i am so disappointed that i could eat two pieces of pizza with no problem. some days i cant eat as much and others i can eat normally. i am going for my third fill on the 15th but why am i able to eat like this? after having two fills you would think that i wouldnt be able to handle that much food. i personally think that ive stretched my stomach. i feel like a failure and i also havent lost any weight in 6 weeks. before i wouldnt even attempt eating some foods now i am testing myself and trying things that i shouldnt. any suggestions on how to rethink things and get back on the right track.

andrea

Well I'm sort of new on here and I usually tell it like it is so get ready. I was banded on the 17th of March and have lost all 32 pounds since that day. Four days ago my diet progressed from liquids to pureed foods and I know that I can eat more than I'm supposed to but I'm chosing not to. I don't think I have any restiction at all or very little if any. Just because you know you can cheat and eat things that aren't good for you doesn't mean you should. You are making a choice to eat pizza when you know that you'd be better off eating something healthy and remembering to eat slowly, chew your food well and take your time. You can get back on track but only you can do this. You have to just remind yourself that just because you can doesn't mean you should. Say a little prayer and exercise self control....I know you can do it and you know you can do it. Think about how much better you'll feel after you get back on track and start losing again. Best of luck.

Boy I would LOVE a slice of pie - NY style; but I'll use the word that Sweet pea used, willpower. And mind you I hate that $%^&*&^%^&* word - but yeah, ya know you need to make good food choices ; at least while your in weight loss mode.

If your able to eat 2 slices - I say you need a fill ... FAST. You were banded about a month after me, and I've had 7 fills now. Stay on top of it; you want to eat 3 healthy high Protein meals - be filled enought to eat those w/limited snacking inbetween & start moving; exercising.

The band is the BEST invention in getting the diet & exercise program going - it won't do it all for ya.....

thanks for the support, i do feel bad when i eat the wrong things. i have to say that ive been doing a little bit better with food choices in the past week than i have in the past month. i usually buy ww meals that have high protein and when i stop at mcdonalds for my son and husband i could eat one of those. there are ways around eating bad, i did awesome with it in the first three months just not so good in this past 4 month post op. if i could believe in myself a little more maybe i can beat this. thanks again for the feedback

andrea

You just need a fill- yes another food choice would have been great, but lets face it, just because you get banded it doesn't mean you have to totally give up pizza- I personally don't want to live a life like that where I don't get to enjoy foods I like every once in a while. I'm not an advocate of eating junk all of the time, but every once in a great moon is fine. Before my last fill, I could eat 3 slices of the pan crust pizza with NO problems...Now, I probably am lucky to get the topping off of a pizza down. You just don't have any restriction, don't beat yourself up, just get a fill!

i usually walk on the treadmill 3 times a week and i change it up by increasing the incline and going up and down on the speed. sometimes my band feels tight and uncomfortable. i went for a walk outside today and i went up alot of hills and my band felt uncomfortable. is this normal?

andrea

i usually walk on the treadmill 3 times a week and i change it up by increasing the incline and going up and down on the speed. sometimes my band feels tight and uncomfortable. i went for a walk outside today and i went up alot of hills and my band felt uncomfortable. is this normal?

andrea

Im not sure exactly what you mean by 'your band felt tight'- do you mean that you had a tightness under your ribcage? If so- sounds like gas- I don't feel my actual 'band' at all. The only pain I ever feel is when something is stuck or I have eaten something that gives me gas. Hope this helps.

So it is true? That once you get your fill right you won't feel like eating 3 slices of pizza or 6 Cookies or second helpings of foods you shouldn't? I've been getting worried reading postings here that others are eating the same amount as they were before the banding.

The whole reason I did the banding (March 21) was to feel satisified with small amounts of food. Real small amounts. I have been trying to follow the diet plan....pureed foods now. Two weeks of liquids (okay so I ate a small bite of pizza and a small bite of liverwurst toward the end of that - but it was only bites and very chewed!).

