TwinMom74

Having weighed all the risks, I felt it was worth it to have a normal, healthy life once again...something I could never do on my own, and something that was beyond my wildest dreams...and NOW I HAVE IT!
So who cares if it is the easy, lazy way out, what does that matter?
You can walk everywhere, but it's easier and the lazy way to drive your car....I never understood that argument, as though just because it's easy it cannot be any good? HOGWASH!...
....it worked for me, and that's all that I care about.......Was it easy? Eventually, after everything got adjusted right.....easy is Good! Easier than any diet I ever tried and failed at, that's for sure.
I have a fried who is that type of critic...and every time I see her, she just keeps getting bigger and bigger....amd I keep getting smaller and smaller.....

Welcome to the board and congratulations on taking this step towards a much healthier lifestyle. My suggestion for this phase you are in, is to not go overboard. Stick to the plan as outlined by your doctor, as the purpose of the pre-op diet is to work on shrinking your liver so that it is not in the way during surgery.
You are beginning to develop great lifestyle changes by eating less and exercising, just keep that up once you're done with your surgery.
Good luck and keep us posted with your success story!

I so needed to read this today! Well said.

This is so true about the self-image. I thought it was only me, but I can't seem to understand that I am now thin. Although I have lost about 10 sizes and I'm now a size 8, when I look in the mirror, I still see myself as heavy. It's only when I look at pictures do I realize that I'm not.
What you've stated is great...to maintain pictures of your weight loss journey so that you can track your progress.

Weight loss surgery is just one part of the picture of weight management. Surgery alone does not guarantee you will lose weight; it is a tool that can assist you to lose weight when teamed with lifestyle change.


Both professionals in the field and those who have had or are considering having surgery themselves seem to be involved in an ongoing debate over what is the best type of weight loss surgery. The three most common forms of surgery in Australia at present, gastric band, gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy all have loyal fans and big opponents. In my recently launched Nutrition for Weight Loss Surgery Support Group the pros and cons of the different surgery types are regularly discussed by those who have been through the various procedures.
Whilst technically different, what is common to all forms of weight loss surgery is that the surgery itself is just one part of the picture of weight management. Surgery alone does not guarantee you will lose weight; it is a tool that can assist you to lose weight when teamed with lifestyle change.
Colleen Cook is a successful weight loss surgery patient from 1995 and is the author of the best selling weight loss surgery book, The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients. It is based on her research of the most successful long-term patients and the habits they have in common as they maintain their weight over time. Colleen is also the President of Bariatric Support Centers International, a company that specialises in providing education and support services for those who have had weight loss surgery and the professionals who work with them. Following is a comment from Colleen that stood out to me when reading her work recently:
“Successful patients took personal responsibility for staying in control. They were found to have a general feeling that maintaining their weight was indeed their own responsibility and that surgery was a tool that they used to reach and maintain a healthy weight.”
Colleen’s words illustrate perfectly that weight loss surgery itself does not cause weight loss. Those undergoing weight loss surgery will need to take responsibility for their lifestyle choices. To achieve the best weight loss results and maintain that weight loss in the long term, you will need to choose healthy and nutritious foods, increase physical activity and maintain regular follow up with your support team.
Are you maximizing the support available to you? Do you regularly follow up with your surgeon or bariatric GP to check your progress? For those with a gastric band, have you worked with them to find the green zone? Have you had the blood tests recommended to you to monitor any medical conditions or detect nutrient deficiencies? Have you seen an exercise physiologist or physiotherapist regarding an activity program tailored to you? Did you see your dietitian for the pre and post surgery info but never returned for ongoing support? Are you comfortable with the support team at your clinic? If not, you need to seek out a new support network. Ultimately it is up to you to utilise the support and resources available to you for a successful journey,

I'm a married guy in his 50's from Delaware, but I was told the pre-op diet was to shrink the liver so it is less likely to be cut accidentally during surgery !! My Dr. even said that he would not do my surgery if I didn't follow that diet to the T . He said he has woke patients up before because the liver needed to shrink more, I didn't want to be woke up, so I followed the diet !!!!!

OMG yes! I think that says it all. If losing the weight is what you want, more than anything, you will make it happen, band or not. The band just makes it a little easier, but we still have to do all the heavy lifting (pun intended)

So, I'm feeling "naked" at the moment and 8pm can't get here fast enough! I dropped my wedding ring off earlier to get sized! After losing 60 lbs, it had to go from a 5.5 DOWN to a 4.5! Yay!! The small things are exciting, too!!!

I was banded april 24th and i am being told at work i need new pants and even new shirts... i have only lost 30 pounds.. so in my mind i do not feel that i need to.. besides i figured i would just get a belt before getting new pants and i decided i must have been bigger then i thought i was lol.. it is deff mind over matter sometimes congrats on your weightloss!

