NYC Girl

Hi Sept 2011 bandsters!
Just checking in. Have hit 60 lbs gone!
Going crazy buying new clothes. Went to family picnic last week and my friends screamed when they saw me. Ran around telling everyone that I lost 60 lbs. Verrry proud!
Still on my journey and rate of loss has (naturally!) Slowed but as my therapist says if its going down (OR STAYING THE SAMEON DIFFICULT WEEKS) its all good! Have about 20 more pounds to go and I know I will get there (even if I dont exactly know when!) Eventually. Its all good!
Lisa in a hot NYC.

Tons of jeans and casual pants available. Message me and we can arrange a try on party! I'll also serve tea but no cake. I now wear size 12 and still loosing.
Lisa in a beautiful NYC -- on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Happy Anniversary to all of yall!!!! I can not believe it has been a year. Last year at this time I was choking down nasty shakes for my pre surgery diet. Oh it was so worth it! My lifehas and is changing so much! I am dating more and hiking more and just loving life more in general. I am down almost 70 pound and have at least another 50 more to go. I hope you are all loving life and the new you as much as me!

Hello, hello! I'm checking in also. If you read my previous post you know I've been dealing with a broken/dislocated ankle. I had surgery to repair the damage but I'm still looking at a very long recovery period. I've had to basically start over with my fills as I had to have everything taken out for the surgery. I got refilled a bit a couple of weeks ago but know already that I need more. I think I've been maintaining my weight loss but can't tell because of the huge heavy cast I'm wearing. My clothes are fitting the same so I feel ok about my weight at this point. Sure hope everyone else is doing good as well!

Hello, Bandsisters!
Checking in at July call.
I did 100 lbs off, but every few pounds it stops, then half of it comes back, then I get upset - you all probably know the feeling, then I go and get another fill, loose again, and so on.. Almost the same yo-yo as it was before.
I am wondering what will I do when my band will be full ? I was and I still am a bad girl, as can't miss the cake, or sweets, or...caviar toast with butter. Can't do anything with it. I am so bored with Protein Shakes and chick. broth(((

I am very glad I had the Lap Band Surgery in September 2011.
My weight loss has been slow and, but in the final analysis, I am 55lbs lighter than I was a year ago! In what universe would I NOT BE HAPPY to loose 55 lbs in a year. I read so many forum posts where people are literally expecting so much that they are unhappy with significant weight loss, but it has slowed down, or they are no longer loosing 4 pounds a week like in the first weeks after surgery. The nasty secret about loosing weight is that once you loose a sizable amount of weight (whether you think it is good or not), your body adjusts, your calorie requirements just maintain your new weight go down, perhaps your metabolism slows down, and you need to to consume still fewer calories to loose weight.
Also, it is very important to realize (and truly internalize) that the band is just a tool. You still need to learn how to eat less, not snack excessively, and learn to find other things to do when you have the urge to eat. As the psychologist at my Bariatric center says, most of the time we aren't really hungry, we just want to eat. And we live in a very toxic food environment, where high calorie, low nutrition food are around us all the time.
The band has made it easier to not eat Snacks (hot dogs, donuts, croissants, pretzels), that I see and therefore want to eat during the day. I've pretty much been able to cut out between meal Snacks during the day, but still struggle at night. I seem to still want to eat after dinner while I'm watching TV or working at the computer.
So I've devised some strategies to resist that urge to eat after dinner. I guess I'm successful about 2/3 of the time, and the rest I just let go. I don't beat myself up, call myself a failure, or think about it. To me that is self defeating and makes me feel bad about myself !!!! I keep a wide variety of nutritious foods such as greek yogurt, hummus, etc so if I do eat an evening snack it is not the end of the world. I'm just thankful to realize that before my band, I couldn't even resist unecessary eating 100% of the time. To me 33% of the time that is tremendous progress!
To summarize, the band is only a tool. T0 be successful in the long run (and that's what I'm interested in!), you need to figure out your triggers, and how to deal with them. The band will not do that for you. Naturally, your weight loss slows once you've lost a significant amount of weight, and your body gets used to the band.
I consider myself a real (and continuing success) ! I have more to go, but i'll do it slowly, without making myself crazy, which only made me eat more.
Also, the bariatric psychologist at my center has been a real help in my journey. I began to see her when I realized I did not have a healthy relationship with food (soothed me when upset or anxious, or even when I felt bad about myself). She tells me that in times of stress (like the holidays, family illness, etc), just staying even is a big victory. If your center has a psychologist, I highly recommend you utilize them. I really think she has been the difference in my success, not just the band.

