IndioGirl55

Was 52 when banded (7/07) lost 105 in the 1st yr - then the other 9 in the next few months - I have maintained for 2 yrs - I am now anywhere between 134 - 137...

I go 6/30 for revision - he plans on taking band out and converting to sleeve all in one operation. So I hope I wake up with my sleeve - had my band 9 yrs

I go 6/30 for revision - he plans on taking band out and converting to sleeve all in one operation. So I hope I wake up with my sleeve - had my band 9 yrs

I go 6/30 for revision - he plans on taking band out and converting to sleeve all in one operation. So I hope I wake up with my sleeve - had my band 9 yrs

I don't know if I am considered a vet or long time member yet, but I can relate to some of them. I have only been a member of this board for a little over a year. The number 1 thing I see that brings out the negative comments from veteran members though is newbies asking questions that have obvious answers that could be answered by either looking at a few threads only a couple of weeks old or using the search feature. Threads like:
Soda/Pop consumption Stalls at only X weeks out Can I eat pizza? Can I drink beer? I've eaten half a deer carcass and I don't feel full I don't want to read the literature my surgeon gave me and I am too lazy to call them so I will ask the question here just like a hundred other people that have done the same. Drama queens/kings and pity partiers that don't want to change and are only looking for justification for not changing their lifestyle. In those cases, when you see them over and over and over, it's hard to either take them seriously or not be jaded. Then there are the people that create profiles merely to spam or cause uproars. Me personally, I just avoid posting for the most part. I did not join for support rather I joined for information. I have made friends with a couple and as a consequence found support, but that was a lucky result of my contribution to the forums.
My advice, get what you need and ignore the rest.

Great Idea - I will do it right now !!
Hi
I am Janet and I am a recovering food addict :wink2:
I was banded 7/17/07 - My starting weight was 250 - I'm 5'4
Today (just over 10 months out) I am 154 - size 8 pants (was 18/20) Medium tops (was 22/24)
I got banded as I wanted to extend the years that I have left on this planet and to do that I knew that I needed to lose weight.
The band has been the tool I needed. For the first time in my life I have been able to achieve this goal (actually getting to my goal weight)
If you want a buddy - support - help - suggestions - Please feel free to call upon me - I will gladly share my journey with you - the journey is still on going and by helping you I will be helping me (staying motivated and accountable) and then one day you can pay it forward and help someone else.

To me you always knew there was a band. You would get that stuck feeling, reflux, slime, throw up, etc. You feel stuck but still hungry. With the sleeve you feel normal. I eat until I'm comfortably full. I have no issue stopping and I'm no longer hungry. I imagine this is how people feel that never had eating issues. I just wish I switched sooner.

I was 52 when I was banded lost 100 lbs in 1 yr 1 week and have lost another 12 since then..
The band isn't the what makes you lose the weight - it you - the band is only a tool - it helps with Portion Control but it doesn't make your food choices or exercise for you.
It really is all about the lifetime lifestyle changes - it's about eating healthy and exercise
I have a few friends over 50 and they have lost 100 lbs - it's doable if you want to accomplish that goal..
I can tell you I feel 10 yrs younger - have tons more energy and don't know why I wasted so many years being fat and telling myself I was ok with it...
Good Luck on your journey...........

Welcome Di :welcome:
This is a great place for info, support etc.
All those emotions are normal ... We are/did take drastic measures to get ahold of our weight problems - for us it's mostly about healthy - but i am vain enought to say I want to look better - you know the new saying 50 is the new 30's...
The one thing i do want to caution you about is that this is only a tool the majority of work will be up to you by making healhty food choices and exercise. When I first joined that is what the experienced banders kept drilling into me - it's a tool - not the magic cure to your issues with food.
Well gotta get back to work - Just wanted to welcome you - I will ck back Later.
NMsunshine - you may just be a tad too tight - even at my tightes I could eat meat and veggies - how are your bites - are they small - I still find myself taking a big bite of something as soft as my fish and will get stuck especially if I eat too fast - I don't think it's good to pb every day.. I don't think it's good for the band and your tummy that sitched around it... When do you go back to the doc??? My doc want us to eat regular food - not to live on shakes and Soups...

They have added a forum for us - let's post here... So we can share with the new people....

