Jim1967

Sounds like you are well on track to me. Perhaps your expectations are a little high? They say on average to expect 1-2lb a week loss with a properly adjusted band. Remember that is an average and differs for different people. Most likely you will need adjustments and time before you reach the optimum level. Patience and determination come into play right now and it will get better in time but honestly you're doing great from the sounds of it.

Check out this craziness: Listen to what Biggest Loser season one winner Ryan Benson had to say on his myspace blog: "I wanted to win so bad that the last ten days before the final weigh-in I didn't eat one piece of solid food! If you've heard of "The Master Cleanse" that's what I did. Its basically drinking lemonade made with Water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. The rules of the show said we couldn't use any weight-loss drugs, well I didn't take any drugs, I just starved myself! Twenty-four hours before the final weigh-in I stopped putting ANYTHING in my body, liquid or solid, then I started using some old high school wrestling tricks. I wore a rubber suit while jogging on the treadmill, and then spent a lot of time in the steam room. In the final 24 hours I probably dropped 10-13 lbs in just pure water weight. By the time of the final weigh-in I was peeing blood. Was this healthy? Heck no! My wife wanted to kill me if I didn't do it to myself first. But I was in a different place, I knew winning the show could put us in a better place financially and I was willing to do some crazy stuff. All this torture I put myself through has had no lasting effects on me (that I know of) and at the time it was sort of a fun adventure for me -- but I am sure it reeked havoc on my system. In the five days after the show was over I gained about 32 lbs. Not from eating, just from getting my system back to normal (mostly re-hydrating myself). So in five days I was back up to 240 -- crazy!". Article can be found here: http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/public/614.cfm

I think if I was able to go back and start this journey all over again the one thing I would do differently is not get into a habit of stepping on the scale every day. Average they say is 1 to 2lbs a week with the band however it is just an average. I found myself often at times getting frustrated because the scale was not moving. Well when you step on it daily its no wonder. Over time I discovered my pattern weight loss seems to happen during the last week and first week of the month. At this point the scale is just habit but I have also reached a point where I use it as an accountability tool. Anyway, just food for though. Getting hung up on numbers and daily weigh ins can wreak havoc on the brain.

hiccups are usually a sign for me to stop now if I know what is good for me. Whenever I ignore those hiccups it usually never ends well. It ends up with me in the bathroom praying to the porcelain gods.

Just talking about it can be enough for some so I say great post indeed. If you're having issues reach out on here and talk through it or even PM someone on here your comfortable with if you don't want to post publicly.

My experience was pleasant and helpful as I previously stated. Only difference is the Counselor I sat down with is part of my WLS Center so she works directly with obesity and wls. For this reason I am always recommending to people that if your going to have this type of life altering surgery always try to seek out what is called a Center of Excellence which comprised of a team of surgeons, nurse educators, dietitians, exercise specialists and psychologists all under one roof.

"Fall down 5 times get up 6...." "Your past mistakes are meant to guide you, not define you" You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. -John Maxwell

Anyone watch the Biggest Loser finale last night? Rachel was crowned winner but now sounds like she is going to take some heat on her weightloss. She weighed in at a 105lbs and looked anorexic. Making entertainment headlines. I have to wonder was it all about the money or does she now have another eating disorder to be concerned about. I feel bad for her because it's like damn if you do and damn if you don't. Even the judges looked shocked... http://www.eonline.com/news/507477/the-biggest-loser-rachel-s-weight-loss-sparks-online-concern So I guess the question really is did she keep losing to ensure the victory money or does she have an actual problem?

My experience was similar except she did talk to me about the band and my expectations and whether or not I felt I was ready for this lifestyle change. It was probably about 20 to 30 minutes of total time sitting down chatting and it would be no different then sitting down talking over coffee with someone. No need to be nervous or reserved. Just be yourself...

I haven't had an appetite in well over a year. There were days at work where I would have to set a reminder to have my lunch to I make sure I got in my nutrition. For the longest time I was trying to figure out if my loss of appetite was really my band or just my mind accepting the new lifestyle change. I guess in the end they go hand and hand and instead of over analyzing it I will just sit back and enjoy the ride. After so many years of binge eating and now no interest in food at all it was somewhat confusing. I had to make sure that while it's OK not be hungry or be interested in food it is still very important to get in that nutrition and not skip meals. I have no desire to exchange one eating disorder for another.

This was my thought exactly. I plan to keep on losing as long as my body wants to give it up. It's not like I am suffering from malnutrition or anything. When my body says time is up then that's it. If it's 200 or 150 I am fine with it. Prefer to be in the 190's but I can handle life just fine with where I'm at now.

Can you link to the thread? If it is in the Veteran's forum you need to be a year post-op I believe.

