mss924

If No One Ever Tells You, You are Awesome and Look Great!!! Shine Like a Star Because You are Your Biggest Fan!!!
I feel Great and look Ever Greater!!! If They Made Two of Me, The World would Be in Trouble!!! And I feel the Same About You!!!!! Learn to Encourage Yourself!!!!

Mis73, I like your reason better! pink dailia, I can see that as well. Thank you so very much for th info!

My biggest fear was failure. I was banded September 29, 2011. For the first few months I only lost about two pounds a month. Sometime this spring, my band (10cc) was half full. For the first time, I felt real restriction. I started losing one and a half to two pounds a week. Now, I'm forty pounds down and its still not easy. Its not as scary as it was. I drag my butt down to the little gym in my building at work for 30 minutes, 5 days a week. I got rid of my riding mower and now have to walk to cut grass.
Its hard to go from being out of control to being in control. My brain just didn't get it. Growing up, I was subject to verbal abuse. I was told I would always be a failure and that I was stupid. I carried that with me into my adult life. I went to a counselor to try and understand the abuse and control issues.
I'm here to tell you that you can do this. You deserve the great changes coming your way. Never, ever give up. Lastly, please remember this: Its not how you fall down, but how you get back up that really matters.

One word answer to your question... how often do i mess up............... Everyday.
No one is perfect, and if someone tells you they got the band and followed everything exactly... well they would be untruthful... Everyone slips....So don't be hard on yourself. Learn from what your doing and/or what you did and try and do better. that's the most we can all hope for.
We didn't get to be "large" people by being able to follow all the rules. Having the band doesn't change that. Don't be so hard on yourself and expect perfection... you will only be setting yourself up for disappointment. judge yourself on other mini goals... and reward yourself for reaching them. I got a mani and pedi for every 5lbs i lost. When i reach a bigger goal, like fitting in a smaller size pants... i rewarded myself with a new pair or something else.
good luck and happy shrinking

I had my surgery about 2 months ago and am a regular smoker. Smoke on Hun!
Smoking helped me with the pain after surgery. As a matter of fact, that's all that helped.
And to the person who said you can't get the surgery with pot in your system I suggest you do more research cause I got my surgery and no drug test.

I'm sorry if I offend anyone too. But, for me, being fat was being ugly!
Oh, there were all the other reasons to lose weight such as, health, fitness, joint pain, being comfortable in an airplane seat etc, but the main reason, I hated being fat and ugly. Sorry gals but no one tells us guys that we have lovely faces and it's too bad we're fat.
tmf

You need to chill! Remember, this is a long journey and there will be all kinds of temptations, setbacks and challenges to come for the rest of your life. This is a 3 week blip in the time/space continuum. Just look at this as if it were a maintenance point in your journey. If you don't gain or lose it's a win/win. If you happen to gain a lb or 2, it was learning experience and you won't make the same mistakes twice. Now is a time to educate yourself.
Just remember to eat healthy but keep your appetitie satisfied. You'll have less stress if someone shoves a burrito in your face
tmf

Well who would have thought that 6 years ago today I’d be getting something
called a “lapband”.
I had done all my research; talk to the doctors several times prior to my
surgery. I joined Canadian Lapbanders and asked a ton of questions I was in
the Lapbandtalk.com chat room every night for two months prior to surgery and I
even spoke with two patients on the phone and asked even more questions prior to surgery. I was ready to begin my lapband journey.
I can remember right after the surgery I said “What have I done myself”. I thought I was going to die from the left shoulder pain I was experiencing.
The fourth day past and going into the fifth day I was starting to feel
“normal” but little did I realize that from that day on my life, in
particular the way looked at food would change.
I kept my food journal everyday for the first four months. I wrote down
everything. Every Monday morning I would sit and re-read the information Dr. Yau gave me. I studied the menu plans I was given like I was getting ready for an
exam. I studied the notes I took from Kathy P. and Belina and thought if they can do it so can I.
Every month when I went to my family doctor for my monthly weigh-in and
measurements I took my folder with all my lapband info in it along with my food
journals for the past month and I would review my journals with my family doctor and then he would take out the measuring tape and then I would get weighed.
The lapband journey for me was like doing a puzzle. There are many pieces that
would eventually come together and form my new lapband lifestyle.
Things that have helped me work on my new puzzle.
- I listened to the doctor and clinic staff
- I reviewed the information folder given to me by the clinic on regular basis
(weekly while on the various food stages) and then twice a month
- So many people that get banded today get their binder and they read through it just after surgery and then put it on the self to collect dust.
- I kept my food journal for 4 months without fail
- I stopped eating large meals past 7:00 p.m. and now just have an evening
snack on occasion. The only exception to my rule is on Friday night when I
usually go out for dinner
Even before my journey started I started looking for support. I read
everything I could find online, read EVERY post on Canadian Lapbanders and asked many questions.
Support. Since being banded the word support has never been so important to
me. The lapband journey is a unique experience and if the people around you are
not banded they try to understand what you’re going through but they really
don’t get it. I know the reason I was so successful is because of the support
of fellow bandsters. I went to the support group meetings at the clinic,
attended the special seminars offered and I was always in the chat room. Over
the years I’ve talked on the phone to bandsters from all over, Canada, US and
even the UK.
Fast forward to today and I still say that support from fellow bandsters is
the key for me in maintaining my weight and I still have my monthly weigh-in
with my family doctor. Friends that are not banded laugh at me because I take
the GO train all over the place just to meet a group of people for coffee. Yes,
it’s an expensive cup of coffee but I enjoy connecting with my fellow bandsters as
they start their new journey or watch them reach their goal and it’s great to
share lapband stories with individuals that are looking into this new lifestyle
change.
People ask me if I think about my lapband everyday… I do (usually when it
gurgles) but it has become a part of me. I still enjoy all the foods I did in
the past (with two exceptions and NO CARBONATED BEVERAGES) but I never feel like I’m missing out on certain foods or social gatherings because I have the band.
To my fellow bandsters thank you so much for being there for me at the various
stages throughout my journey. Yes I may be crazy to travel just about anywhere
to meet fellow bandsters for coffee but again I get so much out of this unique
support group and it keeps me on track. My arm may hurt from holding the phone for too long after speaking to a fellow bandster from Calgary for over an hour on the phone but I don’t mind.
To my clinic and in particular Dr. Yau, Kathy and Nancy and in recent years
Arlene a special thank you for giving me the tools to use along the way to be
successful. Dr. Yau the egg timer trick really did work !!!
I’m not sure the lapband puzzle will ever be complete. I know I will
continue to add pieces to it for years to come.
On a final note thank you to everyone for there well wishes for the past several months. It’s been rough couple of months but I’m doing well.
Tom, Toronto
Banded July 6 06
Wt. Loss: 156 lbs

