I'm sorry to hear that your doctor didn't prepare you well with the expectations of how the band works, but hang in there - it will happen for you! There are many reasons why they don't just fill it up tightly and start off with a huge restriction. I think the most important of these is the long term results on what is healthiest for your body. You need time to heal and time to learn to adjust your eating habits. Too much restriction at the beginning, when you haven't learned how to eat bandster style properly, can result in a lot of PBing episodes and that is one of the most common causes of slippage.
At six months out, I don't have a lot of long term experience to draw on, but I can offer this advice:
* In the first few weeks of the healing stages, follow your doctor's advice about liquids, mushies, etc. This is important for the long term health of your band. Your stomach needs time to heal and for the band to settle into place. Eating solid foods too early causes the stomach to work in digestion and interferes with the healing. Don't worry about quantities so much though - if it takes 2 cups of soup at a time to satisfy you, eat it! If you are careful with your choices, 2 cups each meal will still see you well under 1200 cal a day and that is going to give you some good losses.
* In the bandster hell stage, when you can eat solid foods but haven't had the first fill, concentrate on changing your food choices. If you can eat a full meal of good healthy food, go for it. You don't need to be existing on only half a cup at a meal to lose weight. Make healthy choices and watch the calorie content. Eat 2 cups (or equivalent) if that's what it takes to stop you being hungry. It will still be FAR less than you were eating pre-band, and the losses will come slowly.
* After your first fill, don't expect miracles. You probably won't notice all that much of a difference, but if you eat solid foods you should find that you aren't hungry between meals and even though it still takes willpower to choose the right things, it IS easier to make those choices because you aren't QUITE as controlled by the hunger daemon as pre-banding. Make sure you don't let yourself get too hungry, because that's when our willpower deserts us and we make bad choices. Yes, you are on a "diet" at this stage - don't expect not to be! But if you eat good quality food, you should find that it is possible to stick to it, whereas in the past it wasn't.
* After the 2nd, 3rd and 4th fills: Each one will give just a tiny bit more restriction and unless you are really listening for it, you may not notice the difference but it will be there. Practice eating "bandster style" in tiny bites and chew every bit till it is liquid in your mouth. If you don't have a PB or a stuck episode - congratulations!! You are learning the rules well! It is most commonly the 3rd or 4th fill that really kicks things into gear and you can really tell that it is working, but if not, don't despair. Some people take 5, 6, 7 or more.
Overall, don't expect that the band will mean that you are never hungry. It is normal to be hungry at meal times. Eat! You can expect, however, that you won't be hungry between meals and that the quantities gradually drop until you hit that sweet spot where a half to a full cup of food each meal is all you really need to not feel hungry. Train your body into not expecting to feel FULL and STUFFED after a meal - that's what got us fat in the first place. Learn to listen for the "not hungry any more" feeling rather than "I'm so full, I CAN'T eat any more."
Good luck on your journey! | 