hi everyone. i'm in need of some... advise or a buttkicking or suggestions?!? i don't know. i'm feeling very frustrated and alone.

i got my second fill and at first, i didn't have any restriction. but after a few days i got stuck and was weirdly thrilled. it was like confirmation that my band/fills were working!

but... i'm not losing weight. i started tracking my food and whereas i can still eat a good variety of foods, my portions are hugely reduced. i thought maybe i wasn't eating enough calories, so i added a few higher calorie foods and took out some of the low-fat substitutes (ie low fat cheese and replaced it with regular cheese). but all that did was make me GAIN. my diet includes veggies as snacks, almost no meats, no dairy, no sugar, low sodium, and organic foods.

i joined water aerobics and weight watchers. i bought a pilates dvd, band and workout ball.

the amount of food the old me would eat is so very different from what i'm eating now, i'm astounded that i'm not losing.

today i went to weight watchers and had a 3lb GAIN. after ww, i went to dinner with my hubby and got stuck eating a tiny piece of meat. i ended up having to bring home almost my whole meal... which will probably last me 2 days.

i can't stand the disappointment i'm feeling! my husband is trying to be supportive, but i'm not losing!!! i feel like a complete failure and it's causing me to spiral into a depression. very few people know about my band, but the ones that do know are constantly asking me how i'm doing... and i feel like a complete failure saying i've lost NOTHING since my surgery.

what on earth else can i do? what am i doing wrong?! does anyone have any insight, advice, anything?

:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry

I stayed at 1100 calories and about 80 oz Water or sf drinks .

Plateau for you maybe?

Best wishes,

edie

I purchased a book called "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" by Tom Venuto. He's a bodybuilder/fitness expert. I'm certainly not heading down the bodybuilder path, but he points out several ways to (among other things) get moving from a plateau. A couple were fairly obvious: increase your H2O input and increase both the duration and frequency of your cardio workouts. But a few others that weren't quite as obvious to me were 1) Do your cardio in the morning and 2) Break down your food intake into six small meals, spaced no more than three hours apart 3) Eat the majority of your carbs (which should be complex carbs) earlier in the day, reducing them until you are eating very few, if any at your last 2 or 3 meals and 4) Include protein at every meal, especially if the meal contains carbs. There is a LOT more, but I'm going to start doing all these ASAP, even though I'm not stalled (I'm down 8 lbs @ 3 weeks post-op). The six meals takes a lot of pre-planning, and I've still got some pain so I'm not upping my cardio too much until I feel better. Let me know if you try any of these ideas and if they work for you...

Silry...

Exactly how many calories are you consuming? Exactly how many carbs? If you are not tracking this you really need to. You can use FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal or I prefer Calorie Counter, Diet Tracking, food Journal, Nutrition Facts at The Daily Plate. You might be surprised at how many calories and carbs you are consuming.

Track it and be sooooo honest it hurts. Try it for a couple of weeks and see what you get.

Just some thoughts about weight loss . My physician has a very strict protocol . It has worked well for me. I was banded July 24, 2006 Started at 310.5 and as of last week am 211. One thing that I know is that our bodies need protein. So the order I eat is protein first, which means meat. I usually eat chicken, fish. Fish is especially easy to eat. Chicken sometimes I need it to be very moist. Then veggies, by that time I am full. Do not drink anything 10 before I eat and 30 minutes after I eat. I drink plenty of water at least 8 glasses a day. Make sure you get enough protein. I do drink protein drinks some days in order to get enough. I make sure I get at 60 grms of protein a day. there is a formula but I can't remember it right now. I thining eating with a band is definetely challenging but can be done. I stay away from all breads, potatoes, rice, and early on fruits. I do eat blueberrys, and sometimes a quarter of apple now. I hope this helps.

Silry,

Leedorr said exactly what I would have told you.

WAS a Bubble Butt also gave you the right answer. Now it's up to you. I would add to lookout for hidden carbs For my first couple of weeks I did not track and weigh everything exactly - now I do.

Good luck.

Ann

One thing that I know is that our bodies need Protein. So the order I eat is protein first, which means meat.

Exactly! The first thing you should be eating is hard protien, then if you hve room, veggies and last carbs. Watch out for the liquid calories too!

another thing I remember is that I limit my carbs to 30 grams a day,EXCLUDING the veggies. Vitamins have carbs remember that Anf get moving as soon as possible , if its walking that's great. Increase every day! Good Luck! s

I agree on the carb subject. I eat mainly meat. And when I recently quit consuming all carbs except for what is in my daily protein bar and a few veggies, I lost almost 10 pounds in one week.

try and keep your calorie count to 1k-1200 calories a day. Weight Watchers is a good choice just make sure you can't eat more than 1/2 cup at a time. That would be considered optimal restriction. Julie

I was banded 2 days after you and also lost pretty slowly until my last fill (it was my 2nd). After the 1st, I did get things "stuck", especially when I ate too fast, but I still only lost 5 pounds in a month. I've lost another 15 this month after getting the 2nd fill. I pretty much can not eat anything at this point unless I chew endlessly. My guess is you are still not quite at your sweet spot. I know how frustrating this can be. I thought I was tight enough after the 1st fill, but for me I needed to go a little tighter. I know if I was tighter than I am now, I couldn't eat anything (or maybe even drink). Good luck, I hope you figure it out.

Gretchen

banded 2/23/07

lost 36 pounds

Hi there,

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!

I'm completely in the same boat. I was banded in April and lost 7lbs almost immediately...then I started gaining it back. I got my first fill and have been on a steady gain for the last month. I too am frustrated. We must unite and not give in to the negative thougts our mind creates...this will only make it harder for our weight loss.

Also.....if you're just now getting going on the exercise.....are you building muscle??? Because you can temporarily plateau or gain if you are putting on muscle....yet losing fat. It can help to have someone (like a trainer at a gym) do a fat composite. You could easily be losing fat right now? Maybe?

Hi I feel for you right now. It is hard to look at that scale. I was banded July 24, 2006. I have lost 100 pounds since then. What I would suggerst and this is just a suggestion...... stay off the scale for a week. Concentrate on eating protein first, especially fish, turkey and chicken. Then if there is room eat veggies and then fruits. Stay away from all white carbs, bread, potatoes, noddles and rice. Make sure you drink at least 8 glasses of no calorie liquid ,especially water. Try to stay away from all carbonated drinks. Begin exercising every day for 30 minutes. If you can't exercise for 30 minutes begin by taking walks and increase the time every other day. Above all remain consistant in what you do. That's how I started and it worked for me. Good luck, you can do this!

thank you all for your great suggestions! it's all pretty much what i already knew, but it helped me realize that there isn't some magic suggestion out there... it basically boils down to plain old fashioned hard work! and so i have pushed my butt into gear and this past week, i lost 3.8lbs! *wiggles* i'm still not thrilled with the way things are going, but i'm seeing improvement in the way i look and feel... and for a totally female nsv, today i put on my cute black top and noticed that for the first time in a loooong time my boobs stuck out way over my belly! my belly used to be equal or even more so out there. THAT FEELS GREAT! i feel very womanly.

Glad things are going better for you. We are all so certain that "I'll be the one person in the world that this doesn't work for" that when we stall out it is frightening.

Hit the Protein hard....with a small pouch you can't hold much food but you can supplement with good quality Protein drinks and bars (not grocery store stuff....good stuff made for bariatric people like us).....up around 80-100 grs/day. And eliminate the white carbs....keep even the good carbs less than 30-40 gr/day. That will keep the scale moving in the right direction.