JerseyGirl80

I'm always on and off the wagon, as I was before the band. It's just easier to maintain with the band and I don't let myself get as out of control as I did pre-band. Now when I'm "off the wagon" it may last a few months or a few weeks with a gain of 5-10lbs, whereas before the band it could last a few years with gains of 30-50lbs, if not more. My band is my biggest motivator, I didn't get this thing put in for nothing.
We all have our ups and downs, you aren't alone. But I think as long as we are concious to what we are doing and are able to get a hold of ourselves after a minor set back and don't get ourselves back to where we started, we'll be ok. This is a process and it takes alot of patience. There will probably always be some gains along the way, but we can't lose complete focus on our main goal.
When I got this surgery I didn't expect all my old habits to just disappear, I know ME too well lol. I knew there would be times where I'd be depressed, lazy, careless, sad, frustrated, HUNGRY lol, happy or whatever other emotion life would slap on me and I know that those would be the times I might lose hold of myself. The thing that has brought me back was remembering all I've missed in life because of the weight and the want to not miss out anymore, for me, becomes much stronger than my want for chips and cake lol. I look at my scars, physical and emotional, and remember that I did this for a reason.
Don't beat yourself up, just get back on that wagon and do the best you can. I'd say gaining 10lbs isn't the worst thing in the world when you look at how far you have come. You've done great, had a setback, and now it's time to pull yourself out of the rut and get it together again. Never give up! Good luck!

I'm frustrated for you, but do not give up on yourself. I have to agree with elcee's post. Are you eating less of regular foods or eating less lower fat/higher Protein foods?, that could make a big difference. Or maybe just changing your food routine would help? You could possibly have metabolic endocrine problems that are causing you to store fat. I have PCOS, my doctors pretty much told me losing weight on my own would be next to impossible, which is the main reason I had surgery. Hormones have alot to do with our weight and so does diabetes. Alot of us become diabetic because we are fat, and the diabetes does a good job of keeping us that way. I am insulin resistant/pre-diabetic due to my PCOS, this problem I have had since puberty has sabotaged every single "diet" I've been on since I was 14, I'm 31 now. Before surgery unless I busted my ass working out and eating like a rabbit I'd gain weight. So far the band has helped me, this is why I feel your frustration. I can only imagine how upsetting it is to struggle with weight as you have, only to continue to struggle after gaining the courage and making the step to take control by having surgery. I'm so sorry you are going through this.
Do not hide from your doctors out of shame. See them and try to figure out what you can do. Go to support meetings, manage your band. I would never tell anyone to have WLS regardless if it's the band, the sleeve or the bypass. But are you completely against bypass? Some people are extremely happy with their results. Maybe you have other medical problems working against you and the band just isn't enough to help. Don't blame yourself, you know what you have done, you know if you have worked hard or not and you know if you have made mistakes or not. Maybe the band did fail you because of medical conditions that you cannot control. Don't hide and don't let it bring you down. Speaking from experience being upset about your weight, hiding and feeling ashamed can only aid in making you put more weight on.
I wish I could give you better advice or the right answers. But I do wish you luck and hope you find the answers you are looking for.
DO NOT give up!

You may or you may not lose fast. EveryBODY is different. I'm a slow loser and have been from the begining. I've lost 75lbs since surgery (Dec 2010). I see people on here that have lost twice that in half the time and yes, it can be very discouraging. But you can't get held up on worrying about losing alot of weight fast, or worrying about how much someone else has lost. I think that as long as it's coming off is all that matters. You can be one of the lucky ones and drop weight quickly, but there is also a chance that you won't. Just stay focused and do your best. To me losing at a nice pace leads to keeping the weight off easier. I've "dieted" for 15 years before my band and always lost weight quickly only to gain it back and then some just as fast. If being a slow loser means that I can finally lose weight and keep it off, than I'll take it! Don't worry about the what ifs and about what other people are losing or how fast they are losing it. The band is about patience and dedication and it works for us all differently. Good luck and keep your head up!

