I am feeling down like a failure. Like I should have had Gastric bypass. Im not loosing. I'm not dieting, Im living normally. But Thinking and eating healthier. like i've limited snacking and foods like ice cream etc. I had my surgery on March 3ed. It's been 4 month's and I've lost...11 lbs. Now since i starte the diest and everythign before i've lost like 21 but WTF. I'm exercising and I've had 3 fills as of today. And nothing is happening. My doctor says...live your life dont worry about Dieting and how much protien your eating, the weight is going to come off. Just be paitient. My band has 4.5 cc in it...Can anyone tell me where there "sweet spot" is? Or how long it took you to loose the weight you needed! I need to loose about 80 lbs...well now about 59lbs. HELP ME!! GRRRRR im so angry at myself.

Ashley, I can understand your frustration but you must be patient. I know you have heard this before but the band is tool. I had my surgery Sept 30, 08. I am almost at 50lb loss. Some people have lost that amount in 3 months. Our bodies are different. You just keep doing what your are suppose to do and the wt will come off. Keep your chin up.

Ashley,

I wholeheartedly understand your frustration because I have been there. I had my surgery November 20, 2008 and up until March I had only lost about 20 lbs. After my fourth fill, I began to lose weight again. In 8 months, I have lost nearly 40 lbs. It has been slow, but it has been much better than gaining weight.

Again, I understand how you feel, but I want to encourage you to take one day, one week, one month at a time and the weight will come off.

We can do this. Let's try not to look back with regrets, but look forward to the possibilities.

I totally understand. I was banded 3/19/09 and have lost 20 pounds-15 from the preop diet. I lost 5 in the last 5 weeks when I went to the doctor on Monday. I was discouraged going in, especially after waiting for 1/2 hour in the waiting room with bypass pass patients who have lost 40 pounds in 6 weeks. One of the ladies was also very tired and weak and could barely make it through her day. She was telling my she had vitamin deficiencies. When I saw the doctor he was so happy with the results, that I couldn't help but feel better. He also discourages dieting and calorie counting. That hasn't helped in the past. Follow the band rules and listen to your body when you are full. That gave me enough motivation to keep working at it. Just remember you aren't the only one. It's sometimes hard to read all the big losses from other posters. It's good to hear from those who are maybe more typical losing 1-2 pounds per week.

I forgot to mention my fills. I had 5 cc's put in during surgery, 1 cc at first fill. I feel like I am close to my sweet spot and if I had more put in I would be miserable. My doc says 6-7 is average for the type of band I have (I think it is 10 cc).

My doc said that when you're smaller to begin with it takes more fills for the restriction to really start being noticable. I'm going for my 4th fill since getting banded in April. I've not lost much either but I'm hopeful.

im so glad im not alone in this...I want this weight gone! I just need to be patient it's gonna happen like gastric bypass patients! Time is what i need.

thanks all

Hi there. I do too understand your frustration. I had my surgery dec 31 2008 and have lost 52 lbs. I know that is good but I look at other people who have lost more and compare. (you just cannot do that) everyones body is different. In the begining I was dropping like running water and now The weight comes off like 3 lbs a month. Which is alot better if I was doing it on my own. Your doing fine, you still have more fills to go.

I just want to say to the OP, that my 4th fill has given me a little more control. I'm just not hungry today like I've been over the past two weeks. Hope this feeling sticks with me. I don't think you can really evaluate the success/failure of this band until you've went through the fill process.

Ashley, you said it yourself "I have 80 pounds to lose...well, like 59 pounds now". Hey, that is a great statement! You have lost weight and you will lose more. And, it may take some time but consider your options. You could be stating that you have 80 pounds to lose. Period! But you don't. So, you are successful. Hang in there and take each day as it comes. You will wake up soon and that weight will be gone.

Elgrad

Ashley, my sweet spot and your sweet spot will likely be two different numbers. That is simply because it also depends on anatomy, my stomach may be bigger than your and therefore takes up more room inside the band.

I know your doctor was trying to make you feel better, and to a point what he said is even true BUT you can't just eat whatever you want. You DO need to make sure you eat at least 60 grams of Protein, partly because protein takes longer to digest and therefore will make you feel full longer than, say, a salad or a bowl of ice cream

Most of us have had our greatest success by TRACKING what we eat and aiming for 1,000 - 1,200 calories per day. Many, many people will tell you that if they go too low they stop losing and if they go too high, obviously the same thing happens.

Most doctors aim at you losing 1-2 pounds per week. I've lost 70; surgery on 2/10/09 but what's that "fine print" you see on all the weight loss program ads??? "Results not typical" That means you can't expect to lose at the exact same rate as someone else. BUT YOU CAN SUCCEED.

If you want to email me "back channel", my email is parr0thd51@aol.com That's a number zero instead of the letter "oh" in parr0t.....