I everyone ! I wanted to be one of those people who was a smashing success with this surgery, but.......hopefully I will be a success . I am about 7 months out. I started at about 240 and I am at 218 right now. I admit my food choices aren't always perfect but one thing I have done is cut out white carbs and severely limit the other ones now. I have had 4 fills. I really want to lose before going for another fill ( have lost about 3 pounds since last fill). I have to work on Protein first. For example, last night I went out to eat and I had :

1 side salad with tangy tomatoes dressing ( probably has carbs). Took off croutons. No bread ( they brought that out. I watched my boyfriend eat it. ).

2. One section of his ribs and 2 shrimp

Some Atkins chocolate for dessert ( at home).

Here is my question. When I go for a fill, my doctor always says " how many meals are you eating per day, 2 or 3 ". Is the goal to get us down to 2? Does it matter which 2?

2. My meal last night wasn't horrible, but I should have eaten protein first and then salad, right?

Thank y'all. I find that when I come to this forum, I get motivated. Needs to be a daily thing. I have to also admit that I have felt a little victory in the fact that I have lost, and for the first time in my life, not gained. But, the truth is 160 is my goal...AND where I would be healthy. Not there yet .

Heading out to church, but I thank everyone in advance for their support. Have a great day!

Well, you lost 22 lbs, and that is a very good achievement. You are seven months out... it was almost four or five months before I even saw any weight loss from the surgery, it took four fills.

My APRN advised me to eat four meals a day, and to ensure I had enough Protein at each meal to hold back my appetite until it was time to eat again. The fourth meal was suggested when I mentioned that I would graze late in the evening, and she suggested that eating a small meal with protein later at night would stop my urge to snack on carbs. Protein is what helps to curb appetite. Salads are fine, but they will slide through the band and leave you unsatifisied in a short time.

I'd suggest some sort of food log to ensure you are intaking enough protein, at least 60 grams a day, and more won't hurt! Proten first! It takes more calories to digest protein, and proten protects muscle mass and allows the body to burn stored carbs first. There is a lot advice in these forums concerning how to pace, size and time your meals.

If you have regular scheduled follow up visits with your doctor, you might ask them for advice... but, 22 lbs. at seven months is still a positive in my book! Four meals of tuna fish or chicken breasts can keep you well under 900 calories while maxing out your protein needs. Your NUT should have given some advice on Calcium and Vitamin supplements.

Edited June 22, 201412 yr by labwalker

Gardnergirl2,

I am having the Plication done next month but both of my sisters have had the LapBand. The first sister has had hers for 5 years. It took her months to a year to find her "sweet spot" with her fills. Once she did she started loosing and was able to eat what she wanted in very small amounts. She has looked amazing ever since. The other sister has had hers for over a year and really never has follow orders to the T, she's been back and forth on fills ( not enough, too much) and she finally started loosing after a year and said she found her sweet spot. She was looking amazing and then after a few weeks she told us she was miserable and hated not being able to eat when other were. That's the point right?? Lol

She went and had her fill removed and her weight is back on the rise.

So my point is 22lbs is amazing!! And if you only eating a third of what you did before than that's great. IMO I think it's unhealthy from my readings to loose more than 5 lbs a month. Don't be discouraged you are doing great!

The way I've done it is set small reachable goals and just focus on that goal. I had the weight by my birthday, weight by anniversary, size by somebody's wedding, you get the picture. Something else I did was bought a pair of jeans 2 sizes small and tried them on when I weighed weekly. These things helped me keep focused on the plan.

.... she finally started losing after a year and said she found her sweet spot. She was looking amazing and then after a few weeks ....She went and had her fill removed and her weight is back on the rise.....That's the point!

This pretty sums up what I was going to say....Proper restriction, for me, was the most important thing.

Keep going to your Dr. and you'll too, find that sweet spot. It takes time for some of us. But It's so worth it in the end.

Best wishes

I don’t think the goal is 2 meals per day. My assumption is he might be asking that because a lot of bandsters only eat 2. I for one have never eaten Breakfast and still don’t.

Protein is real important for those banded so yes I always start with it to make sure I can fit it in. Lots of times I don’t even end up eating anything else. Sometimes I fit a piece of fruit in-between meals. I suggest setting small weight loss goals for yourself. Like right now maybe your goal is 199. That sounds a lot more doable than 160 to the brain! Then maybe once you hit 199 your goal is 180? I set small goals for myself and it makes it so much easier! GL!

the first thing to remember is your not alone in your weight loss journey - while i am down 60lbs now from my pre op weight the last few mts losing more than 2lbs a month has been a challenge. i go down 2 up 3 down 1 up.. you see the pattern. there are days where i could cry from frustration wondering what am i doing wrong why aren't i losing.. etc etc.. however when i take a step back i'm down 60 freaking lbs .. for the most part the scale doesn't go up which it was doing at an alarming rate.

if nothing else i'm healthier for this journey. and at this point I've decided that no more messing around i'm going back to the basics.. working out more increasing my Protein intake and just getting back on track. will that make the scale change? i don't know but at least i'll know I've done every thing i can go get this party started.

So hang on in there. the journey has only just started and there is no real end. just many twists and turns and bumps.. just focus on the positive you got this.

Must say I have never heard of 2 meals per day. I am instructed to eat 4 small meals about 3oz of food total each time with a small snack or maybe 2 if I am hungry. This worked great and I lost about 90 pounds in less than a year. Then I upped the food to 4 to 5 oz and have been maintaining, but need to let go of some of the food and lose the last 10 to 15 pounds. How much food would you have to take in at 2 meals per day to feel satiated?

I w plus just ask the surgeon. I can't imagine that he only wants you to eat 2 meals per day

" Don't stop because you've hit a wall, progress is progress no matter how small !" Author unknown