aviva1979

Looking good my friend! Great job!

Congrats girl

It feels really rewarding to fit into clothes I haven't worn in a while, and of course seeing the scale move (even if it's slower now) is awesome... but really am feeling the best part is just how my body feels. more energy, better mood, and while I'm not in the green zone and i'm still very conscious of stopping myself after a band sized portion, I am starting to make waaaaaaaay better food choices in a way that feels more natural and less forced. really feeling pretty great right now!

Okay I was sure hoping to lose at least 15 pounds the first month. But yesterday got on the doctors scale and was happy to find I had lost 16 pounds in just 19 days since banding! Yeah! I know there are a lot of stories of good losses here, however I had lost 176 pounds prior to banding so I thought it might be slower for me. My surgeon told me I could expect to lose 30-40 pounds in the first couple months. But like I said I just did not expect such a good loss! Puts me just 8 pounds away from the 200 gone point! Maybe by my 1 month point who knows? Have a blessed day one and all!

I am so excited!
I wish it was sooner, but with my hectic work schedule and the doctor taking a lot of time off for Jewish holidays, September 19 is the big day.
I told my boss, even though I was leaning towards not telling anyone, and she was very supportive about it.

I credit my band with helping me lose, but I did the bulk of the work to lose. I will not discredit by band for my gain, coz it doesn't choose what I put into my mouth.
You think it's sad that people take responsibility for not following the band rules and gaining? Who else is responsible if not them? I'm more saddened that anyone thinks that nothing that happens to them with regards to their weight is their responsibility. Maybe that's the difference here, and I'm glad that I don't think that way.
Anyway, back to the topic, I'm 5 years banded now, did spring a leak about 18 monthsw ago, had 2 port replacements and 1 band replacement to finally resolve it. I gained 35lbs in 10 months when the band wasn't working and I lost about 40% of it when I realised how much I'd strayed from my initial goals. I then got rebanded. The reasons for chosing a band over sleeve are in this post: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/165592-full-band-replacement-experiences-sought/
I won't say that initially it was an easy decision to make, which way to go in terms of revision. But when I talked it out with my physican and my family, it then became a no brainer. The band gave me a great, easy 5 years and if I get another easy 5 years out of it, I'd be grateful. If it lasts longer, than yay for me! It worked the first time and is working just as well this time for me. So I am absolutely sure I made the right decision.

The way I handled the daunting amount to lose is by focusing on small goals, not the big picture.
For instance, my first goal was to get under 400 pounds. Then, to be under 350. Next, to be under 300 pounds, etc. My most recent goal was to be under 200- which I am now. If I'd had focused on being under 200 back when I weighed over 400, It would've been WAY too overwhelming.
I also found focusing on milestones helpful. Getting under 350 was big because then I officially weighed less than when I had my son in 2002. Being under 280 was big because that was how much I weighed the first time I tried weight watchers. When I got to 231, I was over-joyed because that's how much I weighed when I got pregnant with my now 18 year old daughter.
Same thing with sizes. When I got down to a 26/28, I was over joyed because I could FINALLY shop in stores again. Before that, I could only shop online because clothes weren't sold in 46W or 7x locally. I was excited to get into a size 18 because that's the size I was in when I graduated high school.
Try focusing on the smaller goals and milestones. It makes it much less daunting and feel a lot more obtainable.

I do not love Greek yogurt. I wish I did but I don't. I did just discover Chobani bites tho - come in a 4 pack and they are 3.5oz which feels like a great size for me. 100 cals, 10g Protein and low in sugar. Decadent flavors. Highly recommend!

Awesome work!!! What were your keys to success? I have similar goals to you.

Today in the shower I noticed I was able to shave certain areas with a lot more ease
I didn't even realize it until I was halfway done - that I wasn't struggling to reach places. My husband will be thrilled

Go back to basics. Imagine that you have just been banded when the motivation is really high. Set lots of little mini goals and rewards9non food)
Then:-
Check in with your Dr to make sure everything is as it should be.
Keep an honest food diary for a while to see what you are really eating, it is so easy to sneak in extra kilojoules/calories without even realising.
Then start planning what you should be eating to lose weight.
Make sure you are doing exercise - find something you enjoy doing as then you are more likely to stick to it.
Find a friend or support group to help you achieve your goals.
None of it is rocket science but it is really easy after a while to lose sight of the goal and slip back into bad habits. Remember weight loss is not something that can be won , constant battles are required to keep the enemy under control!

