healthy and happy

I really agree with vlp and dawn. Exercize will help get your metabolism going and be conscious of not only how much you are eating but what you are eating. My diet sounds very similar to vlp. I also wear a bodymedia armband that really helps keep me in check. I plug it up every nite and download it and it tells me how many calories I have burned during the day and I input my food intake and it tells me the calorie deficit for the day. I know that if I want to lose 2 pounds a week then I need a deficit of 1000 calories a day. If I download it and see that I am not going to achieve that, I jump on my treadmill or I lighten up on dinner and evening snack and do what I need to do to reach my daily goal. I have really enjoyed using it to help keep me on track.

Update- I have been slack about posting my progress weekly on here, but here is where I am at now. I am pleased to say that I am only 1 pound away from reaching my target that I posted for the weight challenge. I am down to 187 from 194 at the beginning of the challenge, so I should far surpass my goal by the end of the challenge. I also can wear those size 14 pants that were in my goal plans too and I have logged more than 100 miles on my bike. Making good progress. Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow but dont eat too much!!

Absolutely not! You will feel better than ever and will be able to do both of those activities. I am 3 1/2 months out of surgery and I am playing on an adult league volleyball, working out at the gym daily, riding long distance bike rides, and roller skating. My doc said I could do whatever I wanted to do. Of course there will be a recovery period in which you will have to take it easy on these activites, but after that I think you will be good to go.

As Shelly was talking about in her post, there is the option of banding with plication. I had this done on August 11 of this year and have lost 64 pounds weighing 189 now and still losing. I have not had any issues what so ever and am very glad I did it. I am extremely active and like I said Ihavent had any sickness or problems. Just something to consider. No cutting of the stomach involved. They fold the stomach in and stitch it and then place the band on the stomach as well. Good luck with your decision!

Do not be afraid Lisa! I think it is normal that everyone gets a little nervous just before their surgery and has second thoughts. I must say though that this has been and continues to be a wonderful journey for me. I feel absolutely wonderful and am losing the weight at a good rate. I remember still wondering if I had done the right thing a couple of days after surgery but after about a week I was already feeling good and starting to know that it was the right thing to do. Just stay busy until surgery day and just remember all the reasons you decided to do this in the first place. Good Luck!!

I see a lot of posts on here about people struggling with who they are going to tell and who they arent going to tell. It is a personal decision, but for me I really just dont see the big deal about it. I dont walk around saying "I got a band" if someone doesnt bring it up but if people ask I tell them and I really dont care what they think. I really have not had any negative comments. When people see how successful it has been for me, they are happy for me. Secondly, I do not know why anyone would have a problem with it. The way I look at it if a smoker is trying to quit smoking they have tools to help them with it- the patch, nicorette, etc. People take medicine to help them control high blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. The band is a tool to help us with our weight control. Its no different from the tools that people get to control those other issues. I am extremely happy with my decision to get the band, and it is still a lot of work on our part to lose the weight, so I am proud of myself for taking the bull by the horns and taking action to do something about my weight problem. Whether to tell people or not is your choice but for it is nothing to be ashamed of and even if I do hear a negative comment, I wouldnt give a rip because I did this for me and I know it has been the right choice for me. Good luck with whatever you decide and remember hold your head high!

SkinnyMini- I am a fan of the procedure for sure. Just as Bromo talks about in her posts, I have not experienced the hunger that others talk about and have not had a single fill yet other than what he put in my band on the day of surgery. I attribute that to the fact that I have the plication in addition to the band. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

I know it is disappointing once you have made your mind up to have this happen. I will tell you though that from my personal experience I have a freind had the sleeve and while he lost an amazing amount of weight in a very short time,, he has had sooooo many problems. He has been sick a lot as opposed to my experience with the band w/plication. I have not been sick at all or had any problems whatsoever and have been losing weight at a very good pace. I have another friend who had the band surgery over a year ago and she has had the same experience. I wish you all the best!!

I am with the rest of the replies. 5 pounds is not the end of the world. What is important is that you recognize it and you know that you need to take action. I am not at goal yet (just got banded in August) but when I do get there my maintenance plan is to continue to weigh in weekly and if I gain 5 pounds, I will immediately make sure I take steps to lose it. I think you will always have a day to day fluctation on the scale but set a limit and make sure you dont allow yourself to go over that. I think you will be fine because again, you are monitoring and recognizing that you need to take action. Dont be hard on yourself and dont let it get you down! You have done a phenomenal job and you should continue to celebrate that!

Hi Shelley, I have a Body Media Fitness device also. I love it. It amazes me how accurate it is. I was very skeptical of how it would work when I first got it, but I input all the information into my profile on the computer. I keyed in my food intake for the day and each nite I downloaded my calorie burn info from the device. It would tell me how much weight I should be losing each day based on the info and it was amazingly accurate. I also loved the sleep efficiency info that it tracked. It was dead on. If I woke up during the night and looked at the clock, the next day the darn thing would show exactly the time that I woke up. It is amazing. What is good about it to me is it really keeps me on track on exercize. I have a goal set for calorie burn each day and I would check it every evening. If i wasnt on track to meet my goal, I jumped on my treadmill to get it in line.

