Rongen62

I don't have one......yet! That is the reward I am giving to myself when I reach my goal weight. I have already designed it. It will represent my being set free from my weight loss struggle!

@B-52.....I PRAY to god I can be in your shoes some day.
But IT is very hard as 9 months out and still no help from my band. I wasnt expecting it to take this long so it is a damn hard stick to diet. I am doing well but not having much results yet for losses but am hopeful if I ever get to this green zone everyone talks about...it will be easier than it is now and that is what I hope for.
MY fingers are crossed to be like you and others like you very soon

I think I've been at a place where I can agree with every single post on this thread. When I first started, I was in the same place as B-52. It was super easy!!! I really didn't work at it at all! Sure, I followed the rules and as I lost weight I became more active, which in turn made me lose more weight. But I didn't struggle.
THAT's when I became complacent. I decided my lifelong weight loss battle was over and I had won. I ate whatever I wanted and still didn't gain weight - at first. Slowly, old habits crept back in. I learned how to eat even more of whatever I wanted.
I woke up one day (5 years later) to find that I had regained 60 pounds. Imagine that! 60 pounds overnight. It wasn't there one day and it was there the next day. Turns out, this lifelong battle is far from over!
Bad news - I'm the only one responsible for what I weigh.
Good news - I'm the only one responsible for what I weigh.
If I'm not responsible for it, I'm not in control of it. Plug in anything you want for the word "it" in that sentence. My weight, my happiness, my health, my behavior, my anything!
So now - although I'm 7 years into this journey and have maintained a 100 lb weight loss (at least I didn't undo all of my progress!) - I feel like I'm back at square one with the lifestyle. I'm learning to work the band instead of letting the band do all the work. I log everything I eat. I'm working out. I'm getting and giving support.
I have always been in love with my band because I really thought it was the magic answer for all my life's problems (because - of course - every single problem and every single thing that made me slightly unhappy or uncomfortable was all because I was fat, right???). Now I'm in love with my band because it's not a magic answer. It doesn't work for me. It doesn't "make" me lose weight. What it does do is force me to take responsibility for my own life. And when I do that, I have more control, more confidence, and more satisfaction that I could ever have imagined.
Shelly

I have crystal light and the Walmart brand drink mixes every where. I keep several flavors so I never get tired of just one. I do drink plain Water too but, I am not a big fan. I even keep the crystal light packs in my purse so that no matter where I am, I mix up a bottle!

Thanks Shady! I've fought breast cancer & won. I will fight this too! This is for me. I want to reduce my risk for recurrence more than anything bi want to know I've done everything possible to keep this disease from coming back! Plus on a lighter note, no more granny panties is also on the top off my list

65lbs woot woot! at a plateau at the moment which sucks, but know that with working out 6 days a week that eventually will go away.
Progress Pics:

I am really glad that you took your time to post on this subject but have you ever read what Lapband.com has to say about this? It clearly states in the first sentence that "The lapband system reduces your stomachs capacity, restricting the amount of food you are able to eat at one time". I trust my Dr 150% and he would not have told me this was the case had it not been. I also read on 3 other websites that the band "limits your intake of food". It no where says, except Dr Simpson, that you the patient can eat as much as you want with the band unless you control it.

I am 4-1/2 months out. I have not reached the green zone yet. I am however, eating a lot smaller portions than I did before my surgery. I struggle every day with the dreaded "head Hunger". I am learning to sit and listen to my body. When I reach for something to eat, I have to be really still and feel my body. Am I really hungry or is it that old head hunger rearing it's ugly head. Every day is a struggle and a lesson.

I do! If I eat just one bite too much, my left shoulder hurts. I read some where that it is where the band is on a nerve and when you overeat it causes it to put pressure on that nerve. It is enough to make me not want to eat too much!

I do! If I eat just one bite too much, my left shoulder hurts. I read some where that it is where the band is on a nerve and when you overeat it causes it to put pressure on that nerve. It is enough to make me not want to eat too much!

