mini_me

first, i want to tell all of you that you are doing a great job! with that out of the way...i must tell you not to lose the faith! i lost 17 or so lbs pretty fast after surgery in march 2006. i maintained that loss for over a year...no additional loss/no gain. i was really beginning to doubt whether i had made the right decision. i stopped counting calories and grams of this and grams of that. i started eating a very normal diet of the foods that i typically enjoyed...only in a much much smaller quantity. that is when my weight loss took off. to this day, i will not count calories, etc. i eat what i want, in moderation with the help of my band. i listen to every peep my band makes. when it is time to stop eating, i stop, when i am hungry, i eat. if i crave ice cream, i eat a single serving...and guess what, now that my body has a new expectation for serving sizes, if i am inclined to eat a double serving of icecream, it makes me ill...literally...i get sick to my stomach when i eat too much. the band has truly modified my behavior. good luck to everyone. i know, firsthand, how frustrating it can be to live life as a turtle, especially when all of the rabbits are speeding by, but rest assured...slow losers are not alone in this battle. you guys will do great!! keep doing what you know is right!

try not to let yourself get frustrated during the week and a half lull...sometimes the loss kinda comes and goes. i lost 17 lbs real fast, then stalled out for over a year...then went on to lose a total of 60 lbs. i am 10-20 lbs away from goal, depending on which goal i decide to achieve (it was first 138, then 148, so whatever). it has taken me over two years to get this far. keep working and using your band as a tool to help you, but dont get too caught up in the whole movement that says you must lose 100 lbs in a year!! ((some people do, and you may, but just concentrate on working hard and keep the faith during those 'lulls'.)) losing for good is always better than gaining, even in a lull. best of luck to you!!

oh, hey paige. you will find a lot of people with great things to say about Mexico, and a lot with great things to say about Dr. Spivak. i adore Dr. Spivak. he is really great, and he is attentive to my needs.

CONGRATS ON YOUR DECISION!! you have lots of options in the houston area for docs. i, too, am a self-pay patient. i used dr. spivak, and i adore him and his staff. i was banded 2 years ago andi have no complaints. his website is bandmd.com best of luck to you!!

i am in texas, and was banded in march 06 for $15,500 and it covered the first year of fills.

i have never heard of this. sorry.

hey mango...it may seem ridiculous, but 2 lbs a month is 24 lbs, and after 2 years, that is 50 lbs, which should bring you pretty derned close to meeting a goal, right? i think 2 lbs a month is spectacular! congrats! when i was losing, and i would hit a plateau, i would have a free day. i know that is a bad thing, but i really surprised myself with my behavior on my free days. while i ate more calories, and a very different kind of food from what my body was used to eating, i still made much healthier decisions than i did pre-banding. throwing the curve ball seemed to keep my body on track. granted, i have not lost much more since feb/march, i don't have all the answers. this is just what i noticed. there are some folks out there that would absolutely flame me UP for saying this.

i love my band...and i love my slow loss. now that i am a size 8, and my skin is looking great, i would not change a thing about my rate of loss!!! good luck everyone!

ok, funny i found this thread. i just purchased tickets to go see journey, heart, and cheap trick this summer!!!

amen to fast, slow, and average losers!! it has taken me a while to learn to appreciate being a slow loser...but i sure am glad to be losing, no matter what the rate!!!

you are absolutely right. i was referring to rate of weight loss. i would never encourage potential bandsters to EXPECT complications. sorry i did not make that more clear. i went into this banding thinking that i would have perfect body in 12 months. i wish someone had prepared me for a slow loss. it would have saved me a lot of self-doubt that first year and a half.

the short answer to 'did you exercise?' is no. the long answer is that while i did not have a regular exercise routine, i would exercise regular for 6 weeks here, then get lazy for a month, then exercise for 4 weeks, then get lazy, etc. i am one of those people that have quite a bit of muscle tone under the fat, i just have to lose the fat to get to it. i never saw a real difference working out. HOWEVER, when i started school again, i attended a very hilly campus, and after fighting to get a parking spot, i had to make a 5-6 minute sprint across campus. i did this three times a week, and this corresponded with the biggest part of my weight loss...right along with the wendy's chili and small frosty lunches. lol...if you have not been banded yet, then i dont think you should expect epic results. prepare for the worst, then you wont be disappointed, and if the best happens, all the better. my girlfriend at work was banded a few months after me, and she religiously hits the gym every single day. cardio/strength with a trainer. after almost two years, she too, has lost at a slow rate. she has lost even less than i have. she started out ten lbs heavier than myself. ((she was 227)) i have seen very few low bmi'ers hit their goal within the first year. mary_b is probably the only one i can think of off the top of my head. for most of us low bmi'ers, it takes a little longer to see drastic results. i am very happy with where i stand now...a year ago, i was seriously questioning whether the band would work for me.

Thanks Jack! You're the best!

sorry it took me so long to respond. i did not even see this. i have not checked this thread in a long time. i did not really do anything different. but i superstitiously believe that my wendy's small chili/small frosty had something to do with it. three times a week i got this for lunch. i doubt it really made the difference, but superstition is learned REALLY fast. i think my body just finally realized that it was time to let go of some of the fat. i firmly believe, now, that if we stick to the rules, our body's will eventually be forced to respond. i think when we give up and start eating around the band sabotages our efforts. if we just keep following the rules...

ok, so after all this time, i justnoticed that my dates are not correct. they are listed in chronological order, even though the years don't make it look that way. those last dates are actually from 2007! why cant i get in to edit the post???

you will be fine. stop fretting.

i stayed at about 17 lbs for god knows how long...a year or more? then one day, i got up and the scales started moving. it has been 2 years and 2 months, i have lost almost 60 lbs. 40 of that was in the last year or so. i wrote about my own slow loser experience here>>> http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/all-you-slow-losers-54591/ hang in there...keep watching your food choices...don't give up hope! some of us don't see results for a long time!!!

Sgt. Shaun Tousha was a friend of mine from high school. He was killed in Iraq last week. Please take a minute to leave an online condolence for his family. Automatic Redirection click on the huntsville location, then obits/guestbook, then click Sgt. Shaun Tousha's name, there is a link to the online condolences page. Thanks everyone! I hope this will comfort his family during this difficult time.

Thank you.

Here I sit, 12 midnight. It is Saturday night, sunday morning. I will be banded on Monday!! I cannot believe it has actually arrived! I am going to do clear liquids tomorrow. My sister in law took some pics of my booty today...LOL...she is crazy. She had to put it on extra wide angle view. i will have to post them for before/after...lol. Anyone reading, wish me luck. I am really starting to get butterflies.

i can't stand it when folks say 'you all' instead of yall!:biggrin:

Jana, I think what you are feeling is completely normal. I think most of us went through a period of doubt or regret. This is brand new to your body, and it will take some adjustments on your part, but once you get to know your band, and your body is better healed, you will be fine! Hang in there!

are you kidding me? if you dont like reading it, move on to the next thread. some people do the best they can. some people have very limited writing skills. some people don't take themselves and others so seriously that they let paragraphs, caps, and dots bother them. for all of you that had fun with this thread...hats off to ya!! it is a mistake to condemn those who don't write as well as others, but i don't think anyone will be hurt at poking a little good natured fun.