Mrs. Curtis

I agree that fast food was a comfort for me as well and happened more times than I care to admit.
I would stress though that the band doesn't stop you from eating it, you have to still be commited to eating healthier. chips and salsa, hamburgers, tacos, etc. can still get past the band.

Hi Jennifer
Yes.. I still have cravings and I do still have my treats now and then but in smaller portions.
I find living with the band VERY easy.
Here's some advice that I've talked about here before specifically for new bandsters... please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.
Try and take it one day at a time. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t go into this journey saying “I’ll never be able to eat this or that ever again.” I can eat ANYTHING except rice and apple skins and no carbonated beverages. Follow the guidelines given to you by your doctor.
Remember… take tiny bites (the size of your pinky fingernail) and remember to finish what you have in your mouth before you take your next bite.
When I was losing weight I checked in every month with my family doctor to get weighed and measured. (I don’t own scales) I also attended two coffee groups for people that were banded.
These things really kept me motivated and on track. I still check in every month with my family doctor to get weighed-in and I host two coffee groups. For me support from fellow bandsters plays a big part in this journey.
Back when I was banded my doctor suggested something called the “Egg Timer Distraction”. It’s kind of difficult to explain here but I’d be happy to email you the .pdf document. It REALLY helped me with “head hunger. I can’t tell you the number of people in my lapband coffee groups over the years that have said how helpful this “trick” has been in dealing with their head hunger.
Also, I’m not really a “diet” book type person but I recommend you pick up two books.
Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle – by Dr. Michelle May
I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. May speak at a conference when she came to Toronto and her book and guidelines really work well with the lapband journey.
The second book is:
The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite – by David L. Kessler
Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions and also if you would like a copy of the “Egg Timer Distraction Document”.
Tom, Toronto
Banded July 6 06
Wt. Loss: 156 lbs
tomander@bell.net

It has been exactly three weeks since my band "resett". I have lost 14.2 lbs and quit smoking. Today I start the next phase which is exercise. I want to thank everyone on here for sharing their knowledge and amazing support. Without you all this would be much harder. Thankyou for never judging me.
I want to be a positive example to those who have lost their way and support for those who need it. If I can do it with all my demons and personal battles anyone can!
Bless you all !

I didn't see anything mean or critical in lapbandsters post?
18 lbs post op is super. Wish I could have lost that much. But, many of us don't. You should be doing cartwheels or the Happy Dance?
tmf

I finally made it to ONE derland! I am so excited! I thought being in a size 14 was great but reaching my goal before my birthday tommorrow is SUPER GREAT!

Honey, you lost 20 lbs. in 30 days! That is amazing if not almost too much weight! My thoughts:
1) You are being too hard on yourself. Fluctuations of a pound or two are normal. Get on the scale once a week or once every two weeks instead of every day. If you are the kind of person who will get very emotional over a small fluctuation like that, then you need to give yourself more distance from the scale and look at the overall picture.
2) We all have difficulty in social situations sometimes. It is normal and it is okay. We aren't always going to be perfect every single minute of every single day. If that was such an easy feat, none of us would have needed lap band in the first place.
3) Exercising. Yes, it is important, but missing a day here or there is not going to kill you. Believe me, it isn't falling in Water that makes us drown, it is staying there that makes us drown. If you miss a day, try to start again the next day.
4) Don't apologize for the tears. You are a passionate person who wants to lose the weight badly, that is very obvious. However, maybe think about talking to someone? Sometimes a therapist can help keep you positive when you are being too hard on yourself. Sounds like you might need some positive encouragement and permission to not be perfect! There is no shame in needing a little extra support.
5) Hang in there. Think of how much weight you've lost, and how that supercedes the small fluctuation you perceive to be a legitimate gain. That two pounds might be gone in a day or two, and all this stress and worry isn't going to help. Your body can sense when you are happy and optimistic and it can sense when you are depressed or unhappy. Try to stay positive. It will help you be successful.
You are doing great. No one here is perfect. We all have our days. Your 20 lb. loss is incredible in such a short time. You can do this, but please don't feel you have to lose so much so quickly. Slow and steady wins the race! :wub:

STOP FREAKING OUT!!!! Your weight can fluctuate from day to day, hour to hour. Depends on lots of things- have you eaten more salt and has less to drink? Is it near your time of the month? Have you been exercising more?
If you want to be successful with the band, you will need to stop letting the scale make or break your day! Take a deep breath...then again.....

