I have been reading a lot over the past several weeks about newbies getting fills. The question should always be, do I really need another fill?

Many people are searching for the "green zone" and having that perfect "restriction."

I will tell you from my personal experience that I don't know if there is a "green zone," but I do feel that you should not feel restriction. What you should notice is that with the band you should be able to eat less and feel satisfied. You MUST be committed to eating a smaller portion (most say 2-3 ounces of Protein, 1/3 c of veggies and 1/3 c of good carb for your meals) and extensive exercise. After eating that 1 to 1 1/2 c of food you should be satisfied, NOT full. And this satisfaction should last around 4 hours give or take. Everyone is different! For the first 8-10 months, I was never hungry. I just ate because I was raised to eat at certain times and that was a very hard habit to break. But I did it and you can make the necessary changes too. It is mind over matter!

It doesn't mean drink your meals and expect to have a "full" feeling! If it can slide through your new pouch, it is not going to satisfy you. The nerve endings in your new pouch are what give you that satisfied feeling. If you are letting the slider food go through to your old stomach, you are eating no different then you did before you were banded. And you WILL be able to eat more than you should.

Log your food so you really know what you are eating and exercise as many days a week as you can. Do a little to start. Once you start losing weight you will feel better and be able to exercise more. That is the whole point of weight loss and is key to the success of losing with the band.

This is just my personal experience and hope it helps others. Be smart, be safe with your band so you can live a longer, healthier life with your band.

I was able to get to my goal weight of 165 after 14 months of hard work losing 165 pounds. It can be done and it doesn't have to take a million fills and getting too tight. I had one fill.

Good luck to all you newbies and welcome to the losers club.

I have been reading a lot over the past several weeks about newbies getting fills. The question should always be, do I really need another fill?

Many people are searching for the "green zone" and having that perfect "restriction."

I will tell you from my personal experience that I don't know if there is a "green zone," but I do feel that you should not feel restriction. What you should notice is that with the band you should be able to eat less and feel satisfied. You MUST be committed to eating a smaller portion (most say 2-3 ounces of Protein, 1/3 c of veggies and 1/3 c of good carb for your meals) and extensive exercise. After eating that 1 to 1 1/2 c of food you should be satisfied, NOT full. And this satisfaction should last around 4 hours give or take. Everyone is different! For the first 8-10 months, I was never hungry. I just ate because I was raised to eat at certain times and that was a very hard habit to break. But I did it and you can make the necessary changes too. It is mind over matter!

It doesn't mean drink your meals and expect to have a "full" feeling! If it can slide through your new pouch, it is not going to satisfy you. The nerve endings in your new pouch are what give you that satisfied feeling. If you are letting the slider food go through to your old stomach, you are eating no different then you did before you were banded. And you WILL be able to eat more than you should.

Log your food so you really know what you are eating and exercise as many days a week as you can. Do a little to start. Once you start losing weight you will feel better and be able to exercise more. That is the whole point of weight loss and is key to the success of losing with the band.

This is just my personal experience and hope it helps others. Be smart, be safe with your band so you can live a longer, healthier life with your band.

I was able to get to my goal weight of 165 after 14 months of hard work losing 165 pounds. It can be done and it doesn't have to take a million fills and getting too tight. I had one fill.

Good luck to all you newbies and welcome to the losers club.

this was outstanding......agree with all points of this post...

SueBee thanks for this post, I couldn't agree more!!!

Thank you ladies! I think those of us who have been successful really need to share how we did it. I get scared reading some of the things I am seeing here on how people are using their band. I always treated it delicately and still do as it is a foreign object on my body.

I actually know that the green zone exists. It definitely does for me. No hunger, easy maintenance, no need to calorie count. And no real problems either, no reflux, no pain, nothing.

I do however accept that not everyone gets to feel the same way I do and many keep filling their bands too tightly, too aggressively and too frequently sometimes trying to get to the green zone and actually end up doing themselves damage instead.

However, after 5 years and no complications bar a leak that had nothing to do with my compliance, I know that there is a spot in my band(s) where the right amount of fill makes weight loss and maintenance easy. And that has been my experience.

From your post it sounds like you are at the same spot - no hunger? Feeling satisfied on little food etc? That's actually the green zone! And where every bander should eventually be.

As a newly banded , I look to the people like yourselves who have had great success with the band , the first thing my clinic told me was " restriction" is a four letter word in their office , look for satisfied and 3-4 hours between meals, so that's what I have been doing and 7 weeks since surgery I work out daily and make sure I watch my band portions and I am down 30 pounds and counting . I feel great and hope for continued success

Great post SueBee! Every newbie should read this ... And some vets now and then too, as a reminder!

My band was put in with 3cc.... Got 1 fill and had to have it removed.... I've been losing nicely with 3cc and Zumba 3xs a week!!!