I drink a lot of Crystal Light. I try to drink plain Water as well. I don't drink any caffeine since having my surgery. All I drank before was coke and sweet tea. I buy the Walmart brand of crystal light as well and it is just as good and a lot cheaper. Like Carolina Girl.....I have it at home, at work and in my purse. I am never without it! I guess it is my new obsession! LOL

when i started pre op
and hence to me now, i live on my crystal light peach ice tea
it works for me and if you and your dr is okay with it, go for it.
it was on my list of ok items...
ps: Walmart and target brands are cheaper then crystal light and taste just as good
i am loaded at work, my home and my purse

Welcome to hell. I hope you get out of it faster than me. I have already had 3 fills!!!! And I can eat anything and everything.

Well.... I have to disagree with the above posts. I don't think it's a lack of Protein, or that Biotin helps. When I started loosing hair, I went to the dermatoligist. Much to my relief, he said I was not going bald. He said the body goes into kind of a shock after rapid weight loss. I honestly don't remember his detailed explanation, something about the cycle of Hair growth. Mine started to fall out about 4 months post op and stopped, and grew back about 3 months later. I know how unsettling it is, but try not to worry. It will stop.

I'm 4 1/2 months out and I think I'm starting to get a handle on head hunger. Sometimes it helps me to chew a piece of gum after a meal. It is a cue that I am done, and it keeps me from putting anything else in my mouth.

I am struggling with this too. I have had 3 fills and I am at 4cc in a 10 cc band. This last fill is getting close but, not there yet. The head hunger is about to get the best of me. I try to sit a minute and really FEEL my stomach. I try to figure out whether I an really hungry or if it is just in my head. I hope this gets easier when I finally get to my green zone.

I think the hardest thing to learn will be that growling no longer equals hungry!

The only way to conquer your head hunger is to set up some kind of mental system where you ask yourself before you put food in your mouth, "am I really hungry" and then you can act on that information. Do you decide to put the food down or shove it in your mouth? I'm not saying you will always make the right decision, I know I don't always make the right decision, but after 1 year I'm finally training myself to think before I eat.
tmf

So glad you posted this. I am the same way. Eat healthy all day and have a good dinner the, BAM 8:00pm and the head hunger starts. I live in a house full of skinny people who can eat any and everything so there is always some kind of junk in the house. I feel so guilty after I eat this stuff! The only good thing is that since my lap band surgery, I can no longer eat as much as I used to be able to eat. Now if i can just concur this evil head hunger completely!

Unfortunately, it can take months and maybe years to finally get in touch with your needs and cravings. Is it a craving or is it really hunger? Took me over a year to figure that one out. I actually have to physically stop, and try to get in touch with my stomach to determine if my stomach is empty and my body is asking for food, or is it my head saying put something in your mouth, anything, but preferably something with cheese and/or bacon on it? That's when I know!
When a craving doesn't come from hunger, eating will never satisfy it...Dr. Michelle May

Any time I have surgery, I have horrible breath for a while. Also, when you are in ketosis, your breathe will smell funky! I keep sugar free gum and mints with me all the time! LOL

I have a friend who had the sleeve just a couple of weeks after I had my lap band surgery. She is happy with her decision and so am I. She has lost a lot more weight quicker than I have but, my surgeon told me that over a two year period the weight loss was, on average the same for both. People who get the sleeve lose a lot of weigh very quickly up front and those with lap band lose steadily over a period of time.
I think it comes down to your preference. I was not keen on having my anatomy permanently changed. I like the fact that lap band can be reversed if need be. I am steadily losing weight and I happy with the results. Talk to your surgeon and find out the pros and cons of both. Good Luck!

I have a friend who had the sleeve just a couple of weeks after I had my lap band surgery. She is happy with her decision and so am I. She has lost a lot more weight quicker than I have but, my surgeon told me that over a two year period the weight loss was, on average the same for both. People who get the sleeve lose a lot of weigh very quickly up front and those with lap band lose steadily over a period of time.
I think it comes down to your preference. I was not keen on having my anatomy permanently changed. I like the fact that lap band can be reversed if need be. I am steadily losing weight and I happy with the results. Talk to your surgeon and find out the pros and cons of both. Good Luck!