NewNanny

Calendar reminded my that it has been 3 years since I got my lapband and I thought I would check in.
Total lost is about 70 pounds, but it does fluctuate. I am still wearing size 34 pants (down from 46), although this holiday season has made them a bit tight, I should be back to normal in a couple of weeks of regular eating. Still one of the best decisions that I have ever made, especially since I was diagnosed with Prostate cancer(currently in complete remission) a couple of years ago, the weight loss made the accompanying surgery and radiation much easier on my body. Lapband is/was not a cure for me, it is a tool. I still wrestle with emotional eating although that is becoming less and less. There are times I hate the band because it forces me to seek other solutions to emotional turmoil that do not involve food.
I don't visit the site very much anymore because my eating and weight are no longer a focal point of my existence, in that I think I am as close to normal as I will ever be. But this site and a large portion of the contributors were instrumental to me to getting my band to work for me.
Thanks.

I've been getting tiny fills now and then over the last year. Four fills of 0.10, with my last one in August. I debated getting one in September but my NP and I decided together to try modifying my food plan and waiting to see those results.
Well, I'm a stubborn old broad, and I resisted making serious changes right away. But here's what I did change over the last four months:
I gave up alcohol completely in September.
I gave up fried food in November.
I gave up my weekly carby Thai overindulgence in December. Do I miss it? Hell yes.
I gave up movie crapcorn completely in December. (Not movies though. I actually smuggled two pears into the movies a few days ago and got a little thrill out of that.)
I began planning, committing, and tracking my food to my OA sponsor and using MyFitnessPal again two weeks ago.
What happened? My band is talking to me again. I feel the stop signals very clearly now. I get the "enough" sensation on much smaller quantities. My dog is loving it because he gets the p rotein I can't finish.
Bottom line is, I had to clean up my food for my band to be able to do its job right. I'm filled enough. I know that now.
The band surgery alone enabled me to drop 2/3 of my excess weight without much behavior modification. Sure, I was eating less, and not eating between meals. But I was emotionally hanging on to my greasy, fried favorites and drinking with friends every weekend, not to mention socking away tubs of buttered crapcorn on a twice-weekly basis. And scratching my head as to why I stopped losing weight.
Making the changes I made above was an incremental process. I wasn't ready to do it until I was ready to do it. I'm really glad that my band stayed consistent while I floundered around figuring this out.
For whatever reason, I'm now motivated to get the rest of this weight off, and to follow the disciplined plan I have worked out with my OA sponsor.
This may or may not help somebody else. But if you're chasing the elusive green zone, and wonder if you really need more fills or not, see if cleaning up your food for a few weeks first makes a difference. It did for me.

Here's a pic from a gala I went to with my husband at the Plaza Hotel. We were fancy fancy but inside all I could think of was wow I am actually wearing a size 8 dress! I was previously a 16 (on a good day)!

OK ... here it goes. As you can see, I don't do below the waist shots. I'm actually surprised that I found some "before" photos since the camera and I haven't gotten along for many years now. (btw: That's Laserjock in the other 89 jersey. He has been my support rock throughout this whole journey) I'm still a work in progress but I love my band!!
12/17/07 - I wanted to update my after photo....I'm now down 130 pounds and feel wonderful!

This is just the kind of thread I need today. When I start to get discouraged, I try to get out my before photos and not only look at the difference physically, but feel how different I am inside as well.
Thanks, Lisa for doing this!
I've lost another 10 since this photo but I don't have a new one scanned in yet. I'll work on getting a new one scanned in this weekend.
Megan