David Letterman isn’t the only one who composes top 10 lists. Here’s my top 10 list of the things you need to know about gastric band surgery, served with a generous helping of GJTL™ - Genuine Jean Tuff Luv™.


TIME FOR SOME TOUGH LOVE?
Genuine Jean Tuff Luv™? What’s that? It’s my version of the kind of love that hurts so good, because it gets you going in the direction you want to go.
Stern but caring parents, teachers and coaches who maintain strict rules and demanding training regimens are said to practice tough love. Those rules and regimens may not be fun, but they can turn around kids, students or athletes who’ve gotten off track or are underachieving.
Tough love may seem too severe, too tough. It works best when the parent, teacher or coach believes in, proclaims, and respects the inherent value and purpose of the person they’re trying to help. Sometimes all we need is a wakeup call to shake us out of our stupor and pull us out of a rut. The drills and discipline of tough love can help (even as they hurt) when our bandwagons have gotten lost or stalled somewhere along the way to success.
A bandster once said of me, “Jean tells people the things they don’t want to hear.” I chose to take that as a compliment. Many times in my life, I’ve benefited from a slap upside the head by a concerned friend. When I do the slapping, I try to do it with just enough emphasis to get a friend’s attention long enough to deliver an important message, followed by a gentle and loving kick in the butt. So here’s my top 10 list of things you need to know about adjustable gastric band surgery. Consider yourself kicked!
THE GJTL TOP TEN LIST
1. You will not wake up in the recovery room at your goal weight. Average weight loss with the band is 1-2 pounds per week, and virtually no one loses weight at a nice steady pace of (say) 1.75 pounds per week. Some weeks you’ll lose, some weeks you’ll stall and some weeks you’ll gain, but as long as the overall trend is downward, you’re doing great!
2. Slower weight loss with the band does not prevent sagging or excess skin. How your skin reacts to massive weight loss depends mostly on your genetics and your age. As we age, our skin loses elasticity. If the possibility of sagging or excess skin worries you, start tossing your change into a plastic surgery piggy bank.
3. Weight loss surgery (of any type) does NOT cure obesity. Obesity is a chronic and incurable disease characterized by relapse and recurrence. Although bariatric surgery is currently the most effective way of treating obesity, obesity is something you’re going to have to manage for the rest of your life, with or without surgery. For most of us, a tool like the adjustable gastric band makes that a lot easier, but it’s not effortless, either.
4. Most eating problems after band surgery are due to user error, and can be prevented by using good band eating skills. Read an article about those skills by clicking here: How to Eat Like a Bandster.
5. In order to decrease your weight and increase your health, you must decrease your food intake and increase the quality of your food choices and the time you spend exercising. While you may be able to lose weight for a while by just eating much smaller portions of chicken McNuggets, potato chips, and candy bars, eventually that approach will stop working, and at the same time it will start biting your health in the butt. And though it may be difficult for you to exercise at first, each pound you lose will make it easier, and each additional hour you spend exercising will not only burn calories but improve your physical and mental health.
6. No weight loss surgery procedure will cure eating disorders, eating demons, emotional eating, boredom eating, stress eating, celebratory eating or food addiction. Changing those behaviors is your job. If it’s too hard to tackle yourself, consider getting some counseling with a therapist experienced with eating disorder and WLS patients, and/or joining a 12-step group like Overeater’s Anonymous.
7. The band rarely works without fills. Even if you initially lose weight with one or no fills, sooner or later, you’re going to have to face the fill needle. And if you’re too needle-phobic to tolerate a fill needle, why did you choose band surgery in the first place?
8. The restriction “sweet spot” is a myth. There is no such thing as “perfect” restriction, or if there is, you can’t count on it to last more than one hour, one day or one week. This is because the band is an inert silicone object implanted in a living, breathing human body that changes constantly in reaction to the time of day, time of month, time of year, hydration, illness, medication, stress, you name it. Restriction variability is part of the gastric band package.
9. There is nothing magic in the band that makes you lose weight. Changing your eating and exercise behavior is what makes you lose weight. All the band does is make that work easier for you by reducing your physical hunger and increasing your satiety.
10. YOU are responsible for your weight loss. Not your band, not your surgeon, and not the server at McDonald’s who invariably asks you, “Want to supersize that?”

