1st fill and update

I am about a month postop...I am eating regular foods in regular amounts as before surgery. I had my first fill appointment today. I have gained 8lbs lost after surgery. I have no restriction. I am very discouraged and dissapointed in myself. My doctor told me that this is all normal and I may not feel anyrestriction after today either. I know that I chose this surgery and this tool is in my hands. I just hoped I would be "different." He put 2cc in my 10cc band today and made me drink a glass of water to be sure I wasn't too restricted. He did have some trouble locating my port and had to search around a little. Thanks goodness those nerves are still dead!. Please pray for me to get back on track. I think I am going to try weigh****chers to help with WHAT i eat and let the band control HOW MUCH i eat.

Don't worry, take one day at a time.  I didn't lose anything for 5 months after I had my surgery.  It is a very frustrating time.  My surgeon was not aggressive with fills at all.  I have an 11 cc' band and didn't get any restriction until I was around 5.5 cc's....then as you lose you will have to get fills to keep your restriction....

It'll happen though, just hang in there!!

Elizabeth,

even though you can eat the same amount of food dont mean you should . You still need will power and self control through this journey .

There are days especially during TOM that I can eat , eat and eat.  I'm always hungry, but I have to make the decision that I dont need to eat just because I can eat .  I'm fighting this really bad this week , I have ate many things I shouldn't be eating .

The band dont stop us from eating and even when  you do get restriction you can still eat around that also just remember that.

All the band does is lessen our hunger that is it .  We can still eat around the band, we can still eat anytime we want , we can still eat all the bad foods we want, we dont have to exercise, all these choices still has to be made by you for you to lose weight :o)


And dont worry , I gained 7 pounds from weeks 3-7 and it all came back off  within a couple of weeks :o)

Watch your calories I eat anywhere from 1200 to 1500 calories a day but I also do a hr of Zumba every day and two of them days I do Zumba with 2 pound weights .

Watch your carbs . I eat anywhere from 60-80 carbs per day . Once again this is because of my exercise routine . I need them carbs.

Watch your sodium !!!!! Sodium is the worst thing a person can have trying to lose weight !!! You want to stay 2500 or under a day on sodium.  

Track your food. I use  www.livestrong.com.   I track everything that goes into my mouth no matter how bad or how good it is. I use my IPhone when I'm not at  home to track food.

It tracks your sodium, fats, carbs, calories and fiber.   This is very important on losing weight .


You are a month post op you should be able to start exercising again or darn close to it. Go join a gym, start walking , do zumba do something.   95% of people trying to lose weight wont lose weight if you dont exercise.  I am one of them people.  It dont matter how well I eat, how less I eat if I dont exercise then I dont lose weight end of story .

Sometimes it takes up to 10 days for a fill to kick in from what the girls on here said. I dont have no fills so I cant help you in that dept.  

You will never feel the full feeling like you did before surgery if you are looking for that feeling then it wont be there.  You will be satisfied with your meal that is it . You wont be hungry but you wont be full either , but a happy medium place.

Elizabeth --

What helped me was to not try to eat 'regular foods in regular amounts' after my surgery.

I probably could have done that -- but I convinced myself that the band was like a belt around my stomach - and even without any fill, it was something - and I should try to eat less and see what happened.

So, I measured out my food -- and I sat down and took tiny bites and ate slowly.  I told myself that this was my portion and that I could have more if I really wanted it in 15 or 20 minutes.
I made myself wait that long to see if I wanted more --- and I never really did.

I used to eat to feel stuffed at every meal --- and now I don't.
I eat my small portion and I STOP -- and I wait (I had to train myself to do that) --- and I find that after a few minutes, my body stops being hungry.

If I eat all the way until I think I am satisfied, I have eaten too much.

So -- while I love WW and it does help control what I eat, I still have to control HOW MUCH I eat --- I control it by serving myself a small amount -- and then a few minutes later, the band controls it by taking away my hunger.

With every fill, I imagined that belt being pulled a little tighter, and I went back to really basic eating of small bites, small portions -- and let the band do its job.

Just as Steelerfan said ... YOU must control how much you eat. The band just helps keep "hunger pangs" at bay.

I felt no restriction till about my 5th fill which was about 6 months after my surgery.  I'd say the first 30-35 lbs I lost was pure willpower on my part.  That being said, the band has been a great tool to keep it off!!!   I recently had a baby and I managed to not gain any weight by the end of my pregnancy and yetI had a 10 lb baby so clearly he got what he needed!!  I was so worried about being derailed so soon after surgery when I was doing so well and finally had the restiction I had been waiting for.   So it is a slow process but you'll get there and then when you do it'll help you keep it off!!

I am 7 weeks post op and I log everything that goes in my mouth on myfitnesspal.com. I have no fill in my band yet. For me what has worked, I log all my food 1 day ahead of time and I stick to it. Have I ever cheated? Of course but I have had to log it and adjust my food for the day.
Didn't your doctor tell you how much to eat daily? For me I was told ahead of time and I make sure that is what I have.
Keep your chin up and work your tool.

I am four weeks today. I weighed myself today and I have gain about 3 pounds in the past week. I am very upset about it. I am eating the 3 meals a day and the portions my NUT told me to. So I am very frustrated. Please remember to eat only what is on your diet plan and stick to it even if you are hungry. I am lucky in that I am not hungry often and eating what the NUT told me to is satisfying. However, I am still gaining and depressed about that.

Good luck in your journey!

A lot of ppl gain a few when they go from liquids to mushies n solids. No big deal. Your weight will yo-yo from time to time. As long as it goes back down it shouldn't be a concern.