December Delights 2009

[Marine mom 3]

You're lucky your doc. lets you decide when to get the next fill. I was banded 2 days before you and only have one fill. I have to wait a month in between each fill. Not sure of the reasoning behind that but good luck to you on March 2nd. I know as well that it's frustrating not losing.

Same here. I am due for my second fill on the 3rd.

I was stuck, really stuck for the first time yesterday to the point of getting sick. It scared the crap out of me!

[bellyfatgone 0]

Same here. I am due for my second fill on the 3rd.

I was stuck, really stuck for the first time yesterday to the point of getting sick. It scared the crap out of me!

I haven't been stuck, but I really don't feel any restriction yet either. Do you feel like you have any restriction?

[bounser 0]

I was stuck, really stuck for the first time yesterday to the point of getting sick. It scared the crap out of me!

Are you ok? What happened? Did you chew enough? What was it that got stuck?

Sorry I'm asking so much I am afraid to get stuck.

[Marine mom 3]

Rule number one, don't break any rules! It was my fault. I ate about 3 small bites of chicken, without paying attention. I never feel like I have restriction, because I don't ever push it, I suppose. So, it got stuck because I didn't chew enough, I think. It hurt, and hurt, and then came up. The major hurt went away, but I still am a bit achy in my pouch area. I'm sticking to liquids today, just because I am scared, and I don't want to push it.

I was really afraid of this happening, and now I am not so much. It was scarier in my head than it was actually, iykwim.

[Vivinthewoods 0]

Hi Band of Buddies,

You are all doing marvelously with your weight loss, I am proud of you all. I am stuck with a little loss, even though I am working my big Buns off on the treadmill! I have my second fill tomorrow, so hope for some restriction then. It has been a month since my first fill and my doc said to make an appointment if I needed a fill before the month was up - I should have taken him up on it.

I have just found a new Soup, which has only 80 cals per cup. It is 'Spicy Black Bean' made by Pacific and comes in a 1 qt carton. I found the soup at Kroger's and HEB. This is a smooth soup, so is good for those days after a fill. I add a little chopped Tomato, onion, cilantro, jalapeno and a t.spoon of shredded cheese. For a more hearty soup I have also added 1/4 cup of chicken (60 cals) and/or 1/4 cup chili Beans. (60 cals).

The company also makes other flavored Soups - tonight I am going to try their 'Creamy Butternut Squash' (90 cals), I'll add some smoked turkey for more Protein.

Just wanted to share this with y'all

[bounser 0]

Hi Band of Buddies,

You are all doing marvelously with your weight loss, I am proud of you all. I am stuck with a little loss, even though I am working my big Buns off on the treadmill! I have my second fill tomorrow, so hope for some restriction then. It has been a month since my first fill and my doc said to make an appointment if I needed a fill before the month was up - I should have taken him up on it.

I have just found a new Soup, which has only 80 cals per cup. It is 'Spicy Black Bean' made by Pacific and comes in a 1 qt carton. I found the soup at Kroger's and HEB. This is a smooth soup, so is good for those days after a fill. I add a little chopped Tomato, onion, cilantro, jalapeno and a t.spoon of shredded cheese. For a more hearty soup I have also added 1/4 cup of chicken (60 cals) and/or 1/4 cup chili Beans. (60 cals).

The company also makes other flavored Soups - tonight I am going to try their 'Creamy Butternut Squash' (90 cals), I'll add some smoked turkey for more Protein.

Just wanted to share this with y'all

Thanks for sharing It sounds great.

[bellyfatgone 0]

When I decided to have surgery it was because I was tired of doing diets and watching what I eat. I have never been good at it so I thought this would be my best answer. I know the nutritionists tell me not to eat this and that, but I don't count my calories or watch my fat intake. I'm amazed to see how well everyone else is doing at this.

I haven't felt any restriction yet and eat exactly like I did prior to surgery. Am I crazy? Will I never lose weight if I don't start watching my intake? I really don't want to do it. I thought maybe when I got skinny I would have more of a desire to stay that way and watch it then.

Does everyone watch what they eat?

[DizzyLizzy 21]

When I decided to have surgery it was because I was tired of doing diets and watching what I eat. I have never been good at it so I thought this would be my best answer. I know the nutritionists tell me not to eat this and that, but I don't count my calories or watch my fat intake. I'm amazed to see how well everyone else is doing at this.

I haven't felt any restriction yet and eat exactly like I did prior to surgery. Am I crazy? Will I never lose weight if I don't start watching my intake? I really don't want to do it. I thought maybe when I got skinny I would have more of a desire to stay that way and watch it then.

Does everyone watch what they eat?

