I’ve had my band in for 3 years and it’s not working so good:cursing: I’m filled up at 7 and my band can go to 10 but I’d think at 7 I would be less hungry and not be able to fit in a whole lot of food I want to compare my food intake with somebody who would class their band as a success:thumbs_up:. What would a normal dinner size be for you???????

Thanks:smile2:

What can you eat? I learned that even when you have restriction, when you lose weight, you also lose some fat from around your stomach which causes you to lose restriction, meaning that you may have seven, but if you have lost, you may still need a fill... So what can you eat? Doc said if you can eat a whole anything, like a meal or a Burger you are not fully restricted adn need a fill...

when did you last have a fill...maybe a small top up would be good

my main meal in the evening is probably around 3/4 cup food maximum

Leeanne

Hello, my main food intake is about 4 to 5oz. I was banded on Sept.8th and I have only had one fill which was 4cc's and I do feel restriction. When I first had it done a couple of weeks ago I had could only eat about 2oz but now it's went up a little but it's still so little that I am losing. I don't know if my post will be helpful, but I hope so.

I eat about 1/3 of what I did pre-banding and I am never hungry.

examples:

1 slice of pizza

2 chicken tenders

one cup of Soup

1 slice of toasted whole wheat bread with one tablespoon of Peanut Butter

3 ounces of beef

along with any of the above I can sometimes eat 1/4-1/2 a cup of vegetables

I also have 1 venti non-fat caramel mocha each day (2 pumps of mocha and 4 pumps sugar-free caramel, 220 calories and 17g protein) You must try this is you love coffee and miss your Starbucks. It takes away my desire for Desserts and is super yummy.

I log every bit of food that goes into my mouth, including the Starbucks, and it comes to 1000-1400 per day. I occasionally go to 1600 (maybe once every two weeks).

I am still losing 2 lbs a week and love my band. This is exactly what I hoped for when I had surgery. Please go get a small fill so you can begin to experience some restriction again. Don't think just because you already have 7cc that you should have restriction. Sometimes our bands need a little tweaking. :thumbup:

I have 7 in a 10 cc band. I can eat 1/4 of a chicken sandwich, with only 1/4 of the bread... with a few veggies. That's dinner. It is not much. but I am ALWAYS satisfied! :thumbup:

Do you have the head hunger? If so, you might need a tweak. That's how I know if I need a tweak. If I'm mindlessly munching, I need a tweak.

Here is where I am confused. Another poster (1 year post-band) was talking about the terrible pain she had from eating a few small bread samples from a bakery. Others concurred with their experiences. Yet some of you talk of eating toast or half a sandwich. Naturally, I would like to be in the latter group after I get filled. What makes the difference?

I would class my band as a resounding success (because I lost 120% of my excess weight), yet I am one of the ones who can eat bread, can eat everything and eats quite a lot.

I have 2.8cc in my 4cc band at the moment and its maintenance level for me becuase I can eat about 1800 calories a day, and eat things like sandwiches. Yet others would be puking up liquids and be very retricted at that level. You absolutely cannot compare yourself to other people, the right level of fill for you is the fill at which you lose weight at a reasonable pace of 1-2lb a week. Or the fill at which yoiu maintain effortlessly if you've gotten to goal. What someone else does or does not eat is absolutely irrelevant to you.

After 3 years though - I've banded about that long too and I found after about 12 months I needed a tiny top up fill, I'd lost some Fluid through evaporation over that time. There's probably never a time when you wont ever again need a fill.

I think it may be the amount of restriction you need to have control over your eating. For me, I don't need to be very tight. My $2500 copay is enough of an incentive for me to be fairly strict on myself without having my band very tight. For me, it is more important for me to be happy with my band, and the foods I can eat, than to lose weight quickly. I keep losing around 2lbs per week and I am happy with that.

I had almost half of a hamburger steak the other day, and my friend said she would never have been able to eat it. She has her band tighter than mine and prefers to be more restricted. It depends on what YOU need to make you and your band successful. It is a learning process and you will figure it out.

Hey CRZ, I agree that it is your band and you have to do what works for you and that is really what I have come to find out. I am just soooo excited to have a life long chance to finally get this weight off and stay healthy, if I do things. I love my band!