Hey everyone! I just wanted to share my story and say that FINALLY, nine months after surgery...I've gotten to the "sweet" spot. I am about 7cc's in my 10cc band right now, and I can hardly eat a thing! yay! Ha ha.

I am 5'2" and at my heaviest I was 243. Thought I hovered around 220 for a long time. Surgery day I was 208lbs. 6 months later, in May, I was STILL 208. Not a single pound lost. My Dr. wasn't very aggressive with fills. Finally, I decided to just kick myself in the butt and do strictly low carb, (induction/atkins style) and workout EVERY single day. I also decided to go BACK on metformin.

Well, from May 2009 to August 2009 I lost 20lbs. And on August 11th I got...like my fifth fill? Sixth fill? I forget. But anyway, I've lost 5lbs in 5 days!!! I haven't even been working out! (Evil I know...) I am SO restricted I had five peanuts for Breakfast, five bites of tuna for lunch, and 1/4 cup of chili for dinner. I know I need more calories than that...but still! It's great!

Right now I am at 185 and a size 14/16.

April, I think we share a conservative fill doctor!!!! Congratulations on finally hitting restriction. Good luck to you.

Mimi

Congrats on your weight loss and on being so happy but please be really careful. Being overfilled and eating so little can be the cause of lots of problems.

Yeah I have to be careful with like ice cream and crap like that because I KNOW I will gain weight with stuff that goes thru easily. But after every fill I am always really TIGHT, and then as a few weeks go by and I lose weight...it gets looser (because of the decreased fat around the band...) so by the time my other fill rolls around, I will be ready to put more in.

Well congrats!

I am 9 months, and I am still in the struggle. My body now only takes like 1/2cc at a time. I am working out and everthing, this weight just refuses to move. I am so discouraged. It makes me so sad. I do get choked up a bit off certain foods, but I can still eat. I try to be mindful of what I choose to eat, but its hard. I just don't know.

thanks for sharing your story... i'm hoping that when i get my next fill on 9/8/09 i'll hit my sweet spot... i'm losing very slowly too. Some days i'm ok with where i'm at and some days i'm very discouraged. thanks for sharing though!

Its truly a struggle. I will get to the other side though. I have invested too much in this process to give up.

YEA -- Congrats -- I am really excited and glad for you!!

(And a little jealous too )

I go in for my 3rd fill -- hopefully I will get some restriction.... still working on strict will power....which I am not very good at...

Keep up posted on how things go the next few weeks --

Good for you.....I am not there yet. I only have 4 CC's and when I went last week we as a team decided not to have a fill since I am going on vacation next week. I really needed one but we decided for me to go ahead and enjoy my week in Vegas and just watch what I eat. RN said not to worry about losing or gaining just have a good time. I have a little restriction but she asked if I was at my sweet spot yet and I told her "No Way". She agreed I probably wasn't yet.

I have an appointment two days after I return for a fill and I can already tell I need one.....Am really looking like you for more restriction....

Thats great! EXERCISE is key! I just had my third fill and I feel a bit better too at 1/2 a cup I am full and I have to really sip my fuilds and my premade protien shake is too think to enjoy but now I think my calories & protien are too low so please keep an eye on that too

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share my story and say that FINALLY, nine months after surgery...I've gotten to the "sweet" spot. I am about 7cc's in my 10cc band right now, and I can hardly eat a thing! yay! Ha ha.

I am 5'2" and at my heaviest I was 243. Thought I hovered around 220 for a long time. Surgery day I was 208lbs. 6 months later, in May, I was STILL 208. Not a single pound lost. My Dr. wasn't very aggressive with fills. Finally, I decided to just kick myself in the butt and do strictly low carb, (induction/atkins style) and workout EVERY single day. I also decided to go BACK on metformin.

Well, from May 2009 to August 2009 I lost 20lbs. And on August 11th I got...like my fifth fill? Sixth fill? I forget. But anyway, I've lost 5lbs in 5 days!!! I haven't even been working out! (Evil I know...) I am SO restricted I had five peanuts for Breakfast, five bites of tuna for lunch, and 1/4 cup of chili for dinner. I know I need more calories than that...but still! It's great!

Right now I am at 185 and a size 14/16.

what is metformin?

I think I'm at my sweet spot, but it seems like I'm not losing weight. People tell me they can see it in my face, but I can't. Clothes that were snug/tight before are looser/more comfortable now. I'm trying not to focus on the number on the scale - but the food part is the hardest. I've gotten really good about my exercise, so that's good. But every time I put a bite in my mouth I'm worried, and I can still overeat even though I have restriction - which is frustrating.

Do others have trouble telling when you're full and when you need to eat more? Does that come easier with time, or do you always have to monitor how your body feels after each bite?

I struggled with that some. I realized one day that I ate too much, because it started to come up. LOL! I guess that is always a sign.

I try not to put a lot on my plate, and see how I feel after I eat. If I want more, then I tried to talk to myself about head-hunger, being greedy, or am I just still hungry. I have also been trying to cut the meals after a certain time no matter what. If I just have to have something, I can't have carbs. That has worked fair well for me.