DELETE THIS ACCOUNT!

This is just a thought, but it's possible the problem has been that you've been expecting the band to do something it's not meant to do all along. With the band, we're not supposed to be eating in search of the full sensation. In fact, if you're eating until you're full you're likely eating too much. With the band, the idea is to eat until you're satiated (no longer hungry), not full.
The other thing to remember is that while the band will tell you when you've had enough to eat (no longer hungry), it's not meant to physically stop you from eating anything. We have to listen to the band and our bodies rather than expect the band to stop us from over eating.
Here is a really excellent link. Have a look, I think it'll give you a whole new insight on the band and the tools you may need to make a success of it: http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html
Best wishes.

I have said from the beginning, when I lost 200 pounds I wanted a major reward for all my hard work. I've actually lost over 230 pounds now and finally found my reward to myself. A ring.
I have wanted a Peridot ring forever. Plus, I feel like every time I look down at my ring, it's reminder not only how far I've come but to stay on track so I never go back to that miserable state again.
So, my question is, what's your reward? It doesn't matter how big or small it is. I've had many other small ones along the way and I've love to hear yours. What do you reward yourself with instead of food?
(btw, it looks MUCH prettier in person lol)

Yes, it is normal, because the band isn't meant to physically force you to stop eating. It'll tell you that you've had enough, but if you want to ignore it when it tells you that you're no longer hungry and keep eating, then you can.
Have a look at this link: http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html

1. My 2 mile walks, especially since before I couldn't even make it to the corner
2. Being able to walk without a cane
3. People's reaction to seeing me who haven't seen me in a year or more
4. Flying without needing a seat belt extender
5. Not worrying if I'll fit in chairs
6. Being able to be active in my kids' lives
7. Not feeling like a total embarrassment to my kids (though they never made me feel that way, it's just how I felt)
8. No longer having a sleep apenea. In fact, no longer snoring at all.
9. Having hope for my future

I think they should both go armed with video cameras.

"We got 2 million posts!"
"Cool! What was the 2 millionth post?"
"Ummm... a post about Steph trying to peep Guy's schmiddy at a support group"
WIN!!!

Best. Thread. Ever.
I think we just won the internet.

LMAO!!
Btw, I didn't post that negatively. I happen to love the old Bill the Cat cartoon and couldn't resist when I saw it

Ok, here's a good visual of weight loss boobs!!

The men as they lose weight......

I broke out my wader boots about 6 posts ago!

Unfortunately, if you have the excess skin, it's there unless you have it surgically removed. You can tone muscles but if the skin didn't shrink as you were losing it's not going to after.
I've lost over 230 pounds and had over 12 pounds of skin removed from my tummy this past spring. My upper arms, legs, and butt still look like a Shar Pei when naked because of all the excess skin. Believe me, I totally feel your pain.
But here's how I look at it- I can easily hide the excess skin under clothes and still look good. There was no hiding over 230 pounds of fat. I'll take the excess skin over the fat any day.
Hang in there

This is just a thought, but it's possible the problem has been that you've been expecting the band to do something it's not meant to do all along. With the band, we're not supposed to be eating in search of the full sensation. In fact, if you're eating until you're full you're likely eating too much. With the band, the idea is to eat until you're satiated (no longer hungry), not full.
The other thing to remember is that while the band will tell you when you've had enough to eat (no longer hungry), it's not meant to physically stop you from eating anything. We have to listen to the band and our bodies rather than expect the band to stop us from over eating.
Here is a really excellent link. Have a look, I think it'll give you a whole new insight on the band and the tools you may need to make a success of it: http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html
Best wishes.

It means your emotional eating is something to keep in mind and deal with. Support groups and counselors are a great resource. I too am an emotional eater (and a binge eater and a grazer) but I'm aware of it and spent over 2 years in counseling to deal with it. It doesn't mean the band isn't for you at all, it just means you'll have to take it into consideration.
The fact some can't have bread isn't restriction, it's simply a side effect of the band for some. I can eat bread but dry meat is a no-no for me. Restriction is the physical act of the band tightening around your stomach, not restricting what you can or can't eat.

