wineguyd

Okay, we can all agree that the first and foremost benefit of weight loss surgery is the health benefits. But that being said, the second greatest benefit(to me at least) was that for the very first time in my life I was able to shop in the normal size sections of the clothing store, and for the first time in my life I actually had choices in style, and for the first time in my life I actually saw the person who I always though I was in the mirror...not the caricature that stole my image for the last half a century. I think I speak for all of us on this one. By the time I had lost 50 pounds I had to throw out all my clothing, everything, the only thing I was able to still use were my socks. So a crash course in learning to dress well was in order...I'm alway reminded of the scene in the movie "Moscow on the Hudson" with Robin Williams when he experienced an American supermarket for the first time after defecting from the Soviet Union...he was so overwhelmed with the selections that he passed out. My wife remembers my eyes tearing when we went to Macy's to get me a new sport jacket, the last time I was there I purchased a size 58 and there were only two or three choices in the "Portly" section. I had just put on a size 46 and it was loose, I had to fight back full blown tears.
I'd love to hear about others in this forum that have lost a good chunk of weight and are now discovering or re-discoving the joys of dressing. Post some shopping tips, style tips for the newly slim. I've got some great tips and resources for those of you about to transition into a new wardrobe.
I now worship at the alter of Brioni, Canali and Zegna!

Cheers!
Eli the WineGuyD

Exactly! Our mothers and grandmothers always new the secret....chew your food well, eat slowly, put the knife and fork down between bites! If we had heeded that advise in our youth we might never have gotten to the point where we needed the band in the first place!

Exactly! Our mothers and grandmothers always new the secret....chew your food well, eat slowly, put the knife and fork down between bites! If we had heeded that advise in our youth we might never have gotten to the point where we needed the band in the first place!

I've noticed the opposite, I had three fills in the first 8 months and then stopped. I've reached a point where I can't over eat but I can still enjoy a modest three course dinner in a good restaurant. I no longer loose weight from the bands restriction of calories...now it's finally from will power and excersize. My last 15 pounds will come off from a healthy lifestyle and the band will be a referee on the sidelines.
Several men that got the band after seeing my success have not been as happy because they keep going back for fills and unfills and want to make the band the sole arbiter of their eating habits without out using an ounce of discipline. They get unfills before holidays and family affairs and then refill after they put on a few pounds. I strongly believe that the less you manipulate the band the better it will be for the long run.

Exactly! Our mothers and grandmothers always new the secret....chew your food well, eat slowly, put the knife and fork down between bites! If we had heeded that advise in our youth we might never have gotten to the point where we needed the band in the first place!

Okay, we can all agree that the first and foremost benefit of weight loss surgery is the health benefits. But that being said, the second greatest benefit(to me at least) was that for the very first time in my life I was able to shop in the normal size sections of the clothing store, and for the first time in my life I actually had choices in style, and for the first time in my life I actually saw the person who I always though I was in the mirror...not the caricature that stole my image for the last half a century. I think I speak for all of us on this one. By the time I had lost 50 pounds I had to throw out all my clothing, everything, the only thing I was able to still use were my socks. So a crash course in learning to dress well was in order...I'm alway reminded of the scene in the movie "Moscow on the Hudson" with Robin Williams when he experienced an American supermarket for the first time after defecting from the Soviet Union...he was so overwhelmed with the selections that he passed out. My wife remembers my eyes tearing when we went to Macy's to get me a new sport jacket, the last time I was there I purchased a size 58 and there were only two or three choices in the "Portly" section. I had just put on a size 46 and it was loose, I had to fight back full blown tears.
I'd love to hear about others in this forum that have lost a good chunk of weight and are now discovering or re-discoving the joys of dressing. Post some shopping tips, style tips for the newly slim. I've got some great tips and resources for those of you about to transition into a new wardrobe.
I now worship at the alter of Brioni, Canali and Zegna!

Cheers!
Eli the WineGuyD

Okay, we can all agree that the first and foremost benefit of weight loss surgery is the health benefits. But that being said, the second greatest benefit(to me at least) was that for the very first time in my life I was able to shop in the normal size sections of the clothing store, and for the first time in my life I actually had choices in style, and for the first time in my life I actually saw the person who I always though I was in the mirror...not the caricature that stole my image for the last half a century. I think I speak for all of us on this one. By the time I had lost 50 pounds I had to throw out all my clothing, everything, the only thing I was able to still use were my socks. So a crash course in learning to dress well was in order...I'm alway reminded of the scene in the movie "Moscow on the Hudson" with Robin Williams when he experienced an American supermarket for the first time after defecting from the Soviet Union...he was so overwhelmed with the selections that he passed out. My wife remembers my eyes tearing when we went to Macy's to get me a new sport jacket, the last time I was there I purchased a size 58 and there were only two or three choices in the "Portly" section. I had just put on a size 46 and it was loose, I had to fight back full blown tears.
I'd love to hear about others in this forum that have lost a good chunk of weight and are now discovering or re-discoving the joys of dressing. Post some shopping tips, style tips for the newly slim. I've got some great tips and resources for those of you about to transition into a new wardrobe.
I now worship at the alter of Brioni, Canali and Zegna!

Cheers!
Eli the WineGuyD

Tomorrow is your "re-birthday"!!!!

I was diagnosed with ADD as a child, I'm pretty sure I still have it but the band was one thing I never had trouble focusing on...when your health, if not your life, is on the line you overcome many obstacles!

As we all know, white meat chicken is a real challenge to the band, it's one of the few things that still block me up.
But more important, you admittedly eat too fast and I'm assuming you are not cutting your food into small pieces, putting your utensils down with each bite, and are not chewing well. I'm over three years into this and yet I still find myself once and a while briefly wolfing food down and then paying for it minutes later....slow down...period!

While Gastric Plication might be reversible should there be complications, the main problem I have with it or any stomach reducing procedure is that it's too easy to stretch it out again. Many people with emotional eating problems force feed themselves. The band is a solid object restriction. It wins the argument every time, the only way you could defeat it is by downing ice cream and shakes all day. Please consider that.

Typically it's your surgeons call and often they make the decision during the procedure since everyones physiology is different. My doctor placed a Realize band three years ago, no problems since. I don't think it would have mattered to me if he put the other. In the end the success is more about the doctors surgical ability and patients ability to follow post op instructions than it is about the band itself.