I also believe there's plenty of surgeons out there that just push patients through like cattle getting these weight loss surgerys just to get the money and don't take the time to inform them.. They know how we are all in our most deperate hours when we inquire about this, and some do take advantage. I also know that sometimes it's the patients that only hear what they want to hear and no matter what still believe that having the surgery will be an automatic fix. Patients and Surgeons need to take responsiblity for informing & being informed about the lap band.
A friend of mine had the same surgeon, same staff, same nurses, and same nutrionist as I did, so I know for a fact that she was well informed about everything. She, like many others, blame the band for her "failures". She contiuned to eat crap, lay around after eating, ate mostly carbs, never attempted to work out or drink Water, never counted a calorie or a Protein, ate Cookies and cakes and chips everyday.. I saw all of this first hand. Yet she continued to blame the band and wonder why she only lost 45lbs in 2 years. Aside from that, she's thrown up after almost every meal since surgery because she eats things she shouldn't be eating and shovels them into her mouth like she's never eaten in her life and wonders why the band isn't working. So now since it's the "bands fault" she's not losing weight, she is having the Sleeve done in a few months. I guess she'll blame that too when she continues to eat garbage and lay around all day wondering why the weight isn't coming off.
So anyway, it can go either way. But in the end it really is the patients responsiblity to get informed, because this surgery is their choice and their body. It is also their responsibity to take the time to find a good doctor and not just sign up with any old quack they can find on the internet.

I'm always on and off the wagon, as I was before the band. It's just easier to maintain with the band and I don't let myself get as out of control as I did pre-band. Now when I'm "off the wagon" it may last a few months or a few weeks with a gain of 5-10lbs, whereas before the band it could last a few years with gains of 30-50lbs, if not more. My band is my biggest motivator, I didn't get this thing put in for nothing.
We all have our ups and downs, you aren't alone. But I think as long as we are concious to what we are doing and are able to get a hold of ourselves after a minor set back and don't get ourselves back to where we started, we'll be ok. This is a process and it takes alot of patience. There will probably always be some gains along the way, but we can't lose complete focus on our main goal.
When I got this surgery I didn't expect all my old habits to just disappear, I know ME too well lol. I knew there would be times where I'd be depressed, lazy, careless, sad, frustrated, HUNGRY lol, happy or whatever other emotion life would slap on me and I know that those would be the times I might lose hold of myself. The thing that has brought me back was remembering all I've missed in life because of the weight and the want to not miss out anymore, for me, becomes much stronger than my want for chips and cake lol. I look at my scars, physical and emotional, and remember that I did this for a reason.
Don't beat yourself up, just get back on that wagon and do the best you can. I'd say gaining 10lbs isn't the worst thing in the world when you look at how far you have come. You've done great, had a setback, and now it's time to pull yourself out of the rut and get it together again. Never give up! Good luck!

I had my nails and some makeup on (some liquid, they probably didn't notice), they didn't say anything. My nails are "pink and whites" so they don't have polish on them anyway. I had polish on my toes though, they didn't say anything about that either.

