Kitt3000

What @@labwalker said. If I eat Protein first and moderate portions and slowly and chewed well and I obey the stop signals I get I lose weight. I also stay unhungry for 4 hours. I don't snack. I'm at green now. Any tighter and I'll be getting stuck on the above. As it is now I only get stuck if I break those rules. If I eat carbs or anything other than Protein first, I stop losing.
The band is a helper. I have to do the work. I've had four fills.

My husband. Once said, you can't take it back. I don't regret that decision. I t was difficult enough to have the spot light on me once the weight was gone, without having to listen to people make remarks, or watch everything I eat or don't eat. It's no ones business, it really was the beginning of taking myself back, if that makes any sense.
Hope you find what works best for you!

Loved long hair with thin, but really freaked out by the amount of hair falling everyday on my clothes and in my brush. Cut it shoulder length, wishing it were still long! Oh well, it grows back, hopefully healthier!

Loved long hair with thin, but really freaked out by the amount of hair falling everyday on my clothes and in my brush. Cut it shoulder length, wishing it were still long! Oh well, it grows back, hopefully healthier!

Every time I read these idiotic comments that family and friends make, it makes me even more certain that I did the absolutely right thing by telling ZERO people about my surgery. I'm three months out this Friday and thank the good Lord I've only had to deal with the thoughts in my head, while I struggle to drink Water,get enough Protein, poop every few days, wonder why I'm eating so little calories and my scale has not moved in three weeks, and deal with a moody teenager. I just don't have time for nonsense. Just don't have time.

I am one day post op and withheld information from almost everyone, but my mother felt the need to let some people know. My brother calls me today, saying the most ignorant comments on earth. First he's congratulating me but with a slap, saying I didn't need it but he's all for it, then saying that even if I lose weight I'm still going to weigh a lot because I'm tall, then saying that I could have lost it if I had worked out, mind you I don't speak to him on a regular basis and he doesn't know that I've had chronic back pain for a year. Then he keeps going back and forth congratulating me and throwing hints that he feels I didn't need it, I finally say " listen bro its done, and that's why I didn't tell you to begin with. I did this for me, not anyone else, so I didn't need permission to get it from anyone but my doctor" he then says he's happy for me again and we hang up.

@ Maybe it's all in my head but I so get what you're saying. When I walk into the clinic or a group meeting I feel like people look at me like, what are you doing here? I'm still pre-op and I'm at the bottom of the qualifying BMI with two co-morbidities. But this level of qualification exists for a reason! They even make me feel guilty sometimes. So without the high blood pressure and arthritis in my knees and ankles I wouldn't qualify for surgery. But if I could have done this on my own I would have done it already! But do I want to explain this to every person I meet? Heck no. So like many others here, other than my husband and maybe one friend who will help in my first days home, I'm telling no-one.



I love some of the suggested responses to the awful, "you don't look that big" statement. Stupid stuff really does just fall out of some people's mouths.

This is exactly what my 6 month medically weight loss program was.....
My insurance co. wanted, for the record, that I have attempted in good faith, traditional methods for loosing weight, and have failed...thus WLS being the last resort.
I told the staff every diet I have ever tried, and failed at....but they said the insurance would not accept that, because it was only my word, and that was not good enough..it had to be medically supervised by a MD, with accurate progress reports, graphs, etc. etc. and signed off by him/her.
So I had to sign up and do a 6 month program, supervised by a MD and staff....with weekly weigh-ins and counseling...it all had to be accurately documented and charted....
And just like every diet I have ever been on, I started out good, then leveled off when I started to cheat, then by the end of the 6 months I was gaining it all back again....voiding all the previous progress....
But there it was, in black and white...actually color graphs and pie charts....confirming that I sucked at dieting, and no matter what, I was a failure....THAT qualified me for WLS.
I read here all the time about people taking the 6 month diet program and being told that if they fail, they would not qualify for the WLS...to me that is bass-ackwards....if one could loose weight, why in the world would they need surgery of all things???

Flaxseed, that's what is helpful about the lapband. Because you have it periodically filled, the times between you create new eating behaviors. Things I ate before, binge foods, I can walk right past them and never give them a thought, really. If we could give up food or the thoughts of food on our own, no need for the surgery. Once my band was filled properly, I can pass up pretty much everything, and not even notice all the crap foods while grocery shopping. Good luck to you, whatever your choice or decision becomes.

Every epic journey starts with baby steps! Go you!

So glad to hear it went well! What an exciting time for you! Enjoy every second of it.

Thank you everyone for your advice. I'm proud to report we've had the conversation and he's been fantastic about it. In fact he went to the doctor himself today to get a check-up to make sure he's as healthy as he can be. He loves my scars and says they add to the wonderfully sexy person I am. He constantly tells me how tiny I am. Something I never thought I would hear in my lifetime. He's a keeper. All that worrying for nothing. Thanks again!

Congrats on making it through "the conversation"! It's always good when the truthful approach is rewarded. And congrats, too, on your new found hotness – that's just fantastic!!!

In the last 15 years, my hubby has had two major surgeries, resulting in a "big zipper" scar down his torso from his breastbone to his belly button.
If I were sleeping with him for the first time, there's no way I wouldn't at some point in the evening ask about his scars.
It wouldn't occur to me that my asking about his scars would be "unclassy."
As someone above said, 162 inches of scars on your torso is guaranteed to prompt questions.

