Only 3 month postop, no weight loss this month?

The woman is seriously disturbed.

Jules,

Ignore Maria she is a bitter person that gets off on posts like this :o(

Okay I'm just about the same time out as you and I'm in the same situation as you right now and I dare Maria say anything to me about the band failing me or reaching restriction because my band is empty !!!

You will hit plateau's like this . What you need to do is keep doing what you are doing my friend.

Make sure you are logging your food,  watch your carbs try to stay around 60 per day or below., and watch your sodium . sodium is a killer for people trying to lose weight . With us exercising you dont want to cut carbs out completly because our bodies need  it .

You said you are exercising 4 days a week.  Maybe you need to bump your exercise up , change your exercise around your body can get use to the same exercise and wont burn as much off so try that :o)

Make sure you are getting your water in also 64 plus a day !!!

Also like Kate said on here a fill dont make you lose weight .  If you are going 3 plus hrs of NOT being hungry (physical)  then you do not need a fill !!!!! 

I was thinking the same thing I had people say get a fill that will make you lose weight and after Kate said to me , it got me to thinking a fill dont do anything but keep you satisfied for a at least three hrs that is all its suppose to do the rest is on us . and cut our portions down .

Dont give up , I'm in the same boat as you right now and I know I will break through it my body has to.

Perhaps you should ask your nutritionist for a consult?  I'm finding that when I go back to my notes from those pre surgery counselling sessions I am realizing where I'm making mistakes in my food intake.  While this is not a magic band it certainly can do it's job if we do everything to make it possible.  I am sure you're on the right path maybe just a bit of tweaking needed.  Good luck to you and STAY POSITIVE!! 

Jules,

How big is your band? I have a 10cc band and its taken me 3 fills to get to the green zone. So many seek for the mythical "sweet spot" but its a MYTH, IMO. My doc prefers the term "green zone" and he won't give his patients a fill if they are in that zone. If you are following your diet and feeling satisfied for 3-4 hours and losing an average of 1 to 2lbs a week, thats' the green zone

Its common to plateau but the scale doesn't tell the whole story. Have you measured yourself? You could be losing inches! Thats what happened to me during my third month. Just keep following the rules ..esp the not drinking while eating. In my local support group (all bandsters) the people who are "failing" seem to have that in common.

The band doesn't work for everyone but its too soon to give up or seek a revision as someone else here would advise you to do. I would throw out the scale out and just weigh in at the doctors office!

Oh, and please please please don't consider the HCG diet. Its a scam..ANYONE can lose weight on 500 calories a day but its not sustainable.

Jolena,

Your bring a excellent point up and I completely forgot about that is measuring !!!! I have been bouncing back and forth from 309 to 307 since Feb 28Th and I took my measurements and ended up losing almost 6-8 inches just in four weeks and dropped a size in clothes so the scale dont tell all like Jolena said :o)

I had to be reminded of that just last week because like I said I am in the same boat as you .

I know how frustrating it is because the scale is something that gives you that atta girl you are doing good thing and when you dont get that it gets frustrating .

I have cried, I have yelled these last few weeks its not fun but the girls on here talked some sense into me and I will see the scales move again :o)

Keep your chin up you are only three months post op this about the time the weight starts to slow down according to my doc .

I don't know how long your ticker covers, but I think you have lost about 50lbs. Don't think about the last month, work out how much you have lost over the entire time of trying. And if that works out at 1-2lbs a week, you are doing really well!

Stalls of weeks and even months are quite common. We don''t tend to lose steadily if we measure by weeks.

And many of us need several fills - docs don't put lots in straightaway because some people get it with, say, 1cc, others may need 9cc!

And don't worry about Maria! It is her mission in life to tell people they should not get the band and if they have already got it to tell them they were wrong to do so.

Kate

THANKS EVERYONE!!! I really do appreciate all your experiences, your kind comments and your sensitivity in regards to my situation. I too feel that the truth is important but giving people negative comments after the fact is really pointless and doesn't solve anything... I will take all comments into consideration... Be blessed everyone 

Sorry you are feeling bummed about your level of restriction right now.  One thing with the band is that because it is in an ever-changing environment, restriction (or as my doctor likes to call it, optimal fill) varies as we lose weight.  When the band is initially placed around the stomach, it is also placed over the fat that may be around the stomach.  The surgeons try to get it over the stomach itself as much as possible, but if you were carrying a lot of belly-fat, the band was most likely placed over fat that surrounds our organs when we are morbidly obese. 