First, I have learned to say that "Everyone Is Different" and you all have your own ideas and philosophies. But this is MY Story.
Surgery to Week #4 Lost weight...who couldn't? With 4 weeks of liquids, mushies, gas pains, itchy incisions, etc, etc.
Week #4 to #8 Got my first fill,...4cc's, and NOTHING! What I did get, since I was all healed and recovered from surgery, was my old appetite and hunger come roaring back like a Bear coming out of hibernation! Hungry all the time. I was very discouraged and angry Thought I made a BIG MISTAKE! The more people told me I had to count calories, etc, the more angrier I got! BANDSTER HELL! I actually GAINED WEIGHT during this period.
Week #8 to #12 At week #8, my second visit, the Dr. asked me why I thought I had gained weight. I was honest, told him I was as hungry as I was before the surgery! He smiled, pointed to the Yellow-Green-Red chart on the wall, and said "This is where I want you to be" This is the goal.
He gave me my second fill, 2cc's for a total of 6cc.
This was the TURNING POINT! I was no longer in Bandster Hell. For this first time I felt that this was actually going to work! My portion sizes got very small, I finsihed my meals after eating very little and satisfied, and I was not hungry in between meals. My confidence rose, I became very optimistic. I started to excercise more frequently because now I felt I wa actually doing something productive! And I was loosing weight again, steadily, with little effort.
Problem was...it was NOT PERMANENT! It would come and go, from day to day. But I was excited because I KNEW it was there and I was not wasting my time.
Week #12 to Present 3rd visit with Dr. Pleased with my weight loss. Pointed to the Yellow-Green-Red chart, and asked where do I think I am at? I said borderline Yellow-Green, weaving in and out.
He gave me my 3rd (and final) fill, 1cc for a total of 7cc. He said he hoped that would kick me up to the green, and It DID! PERMANENTLY 24/7!
That was last May. Since then I have stoipped counting calories, stopped worrying about portion sizes, I eat when I'm hungry (which is not often) and I stop when I'm satisfied.
I won't say the last fill did not bring it's own problems and challenge...It did. But I was determined to work them out and not go back to "Sometimes" feelings I had one step before.
It took about 3 weeks of getting frequently stuck, along with all the other signs of perhaps being too tight. But then either the band settled in, or I adapted and changed my ways (latter more accurate) I fell into a "Groove" That was 8-9 months ago and have been living a "Normal" life ever since.
I consider myself a success. If I never loose another #, that would be just fine with me.
2 weeks ago the Dr. gave me 1/2cc. We both agreed I did not need it, but then agreed to do it just to see what happens. Well I started to loose again, slowly. But when I see him in June, I may ask to get that 1/2cc removed. I can always get it put back in at a later date. That's what I consider maintenence...the fine tweaking.
So there, that's my story. Yours may be different, or have different views. But the end result is all about loosing weight, and how you get there is up to you. And that's all that really matters.

I haven't been around the site much lately but I just felt like posting today.. It's my 1 year bandeversary, although I am not where I wanted to be at this point (I had much higher expectations but was unable to live up to them)... Who was I kidding thinking that being banded was going to turn me into Jane Fonda or Denise Austin?? yeah ok, I don't think so, I know me better than that.. But anyway so far so good, I really can't complain. I wouldn't be where I am today without the help of my band, and of course some determination on my part and the support of my super amazing boyfriend, his family and my bestgirlfriends. I had so hoped to be 100lbs down in my first year, but knowing now what I didn't know before is that it just isn't realistic for all of us. We lose what we lose, Every Body is different. I can't beat myself up or cry about it, it's partially me (partially my PCOS). I know I didn't workout enough, I wasn't as strict with my food as I should have been. But I chose that route because working out like a maniac and eating like a rabbit was never, and will never, be a lasting thing for me. It's what got me to the weight of 309lbs.
For me it was always that old song and dance of losing and gaining more than I lost in the first place, time and time again. Being too strict inevitibly caused me to fail over and over because it never lasted, and I was so afraid it would happen again and I'd truely be a failure with a $25,000 band in my belly, and a lump of embarrassment and devastation in my throat. I still worry that I may fail, I have good days and bad days, who am I kidding I have good weeks and bad weeks, but I can't give up on this... I won't give up on this.
So anyway, I've done everything in moderation, my eating, workingout, and my indulging with the penalty of losing slowly, but so what, I'm still losing and I'll take that. When I really sit and reflect and I notice the little changes, I'm so amazed with myself, smaller clothes, I can feel bones, wait I have bones? lol, yeah I do, and it's so awesome to finally meet them.. I can cross my legs, I don't huff and puff walking up stairs.. my sex life (hehehe).. the list goes on and on.. and to think this is only the begining, I still have a ways to go.. I'm still so excited for what my future holds. A future, before surgery I didn't see one, I didn't want to. Now I see the possiblities and I finally see how wonderful life is/can/and will be.. For the first time in my life my weight isn't weighing me down, I'm not a prisioner to it anymore. I actually allow myself to live, whereas before I avoided most social situations by staying home and burying my face in bag of McDonalds or a pizza or whatever else I could shovel in til' it hurt and I fell asleep..
I don't know who I'm writing this for, maybe just for me because who can I really say these things to? Who would really truely get it, or want to listen? Only other banders, maybe.. Or maybe I'm writing this because there's someone out there like me that just needs to hear this and know that they aren't alone.. I don't know.. If anything I say helps or touches one person I'd be happy. Thanks for listening and good luck to every single one of you..
Remember to Never give up on yourself, no matter how helpless things get.. We can do this..