I'm hoping to get into a bikini! I haven't wore one in about 17 years! Heels would be good too!

Try a heating pad, that seemed to help me. Also, try to get up and move around a bit, carefully!

Congrats to you! You are a role model! As you said, no one is perfect and we all backslide, but can still get to where we want to go.

That's possibly due to swelling or the body retaining Water as a result of surgery....hide the scale for now and focus on healing...and in a week or so, try to weigh yourself again.
DON'T BE DISCOURAGED!!!

Also, I'm not sure if there's a costco by you, but they do have their premier shakes ready to go and it only has 1g of sugar, 30g of Protein and 160cal per shake....oh and they taste great.....

CONGRATS! That is a huge step and you really are showing insight when you point out the mental piece vs the physical piece regarding your training for the 5k - continue to draw on the power of your 5k... you RAN the WHOLE Way ... thats a big big deal ... Consistency and incremental increases will launch you to the next level... 30 seconds more : )

I have been working up to running non stop and I was able to do it! I had actually ran 3 miles straight at the gym a few days prior so I KNEW I had no excuse not to do it at this race. Prior to this I had been stopping at 1 mile but I knew that was my brain and not my body stopping me. I have another 5k this weekend and I can't wait to run that one too. By no means is this fast running but it is a start and I feel stronger and faster every week. If I can do this now it is exciting to imagine what I will be able to do with 50 more lbs off me!
Sorry I just wanted to share this NSV.

If you can't keep anything down, including liquids, the last thing you need is another fill. You already sound like you're too tight.
Fills don't make you lose weight, eating small portions of healthy foods results in losing weight. The only the thing the fills are supposed to do is allow the band to appease your hunger. If you get another fill and you're already too tight, you're putting yourself at risk for a slip.
Good luck

You know, I got on this site hoping to get answers from people just like me but instead of feeling comfortable, I am afraid of being honest or feeling like I am going to be judged if I make a mistake, ask a stupid question or make a comment about my experience so far with the band. Let's take this post for example, she says she is happy she got stuck and people act like she has lost her mind instead of educating her in a nicer way. She said she was eating tacos and she is made to feel like she committed a sin. She says she is going 70mph and suddenly the post is fake. Let's get real, if we are on here is because we all overate, ate the wrong things more frequently than not and probably didn't do much exercise so to make someone feel bad about their choices or comments is pretty hypocritical to me. It's not what you say more than how you deliver your message.
We are here to motivate and support each other not repremand or judge each other.
P.S: this is not meant for "all" who posted on here, only for some as well as others in other posts I've read.

Jello also makes a refrigerated sugar free chocolate mousse that I like if I am craving chocolate or sugar free fudgecicles. Yum.
I like the idea of making Protein shake popsicles though!

My BMi was 93. I am 35 yrs old and weighed over 600lbs. I was banded on April 20th 2010. When I went to support group on Saturday the 12th I weighed in at 450 lbs. I would say that that is very sucessful.

I had that my first couple days post op. I hope everything is okay, keep us posted

