Cazzy

I still love food but take this love to cooking and experiementing with new ideas and new recipies which i can safely eat and that doesn't put on weight and helps me stay healthy. I always did eat a healthy diet, just too much of it and no exercise, now i eat less and exercise so my love of food hasnt changed since being banded.

I'm 6 months out and have only lost 30lbs. It is a bit depressing seeing so many people at 60+ lbs lost but I try to stay positive throughout this journey and not compare myself to others and stay positive. I have hypothyroidism as well as type 1 diabetes and the fact of the matter is that it will take me much longer to lose weight. I will kep striving though to get these lbs off even if it takes me years. If nothing else, I weigh less than I did 6 months ago.

110 in six months but I worked my butt off to get there!

My secret is pure dedication, and sacrifice:) That is truly it. I stick to the rules without fail.

The thing to remember about statistics is that they lie! lol. Or at least misrepresent. The 40% - 50% number is an average. That means it includes people who have lost NO weight or even regained weight as well as people who have lost 100% of their excess weight.
The thing about lap band (which my dr and his staff stressed so often, it was like listening to a broken record) is that the band only works for people who work it. Unlike bypass, you can't rely on the body not absorbing the food to create rapid and dramatic weight loss. You have to follow all the rules and make the right choices in order to succeed with the band. Unfortunately, a lot of drs have just as much fat prejudice as the rest of the world, only their prejudice is in believing that fat people aren't willing or able to make the committment to the band. After all, life with the band is like an assisted diet--not the kind of diet that always failed or made us all miserable, but a healthy diet in the sense of a healthy style of lifelong eating and exercise. Since fat people have "clearly failed" at dieting in the past, many bariatric surgeons want to steer us toward bypass because at least some initial weightloss is more of a "sure thing."
Always remember though, that while bypass patients lose more initially, after 3-5 years, the average amount of weight lost between bandsters and bypassers generally equals out. And plenty of people have gained back their bypass weight, too.
Go with what feels right to you. If that's the band, get a second or third opinion from a surgeon who DOES do a lot of banding. Don't get bulldozed into a surgery you aren't 100% comfortable with. Good luck!

maybe his motivation is based more on money than need, i would find another surgeon.. and it doesnt matter if u have to travel to get to them, after all we all travel to go on holiday dont we
Good luck and i hope u find a decent surgeon soon ..

That sounds pretty crazy to me, I wouldn't do it. Are you looking for permission to eat on vacation? For myself, I don't miss the old way of eating, and that was eating til I was stuffed!

Ditch the idiot nutritionist for starters!
That is such irresponsible advice. One thing any bandster knows is that once you have good restriction you do not mess around with it. It is so easy to lose that perfect place and unfilling your band is one very common way for that to happen. It can also cause slight shifting as has happened to me (mine was unfilled for a major surgery), and whilst that's not a problem, I've never gotten the same sort of restriction back, even when my band has been FULL. Luckily I've changed my lifestyle, kept my weight off for so long my body is now used to it and having less restriction really hasnt been a huge problem. And the second thing is, if you've really changed the mindset and lifestyle of a fat person, then holidays arent all about scoffing food anyway. You dont need an empty band to taste new things, enjoy small portions of them, etc.
But certainly, if you're wide open with an as yet filled band, starving hungry and are prepared to wear the consequences of eating more, then you can safely do so. But it might be an idea to eat things that will fill you without too many calories - a wholegrain sandwich full of salad vergies and Protein is very filling but also very healthy, and less likely to cause weight gain than stodgy, heavy bistro food for example. That's what I did when I had to be unfilled and the only weight I ever gained was weight I'd lost due to being sick and just took me back to a BMI of 21.

Could your doctor have put any fill in your band during surgery? Based on my doctor's plan I would only be on cottage or ricotta cheese at this point of your recovery. Could the food you are eating be too substanial? I was not allowed canned chicken until week 4. Perhaps if you try really thin mushies like cottage cheese and yogurt it will be easier to eat.

If you suffer from acid reflux and you are willing to go with the gastric sleeve plication, you may be able to have your surgery covered by insurance. The sleeve plication is a procedure based on the Nissen fundoplication which is used to treat acid reflux. My sister was unsure of having the band but was interested in plication as a stand alone WLS procedure. While plication on it's own isn't usually covered by insurance, the Nissen fundoplication is covered so her doctor will give her both at the same time and it will be covered by her insurance.
While plication as a WLS is relatively new it does show some promise, especially since one of the side effects of the fundoplication was weight loss. Plication is also being preformed with lap bands so far the majority of us that have had the band with plication done are happy with the results.
If you do decide to consider the plication be aware that not all doctors will bill it as a treatment for acid reflux, the doctor that my sister is using is in Miami so you may need to travel. One important benefit is if you do go this way, you won't have to jump through the usual insurance hoops and can pretty much have the surgery right away.
Another option you may have is to see if you have a hernia, if you do you could have the surgery to repair the hernia and then self pay to have the band put in which could save you thousands over paying for the band surgery on its own

I keep making that same mistake all the time, i also still buy clothes that are too big for me .. body is thinner than my mind still !