As we lose, we lose the fat (if we are dieting and exercising) and the band becomes "looser" around the stomach and we feel less "restriction".  This is why the band is adjustable.  As we lose more and more weight, it might be a bit tougher to find the so-called "sweet spot" (a term you don't find in any of the information about banding) and lose as fast as you do in the beginning.
Some people get fills too often, trying to find the "sweet spot" and that actually can work against their weight loss.  We have to be on liquids and soft foods following a fill and those tend to be higher calorie and  leave us feeling hungry between meals.  Being aggressive with fills can lead to being stuck and since we have to be on liquids and soft foods, this too can lead to slower weight loss...so searching for the "sweet spot" can actually cause one to consider themselves a  "failure" at gastric banding, even though they have lost weight they were unable to lose prior to banding.  This would be Maria F's experience.  She has lost 63 lbs, but won't put it on a ticker because she claims that even though her band has been adjusted 20 times in 16 months, or on average once every 24 days, which is excessive, she has only lost weight by dieting and exercise alone, dispite being unable to lose it that way prior to being banded.  I have lost 50 lbs since surgery and just had my second fill on March 1.  I might have lost more by exercising more, but with a painful knee and lower bank, I'm not motivated.  Gastric banding requires more effort than other types of WLS...diet and exercise are part of it.  This information is part of every website I have been to regarding banding...we must be an active participant in our weight loss journey.  It gives us a bit more control, but also a lot more responsibility for our own well-being and success.

The stats point out that we can lose 40-70% of excess weight with gastric banding...so if you have 100 lbs of excess weight, you can plan on losing 40-70 lbs on average.  There are many on this board who have lost 100% EW so there are an equal amount of people who have lost less than 40%...that is how it goes.

Kate, Lisa O, Jean M (and a lot of other people) are great resources to use when you are struggling for any reason.  You can send them private messages, if you are uncomfortable posting and I know they (and I) will always respond and offer help, support and advice.

Good luck!

Stephanie

Its not hard for me to remember the frustrating early months with my band because it seemed like while everyone else was shedding pounds I was at a standstill. I even recall a very close friend of mine who would eat such fattening foods with her band and would pull off triple my loss, I cried and felt so much like a failure. It took about 5-6 months before I noticed much of anything happening, and it took 40lbs before I even changed clothing sizes.

My advice, first don't compare your self to others. Stick to your plan, take your fills slowly but be consistent in getting them as the restriction is what makes the weightloss possible with a band. Measure your meals, and chew chew chew. If you feel like eating more beyond your portion, get up and do something to occupy your mind, then decide in 30 minutes if you are still genuinely hungry. If so have a little more, but don't eat unless you can really identify it as hunger annd not just in your head. Looking back now if I compared myself to those others I can tell you I eventually caught up to the fast losers who stalled. I passed my friend who continued to eat calorie laden foods. If I could rewind to those first few months I would just keep reassuring myself that sticking to my plan and following the rules would pay off in the long run as it did.

Oh, I forgot to add, I recently had to have my band unfilled. In the interim I decided to follow the Weigh****chers plan and exercise. I have been killing myself and not losing, its like going back to the beginning with the band. This is when my husband reminded me that it took months for my band to really kick in so I was insane to expect more from weigh****chers. He was right. My body doesn't leap into gear quickly but it was a nice reminder. Keep your chin up!

I was banded in 04. I remember feeling terrified when I didn't immediately feel restriction even after knowing this could happen and most likely would happen.

My first fill did nothing. Once again i was freaking out. My second fill was 0.2 ml more and made a HUGE difference. From that point on I lost 10 lbs a month until I got preg with my post band baby who just turned 5.

I had a healthy pregnancy, gained a healthy amount of weight and lost it all by the time he was a few weeks old. 

I had my band swapped for a realize band 2 yrs ago bc after my pregnancy it seemed like the most minute 0.1 ml fill either closed me all together, take it out and I could eat whatever I wanted. There was no happy medium. Since my 2nd surgery I have lost slowly but surely. I could have lost faster but I was not as great about follow up as I was initially. Follow up is the key. It keeps your band adjusted appropriately and motivates you bc you know you will be getting on that scale with your surgeon.

I am now down 100 lbs, wear a size 8 or 10 and am 21 lbs from technically being at goal.

Just an FYI also, for me, I do not lose weight unless I am under 1000 calories a day. May not be the same for others but it is what it is for me. Are you tracking calories?