No form of WLS will force a lifestyle change. You have to want it and you have to be willing to work at it. I don't believe a person should've had to diet first but the experience may prove helpful. There is no such per-requisite except for the fact your Surgeon will most likely place you on a pre-op diet. I urge you to educate yourself as much as possible on WLS and attend a free seminar and learn as much as you can about it. Old saying goes is knowledge is power. If you want to sell this to your parents then master the topic and you'll be prepared to take on their reservations/questions. WLS is a lifestyle change but it takes place in your head in order to translate and funnel down to your physical image. If you're not ready for the change mentally than all your doing is setting yourself up for long term failure. I know a person who lost 185lbs with bypass but yet still eats Chinese food a couple of times a week. It's only a matter of time before he starts gaining because he made no mental adjustments. I am not trying to scare you away from WLS but I am trying to impress upon you the importance of mental preparation. What ever you decide I wish you the best of luck.

I think Lellow and HotButterFly hit the nail on the head. People who are not educated on WLS only seem to recall hearing horror stories and not so much the successful, happy ones. Then you will always get the ones that say well all you have to do is diet and control your portions or that WLS is a cheat, an easy way out. There is nothing easy about WLS. Most people think you just go and have it done like a gallbladder surgery and its over and your skinny. LOL. My Wife's girlfriend told her "I don't believe in WLS. Only way to do it is the natural way by exercise and dieting. Other methods are simply cheating" Her words exact....

I very seldom have steak anymore. Last time I had it I had a nasty stuck episode. Sometimes I find it funny the things that give you problems. Steak and Rice are two major ones that give me a hard time yet they couldn't be any different. Go figure...

I highly recommend this article to anyone wanting to learn more about the band. It is all laid out in layman's terms. http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html

For me I can go 5 to 6 hours if needed on a cup - cup and half of food. I don't recommend going that long between meals but it tends to happen from time to time. I do not snack in between meals and head hunger is something of the past. I've heard others like myself no longer had the head hunger once properly adjusted and then I heard others state they've never been able to shake the head hunger. I don't know which is more responsible my band or my will power. I really like to think it is the band because it has been pretty easy to this point since finding the green zone. I had my last fill 1 year ago yesterday and I feel great.

I have no personal experience to go of off here but if it were me and I had the insurance coverage I would find a new Doctor one with a deep support staff and I would discuss possibly revising the the Sleeve. I understand the Sleeve can have its own group of complications but after 3 bands I would consider other options. Again, if it were me. Good Luck!

Congratulations! See you on the banded side...

My Wife was beside me every step of the way when I started the process with the informational seminar back in September of 2011. She joined the banded ranks herself in September 2013. Support is so big in this process and it really does begin at home. Good Luck!

Both Allergan (Lapband) and Realize have discontinued their respective help sites.

Old saying goes you can lead a Horse to water but you can't make them drink it. It has to be on the individuals terms. For me personally I was so lucky because yes I was very very large and I had no health issues aside from Sleep Apnea which I had a machine for and a touch of arthritis in my knee. For me it was enough knowing the the path I was going down it was enough to scare me and make me act.

Thank you

What you're going through is what we call Bandster Hell. It is that time in between being banded and finding that actual green zone. Unfortunately there is no way of telling where your zone will be. Some people rarely need any fill and others take several like myself. It took me nearly 6 months to find my zone. It takes time and a lot of patience. I too was very frustrated in the beginning. I thought OK I had surgery when does the weight start to drop. It did start to drop but it took a bit of time. As everyone has stated you are doing great. Might be a good idea to focus on physical dimensions to gauge your progress as well. Even if the scale is not moving your body could certainly be shrinking and losing some inches. Hang in there it will definitely get better!!

This is really a repost of something I said yesterday but thought it was worth a blog entry Watching my 600lb Life on TLC can be inspirational, aggravating and downright annoying. Many times I want to reach through the TV and slap patients but more importantly the non-supporting people in their lives. I will admit I have only seen a handful of episodes. One thing I can tell you from being a 5'6 488 pound morbidly obese person is it was just a struggle to wipe my butt and it was to a point where I showered after to make sure I was clean and the shower alone was a task because of the aches and pains in my muscles and joints. Walking from my car to my office even with the use of an elevator took a lot out of me. I would last 10 minutes walking the grocery store with my wife and would end up going out to the car and wait for her to finish because I was out of breath and legs ached so bad. I don’t recall eating food and gaining weight simply because I was lazy or didn’t care about myself. I didn’t eat with the intent of becoming morbidly obese to a point where I couldn’t do those simplest of daily life tasks. I have a serious junk food addiction and I loved it. I ate from the moment I wake up to the moment I went to bed. I am not making excuses for myself or anyone else but keep in mind you’re watching an edited reality t.v. show. Do we really know what is going in these people’s lives? They edit the crap out of these things to create the draw and because everyone loves a train wreck and more often than not they will put those things front and center. One thing I am certain about is I will always remain humble and will make sure I never become like the people who used to judge me. I was a terrible mess physically and eventually mentally and I am lucky to be where I am today. I absolutely refuse to forget my 488lb self. Sometimes I wonder why me? Why was I successful? Just because someone doesn’t care about themselves doesn’t mean they don’t WANT to care about themselves. Hope is a very powerful emotion and it can make or break you