I think i would have to tell them - Mainly cos I have 162 inches of scars everywhere
But as said above - If you are going as far as to be intimate with someone - Then you must trust them right? If you cannot trust them over a few scars - Then maybe they are not the right person to entrust yourself to?
Personally if anyone does not agree with my scars - Thinks I am vain - Or anything at all - Then to hell with them, they ain't worth sharing my new fantasticness with
LOL

I've posted this before, but it applies here as well.
Okay, here's one guy's perspective... I'd prefer to know beforehand. The surprises hidden under our clothes could "spoil the moment" if they are not expected. Besides, if you're anticipating intimacy, perhaps you can work this into "the talk" you probably want to have anyway. STDs and protection are not comfortable subjects to discuss, but we still need to have the conversation, right? So why not roll this into that already not-so-sexy pre-intimacy convo? If he's still on board, great! And if not, then you may have learned something about him while limiting your vulnerability. I wish you the best of luck -- hopefully he's a keeper!

I wanted good health, and feeling fit.......
I had one heart attack, Coranary Artery Disease, resulting in cardiac surgery, I was a diabetic taking 60units of lantus every night and oral meds throughout the day, plus I was taking meds for cholesterol, triglycerides, high BP, and things I cannot even remember.
I smoked 1-1/2 packs cigarettes per day since 1970......I could not walk up 5 stairs without getting out of breath....and would break out in sweats for no reason....along with my family's history, loosing both my brother and sister at an early age who had the same lifestyle, I too was at death's door...PCP words, not mine.
I was told time after time by my PCP, Cardiologist, Endocrinologist, etc...I need to loose weight and exercise or else..I told them I have been on every diet under the sun and nothing ever worked...I have no will power, and can do the "work" it takes to diet successfully....maybe for a few months, but then it all comes back like a land slide....
Finally, I had WLS, to do what I could never do on my own...wish someone told me I was a candidate years before......
Lap band surgery, for me, IS the Magic Remedy....it does take care of my eating, making it impossible to over eat, and in the end it does not matter because it also handles my appetite/hunger.....so I do not have any cravings, head hunger....I can take it or leave it....
I lost all my excess weight, no longer take the long list of meds used to...I still get blood work done every quarter and it is rock on solid, right down the middle.....I get a stress test every year and my cardiologist cannot be more impressed....he always encourages me to never hold back..give it all you got and go for it...I know other cardiac patients whose Dr.'s encourage them to take it easy and don't stress yourself.....
I go to the gym every chance I get, started out slow and easy, and after a few years worked up to running 3-5 miles, plus weight lifting.
I play 3rd base on a softball team with guys 10-15 years younger than me...I'm the oldest on the team, if not the league...
I am 62, soon to be 63, and I cannot remember when I have had this much energy.....I feel I can do anything, and I am not afraid to try....
All this, simply because I had same day Laproscopic Surgery
I could care less what others may say, or think, or what their philosophies about the proper way to "Work" this band, let them share their success stories and we can all rejoice together....or not..it does not matter...
Don't get me wrong, the first 6 months was pure hell!!! frustrating, feelings of failure..everything I read from beginners everyday....what made matters worse was well meaning people telling me it was Ok..don't expect too much......sorry, it is not OK...I have no other choice..... what else was I going to do but stick it out and stay with the program....and learn all the needed lifestyle lessons that go along with WLS...many of which I learned the hard way.....and I do mean the HARD WAY.....
Until that day, having found the right amount of restriction, the Green Zone, and finding my "Groove"...it has all been a free ride ever since, and it just keeps on getting better and better....
I got everything I wanted from WLS, and much more I didn't even imagine....coming up on 4 years, and other than the first and 2nd phases, I have not had a single complaint....

B-52. Thank you for those words! I am one who waited until I was 56 to finally get up and take control of my life and health. Was banded on 7-22-14. I am new to this and your posts have helped me in ways you will ever know. You tell it like it is and I appreciate that. You are also an inspiration. I look forward to this new journey in my life.

Way to go! I was a sort of half-hearted exerciser pre-band. I did it because I had to do it for arthritis and the sake of being able to move at all. But I didn't like it and would take any opportunity to slither out of it. Well, as I got ready for surgery I decided to step up my routine. I was choosing myself and my health and knew that exercise had to be a part of that. So I started walking a lot more and pretending that I liked it. Lo and behold, one day a switch went off in my head and now I am one of those people who look forward to exercise. I can hardly believe this. Me? Well if it can happen to me, it can happen to any one. I faked it and it became real. I look for opportunities to exercise, arrange walks with other people and I even got a bike. Honestly, this is so different from who I used to be. Good luck -- you are on your way to a healthy new you!

Every epic journey starts with baby steps! Go you!

There are only three people (my husband and two close friends who can be counted on to keep their mouths shut) about my WLS. No, I am not ashamed of my decision. I came a long way to get here and I will defend my decision to anyone. I just don't feel like wasting my energy on it, energy that can be used productively to prepare for pre- and post-surgery. Much as I love her, my mom would just stress me out. No need.

My mom and I had the very best relationship. Loved her more than I could say. I lost her last year due to complications of diabetes and dementia, and I will miss the person she used to be for the rest of my life. She never ever made me feel bad about my weight, any of my life choices, or anything. For my own kids, I'm going to try to be the mom she was to me.

Reminding me about my weight. Yep.
"Oh, thanks so much ! I had actually forgotten I was fat."

Every epic journey starts with baby steps! Go you!

At 265, I wasn't that big too. So I was open and honest about my reasons. I had all the "fat-guy diseases": diabetes, apnea, asthma, high cholesterol, borderline high blood pressure, arthritis, body aches, exhaustion, feeling like poop all the time, miserable in my own skin.... Need any more reasons? Now I'm 3+ months after surgery. I still have arthritis, which is not necessarily weight related. Everything else is gone! Any questions? Good luck with your journey!