I was banded on July 24

Fill 1, 2cc on Sept.3

Fill 2, 2cc on Nov 4

Fill 3 is scheduled for tomorrow.

I basically feel like I can eat anything I want. Nothing gets stuck, nothing comes back up. . . . If you have found your sweet spot--what do you eat for lunch? How long do you stay full?

I'm eating 6in subway sandwiches without a blink. Is that seriously normal??

Thanks for your words!!!

Megan we are in the same boat together. I can eat anything I want and even large quanities of food until I get full. I have 3cc in a 10cc band so far. I go for my next fill on 1/21

Megan we are in the same boat together. I can eat anything I want and even large quanities of food until I get full. I have 3cc in a 10cc band so far. I go for my next fill on 1/21

I have a 10 cc band and I have 7 cc's and it wasn't until I got there did I find my sweet spot...I can eat about 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time and eat several times throughout the day and I am full for hours.....still not losing tons but losing at about 1 to 1/2 lb a week...good enough for me:yesnod:

sharon:):thumbdown:

Hi, I had my band on July 27th,,,I have not been back in 2 months,,due to some tragedy's..I am not loosing weight now...I know I need to get back..i had 3 fills and lost 30 pounds..but it is slow...

I am a stress eatter and I have had some pile of stress...or piles of stress..lol I don't know why all of a sudden I had all these things happen...but they have and I'm eatting like a BIG DOG...right through the restriction...

Will I ever get it right?

Thanks Ria

I have a 14cc band and currently have 5.75cc in my band. My surgeon says I should be eating 4oz every three hours. Thats about six times a day. Just had my last fill last week and that is exactly where I am currently at. If you are eating a subway sandwich you need a fill. You should not be able to eat bread period. My surgeon says if you are eating more than 5oz per meal then you need a fill. (their nutritionist says 75% protein, 25% complex carbs) every meal. No protein drinks. Always get your proteins from animals or soy products. You want to eat the dense food as it will stay in your stoma where your band is thus making you full. The reason you have to keep getting fills as you lose weight is because of the fat on your organs. The fat will decrease on your organs (fat pad is what they call it) thus your band will losen up. Once you get down to your ideal weight you will have a lot less organ fat and you will be at your sweet spot. Your guess is as good as mine on how many cc's will be my sweet spot. Everyone is different. Good luck and go get yourself another fill and get one everytime you lose your restriction. :thumbdown:

Edited January 12, 200917 yr by bearbandit

How much I eat is not exact. Some days I am more active and need more. I don't measure but would say I eat on average 3/4 cup per meal three meals per day.

Sweet spot is not guaged just on the amount of food and we all have different requirements on how much we should be eating. You need to also look at how long you are staying satisfied and whether you are losing and of course the quality of food you are eating. When at a good restriction I stay satisfied at least four hours and lose around 2 lbs per week.

I disagree that you guage it by saying if you can eat bread you need a fill. Food tolerance is an individual thing. A lot of bandsters can eat bread even at restriction. There really isn't anything that I absolutely cannot eat--some items just take more work than others.

Megan: I have not found my sweet spot either. I was banded on 11/10/08.

11/10/08 3cc fill

12/10/08 1.5 cc fill

1/14/09 fill ???? I am hoping to get another 1.5cc fill.

Right now, I am eating every three hours, but when I have a fill, I eat every 6 to 7 hours. My fills keep me going for about two weeks at 6 to 7 hours feeding, but after that I get hungry sooner after a meal.

I have had two fills and have a third scheduled for the 20th of this month. I am not at my sweet spot but I think I am getting close. My band is fickle though...some days I am nice and restricted and stay satisfied for longer on a smaller portion, but most days I still get hungry sooner than 3-4 hours. I definitely can't eat as much as I used to though and the scale is moving, just slowly.

I have 6 cc in a 10 cc band right now. Hoping the next fill is the one.