OK, I am not a long term bandster, so I dont even know if you would want or value my opinion. I have only been banded for 3 months. But I have to say from reading your post that I totally agree with what Corrigan and Elcee are saying. It sounds like it is not the actual band that is the problem but perhaps the doctors and the surgical center that you are using. This is a major life change. I was told by my insurance company that they would pay 100% of the costs if I used a particular hospital that they were affiliated with and they would only pay 80% if I used the one that I wanted to. I opted to pay the extra money instead of going with the hospital they wanted me to use because I had done extensive research on my doctor and the facility and I also knew some patients personally that had great experiences with them. It was worth it to me to pay a little extra and get the care and service that I was comfortable with. It has definitely been well worth it as I have had nothing but a great experience. My weight has been dropping off at a very consistent pace and I feel absolutely wonderful. I have not thrown up one time or gotten stuck or felt bad. in fact I feel fantastic! But before I could have the surgery they required that I become well educated on the process to make sure it was a success. I had to visit the nutritionist, go to educational seminars to teach me what I would need to know about the surgery and the after care, how to eat and drink with the band, etc. They also required that I had to attend a support group meeting prior to surgery. My doctor personnally called my house a couple of times over the weekend after my surgery to check on how I was doing. So I say all this to make a couple of points about your post! First, I am so sorry that you are having a bad experience. I feel really bad for you that you are having to go through all of this. Perhaps you could find another facility to go to and change doctors. I would caution you though that your statement about not recommending banding to ANYONE is pretty strong. There are just as many great success stories out there as there are bad experiences. The band has changed a lot of peoples lives in a very positive way! Surely you know this too or you would not have decided to get it in the first place. I would recommend it to my friends in family in a heartbeat with the condition that they are knowledgeable about what they are getting into before making the decision and that they are fully committed to the dedication and work that comes with it to make it successful. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you can feel better soon!!

Heres to your questions.... 1. I was scheduled to stay overnite, but I was up walking around in the recovery room and was doing so well that my doc let me go on home. 2. I have had no problems drinking Water. I actually drink a lot of water everyday. 3.I am not sure about plication without banding. My doc never really talked about that as an option. 4. My doc put 4 cc;s in on the day of surgery, I have not had any fill since. I have been losing weight at a very consistent rapid pace and have not been hungry so there hasnt been a need to yet. 5. Breakfast- I have an egg almost everyday, (fried, scrambled, or boiled). I accompany that with either a piece of lean sausage or a fruit cup or a half of a sandwich thin toasted. Lunch= usually a leftover from dinner the nite before (typically a piece of grilled chicken and vegetable or some of my other faves are tuna salad and a few special k chips or I make a pizza with a half of a sandwich thin and pizza sauce and fat free cheese and some ground beef. and a fruit cup Dinner- chicken, fish or lean ground beef with a vegetable or fruit side. I also have a snack every nite usually a sugar free choc. pudding with some extra unjury Protein powder in it. I too love Starbucks hot chocolate so I occasionally treat myself to the Skinny version of that.

Getting started is the hardest part. You will have to make yourself go at first. But before you know it, you will be hating to miss a day. Just push yourself a little more each day. Set goals that are agressive but achievable. Dont think that you will be running 2 miles in a week, but certainly set some kind of goal for yourself to keep you going. When I get on the ellyptical for example I always set a time and a level when I start instead of just hitting the Quick Start button. That makes me stay on it instead of just getting off when I start to get a little bored. Also mix it up! Try some different machines- treadmill, ellyptical, aerobics class, or even bike riding outside, whatever you enjoy doing. Mixing it up giving you a little variety will keep you interested in exercize as well as keep your metabolism rolling. Mixing it up keeps your metabolism on a high! I dont know about the rest of you, but my weight loss sure does go a lot faster with the exercize combined with the healthy eating, not to mention how awesome it feels when I have finished a good workout. Good luck. Stick with it!!

Congratulations Matt! I too had issues of losing, gaining, losing, gaining. I had the lapband surgery on August 11 of this year and my results have been amazing. I finally feel like I am in control and can maintain the loss. I have always had success with losing but would gain it back. This band is the tool I have needed to keep the weight off. I can already tell that it will help me do just that. I no longer can eat excessively. I have always been an overeater (too much and too often). The band helps me control that. I dont just have to rely on my will power alone. Good luck with your journey! Hopefully this will end the yo-yo journey you have been on.

I got the Lapband, not the realize. They did give me the option but I just clicked the box to let my doctor choose. I dont know if there is any difference, but I can tell you that I am having great success with the one that I got. (See the ticker below). And btw I am not a super large person, so that weight loss is really great. I am now at 194. Good luck with your decision!