Its not really a rant or a rave... I just wanted to let you know that I wasn't aware of how extensive this forum is. I thought there was only about 5 section.... I never scrolled down and I've been here more than two weeks....! There's even a "clothing exchange" section. How cool is that??

It has been a long road that is for sure. I was banded in 2008 at 29 years old, I can not remember a time when I would describe myself as “skinny”. I attended my first weight watchers meeting at the age of 13. I was always “the big girl”. My starting weight with this journey was 291 pounds, I currently weigh 213. For the first 2 years after I was banded I followed the program the way I should have allowing a few slips here and there for special occasions. The 3rd year I was a little more lax but maintained my weight loss and fluctuated between 200 and 210. The last 2 years have been a disaster as far as my food choices. I am very lucky that I have not gained more than I have but want to get myself in-check! I started to notice that my size 16 pants are becoming to tight and I need to do something NOW before I am back in a 24 where I started!!! So today is the first day of a liquid diet, if I could do it before I had the band for 3 weeks I can do it for a couple of days now. My band needs a chance to rest, even though I have pretty good restriction I want to feel like I am starting from the beginning again. And my goal weight is much closer than it was at 291 lbs! I have been thinking all day what I want my goal weight to be and I think I have settled on 165. I know I can loose 48 lbs, I did that a few times over the years without the band. So here I go, today is a fresh start. I can’t wait to feel successful again!

I had to change Dr. Because wasn't getting the fill from the first Doctor but I'm a little over 40 pounds lighter by I love my new Dr.
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as long as you (get there) who cares how long it takes ya
GREAT job and excellent and gorgeous pictures of you
well done

if you're searching for 'fullness' (as in I ate so much I feel like I'm gonna burst) then imo you're always going to struggle with the band. The band promises satiety. Or not being hungry again for at least 3 - 4 hours when you are in your green zone.
When in the green zone, I can't eat any more than a certain amount. My band will 'kick back'. But if I waited for a bit until the food passed though, then of course I could get more in. The point is NOT eating like that because that's called eating around your band and doing that continually will mean you will not lose.
You can eat a good amount of food, band or no band, and still feel hungry. This is why so many of us seek 'fullness'. We take it as a sign that we're no longer hungry, when it fact it means we've eaten WAY too much. It takes your head up to 30 mins to get the signals from your stomache that you're no longer hungry. So stop, wait 30 mins, and if you're still I-could-eat-my-own-leg-I'm-so-hungry then by all means eat more. But you'll be surprised, you probably won't be.
Before your green zone, you can eat that way and in a few hours be hungry again. In your green zone, it will be 3 - 4 hours before you're hungry again. That's when the band is working at it's optimum, and it may take some fills until then, but until then you can still learn about satiety vs fullness.

I think this is more of a mental struggle with getting used to eating less. Forget about feeling full but focus on satisfied. You will feel better once you get a fill.

I think you're going to see a high proportion of complications on a site like this. Because if things are going well, what would you post about? I've had my band 5 years and I've had complications - a leak (mostly covered by insurance but I'm in Australia so can't speak for your insurance company), but more important than that, I've lost 100% of my excess weight and kept it off in that time. No reflux, no pain, no constant tiredness (quite the contrary in fact), no bs. The band gave me my life back, plus some, in more ways than just weight loss.
If not for my leak I probably wouldn't have come back to this site. Then would you have heard of my story? Or the stories of the MANY thousands of others for whom the band has worked?
So read the complications and know of the possibility of them and then put them in context. Complications are not as common as this site would make them seem. My suggestion is ask your insurance about what they do cover in the event you do suffer a complication, but always balance that out with what you're NOT seeing, which is people who were like me until recently, who have the band and are out there living our lives without having to talk about it in a forum like this.

Hi Lapband Talk Family, on August 8, 2012 I had Lapland surgery weighing in at 245 (5'6 and size 18/20) and I met my Weightloss goal on Thursday August 1 weighting in at 144 lbs (size 4/6). My goal weight was 145. Please check out my transformation, and thanks to everyone that encouraged me along this journey. 9 more lbs to lose to live in my maintenance range o 135 - 145. Loving my Lapband, what an awesome tool! Update: I'm now at 132 lbs and I'm wearing a size 0/2. I'm loving my Lapband!

Congrats! You look amazing!

Yay!!! Love it when they get baggy. I also have a pair of capris i could barely button at the beginning of the summer and zero problems now!

That's wonderful! Congrats!!