Jennifer44

How tall are you? 228 is not that heavy.....so you have lost about 80 pounds. That's great. I aspire to be your weight in 1 to 1.5 years. I have seen some people who have had bariatric surgery lose dramatic amounts of weight - but most were single and had a motive to look great. I have been in a 10 year relationship and recently gotten married to him over a year ago..................we had an unhealthy relationship with food. I stil enjoy eating with him, but its just a lot less and healthier options.

I agree with you about cutting my calories and I think filling up on veggies and fruit and Water is key. Its a major behavioral change on my part. I am still an emotional eater and food addict in recovery.

Jenny

Hi, I will look into your suggestions.....1200 calories a day I have been told is what I should stay at, but I usually average 1700-1900 a day.................I am trying to fill up on veggies and fruit and tracking my "points" with Weight Watchers - which works if you are dedicated to tracking your point religiously everyday. May I ask what your start weight was (I didn't see it in your profile). So you are about 4 years out from being banded and were re-banded at one point. Exercise is key I think for me...................

Jenny

I have maintained the same weight range of 190-200 for 1.5 years which is good and band. Since I am approaching my three anniversary in March 2011 I am disappointed I haven't lost more weight. I must admit I am not exercising regularly and have my fair share of foods that I should eat less of (my biggest culprit is cheese and crackers after work). I started Weight Watchers again and will buy a 10-pak of personal training sessions in a week to get me motivated and on track with losing weight again. Has anyone else experienced a long term plateau and what have you done to combat this "hell"?

Jenny

Well, I am still struggling...............its been 17 months since the operation and I still have 50 pounds to go. I too started at 260 (currently 190)............ any suggestions? Should I join a face to face support group?

You look amazing and I am so happy for you. How long did it take you to get to your target weight/current weight? How long have you been maintaining?

Jennifer:smile2:

Jetsy62 Have you been banded yet? (I forgot to direct my last reply to you).

Jennifer

Have you been banded yet?

Thanks for your support..................Lately I have shyed away from the lap band forum website because I was frustrated about not losing weight quickly like the others on this site. Its nice to know someone else is doing the slow and steady approach.

Jennifer

I have lost apprximately 45lbs since I was banded in March 2008. I have noticed that some people have lost 20 to 30 more pounds than me in the same time frame. Sometimes I get upset that I am not losing weight fast enough. It took me until the beginning of October to get the fill that caused major restriction and I have been losing weight consistently for the past 5 weeks.

A friend of mine told me that I need to get the emotional eating behavior under control and it might take me longer to lose the weight in order to come to peace with my emotional eating. I figure it will take me one year or a little longer to lose another 60 pounds (which is my goal). I feel like life is a marathon not a race and I am not in a hurry to drop those pounds fast. I am looking at this in the long term too. Many Lap Band patients quickly get to their goal weight and than 5 years later they have gained a lot of it back.

Is it better to lose the weight slow and steady (1-2 pounds a week) vs. quickly losing?

P.S. I might start to exercise and was told that will speed it up.

Jennifer

I am going to see the nutrionist in two weeks and avoid another fill until October. I have to learn how to change my behavior around food. I just started seeing a bariatric psychologist and she is good. I have my third session this Saturday. She suggested I start exercising..........I will go tonight to the gym. I just hope I can start losing 1-2 pounds a week and get out of this plateau.......journaling and exercise will help!!!!

Jennifer, I was told the lap band would aid SLOW weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week, and 3.5 in 2 weeks is right in that groove. PLUS...just because you CAN eat cheese with abandon doesn't mean you should! They warned us we could "eat around the band" by doing liquids, shakes, soft foods, etc.

Did you have a consult with a nutritionist? If you do have restriction with many foods, I'd think that you need to look at what you're eating. I was told that some day I wouldn't have to be as picky but initially to eat lean Proteins, then some veggies and to take great care with my nutrition.

Are you doing that and still hungry?

For instance, I just had a turkey burger with cheese and was able to eat small bun. I am full and satisified and skipped fries or Soup. I have decided to journal my food intake and see what I am eating for the next week. I might see the nutrionist in the next couple of weeks. The 3.5 pounds was 2 weeks after my last fill............the past two weeks I haven't lost anything.

My weight loss has stalled. I had my last fill 4 weeks ago and I have only lost 3.5 pounds since than and have remained the same for two weeks. I am already up to 7ccs and my max is 10cc...............I am worried because I still have almost 100 pounds to lose.

The restriction is up and down. Certain foods I can only eat a little bit and other (i.e. cheese) I can eat with reckless abandonment.

I am trying to get motivated to exercise and relax with certain foods like cheese and hummus.

I might even go on Optifast for two weeks to jump start my weight loss.

Thanks for well written advice. I was banded March 19, 2008 and although I have lost a healthy amount of weight. I still feel that I make poor food choices and over eat at times because I am emotionally triggered to stuff myself. I have decided to see a therapist who deals with food addictions to help me through this journey. Your advice really made my day. I have been feeling frustrated lately....................Jennifer

We're at similar weights and ccs for the lap band.................I had my fourth fill 6/11 and currently at 5.4cc...................I would have some Fluid removed if you are reguritated your food. Things seem fine for me for the most part..................I can's eat huge bites and avoid certain foods- like doughy breads.

I am planning on going to the gym this weekend and start of slow - 20 minutes cross trainer and 10-15 minutes of weights. I did the math and in 12 weeks since the surgery I have averaged 1.3 pounds a week, which means i am on target. Exercise should pump up loss like you said. Hopefully my fourth fill will help too! Good bye pizza and Chinese for now.........................

Thanks for your support. I really need to go to a support group from bandsters too! That will help....................

I had my surgery March 19th and have lost 28 pounds since. However, most of my weight loss came from my pre-surgery fast and a month post-surgery. I have only been losing 1-1.5 pounds a week and some weeks nothing at all. I have indulged a few times with pizza and chinese, but ate half of what I normally would. The problem is that I still feel hungry and feel my portion sizes are quite normal. I am going for my fourth fill next week. They usually put in 1.5CCs. I am afraid to get more and than have too much restriction. I really want to lose 2-3 pounds a week. If I do cardio and weights 4 days a week and eat smaller sizes is that realistic for me. I was going to try and avoid exercise until I got under 200 lbs (I am at 226 right now)..................but weight loss is slow moving. Any other tips from you guys to pump up my weight loss?

I have my first fill in two weeks! I was wondering if this will jump start my weight loss. Since starting on the "mushy diet" two weeks ago I have gained 2 pounds. Initially I had lost 22 pounds. I am trying my best to write down everything I eat and count calories. I am trying to keep my caloric intake below 1200 (I have good and bad days). I used to eat 2500 calories a day or more. I am hoping if I exercise after the my first fill that I can average 3-5 pounds a week..................is this too ambitious?

I am also up a pound this week and I just started the puree part of the diet. I had the surgery two weeks ago. I feel frustrated too. I had lost 23 pounds from the initial fast two weeks before surgery up to yesterday.