This is so true about the self-image. I thought it was only me, but I can't seem to understand that I am now thin. Although I have lost about 10 sizes and I'm now a size 8, when I look in the mirror, I still see myself as heavy. It's only when I look at pictures do I realize that I'm not.
What you've stated is great...to maintain pictures of your weight loss journey so that you can track your progress.

You all are doing great!! It's such a long hard process to wrap your head around the body image issue. I still struggle with that. My friends tell me I am thin, and I cringe. All I see are the problem areas. It's hard to stay positive, but try to take pictures and compare. You may not enjoy it, but it's an important part of the process and will help you visualize your true self (because apparently the mirror lies)!!

Isn't it the best???? I bought my first medium this weekend in Lerner NY - I could barely fit in their xL before surg!!!!!

I went shopping today and bought not only one but three medium tops and one medium dress!! I started at a 1x but probably should have been wearing a 2x.
LOVING MY BAND!!!!
Sent from my iPhone using LapBandTalk

People are quite nosy, and their nosiness will increase when you start losing weight too. I told my co-workers I had to go for surgery to remove my gall bladder (since I had to come back to work 2 days post surgery). I also started telling them way in advance of my surgery that I started seeing a nutritionist and exercising to lose weight.
Good luck on your journey..this is one of the best decisions you've made! Keep us posted on your progress.

People are quite nosy, and their nosiness will increase when you start losing weight too. I told my co-workers I had to go for surgery to remove my gall bladder (since I had to come back to work 2 days post surgery). I also started telling them way in advance of my surgery that I started seeing a nutritionist and exercising to lose weight.
Good luck on your journey..this is one of the best decisions you've made! Keep us posted on your progress.

You could say that you are having a hernia repaired/removed because that would be a possibility during the surgery.

How do you like your band? Tight? Tighter? Tightest?


MORE, MORE, MORE

Americans love MORE: more of anything and everything. More food, more fun, and (for some of us) more fill in our bands. But striving for maximum fill in the effort to achieve maximum weight loss can be a terrible mistake.

Fat folks become obese enough to qualify for bariatric surgery because we’ve been eating more, more, more, so it’s not surprising that bandsters long for more, more, more fill. The tighter the band, the better, right?

Wrong. Here’s why: tighter doesn’t automatically yield more weight loss. It can cause eating problems, side effects and complications that none of us want. It can compromise our quality of life. It can make us miserable when all we hope for from bariatric surgery is a better life.

You’re not impressed by all that? You’re willing to risk everything in the pursuit of skinny? Then try this on for size. A tight band doesn’t guarantee weight loss. Just the opposite: it can stall your weight loss or even make you gain weight.

Do I have your full attention now? Good. Listen up and I’ll explain why tighter isn’t always better.


THE RESTRICTION FALLACY

Traditionally, the adjustable gastric band has been considered a “restrictive” weight loss surgery. Bandsters were taught to look for signs of restriction: the proofs that their bands were working. Instead of paying attention to her own eating behavior and lifestyle, the bandster waited impatiently for the flashing signs, ringing bells and slamming doors that would stop her from overeating. The idea was that the small upper stomach pouch would “restrict” food intake and result in weight loss. Sound familiar?

That was well-intentioned thinking, but it was wrong. In the past 5 or so years, band manufacturers and bariatric surgeons have come to believe that it’s a mistake to eat and eat until you set off your band’s emergency warning system, for the reasons mentioned above. Unfortunately, the re-education process is slow going, and in the meantime, the restriction fallacy lives on. Even now, approximately every third word out of a bandster’s mouth is “restriction”. It’s a catch-all term for the feelings that limit how much a bandster eats. Post-op band life tends to become a Quest for enough fills to reach the Holy Land of Restriction. Next stop: Skinnyland.

Or not.


HAZARD AHEAD! THE DANGERS OF SOFT CALORIE SYNDROME

Soft Calorie Syndrome is one of the least publicized dangers of a band that’s too tight. Psychologists would call it a maladaptive behavior, that is: a nonproductive behavior that prevents you from adapting to situations, or changes in yourself or your environment, in a healthy way. It can begin as an attempt to deal with or avoid an unpleasant experience but it does not solve the original problem and eventually becomes dysfunctional. You can read more about maladaptive eating behaviors by clicking here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/page/articles.html/_/healthy-living/is-your-eating-maladaptive-r50
A bandster experiencing Soft Calorie Syndrome is responding to the unpleasant experience of eating with a band that’s too tight by eating the soft and liquid calories that slide most easily past their gatekeeper band. Instead of eating the healthy and solid foods (like dense animal Protein, veggies, fruits) that provide the most satiety (both early and prolonged), that person favors easy-to-eat food that’s often junky and high in calories (for example: potato chips, ice cream, milkshakes). Even healthy foods( like yogurt, cottage cheese and, fat-free/sugar-free pudding) can fall into the soft calorie category, and they don’t provide any better satiety than the junky stuff. The net result is that you end up consuming more calories than you need because the soft stuff doesn’t provide enough early and prolonged satiety. And the result of that is a weight loss plateau, or even weight gain.

