This post is such an important one for me. I AM FINALLY IN THE GREEN ZONE. Huzzah! Celebrating over here! Wanted to share it with you.

A little patience and my surgical team's insistence on my "creeping towards the green" through small to tiny fills rather than BIG ones has been one that I have fully subscribed to. And now I AM THERE and have nothing but success and wellness to report!

A warm, welcoming HELLO to the Green Zone. My friend, I have been waiting to meet you for 5 months. My history if you're interested:

Banded December 18th, 2014. At that time I had 4.1 ccs of Fluid in the band.

Fill #1: Jan 2, 2015 - .5 ccs

Fill #2: March 18 - .3 ccs

Fill #3: April 9 - .3 ccs

Fill #4: April 29 - .2 ccs

Fill #5: May 28 - .1 ccs

Now here I am, at 5.5 ccs in a 10cc APL band, and I am in the green zone. That tiny .1cc fill a few days ago did the trick. What a feeling!

Here's how I know I am in the much talked about (and celebrated, and elusive to many) Green Zone:

• I am not hungry. Period. I have a background feeling of satiety 24/7.
• I can only manage very small portions of food. (One small chicken thigh, 3 string Beans and a bite of salad. DONE). I have no desire to eat more. Zero.
• I find myself getting a "soft stop" signal from my body when its time to stop eating. When I've had enough, I sigh and have a 100% "NO MORE FOOD" feeling. I push my plate away. I've not had this consistently before, and now here it is every meal.
• I can go hours and hours between meals. I was at 3 hours satiation, but now I'm at 4-6 hours. Wow. Like, not even tempted.
• NO desire to snack in the evenings. No desire to nibble, even as the husband is grazing on handfuls of nuts or chips. Zero temptation. Total disinterest in food. My husband is as astonished as I.

I realize now, having had only 1 vomiting episode (my fault - ate too fast!), how important and crucial it was to have patience with these small fills. My first fill I had gone in expecting a 1 cc to be putted in the band. When I shared this with my nurse this (after she gave me what she called, "A BIG FILL" of .5ccs) the horrified look on her face was priceless. "1cc! Are you mad, woman?! We'd never do that to you - that's asking for an emergency de-fill!"

Have to admit I left there a little disappointed. I took a breath and realized that I was in amazing hands. I had to TRUST the process and the team, and abide by the rules. So I did. And now I am here, and feeling terrific! (And smaller!)

The bigger the fill, the higher the chance of the band being tightened too fast. Remember that many bandsters will report that a fill can take up to 2 weeks to 'settle' and take effect, so that's why they are spaced out so much.

I was told to watch out for night cough, heartburn, frequent stuck episodes, sliming and vomiting. With the band too tight too fast, you ultimately gain weight because you develop an Intolerance of regular foods, resulting in maladaptive eating - soft, slippery, slider foods that tend to be fat and calorie-dense. (Ice cream, pudding, cream soups, etc).

At every one of my 5 fills, my surgical nurse(s) have encouraged me not to get too hung up on the amount of fluid in the band, nor what 'other peoples' bands are filled to. Every BODY is different. 10% of lucky bandsters never need a fill EVER. Most people need 4-6 fills to get to the Green Zone.

I'm down 46 pounds and feel TERRIFIC. Its taken 5 months, but they have flown.

HOWDY Green Zone, glad you're here! Slow and easy wins the race...!

Is not easy but you have to set your own mind to control your appetite...In 9 months I lost so far 82lbs total.i have given up on drinking soda,pasta,bread!!!!I don't need it....I don't eat anything after 9pm.i was 370lbs in Sept 2014.start the previous op in Nov at 359 had surgery in late December 335lbs and now I'm at 295lbs...

I don't exercise but every time I get in the treadmill for few days im fine but since I had knee surgery,I have good and bad days.....knee pain.......

@@csg Hi - sorry about the delay in responding - I was on a wilderness vacation and without internet (what a treat!).

Yes I was indeed tempted to overeat before I was in the green zone. This was case of me looking at food through my "old" eyes, rather than listening to my band and paying attention when it told me, "YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH - time to STOP". I would overeat (old habits die hard) and then feel ill/bloated or have a "sticking" episode.

I learned pretty quickly, even when I was not in the green zone, that I needed to listen to my body more and realize that I no longer had the capacity to eat the way I used to.

No, I never did slider foods like ice cream. I don't have a sweet tooth and I dislike creamy anything! So for me, cutting out flour, rice and Pasta were the trick for me to begin my weight loss. That and listening to my band. When it gave me a cue that I was sated, I would stop. I watched Dr. O'Brien's "8 Golden Rules of lap band" videos again and again and again until the information was drilled into my head. These helped me a lot!

The kicker for me was cutting out all alcohol (see my other post - "my wine-free life") and then I started exercising on a treadmill (seriously - a freakin' treadmill!). Those two things have been instrumental in kick-starting my decent down the scale.