Thank you for sharing. I am just starting so I really enjoy hearing others stories.

You have to be sure you want the band and know what you are getting into, the band is WORK. All weight loss surgeries are but the band is especially.
For the most part we still have to make good food choices and "diet" and work out and be careful to not "eat around our band" by eating junk food, because that stuff certainly goes down like butter.. We have to be patient, coming out of surgery you may not have restriction for months, it can take one or several fills before you feel any difference. I mean believe me, it works and helps ALOT, but it takes time and patience for most of us. You won't see results as fast as you would with the sleeve. I'm not saying you don't know what you are getting into, because I don't know what you've researched or been told. But, I find that ALOT of new banders have no idea that it involves work and patience, alot of newbies just think the weight is magically going to fall off right away in large amounts, that isn't always the case. You have to be prepared for every possible out come. This is life changing, just be sure that it is the right thing for you and that you WANT it, not just "guess" that it's what you're getting because they told you to.
I have a realize band, some will say the lap band is better some say realize is better. I really don't know what the difference is honestly or if one is really that much better than the other. I let my doctor choose which he thought was best for me.
You'll see that many people have lost 100lbs with the band, some less, others have lost even more than 100lbs, so it is definitely possible. I have (a total) of well over 100lbs to lose. I've lost 62 so far, and I still have about 90lbs to go to get down to an actual "normal" weight, but honestly I will be happy with a loss of another 60 or 70lbs. I try not to focus on numbers so much, I just want to look "normal" and I'll know when I get there.
My doctors also thought (and still think) I will do well with the band because of my age and also because I know how to eat right. I've lost weight tons of times, I just haven't ever been able to keep it off. So I guess all those years of practicing eating right are finally paying off. I'm a slow loser, I've lost alot less than what most people here lose within their first year but that's also because I have PCOS, this makes it even more difficult to lose weight. I'm happy with my progress and I'm actually happy that it's coming off slowly. It's giving me time to live and eat realisticly. If I was perfect at my eating and worked out 6 days a week, sure I'd be losing faster but I also know that that is not how I will live my life forever. Being gung-ho about excersing and eating rabbit food is just never a lasting thing for me and never will be, that's what got me so fat in the first place. So I do everything in moderation, I work out when I can and eat well 90% of the time. So I have to lose slower than most, so be it, I'm still losing. I think when doctors say that younger patients will do well with the band it is because younger people seem to be able to adapt to new things and change their habits a little easier, they also find it easier to be more active. Not to say that older patients don't, because many of them do well too.
You can do this too, and it can be right for you. You just have to be determined and don't get caught up on how everyone else did, or is doing. It's possible to lose the amount you need to lose, you just have to want it. I wish you the best of luck!

