Anyone too tight in am, but can eat anything in the pm?

I have not been able to lost any weight the past 3 mos. Luckily I've been able to maintain my weight, but none the less I'me so frustrated. When I got the lapband, I had set a goal of losing 8-10 lbs per month. I have only lost around 60 lbs. I'm 30 lbs behind my goal and am so disappointed. As I haven't been able to lose anymore weight. I'm falling back into my old eating habits and try so hard. I'll get back into eating the lapband way (sm bites, no drinking with meals, protein, etc) for a few days, them I fall off the wagon again. HOW DO I GET MOTIVATED AGAIN?????    Alot of my problem is that since my last fill, which was about 2 mos ago,  I'm tight in the morning and usually not even hungry, but in the afternoon I'm starving.    Sometimes on mornings that I'm not really hungry, I will drink an atkins shake anyway and that usually holds me til lunch time and I'm not so hungry.   I'm not saying that my lapband isn't working, because when I follow the "lapband" rules I do fine.  The lapband isn't the problem it's me. I'm eating the wrong things, sometimes even fill full, but continue eating.   Anyone been through this, and if so how did you get back on track.  HELP!!!!!!!!!

Could you eat a Greek yogurt in the morning?  Some drink a shake in the morning.  I tend to eat a Greek yogurt or steel cut oats for breakfast.  

Maybe a small unfill would help if your problems started after your last fill? 

I have never felt too tight, so I haven't gone through what you are describing. 

Have you thought about going to some counseling to deal with why you are eating if you are feeling full?  I have read on this board where it's helped a lot of people learn how to change their behavior / thinking.

Norma this is soooooo common! The band just does NOT work the way it is advertised for most of us. Now when we hear pre-op that the band can be tigher in the morning...........with no mention of being able to eat anything and everything the rest of the day, well that leads us to assume that it works as is advertised the rest of the day. Unfortunately for so many of us.........that is just NOT the case! :-(

And as far as "falling off the wagon"...........well it is so hard to stay motivated when your doing it all on your own and there is no "tool". I have great difficulty staying on the diet, and I yo-yo back and forth a bit.

The best advice I can give u about dieting is don't drin before or after meals. It's not that big a deal really once u get used to it. Try to do high protein, lower carb, sugar and fat. And probably what helps me the most is not bringing in much unhealthy food in the house! If I want potato chips and I have to leave the house, drive to the store and get them, I am much less motivated to follow through with that to eat them. Whereas if they were in the pantry I would just go in there and grab them.

Also try to keep healthier snacks available at home and when u go out. I do a lot of protein bars and protein drinks. Also yogurt, cheese, pumpkin seeds, sometimes jerky.

For any advice on the band and restriction..........I am completely clueless there. Sometimes u just have to cut your losses.  After 16 fills I have given up trying to  reaching restriction. :-(

That is a common thing, now you just have to find something that works with you and your band.  Go back to eating the way you were and increase your exercise.

So sorry you are having this problem. I too was always hungry with the band. I honestly could have done without the 10 or 20 percent help people say the band helps with. My quality of life diminshed the 3 yrs w the band.
I could never reach good restriction with numerous fills/unfills.
I had the band out last week. The only difference is I can eat meat without pain or vomiting. I'm continuing to follow the band diet. It is actually easier now because I can eat lean meats.
My best advice to you is to eat low carb, low cal,low fat.
With the band, unfortunately, you have to follow a diet. It isn't easy. I wish you the best of luck!

I am going to see my doc on thurs for the same exact thing you described! Sometimes it hurts so bad to eat anything in the morning/afternoon, but by the evening I can eat an entire burrito! I hope he is helpful and not "well, you shouldn't be eating those things" because by the time I can eat again I am so hungry I eat whatever I can get my hands on!

Hi Norma,

It's very common for bandsters to be rather tight after waking up.. no matter what time of day.  :)  If I take an afternoon nap, I wake up tighter.

You relate that if you drink an Atkins shake in the mornings that it helps you not be so hungry.  There's part of the answer right there.  If you have something/anything for breakfast, it will help later on.

A few months ago, I was participating in a "biggest loser boot camp" contest at my gym and was only drinking a muscle milk light in the mornings before working out.  I wasn't particularly hungry, but almost hated to start eating more solid food at lunch because it was almost like it turned into a "feeding frenzy".  I was losing, but controlling my intake was difficult.

I finished the competition (won 3rd place  yeah me!) and increased the amount of calories and type of things I was eating for breakfast.. and the feeding frenzy feeling in the afternoon went away.  I realized while I might not have felt hunger, my body evidentally felt it and was asking for more sustenance. Probably due to the increased activity of the competition.

Kristi is right on target to suggest something with a little more oomph in it than just a shake.  I drink a cup or two of coffee with my vitamins in the morning and then I can usually eat greek yogurt or steel cut oats.  Hot tea or warm water should work too.  If you want to continue doing a shake, you might consider adding more protein to it (powder or greek yogurt) or maybe a small amount of fresh or frozen fruit.

Head hunger or emotional eating is very common too.  I really need to see a counselor myself, but haven't.  I don't have insurance that covers that type of thing, and 100.00 per visit PLUS driving 80 miles round trip..  it kinda gets pricey.  I have been doing some work in a book called "The Beck Diet Solution" which is NOT a diet, but a guide on how to modify our behaviors around food.  It's helpful to me.

I do best when all the trigger foods are not in the house.  I've gotten my family to quit bringing in tortilla chips.  Now if I could just get them to quit buying saltines.  ...  

My nurse once made the comment "So, it's not your band that needs adjusting, it's Lisa that needs adjusting".. and that was true for me at that point in time.  It's not always the band.. sometimes it's us.  :)

I don't know if any of this was helpful.. I'm starting to ramble...  Best of luck to you!

After reading this..I don't feel like its just me..Sometimes you do all the right things and just get so frustrated that you are so hungrey you just want to eat anything that feels good going down. I see my doctor thursday and I only lost so far this month as my scale shows about a pound. He will want to fill me but I won't take it. I have enough tightness now. I can only eat certain things in the morning cause of tightness. Afternoon when I'm not home is a problem cause when I order something out I never know what will work and so many times waste money by throwing out food. Evening I cook trying different kinds of meat in different ways and one time I can eat it the next time I can't..It drives me crazy...I too am disappointed as I feel way behind my goal expectations for june and july. I will continue to do my best but I must say I'm not happy with this eating problem and I don;t think Im eating healthy anymore.'

oh Norma... This is the dilemma most of us face at some point in the journey. Too tight in the AM and too loose in the PM. I also know this cycle all too well. I start off the day with great intentions but cir****tances and a lack of self control/motivation kicks my ass. I also know those rules work but I'll be damned if I can get my self to follow them. It's not easy!!!! I'm of the thought that even sticking to them 75% is better than not at all.

So how about focusing on one or two of the rules. Start with getting in some small nibble of protein within an hour of waking up. At the conference this weekend, The MD said that it's proven that having protein within an hour of waking helps to stem hunger for the rest of the day.

We are with you Norma! Good luck

Thanks guys for your support/suggestions. I'm going to give it my all, I refuse to give up. I think I need to read "Bandwagon" again................God bless

NORMA