Negative thoughts here...

So it may be becasue I am in Bandster Hell and eating what I want and not seeing the end of the tunnel. I sit here and think how do these people lose the weight, if all it takes is the will power to eat right and eat the right foods then why couldn't this be done pre-surgery?!?!?!?!?!?!?! So then I think ok the band must really help alot, but what if you are a picky eater like I am, will I fail because I can't eat the "right" things. Or is the band really going to crack down on the portion control. Being in bandster hell has really got me depressed thinking this cannot work for me in in turn making feel like maybe I made a bad decision for myself. I go for my FIRST fill next week worried of what it is going to feel like, I want to be able to eat and feel full, I mean actually feel full without eating a whole plate! this is work I am telling you.

But as I read someones blog this morning she stated the band is in place but without a fill I am not going to actually start my journey of losing weight until then, it's like having a flat tire on a car it won't move until it is fixed and has air in it.

So having a fill is alot different I am sure please re-assure me that when I get fills my appetite will be less or how is this going to work. Encouragement needed over here can you tell?????

What you're suffering right now is something ALL of us have gone through at one point or another. It's still a matter of will power for some of us - no, make it ALL of us. It's our will to choose to eat ice cream vs. sugar-free pudding with protein; it'w our will to choose to eat protein first then veggies and to lay off the carbs.

You're in the healing stage and it can be very hard. Just follow all the rules. You've already lost some weight and you will continue to lose. It's designed so that we lose very slowly. The ideal is 1, maybe 2 lbs per week. Also, you have to keep calories around 800-1000 in the beginning while you re-learn how to eat. If you're exercising, then you get more calories - The body goes into starvation mode if you don't have net calories of at least 800. So if you burn 500, you didn't make your goal of 800.

Please keep coming back. And be aware that sometimes people share only the bad stuff, but those are not the norm. You are going to be okay. I promise!

As far as being a picky eater - what exactly does that mean? Does it mean you don't eat protein at all? Does it mean that you're a vegan? We can't help unless we know what it means. Also, get to a support meeting as soon as you can. They can really help. I can't miss them or I get depressed too!

If you want to pm me with the answers to these questions I'll be more than happy to try to help. I'm only about 10 weeks out of surgery myself, but I'm the queen of support!! LOL!

Take it one day at a time - or one meal at a time. We'll help you!

Hugs,
Barbara

I have had 2 fills. I have 7cc in the 9cc Realize band and have found my sweet spot, thank god. Untill my second fill I felt like I was never going to have that portion control. But even though I am in my sweet spot I never feel that clasic Thangsgiving day kind of fullness. I stop eating because I can not physically eat any more. I get a slight pain in my breast bone area and know if I take another bite I will regret it! I don't always make the right choices but am still loosing. I do eat the "correct" foods about 90% of the time. The good stuff goes down good. I was banded on 5/14 and am down as of this AM 26lbs. I am down 4lbs since Thursday when I had my second fill. The fills are the secret. I thought I would have restriction and all of this great fast weight loss the first few months. But I think you have to be in the sweet spot before the weight starts to come off like we want it to.

I am exactly in the same spot -feel the same way. I have my first fill next Thursday and already preparing that it probably won't be the sweet spot for months and months. The trouble is that I really thought in the beginning that my surgery day was the beginning of a new life, and it was really just the pre-beginning. The real beginning is when you get the fills and it is very disappointing when you have suffered surgery, complications and COST if you are self-pay and you are still fat and barely losing. I am totally with you. All we can do is wait and go with it. Read the one-year and two-year people - they are already there!

WOW someone that feels exactly like me. Thank GOD!!! I am so there with you!!! we need to email eachother! :)

It generally takes a few fills to reach optimal restriction so you have to be patient. A good fill is more like 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food. If you can lose on 1 cup that is good but I can't. Good luck with your fill.

It is hard in the beginning, that is true. We all go through this stage, and pass through it and move on to much easier times. About 4-6 weeks out on really bad days I thought that I might have wasted my money because I was just doing traditionally dieting, feeling deprived and constantly hungry. I really expected the band to work immediately after surgery and I did not fully realize that surgery is just preparation for what is to come.

I kept myself losing (or sometimes just not gaining) in the beginning by essentially eating a low carb diet. Proteins first and then vegetables. I never limited myself how many vegetables I ate . . . and I ate until I was full/satisfied. I had to remove most carbs because I wouldn't lose anything and kept craving them afterwards.

