Hi Lapbanders.

I am on my three week mark and I have lost 23 pounds so far. This week though, I have felt like I could eat anything. I stop myself and don't feel like I am too full to eat like I did before and it is scaring me to death. I went through all of this and I don't want to fail. My first fill is on January 21. I am exercising daily and following the rules with the occassional chocolate slip up. Can someone offer some words of advice and lift me up. I am a stable person so I dont know why I am feeling to irrational. I put a pound or two back on and I am freaking out.

Thanks.

u just got banded? RELAX! the weight will come off. ur priority right now is healing, not weight loss. 23 lbs is great! see if you feel anything different after your fill, but you probably wont (most people don't feel a difference after just one fill, and thats normal!) this takes time...it's a lifelong journey. you will do just fine! keep us updated! :tongue2:

I cannot reiterate what Jacole said enough. You are newly banded and you are in 'Bandster Hell" right now cause you can eat anything you want, and have no restriction. I passed the time by becoming OCD on my calorie intake during this time, counting every single morsel I put into my mouth. It worked for me, and I continued to lose until I had good restriction and could stop counting... Hang in there. You're going through a normal, frustrating part of being newly banded.

Thank you both for your advice. I will try the OCD approach! I refuse to go backwards. How did you kill the sweets craving?

Hi: I started getting really hungry on week three too! So I know what you are going through. I was eating solids, but I was not sated. I started snacking and could not get the hunger under control. I increased my workouts to burn the extra calories I was consuming. I did not gain, but was not losing weight either.

On my four week check up with my doctor I shared my concerns that I could not wait until January 14 for a fill. (My doctor likes to do the first fill 6-weeks post op, but she is on Holiday break, so the soonest I could get a fill was 1/14/08.) Since I had been doing really well and my blood lab work looked great, she filled me during the 4-week post op visit.

Thank goodness she did, other wise I would not be able to control my hunger. I have 4cc in a 10cc band and this fill has helped dimish my appetite. If I need another fill, I can have one during the January 14 doctor's appointment.

January 21 is a long time to wait for a fill, especially since you are three weeks out. Bandster hell is no fun. Talk to your doctor and see if he/she would be willing to do a fill before January 21. It cannot hurt to ask.

The only way to kill the sweet craving is to kill the sweets. I was a major sweet eater pre-band and I knew post-band I'd have to get it under control. So, I really cut the sweets big time. If I ate sweet, I ate the real thing. I didn't eat the low-fat, no sugar, fake sugar thing. If I had ONE cookie, I ate a REAL cookie with the sugar in it. The REAL sugars were almost a shock to my system, cause I was so used to eating sugar-free. The odd thing is, REAL sugar is much more satisfying to me than fake. Fake sugars make me crave more and more and more. Real sugars.. I need just a bit.

I still practice this principle. I have banned fake sugars from our household. We are primarily whole food, organic eating people. But if we eat sweet, we do it real. If we eat fat, we eat fat. We have whole milk, whole yogurt, etc. No one has gained weight, and I've steadily lost.

So, that was basically a big tangent. The moral of the story is... cut the sweets till you get control of yourself and then you can slowly reintroduce. And FRUIT is highly underestimated... My favorite SWEET is an orange. Mmmm...

Yup, I am in my fourth week and get my first fill a week from today. I am very ready. I am using a certain size of rubbermaid type container to eat out of to help me recognize when it is time to quit eating. Usually within 10 minutes of stopping eating, the desire to eat more goes away. I never feel "full" but am getting to where I recognize real hunger. I look forward to the fill hopefully making this easier. I have 3 cc now, left in at surgery (10 cc band).

Thanks All. You guys certainly know how to make me feel like this thing is really going to happen for me. I panic sometimes and think that I will be the only one who has a lap band who wont lose weight. Stupid I know but it feels so feel.

Great advice on the sweets. I am going to cut them until I can get control. I have also increased my walking to and hour and a half to counter any slip ups.

Thanks guys so much!!!!