I have never been a dieter either. I too got the band because I didn't want to do a drastic diet and end up being a yo yo dieter. But, I am in a sense, now dieting. I've only had 1 fill (.5cc) when I went back for my 2nd my doc wouldn't give me one because I lost more than the 2lbs a week they expect. So, since I have no restriction, I am actually basically dieting. I can feel the band and it helps me to say, ok, you’ve had enough more so than before banding. But I can still pig out if I wanted. But I spent a lot of money on my band, so that too helps to keep me in check with my eating.

I count my calories, and I "try" to watch what I eat. I'm not so strict on myself now because I was really going all out on the super low carb stuff, and it drove me nuts. I use Calorie Count. Some things I have to estimate, because they don't exactly have it in there, but I still find it useful. Especially when I use the analysis tool and find a day where I've done good with all three (calories, protien, & carbs) so I can try to repeat what I ate that day in the future. I get between 1000 - 1200 cals, 80g protien and under 100g carbs a day, I try to stay closer to the 1000. Somedays I do bad and get over 1300, usually on days when I didn’t plan ahead. And I've been eating pretty much the same for about 6 weeks now, but my weight didn't start to come off until 3 weeks ago.

I think your weight loss is fine. We've lost the same and I've been banded a week longer. But I would advise tracking if you can, because I know for me, when I have a not so good day eating, the proof is there and it helps me to get back on track. And when I have a good day, I try to repeat what I ate that day in the future. Makes meal planning easier. But, at the same time, if you do decide to count calories, don’t get in your head just because I only took in this many calories I should lose this much, because it doesn’t always work like that. Ideally it should, but I am proof that it doesn’t.

[Marine mom 3]

Hi Band of Buddies,

You are all doing marvelously with your weight loss, I am proud of you all. I am stuck with a little loss, even though I am working my big Buns off on the treadmill! I have my second fill tomorrow, so hope for some restriction then. It has been a month since my first fill and my doc said to make an appointment if I needed a fill before the month was up - I should have taken him up on it.

I have just found a new Soup, which has only 80 cals per cup. It is 'Spicy Black Bean' made by Pacific and comes in a 1 qt carton. I found the soup at Kroger's and HEB. This is a smooth soup, so is good for those days after a fill. I add a little chopped Tomato, onion, cilantro, jalapeno and a t.spoon of shredded cheese. For a more hearty soup I have also added 1/4 cup of chicken (60 cals) and/or 1/4 cup chili Beans. (60 cals).

The company also makes other flavored Soups - tonight I am going to try their 'Creamy Butternut Squash' (90 cals), I'll add some smoked turkey for more Protein.

Just wanted to share this with y'all

I love a good soup. Thanks for sharing.

[Melinco 1]

I have never been a dieter either. I too got the band because I didn't want to do a drastic diet and end up being a yo yo dieter. But, I am in a sense, now dieting. I've only had 1 fill (.5cc) when I went back for my 2nd my doc wouldn't give me one because I lost more than the 2lbs a week they expect. So, since I have no restriction, I am actually basically dieting. I can feel the band and it helps me to say, ok, you’ve had enough more so than before banding. But I can still pig out if I wanted. But I spent a lot of money on my band, so that too helps to keep me in check with my eating.

I count my calories, and I "try" to watch what I eat. I'm not so strict on myself now because I was really going all out on the super low carb stuff, and it drove me nuts. I use Calorie Count. Some things I have to estimate, because they don't exactly have it in there, but I still find it useful. Especially when I use the analysis tool and find a day where I've done good with all three (calories, protien, & carbs) so I can try to repeat what I ate that day in the future. I get between 1000 - 1200 cals, 80g protien and under 100g carbs a day, I try to stay closer to the 1000. Somedays I do bad and get over 1300, usually on days when I didn’t plan ahead. And I've been eating pretty much the same for about 6 weeks now, but my weight didn't start to come off until 3 weeks ago.

I think your weight loss is fine. We've lost the same and I've been banded a week longer. But I would advise tracking if you can, because I know for me, when I have a not so good day eating, the proof is there and it helps me to get back on track. And when I have a good day, I try to repeat what I ate that day in the future. Makes meal planning easier. But, at the same time, if you do decide to count calories, don’t get in your head just because I only took in this many calories I should lose this much, because it doesn’t always work like that. Ideally it should, but I am proof that it doesn’t.

Are you getting hungry between meals sooner then 3-4 hours? If so, you need a fill! I think it's BS that your doctor is making you do all this work, when we shouldn't have to. Yeah, we don't want to make it a habit of eating cake, candy, ice cream, etc., but we shouldn't have to be counting calories. The whole point behind the band is to help with Portion Control. Otherwise, why spend all this money just to count calories?