You probably don't have any restriction yet, I wouldn't worry too much. I seriously was able to eat like a pig last Christmas, soft foods and too many Cookies, whatever I tried to eat if it was chewed enough it went down no problem. At that time I was out of surgery about the same amount of time as you are now. But after a while, when I started on solids I did have some restriction. Now after several fills, I don't think I'm exactly at my "green zone" but I'm close, it takes time for some of us to get there, but you will. Talk to your doctor to ease your mind, I'm sure you are fine.

You probably don't have any restriction yet, I wouldn't worry too much. I seriously was able to eat like a pig last Christmas, soft foods and too many Cookies, whatever I tried to eat if it was chewed enough it went down no problem. At that time I was out of surgery about the same amount of time as you are now. But after a while, when I started on solids I did have some restriction. Now after several fills, I don't think I'm exactly at my "green zone" but I'm close, it takes time for some of us to get there, but you will. Talk to your doctor to ease your mind, I'm sure you are fine.

i have been banded since July 25th. The past month I have experienced 2 stuck episodes that were no fun at all. Is it normal to be getting stuck so much after 3 months out?? The first was on a piece of bacon while I was on vacation. That lasted about 18 hours before I found relief. Had to keep getting it up.....(sorry) until I got relief. The last episode (last night) out for dinner with friends. Got the stuck feeling after 2 bites of french dip (roast beef with gravy). Went to ladies room to get relief. Then started with the excessive indigestion....hiccuping....belching.....and foaming saliva which came up unvoluntarily. No fun at all. Last night's episode lasted about 2 hours. When I got home I made myself vomit to get relief. Is this normal????? Does a stuck episode usually last this long.\??? I have not had a fill and am happy with the weight loss, but not happy with these stuck episodes. I am chewing and careful what I eat. Any advice would be appreciated. Also, do you think I can damage the band by making myself throw up the stuck food? ? I am going to the dr. on the 15th and have alot of questions for him. CAT

It's normal to not lose or even gain some weight after surgery. The first month or so is all about healing, not weightloss. I was banded Dec 2010, the same happened to me, I lost about 13 or 14lbs the first week and then maybe another pound or 2 until my first fill, 6 weeks after surgery. Once I started getting fills the weight started coming off slowly. The more fills I get over time, the more restriction I get followed by more weightloss. I have months where I'll lose a good amount of weight, and some where I only lose a few or none at all.

For some of us it may take a few fills to gain restriction. You have to be patient and be very careful with what you are eating in between fills. If you aren't feeling restriction prior to fills you will have to diet all on your own as best as you can until your band starts helping you. The process of getting the band is so exciting and patience is the last thing we have when we've been through so much. We just want results right now, and that's understandable, I think most of us felt and/or feel that way. But that's not the reality of it (for most of us anyway), results may take a while. So just be patient for now, don't be upset if you gain a few pounds or if you're stuck at a certain weight, it's ok, you're on the right road. Give yourself time to recover before you start pushing yourself or being upset with yourself. The scale will start moving in the right direction before you know it.. Good luck!

It's normal to not lose or even gain some weight after surgery. The first month or so is all about healing, not weightloss. I was banded Dec 2010, the same happened to me, I lost about 13 or 14lbs the first week and then maybe another pound or 2 until my first fill, 6 weeks after surgery. Once I started getting fills the weight started coming off slowly. The more fills I get over time, the more restriction I get followed by more weightloss. I have months where I'll lose a good amount of weight, and some where I only lose a few or none at all.

For some of us it may take a few fills to gain restriction. You have to be patient and be very careful with what you are eating in between fills. If you aren't feeling restriction prior to fills you will have to diet all on your own as best as you can until your band starts helping you. The process of getting the band is so exciting and patience is the last thing we have when we've been through so much. We just want results right now, and that's understandable, I think most of us felt and/or feel that way. But that's not the reality of it (for most of us anyway), results may take a while. So just be patient for now, don't be upset if you gain a few pounds or if you're stuck at a certain weight, it's ok, you're on the right road. Give yourself time to recover before you start pushing yourself or being upset with yourself. The scale will start moving in the right direction before you know it.. Good luck!