The Lap-band is NOT about Restriction (by Dr. Simpson)
When talking about the band, some patients talk about restriction. Let's first be clear about one thing: the purpose of the band is not restriction; the purpose of the band is to lose weight by suppressing the appetite.
When band professionals talk about restriction we are talking about something totally different than "restricting what a person eats." In fact, many band surgeons avoid talking about restriction so as to not confuse patients. The band works by dimming the appetite, and this provides a conscious control and decision made by the patient, it does not work by "making" a person do something, or keep them from eating too much.
The Lap-band works by suppressing your appetite
As a result, you are less interested in food between meals, making it easier to resist temptation. The analogy is when you are near a vending machine when you are hungry-- what do you do? Probably find yourself with some junk food that is not a part of your plan. But, when you pass a vending machine when you are full, it may not even catch your eye. Having the appetite dimmed makes you less tempted by the many food choices modern living throws at you - -this is what the band does, by suppressing appetite you become less interested in food.
What you should not feel, with the band, is the sensation of being "stuffed."
When you eat Thanksgiving dinner, you can feel stuffed. Contrast that with the sensation two hours after you eat your big meal, at that point your appetite is suppressed. It is the subtle dimming of the appetite that the band should provide. Being stuffed after a large meal is a complicated sensation of the abdominal wall stretching and a lot of gas in the bowel, in addition to feeling a diminution of appetite. You will not, and should not, feel the abdominal wall stretch with the band. You should not feel the "near nausea" and you should not feel bloated.
Key point:
You should NEVER eat until you feel full. It is best to stop eating before you "feel full." If you do eat until you feel full you will most likely be overstuffed. This leads to the universal key to success -- patients who eat a small volume of food (which, if you measure, is consistent) will be successful with the band. If you want to succeed, you need to know how much you are eating, and then stop eating -- it is in your control, but the band will help you -- not by stopping you, but by allowing you to feel satisfied after the small volume.
Early on, most Lap-band patients do have a sense of "restriction"
...particularly after the first fill. When we place the band on a patient the stomach above the band typically will hold one to two ounces (by volume, not by weight). The stomach has a lot of muscle fibers, and the wall of the stomach is fairly thick. When food is consumed, it arrives in the pouch, and meets some resistance, first against the newly adjusted band, and then against the stomach which does not stretch easily. People love this feeling! It is a sense of control over food -- a leash. But it is not permanent. It makes it difficult to eat more, because the top part of the stomach and the band will resist it. If you over eat you will feel uncomfortable.
This is the honeymoon phase, you feel full with less, no appetite, and if you try to eat more it doesn't work. They eat a small amount of food, they feel satisfied, and they are losing weight.
For patients who rely on this sensation, they will find it will take ever increasing volumes of food to obtain this sensation. The initial response is to have their band adjusted so that they can "feel full again." Against a tighter band, the upper stomach stretches a bit (and if they eat fast it stretches more)and they again have the sensation of "feeling full." This becomes a cycle, a tighter band, the stomach stretches more-- and then instead of going back to its original size, the stomach stretches more and more to where it takes more to fill it.
The person who continues to eat until they have this sensation, will find that it takes more and more food to obtain this feeling. Two things happen -- first the stomach stretches to where it accommodates more food, and to stretch it means you have to eat more. The second is that to "feel full" it takes the brain time to register this sensation -- this is not the sensation registered by the hypothalamus, but registered in the conscious cortex. So your stomach can be full, but your brain won't register it for a while, and if you keep eating you can overeat. As a result, the pouch dilates. Similar to a balloon, when you first start to blow up the balloon it takes a bit of force. As you continue to fill the balloon, the wall of the balloon stretches (thins out), it is easier to blow it up -- the same is true with the upper pouch. Early on, before the pouch is stretched, it takes a little bit of food to cause it to stretch, but with chronic over-eating the pouch will accommodate more and more food. The stomach wall is thinner, it is easier to stretch, and to get that sensation it takes more food than at first. Often patients will complain that they "don't feel restriction," and wish to have the band made tighter.
There are two potential results to this: one is the patient will passively stretch the stomach and esophagus and not be eating a small amount of food. These patients simply do not lose the weight that the surgeon expects. The other is that the band will be forced down the stomach, the band will slip, which generally requires operative intervention to reposition it.
For those patients who are rigorous about the volume of food they eat, and do not let the stomach to tell them when to stop eating - they do very well. This is one of the keys of successful patients, only eat a certain portion of food - period. If the band is properly adjusted, the appetite will be dimmed for several hours. Once your brain realizes that a small amount of food keeps you satisfied, then your eyes will adjust to the amount you eat.
Some describe a "soft stop." Where before a sense of fullness occurs, there is a signal from your body -- this can be a runny nose, a sigh, or a subtle ache in the left shoulder. Patients who find this "soft stop," do very well with the band.
The other advantage of eating small portions is it becomes a lifestyle change
--you will have the ability to gauge the amount of food you can comfortably eat, knowing it will keep you satisfied for several hours.
You can always -- always, always, always, -- eat more food, because, contrary to what we believed for a long time-- food passes by the band within a minute and then into your stomach. But the key to successful patients is not how much they can eat, but how little they can eat to suppress hunger.
The band goes around your stomach, not around your brain, or your lips
This simple concept, of eating a specific volume of food -- eating it slowly, and then walking away, is the key to successful eating habits of patients. This means that the band works with effort from you -- not by it doing everything for you. You have to make the decision to eat a small volume of food, and let the band work with you.
The sensation that we would want the band to produce is the "soft stop." The soft stop is when you eat a small portion of food and walk away. Sometimes this is difficult, like most things, practice makes perfect. To set yourself up for success -- we recommend you use smaller plates, along with smaller utensils. If you go out to eat, ask for the to-go bag immediately, and remove the excess food from your plate. You can physically always eat more food, but the advantage about practicing small portions and walking away, is ultimately your eyes will get use to what the stomach is telling it, and it will be much easier to eat smaller portions as time goes on.
It isn't uncommon for patients to want an adjustment because they say they can eat more
The first question we ask is, "Why are you eating more?" The typical answer is, "Because I can." The typical response, "Just because you can does not mean you should." Since the band's job is not to restrict the amount of food you eat, do not leave that to chance -- that is your job. Part of personal accountability is to account for, to measure, to know how much you are eating at a time. The band is empowering; if you eat an appropriate amount and make appropriate food choices, you will be satisfied for several hours. This results in either weight loss, or weight maintenance (if you are at your goal). The purpose of the band is to assist you to lose weight -- and this occurs only with active participation by you: you chose what to eat, you choose how much to eat, and you practice walking away after eating that amount. The band is a tool to allow you to eat less and have your appetite dimmed resulting in weight loss, or maintenance. It is a tool to help you adopt a healthy lifestyle -- you still have the choices to make, but the band allows you to be satisfied with those choices.
"If I could eat less and walk away, what would I need this band for?" -- a common question we are asked. Without the band, if you eat a small amount of food and walk away your appetite would rise within a couple of hours -- you would find yourself hungry and wanting more food, possibly leading to unwanted snacking. You would also find, if you willed yourself to withstand the hunger, that your weight loss gradually decreases. The band fools your brain into thinking you ate more.
Think of it another way -- the hypothalamus does not have eyes -- it doesn't know how much you ate, it doesn't know if there is a lot of food around and you are not eating it, or if there is a band on your
original article by Dr. Simpson: http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html