I know it's difficult, but stop comparing yourself with other people and you will be much happier, and more successful! Everyone has a different body, chemistry and metabolism and loses (and gains) weight on a different timetable. If you are doing the right things, and your health analysis seems to show you are, then you will be successful in the long term. The key is not to "psych yourself" out on the way so you sabotage your success.. I'm a firm believer that our heads can do much more damage to our efforts that other people.
Think of it this way: If you were losing weight twice as fast as everyone else, would you be upset because "you aren't like everyone else"? Of course not, you would just say your body is different, and your weight loss rate is different. Give yourself the same respect in the opposite scenario!
Just my 2 cents!
Lisa in a rainy, blustery New York City

Tell yourself you are doing something good for yourself, it may be a long journey but it will be worth it.
Most importantly, don't set yourself up for failure by your unrealistic expectations. The band will help you, but it won't do everything.
Celebrate what is good, and what you accomplish. Let go of your perceived "failures". Don't let them become an excuse, but don't let them get in your way, either!
Don't measure all of your success by the scale. My center tells me that on any given day, you can be up because you ate something salty the day before. When I was first banded, I weighed myself everyday, but I have stopped doing that. I became too obsessive, and my whole day was colored by "today i lost, yah, today I gained, boo!" You are looking for trends, not the day to day changes.
Best of Luck!
Most important, be kind and forgiving to yourself. Don't know any perfect people in this world, and chances are you arent one either
Lisa In NYC
where in NJ are you? I live in Manhattan.

I am very glad I had the Lap Band Surgery in September 2011.
My weight loss has been slow and, but in the final analysis, I am 55lbs lighter than I was a year ago! In what universe would I NOT BE HAPPY to loose 55 lbs in a year. I read so many forum posts where people are literally expecting so much that they are unhappy with significant weight loss, but it has slowed down, or they are no longer loosing 4 pounds a week like in the first weeks after surgery. The nasty secret about loosing weight is that once you loose a sizable amount of weight (whether you think it is good or not), your body adjusts, your calorie requirements just maintain your new weight go down, perhaps your metabolism slows down, and you need to to consume still fewer calories to loose weight.
Also, it is very important to realize (and truly internalize) that the band is just a tool. You still need to learn how to eat less, not snack excessively, and learn to find other things to do when you have the urge to eat. As the psychologist at my Bariatric center says, most of the time we aren't really hungry, we just want to eat. And we live in a very toxic food environment, where high calorie, low nutrition food are around us all the time.
The band has made it easier to not eat Snacks (hot dogs, donuts, croissants, pretzels), that I see and therefore want to eat during the day. I've pretty much been able to cut out between meal Snacks during the day, but still struggle at night. I seem to still want to eat after dinner while I'm watching TV or working at the computer.
So I've devised some strategies to resist that urge to eat after dinner. I guess I'm successful about 2/3 of the time, and the rest I just let go. I don't beat myself up, call myself a failure, or think about it. To me that is self defeating and makes me feel bad about myself !!!! I keep a wide variety of nutritious foods such as greek yogurt, hummus, etc so if I do eat an evening snack it is not the end of the world. I'm just thankful to realize that before my band, I couldn't even resist unecessary eating 100% of the time. To me 33% of the time that is tremendous progress!
To summarize, the band is only a tool. T0 be successful in the long run (and that's what I'm interested in!), you need to figure out your triggers, and how to deal with them. The band will not do that for you. Naturally, your weight loss slows once you've lost a significant amount of weight, and your body gets used to the band.
I consider myself a real (and continuing success) ! I have more to go, but i'll do it slowly, without making myself crazy, which only made me eat more.
Also, the bariatric psychologist at my center has been a real help in my journey. I began to see her when I realized I did not have a healthy relationship with food (soothed me when upset or anxious, or even when I felt bad about myself). She tells me that in times of stress (like the holidays, family illness, etc), just staying even is a big victory. If your center has a psychologist, I highly recommend you utilize them. I really think she has been the difference in my success, not just the band.

