Hello ~

I was banded on 1-12-07 and have 2.2ccs in my 4cc band. I have lost about 40-45 pounds and would really like to lose about 20 more.

I am trying desperately to decide if I need a fill or not . . .

I will have days where I can barely get anything down, but lately - have been eating what I suspect is way too much food.

I am really curious if there is any way someone at their 'sweet spot' could eat 8 chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A and a side of cole slaw in one sitting ???

Now, please understand that I don't eat like that all the time (and am not always able to) - but did today and am now feeling like maybe it IS time for a fill.

Any input will be greatly appreciated ~

Thanks,

Lynn

Oy-Vey -

OK, sorry that my doctor and nutritionist have guided me in a different direction. Good luck and I am not knocking anyone - I think this surgery is the best thing ever and I think anyone that has had it has a lot of courage because its hard to re-think food. I totally agree that moderation is the best I am just striving for a goal here, I'm 40 believe me I am good on nuggets et.al for a good long time!!

Easily. The healty option may not be what I want, what I crave, or what I can handle as a banded person. The healthiest option may cause a PB. The healthiest option, especially taken repeatedly, may make me feel deprived, which will result in my losing my control and binging on food that I should have allowed myself to have in moderation in the first place.

That's good, Lynn. I've found that Dr. Spivak is not a conservative with the fills as Leslie is. I'm sure he'll fill you to the right amount.

I hope so - I really think I am probably just a tiny bit away from there . . .

I don't have it all figured out - I am just simply saying that until one reaches there goal why not go with the healthy option. How do you argue that?

My bad then . . . the tone of your previous posts on this thread really sounded (to me) like you thought you did.

I know I sure don't and everyday is a new day with my little tool. Some good, some bad - but the prize at the end will be worth it.

Bird - you did sound a bit condensending in your original post - I took offense when I read it and it wasn't even directed at me - I am the first one here to give TOUGH BAND LOVE - but the operative word is love.

If she is losing then I don't think it really matters if someone has a chicken nugget or two - If she wasn't losing then I would suggest healthier food choices.

Sometimes we are in situations where we can't make super healthy or our will power isn't as strong as it should be.

Imho - I feel that 75% of the work is up to us and the band is only doing 25% of the work and that we have ALOT of brain retraining to do.

Regular people do eat ck nuggets every now and then - I too take one day and eat out - Order a taco enchillda & bean - can only eat the taco - take the rest home for another meal - the other 6 days a week i am eating baked fish veggies & low carbs - low fat & sugar free. And so far every week I have lost 1 - 2 lbs a week which is what is expected..

Just because you are on a ridged eating program doesn't mean that the rest of us have to be - - I eat fish 5-6 nights a week - does that mean you should be doing this too.. No, we are all individuals here over the age of 18 - and considered grown ups... Lets treat each other with the dignity and respect due another human being...

If someone needs support - give it - and if they need a slap in the face for eating junk 24/7 and crying that they aren't losing weight and their band isn't working - give them the facts - but do it with a tad of kindness. I have been told by many on this board that I am great at motivating and giving support -- and I am one to call a apple an apple -

OK - title of this thread was when are you eating too much and need a fill.

IMHO - I need a fill as i can eat about 2 cups of food per meal and an hour later am hungry again - go tomorrow for my 2nd fill. Right now I am doing 95% of the work and the band is only working 5% of the time

Bird - you did sound a bit condensending in your original post - I took offense when I read it and it wasn't even directed at me - I am the first one here to give TOUGH BAND LOVE - but the operative word is love.

If she is losing then I don't think it really matters if someone has a chicken nugget or two - If she wasn't losing then I would suggest healthier food choices.

Sometimes we are in situations where we can't make super healthy or our will power isn't as strong as it should be.

Imho - I feel that 75% of the work is up to us and the band is only doing 25% of the work and that we have ALOT of brain retraining to do.

Regular people do eat ck nuggets every now and then - I too take one day and eat out - Order a taco enchillda & bean - can only eat the taco - take the rest home for another meal - the other 6 days a week i am eating baked fish veggies & low carbs - low fat & sugar free. And so far every week I have lost 1 - 2 lbs a week which is what is expected..