I never attacked anyone. You came onto this thread spreading complete scare tactic BS. What's worse, you clearly don't understand what you're reading at all. I came on here to offer the OP advice and try to help- which is a heck of a lot more than you did.

I'm no doctor, but it seems to me like the problem is you're expecting the band to do things it's not supposed to do. It's not supposed to physically stop you from eating nor is it going to force you to make good food choices.
Please read this link for a much better understanding of the band and realistic expectations of it: http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html

Once again, you're citing incomplete studies that don't take patient compliance into consideration. You can't fault the band for patient error and carelessness.
The fact is, as stated in the study I posted, when the patient does what they're supposed to do there is only a 5% failure rate.

Actually, that study is incomplete because it doesn't take patient failure/non-compliance into consideration.
When a patient is compliant with their surgeon and the band rules, the band is just as effective as other WLS and failure rate is only 5%. http://www.futurity.org/weight-stays-off-long-after-lap-band-surgery/

Call your doctor. If your having new problems you need to call. If food is just sitting on top your band it's dangerous and can lead to erosion.
Either way, you need to let your doctor decide what is wrong and what's best.

Cool question!
I've been fortunate to experience a lot of them. They include:
-Sitting in a booth
-Flying on plane without needing a belt extension
-Going on carnival rides
-Not being the biggest one in the room
-Wearing non-plus size clothes
-Seeing the scale go into Onederland
The only one I have left is to hit my goal

I've been banded almost 2 years and still struggle with this.
For me, I find it an ongoing process. First, I had to clean my house out of all "trigger foods". The grazing you do? I do it too. I find if I get all the foods that are going to make me want to graze and leave only healthy foods, then I don't eat nearly as much and when I do at least it's a good choice. The second part of this is, if I am going to indulge on a cookie or ice cream, it's then a conscious decision requiring me to go to the store for whatever treat it is I'm going to have. 90% of the time this alone makes me not indulge because the time I get ready to go out, I realize it's not worth the calories (or money) and decide against it anyway.
Bottom line- if you want to put the Cookies and chips down, get them out of your house entirely so you can't pick them up to begin with. It will help you a lot.
Best wishes.

It's not so much what we specifically eat but rather making healthy food choices. For most of us, it's also about staying within our daily calorie allowance, too.
I would make an appointment with your nutritionist.

You look wonderful- and very happy! This is such a great picture!!