Thanks! "I was losing weight at a faster rate when I was eating about 1500-1700 calories before I had better restriction." Ok...go back and reread that a few times....wait for it....dingdingding...you're a bit too tight. You were losing better when you were eating a little more. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If a big part of why you're not eating enough is restriction, get some fluid out. It's especially important to eat enough when you're exercising a lot. Nancy

It's up to your surgeon. Some surgeons 100% forbid any carbonation. Some say it's ok if you let it sit long enough to get somewhat flat. It cannot "damage" your band...it can, however, cause bad discomfort for some people. The pouch is not sealed off so the notion that gas can stretch your pouch like a sealed balloon is fallacy. However, trapped gas (below your band in the main part of your stomach) can be extremely painful and that's never good. So, talk to your surgeon and do what he/she instructs. Nancy

We should be aiming for at least 25g dietary fiber from food per day. Legumes are some of the best bang for the buck in terms of fiber and have the added-value of a lot of nutrition (good protein sources, nutrients, best sorts of  carbs). Make sure you're able to eat enough veggies, fruits, whole grains and legumes. If you can't, or are attempting to live on 1/2 cup meals so you're barely able to eat anything but protein at a meal), you're probably too tight. Remember that animal proteins don't contain fiber...only plant-based foods (all of which are carbs) do. Fiber supplements can help bridge the transition to getting your fiber from real food but it shouldn't be a long-term crutch instead of eating properly. Dietary fiber also seriously helps the body's satiety signals. Nancy

Better to start the meal with some hot tea or coffee to relax things before starting to eat. I too have read about the potential hazards of chronic use of papaya enzymes and frankly, I find it becomes a crutch instead of changing eating behaviors, just as much as folks who take little sips throughout their meals to "lube" things down. Nancy

Any weight loss prior to proper restriction (which typically takes 3-5 fills) is a bonus and not to be expected. Your surgeon, to be honest, should be seeing you about once a month for at least the first several months to check how things are going and to add fill. I don't understand the idea of giving a patient one fill and not wanting to see them again until their loss stalls...a banding surgeon familiar with how the band works would understand that one fill is extremely unlikely to do the trick. You do, however, need to give each fill a fair tryout which is 3-4 weeks, making sure you're focusing on solid foods, and making sure you're putting portions on your plate and not having the expectation that the band will force you to stop eating midway through a pre-op portioned plate. So, put 3-4 oz solid protein, a serving of nonstarchy veggies (1/2 cup) and a serving of starch (1/4-1/2 cup, emphasis on complex carbs) on the plate, take small bites, chew to mush, put the fork down between bites so you don't rush, don't eat for longer than 30 minutes and evaluate how you feel. You're not looking for any sort of discomfort/pressure/stuck feeling...you're looking for the moment physical hunger is turned off (we call this the Soft Stop and it'll be something like a runny nose, sneeze, hiccup, burp, a little sigh) and stop eating at that point. It's highly likely with only one fill that you won't get a clear soft stop and very likely that a sensibly portioned meal isn't going to shut off hunger...so right now, when you're done, get up and go do something else instead of looking for more to eat. If you're lucky and get satiety on a proper bandster meal, check how long it takes for physical hunger to return...when properly restricted, it'll stay away for 3-4 hours after a meal. We need a fill when: 1. we're not losing and we know we're doing our part; and/or 2. our sensibly portioned meals aren't turning off hunger; and/or 3. hunger is returning too quickly after a meal. In terms of weight loss, the target is 1-2 lbs/week ON AVERAGE OVER TIME so you're already very far ahead of that and it's not uncommon after a rapid drop for the body to stall. Nancy

You are very obviously too tight. PBing (which is puking from the pouch) should be so infrequent you can hardly remember the last time it happened. If you're PBing several times a week, that's the number one huge symptom of overrestriction. I have to wonder what your impression of good restriction is? It shouldn't be blatant. It's merely getting to "not physically hungry anymore" after a properly portioned meal and then not getting physically hungry again for 3-4 hours afterwards. The band isn't there to force us to stop eating but to simply help give us satiety on a sensibly portioned meal. We should only "feel" restriction if we've screwed up (overeaten beyond the soft stop, forgotten to chew, eaten a food our band just won't tolerate, or eating too quickly). If every meal is ending with pressure or a "stuck" feeling, that's not good. I'd strongly suggest a slight unfill before you end up with a slipped band... Nancy

