Bel

Well i have an Australian one and i have had it for 7yrs without issue and it survived a car accident with a direct hit to it, they sure are made to last! Bel

Look at your before photos and them picture yourself at your goal weight everytime you go to eat crap. The band is a tool to teach you the right things but it also take your courage :-) IF you want if bad enough you can do it Bel

Congrats Josh! you are looking great, you'll be a stud in no time! and thinner you are beautiful, you can tell in your photos your looking healthier and your skin is gorgeous! Is it ok if i post mine? dont wanna hijack the post Congrats to Danni on her fabulous milestone as well ... GO GIRL Bel

I wouldn't worry too much about the band slipping, i have a car crash a few years back and got a huge impact right across the band area and it didnt budge. They are tough buggers Bel

Ralheit, I really do understand what your going through as i have been there. When i got the band i thought it would control my eating,stop me from eating to much. And for the first year it did, i kept getting adjustments and it kept shrinking but then i hit a plataeu so i got another adjustment still of the mindframe that if i dont feel pain when i eat then i cant control it because i always ate until i felt pain (full) not contented. My band settled and my stomach too settled, i kept getting adjustments because i kept being able to eat more then i should. I got it adjusted to the point i couldnt drink or eat anything and thats when i realised that the band isnt meant to stop me from eating too much...thats my job. The band is there to help me be content for LONGER on a smaller amount of food. I feel for you because it is hard when it gets to this point but im wondering if you are having the same problem where you feel the band should be controlling your intake and your eating too much rather then listening to your body and eating till your content. I can eat the same amount as anyone without the band 7yrs after having it, but i learnt that i shouldnt. The band for me was a training tool where at first you need it to stop you but you must learn to stop yourself once your body reaches that point. Im sorry if this is offensive or way off the mark but i hope it is of some help Bel

I dont measure my meals although every now and then i do a check. I find that you have to listen to your body. Its not about being full ... its about being content, when you dont feel hungry you are content. Go past that and your full, thats when you start stretching things. If you listen to your body you will learn how to tell your done. When you can do that you wont need to measure anymore :-) Bel Oh and something else i was taught that helped me so much, is that when you feel hunger pains it may not be hunger, it may be thirst because your body uses hunger pains to trigger you to drink as well as eat. So if your hungry have a glass of Water, wait 10mins and if your still hungry then you should eat

Peek Your story is amazing, it made me so happy to see that this place could have such great people here. I only joined tonight and im glad i did, i know you will be flaunting your gorgeous bod here soon! Bel

Its really great being able to hear about everyones aha moments. Mine was when i was sitting at the doctors at 15years of age and he told me, if you dont do something you will have a heart attack and it will be soon ..... i have never been so scared then when i heard those words. The next month i was booked for surgery. Bel

I've had the band for 7 years and have kept all the weight off without too much trouble. You learn to balance what you eat with the exercise you do. If you want me to post before and afters i will ... to show you it is a long term thing

I have been where you are, the thing is that the people who love you are probably scared. It is major surgery and can have many complications. I got it when i was 15yrs, i had to have legal guardian approval and it took a lot of reassuring to get it, maybe you could try reassuring them by going through the process of what will happen. What you will and wont eat, how you will be supported medically, i found it really helped because im sure they love you very much and want to support you but they may just be scared of losing you :-) I hope this was of some help Bel oops i see other ppl have already suggested this, soz

hi, I have been banded for 7.5 years, i started at 115kgs or 253.5lb and lost 45kgs/ 99.2lb in a year and a half, i had to lose it slower because i was only 15yrs so the dietitan planned for me to lose it slower :-) I have kept it off for 6yrs easily. I exercise daily and eat sensibly but now that im maintaining i get my treats when i want them, i just exercise a bit more to compensate. You learn to balance it after a while Bel

I havent and wouldn't because i had a friend who did it after her band and it put so much pressure on her gut she was in agony for hours. I agree with Wheetsin - do a search. Bel

You will get there Sue and when you do i will give you a big happy dance too! *hugs* Bel

*Happy Dance for Kjeter* That's a wonderful achievement, im so happy for you Bel

Congrats that is a big milestone, think about it. ... this is a problem you will never have again! Thats pretty special. Mine was years ago but i would still like to share. It was the first time i could wear kids clothes for the first time since i was 5... i was 15yrs and wearing plus size adults clothes...will never forget that Bel

Well Good luck with it, not that you'll need it. Please dont forget to come back and share your journey! i do love pics

Im a scrapper, even have a website i love it so much, so i definatly did scrap my journey. I was the same, i didnt want to see those horrible fat photos ever again but i realised that time was a part of my life and while i hated being that way the documentation of it shows how much i have grown and changed, it also inspires me with other things i have trouble with because if i could lose that weight and get my life back then i can do anything ( in a smaller body) Bel I am a blogger but do it only for my website right now, i would like to share my story on blog but im scared about the feedback i may receive

I also totally get where your coming from, its easy to shift the weight compaired to the emotional mindframe you are in. It took me years after i lost the weight to feel comfortable with my size and realise i am no longer that person. The best way i have found it to make a scrapbook or poster and have before and after photos, even have photos with friends before you lost it and then take them again after because that way you have someone else to compare to ( not that you should feel you need to but i personally found comparing myself to other was how i snapped out of it) Bel

Thankyou to Robin Bird! I have had the same problem and never knew why, its only ever one ear though. Bel

Hi, I have had the band a LONG time and i don't have a problem, i do tend to fiddle with it which i wouldn't recommend cause i did flip it over once lmao that was funny the doctor was trying to stick the needle in and it would go cause i had flipped it right over. It did flip itself back though! Anyways, the port doesnt stick out really the only way you can see it is when i am litterally bending over backwards and then it stick out a little, my last bf didnt even know it was there until he felt it. And it doesnt cause problems with sex either, unless you do something i dont know about. I have mine on the left side of my belly button and i think its good there because the skin isnt as sensitive for when they jab you for an adjustment. Bel

Congratulations on the measurements, thats a big acheivement! Keep at it, i would love to hear how you go Bel

Hey, The same thing happens to me, i personally think its because since getting the band the muscles in my stomach swell like crazy and i look preggers for days on end, weird huh. It may be that you not getting enough water? the band can make it hard to get enough water to feed your muscles while they are working out ... i know i find it hard to get my 3 litres down everyday because it usually makes me too full to eat. hope this was of some help, hang in there. Bel

Oh Tulipstar i so know what you mean! I am so envious of those people who lose it without the exercise. I too have to work my butt off on the cardio and weights, didn't always mind you but you gotta love plateau's Bel

Wow, that seems so early to me! I was told to do a little bit of walking, but really nothing you would call cardio... more like waddling. I didnt exercise for 6-8wks, cant quite remember which, after the surgery because i was told it can make the band slip because your stomach is still getting used to it, i still lost 8kgs in the first 3 weeks though. Bel