much, the band will start working like people describe after you start getting your fills. The first 6 weeks is really for you to adjust and heal.

Wow Larry,

What good information you got. No one told me not to worry about not losing pre-fill. I am where you are about 3 weeks post op. I lost 15 the first week then 2 then 1 and I am pretty bummed. The thing is I can eat at least a cup at a time if not more. My Dr. told me a tennis ball sized pouch. So is it the stoma size that's the problem or is my pouch too big?

And what is all this talk about no drinks with your meals? Why not? I've just gotten off the smoothies. That was all I did, drink!

banded July 14, 2003

220/202@3weeks

Hi Jennaband,

The idea behind not drinking *with* your meals is that liquids can wash the solid food through your stoma faster, allowing you to eat more at one time. The whole point of banding is that when your pouch fills up, you feel full and don't want to eat any more. If you flush food through your stoma into your lower larger stomach, the whole process is circumvented. The conventional wisdom is that you should drink a lot BEFORE your meal, do not drink WHILE eating, then wait at least 45 minutes to an hour before drinking AFTER your meal.

And a tennis-ball-sized pouch does sound sort of larger than what I've heard of before, but I am no authority. My guess is that when your band is adjusted the effect will be the same as it is on everyone else, and you don't have to worry that your pouch is too large.

Hi, Jennaband,

Glad the information I got was helpful to you. Isn't this website GREAT???

I still think I am able to eat WAY too much---like 2 cups---before I feel full. I go back to the doctor Friday and I'm hoping they'll say it needs a fill and I can start losing again. I DO feel better, though, from eating such a healthy diet with all the Protein. But I'd sure like to see that scale start moving again! From what everyone has said, though, the fills will do just that, so I'm trying my best to be patient. Good luck to you and keep me/us posted!

Hey Larry,

Just wanted to say you seem to be on the right track. You obviously are not going to be content to fall back in your old patterns. Keep asking questions until you feel you have them all answered. there is no shame in that you are just taking care of yourself. Something that is a new concept for some of us. You're worth it! I will be excited to see how a fill makes you feel.

Keep in touch

Guys, you have no idea how much this information about pre-fill weight loss and how much the pouch holds and pb's has really helped me. My doctor doesn't offer after-surgery care and I didn't find out from my doctor until 2 weeks after surgery that some people don't lose anyway weight until their first fill. I should be happy with my 16 in 5 weeks.

Thanks!!