I was banded Aug. 4 and IMMEDIATELY had my sweet spot. :thumbdown: (I have not had a fill yet) I can eat 1/4 cup if it's "hard" (meat protein) and about 1/2 cup if it mushies. Certain times of the month I can eat a little more. Of course, there are slider foods that I can eat much more of but I really try to stay away from them. My weight loss has been slow but I believe I suffer from metabolic syndrom so ANY weight loss seems amazing to me! I love my band. :wub:

I Was banded on 8/29/08 I started at 335 and I am currently at 276 so 59 lbs lost!! I have had 4 fills (one each month) and 1 unfill. I am currently at a little over 6 cc's (6.10 to be exact) and I am at good restriction I say. I am not able to eat more than 1/2-1 cup of food depending on the food which is the purpose. I have had to cancel one fill already because I don't think I need anymore fills at this point. THe weightloss has not stalled and I have been too tight before and that WAS NO FUN!! So I "think" i am at my sweet spot because I know what the limits are and how and what I can eat etc.. So I think everyone is different of course but I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you everyone. I had my fill--did the liquid, mushy thing for a week and have been adding things into my diet.

I'm still frustrated at how quickly I feel hungry. For example, today I had a toasted high fiber english muffin with a scrambled egg and a piece of turkey bacon at 10am. My tummy was talking like crazy by 1.

I think I am going to start documenting how long things keep me full. I already track my food--but the time of satisfaction sounds like a better indicator.

Here's to getting and staying below 240. . . . it's been my demon number!!

cheers.

As long as you're losing weight then the more food and the more variety of food you can eat, the better - it means you're better nourished, less likely to be losing muscle tissue as opposed to fat, will find the whole process much less difficult.

I cannot for the life of me understand why people WANT to be only able to eat 1/2 cup, have to eat very very carefully and give up certain foods unless they have reached a point where unless they are that tight, they dont lose weight.

The definition of a sweet spot to me would be I can eat what I want to, I can eat reasonable quanity so that people dont think I'm anorexic, I have reasonable appetite control but do get hungry for my means AND I'm losing at least 1-2 lb per week.

In the early days, you can do that. You can eat quite a lot and still lose well - so ENJOY it. Dont fret about levels of restriction you dont even NEED yet.

Being hungry between meals is not a problem, just eat something. Until you stop losing weight, there's no problem with that. When between meal snacks stops you losing weight, then its time to go tighter and nip that hunger in the bud.

Jachut - you always have good posts. You have obviously been very successful with the band. I agree with everything you said but it doesn't apply to me. I was banded 4 months ago and after the two week post op liquid diet ended, I have not lost any weight. I started dieting on my own over 3 years ago, then started this banding journey and overall have lost 60 pounds. I am about 183 with one fill and my surgeon is not happy about my not losing any weight. I am hungry all the time, have about the same capacity for food as pre-band but have had two stuck episodes. My nutritionist has a long list of forbidden foods so variety is not in my present or future. I pretty much eat the same foods over and over and because of the stuck episodes am afraid to eat new things. I go for another fill today but unless it changes my hunger or capacity for food I will continue to have the worst of both worlds - a band that causes stuck foods without the benefits.

Jachut, Thank you. My problem is--I'm not loosing any more. I've been bouncing between 241 and 246 for months.

I went into this expecting some frustration. I just find it annoying that I'm eating at the same level I was when preparing for the surgery and still feel just as hungry just as quickly.

Right now I am focusing on tracking and keeping my calories around 1200-1400 a day. Funny that right after surgery I was struggling to get in 800. . . . patience!!!

I wonder the same thing. I started out at 256 in early april by the april 30 i was down to 241. I lost 10 pounds withing the first couple of weeks. By the end of june 08 i was down to 217 well well well....i am now at 219 i have bounced between 213 and 220 for almost 5 months. I have a 14cc band and have 7.25 in the band. In three months it will be a year for me and from surgery date weighing 241 to today weighing 219....i just want to give up. I have really started exercising really hard the past couple of months and not a pound lost. I know when i'm full and it really don't take that much but withing a hour or 2 i'm wanting something else. Not really sure if i'm really hungry or not. So ashamed to say it but true. Any help or suggestions i will take. Because right now i regret even having the surgery. You know if i ate properly, ate less and exercised before lapband what would i have needed it for?

I don't know if I am at THE sweet spot, but I am at my first "sweet spot" until I shrink down out of it again. I can eat 2-4 oz of food at a time. 5-6 if I eat a bit too much. I stay full for 4-5 hours.

I have 6.5 cc in a 10 cc band. I went from 6 cc to 6.5 cc on the 20th of January and its made all the difference in the world.