I am a new lap bander after having surgery 23rd May 2014. So far I have lost 24 pounds steadily each week and I have now hit a plateau with no weight lost in 2 weeks. I had my 3rd fill on 23rd September and felt restriction until a day ago. I am now constantly hungry and I am just drinking Water and ignoring the hunger pains which is way easier to do than when I tried pre surgery. I need encouragement and drive that this is normal and it will pass after my next fill. I so do not want to regret having my surgery and want to succeed more than anything. I walk for 1/2 hr 3 times a week and I do watch my portions way better than I did pre-surgery about 80% of the time. I avoid sweets and sugary stuff, but have to admit a glass of cranberry juice a couple of times a week is such a temptation for me.

I need advice my fellow lap-banders that everything will be A-OKAY... Thanks

Normal and congratulations! Great success so far. This is the hard part. Hanging in there andfollowing protocol when you are not feeling restriction. The proper fill levelWill get you there, but it takes several months to achieve that. You don't want to be too tight. Creep up on your green zone, keep following your team's instructions, and don't give up.I just had my first follow-up appointment that did not include a fill. It's because I think, think, that I am in the green zone. For me the green zone means that I am satisfied with much less food, sometimes get stuck if eating too fast or too big of bites, and a high-protein meal holds me without hunger for at least four hours.it's such a fine line between that and too tight. I don't want to be too tight. Anyway you are doing great and don't be discouraged. This is a process, and even though it's difficult now, you will look back at this time and be so happy that you stuck with it.

And try not to focus on pounds lost right now. It may stall, it may even go up a pound or two, but if you stick to the program, it will all come off, I promise.

Completely normal. Your body is not going to lose weight every single week, sometimes it will hold on to the weight to make sure its not being starved. Once your body figures out that its getting the best food and water and exercise, it will feel better about dropping the extra weight. So STAY OFF THE SCALE. Dont use it if it bothers you, just trust the process. You are doing great by the way !! I think it took me 4 fills to get to the green zone, and even then they dont last forever, so I just stuck to the rules no matter what , 95 % of the time, and I was successfull ! You will be too ! You got this !! Good luck !!

Did you mean 2 to 4lbs each week? Sometimes weight loss doesnt happen for weeks, months. You have to hang in there. It's not considered a stall until its been 6 to 8 weeks.

It seems a bit odd that your hunger increased after a recent fill, that doesn't sound right.

It is normal for your weight to plateau, or stall, for a few weeks or longer, at times. The body is catching up and readjusting.

The only thing I can suggest, besides calling your doctor's office advice, is to ensure you are eating enough Protein at each meal throughout the day. You be satiated for at least four hours between meals. If you need to, eat four smaller meals, spaced out at 4 hour intervals. Foods like sliced, lean turkey breast, Water packed tuna, fat free yogurt, etc. are good sources of protein. Protein takes longer to digest (and burns more calories in the process) and protein also increases the period of time before you start feeling hunger pangs.

Make sure the hunger is real; and not just an urge to eat before you are really hungry.... I'd guess what I am trying to say is that early hunger pangs might be a symptom regarding a lack of proper nourishment. But your surgeon or his staff would be the best to advise you on that.

Thank you all for your responses. I am really trying to understand and develop a good relationship with my band and I honestly do not want to sabotage my weightloss.

@@labwalker - like i said this was the feeling since yesterday hence my panic. I know now that this is normal and temporary and i need to follow my program. I just needed reassurance that this is not unusual so early in it. Thanks once again.

Hoping for the green zone soon! I got my first fill on Jan. 27th and went from a small feeling of restriction to zero restriction. It seems like the fill took me backwards. I'm hoping my second fill March 2nd will get me closer to the green zone. I made the mistake of being transparent about the procedure and now I'm slightly embarrassed that the weight is not coming off and that I can eat normally. I need restriction which is why I got the band - to help. Thanks to everyone for sharing that it may take up to 5 months. Hate to hear that, but at least I know it's not just me and that it's the process. I do get on the scale every other day. I'm fluctuating between 12 and 16 pounds post-surgery Dec. 16th.

I can relate to this @KaeCDavis. I was banded on 7th jan and was filled march 3rd. I had less restriction after the first fill than before and feel my weight loss has stalled because of this. I can eat as if the band isn't there at all and I am hungry. I'm hoping my next fill next week will make me feel something. :/

Welcome all to "Bandsters Hell"

During my entire weight loss experience with the band, this phase was definitely the hardest time of all...not to mention frustrating. My first fill was 4 week after surgery...after my first fill, I started to GAIN weight.

I can't begin to say how upset I was, all the preparation and anticipation for nothing!

To add insult to injury, the staff at the bariatric center started giving me handouts and lectures about counting calories, measuring portion sizes, and all these little self help do's and don'ts to help me stay on track....

I've been on every diet imaginable over my lifetime, know them all inside and out...and what they were telling me was no different! That really got me angry!! I did not need weight loss surgery just so I can do all that again!

You think I wanted to have this surgery if I felt I didn't need it???

I'm going to say somewhere 4-6 months after surgery, a few fills later, a lot of hard lessons learned the hard way, (stuck, sliming, pain) and it all started to fall into place....

One year after surgery and I could say it was the EASIEST, most EFFORTLESS thing I could have ever done to make sch a major lifestyle change in myself...

I learned to let the band be the band and to get out of it's way... learned to "Listen: to the band" and follow it's lead.

Four years later and it is still Heaven! And it keeps getting better as I keep accepting this new way of living..