Need honest/realistic advice

Thanks. All good advice. I do alternate cardio and weights (and alternate upper body/lower body) so I'm sure my lean muscle mass has increased as my fat has decreased despite not losing too many lbs according to the scale. I am thinking more and more that my issues are me and not the band here but I still long for that feeling of restriction I get right around my period which seems like it would be the real green zone if I could stay in it longterm.

 I've been fighting the same 5 lbs since Oct.

My body just doesn't want to be in onderland...lol

Ok, nw certainly part of the reason was the holiday eating.  I was much better than I have ever been but truth be told not as good as I could have been.

While I also had good restriction I was also a tad loose tbh which was one of the reason I had a nice xmas..;)

So last week I went for a .2cc fill and got back to basics.  meaning dense protein and veggies mostly,

and 2 lbs gone this week.

SO that's what I chose..small fill, back to basics.  So far it's working.

Everyone's body is a little different so it's really hard to tell you what to do that will for sure work. But try a couple things and see what happens. I'd try to first make sure you're eating what you're supposed to and lower the calorie intake to 1000 a day. See if that works. If you're starving, then a fill might work, but it sounds like a small one. Just a suggestion. Hope you can find something that works.

Mine yo yo's a lot. That is why when I had my weight ticker I wouldn't update it that often. I wanted to be sure I was stable at or below the weight I put on it. I didn't want to have to go back and change it up.

I am really not one to give advice here b/c I have had no success with the band. 14 fills still no sweet spot. However I have lost weight the 2 yrs. with DIETING. Your weight can vary 3 lbs. over the course of the day even! Very frustrating, I know.

You say you have lost 12-14 since Oct. One thing I am not hearing you mention is anything about restriction/sweet spot? If you have reached your sweet spot and are losing 1 lb. a wk. then that is good. However if you still have no sweet spot and are only losing b/c of dieting and or exercise then BIG PROBLEM! If that is the case then depending on how long you have had the band already you might want to either try getting a few more fills, or cut you losses and get a revision!

Remember if the band is not working for YOU then your band is USELESS!

Good luck!

I'm sorry you've had such bad results with your band, that must suck to have had 14 fills and still no good restriction. I probably would have thrown in the towel if I had been doing nothing but dieting for 2 years like you. 

In terms of restriction, I do feel like I am either there or nearly there though. Sorry if that wasn't clear in my original post. I don't really call it the sweet spot because it's more of a zone for me. If I could have more days where I feel good restriction than those where I'm very hungry I'd consider myself in the zone. I may be there now and have just not been choosing the best foods on a regular basis or I may just be one tiny fill away from it.

I certainly am nowhere near wanting to do a revision surgery though!

You know, I think I might ask for another 0.1cc!

Kate

My last few fills have been .2 or .25 cc's. 

Here's the bottom line question I'll ask:
How is your protein intake?

I meantioned in another response to your post that I have been struggling lately.  When I met with my PA yesterday for a .5 cc fill we etched out a new plan for me becuase what I did fo the first 9 months is not working and is too strict for my new weight.  I realized that I am not getting enough protein period!  He is having me up my protein to 80-100 g vs. the 60-80 I was doing before.  He feels it's not only critical for fullness but also for energy levels which have been lagging.

If you can regularly eat more than one cup of dense food, feel hungry between meals, and your weight loss has stalled for more than 3 weeks, you probably need a slight fill.  If you can't answer yest to the above questions I think you may just need to up your protein.  You also exercise a lot more than I do so there's another reason to get more protein.

My PA recommends to start your morning with 30 g of protein even if it has to be a shake.  He feels it's crucial to a successful day and weight loss.  GNC's Whey protein powder has 28 g of protein,so that's what I've started as my new morning regime.

Best~
Lisa O.

Great point. I have been making sure I get my minimum of 60 grams protein but I may need to talk to them about upping it intentionally like you did.

*If you can regularly eat more than one cup of dense food, feel hungry between meals, and your weight loss has stalled for more than 3 weeks*

No, I cannot answer yes to those really.  I rarely can eat more than a cup of dense food at a time and my meals last me for 3 hours or so, normally. The biggest problem comes with sometimes not eating much during the day and then just being incredibly hungry all evening long.  Upping protein and upping water (haven't been meeting my 80oz daily goal recently) will probably help.  I don't think getting another tiny fill, like .1 cc would be a bad thing at this point either, it might be what I need to just push me over the edge but there are definitely "me" behavioral issues that are not helping the situation. Things I can easily change, like more protein and more water.