Fast forward to today . . . I got my second fill at the end of April and miraculously hit my sweet spot. I have just started to have some increased capacity and will go in for a small "tweak" to my fill level. I don't need much more restriction, just an adjustment to make up for the restriction change caused by weight loss. Since that second fill, it has really become so much more easy. I still have to follow the rules, but when you are not hungry it is easy to do.

I am pickier now as a eater than I used to be. If I only have a few bites before I am full, I want those bites to be something tasty and healthy. After eating healthy foods for six months now, my tastes have changed and I crave healthy foods.

What does being picky mean in your case? Is it the types of food that you eat? What do you really want to eat?

That is great advice, barbara...she said it all....make good choices, and just take it one day at a time...

slinderella2b,
I just wanted to say I feel the same way. I broke down yesterday and cried becuase I thought I broke something and that is why I can eat more. So Thank you so much for posting this issue.

To everyone else
Thank you for all of your advice an support. It means the world to me that you all care about our journeys to new health. I am in a support group at the hospital I had my surgery but most of the people their have had bypass so they don't fell the same way as us banders do sometimes.

Put an elastic band around your wrist that sits snuggly against you. Not much happens. Now pinch a bit and start to twist. You will feel a small restriction to the wrist. Now, twist some more and the restriction gets tighter. It starts to hurt a bit and impedes blood flow.

That's basically how the band works. It doesn't really do much on its own. It sits snuggly against the top of the tum and that's about it. The fills are the equivalent of twisting the elastic band. They are the secret, each making the passageway for food just that little bit smaller until you hit that magic place.

Yes I am having a day like you did yesterday very emotional, not because I can't eat becasue I can but becasue I feel as if I am a failure before I even have had a chance mainly becasue I am eating what I want right now and thinking is this really going to work? I try to be strong and have that willpower but I was expecting help and until I get it I guess I will continue to think I am a faliure! Hopefully next week will bring better days as I am scheduled for a my first fill!!!

Thank you SUNthat makes total sense!!! I will try to keep this in mind until next thursday!!!!! Thank you so much!! I am not having a very good day I am crying alot I wonder whats wrong with me?!?!?!?!?!?

I feel the same way. I thought maybe I stretched the pouch, or it didn't really work, or this one is great, the scars are just for looks, they didn't really put anything in me!

I have had my first fill & I could eat pretty much the same amount as before. But I don't because it hurts my port area for some reason when I do. It is so hard to just have self control & eat such a small amount. I am fine with eating healthy. Don't get me wrong I eat things I shouldn't, but I am ok with eating healthy it is not a huge shock to my system. It is just the amount that gets me, b/c I am STILL HUNGRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, I am glad I had it done though. I am hoping with another fill or two it will be more of the tool I expected. I have a 14cc band with 4.26cc in it.

I am so glad to read these posts. I am in the same situation; 10 weeks post-op, no fills yet, and nothing in my life has changed including my weight. I thought for sure just having the band would restrict somewhat. I read on this site where someone is still losing weight after 6 months and never had a fill. I put off getting a fill for this reason. It doesn't really restrict at all. I have experienced the PB several times, even upchucking once, and its a horrible experience. I kind of thought a fill would put me in that position most of the time. Another reason I have put off that fill for so long. And of course my husband and family remind me how much it costs and what little progress I have had and why did I do it if I am not committed, blah, blah, blah. Yes, its depressing and demotivating. Others on this site ensure me I am in bandster hell, hang in there, get a fill, everything will be all right. Just to know, I am not alone, there are others going through the same thing. I keep thinking, if all these successful bandsters are just eating protein and only 1000 calories per day and exercising regularly--why did they get the band? They could do that on their own--right?

Thank Goodness!! Some feels the same way I do. I was banded on the 11th of this month and my Dr. told me I could start my mushies when I went for my post-op exam 3 days ago. I am blending everything, but it takes quite a bit to feel full. My first fill in on Aug. 11th and I am hoping this will help. What a great place to talk to people who know more on how we feel than even the Drs.. I have a great Dr., but I doubt he understands the mental part of all this. We are all so anxious to get the weight off and feel quilty or discouraged is we feel we ate too much. What is too much? I was never told what amount of mushies to eat. Just to eat healthy foods and stay away from fat, sugar and fiberous foods. Thanks to all of you have been through the stages us newbies are going through. You are a great help. I would be in a constant panic and worry without this site.