Thee-O

I also love my fitbit, I carry it wherever I go. It is a great motivator and really tells you how you are doing with your activity and sleep.
Also it now works with MyFitnessPal.com so you can log in your foods there and the FitBit will automatically send the activity data over so that you can have a more accurate look at your calorie burn per day.
I love it...it is a great tool, especially with MyFitnessPal integration

The lap band is a tool you work with, it doesn't do all the work for you. I don't have any fills either and I am working the band like it isn't there. I am changing my life. Yes I have the band and it comes in handy, but it doesn't force me to go to the gym in the morning. It didn't force me to stop eating potatoes, beer and rice...
You are doing the work. You have a tool. It is like someone building a house, you would compliment him on the look and craftsmanship of his work, not question the tools created to get the results.
You are not a fraud. You are working hard to achieve your goals

The lap band is a tool you work with, it doesn't do all the work for you. I don't have any fills either and I am working the band like it isn't there. I am changing my life. Yes I have the band and it comes in handy, but it doesn't force me to go to the gym in the morning. It didn't force me to stop eating potatoes, beer and rice...
You are doing the work. You have a tool. It is like someone building a house, you would compliment him on the look and craftsmanship of his work, not question the tools created to get the results.
You are not a fraud. You are working hard to achieve your goals

When you have your first stuck episode, trust me...YOU WILL KNOW IT. It doesn't feel like anything else and your first reaction may be to drink a glass of Water to help it down. BIG MISTAKE. The Water just pools on top...feels sooooo bad.
Usually starts off with Hiccups and burping and then bam...it hits you and you can't do anything but wait it out. I have actually stretched and also jumped up and down to let gravity help but nothing really helps other than time. I may have to try that Papaya enzyme though.
The best way to deal with it is to just SLOW DOWN and chew. I know, easier said than done, but with the pain you get from being stuck, it will teach you that lesson really fast.

I agree that people are in too big of a hurry to get fills and doctors are right for not filling you if you are constantly losing weight. Once you get filled completely up and you have the rest of your life with the band what happens then when you can never get another fill. I have been banded two years and only filled twice and that was after a year with no fills and only have 3 cc's in my band. Im not in a hurry to get filled. I will go in January for the next fill but I am happy with my weight loss so is my doctor and he told me when I need one come in and thats what Im doing . I dont believe that you cant have some control over what you eat and the amount you eat the you need to get filled up every six weeks just for the sake of getting a fill. There are times weight loss will stop no matter how many fills you get and will be stagnant for a while but then it picks up again when you mix up your diet. Its only my opinion but I say no to a lot of fills and yes to having some constraint and accountability of your own. Yes we had th surgery to lose weight but I have this thing forever I will use it wisely and the other part will be me doing the rest. Maybe some dont have the will power or desire to try it at least to some degree on their own. But I refuse to let some doctor fill me every six weeks just because thats what he wants to do.

That is kind of how the band worked for me. I know how to lose weight. I know the things I need to change, but really it was the surgery that shored everything up for me. It helps keeps me accountable. It reminds me when I screw up and helps set me on the right path. I personally haven't had any fills in the band because I really want it to be because of my hard work and effort that I am losing the weight. Some have asked then why have the surgery. The surgery was my rock bottom in my addiction to food. To me it was my wake up call and that is exactly what I needed it to be.
Remember the band is a tool. You determine how you want to use it.You can do things as fast or as slow as you need them to be for you. I don't know you but from how you describe yourself, this would work for you. Whatever you decide, good luck on your journey and yeah I would hesitate of doing the RNY.

My father asked me recently since I am pretty much doing this the old fashioned way of diet and exercise if I felt I needed the surgery. I do feel I needed it. It was my wake up call. It got so bad for me and my weight that I needed to have surgery. That to me woke my ass up. The surgery was totally needed for me....but really to get my head right.
I love food. Still love food. But I am loving healthier foods now. I gave up bread, potatoes and rice. I work out 4 times a week. I want this to be a life change for me. Not a diet. I need to be able to say that If the band was removed that I could still do this.
Do I feel restriction? Yes. I have had a few stuck episodes if I eat to fast. I don't eat nearly what I used to eat in the past and it helps me stay satisfied for hours which is really what I needed it for. So yes I do feel some restriction.
I know I could be losing faster if I got fills but I am not in a race to lose the weight. I want to do it steady. I have averaged 10 lbs a month. To me that is fine. 5 lbs a month is fine. I just love that the scale keeps moving downward no matter how slowly. I am gaining a lot of muscle from working out so I am sure that is why I plateau a bit. I am not worried. I see the inches falling off and I feel great.
So I will have the band in me for the rest of my life. I have plenty of time for fills....but I needed to get my head right first...
at least that is the way I see it.

Great job...and it does get easier to say no to things. Once you start seeing and feeling the changes in your body, it will come easy to say no to those tempting treats. It is all mind over matter.
I haven't had pizza or Pasta in over 4 months...and I don't really miss it.

Hey Layne,
Snacking is ok. Just as long as they are good Snacks. If you are snacking on apple slices, great! If you are snacking on Potato Chips...not so great. I count calories mainly. I use (and a lot of the people on this site also use it) Myfitnesspal.com. It is a great tool to help you count your calories throughout this journey. I suggest you look into it. Keeping a food diary is a great idea and this will also help you keep a diary of all your exercise. The more you burn, the more you can take in and then snacking could be a ideal situation.
As far as carbs. I am not hardcore about counting carbs but I found that eliminating these 3 things, White Rice, White bread and Potatoes (which I call the white devils) help out quite a bit. I don't generally eat bread or rice anymore, but from time to time I have noodles. I work out a lot, so I do need some carbs for energy.
You are losing good weight and that is awesome. Keep up the great work!

