dylanmiles23

Hi,
I was banded July 30th and have not had a fill yet. My weight has been within 1-3 lbs. for over a week. I have been trying on a pair of pants for over a month and today they zipper!!!! So my body has gone down in inches. I finally took measurements on 9/6 for the first time. My highest weight was in March. I have no idea how large I really was. Be patient, the weight took longer than one month to put on. At my support group last week a man who was banded last November is down 90! That is very encouraging.

Believe it or not no one will pay attention to what you eat if you don't call attention to it... I eat out a lot for business and no one ever mentions it. TheY are too busy stuffing their faces. Since you will be attending a buffet that's actually easier... Take a little bit of what you want and eat a few bites of it... I promise if you don't mention it... No be will ask since its obvious you have been losing weight.
Happy holidays!

Very personal decision but I decided to be totally and completely honest. Now I did not sing it from the roof tops, but I told all my close friends and family I was having surgery. I was afraid of the negativity or maybe I should say the people who would think I took the easy way out. Wrong, this is harder than any diet I have been on. My advice is tell people when you are comfortable, you will need the support and when eating with others it will stop you from having to always explain why you do not eat certain foods.What ever you decide to do, just remain focused and honest with your self.

I have also chosen to only tell a few immediate family members. This is such a personal decision, and since there is no right or wrong way to handle it, my advice would be to do whatever you feel most comfortable doing, and if that means keeping the band to yourself, then do it, and do NOT feel guilty! Reality is, we do most of the work anyway! The band is a wonderful tool, absolutely, but this lifestyle takes discipline, commitment and hard work in order for it to be successful. Focus on what you are doing (making healthy choices, limiting portion sizes and exercising) and proudly explain just that when someone asks your "secret".
I also have a similar situation with a relative who puts a negative spin on everything and can be very condescending (I would imagine most families have at least one person like that!), so I don't blame you one bit for choosing not to share this personal information with her! We can't change the mindset or behaviors of other people, but we do have the choice to protect ourselves from being subjected to their negativity. Good luck!

Hi there! I have a similar situation. I haven't told anyone but my husband an a couple close friends. Not even family. I don't want to deal with "their" issues about "me" having weight loss surgery. I know at some point they are going to ask if I've lost weight and how as it becomes more noticeable. My plan is to tell them I am really watching the quality of my food and eating less. AS this is technically not a lie. But enough info to appease them. And if they say, "well I heard you had surgery" I won't deny it. But it just seems like everyone has their own opinions, and some not so positive. You don't need negative attention, it's a drain of your energy. Just my opinion.

Trial and error will be your friend for many months. What goes down today my not go down tomorrow. It took me a year before I finally got the hang of eating healthy with a band and it took me another year to really embrace what living with lap band meant. You and only you can learn your body and what keeps you satisfied and prevents you from snacking and cheating. Finding healthy snacks to munch on is key, in my early days I learned to love Soy Chips and nuts, Parmesan cheese chips and almonds. I rarely snack these days but in the beginning small treats like this helped me stay focused and not deprived. good luck to you.

I feel sorry for going through everything. I hope you can make it through 6 more weeks of liquid. After my surgery (6 weeks ago) and I could finally eat real food, I found that food doesn't mean the same to me anymore. Weird. With the shakes you don't have to think. I still have a drink for breakfast, I hate breakfast foods. I add decaf coffee and or peppermint extract for added flavor to the chocolate. Keep using this site to help you get through this period. Just remember the weight took longer than 6 weeks.

Good luck. I find that putting a lot of ice cubes in with the shakes makes them like a McDonald's thick shake and they fill you more. I use some instant decaf coffee or peppermint extract to change chocolate flavor.

congrats on fitting into your jeans i love when that happens. I had the same thing happen to me with a pair of seven jeans size 14. Second time around stores are good also ebay can work. I sold some of my bigger stuff on it for cheep. My hospital has a clothing swap twice a year. good luck with you weeding shopping. I just got size 10 jeans i never been a 10 in my life.