Khaylar,
I have gone through the same thing! I am just a few years older than you (37) and have tried ww and lost, gained, etc... I finally one day looked I the mirror and didn't recognize the fat person in the mirror! That was the end, I went to a seminar the next week started the journey to be banded. I have been banded for almost four months and have lost 30 lbs since the surg! I am starting to like and recognize that person in the mirror again! I wouldn't change a thing! Very happy with it!!

Don't worry you will feel the restriction; I didn't feel mine till after my 2nd fill. I know it was a frustrating time for me bridging that gap between the surgery and when I started feeling restricted, however I did eventually get there. My recommendation is to trust that there is a process and it will work.
One other recommendation I would make for this period is to start making small changes in what you eat (even if you are not changing the amount). That way once you do start feeling constricted you are already eating better things. This really helped me ease into the restriction phase because I was already eating what I was supposed to be eating so the change was not as drastic.
*sorry* the below is a little off topic but it was another topic I was also struggling with during this same period of post OP/pre-restriction and I think it is related.
I know everybody has probably heard the speech about how the band is a tool and is not a magic solution, sadly it is true. I believe someone needs a mindset that the band will not fix the issue on its own; it will only help you fix the issue. I was talking it over with someone and I used a hammer and nail as an analogy for the lapband and weight loss, I could not lose the weight without the lapband, just as much as I would not be able to drive a nail in a board without a tool. However the hammer cannot drive in the nail without my aim, arm swing and strength, just as the lapband cannot lose the weight for me.
This was hard for me to understand after the surgery because I just wanted the surgery to "fix" me and I wanted it now. But looking back at everything; the initial consult, the dealings with the insurance company, the scheduling, the surgery itself, the time leading up to now and then with looking ahead it is good to know that I am doing it (of course with the lapband's help), but I am the one making the choices (to bring it back to the analogy, I am the one swinging the hammer ). Believe me there are ways to cheat and I know they are there but choosing not to cheat and continue with the process is what will change my life.
So don’t get too discouraged with the non-restriction phase, just like every other phase of the whole process it will pass and there is so much to look forward to.


Sorry for the long post

Khaylar,
I have gone through the same thing! I am just a few years older than you (37) and have tried ww and lost, gained, etc... I finally one day looked I the mirror and didn't recognize the fat person in the mirror! That was the end, I went to a seminar the next week started the journey to be banded. I have been banded for almost four months and have lost 30 lbs since the surg! I am starting to like and recognize that person in the mirror again! I wouldn't change a thing! Very happy with it!!

DO IT!!! I was your age when my weight got out of control and I have been up and down for 20 years. I'm getting banded 7/20/12 and so excided that this roller coaster ride is over. Don't be like me 20 years down the road and think why didn't I do this years ago.
I'm new on this site and know I will have thousands of supporters and so will you!!

Had my first fill at 6 weeks!

When my husband and I go out to eat, he orders what I want so I can eat off his plate! Some people just don't understand!

When my husband and I go out to eat, he orders what I want so I can eat off his plate! Some people just don't understand!