I posted this back in Feb. :

Hey everyone.

I got banded in July. By the time it was August, I had lost 20 pounds. I was 235 lbs.

I went for a fill in September and they said I gained 5 pounds. Now I was 220.

I went back in November for a fill again then they said my weight was the same - 220.

I went back in January and I was the same weight yet again - 220.

I went in today and I'm the same damn weight - 220.

Why am I not losing weight?

I am doing my best with eating right. I do go to the gym ... I just don't get it.

The doctor says I need a few more adjustments before I can really lose weight. He promised that I'll lose weight as long as I keep eating right and exercising.

Does anyone have tips? Is it true that you can not be losing or gaining weight? I'm just stressed out over this.

Fast forward to March .... I was 230 lbs when I went to the doctor. I cried my eyes out because I gained weight. I told the doctor that I get very hungry and I still don't feel restriction .... again ... I was told NOT to worry.

I worked out and went to the gym and I had an appointment on 4/23/13 and I have lost 4 lbs. OK ... so I lost some weight BUT I still don't feel restriction. I do portion out my meals and I am eating healthy (lots of Protein too) but I don't feel any restriction like I did post op.

What is wrong? Is my band eroded? Did it slip? I'm so scared because I don't want to tell my family.

You have to remember that weight loss boils down to simple math. When you consume less calories than you burn you lose. The only way to be certain you're not consuming too many (or too little) calories is to track them. Do you count your calories?

Also, have a look at this link. It's a really good article about the band that I think will help you to have realistic expectations: http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html

Best wishes

Oh my goodness ... thank you sooooooooo much!!!

I don't count my calories ... I guess I should do that ... however I am following the nutrionist's diet plan for me. I eat everything as she listed on the meal plan.

I do go to the gym ... every day for 30 min of cardio. I also do some walking after that.

I did drop the 4lbs. but i was worried about the whole restriction thing.

Everybody is different. For instance I'm 6'2" so I require a fair bit of calories just to function. If you're below say 5'5" it's going to be a little difficult since you require way less calories per day (about 25-2700) to maintain your weight. Just keep at it and try to create that calorie deficit.

Takes ~3500 calorie deficit to lose 1 lb of fat.

Tell me about it - at 5'nothing it takes minimal calories to maintain and it is so easy to eat just a few extra....................

I like to calculate how many calories I need to eat in order to lose the amount I want per week. I know you can google it but I'll post the equations behind it because for me, it just made more sense. Hope it helps.

You can google how many calories you need to maintain your weight. Once you have that number here is the math. Lets say your maintenance number is 2300 per day. If you eat anything less than that you will eventually lose weight. That's the easy math.

Here we go... we're going to use some algebra (see you can use it in your adult life)

If you want to lose 2 pounds a week: 3500 (calories in a pound) x 2 (pounds) = 7000 calorie deficit per week

You must eat a diet that gives you a weekly deficit of 7000 calories.

Lets say you eat 1250 calories per day and your maintenance is 2300 calories per day:

1. 2300 (maintenance calories per day) - 1250 (the actual calories you consumed) = 1,050 (your daily deficit)

2. If you multiply your deficit (1,050) times 7 (days in the week) = 7350 weekly calorie deficit

3. Last step: take your weekly calorie deficit 7350 and divide it by the calories in a pound (3500) = 2.1 pounds per week.

This is just a basic starting point to help figure out where you should be in your caloric intake. Once you figure your calories, you can tweak it to make it fit your body better. Plus, there are some arguments about how many calories are actually in a pound. But overall this helps to set goals. You can add in exercise calories too but I didn't want to put too much math in one post.

That's good math and good advice. I searched for 'how many calories to maintain weight.' I found a million sites, I went to the first ten:

Site 1: Fit Magazine, 2294

Site 2: Calorie Control, 2171

Site 3: WebMD, 1600

Site 4: Free Dieting, 1914

Site 5: Cancer.org, 1500

Site 6: Calorie King, 1850

Site 7: Walking.com, 2150

Site 8: Fat Burning Furnace Reviews, 1911

Site 9: WL for Women >40, 1992

Site 10: Mayo Clinic, 1650

So the range is 2294 - 1500 calories each day. That's the difference of a meal a day. Mind you, I used 'sedentary' as the lifestyle, assuming I would not get much exercise in each day. More logical to assume none than to estimate (over-estimate?) a level of activity.

So using the formula for losing 1 lb = a 3500 calorie deficit each week (I just LOVE math word problems, can you tell?), the range for me would be:

(2294 x 7) - 3500 / 7 = 1794 to (1500 x 7) - 3500 / 7 = 1000

Wow, talk about an inexact science. That's enough to drive me right to the cookie jar! I think I lost a pound just working my brain that hard!

Oh my goodness ... thank you sooooooooo much!!!

I don't count my calories ... I guess I should do that ... however I am following the nutrionist's diet plan for me. I eat everything as she listed on the meal plan.

I do go to the gym ... every day for 30 min of cardio. I also do some walking after that.

I did drop the 4lbs. but i was worried about the whole restriction thing.

There is a free app called My Fitness Pal. You can download on your smartphone, and also login on your computer. Once you fill in your specifics, and track your food daily, the program will give you the information you need. Ask your nutritionist how many calories per day you are supposed to have, along with the grams of Protein. As you track your food, the program will tell you how many grams of protein you've had at each meal, each day, etc. It gives a lot of other information as well, but calories and protein are the most important for us.

My doctor has a computerized scale that calculates just about everything in your body; weight, baseline resting calories, Water level, fat to muscle ratios, etc. I was sad to see that in order for me to simply maintain my weight, is 1400 calories. I'm sure if I start gaining some muscle mass by exercising, that number might change a bit. But given my age and my 5'2" frame, I need to cut down to somewhere between 800-1000 calories a day to lose. Even so, it's going pretty slow (I think). And even with restriction, it's a struggle.

thanks everyone. i appreciate it.

so i guess my weight gain was normal?

and also .... feeling no restriction is normal?

Fatima 1988, I am going through exactly the same thing. I am going to make an appointment with my surgeon. I am getting very disappointed...

At my last fill which was in February, she said to "come back when you can eat two while chicken breasts." Well, there is no way I can eat two whole chicken breasts. There are days when I cannot eat anything, and other days when I can eat anything EXCEPT solid meat, bread and peanut butter. My doctor also said from day one that none of my calories should come from liquids, including protein drinks. I am making an appiintment this week. I was banded on July 7 2012 and and this point I have only lost about sixty pounds. Thirty of which were lost from the two week post op diet. I have a 14 cc band and have had three fills since my surgery, totalling 6cc's. I am very frustrated. BTW, until reading the posts on here, I had never heard of the "green zone" or really any of the info shared here. I feel like I have been completely uninformed. My weight has pretty much been stagnant.