Ticker says it all gratz on your weight loss !

Sounds like u need a few things to stop self sabotaging, firstly go back to the doctor and get a fill before u pile on the lbs again, secondly get some motivation going through support/family /rewards etc and finally stop eating junk food make your own burgers either with lean beef or turkey whatever the more u eat processed food the more u will crave it, if necessary go see a counsellor/nutritionist but if u dont change what u are doing u may as well have the band removed ..
Go to bed earlier, u cant eat if u are asleep .. get some exercise in too
I am interested in why you chose a lapband if you knew u couldnt change making bad food choices .. I am not trying to be unhelpful but am hoping a bit of wrist slapping will get u to do something about this

Cazzy you are amazing!!
you must feel like a reborn person! give us some wisdom

Ticker says it all gratz on your weight loss !

I always prefer "bad food" over "good food." Are you tracking your food? I am using the Lose It app on my iphone and it's really good for me to keep track of my food choices. I don't want to see the calories going up, up, up with bad food.
Remember why you started this process. You've done a great job so far. You can refocus and recommit to a healthy lifestyle.
I find it's best for me to eat the same thing pretty much every meal every day. Same breakfast, same lunch, etc. This prevents me from having to make too many choices. I don't do well with choices, so it's best if I'm just on autopilot. Get that snack food out of the house too!
I've heard it said many times, "I need a band for my brain" and I can relate. But, you can do this, so don't give up!

I have a hard time not snacking, so I don't keep any snack food in the house. I also plan my meals out for two weeks. For example, I'll cook something Sunday night and portion it out for X amount of meals then freeze half. It keeps my portions in check and it's easy to just grab and go to bring to work or just eat at home.

cONRATS EVERYONE, BUT CAZZY....220 POUNDS IS AMAZING! wOO HOO!

trssdodson - Were you to tight? Is that why you had some removed?
I have hit a huge plateau and find myself so depressed too. I feel for you & the depression. I know I should be happy & full of energy with the new me.
I was going to get a mini fill last week and instead I have tightened up and got stuck 2 days in a row and now sticking to mushies & liquids. I am tight but still get hungry every 2 hours. I was worried that I might have a slip. Can't see my dr until next week as they are off.
Wishing you all the best. Let's support one another. We can do it!
K

Sounds like u need a few things to stop self sabotaging, firstly go back to the doctor and get a fill before u pile on the lbs again, secondly get some motivation going through support/family /rewards etc and finally stop eating junk food make your own burgers either with lean beef or turkey whatever the more u eat processed food the more u will crave it, if necessary go see a counsellor/nutritionist but if u dont change what u are doing u may as well have the band removed ..
Go to bed earlier, u cant eat if u are asleep .. get some exercise in too
I am interested in why you chose a lapband if you knew u couldnt change making bad food choices .. I am not trying to be unhelpful but am hoping a bit of wrist slapping will get u to do something about this

Ticker says it all gratz on your weight loss !

If you dont want your friends to know about the WLS, just be on a 'diet' and have wine spritzers ( or whatever u call them in the US) red or white wine mixed with soda Water just let it stand for a short while to let the bubbles die down or add some ice which will kill the fizzy if u cant drink gassy drinks. The bandwagon is a slow moving truck so just jump back on it .. Have a great weekend !

My husband supported me through the whole process. He even did the pre-op diet with me and has lost 30 lbs over the last year. In Canada we are self pay and the cost is $18K so I needed to have his support. And still today he is my biggest fan! Good luck in your decision.
K

hi i have been banded a little over 9 months. and while i can say i wasnt hungry the first 3 weeks after i was banded, i can tell you how important it is to stick to the rules so early in your recovery. i think at this stage the most important thing is sticking to what your doctor/nutritionist says(especially regarding textures..pureed/mushies/soft..etc.) also i learned that i had to learn the difference between head hunger and actualy hunger. one thing i learned in this process so far is how many times i ate just to be eating and that i wasnt even physically hungry. sometimes i would get on this site when i "thought' I was hungry and before i knew it 1/2hour had passed and i didnt eat anything, which let me know that it was head hunger.
best wishes in your journey.

Wow Violet a 'rant in red'
I have to say that although your words may seem harsh to some they are in essence the way forward for a lot of people who are banded. Having the determination that you have expressed goes a long way to making this band work.
I know there are days i really dont feel like exercising myself, and in the beginning weighing so much it was awful but the only person i was letting down was myself, yesterday i cycled 25 miles on the exercise bike , even tho i had a bad hungry day i did extra miles to cover me for the few extra calories i consumed ...
I, like you was not prepared to have all this done and go through what we have not to change our whole life ..
Good luck to you and i wish you every success, for those who are struggling read Violets words as a motivation and not a criticism ...