I am very glad I had the Lap Band Surgery in September 2011.
My weight loss has been slow and, but in the final analysis, I am 55lbs lighter than I was a year ago! In what universe would I NOT BE HAPPY to loose 55 lbs in a year. I read so many forum posts where people are literally expecting so much that they are unhappy with significant weight loss, but it has slowed down, or they are no longer loosing 4 pounds a week like in the first weeks after surgery. The nasty secret about loosing weight is that once you loose a sizable amount of weight (whether you think it is good or not), your body adjusts, your calorie requirements just maintain your new weight go down, perhaps your metabolism slows down, and you need to to consume still fewer calories to loose weight.
Also, it is very important to realize (and truly internalize) that the band is just a tool. You still need to learn how to eat less, not snack excessively, and learn to find other things to do when you have the urge to eat. As the psychologist at my Bariatric center says, most of the time we aren't really hungry, we just want to eat. And we live in a very toxic food environment, where high calorie, low nutrition food are around us all the time.
The band has made it easier to not eat Snacks (hot dogs, donuts, croissants, pretzels), that I see and therefore want to eat during the day. I've pretty much been able to cut out between meal Snacks during the day, but still struggle at night. I seem to still want to eat after dinner while I'm watching TV or working at the computer.
So I've devised some strategies to resist that urge to eat after dinner. I guess I'm successful about 2/3 of the time, and the rest I just let go. I don't beat myself up, call myself a failure, or think about it. To me that is self defeating and makes me feel bad about myself !!!! I keep a wide variety of nutritious foods such as greek yogurt, hummus, etc so if I do eat an evening snack it is not the end of the world. I'm just thankful to realize that before my band, I couldn't even resist unecessary eating 100% of the time. To me 33% of the time that is tremendous progress!
To summarize, the band is only a tool. T0 be successful in the long run (and that's what I'm interested in!), you need to figure out your triggers, and how to deal with them. The band will not do that for you. Naturally, your weight loss slows once you've lost a significant amount of weight, and your body gets used to the band.
I consider myself a real (and continuing success) ! I have more to go, but i'll do it slowly, without making myself crazy, which only made me eat more.
Also, the bariatric psychologist at my center has been a real help in my journey. I began to see her when I realized I did not have a healthy relationship with food (soothed me when upset or anxious, or even when I felt bad about myself). She tells me that in times of stress (like the holidays, family illness, etc), just staying even is a big victory. If your center has a psychologist, I highly recommend you utilize them. I really think she has been the difference in my success, not just the band.

I am very glad I had the Lap Band Surgery in September 2011.
My weight loss has been slow and, but in the final analysis, I am 55lbs lighter than I was a year ago! In what universe would I NOT BE HAPPY to loose 55 lbs in a year. I read so many forum posts where people are literally expecting so much that they are unhappy with significant weight loss, but it has slowed down, or they are no longer loosing 4 pounds a week like in the first weeks after surgery. The nasty secret about loosing weight is that once you loose a sizable amount of weight (whether you think it is good or not), your body adjusts, your calorie requirements just maintain your new weight go down, perhaps your metabolism slows down, and you need to to consume still fewer calories to loose weight.
Also, it is very important to realize (and truly internalize) that the band is just a tool. You still need to learn how to eat less, not snack excessively, and learn to find other things to do when you have the urge to eat. As the psychologist at my Bariatric center says, most of the time we aren't really hungry, we just want to eat. And we live in a very toxic food environment, where high calorie, low nutrition food are around us all the time.
The band has made it easier to not eat Snacks (hot dogs, donuts, croissants, pretzels), that I see and therefore want to eat during the day. I've pretty much been able to cut out between meal Snacks during the day, but still struggle at night. I seem to still want to eat after dinner while I'm watching TV or working at the computer.
So I've devised some strategies to resist that urge to eat after dinner. I guess I'm successful about 2/3 of the time, and the rest I just let go. I don't beat myself up, call myself a failure, or think about it. To me that is self defeating and makes me feel bad about myself !!!! I keep a wide variety of nutritious foods such as greek yogurt, hummus, etc so if I do eat an evening snack it is not the end of the world. I'm just thankful to realize that before my band, I couldn't even resist unecessary eating 100% of the time. To me 33% of the time that is tremendous progress!
To summarize, the band is only a tool. T0 be successful in the long run (and that's what I'm interested in!), you need to figure out your triggers, and how to deal with them. The band will not do that for you. Naturally, your weight loss slows once you've lost a significant amount of weight, and your body gets used to the band.
I consider myself a real (and continuing success) ! I have more to go, but i'll do it slowly, without making myself crazy, which only made me eat more.
Also, the bariatric psychologist at my center has been a real help in my journey. I began to see her when I realized I did not have a healthy relationship with food (soothed me when upset or anxious, or even when I felt bad about myself). She tells me that in times of stress (like the holidays, family illness, etc), just staying even is a big victory. If your center has a psychologist, I highly recommend you utilize them. I really think she has been the difference in my success, not just the band.