Bonnie
Ok here I go with my tough band love (the operative word is love)
That the word "can't" out of your vocabulary - insert the word CAN
IMHO a lot of people go into this surgery thinking that it will do all the work and they won't have to do any. The band is only a tool - they banding your tummy and not your brain and most of our problems lay within our brains not our tummies. This is truly a LIFETIME LIFESTYLE CHANGE
75% of the work is up to you and 25% is the band once you have proper restriction.
The 75% - by changing your eating habits - low fat sugar free and exercising. Since you haven't ever stay on a diet for more than a day or two I would suggest that you join a group like weight watchers where you learn to eat a healthy diet - or tops - you are going to need support and you need to learn about a healthy eating plan - you may even want to see a counselor.
I have lost this weight cuz I HAVE CHOOSEN to eat healthier - I am not frying food - I am not eating tons of butter - I do allow myself some starches but I limit them. When I didn't have restriction I ate low calorie low fat and 98% sugar free - I exercise 4-5 times a week - started out slow and easy - but have worked up to 16.5 minute mile and I do 3 miles each day minimum. I keep a food diary - I eat 1000 - 1200 calorie a day and track calories and Protein grams.
You gotta find out why you eat - I ate cuz I could - I didn't have anyone telling me I couldn’t (my mom use to control my food - so I learned to sneak food) I ate cuz I was bored. I was fat - I had just given up - it was too hard to lose the weight - I'm 52 - I have less years ahead of me than behind me - and staying fat was going to kill me (family history of heart problems) I want to live to see my grandkids grow up and get married and maybe even see a great grandchild - I want to live the years that I have left - I didn't want to be locked in the house - eating and sleeping my weekends away - couldn't do a lot of walking cuz it just wore me out - I chose the band cuz I needed help with my Portion Control - I chose to eat healthy & exercise cuz I want to LIVE - I am tired of being ashamed of who I had become - a big slug bug- I was tired of food controlling my life - I have taken my life back and now I control the food - I am always throwing stuff out - my friend said oh you are throwing that out (too much left overs) I said ya - better in thee than in me (the trash instead of my tummy)
You gotta take control of your life - you have to take responsibility for what you put in your mouth - the band isn't going to make your food choices and if you drink milkshakes - eat ice cream & candy - then band isn't going to work.
I really think a weight loss group or counselor would be a good choice to help you learn the tools that you need to be successful in your Quest for weight loss –
I have years of knowledge to pull from – I knew what to do – but didn’t practice it – but with the band – I have my interior motivator – to help me – truly my success so far has been due to my good choices – I am doing my job and the band is doing its job – it seems to be a good working partnership - I have made the commit to ME live a healthier lifestyle – I am far from perfect – but 98% of the time I eat healthy but do allow myself 2% wiggle room.

Sorry for your struggles w/your band - Maybe surgeon not the actual band was your problem.. Hope you get well soon
I'm 4 yrs out and no issues - little heart burn now and then - nothing a tums doesn't take care of - lost 114 lbs and have maintain that loss for 3 yrs now. But the band didn't lose the weight - I did - it's only a tool and you have to maintain that tool and follow the rules for it to work.
If you don't want complications ck your surgeon - follow the rules - that being said - sometime crap happens..

Great question! I'm tired of Lindsey Lohan, Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Robert Downey Jr., ... Hmmm I sense a trend here.

Really though... do they have to be so danged annoying all the time?

