still not losing after 4 fills

Hello everyone.  I'm extremely frustrated and feel as though I wasted alot of money.  I have 6.5cc in a 9cc band and I haven't lost a pound.  In fact I'm gaining.  Losing weight  now is just as difficult as not having the realize band.  I'm not good at dieting.  Hello... why would I have chosen to get the band if I could lose the weight on my own.  I don't eat sweets.  I had one snickers bar last week and I have one tablespoon of honey in my coffee.  That's it.   Is it just me?????  Aren't we supposed to lose weight  with this thing? 

Are you excersizing on a regular basis?

Does the band not provide yuo any restriction at all?

I chase my children around all day.  That's the only exercise I get.  I feel very little restriction.  I have some discomfort when I eat scrambled eggs, peanut butter and french fries. Nothing else bothers me.  I can eat a normal size portion.  And unfortunately I do most of the time.  If I could stop myself from eating after half of a cup I wouldn't have had the surgery. 

Maybe try the plateau diet to get things going?  Have you tried a high-protein low-carb diet?  Are you tracking your daily caloric intake?  Maybe monitoring that will help make you more conscious of what you put in your body.

Exercise is going to be key in getting the scale to budge.  Do you have time to take a 45 minute walk each day?

I'm not feeling much restriction at night right now and can overeat if i want to.  I've only got one more week before my first fill, which will hopefully help a bit.  It's been sheer force of will that I've lost anything in the last two weeks and I've realized just how much head hunger I actually have.

Journaling and exercise have been key for me.

I don't want to diet. I want this to be effortless.  Isn't for most people?

Absolutely not!  Do you monitor the allergen lap band forum at all?  That is where most band cross-tal****urs.  You'll find a lot of people there that struggle with their weight even with the lap band.

Everyone has to work at this.  My surgery came with a year of post op nutiotional support and band fills.  I will be seeing a nutritionist once a month.  It was also recomended that I see a psych in addition.

The band is only a tool to help us.  We still have to make the effort to correct emotional eating problems, portion control, and other lifestyle issues like exercise. 

Did your surgeon not talk to you about all of this before you had the operation?  Who set the expectation that this would be an effortless process?

Of coarse, I was told that the band is only a "tool".  But if it's this difficult, what's the point of the surgery?

Have you considered seeing a behavioral therapist?  Do you see a nutritionist?  Do you have regular check-ups with yuor surgeon?  All of these things can be supportive in your efforts to lose weight. 

You probably need another fill, too.

I'm not seeing a therapist.  I see my surgeon every couple of weeks.  He tells me to stay away from sweets.  And I obey.  I'll see him again next week and will probably get another fill.  I thought the band would make the weightloss process easier.  If I have to go through the trouble of a nutritionist and therapist then I could have just bypassed the surgeon and used my money for a new car instead. 

I sound pretty lazy, huh.  Well I wanted an easy fix.  And still do.  Thank you for communicating.

Perhaps a different surgery would have been better for you?  RNY? Gastric Bypass?  I think weight loss happens more easily and rapidly with these procedures, but I could be wrong.

It sounds like you aren't near the level of restriction you need to be at yet.  If you're still able to eat full sized portions (and by that I'm imagining 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 cups of food) you haven't hit it yet.

For me, a lot of the problems are in my head.  I want to eat more than I can.  I want to eat when I'm not hungry.  I want weight loss to be automatic.  Just like before I had the surgery.  Unfortunately, the band doesn't help with these psychological issues.

I think I understand where you're at emotionally.  You're frustrated, and probably pretty agitated about the whole thing.  This surgery was expensive!  I've delt with anxiety my entire adult life, and have gotten stuck in that kind of feedback loop many times.  It just gets worse until I deal with it.

You need some form of emotional support, from your family, friends, and maybe even a  professional.  Do you feel like you have the support network you need?

Just out of curiosity, are you on any medications that may slow weight loss?

-e