Just because you are on a ridged eating program doesn't mean that the rest of us have to be - - I eat fish 5-6 nights a week - does that mean you should be doing this too.. No, we are all individuals here over the age of 18 - and considered grown ups... Lets treat each other with the dignity and respect due another human being...

If someone needs support - give it - and if they need a slap in the face for eating junk 24/7 and crying that they aren't losing weight and their band isn't working - give them the facts - but do it with a tad of kindness. I have been told by many on this board that I am great at motivating and giving support -- and I am one to call a apple an apple -

OK - title of this thread was when are you eating too much and need a fill.

IMHO - I need a fill as i can eat about 2 cups of food per meal and an hour later am hungry again - go tomorrow for my 2nd fill. Right now I am doing 95% of the work and the band is only working 5% of the time

I completely agree. I was turned off by the tone of Bird's posts, too. The simple fact is, we are all different. What works for one person will not work for another, if for not other reason than we all have different needs, wants, and hang-ups. I do best if I don't watch everything that I stick in my mouth. That doesn't mean I give myself complete permission to gorge myself on horrible foods, but I certainly don't deprive myself. Yes, I could lose weight faster if I did, but I'm happy with the rate I'm at right now. I got this band so that I could live like a normal person, not diet for the rest of my life. And yes, normal people treat themselves every once in a while. Instead of going to a fast food restaurant every single day, I may go once every week or two and get a small order of cheesesticks, even though I never finish them. It helps keep me honest. I have found MANY times in the past that if I deprive myself, I just make the cravings worse and then eventually break and gorge myself. Hell, my nutritionist even told me that if I get a craving for something, indulge it.

There is NOTHING wrong with what the OP is doing, as long as she is still losing weight, is happy, and her surgeon and nutritionist are happy.

When I had good restriction, I would order a kid's meal at Chick-fil-A... I couldn't finish the nuggets and would have only 2 or 3 of the waffle fries. I usually did drink the diet lemonade before I ate my solids, though

Are you losing weight?? If you're still losing...then I'd hold off.

Do you think you're eating too much? Does it feel like maybe you should be eating less...but somehow you're "getting lucky" and aren't PBing??

I actually wish I could eat more. I always eat more healthfully when I have less restriction than more. I do better with more normal sized meals throughout the day rather than a tablespoon or two during the day and openign up at night... but hey, that's just me.

The OP I really think if you get a fill, get a small one.

I probably could eat 4 of the nuggets and the coleslaw (YUCK!!) hehe, if I ate that. But you do NOT want to only be able to eat 1 or 2 bites.

And about eating healthy vs. not healthy.. If it works for you, let it be.

I indulge maybe once in a week in food I shouldn't eat all the time, and that's great IMO. I use to eat it 2x a day 7x a week.

Chic-Fil-A also is not too bad in comparison. They cook in peanut oil, and it's chicken and coleslaw!! Not like she was asking about how she ate an entire Big-Mac & Fries (That is NOT possible for me).

For the record, I wasn't putting ANYONE down, I would NEVER do that. My father is over 400lbs, how dare you suggest I'm putting down all morbidly obese people. You are just trying to justify your holier than thou responses to me and mommi.

Bird, I know what you are trying to say but you will cringe with embarrassment over this when you're a year or two out and have really learned to "live" a normal life with a band.

food is more than fuel, it plays a big part in our culture and learning to handle it in all ways is important. You cant treat it like smoking and just give it up. Bad foods are everywhere and you have to learn to handle those too.

Eating them every meal is not handling them. Eating them once in a while in moderate amounts is a healthy choice. Living on a diet is just as dysfunctional as eating yourself to death and nobody can maintain that forever. Plenty of people use their bands to diet and then relax into a more moderate lifestyle later when the weight's gone, but many also just use it to moderate their eating across all foods and it works very well that way and teaches you good habits for life.

I was so miserable and desperate that I tried to unfill myself with one of my hubbys insulin needles. Needless to say it didn't work, and it was dangerous for me to do that.

mbanja ~ OhMyGoodness! I just read your post again and thought for sure I read it wrong! Bless your heart! I canNOT imagine trying to unfill myself!!! I am squirming in my chair just thinking about it! I hope you are feeling 100 % better now! Thanks for your advice.

Best of luck to you,

Lynn

I think there's a huge misconception that there's a certain amount you "should" eat as a bandster. Everyone's body is different. 1/2 a cup is not the magic amount that people think it is, its a guideline is all. If you can eat more with no pain or discomfort a) you arent stretching your pouch and you only need a fill if you've stopped losing weight.

If you can be banded, eat 1 and 1/2 cups of food at a time and still lose all your weight, then why in the world would you mess with that? You'll be way better nourished than the person who gets by on 1/4 of a cup at a time.

I think people get a kind of secret satisfaction from eating virtually nothing and they seek it out when really its totally not necessary for a lot of people, especially active ones. And you find the ones that eat that little dont necessarily lose any faster either.<br /> <br /> So my answer to cut a long story short is if you're losing you dont need a fill and if you've stopped losing and plateaued out then you have more room to cut back and you could get a fill to help with that.

:clap2: I may be fairly new around these parts, but that makes a great deal of sense to me.

Mommi, thanks for your concern. Yes I am feeling a quite bit better. I think I was so close to my sweet spot I didn't realize it. I am still a little tight. Hopefully in a week or two the fat pad around my stomach will shrink and I'll be able to eat a little more. I was so sure that I would need multiple fills to hit that sweet spot (due to all the posts I've read on this board) that I disreguarded my own body's signals and got greedy. Needless to say I will wait a while before I get another fill. Being overfilled was the most horrible experience of my life. Once again thanks for your concern and support. I hate that this innocent question got outta hand like it did. This forum is to help support people not to condesend people. I total agree with eating what you want in moderation. If I deprive myself I know what my consequences will be, and I'd much rather eat "treats" here and there in moderation as opposed to binging for a week straight. It was funny I didn't have any candy bars for about 2months after my surgery, than all the sudden my time of the month came around and I was craving a candy bar. Well I had 2 not at one time but thru the course of the week and I just felt shitty for it. Come to find out I still lost 2lbs. Anyways, I know candy bars aren't a bit healthy, but they are yummy. Oh, by the way, for those that what to give me a line about how I should have chose a healthier option than candy bars...Shove it. Candy bars are what I wanted and candy bars are what I had so just put you comments in your back pocket. It just baffles me the way people choose to talk to others with no reguard for respect. I seem to remember a saying from when I was little....hmmm....I think it goes........IF YOU CAN'T SAY ANYTHING NICE, SHUT YOUR F'ING PIE HOLE. I edited it a little bit for the mature audience. LOL!

I don't know, I kinda think everyone here over reacted to the issue. One person was making a suggestion and another took it as a slam.

I think maybe everyone could lighten up a bit and realize people are only offering opinions and if you agree, great. If you don't, great. It's an opinion, nothing more and everyone has a right to theirs.

I don't know, I kinda think everyone here over reacted to the issue. One person was making a suggestion and another took it as a slam.

I think maybe everyone could lighten up a bit and realize people are only offering opinions and if you agree, great. If you don't, great. It's an opinion, nothing more and everyone has a right to theirs.

Wasa - You are correct about opinions and certainly have a right to yours (as does everyone else), but when it is not asked for and is given in a condescending tone, I think those giving theirs should expect people to react to it.

I once heard - "Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one but you don't have to go around showing it!"

Just some food for thought!

I hate that this innocent question got outta hand like it did. This forum is to help support people not to condesend people. The way people choose to talk to others with no reguard for respect.

mbanja - I am so glad to hear that you are feeling better! I was really worried about you.

Thank you for your support regarding my original question . . . I really appreciate my fellow-bandsters who choose to support each other rather than be rude. We are all in this for the long haul and I personally don't think eating the rare chicken nugget or candy bar is going to send us to bandster hell.

I will say I never expected my question to spiral downward like it did - I have just been trying to decide if I needed another fill and thought that would be a good example that someone could respond to.

My mother always said 'there's one in every crowd' and I think that saying applies to most situations, Lap Band Talk included.

I have no desire to try to make someone feel bad about their choices because that is not my personality or my job. I get on here for information, support and friendships and in turn will do my best to provide those same things to others.

That's all - I am not going to spend today defending myself to those who feel compelled to write something rude about all of this and I challenge you not to either. It's not worth it, they won't listen anyway because most of them are 'always right', and besides . . . life's too short for that.

Go out and enjoy your day!

Lynn