Ian Barrett

Just wanted to introduce myself. I was banded almost a year ago (29 Dec 2010). I have been on another forum until now and there doesn't seem to be very many people with bands on there. So I decided to find a new home. Now onto my story. I had been overweight as long as I can remember. More or less dealing with it and coming up with excuses to justify it. I would tell myself, "I'm not that big" "What's a little extra weight". Looking back I can remember I was in a school play in high school and I watched the video and I seriously thought to myself "I can't really be that big." I remember not having a scale that could hold me so I never weighed myself until went off to mechanics school and walked across a car scale and it came up with 400+ pounds. That was a "Woah" moment in my life, but I dieted for a short while, but nothing long term. Fast forward about 7 years, I'm married to an awesome wife and I was running (and I use that term loosely) with some kids and I am tired as a dog. Again, tried various diets, to no avail. Not too long after that I find out I'm going to be a dad and have to change my life if I want to be there for my son. Here I am; a 26 year old guy with knees that are killing me, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, well on my way to diabetes and an early grave. My son could end up growing up without a dad if I don't get this under control. A family friend had the lapband at NWWLS about 5 years ago, so I decided to check it out. My informational seminar was November 29th 2010. December 6th I met with Dr. Michaelson and found out I was tipping the scales at a whopping 492.5lbs. We schedule the surgery for December 29th. I had to get my rear in gear and drop 43 pounds before my surgery date. Now almost twelve months after my surgery, I am down 207 pounds. High blood pressure? GONE!! Sleep apnea? GONE!! Down 3 shirt sizes and 14 pant sizes. My knees feel like new. I now understand what my family fried meant when said that he would rather be homeless than to get rid of his band.

This. And this. I typically keep my calories to somewhere between 1000 and 1300. In my 13 months, I have found don't sweat it if I go over. And 212 pounds later, I would say it has worked for me.

Congrats. I love my band as well. Keep up the good work.

My dr told me that if I didn't stay full for 3.5 -4 hours, I needed a fill.

The reason I say its not a fix, is that it is possible to cheat and eat around it. If all we ate was ice cream, chochlate, and milk shakes nothing would change. We have to make a concious effort to change. The band helps us with that change.

When I was banded, it was 7-10 days of liquids, then 7-10 more of soft foods, and then onto solids. If you are having solids, make sure you are avoiding the liquid calories (except 2-3 glasses of milk a day) How long are you staying full after you eat your portion?

I started out at 492 pounds when I got my band so for them to say you're to big...HOGWASH. But as its been said before, its a tool not a fix. There are ways to cheat the system. I have zero regrets about my band.

Also, after you get your fills, its fairly easy to "eat around the band". Meaning that there are foods out there that will flow right on through. You just have to be diligent about that you eat and how much. Its a tool, not a fix.