Hello Brandi and welcome.
Just breathe, it will be ok! This is a big change mentally and physically, you have to be patient and take your time with it, don't be too hard on yourself. Most of us are food addicts, we all love food and we've all freaked out with the thought of never being able to have our favorite things ever again. We didn't get to the sizes we are because we love salads and boiled chicken lol. You just have to tell yourself you are doing this to be healthy, you have to want the change more than you want your favorite foods. Don't think about what you might be giving up, it's just food, yes I said it, it's just food, you are worth more than that.
I don't tell myself that I will never have Mcdonalds ever again or I will never have this or that again because that had been the basis of every crash diet I've been on, it's caused me to panic in the past and has caused me to feel deprived and in the end, that kind of thinking was what's caused me to fail over and over again. But that's just me.
The band is restrictive, it's to help us from pigging out and to help us make better choices in making every bite count towards nutrition and not pleasure. it will never make our food choices and will never cook us a healthy meal, and it most definitely will not exercise for us .
Yes, some of us can't eat certain foods anymore, but that is something you will gradually come to find out for yourself and you may not even want those things anymore once (or if) they give you problems. I know that thought seems impossible in the beginning but it can happen, and has happened for some of us.
Right now if I wanted to I could eat Mcdonalds, but I'm choosing not to because I didn't go through all those hoops, and my surgery to sabotage myself. Will I ever eat Mcdonalds, or any other of the junk food I love ever again?, yes, one day down the road I will allow myself to have it as a treat, maybe just some of a cheeseburger and not half the menu like I've done so many times before. But I choose to not incorporate "poison foods" in my everyday eating, like I used to. I go to restaurants with friends and eat, much less than before, and I always have lots of leftovers, but I still can enjoy myself, I just don't over indulge anymore, there's no need to and no uncontrollable drive to anymore. Those are the changes I've chosen to make, and you will and can make your own healthier choices too. Don't look at it as an end all to yummy foods, it's a gradual lifestyle change. We are not perfect, we have bad days but we move on from it and push ourselves to get where we want to be.
I never thought I could do this either so you are not alone in that, but I made my change in August 2010, and I am now 7 weeks post-op. I still have days when I doubt myself, but this site is awesome and very supportive, it keeps me on my toes. Being here is a constant reminder of what I am doing and helps me stay accountable for my choices.
I wish you the best of luck. Remember anything worth having is never easy. You can do this!

So I'm 7 weeks post-op and the initial excitement of being banded is fleeting. *big freakin' sigh* Am I alone in this? Does anyone else feel like they were super excited in the beginning and now it's just like, "ok , now what?" Friends and co-workers keep asking "how much have you lost?" and it's making me feel pressured. Every time I talk to them they ask and it's getting on my nerves because I see their puzzled faces when I don't have any big numbers to tell them. I feel like no one gets it, no one really understands the band, and I don't have the time or patience to explain every last detail of this process to every single person that asks. Grrrrrr!!!

I knew all about bandster hell, which is where I am and I've accepted it so I don't need to be yelled at or lectured by all you snotty-better than everyone else-know it all-sitting on my high horse-senior bandsters, so save it, I don't need your negativity and neither does anyone else.

Anyway, right now I'm feeling the need to whine, and you are the only people that can understand! I also get the fact that this isn't some magic pill and that I do need to work my butt off, and that's fine, it's really how I wanted to lose the weight anyway, but I'm just getting frustrated lately.


I'm getting full faster, eating way less and eating the right things 98% of the time, but still getting a little hungrier between meals than I was a few weeks ago (especially in the last few days) and I could still eat like a linebacker if I really tried (even after my first fill on Jan 18th, which is normal, I know) but I don't eat that way in fear of barfing, again. I had my first meeting with the porcelain Gods the other day, that wasn't fun. It was my fault, ate too heavy too early in the day and got stuck on the 2nd bite. .Oh well, I survived, lesson learned.


