Hi there I just had my band done may 23 and I am having a horrible time following the diet since I have lost the feeling of fullness since my swelling has gone down. I am in Greeley and my doctor is dr johnell I am supposed to have only liquids for 2 weeks right now and then one week of puree foods then one week soft then finally real food . Is anyone else finding this really hard since my lack of eating control is what made me need this tool in the first place now I have to follow a diet so strict and hard most people that don't love food I don't think could do this .Any help or helpful comments or advice would be much appreciated. I think if I can make it through this month or so I can make it but without the feeling of being satisfied this is hard. I want to know if anyone else out there has some tricks of ideas on help with the lack of eating and fullness. At the very beginning it was not so hard because I did not feel good and I was full now it is like impossible . Thanks for your positive input and comments and I hope I can help anyone with anything I have learned so far which is not a whole lot but I will help where I can .

The first month is very, very tough. It take a lot of will power. You'll definitely need to follow your doctor's orders. Just remember that your pouch needs to heal. If you overfill it, you'll have serious problems. That is what kept me going. I kept thinking about that. You'll have a lot more to deal with if you do not listen to your doctors orders. You need time to heal. I drank a lot of tea and water and diet snapple. I also kept myself very busy, which definitely helped.Try going out of the house and being away from the food. Drink your protein shakes.

It's not easy- but if you can do it you will see results! hang in there, you can do this!!!

This definitely is the hardest part of the whole process, but it is a necessity. Sugar free popsicles were a necessity for me. Just try to focus on everything, but food that is the only thing that got me through it.

I agree with ksaug21- I kept telling myself that that little pouch needed to heal and I wasn't going to do anything to mess this opportunity up. I know it's hard, but you can do this!

Try to look for places you can add Protein powder. That helps keep hunger at bay. I made Jello and pudding by adding unflavored protein to the mix.

I bought chicken flavored unjury protein and added it to my different broths

If you are allowed unclear liquids, I drank the broth off of homemade pinto Beans and potato Soup (these are a little thicker and held me longer) --- put the soup through a strainer before drinking it.

One thing I did discover during this time was that my band would swell a little after I walked. So by walking 15-20 mins a couple of times a day it would swell a little and take to desire to eat away.

Hope that helps.

I agree with the above posters that said you need to let your pouch heal!

But you also need to know that you must quit looking for a "full" feeling. After you've healed and are on to regular foods, if you eat until you feel "full" you will have overeaten and will be extremely uncomfortable. As a banded person, you have to learn to recognize when your body is satisfied. You will need to recognize "satisfied" now.

What helps me is the "protein fruit drinks" powder that you put in your water. It takes the edge off of being "hungry". The moodiness and growling goes away and makes it much more manageable. Have one of those in between you meals. Its only 70 calories and 15 gr of protein so its not too bad. It would be a shame for you to have gone through all of this just to set yourself to fail in the long run. You just have to remember and keep reminding yourself that you did this major surgery for a reason and keep your goal in view. You can do this, you really can.

Where can I find fruit protein powder to add to a drink?

dietdirect.com. They have a bunch of bariatric stuff in there. I bought the Bariwise ones and so far so good except for the "straw=-kiwi" one. There are 7 in a box and are approx. $11. A bit pricey but worth it. Your doctor's office should have some too but will probably be more expensive than buying online.

dietdirect.com. They have a bunch of bariatric stuff in there. I bought the Bariwise ones and so far so good except for the "straw=-kiwi" one. There are 7 in a box and are approx. 11. A bit pricey but worth it. Your doctor's office should have some too but will probably be more expensive than buying online.

Thank you! I'm hungry, waiting for first fill.

I ate pretty normally until I started getting restriction from fills. If you try to eat like your band is fully functional when it's not you'll just get frustrated and waste your time in my opinion.