I am very glad I had the Lap Band Surgery in September 2011.
My weight loss has been slow and, but in the final analysis, I am 55lbs lighter than I was a year ago! In what universe would I NOT BE HAPPY to loose 55 lbs in a year. I read so many forum posts where people are literally expecting so much that they are unhappy with significant weight loss, but it has slowed down, or they are no longer loosing 4 pounds a week like in the first weeks after surgery. The nasty secret about loosing weight is that once you loose a sizable amount of weight (whether you think it is good or not), your body adjusts, your calorie requirements just maintain your new weight go down, perhaps your metabolism slows down, and you need to to consume still fewer calories to loose weight.
Also, it is very important to realize (and truly internalize) that the band is just a tool. You still need to learn how to eat less, not snack excessively, and learn to find other things to do when you have the urge to eat. As the psychologist at my Bariatric center says, most of the time we aren't really hungry, we just want to eat. And we live in a very toxic food environment, where high calorie, low nutrition food are around us all the time.
The band has made it easier to not eat Snacks (hot dogs, donuts, croissants, pretzels), that I see and therefore want to eat during the day. I've pretty much been able to cut out between meal Snacks during the day, but still struggle at night. I seem to still want to eat after dinner while I'm watching TV or working at the computer.
So I've devised some strategies to resist that urge to eat after dinner. I guess I'm successful about 2/3 of the time, and the rest I just let go. I don't beat myself up, call myself a failure, or think about it. To me that is self defeating and makes me feel bad about myself !!!! I keep a wide variety of nutritious foods such as greek yogurt, hummus, etc so if I do eat an evening snack it is not the end of the world. I'm just thankful to realize that before my band, I couldn't even resist unecessary eating 100% of the time. To me 33% of the time that is tremendous progress!
To summarize, the band is only a tool. T0 be successful in the long run (and that's what I'm interested in!), you need to figure out your triggers, and how to deal with them. The band will not do that for you. Naturally, your weight loss slows once you've lost a significant amount of weight, and your body gets used to the band.
I consider myself a real (and continuing success) ! I have more to go, but i'll do it slowly, without making myself crazy, which only made me eat more.
Also, the bariatric psychologist at my center has been a real help in my journey. I began to see her when I realized I did not have a healthy relationship with food (soothed me when upset or anxious, or even when I felt bad about myself). She tells me that in times of stress (like the holidays, family illness, etc), just staying even is a big victory. If your center has a psychologist, I highly recommend you utilize them. I really think she has been the difference in my success, not just the band.

http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4371946&cp=3593186.3593187.3079648
Just to be clear, I use the bottles (premixed, not the powder) and the chocolate and vanilla bean are great!
Lisa in NYC

Try the GNC Lean shakes. They are pre-mixed, and the vanilla and chocolate are great. Not chalky at all.

One question: Are you eating less than you did last year or before your surgery? My guess is the answer is YES. PLEASE don't feel like a failure because you've "taste tested a few times". This is NOT failure.
None of us are perfect, so stop expecting perfection from yourself and set yourself up for failure. Loosing a significant amount of weight is a long process and there will be ups and downs.
Give yourself some pats on the back, and MOVE ON!!!!!
Lisa in NYC

Sorry to be negative on this, but doing surgery on a patient with Hepatitis is dangerous for both the surgeon and the patient. Your PCP is right to request the Hep test and the ultrasound before giving you the letter of necessity. Otherwise s/he might be accused of malpractice.
If your WLS is willing to go ahead before being assured there is no hepatitis present, I would look for another surgeon!
Get the tests!

Lisa in NYC

Some advice: try to not set yourself up for failure by trying to be perfect! 2 bites does not failure make!