Several people asked specifically how fast the weight fell off...when I hit plateaus etc.... so I decided to post my weight tracker of my journey from my phone ap. There was no particular way I tracked it... just when ever I thought about it I entered it. I am obsessed with the scale... but the results are worth it. So here it is.... my loss by the numbers...so far
Goal: 160.0 lb Start: 377.0 lb
Date Weight
2-Sep-12 169.0 lb
25-Aug-12 170.0 lb
14-Aug-12 173.0 lb
12-Aug-12 177.0 lb
9-Aug-12 179.0 lb
1-Aug-12 180.0 lb
22-Jul-12 182.0 lb
21-Jul-12 183.0 lb
19-Jul-12 183.0 lb
14-Jul-12 184.0 lb
16-Jun-12 187.0 lb
11-Jun-12 188.0 lb
28-Apr-12 191.0 lb
20-Apr-12 199.0 lb
17-Apr-12 201.0 lb
14-Mar-12 206.0 lb
11-Mar-12 207.0 lb
27-Feb-12 209.0 lb
30-Jan-12 214.0 lb
25-Jan-12 216.0 lb
22-Jan-12 218.0 lb
16-Jan-12 220.0 lb
12-Jan-12 222.0 lb
10-Jan-12 224.0 lb
31-Dec-11 225.0 lb
24-Dec-11 227.0 lb
16-Dec-11 228.0 lb
9-Dec-11 229.0 lb
5-Dec-11 230.0 lb
4-Dec-11 231.0 lb
1-Dec-11 233.0 lb
30-Nov-11 234.0 lb
29-Nov-11 234.0 lb
26-Nov-11 236.0 lb
20-Nov-11 237.0 lb
28-Oct-11 241.0 lb
27-Oct-11 241.0 lb
24-Oct-11 245.0 lb
21-Oct-11 247.0 lb
19-Oct-11 249.0 lb
27-Sep-11 252.0 lb
19-Sep-11 254.0 lb
12-Sep-11 255.0 lb
9-Sep-11 257.0 lb
7-Sep-11 259.0 lb
31-Aug-11 261.0 lb
30-Aug-11 262.0 lb
22-Aug-11 264.0 lb
15-Aug-11 266.0 lb
12-Aug-11 267.0 lb
4-Aug-11 268.0 lb
2-Aug-11 269.0 lb
30-Jul-11 270.0 lb
29-Jul-11 271.0 lb
27-Jul-11 272.0 lb
26-Jul-11 273.0 lb
23-Jul-11 274.0 lb
14-Jul-11 275.0 lb
8-Jul-11 277.0 lb
5-Jul-11 279.0 lb
4-Jul-11 280.0 lb
2-Jul-11 281.0 lb
25-Jun-11 282.0 lb
15-Jun-11 283.0 lb
11-Jun-11 284.0 lb
9-Jun-11 285.0 lb
7-Jun-11 286.0 lb
29-May-11 287.0 lb
28-May-11 288.0 lb
26-May-11 289.0 lb
19-May-11 291.0 lb
14-May-11 293.0 lb
10-May-11 295.0 lb
9-May-11 297.0 lb
6-May-11 298.0 lb
30-Apr-11 299.0 lb
28-Apr-11 300.0 lb
21-Apr-11 301.0 lb
17-Apr-11 302.0 lb
12-Apr-11 305.0 lb
13-Mar-11 308.0 lb
11-Mar-11 309.0 lb
8-Mar-11 311.0 lb
6-Mar-11 312.0 lb
4-Mar-11 313.0 lb
27-Feb-11 316.0 lb
16-Feb-11 318.0 lb
13-Feb-11 319.0 lb
11-Feb-11 320.0 lb
9-Feb-11 321.0 lb
5-Feb-11 322.0 lb
29-Jan-11 324.0 lb
20-Jan-11 326.0 lb
16-Jan-11 327.0 lb
15-Jan-11 328.0 lb
12-Jan-11 329.0 lb
5-Jan-11 332.0 lb
1-Jan-11 334.0 lb
31-Dec-10 334.0 lb
9-Dec-10 352.0 lb
24-Nov-10 377.0 lb

This is Day 10 and I just walked two miles!!! It feels so good to be building back my endurance!
I am off work for the rest of the week and will continue my exercise and napping routine. sleep and exercise (and protein) heal a body good!

It almost surreal.... But I am 10 lbs from goal. And it only been 21 months.... Such a short time considering the amount of weight I needed to lose ....
But i am almost there and i have lost 207 lbs! I just wanted to post this so anyone having to lose 200 lbs or more might realize IT CAN BE DONE!!!!!

I am so excited and happy right now I could bust! LOL!
When I started this journey, I weighed well over 400 pounds...
...I have spent the last 6 months cruising down through the 300's
Today, finally, I AM IN THE 200's!!!!
I still have a long battle ahead of me, but for a girl who hasn't seen the scale display a weight that was in the 200's for 19 years, it's amazing. I am just ecstatic.
I love my band!!!
<-----My happy dance! LOL!

I am under 200 lbs
I am so excited, I can't believe it. I got on the scale 3 times haha
But I am there
Anybody have suggestions on reward?

I got approved today!!! I finished my 6 month diet yesterday. I turned in my papers to my Dr this morning at 10, and received a call at 3 asking to schedule my surgery. August 29th is the day!!! excited and nervous! I wasn't expecting it to be this fast :/