I discovered the perils of Soft Calorie Syndrome for myself when I traveled to New York City to attend a trade show when I was about 8 months post-op. I had gotten a fill the day before I left, and by the time I got to New York I had realized that my band was too tight for me to tolerate. I couldn’t eat any solid food, so I spent the next 3 days eating soft, high-calorie, low-satiety foods like creamy Soups, milkshakes, and ice cream. I was just trying to survive long enough to go home and get an unfill. My maladaptive eating behavior achieved a temporary goal (comfortable survival) while sabotaging my long term goal of losing weight. In fact, I gained weight during that trip and ended up feeling disappointed in myself. I promised myself no more fills on Fridays and no more fills the day before a business trip. I called my surgeon’s every time I suspected my band was too tight and found that even tiny unfills could make all the difference in my quality of life as well as my weight loss.

I know I’m not the only person who’s discovered the perils of Soft Calorie Syndrome. I also know that you’re not alone in believing that more fill is better and that unfills will slow or stall your weight loss. A few months ago I talked about this with a smart and successful bandster named Denise. When her surgeon reacted to her too-tight band by suggesting an unfill of .5 cc, her dazed and frightened face made him reassure her that she could start being re-filled in a month. The month ahead scared her, but she agreed to the unfill, and discovered that rather than returning her to Bandster Hell, it had restored sanity to her eating life. She said, “I was able to eat again. Solids went down easily. bread was on my menu. Meals lasted me several hours. I didn’t snack because I was able to eat enough to keep me satisfied.”

When Denise went back to her surgeon a month later, he was delighted her hear her say that she didn’t even need a re-fill. She told him, “I can eat anything, but I’m not eating everything.”

And that, my friends, is what healthy eating is all about.

People are quite nosy, and their nosiness will increase when you start losing weight too. I told my co-workers I had to go for surgery to remove my gall bladder (since I had to come back to work 2 days post surgery). I also started telling them way in advance of my surgery that I started seeing a nutritionist and exercising to lose weight.
Good luck on your journey..this is one of the best decisions you've made! Keep us posted on your progress.

Try and take it easy, and although you'll be able to get around, it seems you have an ambitious weekend and should try to stay a little more low-key. I went to work after 3 days, but was still in some pain and uncomfortable.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress...this is one of the best decisions you've made!

Hi--you must still be swollen from the operation. Do you know if when they put the band, they left it unfilled? That feeling of being stuck should only be happening if you are too tight, or eat too fast...for sure, you will not be living with this day in and day out.
You made one of the best decisions, so be patient and follow the rules...the band as a tool, works! Also, if something feels abnormal, you should call your doctor and consult.
Best of luck and keep us updated with your progress!

I was banded 11/20/07 and it was the best decision I've ever made. It is true that some people have had issues. That is true with all weight loss surgeries.
I lost 90 pounds and I am at goal. I had a Tummy Tuck, lower body lift, breast lift and Lipo 5 weeks ago. I am a different person.
Good luck!

I've been banded for 11 months now and couldn't be happier....it really works, however, you have to work with it as well. Once can't think that just because you are banded, you still could eat bad foods and loose weight. You really have to modify your lifestyle and be concious of what you are putting in your mouth. When I eat, I now eat slow and ask myself "am I satified", if the answer is yes, then I stop eating. I eat my calories, not drink them (e.g., rather eat Protein, than have milk shake etc.) Good luck!

I've been banded for 11 months now and couldn't be happier....it really works, however, you have to work with it as well. Once can't think that just because you are banded, you still could eat bad foods and loose weight. You really have to modify your lifestyle and be concious of what you are putting in your mouth. When I eat, I now eat slow and ask myself "am I satified", if the answer is yes, then I stop eating. I eat my calories, not drink them (e.g., rather eat Protein, than have milk shake etc.) Good luck!

Hi LovelyT,
Congratulations on your scheduled September 23rd surgery---you will start looking fantastic in no time! In terms of time off, I would think everyone's tolerance for pain would be different. I had surgery on Monday, Aug 15th had to come into the office on Wednesday 8/17 (walked fine, but very slowly--I too sit in an office all day!). Then took off on Thurs and returned on Friday (walked a bit quicker, but still had to get up quite often to walk around the office). By Monday, I was fine. Hope this helps and keep us posted on your progress.
Cheers