I have been eating some solids on occasion. Usually I've been doing the Protein drinks. But last night was my first real meal. I had salmon, brocoli and rice. No sauces. No cheese. No butter. No bread. And I ate real slow. And chewed a lot. And it was heaven. And I had no problem. Even tho I didn't go back for seconds and I kept the portions small, I did feel I ate more than I should have. Now today am back on pureed Soups and Protein Drinks (I make them using Protein powder mix and low fat silk milk - ymmM!).

Am I suppose to be able to do this? Am I suppose to be able to eat like this without the pain or sliming I've heard about? Is it because I haven't had a fill yet?

I have lost over 10 pounds since banded - 25 all together counting the two months prior. I get my first fill at the end of April.

Graycie-

Try your absolute best to follow the Dr's plan for you post op- Even though you got that meal down fine, give your stomach the 6 weeks it needs to heal to avoid future problems when you DO have restriction. Your band will be snug as a bug and be less likely to slip or erode. But yes, it is true, until you get enough fills to give you proper restriction you WILL be able to eat more than the small amount people with restriction can. Hang in there it took me getting to 7.5 cc's in my 10cc band to find restriction and boy was it frustrating but it WILL come, just keep getting fills until you get restriction. I know LOTS of other users who got it with much less in their band than me so hang in there, you could be like that too! But please- take care of yourself until you are fully healed. If you are feeling really hungry tell your surgeon and he may ok you to progress sooner than the protocol normally is. My Dr. did that but you should do what YOUR doctor suggests. Good Luck and hang in there!

Graycie-

Try your absolute best to follow the Dr's plan for you post op- Even though you got that meal down fine, give your stomach the 6 weeks it needs to heal to avoid future problems when you DO have restriction. Your band will be snug as a bug and be less likely to slip or erode. But yes, it is true, until you get enough fills to give you proper restriction you WILL be able to eat more than the small amount people with restriction can. Hang in there it took me getting to 7.5 cc's in my 10cc band to find restriction and boy was it frustrating but it WILL come, just keep getting fills until you get restriction. I know LOTS of other users who got it with much less in their band than me so hang in there, you could be like that too! But please- take care of yourself until you are fully healed. If you are feeling really hungry tell your surgeon and he may ok you to progress sooner than the protocol normally is. My Dr. did that but you should do what YOUR doctor suggests. Good Luck and hang in there!

Thank you so much for your comments. I think that it is alot more realistic to hear that you will get to a point of restriction that you need to be prepared for. I have had the problem of being able to eat normally since 1 week post-op. Then 1 day post my first fill. Yes, I test it and try things and everything goes down fine. Most of the responses I have gotten to my concerns are much like SweetPea's comments about "just because you can doesn't mean that you should". I do understand this rationale -HOWEVER, if I could operate on that principle alone, I would not have needed the band! This is where I get frustrated - but hearing that it may take a while but I will feel restriction and I need to be prepared for it or I might end up feeling worse off in the future is good.

Also, I'm open to more ways to "psych myself out" - I've been professionally dieating since I was 10 years old. I know all the rules and principles of good nutrition and making smart choices. At 300 lbs, obviously I know how to ignore those rules and I made a committment to work with the band, thinking that the band was going to work for me - not as magic but sure as an internal/physical "tool" to help me STOP at smaller amounts of food - the type of food is up to me (mainly) - yet at this point, all foods and big amounts are open game.

I don't know what size bamd I have, but I have 4.5 cc now and I'm failing at the "make yourself eat small meals". In fact, if I go on liguids only, I can still consume 32 ounces or more at any one moment. SIGH!

HELP!

Drtifg-

Exactly, If I were good at sticking to diets and controlling portions I never would've needed this surgery. At a starting weight of 376 pounds I have more than sucessfully bound and gagged the voice of self control in me! I need help which is why I had WLS. Trust me, restriction will come once you get the proper fill amount in your band. A few bites of something will fill you up and it will be GREAT! And if you are still like me who even after KNOWING she's full still keeps eating another bite anyway, the band will snap you back into a painful reality of how you really don't want to ever do that again!!! It will come. Just try your very best to limit portions and try more often than not to eat healthy foods until that time comes. Up until my last fill I had even gained weight back that I had lost- I was in utter desperation until I got one helluva fill and am now in restriction heaven! I'm four months post op and I thought this day would never come. And in all honesty, my dr's led me to believe that it usually only takes one or two fills to get restriction and while it does on MOST ppl, it certainly didn't on me. But live and learn, it will come just try your best to hang in there till it does! We CAN do this!