I also thought I was going to mourn food more. For some reason, after the surgery, a switch in my head just went off. I think maybe the surgery was my rock bottom. The fact that my eating and lack of exercise got me to a point where I needed to have surgery to correct it. I have a few friends with the lap band and I have seen them fail. Go back to bad habits and not go to follow up appointments. I didn't want to be that person.
I used to love junk food and fast food. What is not to love. It is easy, quick and tasty. But then you have surgery, and then you start counting calories and looking at labels and you realize how much crap you are putting into your system. For me, it was a wake up call. This surgery saved my life, but I know it is now all on me to see the rest through. You can do it. You are already doing it.
Good luck to you.

I also thought I was going to mourn food more. For some reason, after the surgery, a switch in my head just went off. I think maybe the surgery was my rock bottom. The fact that my eating and lack of exercise got me to a point where I needed to have surgery to correct it. I have a few friends with the lap band and I have seen them fail. Go back to bad habits and not go to follow up appointments. I didn't want to be that person.
I used to love junk food and fast food. What is not to love. It is easy, quick and tasty. But then you have surgery, and then you start counting calories and looking at labels and you realize how much crap you are putting into your system. For me, it was a wake up call. This surgery saved my life, but I know it is now all on me to see the rest through. You can do it. You are already doing it.
Good luck to you.

I agree also but maybe the band was a catalyst that helped this change. Now after 2 months of being banded I realize I had everything I needed to really lose the weight inside of me. However, it was the year long pre surgery process and the actually surgery itself that helped this awaken in my brain for some reason. Although I feel I could have done it with out the band, I am grateful that I got the band. I don't expect it to do the work for me. I won't stop me from eating crap. Only I do that. It won't force me to work out. Only I do that. So no matter what, no matter how the band works for you or if it does at all, you made the change and maybe, just maybe, the surgery helped that change. I know it has with me.

Today is my 2 month anniversary of getting my surgery. Since then I have lost almost 30 lbs, a couple of inches and also gained a lot of "You look great" comments. I decided on not getting a fill on my 6 week visit but I am going to see my surgeon next week to see where we are at.
The band has been great for me, but I don't think in the ways many people would think. Has it cut my appetite? Sure it has. That is what it is meant for. But a lot of other things changed for me after I got my band! Myself as a person, changed first and foremost. I think what the band has done for me more than anything is change my thinking. I gave up things that I don't really have to with the lap band. I can't really say why either, but I know I needed a change. I know I needed this to be more than just "well I can eat less but still eat crap". I needed to change my head and it is funny how a piece of plastic around my stomach can change that.
I have given up what a friend of mine calls the "white devils". Sugar, Rice, Potatoes and bread. This was not something I was planning on doing. It was something that kind of happened naturally after I healed from surgery. I am not sure what triggered this but I am glad it happened. I also started working out. A LOT. At least 4 days a week. It has now become somewhat of a addiction. I feel like I need to get my "sweat on" and if I don't I feel like I let myself down. I also started counting calories and that has helped a lot. Again not something you have to do with the lap band and not something I was planning on but it just happened.
Restriction is great, but the real deal for the lap band in my case has been the change in my head. The lap band is my daily reminder to do right, to stay on the difficult path and to move in positive directions. It came upon at the right time of my life where I was truly ready for change. I don't think the band would have worked for me if my head wasn't ready to make this all possible. The band is a tool. It doesn't do the work for you. It can't change your habits if you don't want them to change. It can't stop you from eating that cookie if you can't stop yourself. I guess those of us who have had the lap band use it differently. I just know it didn't just affect my hunger and I for one, am very happy about it.

I think everyone who has the lap band goes through their own journey of finding the difference between physical hunger and head hunger. I have been banded 3 1/2 weeks now and I still find myself over ordering. Even when I think I am getting a small meal in my head. It takes time to get used to. I do miss certain foods, but I found love for other new foods that are healthier for me. You will find that food, that satisfies you, and also is good for you. For me it is Sashimi. It is something I love, something I know is good for me and something that I can have on a regular basis and not feel bad about.
I used to love bread and rice but for some reason (and maybe because I don't want to get stuck), I just have no craving for it. Knowing that I can only get a limited amount of food in makes me want to make sure I am getting what my body needs as opposed to what my head wants.
Good luck on your journey.

I had my first real NSV (Non scale Victory) yesterday. I checked my blood sugar yesterday afternoon and I was at 91! I don't think I have ever been below 100 since I was diagnosed over 5 years ago. That felt really nice. My blood sugars have never been better and I hope to start weening myself off some of the diabetes meds soon. Cannot wait!!

So I had some lunch with my dad this afternoon. Since I am the mushy part of my diet I went with two runny scrambled eggs and a cup of chili. I ate the eggs fine and a half cup of the chili and was completely satisfied. So strange. In the past I could have eaten that and whatever my dad was eating as well. My dad, couldn't believe the change. I can't believe it. So strange.
Tell you one thing though, that was the best scrambled eggs I have ever had
Glad to finally get out of the house for a bite...