Name, real or screen~ Agnes (Healthy and Happy) Age~44 Weight on November 1st~194.5 (weighed in today) Goal Weight for November 29th~186 Exercise Goal for November~log 100 miles on my bike this month and be able to run 1 mile without walking Dietary Goal for November~just stay on track with what I am doing and not let the holidays de-rail me. Personal Goal for November~I bought myself some size 14 jeans the other day. They were on sale buy one get one for $1.00, so I bought a pair that would fit now and pair one size smaller (size 14). I would like to be wearing those by the end of the month. Date Banded~August 11, 2011 Total Weight Loss Since Banding- Lost 58.5 total pre-op included. Have lost 31 since surgery date. Thanks for starting the challenge. I love having these goals to work towards and I enjoy reading about everyone elses goals. It gives me some good ideas for myself. Good luck to everyone on the challenge!

I made my weight goal!!!! I had a goal of 195 set and weighed in at 194.5. It was amazing though because most of the loss occurred in the last week of the challenge. I also have done pretty well on the goal of doing at least 45 minutes on the ellyptical 6 days a week. I did miss that a few days when i was traveling for work, but i have to say I have been very faithful on sticking with it when I could get to the gym and I have been pumping up the level. I did not meet my goal of running 2 miles without stopping but I will work on it this month. Thanks for inviting me to the challenge!!

I also had this procedure done and I am with bromo on this. I have had fantastic results, and am not hungry at all. I have had absolutely no complications so far (knock on wood). I have not been sick or had any stuck episodes either. I am feeling fantastic and my weight loss has been great. My ticker includes my pre-op liquid diet also. I was banded about 10 weeks ago, so I am very pleased. I am in the 100's now instead of the 200's and it is a great feeling. I no longer have to shop on the plus side of the store. Life is good!!

I travel a lot for work and just recently I attended a conference with a lot of people that I havent seen in about 6 months. I walked by one of my co-workers and spoke to him. He glanced over and barely spoke. Later on break he came up to me and said "I apologize for not speaking to you earlier. I just simply didnt recognize you. You look incredible." That happened to me several times that day. It felt pretty great!

Wow! Elcee and Jachut said it all. Who could top that. The advice that both of them gave is exactly what you need. You have to control your own destiny! I know how painful a difficult divorce can be. Ive been there, done that. But get determined girl! Pull yourself up by the boot straps and dont let him bring you down. Just think of how rewarding it will be for him to see how good you are going to be looking and to see that you are living life to the fullest without him! Good luck! You can do it.

Wow Cindy, you continue to amaze me! The fact that you have stuck with this and are showing us newbies that long term success is possible really inspires me. Thanks for sharing your success with all of us and giving us the inspiration we need to keep on going.

9 weeks ago I had the lapband along with plication surgery. As you can see from my ticker, I have been very successful. I am very happy about my decision. I have a good friend who had the sleeve and while he has lost a tremendous amount of weight, he also has been very sick. I can honestly say I have not had one single problem so far (knock on wood). The lapband with plication is kind of a compromise between just the lap band and the sleeve surgery without all the cutting and without the malabsorption issues. Good luck with your decision and I will say that no matter what you choose to do, following the doctors orders and working at it will be the key to success.

Wow! You look amazing! You are going to have to change your username because it certainly doesnt fit you any more! Keep up the great work! You look so much happier!

I havent started a lot of discussions on here but I had to share this one! I have been doing very well with this band so far. I was banded on August 8, so just a little over 8 weeks ago and I have lost 51 pounds so far(that includes my pre-op preparation), I have had so much more energy and feel so much better! I am playing volleyball on an adult league at the Y. I suck at it but I sure am having fun. I have been riding my bike usually about 10 miles a few days a week. I am simply enjoying life. But heres the kicker! I went shopping with my 17 year old daughter (who has a perfect body btw) last weekend. I have been putting off buying clothes as long as I could since I still want to lose 60 more pounds but my clothes (even the smaller sizes that I have been saving for years) are getting too big for me to keep wearing. I decided i would buy a couple of outfits to keep me going till I lose more. When I went into the mall, of course I immediately went to the big girl stores that I always had to shop at. But guess what! Nothing would fit me there. I had to go to the stores that I have always dreamed of shopping at and shop on the NON-plus side of the store. Not only did I have a great time trying on clothes because they actually looked good, but my daughter had a blast. She was acting like Stacy and Clinton on "What not to wear". She kept bringing me trendy outfits to the dressing room saying "Try this on Mom! This is gonna look great on you! I was in heaven! That really motivated me! Now the only problem is I am gonna go broke because for once, I love shopping! My daughter and I are going to the mall again today! lol! When you are tempted to eat something you shouldnt or you just dont feel like going to the gym, think about moments like these. Which is better? The couple of minutes I would enjoy that piece of chocolate cake or that whole day that I am going to spend bonding with my daughter and enjoying some great time with her. We are going to Busch Gardens in a couple of weeks and I will ride every roller coaster with her without fear of emabarrassment for not fitting on the ride. We are also planning a trip to the mountains and are going to go ziplining and horseback riding and I dont have to worry about exceeding weight limits. My job requires me to stand in front of a lot of people facilitating training sessions and doing a lot of public speaking. Now I proudly move around the room as I speak instead of trying to find a podium or table to hide behind. Boy, life sure is different when you feel confident about the way you look and when you have the energy to get moving! So People- Put down that popcorn or piece of cake and get off the couch and start living!!!!