lellow

And I missed it! I may have a brand new band in but I still consider the 1st August 2008 to be the first day I became a bandster. And despite the ups and downs, it has been a game changer for me. It transformed my life in so many ways that I can't even begin to articulate. Not just in my weight, my health and my prognosis for my future health, but in my confidence, my view on life, my career and my value in myself. Happy bandiversary to me! It's been an amazing 5 years and here's to many many more to come.

I just want to hug you, coz the guy was a f*&king ass! And you're not a whimp because someone was horrible to you in front of your child and it hurt you. One of the things I really relished (and I can't believe I'm revealing this) is when I lost all the weight and all the guys who would be mean to me suddenly wanted to get to know me. I loved playing the playas. Just keep your head up, girl, and use these incidents as motivation.

I'm 5'4" Started at 215lbs Lowest was 118lbs (a size 0 - 2). My dr believed I was too skinny and wanted to unfill me, so I gained to 130lbs (just under a size 4) and maintained for 3 years. Sprung a leak and gained to 165lbs. Wasn't happy at that weight. Now my band is replaced and I'm on 140lbs and think it's PERFECT (a size 4 - 6)

I don't mind reiterating something to anyone who is really interested in figuring it all out. I am not the quickest to learn either, I'm too stubborn for my own good sometimes. It's not that sort of poster that bothers me, so please don't think that it's at all what I'm saying. It's more those who, for example, insist that they need to be so tight they can't do anything but drink protein shakes because that MUST be how people lose weight with the band, or get angry because the band magically didn't take every shred of hunger away, or are pissed off because they don't understand why they need to get fills because surely it should have worked and made them lose 50lbs straight after surgery that make me cringe. Wanting to learn is one thing, making mistakes and admitting them is another thing, but not knowing anything but pretending like you know everything? Yeah, no, I have no more patience for that. And you know when it's time to take a break when you see those posts and it feels like they're EVERYWHERE, when they're probably not.

Thanks everyone. One of the lovely ladies here messaged me on FB about this asking if it was anything in particular. It's not. It's just a general thing. Just same old, same old. I think when I posted this blog last night I was feeling particularly tired of it all, and I apologise for being more dramatic than was probably necessary. I still won't be reading or responding to posts for a while, because I do believe it's not a bad thing for someone to take a break from this place now and again, just to shed the negativity of it all and enjoy their lives, but I'll still be around, in chat or via PM, because I know I have friends here who I would miss and who would have my back if I needed them to. So it's not farewell, it's just that I'm going to be quieter around the place.

This is the vent post I never usually make just before I leave LBT for a while. It's the one I think in my head but never say out loud. But here goes: I get tired, as do a lot of the band veterans here I'm sure, of saying the same thing over and over. I get tired of people fighting wanting only their opinion to be heard, or people asking for advice then when you give it, refusing to even consider it. I'm tired of the same story, but different faces where people talk about how the band isn't the tool they expected, when perhaps their expectations were wrong to be begin with. I get tired of people expecting responsibility for their weight loss to be taken right out of their hands just because they got a little plastic ring put around their stomach. And most of all I'm ashamed to say that I get tired to offering support to my fellow banders sometimes. Sometimes I want to concentrate on me, get on with my life, and not invest in anyone else. I'm now in maintenance and again I feel like I've done enough, I don't have anymore to give right now, nor do I want to. My wish is for everyone to find the kind of success I've had, and to be inspired by the fact that if *I* can do it, anyone can, coz god knows I'm not special, but it doesn't usually work out that way. Instead of feeling like I'm helping, I get jaded and cynical and so damned tired of the BS and want to take a break from it all. Again. So that's me, actually verbalising for once why I won't be posting any more for a little bit. I'll be back, I always come back, but for my sanity, I think another hiatus might be in order.

You're braver than me! I'm so scared of doing anything to my face. I've tried botox and that's it (and not sure I will again). Though I am getting more lipo on my thighs on Friday. I'm a sucker for punishment!!

I think a side effect of the band is that people end up with the mentality that getting no food through is the way they're going to lose weight. The band actually works best when you are at the point where you can eat a small amount of solid food and it keeps you satisfied for 3 - 4 hours. I honestly think at the right restriction level the band assists in controlling your physical hunger to such a point that you will not be obsessed about food and will be able to live with it in a more natural way. Too tight and your body starves and you're miserable and angry because you're not losing (and potentially causing problems with your band too!). Too loose and you fight with hunger all the time. Finding that 'green zone' is so important in my opinion and what makes it harder is finding it can be difficult. Many people drive towards tighter and tighter bands thinking that will get them there and then they push past it, they're in the red zone and it's not better, it's worse. Don't look for it to hurt when you eat. Look for the point where you can eat and it keeps you from being hungry again for 3 - 4 hours. That's the green zone.

I am considered to be heavy boned and I am 5'4" and I weigh around 140lbs now. I couldn't imagine it myself when I was over 200lbs but it's actually a BMI of about 24 for me and no, it's not so thin that you look sick. I got down to a BMI of 21 and imo that was too skinny. So don't frighten yourself to the point of talking yourself out of losing. Just concentrate on getting healthy and see where you end up and are happy with yourself. The rest are just numbers.