Restriction is not about how easily or not easily food goes down. You shouldn't be feeling much "overt" sensation to begin with. Proper restriction is not really a feeling...this is a common mistake new bandsters often make. Proper restriction simply is getting to "full/not physically hungry anymore" on a properly portioned (real dietary portions, not this 1/2 cup meal nonsense...3-4 oz solid protein, 1 serving (1/2 cup) nonstarchy veggies and up to 1 serving (1/4-1/2 cup) starch if still physically hungry) meal and not having actual physical hunger return for 3-4 hours after the meal. You cannot tell a thing in terms of hunger/satiety on liquids/mushies...solid food is required for this purpose.  If you're eating to the point of feeling pressure/stuck, you're doing something wrong such as overeating and ignoring your soft stop (which will be something like a burp, hiccup, sneeze, runny nose, a little sigh, an involuntary moment where you sit back and pause) or eating too quickly or not chewing properly. Remember to take very small bites, chew to mush, put your fork down between bites (this serves 2 purposes...prevents having the next bite ready to go and gives you enough pause between bites to assess satiety) and don't allow meals to go on longer than 30 minutes or you'll be training yourself to eat around your band. You need a fill if: 1. you're not losing and you know you're doing everything you're supposed to be doing; and/or 2. your sensible bandster meals aren't making you "not physically hungry anymore"; 3. and/or hunger is returning too quickly after a meal. Nancy

If it's for insurance approval purposes, the whole point is to prove you cannot do this on your own. If it's for pre-op liver-shrinking, it's not about weight loss but reducing the fatty deposits in your liver. If the surgeon is a sadist and thinks you should prove you're "serious" by showing you can do it without the tools surgery puts into place, I'd be trotting off to another surgeon frankly. If we could do this on our own we wouldn't be employing a surgeon. Nancy

You mentioned in your post on the other forum that you were burning around 600 cal in the gym...so really, your body thinks it's getting 600 cal/day if you're eating 1200 cal/day. I think you need to feed your body a little more...it thinks it's starving and is slowing loss down. With that much exercise, you need to eat more than someone who isn't exercising as much. Nancy

As long as you're eating a healthy balanced diet, you can rule out nutritional issues. In general, this is a normal delayed reaction to surgery and/or the hormonal issues involved with weight loss and it will stop soon and it will regrow. Nancy

Did you also look into the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy? The nature of that surgery leaves the pyloric valve intact (thus a fully functional, just much smaller stomach) and no risks associated with malabsorption as it's another restrictive-only procedure. The nature of the RNY pouch is also potentially problematic for reflux sufferers. The VSG doesn't seem to have that potential problem. The RNY is very likely overkill since you don't have much to lose but instead need/want to lose a smaller amount and are of course most concerned about maintenance. Nancy

What brands have you tried? Viactiv might be more tolerable. And frankly, most bandsters don't need to avoid pills. The vitamin I have used most of the time is GNC's Solotron liqui-cap. Goes down fine with hot tea and I don't worry about it because it dissolves quickly. You do need to take a multivitamin...that's really part of the deal and especially important when reducing calories. You just need to try some other types to find something that works better. Frankly, the liquid formulas, IMO, are by far the gaggiest/nastiest...they're like hyper-sickly-sweet children's cough medicine...barf. When I tried them (and I tried 3 brands), they all gave me the screaming huhs.... The least offensive chewable true multi for me was GNC's adult chewable. Nancy

Well, drinking water when dealing with very spicy food is about the worst thing you can do, banded or not LOL That only spreads the heat onto more sensitive mucous membranes. That's why cultures that have very spicy cuisines always have some starch with those foods. If you're going to have something very spicy, make sure you have a little rice or similar...you don't need a lot, but a bite of rice or a cracker with absorb the heat much more effectively than drinking something that only spreads it around. Nancy