Here's what I wrote to Dr. Oz:
I watched your show on the Lapband procedure. I am two years out, had my lapband in January, 2009. I lost 106 pounds (reach goal) in 11 months and have maintained that weight loss since December, 2009.
I enjoyed the show until you had the food segment. It is a grossly incorrect representation of how lap band patients eat on a daily basis. First of all, we eat Protein -- at least 70 to 80 oz. per day. The rules of lapband (which you NEVER mentioned) are Protein FIRST, drink 64 oz. of Water daily, exercise and no snacking!!! You even showed foods as "snacks" which is clearly breaking a lap band rule!!
The lifestyle changes include all of the rules mentioned above plus limiting carbinated beverages, limiting carbs, and limiting alcohol intake as well as learning to eat slowly, small meals (we use small plates and bowls to help our minds adjust to new portion sizes) we exercise. That's how the tool works -- not the way it was represented on your show.
I belong to Lap Band Talk -- there's a group of us who have been meeting on one thread for three years -- most of us are seasoned, are at goal and follow the rules and have for several years. There's also an expert on bariatric surgery by the name of Kaye Bailey who has a very helpful website -- google 5 day pouch test and you will find her site -- she's devoted her life the past few years to bariatric surgery patients and is a successful patient of bariatric surgery herself.
Here's a sample of what I eat every day:
Breakfast -- green yogurt with strawberries and blueberries
lunch - 1 egg omelet with turkey sausage, onions and peppers and sometimes sliced green olives and a wedge of laughing cow cheese. dinner -baby spring greens with onions, tomatoes, another wedge of laughing cow cheese and 4 to 5 oz. of grilled chicken breast tossed with Kraft low fat sesame/ginger dressing. I work 8 to 5 but don't have a lunch hour until 1:00 p.m. so I usually have a snack of PB2 (powdered peanut butter) with some celery sticks mid morning. In the afternoon or evening I snack on sugar free popsicles and to cure any sweet tooth or hunger I make sugar free fat free pudding with a scoop of Protein powder added in. I make it with fat free milk and portion it out. I exercise every day -- 60 mins. of cardio and 3 times a week I do weight machines although I have to be careful because of neck and back problems.
I've lost thousands of pounds in my life, but never learned how to eat until I had lap band surgery and found my on line support group at Lapband talk. Support group is necessary for accountability - those who belong to a support group and sign in every day and hold ourselves accountable are the ones who are succeeding. Feel free to check our group out -- www.lapbandtalk.com -- go to "mentors" forum and then find "I'm here to help" -- that is our group that's been together for years - we actually travel once or twice a year to get together personally - we've all become good friends and go through our journeys together - keeping each other motivated. That is what life with lap band is like - not how it was portrayed on your show. Any of us would be happy to discuss this further with you or any one from your staff. Feel free to contact me any time.
We love you Dr. Oz, but you need to get this information correct - it's too important.
Hope none of you minded that I invited him to snoop on our thread!

Congrats to you all! I was banded in August 2010 and feel like I've been on track since the surgery. I've pretty much stuck to the low carb/high protein/high Fiber diet with tons & tons of cardio in the beginning. I added weight training/core training after the first 75lbs came off. Since then, I've been going to the gym twice a day during the work week. One hour cardio/core before work and 1hr strength training during my lunch. I looked at it as though it was a life or death situation for me. I chose life and will not let anything get in the way of my workouts or diet. Before the band, "I" was my biggest problem with all the excuses. Since I've lost over 100lbs, I reward myself now and then with whatever I want to eat or drink for a day, within moderation. My only words of wisdom are:
1. Don't look at it as thought it's the end of your "favorite foods" life. Set small attainable goals, then reward yourself. Me for instance, after every 25lbs, I've eaten whatever I want to for a day. Then I get back on track for the next reward.
2. The band doesn't make you lose weight; you make you lose weight; the band is just a tool to make your job of losing weight easier.
3. IMHO, you can't do it with the change in your diet alone. You have to tackle this like it is the fight of your life and make time for gym time. Whether it is at an actual gym, in your basement, garage or back yard, make time for cardio of some type. STICK TO YOUR FAT BURNING RANGE, NOT YOUR TARGET HEART RATE. Just because you're barely sweating and not out of breath doesn't mean you're not making progress.
4. Add strength training/weight lifting. The more lean muscle you add, the more fuel (calories) you burn.
5. Remember, you didn't get the way you are over night! It took time to put it all on, it'll take time to take it all off....
6. Above all else, If you fudge before your first attainable goal/reward, or at any time during your journey, don't look at it as a failure, you're going to make mistakes. When you make them, just learn from them and get back on track. And, whatever you do, don't fall back into your old excuses of, "Well, I ate a pint of ice cream yesterday, so my week is shot, I'll just eat this doughnut cause I already messed up. I'll get back on track when I go back to work."
When I decided to get the band, I also decided to stop making excuses and started taking my health seriously. Next to my wife and kids, it has been one of the best things I could have done for myself or for them!!!!

I agree with IndioGirl55--remove the word "cheat" from your vocabulary! It sounds like you didn't get out of control, and made a conscious decision to enjoy a few treats for a special occasion. In my opinion, that's a good way to handle the rest of your life--using awareness and control, but not banning all treats forever.

Suggestion - weigh only once a week - same day same time
I've never counted my carb - I just eat my pt first - then veggies and eat limited starchesand sugar and exercise - The only thing I counted during my weight loss phase was calories & pt grms.
Carbs make you retain Water along with the salt - Also - take the word cheat out of your vocabulatry - replace it with Treat -
You gotta remember this is a total lifetime lifestyle change in our eating not a diet.. I eat healthy 98% of the time allow for treats 2% - and have been able to lose 114 lbs and maintain that loss with this approach..