My weight is trickling off very very slowly especially in the last 2 weeks, but I was just hoping that I would have done better or would have found more motivation to work out by now. I really am happy that I have lost what I have lost, I'm just more upset with myself for not feeling more motivated. Again, my initial excitement is fleeting and I want it back. I was all gung ho and motivated to work out after surgery then within a month I fell back into my old lazy slump.

I need some motivation and some accountability buddies! Thanks for reading my rant!

So I'm 7 weeks post-op and the initial excitement of being banded is fleeting. *big freakin' sigh* Am I alone in this? Does anyone else feel like they were super excited in the beginning and now it's just like, "ok , now what?" Friends and co-workers keep asking "how much have you lost?" and it's making me feel pressured. Every time I talk to them they ask and it's getting on my nerves because I see their puzzled faces when I don't have any big numbers to tell them. I feel like no one gets it, no one really understands the band, and I don't have the time or patience to explain every last detail of this process to every single person that asks. Grrrrrr!!!

I knew all about bandster hell, which is where I am and I've accepted it so I don't need to be yelled at or lectured by all you snotty-better than everyone else-know it all-sitting on my high horse-senior bandsters, so save it, I don't need your negativity and neither does anyone else.

Anyway, right now I'm feeling the need to whine, and you are the only people that can understand! I also get the fact that this isn't some magic pill and that I do need to work my butt off, and that's fine, it's really how I wanted to lose the weight anyway, but I'm just getting frustrated lately.


I'm getting full faster, eating way less and eating the right things 98% of the time, but still getting a little hungrier between meals than I was a few weeks ago (especially in the last few days) and I could still eat like a linebacker if I really tried (even after my first fill on Jan 18th, which is normal, I know) but I don't eat that way in fear of barfing, again. I had my first meeting with the porcelain Gods the other day, that wasn't fun. It was my fault, ate too heavy too early in the day and got stuck on the 2nd bite. .Oh well, I survived, lesson learned.


My weight is trickling off very very slowly especially in the last 2 weeks, but I was just hoping that I would have done better or would have found more motivation to work out by now. I really am happy that I have lost what I have lost, I'm just more upset with myself for not feeling more motivated. Again, my initial excitement is fleeting and I want it back. I was all gung ho and motivated to work out after surgery then within a month I fell back into my old lazy slump.

I need some motivation and some accountability buddies! Thanks for reading my rant!

If you have thinning hair try Nioxin and definitely the Biotin, they have liquid and pills that dissolve.

2 friends of mine, 1 male 1 female have used Nioxin and swear by it. They weren't having thinning hair troubles due to weight loss but I don't think it really matters, they saw a major improvement. My male friend noticed premature thinning and my female friend suffered from over plucking-eyebrow-itis lol, her brows hadn't grown right in years. But after using it for maybe a few months his hair got thicker and her brows grew in.
it's pricey but they seem to think it was worth it. You can find it online and in salons.

For dry skin, Aveeno in shower oil is amazing, it's not greasy like others can be and has a nice almondy scent to it. I had really bad poison ivy all over my body a few years ago and once it cleared I was left with really bad scaly skin. After about a week of using it I was softer than I ever was before. Now it's a staple in my shower. Their line of lotions are pretty great too, I like their oil lotion, it's moisturizing, not greasy and smells so good. I get very dry in the winter and it makes my skin feel like silk.

I also use Jergens ultra healing lotion, which in my opinion is probably the best lotion I've ever used (and I've used ALOT of products) I usually recommend this to people because there's no scent so it's great if you are sensitive to fragrances. Recently I tried St. Ives soothing oatmeal and Shea butter lotion, I love it, and it smells so yummy.

Hope this helps, good luck!