I'm not sure if there is a recommended time frame for measurements that I am unaware of, however, in my opinion, I would say every 30 pounds or so, or every couple of months would be a good time frame in order to see results and walk away feeling positive. I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience eating too fast. I hope I don't forget and do the same! We all make mistakes, so I guess you just have to chalk it up to "lesson learned"! Sounds like you have done that already. Best of luck from here on out, with eating, and with measurements!

I totally understand you. Many many years ago I lost weight by some crazy diet center and when I hit under 180, I stopped everything and regained and regained. I looked great and felt great but I couldn't handle it. This time around, I was banded 7/30, I am trying to accept the comments about how great I am looking. I no longer take any medications other than vitamins. I fit in clothes that I haven't worn in years and my nephew is getting married in November and I can't wait to maybe fit into a size 14 or 16! That will be a first in over 15 years. My eating was bread, pizza, fried food and ice cream. I am being so perfect, I hope it lasts. I want my grandsons not to have a fat grandmother anymore. Think positive.

Great story!!!!! Keep it up. You were banded one week before me. I know what you're talking about with wearing a smaller size. I just keep going clothes shopping in my closet. I was in either a size 18 or 20 jeans and now my small 18's fit well with room. My husband has been telling me almost every day how great I am looking. I really don't see it except with clothes but my face went down. I slipped up yesterday and ate too fast. Never again. It felt awful.A woman in my support group said to buy clothes at consignment stores because you change sizes so fast. I haven't done any shopping yet.
Have a great weekend.

love what you wrote! Makes me look forward to getting smaller and wearing clothes not from the fat section anymore, just like you. I was banded a month ago. Keep up the great work! you are worth it.

Thank you all for the kind support and words of encouragement. I know my husband can be a d**k. Sometimes in 100% of what he says and sometimes in 1% of what he says. I know he is insecure, ugg, and despite my flip flopping back and forth I have stayed and we have worked stuff out together.
i wont make excuses for him. I have wondered and asked him who screwed him over to give him this attitude but have moved on as I want to remain as positive with him. Last Christmas when I was in the approval stages he bought me many gradually getting smaller items of clothing like work out stuff and sexy stuff too and said it was something he looked forward to. So he does flip flop too. He wants to me be healthy and look great but doesnt want me to run away. Im not offended if you think he is a d**k, haha, I think he's a d**k on occasion as well.
I will talk with him again about how much it hurts me when he comments like that. Just last week when he had a heart to heart with me about fast food choices that he thought would disappear (and to my fault, did not) he said he was concerned with telling me because I always become upset about it. And to be honest, its probably because I need to be truthful with myself about how inconsistent I am being (because I am embarrassed to admit I have slipped up) but also the way he bluntly tells me that I could have lost the weight on my own.
I hate to sound like those abused woman that make escuses and say "but he loves me" but I agree about him having serious self esteem issues.
I am so glad I joined this group- your support helps. I hope this blog helped someone reevaluate how they take non supporters and remember to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!!!

Rahrah.... you just described over half the situation on this LB site. My husband was one of the ones that sabotaged my diet efforts in the past and still does to this day. He is 6'4" and has no weight problem. Will eat and i'm not kidding a half gallon in one sitting and not gain anything. Yesterday he polished off half bag of oatmeal cookies and 1/4 bag of Oreos.... then was still hungry and ate a plate of Pad-ti noodles.
They want you to be thin, but are afraid of you finding some one else. He makes commits all the time about me wanting to find other men. I tell him, if i wanted another man i could have one and could have had one at 223lbs. A lot of relationships don't survive WLS. The "other" person usually can't handle the attention that they are getting now that the weight has come off.
my average was 2lb a month..... but i don't care. i now weight 145 and i'm happy and i feel great.... And so will you....