Harse or not I do not respond well to that............. I f I could control it I wouldn't have need surgery.............. If you get frusrated with newbies and you can't be nice keep it to yourself . ITS CALLED MANNERS

Support comes in many forms, its not always rosey! Sometime we all need a Swift kick in the arse!!

Thanks for the props peeps - I gotta tell you I am VERY PASSIONATE about this whole getting healthy ..

IMHO our #1 problem is in our brains - not our stomachs... Our issues with food are very deep -

Food is our drug of choice.. We are food addicts... So just like a drug addict who's trying to stay sober - they aren't buying or keeping drugs on the kitchen table - the same thing goes for us - we can not surround ourselves with junk food..

I am no freaking diff than any of you - I LOVE FOOD - I MISS PIGGING OUT - I went the store yesterday - oh how I longed for choc chip Cookies - , nacho's - candy - potato chips (heck they did make it in the cart saying to myself - you can have a few - but I know that those few will turn into a whole bag in a day or two - so I took them back out cuz I know I was kidding myself) I long for sugar and fat most of the time - I look at my old fav foods with such longing - I miss my best friend a lot of the time.. But you know what - my best freind or who I thought was my best freind was killing me slowly and limiting the quality of my life.... So is it or was it really ever my best friend - cuz a friend wouldn't do that to you...

I have dealt with the death of my baby Brother - with my DS & Family having MAJOR PROBLEMS (carjacking - stabbing) - all since I was banded - But I did not turn to food, why cuz I know it really doesn't comfort you for long - only for those first few bites - then after than - the guilt comes - oh why am I so weak - why did I do that - now I have to un-do that

Well I don't want to un-do the damage... Yep I go to they gym 4 days a week - but I don't want to go 5 or 6 and it take 1 hr walking on a treadmill for burn 300 cal.. I don't like exercise that much - I am very aware of the calories I eat and how much work it take to burn them off - this is one of the reason I feel that everyone should be counting them - it's a learning tool - you need to know how many you are eating - other wise you are just like an ostriach with your head in the sand.. Ignoring them doesn't make them go away..

I am not a super woman - this is work - it's work every single day - but I am so worth it and so are all of you..

Now just pull up those bootstraps and move forward - You CAN ALL DO IT...

#1 take out the diet mentality - I have not dieted since I started my journey 3.6 yrs ago... My goal was to get healthy - to get healthy you have to eat healthy and exercise and allow for treats too.. I am a FIRM believer in keeping a food diary - I asked a lady at work how she kept her weight down - she said when I have gained a few lbs - I start keeping a food diary writing everything down and keeping my calories around 1000- 1200.. She's one of those pple who we think - can eat whatever she wants and stay thin - Well there is no such person really - and we have to quit thinking that we can eat junk and quit exercising and stay thin or lose the weight...
This is about a LIFETIME LIFESTYLE change in our eating and exercise habits - If we want to lose the weight and maintain it we have to understand this.. We have the tool to help us.. So why are we going to screw that up..
I've maintained my weight loss for 2.5 yrs now - How you ask - Cuz I eat healthy 98% of the time allow for treats 2% of the time and continue to workout 4 days a week.. I know that I have to do this to maintain the weight loss - I know that my previous eating habits and lack of exercise is what got me fat in the 1st place - I feel to freaking good to go back there..
I can also tell you that almost every single night since 7/17/07 I have had dessert - SF puddings, sf ice cream, sf yogurt... I go on vacation and eat what I want but continue some type of exercise - but when I come home I go right back to eating healthy..
It was my Birthday last weekend - I had bday cake & ice cream Sat & Sunday - Monday morning it when in the trash !!! I looked at the cake a few time during the day on Sunday -(in the past I would have eaten it all day long) but said - you are going to have some tonite - if you eat it now - no treat tonite - I wanted to save it for the evening.
Peeps - you can do this - you just have to understand that you can't eat high fight - high sugar - high carb foods 24/7 365 - you can have them as treats - but on a daily basis you have to eat healthy and exercise.. As the saying goes you can't have your cake and eat it too..
You have to decide for yourselves - what feels better for you - being morbidly obese or thin and healthy - I hate the saying nothing taste as good as thin feels - cuz I love the taste of food - (fat & sugar) but I can tell you nothing feels better than being able to live your life with out your weight limiting what you can or can't do.. And I can still have that fat & sugar even now and then as long as I exercise and eat healthy the majority of the time..
I'm a 56 yr old grandma - who can now zip line - Para Sail - scuba dive - hike a mountain - walk all day long - leg press 400 lbs - I'm the grandma who can catch air - not the fat one sitting on the beach looking at everyone else have fun..
Use your tool - quit sabotaging yourselves - Love yourselves enough to do this for you - to improve the quality of your lives - Don't let that little devil tell you it's ok to eat the junk - cuz it's not - it's going to catch up w/you..
Sit down plan your meals - plan your treat - budget your calories to allow for sf dessert at nite and make sure you get your exercise..