hi, im brenda from alma, arkansas. i just read ur post. i too have no restriction and i can eat anything and a lot more than i should. i weighed 360 when i was banded on 2/11/08. i have lost 21 pounds but sheer will power alone. i had one fill and it did nothing. i go this thursday for my 2nd. i have a 12 cc band and the dr. only puts 1 cc in at each fill becasue of 'policy'. this will take me forever. im wondering if it will ever come or if this is all a hoax. anyone can loose on hi protien and low carb and small portions. i would like to know how much ur eating at a time and what types of food u are eating. please reply asap. im desperate. my email addy is chubgirl2003@yahoo.com

This is strange I was out tonight in my car and saw a pizza Hut and could almost psychologically taste the thin crust meat lovers (my favorite pizza). I actually had a craving for it. Then I come home and find this post! :thumbup:

I've been giving alot of thought to this topic anyway (eating normal food) since I've noticed I'm able to drink alot more at one week band post-op now compared to right after the surgery. It is a battle of willpower and I like so many others did the band so I could be "forced" into behaving. As said above if I could've done this on my own by willpower I wouldn't have needed the band.

From what I've read they don't put any fill in at surgery time (I thought they did) so I'll truly have some "open" time to misbehave if I choose to. I'm already having cravings at a week and it's tough to resist but so far so good. I'm still on liquids (pureed starts tomorrow) so I can't exactly go have a burger. I know in a week or two I'll be able to eat more solid foods and without restriction will have to watch it. I'll just have to force myself to behave until the first fill on April 30th comes up.

I'm actually encouraged to read that when you take that "extra bite" after feeling full the band will remind you that was a bad decision. That's what I'm looking for. I used to be able to sit and eat that entire medium thin crust meatlovers pizza. If after a fill I can only have three bites of one slice I can deal with that. I think what bothered me was the fact I thought I'd be missing out on all my favorites. Once I put my mindset in the category of "portion control" thought it made me realize I could still occasionally enjoy my favorite foods but it would be in moderation and eating very small portions. This makes me happy.

ErikMesa :regular_smile:

i have a 12 cc band and the dr. only puts 1 cc in at each fill becasue of 'policy'.

Yeah, right... the 'policy' of making money. What a con-artist! That's one of the most outrageous things I've ever read on these boards. Did you have any knowledge of this 'policy' before you had the surgery? Or was it sprung on you afterwards?

Had the same problem-I could eat three slices of pie, a whole sandwhich! It was insane, and I know willpower but if I had it I wouldn't of needed the band. Anyway after being told I have 3.5 ccs in a 4 cc band with very little restriction the doctor pulled out my fills and I only had 2 ccs. One which he said was still in the tube and 1 in the band itself. He gave me a full 3 ccs and its great! I have a hard time with water. One stick of string cheese and I am full. Go get a fill!!!

Thanks mia31771. I was having my cream of wheat Breakfast while reading your response. It was one of those envelopes of the instant. Couldn't eat all of it. Pre-band that didn't happen very often. I rarely left anything on the plate.

For three months prior to banding I ate off a desert plate, rarely taking seconds. I've been eating healthy for several years now with little affect on my weight. No butter, no soda, lots of fish and chicken (skinless) and veggies, no fried foods. I gave up fast foods a long time ago. That was never my problem. Portions were my issue. Eating slower and off desert plate helped take off 10 pounds prior to banding. That was a nice bonus, but I know that I would not be able to continue eating like this forever and I would eventually regain the weight plus some.

What others posted is true....if I could control my eating I would not have banded. I am hoping the band does what I could not...tell me I'm full or face the consequences! I was also told that some felt satisified with less food. I so want to have that experience! That's why I was happy when I craved pizza and was satisfied with the one bite! So I'll continue eating mushy foods for another three weeks. At least my grocery bill has gone down!