Gosh you all are doing great. Congrats!:biggrin:

I was banded on 11/15 and have only lost 15 lbs.

I'm very discouraged.:thumbup:

I too can eat more than I think I should and I'm sure another fill might help but I also get food stuck at times. I'm wondering if my band may have slipped.

I try to eat the right way and

I excercise at least 60 minutes of cardio and 15 or so of weight training Monday through Friday. Course it makes me so hungry.:biggrin:

I thought that was what was keeping my weight from going down (adding muscle).

I'm really glad that it's working for most of us.

It is hard to spend all that money on this and not see any real results.

Keep up the great work ya'll.

You're not alone. There are several November bandsters waiting to get good restriction.... I'm one, too.

I've had five fills and still don't have good restriction, hopefully tomorrow's appt will get me there.

Keep getting fills until you hit your sweet spot. You should feel full for several hours after a small amount of food... that's the place we want to be.

Do appreciate the reply.

Hope your fill goes well tomorrow.

I have one coming up on the 4th. Maybe it'll be "the" one. Thanks

You know years ago a lady at WW told me that she continued to go even though she never lost weight. She said she figured if she wasn't there she would be larger than she was. That really stuck with me. You may think you have only lost 15 pounds, but you could have been at plus 15 pounds.

I do think that getting to the "sweet spot" is a big key. I go for my 3rd fill tomorrow. I feel I'm pretty close.

Stick with what you are doing. It will pay off. I know it's discouraging when you see others having big losses. Your day will come.

t

You are right Wendy.

I could be much heavier.

Have to count our blessings.

Thanks for the support.

I'm sort of feeling discouraged too. I had 3 small fills and have 6cc in an 11cc band. Yesterday I saw the nurse at the doc's office who said this is a decent amount of restriction but I know that I can still eat too much, when it doesn't get stuck. Because I get stuck too often, she didn't want to fill me more at this point. I have been up and down the same 5 pounds for the past month. In order to get food to pass I have to moisten it with mayo, gravy, ketchup, etc. I'm adding more fat, calories, and salt than I normally would. This is adding to my problem. Any thoughts or ideas? Suggestions would be appreciated.

That's the problem with being too tight. We eat bad food instead of good food if we're too tight. Thinking that the tighter we are will help us lose quicker is defeating the band.

You want solid Protein ( without adding gravy etc) to go down. It will stay in your pouch longer.

For me the biggest problem is determining my head hunger from real hunger. Usually the hunger is head hunger. Our brains ( and our eyes) still think we're going to starve on a small portion so it tells our belly to eat.

I think the nurse is right and I don;t think we should be so tight that everything gets stuck, that is just not a normal way to eat.

Sometimes we are just too lazy to chew the good food and take tiny bites and eat slow so we eat something that goes down easier.

There are times that I could eat more also but I notice it's getting easier to resist eating more so that's a sign my band is working.

Remember "normal thin" people could eat more too, they just listen better to the messages their bodies send and stop. I am trying hard to train myself ( with the band's help) to do that too.

meats, salad, fresh fruit, veggies are good foods for us so what good is it if we can't get them down?

Take a portion of good food, eat very slow, chew tiny bites, well. Then stop and really listen to the signals your pouch gives you. Wait one hour and then if you're still hungry drink a bottle of Water first. Still hungry? Eat an apple. It takes me about 15 mins to eat an apple!

I had a fill the other day, so I am just starting to retry foods again to see what the new tightness agrees with and in the past I rarely have gotten stuck. Each time I did, it was because I ate too fast or didn't chew well enough. I am learning that the first few bites I take are the most important ones to start slowly with. It's almost like I have to prime the stoma to open up and accept food. I wait between the first few bites or take a couple small bites of the veggie first and gradually it seems the rest of the meal goes down a little easier.

I hope some of these suggestions can help you.

I agree with Shortgal. You don't want to defeat the band by eating soft or saucy foods in order to avoid getting stuck. However, if you're

You might want to track your food for a week or so and see how many calories you're getting, as well as Protein, carbs, etc. There are many free online food trackers: Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople, FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal, and Calorie Counter, Diet Tracking, Food Journal, Nutrition Facts at The Daily Plate are all good ones and I'm sure there are more.

I have to admit that I'm still favoring softer foods, but my doctor doesn't want his patients on hard protein until five months after surgery. My main meal is a Weight Watchers entree and when I have chicken, for example, it is in a sauce but the calories are controlled. I have to eat very slowly and by the time I'm finished, I really feel stuffed and stay full for hours. I don't drink with my meals or for an hour afterwards. In fact, there are times I have to make myself eat because I know I haven't had enough food that day, especially protein.

We're all still learning how to use our bands and we're also all different. That's why the sharing is helpful because we can learn from each other but then apply the methods that work for us. For example, some folks claim we can't lose weight if we don't exercise. While exercise is obviously good for us, it is possible to lose weight without it and it isn't the answer for everyone. I haven't been able to exercise for several weeks and I'm losing more quickly now than when I was doing it four or five times a week. When I get my medical condition cleared up, I'll get back to it but not necessarily to lose weight.

Try not to get too discouraged and keep experimenting until you find the right regimen for you!

It's so good to have others to talk with about our struggles.

And our accomplishments also.

I am going to just keep trying hard and eating well and we'll see what happens. later.

Thanks for the encouragement and great ideas! :w00t:

I know this could work if I could just get my head in the game. This was a bad month. I had the flu and lost a quick 5 lbs but put it back on when I recovered. The nurse said that's normal. I really need to focus and pay attention to everything I eat and try not to add too many calories in order to get the food down easier. I am fearful everytime I strart to eat. Getting stuck feels so horrible. You're right about slowing down and taking very small bites to prep the stoma when I start to eat. It's easy to forget when hungry. The nurse also suggested having a hot drink like tea right before a meal. It' helped so far. She said the warm liquid will relax the stoma more than cold water. Hopefully I'll start to do better. I really want to get to Onederland sometime this spring.