well i have done really well in the first month i followed the rules and lost 20lbs then week 4 i got really nauseas and only could eat about 500-600 calories a day and didnt lose a pound, it was hard to get anything in because i had no appetite. now i am on week 5 and am eating reg foods. i havent gained anything but im not losing anymore. i have to admit something, each day i have cheated and had something sweet for example a handful of m+m or a piece of chocolate from a box of chocolates, i am so mad at myself because ive done so well and now that i can eat reg food ive slipped back into my old habits. i do realize what i am doing wrong i only hope that i can get a grip on it. i have thought about going to a weight loss counselor that they offer here for weight issues but i dont have insurance right now so i have to wait. i am going to try to stay focused and eat more protein and no sweets and exercise more i just need to vent and see if anyone else had this problem

andrea

Andrea:

Get the stuff you don't want to eat out of the house. I'm guessing that you probably won't drive to get it. If your other family members want to eat junk tell them to please cut you some slack and refrain from eating it at home for now.

Good luck.

Sue

Sweets are a big problem, I did not eat any sweets at all until two weeks ago, then ate several chocoate covered cherries. I was banded on 8/29 and have lost 58 pounds. You will hit plateaus along the way where you may not lose any weight for a couple weeks but probably are losing inches. You body needs time to adjust. Find a support group, at the hospital where I was banded they have two lapband support groups that meet for free in my area. Some times it is just going to boil down to will power. If you eat more protein that also helps take away the craving for sweets. Take care and keep your goal in mind.

Andrea, it may help to get a fill too. You should be able to do that around 6 weeks. Remove the sweets from the house and really try to stick to the program. Soon you will lose. It just takes time.

thanks i am now 6 weeks out tomorrow and will be seeing my doctor on friday. i will discuss getting a fill. i feel like a failure though because when i went to her two weeks ago she said that i was doing awesome and that i dont need a fill because i had lost so much weight within a month, now when i go in i think that i am going to ask for a fill soon, yesterday i was able to eat like i did before surgery ( first time since being banded) personally i didnt like that, i liked how i felt for the first 5 weeks because i got full quick and didnt eat much but for the past two days ive been hungry and also making some bad choices which can lead to hunger such as eating my husbands m+ms that he got for christmas. you all are right i need to get the junk out of the house. what about pasta should i avoid that? to much of carbs will make you crave sweets and make you hungry?

andrea

Andrea, the rules are lean protein first, vegies the carbs. I would say you could barely get all 3 categories down, especially when you get restriction. Good luck.

julie wow you have lost so much weight that is awesome i hope that i can lose that much. i do have some things i need to work on obviously especially sneaking a sweet in a day. that is my old habits but now its time for new improvements. one thing that has helped is buying sugar free snacks like pudding it is low cal and no sugar if i can cheat on that it will be better than eating reg sweets and i makes me feel really bad everytime i cheat so i need to remember that and learn its just hard to break habits.

andrea

Andrea, It is a lot easier to keep from cheating if you do not keep any junk in your house. I live alone so that is not to hard for me. I think everyone has been tempted during the holidays, it should get a little easier soon. Best of luck. Donna

Andrea, my nutritionist told me that if you consume below 800 calories a day your body thinks it is being starved and "holds on" to fat. You can eat too much AND you can eat too little - I suggest you do some calorie tracking to make sure you are in that 1000 to 1200 a day range and the pounds will start melting again.

tampajohn i am going to the nutrionist tomorrow hopefully this will help. i noticed that when i was nauseas i only ate 500 calories a day and didnt lose, now i am eating around 1000 give or take, i am trying to keep track of my calories, i noticed that they add up quickly when i snack or drink them. in the beginning it was so easy i had strict plans to follow and it came off, now that i am eating reg food its hard to keep track of everything. before surgery it was scolded to me to eat 5 fruits and veg a day now that i had surgery i hear protein, protein, protein then the fruits and veg. i feel so confused on what to do. i dont think that i am getting enough protein in lately either, i am tired everyday. and as far as liquids i need more. well its been 6 weeks for me and the first 4 was easy to follow because i had some restriction and now i dont so i need to really pay attention and hopefully when i get a few fills i will do better because everything i eat has to count.

andrea

Andrea,

As for sweets...one little trick I have learned is to buy REAL chocolate. Buy chocolate bars that have at least 40% cocoa mass (but even more is better) the real chocolate gives you your sweet fix and you don't have to eat as much of it to do so. I get the endangered species chocolate bars and have 1-2 squares and my sweet tooth is satisfied. Stuff like Hershey's etc. is mainly wax, so you don't get the sweet satisfaction w/out eating the whole thing. Hope this helps...it helps me.

Yeah...get rid of those darn M&M's!! They are delicious, horrible little balls of temptation!!!!

But, you probably just need to give it a little more time. If you were feeling ill and not eating much your body might still be recovering from all that. Stay on track and don't get discouraged. As tough as it is, we all go through slumps where we think we're slowing down but if you hang tough things usually perk up again.

Andrea,

I was banded on 11/09/07, and I have been fighting the same 4 pounds for the entire month of December. It is really starting to piss me off, because even though I have cheated here and there, the calories are not way off, I am usually between 900 and 1300 calories a day, even with the cheats and I have gone up and down.

The past two days, I have been SOOOOO good, I get on the scale and it said that I gained 1.4 pounds.

I have stopped cheating now that the holidays are over. I have an appointment on Monday to discuss a fill.

We need to stay strong, get and stay on track. Please send up prayers for us...

i just went to the nutrionist today and she said that i should be getting full on 1/2 a cup of food. ive been eating at least a cup if not more. i asked if i could have a protein shake each day just to get my protein in but she said by the time you add a few strawberries and milk it will be high in calories. i am still trying to get the diet down pack. they say protein first, then veg, starch, fruit. sometimes the protein doesnt fill me up that well. i went to the doctors today as well and she gave me an unexpected fill of .5 cc. i thought that i would be really full seeming how i got a fill today but i dont fell much difference. i am a little sore from the fill but cant really tell that i have restriction. i will have to really try hard to eat a little and stick to protein until my next fill. i didnt buy and sweets this week and i put my husbands m+ms in the garage not in the house.

andrea

1/2 cups is about right.

I haven't yet been banded but am eager to move forward. I'll admit that I'm concerned about the discussions about calories and food intake. Is it really possible that people are not losing on as little as 800-1000 calories? I figure with my current eating patterns, I must be packing in a good 2500-3000 calories a day. I just don't seem to get full. I was assuming that if being banded would cut my intake even by half, I'd begin to drop some real weight. But the thought that weight loss could stall at 1000 or less is really scary. :confused: