rcaruthie

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have not had a night cough yet but knowing I am pretty tight wanting to be prepared! It is very amazing how very different we all are! I barely felt any restriction until now. It's taken 8 months to get here and been a tad discouraging. Feeling as if I am the only one it won't work for...I know that's not the case at all. I just had a moment;)

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have not had a night cough yet but knowing I am pretty tight wanting to be prepared! It is very amazing how very different we all are! I barely felt any restriction until now. It's taken 8 months to get here and been a tad discouraging. Feeling as if I am the only one it won't work for...I know that's not the case at all. I just had a moment;)

Than you Jim and Mis! I am very grateful to have kept off the 40lbs!!!

I was banded on 2/14/13. I have worked out constantly since I got the band and tracked on my fitness pal every single day since! But I have only lost 40 lbs! I was getting pretty discouraged as I have never felt any issues! Getting stuck etc!!!
I have a 14 cc band and get fills monthly. This past month I am finally starting to feel it!!! A little but and I am at 11.5 I think. Maybe just 11.
I still don't feel much of a difference I do feel it most in the AM after sleeping and not eating or drinking all night...
Is this common? Has it taken anyone this long to lose weight and get to the green zone? I sometimes feel like I am the only person this won't work on. ;(
Who has a 14 cc band and how much Fluid do you have?
I totally appreciate and love feedback! I need encouragement. Thanks!

It's a good angle LOL and after I lost 40lbs! It's not a full profile tho! I am 5'8 ish and have quite a bit more to go! we will get there!!!

OMG PJ... That is me! I lost the first 40 in the first two months!!! I have stayed the same since! I feel like my body likes this weight... It's what I would get down to before but then right back up! Lets be diligent together and help each other! We can do this and be those success stories too!!!

Thank you that does make me feel better. How are you doing with 10.5?

Than you Jim and Mis! I am very grateful to have kept off the 40lbs!!!

Than you Jim and Mis! I am very grateful to have kept off the 40lbs!!!

I have been honest to everyone. I am proud that I made this decision. What other people think might vary but their opinions are their opinions...just like politics! I am a strong person with a strong sense of self...and I made this decision with my health in mind. Not their health! It is my life, my weight, my struggle - and nothing to be ashamed of in my book. We all deal with things differently.
In my opinion - those that criticize you for who you are, what you are, what you want. Need to stop and look in the mirror and fix them first. Everyone has issues of some sort or another – weight is one of them that you SEE!
Be proud of you – be proud of decisions you make, and be proud that you made this decision – it might save your life. I know it will save mine.

Been on LBT a long time. I considered myself a listener on here, and not a talker for the first three years. I've started posting recently, but never started a topic.
But today I just had to do this.
I started at my Band journey in 2009. I have never had any band issues, as some may know, I did have an installation issue that was corrected. ( And yes, like others I think I have the best doctor/staff in the world. )
So I was 324 miserable, unhealthy, tired all the time pounds when I started. I am so happy to say that today.... on 3/22.. I WEIGH 222 lbs on my scale. I haven't seen those numbers in over 20 years!! Over ONE HUNDRED POUNDS LOST!
I will reach my goal of around 185 sometime late this year or early next, I don't care! NOW, after 3 1/2 years, this has become my life. I eat almost anything I want, I do exercise ( consisting 90% of the time of bike riding ) more than ever, and I feel better than I EVER remember feeling in my entire life.
So, if I could say a word of advice to the newer folks who will struggle from time to time, its this: NEVER, EVER GIVE UP! If something isn't working, change it. Be honest and firm with your doctor. For me, a properly adjusted band, is the most important thing. I couldn't diet on my own....been there, done that. THIS THING WORKS!
Thanks to all who have posted advice/encouragement/suggestions/etc. Just because we don't all agree on everything surrounding the band, we really are all after the same goal....to be healthy!

I have been honest to everyone. I am proud that I made this decision. What other people think might vary but their opinions are their opinions...just like politics! I am a strong person with a strong sense of self...and I made this decision with my health in mind. Not their health! It is my life, my weight, my struggle - and nothing to be ashamed of in my book. We all deal with things differently.
In my opinion - those that criticize you for who you are, what you are, what you want. Need to stop and look in the mirror and fix them first. Everyone has issues of some sort or another – weight is one of them that you SEE!
Be proud of you – be proud of decisions you make, and be proud that you made this decision – it might save your life. I know it will save mine.