If you're hungry DEMAND a fill! That's why YOU pay THEM for their service.

[Marine mom 3]

BFG, I watch what I eat. I am not going to lose weight if I don't. I went once to a doc that checked my metabolism, and it was slow. If I don't keep my calories below 900 I don't get anywhere. But, I know that if I do it this time with the help of the band I will be able to maintain portion size and at about 1200 calories avg.

[DizzyLizzy 21]

Are you getting hungry between meals sooner then 3-4 hours? If so, you need a fill! I think it's BS that your doctor is making you do all this work, when we shouldn't have to. Yeah, we don't want to make it a habit of eating cake, candy, ice cream, etc., but we shouldn't have to be counting calories. The whole point behind the band is to help with Portion Control. Otherwise, why spend all this money just to count calories?

If you're hungry DEMAND a fill! That's why YOU pay THEM for their service.

Yes, I get hungry sometimes. But that usually on the weekends when I fail to plan my meals. My doc & dietician advises to eat 6 times a day, 3 meals and 3 Snacks, no more than a 1/2 cup of food at a time. So, that's pretty much every two hours, and when I do that I'm never hungry. Eating that way is supposed to keep your metabolism and energy up and ward off cravings for junk. On the weekends I usually forget to eat when I'm supposed to and then sometimes trying to find a quick meal, will make poor food choices. But even then, even with my small fill, I still get satisfied more quickly than before I had the band. But, if temptation strikes, I can still eat, which is where I could get in trouble not being restricted.

I know every doctor has a different thing, but since my doctor doesn't want me eating more than a 1/2 cup at a time, it would be impossible for me to get in good nutrition eating only 1/2 cup 3 times a day. I don't want to go too low in calories because it lowers your metabolism and I was taking in only 600 - 800 calories during my liquid pre-op and I felt totally drained and really loopy, and I'm fortunate to have the problems of getting stuck and such right now, so my doctor (and I) don't want to be too restricted. I'd prefer to up my calorie intake and excersice to burn it off to get the net effect and keep my metabolism up. It's working for me right now, but who knows, that could change at any given time! My body has already proven to have a mind of its own!

And my doctor did say if I don't lose 4lbs over the next two weeks, I can come in for a fill then instead of waiting for my next appointment in 4 weeks, so it's not like he's totally holding out on me. He justs wants to do it the right way, and if I'm losing at a good rate without feeling totally tortured, then I'm doing good. As much as I'd like to melt away like many others are, I knew going into this to get the best long term results I'd have to put forth some sort of effort, so I'm going with his plan until I can't anymore.

[seamsmzg 0]

I had my surgery 12-17. All went well, but it seems they are taking their time with fills. i just had my second fill and still feel very little to no restriction. They don't want to do another fill for 4 weeks. Is that normal. I am trying to watch portion size and have lost 22 lbs, but most of that was the liquids for so long. Any advice going forward into my new life?

[TracyW2 137]

I had my surgery 12-17. All went well, but it seems they are taking their time with fills. i just had my second fill and still feel very little to no restriction. They don't want to do another fill for 4 weeks. Is that normal. I am trying to watch portion size and have lost 22 lbs, but most of that was the liquids for so long. Any advice going forward into my new life?

I was banded the same day. My dr does fills every 3-4 weeks. I go in for my third fill on Monday. I exercise 6 days a week for at least a hour at a time, plus I am constantly watching what I eat. This is a lifestyle change and the band is only a tool. Congrats on your weight loss and just think that is 22 pounds you will never see again!

[Melinco 1]

I had my surgery 12-17. All went well, but it seems they are taking their time with fills. i just had my second fill and still feel very little to no restriction. They don't want to do another fill for 4 weeks. Is that normal. I am trying to watch portion size and have lost 22 lbs, but most of that was the liquids for so long. Any advice going forward into my new life?

Just to show you how different each surgeon seems to be, mine made me wait 6 weeks before my first fill. Then one week later I had my second fill. Now I go in every two weeks for fills. I had my third fill Monday afternoon, and will have my next fill on March 8.

So it seems like there is no rhyme or reason as to why surgeons do what they do. Because there is certainly no consistency, or at least it seems.

I'd let your doctor know if you're getting hungry earlier than 3-4 hours and see if you can go in for a fill. In my humble, non-medically educated, opinion, I think waiting an arbitrary time between fills rather than listening to your own body is just a waste of time and good money.

But perhaps it has something to do with being self-pay vs insurance paying? I'm self-pay (my surgeon doesn't even take insurance for WLS), and he is a firm advocate for listening to his patients about their hunger level. If we need a fill earlier then we get it.

Good luck with it. Let us know what you and your doc decide to do.