#1 take out the diet mentality - I have not dieted since I started my journey 3.6 yrs ago... My goal was to get healthy - to get healthy you have to eat healthy and exercise and allow for treats too.. I am a FIRM believer in keeping a food diary - I asked a lady at work how she kept her weight down - she said when I have gained a few lbs - I start keeping a food diary writing everything down and keeping my calories around 1000- 1200.. She's one of those pple who we think - can eat whatever she wants and stay thin - Well there is no such person really - and we have to quit thinking that we can eat junk and quit exercising and stay thin or lose the weight...
This is about a LIFETIME LIFESTYLE change in our eating and exercise habits - If we want to lose the weight and maintain it we have to understand this.. We have the tool to help us.. So why are we going to screw that up..
I've maintained my weight loss for 2.5 yrs now - How you ask - Cuz I eat healthy 98% of the time allow for treats 2% of the time and continue to workout 4 days a week.. I know that I have to do this to maintain the weight loss - I know that my previous eating habits and lack of exercise is what got me fat in the 1st place - I feel to freaking good to go back there..
I can also tell you that almost every single night since 7/17/07 I have had dessert - SF puddings, sf ice cream, sf yogurt... I go on vacation and eat what I want but continue some type of exercise - but when I come home I go right back to eating healthy..
It was my Birthday last weekend - I had bday cake & ice cream Sat & Sunday - Monday morning it when in the trash !!! I looked at the cake a few time during the day on Sunday -(in the past I would have eaten it all day long) but said - you are going to have some tonite - if you eat it now - no treat tonite - I wanted to save it for the evening.
Peeps - you can do this - you just have to understand that you can't eat high fight - high sugar - high carb foods 24/7 365 - you can have them as treats - but on a daily basis you have to eat healthy and exercise.. As the saying goes you can't have your cake and eat it too..
You have to decide for yourselves - what feels better for you - being morbidly obese or thin and healthy - I hate the saying nothing taste as good as thin feels - cuz I love the taste of food - (fat & sugar) but I can tell you nothing feels better than being able to live your life with out your weight limiting what you can or can't do.. And I can still have that fat & sugar even now and then as long as I exercise and eat healthy the majority of the time..
I'm a 56 yr old grandma - who can now zip line - Para Sail - scuba dive - hike a mountain - walk all day long - leg press 400 lbs - I'm the grandma who can catch air - not the fat one sitting on the beach looking at everyone else have fun..
Use your tool - quit sabotaging yourselves - Love yourselves enough to do this for you - to improve the quality of your lives - Don't let that little devil tell you it's ok to eat the junk - cuz it's not - it's going to catch up w/you..
Sit down plan your meals - plan your treat - budget your calories to allow for sf dessert at nite and make sure you get your exercise..

You did not eat nutritious food. If you are still "cheating" that is why u gained. I agree with the other person that said you are not on a diet anymore. 4 cups of coffee is not a good choice either. Caffeine is an appetite stimulant! So basically you reved up your metabolism, fed it sodium and fat (cashews), followed by carbs and possibly sugared Water only to find urself probably still hungry and heavier.
Protein first then foods that have the four main Vitamins in them. Also no drinking your calories or 30 mins before or after eating. Sounds like u have some fine tuning to do.

I haven't read any of the replies - but you need a kick in the butt - 17 lbs in a months time is EXCELLENT... It's been 3.6 yrs since I was banded - I didn't get my 1st fill till like 9 weeks after surgery - and I think I lost like 20 lbs in that time - don't remember for sure - heck some weeks I would only lose 1/2 lbs - but you know what in 11 months 1 week I lost 105 lbs and got to a normal bmi - remember it didn't come on over night - you aren't going to lose it over night...

I'm alive - My stupid computer/mouse/keyboard - my mouse will work - but my keyboard won't - then my mouse won't work and the key board does.. FRUSTRATING - I need a new computer.....


I have been doing accounting stuff which takes me forever

Busy at work too - don't have time to post - sorry about sending you all that email yesterday - going too fast..