Just wanted to let everyone know I reached my goal of 140 pounds today! I am very pleased with my band! It took 1 year and 4 months but it was time well spent! Now time to work on some toning to everyone...keep going even when it gets tough just keep pushing through...its not always easy but well worth it in the end

No offense....but I feel too many people get too paranoid about possible problems like slippage, erosion, etc....
It is not as common as one might think....yes people come here stating their problems with the band....but it is only a very, very small percentage of people compared to those who don't have any problems at all....
One thing I have noticed....this website is made up entirely of people either just starting out, looking for advice because they really don't have a clue, or people who are experiencing some sort of problem and also come here looking for advice.....
The overwhelmingly majority of people with no problems at all, have been successful and completed the process, have no reason to come here and are all long gone...
I know, I belong to a private group of veterans who USED to be here, and tell me all the time they have no desire to return.....and question why I am aa glutton for punishment.....because there is nothing to gain by coming here.....
So my advice is to chill, take it easy, listen to your Dr., and don't get caught up into everything you read here......Don't loose sight of the Forrest because of the trees....
That's would be like saying "I don't like summertime activities because people talk about being struck by Lightning...." Yet you will not hear from those who are out there enjoying themselves everyday, and have no reason to complain or talk about it....or look for advice and suggestions....

Welcome to the Journey. One of the things the band did for me was to suppress my physical hunger so that I was more aware of the head/emotional hungers that actually caused me to be fat. My word, no wonder I was 300 pounds!
Take your journey one day, one step at a time. It does get easier, but it will still be hard work. But believe me, the journey is worth it. Read the forum, help others who are newer on the path than you, keep positive.

For me the hardest part about being banded is not the change in food (I have found foods I really like that fit my plan) but the change in the way I have to eat. I have always eaten very very quickly. When the band is at restriction, you must take very small bites and chew chew chew. I still battle with that 3 years later. Also beware it will take time to get to "restriction". Seems like for lots of people its around the 3rd fill, was for me, and I have read that in many posts. That puts you at about 4 months post op. Until then you are in what is affectionatly called "bandster hell". The time between surgery and when your fills give you restricion. During that time it's like you don't have a band at all.
As said, only you can make the decision, this is just a little information to help. Best wishes!

Unknown forum member comment:
"In my case, the most fearful thing I had to do in order to succeed with my band wasn't switching to skim milk, surviving a liquid diet, or giving up bread. The most fearful thing was giving up my emotional attachment to food. In the nearly 5 years since I was banded, I've made a lot of progress with that, but the attachment is still there. It forms one of the innermost layers of my turtle shell. Working on that layer will probably be a lifetime job for me. At times I'm not even sure I truly want to get rid of it altogether. At times I'm afraid that if I shed my shell completely, I won't be able to survive. On the other hand, I seem to be doing fine without that thick old b***h layer. So I'm going to pay attention to my dreams rather than my fears and pray for a miracle. And why not? It can't hurt to try!"

Yeah! 40.4 total. 30.4 since surgery. Banded 1/16/13. 4" off waist. 5" off hips... I have been using fitnesspal and it only keeps measurements for neck waist and hips. Neck stayed the same. Had 6 week post op last week..doc said everything is cool...no fills until weight loss stops.

Oh yes, try to fit in some excersise. I walk for 30 min. on an incline (treadmill) about 5 days a week. Feels great and really helps that scale move. You can do it! I know your life is incredibly busy, but you will actually have more energy and be more productive. You are worth it!

I did not just start working out. I have been working out for 3-4 years off and on but pretty steadily until I was sick two weeks ago. I do use a tape measure and honestly haven't seen much (if any) movement there either. My diet is high in Protein at least 80 grams (or milligrams however the measurements) per day. I have dropped 2-3 sizes and 64-69 lbs (since I started actually in April when I began the whole surgery circuit)but, my concern is in the last couple months. Well Thanks for all the support. I will surely keep plugging along!

"Muscle does not weigh more than fat, any more than lead weighs more than feathers. A pound is a pound is a pound. Where the misunderstanding often comes in is that muscle is much more dense than fat, so that, by volume, it seems to weigh more. That is, a pound of muscle occupies less space than a pound of fat. In addition, because a pound of muscle burns more fat than a pound of fat, even at rest, by increasing your lean muscle tissue mass, you're helping your body burn more calories.
If you only have a small amount of weight to lose, then you may feel like the weight training is not helping you move down on the scale. In fact, the number may even go up, but you will look thinner. This is due to an increase in lean body mass (muscle, bone, blood volume) and a decrease in body fat. In other words, even if the scale doesn't change much, you will probably see a difference in how your clothes fit."

Before