I keep reading about the same thing here over and over again so I wanted to put my two cents worth in for all of you new bandsters

that it is perfectly normal to not lose weight during the first 6 weeks. You have NO fill...the band is desigend to work it's best with fills! It is also normal to not lose during the liquid phase since you are not taking in hardly any calories. You know that old addage that our bodies will conserve whatever we put into it if it thinks we are starving it and that is what is most likely happening during the liquid phase. It is also normal to see a gain when you go from liquids or mushies to solids so do not panic...Do not fret or get discouraged. Most of us here were where you are at one time or another. Once you are healed and getting your fills things will change I promise. One thing I have learend during my 17 months with my band is there are going to be times when I do not lose on the scale but I'm losing inches. I'm also gaining my life back so when the scale doesnt move, think of all of the possitive things in your life that have changed since you got your band. For some of us it has been getting off blood pressure meds, for others it is getting off insulin, for others it has been more energy,for others it is no more sleep apnea and for others it is No back or joint pain. My list is endless of all of the possitvie things that have happened since my band You get my drift, I'm sure. Do not let the scale dictate your success or failure with the band. The band is a lifelong tool, this is a lifelong journey it is going to take some time but the key is patience. The key is to also follow the rules to a degree. Do not go and get a fill that is so tight you can not take in solids and think it is smart cause you will lose wieght that way.You have all made the first step to a happier healthier life. I can not stress enough the importance of patience. The band is not a miracle or magic wand, the pounds are not going to fall off. If you have the right mindset, one day at a time, the good with the bad, you will succeed. Patience Patience Patience!!!

P.S. Did any of your Dr.'s tell you that the first 6 weeks is not about weight loss but about healing? Any weight loss during the pre fill stage is a bonus? THey should have if the ydidnt ..this was my Dr.'s biggest stressing point to me before he sent me home after surgery. How many of you got the Inamed Handbook after your surgery? This is very helpful to all of us not just the newbies but to us who have been banded for awhile. Here is the link you can go to and print it from your computer

http://www.inamed.com/pdf/health/94829F_LB_Patient_Book.pdf

I hope my two cents worth helped you in some way

Best of luck to all of you

Thank you very much for your words of wisdoms. I have to say finding this forum and all of you is the best thing that has happened to me since I had my lapband done. I hardly did any research going into the surgery although it did take me a year to work up my courage to commit to a lifetime of beneficial changes. If I found you sooner things could have been different!

And it's amazing to have the avenue to talk to fellow lapbandsters who really understand what I'm going through. I love my family and they support me greatly, but somethings they just don't understand because they don't go through any of it. My euphoric mood sort of crashed two/three weeks after my surgery and I was having a hard time getting myself out of the slump. I ended up eating solid foods two weeks earlier than I was supposed to be getting my fill and on some days I ate over 1,500 calories. I ate bc I felt horrible but then eating the wrong things just made things worst (guess a lifetime of bad habits are hard to break). I just got lucky that it slowed my weight loss but didn't reverse the trend completely. Then I found you all and I'm back on track...so thank you, thank you! And i promise, I'll try to get on the scale less (like once a weeks instead of every day!)

Hi Michele,

Glad you posted this. I get lots of emails from bandsters asking me how I lost so much weight and if I have some secret up my sleeve. I can assure everyone that I dont and I struggled in the beginning like everyone else. Slow and steady wins the race. I am learning something new everyday. Right now, I have very little restriction. I do need a fill, but I am trying very hard to eat healthy and make wise food choices. Yes, I am eating more, (I can actually eat bread and hamburger again!) but I feel it is an important part of my journey to allow myself a little time to try to make more of the decision for myself about what I eat and how much. The band is a constant learning experience.

Babs in TX

334/180/170

-154

August 5th 2005 - PS Medial thighplasty and abdominoplasty

I am one of the people who have no patience, but I also keep thinking that there must be something that I am not doing.I go back over everything I was told and all the material I was given at my Doctor's office. I am trying to weigh once a month and not worrry. I guess I have tryed 100 things that didn't work and this was the most expensive thing I have ever done for myself and I am wondering if I can lose this weight. Keep giving us the advise that we all need.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I too, needed to hear this . . . as I am only one week out and have fantasies of amazing, immediate weight loss. I needed the reality check that this is a lifelong lifestyle, and these first weeks may not fulfill those fantasies! I, too, will print off your message, and thanks for the link too - I did not get that pamphlet.

Oh how I wish I found this website BEFORE I had my surgery (May 23). I had so many questions and concerns and nobody to talk to. I still feel like a newbie and am so happy to have all of you here. I tell everyone about this site. Couldn't do it without any of you. Thank you thank you thank you

I'm only 3 weeks post op, and I feel like I have no restriction at all!

I'm eating to much..why to much..

thanks for the info.

I'm going to eat 1/2 of what I eat today.

I'm eating to much..why to much.

Why too much? You have no fill yet, this is normal pre fill behavior

I'm only 3 weeks post op, and I feel like I have no restriction at all

The reason for NO restriction at all... Again NO fill yet.

thanks that was great help !!

Bumping for the newbies...at the request of another LBT member

Excellent bump. I just can't keep up with all the new posts! This is a wonderful summary.

LaMadam,

Thank you for this thread. It is so wonderful to read all of this info. Even though I know all of this, I am a newbee and I need reminding of all of these things over and over and maybe over again.

What is bumping? Where is the post where you weigh in weekly?

Confession: I am a scale person.... I will try to stop! No promises, but I will try:biggrin1:

hello. i will get my band on march 1. what is bumping

Look on the Blue Bar along the top of the LBT page...there is a link to "New Posts" which gives a list of all of the newest posts from all of the Forums. OR, when you open a Forum, for example "Support" you see the threads listed from newest to oldest. Threads with recent replies are at the top. When some one "Bumps" a thread, they post a reply, and cause the thread to go to the top of the lists, and it's able to be seen, rather than being buried under pages and pages of newer thread activity. You might never have found this thread if it hadn't been "bumped" to the first page of posts In the General Discussion Forum. Did I 'splain that good enough? LOL

Oh, and threads that are "Stickied" stay at the top all the time, so folks can find them easily. Look for challenges at the tops of the forums for weighing weekly, etc.

Look on the Blue Bar along the top of the LBT page...there is a link to "New Posts" which gives a list of all of the newest posts from all of the Forums. OR, when you open a Forum, for example "Support" you see the threads listed from newest to oldest. Threads with recent replies are at the top. When some one "Bumps" a thread, they post a reply, and cause the thread to go to the top of the lists, and it's able to be seen, rather than being buried under pages and pages of newer thread activity. You might never have found this thread if it hadn't been "bumped" to the first page of posts In the General Discussion Forum. Did I 'splain that good enough? LOL

Oh, and threads that are "Stickied" stay at the top all the time, so folks can find them easily. Look for challenges at the tops of the forums for weighing weekly, etc.

yes the help me out alot thank you:)

Thanks for reminding everyone. My hubby is in this stage right now and it's very frustrating to him. I try not to be too judgemental of what he eats because I am pretty well restricted and see portions as something that are HUGE.