Jenn1214

My doctor decided to do it the day of surgery! I guess it depends if you would rather have one big scar or 5 or 6 little ones. I would ask your surgeon which is best for you and what would work better with your pump. I don't regret my surgery but I think looking back on it I'd rather have a few small incisions instead of one big knotted scar on my belly button.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. Feel better soon, and I hope you get the answers that you need.

I hate to be mean, but she is a prime example of someone who doesn't have the right mindset for WLS. It's not a magic wand, although she clearly expects it to be. I don't think the lap band will work for her either until she gets her head in the right place. I wish her the best of luck though.

I had SILS so mine is a couple of inches below my belly button.

I'm not usually one to respond to drama, but this thread makes me very sad. This is supposed to be a place of help and encouragement, not lecturing and bickering. I think if we made exercise a priority in our lives to begin with, we wouldn't have lap bands and wouldn't be discussing this at all. All of us have our own journey and our own lessons to learn, and no one is more "right" than the other. I've been banded a year and I still learn new things from everyone here. As long as we lose weight and get healthy, we're all winners, right? Let's stop the insults and agree to disagree respectfully. We're all in this together.

I used to hate exercise too. I started by walking around my neighborhood and doing Walk Away the Pounds DVDs. My weight began to stall and I needed to bump things up, so I joined a local gym and signed up for personal training. I was scared that I would do what I've always done and be really gung ho for the first couple weeks and fizzle out. I stuck with it and my weight had been steadily dropping since. My hatred of exercise is now outweighed by my love of dropping pounds and dress sizes and endless compliments! I'm a certified gym rat now, something I never thought I would be able to say. All this just from taking the first step out my front door and around the block.

My two cents: 8 lbs is not bad for being 6 weeks out from surgery...don't beat yourself up! Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. You're not eating enough. Your body needs fuel to burn, especially if you're exercising. Try increasing your food intake by a couple hundred calories and see if that helps. Also, don't get stuck in a food rut and eat the same things every day. If that doesn't help, you may want to try changing up your exercise routine. Add strength training if your doctor says it's ok. Building muscle will help your metabolism. Most importantly, don't give up!

My surgery was March 14th, 2011 and I've lost 16 bags of sugar!

Thank you! I think the biggest lesson I learned this past year is to stop "dieting". I'm making a lifestyle change, so dieting is a thing of the past. The "perpetual diet" was the thing that caused me to always fail in the past, as I'm sure it has for many bandsters before surgery. "Not dieting" doesn't mean I allow myself to eat junk food all day long. The band has put me in the mindset of wanting to give my body what it needs to stay healthy and strong, not what my brain wants at the moment. Do I still drink wine on occasion? Have a cookie or a piece of cake? Sure I do. Heck, I eat a piece of dark chocolate every day. The difference is that I don't beat myself over it. I enjoy it, then go back to eating healthier foods and exercising. No big deal. This is real life, not a diet where I'm "good" or "bad". It took me my whole life to figure that out, and I feel like it has been very important in my success.

One year ago today, I had my lap band placed and my life changed forever. I'm down 80 lbs as of this morning, but it's so much more than weight loss for me: -No more acid reflux -Cholesterol and triglycerides are normal -PCOS under control -No more crippling back pain -Feet don't go numb after standing for a few minutes -More energy -More self esteem -No more hiding from cameras -Shopping in any store I want (see ya later, Lane Bryant!) Without the lap band, there is no way I could have achieved all this. Thank you Bandy, you're a lifesaver!

Thanks everyone! As a treat I bought myself two dresses from NY&Co. and a new strapless bra that I've been needing for a while. Let me tell you, I must have looked like a deer in headlights when I walked in to Victoria's Secret...I have never shopped there before! Other than spending over 50 bucks on one bra, it was a great feeling!

I stay away from doughy breads, although pizza is not usually a problem (the homemade stuff, anyway). Breadsticks though, no can do. Don't know why. I got badly stuck on bacon so I'm afraid to try it again. I don't eat steak because I've heard just too many horror stories and it's just not worth it. Eggs don't get stuck, but I get a stomachache about an hour after eating, no matter how they're prepared. I recently had an issue with a piece of chicken in my mother in law's stew...not exactly stuck, but sliming and PBing for a few minutes. Had some leftover the next day and no problems. As a rule, I avoid rice and fibrous fruits and veggies. Never was a big fan anyway, but I know a lot of bandsters have problems with them. I eat a few bites of pasta now and again (having full Italian in laws, it's hard to get away from), but again it's something I rarely eat anymore.

I don't know where this 1/2 cup myth comes from...that is way too little food for an adult to survive on! I eat about 1 to 1/2 cups of food at each meal and my weight loss has been just fine. Plus it's waaaay less than I used to eat, so how could I not lose weight?

I never had any problem losing weight. Heck, that's the easy part! Keeping it off was the problem. Without the lap band I have no doubt in my mind that I would never be where I am today. I would have gone back to eating junk, not exercising, and being miserable. The lap band is the key to my success, period. My one year anniversary is tomorrow and I've lost 79 pounds in that time. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

My fiance has always been supportive, but he never knew what it was like to really be in my shoes. He was never criticized by his parents for his weight and made to feel worthless like I was. He didn't understand why I cried when I looked at myself in pictures. He loves me no matter what I look like...he proposed to me when I was at my highest weight! He has celebrated my successes with the band and listened when I was having problems. Now he has a band himself, and what better support is there than that? Everyone jokes that when we get married no one is even going to recognize us

I asked the PA at my surgeon's office and she said that it sounds like a great snack, but not really enough protein for a meal. For a snack I would probably do half a banana and a tbsp of PB since both are high in calories.

...but since I seem to be technologically challenged, go to my profile to see my new after pic! Now if only I could get my avatar to change...oh well!

Don't get discouraged. My fiance and I both have the band and we both went through the same thing. My bandiversary is wednesday and I've lost 77 pounds so far. My fiance has been banded almost a month and he's lost 30. Hang in there, the weight loss will come!

Muscle milk light isn't too bad. I usually drink Unjury, and my fiance drinks the Whey Protein Isolate from Vitamin Shoppe. I would stay away from Medifast, for the most part they taste terrible. We recently discovered something called Milk and Egg protein at Vitamin Shoppe also...best tasting of all the ones I've tried!

I'm not sure if it has to do with being overweight, but I know it's often seen in polycystic ovarian syndrome. Have you ever been checked for the condition?

This past Saturday I went shopping for dresses for my two flower girls for my wedding in July. Their mother and grandmother hadn't seen me in a few months and the second they saw me, they started raving about how good I looked. The girls' mother even said "Your stomach is so flat!" I have never in my entire life been told that! That'll definitely keep me going to lose these last 30 pounds!

I know, I keep meaning to do that! I'll try to have my fiance take one this weekend!