I was banded Aug. 15. For the past 5 days I have been so hungry I am about to go crazy. I just had a hard boiled egg and a piece of cheese. I feel like I could eat a dozen eggs. I am averaging 70-80 grams of protein a day and a lot of water. What else can I do? My fill is Sept. 17. I have lost 12 Lbs. pre-op to now, but have not lost any this week. I am consuming a 1/4 of the food I did before surgery why is the weight not coming off faster??? I also walk a mile a day. :help:

JP

i am sorry you are having such a difficult time.

what kind of pre-op diet did your surgeon recommend? what should you be eating right now? should you be on liquids only? mushies?

sounds like some may be head hunger. drink your Water ... if you are eating eggs and cheese, then you are in the stage where you could really drink some major water (60-84 ounces a day spaced out - not at once). water load, then eat, wait the required time, then water load again. your urine should be near clear.

maybe call your surgeon to see what they think??

Are you drinking your Protein supplements? They really help to keep the cravings away......make nice thick shakes with crushed ice in a blender and they will help make you feel full. Also the warm ones seem to settle the tummy down.....try warming a cup of chocolate protein and sipping on it.

However....this period of the bandster experience is hard....you are going to have to be strong until you get a fill or two or three and get some restriction. Once the original swelling from the surgery goes down you are going to be able to eat just as much as your were more than likely until the fills.....but just because you can doesn't mean you should and I know you know that or you wouldn't be concerned!! It's hard, but you can do it....it's such a short period of time out of our lives and so important.

Please follow your doctors rules! You shouldn't be eating solids yet! Use jello, popcicles, broth, juices, protein drinks. Call them and ask what you need to do before eating like that again. It's hard, but you want to make sure you heal up properly and not slip your band.

Every doctor is different. What kind of food should you be eating now? You should have a list from your doctor.

Harley Girl...I'm kinda worried myself now. My doctor had me on liquids for 2 days and mushies for the next 4 weeks. I just had surgery on Tuesday and I have already lost 5 pounds. Should I only be on a liquid stage at this point? I am worried about slipping my band.

Hang in there- the first month is hard! When I go for a fill and am on liquids/mushies- I don't know how I did it an entire month! If your hunger is really bad I'd try to do a low carb protien shake plan until you can go to solids- put yourself into ketosis, your hunger might diminish- that really helped me. Also, sugar free Jello is low calories and takes the edge off.

GOOD LUCK!

i didnt thinh you would get hungry with the lap band?

i didnt thinh you would get hungry with the lap band?

See, that's one of the great advertising tricks. The ads all say it tames the hunger. Well it does, once you get to proper restriction. Restriction is achieved by filling the band, first fills aren't until AT LEAST four weeks, and sometimes eight weeks after placement. There is a little restriction there simply from the swelling form the placement itself. It seems to go away after a couple to a few weeks. I was banded over eight weeks ago and still have restriction at times during the day. The BIGGEST problem we ALL have is the HEAD HUNGER. If we didn't suffer from head hunger (wanting something even though we may not be hungry), we wouldn't all be fat, would we?

Anyway, back to restriction, the docs generally tell you that after the first fill you should feel restriction (and for a description of what that is, do a search, please. There are LOADS of threads here about what it means/feels like-it is VERY different for EVERYONE it seems). Most people don't feel restriction or get to their "sweet spot" for at LEAST three or four or sometimes more fills. But once there, it's generally mimimal "tweaking" just with weight loss. The stomach has a fat pad layer on it, as you lose fat, that shrinks. So occasionally you need another fill to get proper restriction.

Overcoming head hunger is the biggest challenge for us. I can be totally satisfied on 1/2-1cup of food, but if what I am eating is delicious or something I LOVE, I have to force myself to stop, I once could eat four or five cups and want that uncomfortable full feeling I used to get. We don't get that same full feeling anymore. It's different, and I can't really describe it, it may be different for you. For me sometimes it is a mrable in my throat, sometimes it is the hiccups, sometimes it is a mild burn. Some people report runny noses when they are "full."

Every doctor is different. What kind of food should you be eating now? You should have a list from your doctor.

Harley Girl...I'm kinda worried myself now. My doctor had me on liquids for 2 days and mushies for the next 4 weeks. I just had surgery on Tuesday and I have already lost 5 pounds. Should I only be on a liquid stage at this point? I am worried about slipping my band.

Every doctor is different. Generally speaking we always say to follow YOUR doc's advice. I know that this year at the ASBS (the Bariatric surgeon's) conference there was some data presented about allowing patients to eat foods sooner. But I just can't wrap my mind around that yet considering how the band "seats" itself by forming scar tissue and snuggling into a sort of "pocket" or "ridge" around the stomach. That scar tissue can't form if the stomach is churning to digest food. Liquids dont' require as much churning to digest as food does. But if the data says it is okay, and your doc does, too...then I guess that's the advice to follow. I wonder if part of the change is the wider "grippier" AP band as well as patients bitching, moaning, whining and complaining that they just can't do it!!!! (I am including myself in that group, I complained too, so please no one take offense.) I kept telling myself I didn't get fat overnight, and I won't lose it overnight. It is a tiny, little, insignificant four ot six weeks out of my life. For cripes sake, can't I make it freaking six weeks? I made it. I wasn't perfect, but I had very minimal slip-ups and they weren't that bad when I did. I kept envisioning my band on my tummy in my mind, then i'd visualize the part of my insurance contract that says it pays for ONE bariatric procedure in a LIFETIME, that stopped me most days.

Thanks for all the support. My Dr. has let me have eggs, mashed pot, oatmeal, and pureed fruits, veggies, and chicken since day 3. I get 70-80 grams of protein a day and walk daily. I have not been getting in all the water so thanks for reminding me. Hopefully things will get better after my fill on the 17. What I like best is warm soup, but it does not seem to last very long. I also work around food all day which is hard. I work in a R&D lab developing recipes. The smells make me crazy Thanks again I will remain strong I really want this.

JP

JP - Are you in Texas? My Dr has me on the same foods. Just wondering, he sounds like my Dr.

Carbs tend to just make you hungrier. Are you counting carbs? What are you consuming daily?

Mashed potatoes, oatmeal, and a lot of fruit could be part of the problem.

Hang in there - you'll make it!!

Try Keeping Carbs under 25 grams, increase your walking, split it up, once in the morning once in the afternoon.

eat more of your solids at the beginning of the day and lunch, less as the day goes on and have a protien shake for dinner.

keep your Water intake going all throughout the day.

watch your sodium (can retain water)

watch your protiens, make sure they dont have too much fat.

watch the artifitial sweetners (my body reacts like they are sugar and sends me into a plateau every time)

Cut out all caffine. (plateu'sville for me too)

Keep your food log with Fit Day or similiar.

check to see if any meds are affecting water retention etc

Take a deep breath and remember it is a marathon.

Keep Telling your-self One Good Day. All I need is one good day.

Ride the momentum from your good choices. if you fall off the wagon don't throw yourself under the wheels from guilt, grab on and climb back up.

DON'T STOP! EVER!

Thanks again. I am doing beter today. I have been ddrnking water like a camel. Keeping track of my sodium is a good idea. I was shocked to see how much is in most soup. I have not been counting carbs or sodium only water and protein. I went swimming twice today and feel much better oh and I have lost 2 more pounds. :clap2:

TriVon1969,

I am in Indiana. It is strange that so many people have such different diets.

JP