I took 2 weeks off with my lower body lift but people at work knew about it so were really gentle on me. Even so I think I needed three weeks off too. You did well there. I just had lipo and took 4 days off. Not enough. Always give yourself more than then less time to recuperate. Nothing worse than having to go to work feeling like crap. BTW you look amazing!

I think there is confusion about 'healthy'. Whole foods are healthy, but eat too much of it and it's not healthy anymore. Vegetables are healthy, but eat your potatoes smothered in cheese sauce and I'm pretty sure you're on the road to high cholesterol. I agree that not allvegans/vegetarians eat healthy but you have to admire their ability to control what goes into their mouths - my boyfriend is vegetarian and his restraint amazes me. I think that is something I definitely aspire to. I think eating healthy emcompasses eating quality whole foods in moderate quantaties and doesn't just cover the type of food a person eats. And I agree with bayou's point that more people should take a good long look at what goes into their mouths, and b***h less about how the band didn't make them thin. My band is an amazing tool, but as I always say, it doesn't choose what I put in my mouth.

Nwww happy birthday, my friend. And you know what I think: that at 45, you are still one of the most beautiful women I know. And you have a rockingest bikini body! But I understand the insecurity about it, because I've been there. It's taking that first step, put on that bikini and step out onto that sand, and I promise you, no one is going to laugh at you. In fact, they're going to think you're beautiful, just as much as I do!

Philli, I only have a band - no plication - and I'm what you might call a successful bander. You don't need plication to help you lose, though I'm sure it's easier with it. In my opinion being at the right fill level is super important. The right level is when you can eat solid Protein first, veg second, carbs last of an amount that is equivalent to about a cup of food and it keeps you full for 3 - 4 hours. If you're struggling to hold down liquids, you are too tight. And yes, even a little bit out can make the difference. The difference between too loose and green zone can be as small as 0.1cc (which is why I don't get people insisting on aggressive fills because you can easily push past the green zone into the red zone) The band works best in the green zone. For some people that last fill that takes them to green zone may be uncomfy for a week because the fill will make the stoma swell and therefore make you feel over-filled, but it should ease AND you need to be able to drink at least. And bringing it back up is just irritating your stoma even more so the swelling never goes down. My advice is to get a small amount taken out. When the swelling in your stoma eases in 2 weeks, go back and get half the amount taken out put back in. Wait a month, and if you still are getting hungry in under 3 hours after eating solid food, then go get a little more. Slow and steady from here on in. You're close to the green zone, you just need to find it.

I did that Missy, I got to my goal weight where my BMI was 27 and I wasn't happy either.Got to a BMI of 25, and nope, still not happy. So I kept losing, looking for that elusive point where I was happy with what I saw. I realise now I was not ever going to be happy because I always saw my imperfections, and thought I could lose weight and they'd disappear. I now am more accepting of my imperfections and accept that they make me who I am, and that's beautiful too. I think losing and then gaining has actually turned out to be a godsend for me, because I can see myself more realistically now. Before the leak, I'd stay on or around a BMI of 23 only because my dr threatened to unfill me if I lost anymore. Now it's a more natural decision. I like what I see. That's never really happened for me before.

So my surgeon, who replaced my band, and his wife, who does my fills, can't agree. When I went in to see him for the first time, I'd been successfully maintaining for 3 years and then lost restriction with a leak. My BMI was just under 23. And that's what he's recorded it as. My BMI just a smidge over 24. He thinks I need to be a bit tighter so I can get back down to my pre-leak weight. His wife, however, thinks I am perfect the way I am now. What IS someone's ideal weight? Because even my care-givers can't agree. I personally think it's when I look in the mirror and am happy with me. And I'm happy with me now more than I ever have been. We're talking about mere lbs here but somehow the number on the scale is still king and I'm sick of it. I decided at my last appt that no, I don't want to lose anymore. I told them that we will work at getting a fill level that will provide maintenance for me. Not weight loss. Because in the end, *I* decide what I'm happy with, and happiness in myself doesn't come from a number on the scale. So no green zone, no regular fills, no jumping on the scales everyday. My band is working, I can feel it. Maybe not at optimal performance but good enough to help me maintain. So my scale can abdicate now, thank you very much, it is no longer the king of me.

Sue I'm so sorry to hear that your band has eroded. When I was leaking, my dr suspected a leak or erosion. He too said erosion can happen with no symptoms except the ability to eat more and loss of restriction. I'm truly sorry to hear, my friend. I don't have any answers for you regarding what happens after but wanted to send you good wishes for the removal and the repair.

You've built it up once, you can again. Lapband surgery or anything else will make it harder for you because you are forced to take a break. I broke my tailbone skating, then my foot straight after, and was unable to do any cardio for close to 6 months. It's one of those things. In fact with the band surgery it was an easier recovery than broken bones because I was walking again within a week, and cycling within 2 weeks. On the aside, I think if you enjoy exercise pre-band, you'll kill the whole weight loss thing post band. Those who do best with the band, imo, are the ones who utilise the satiety that the band gives them alongside exercising.

I struggle with full time deprivation. So I eat everything - chocolate, chips, whatever. But I portion it out and savour it. I had a tim tam this morning. For those who don't know what that is, it is a chocolate covered cookie made of HEAVEN. But I can actually have just one and say to myself, if I ever REALLY feel like another, I can always go to the shops and get one. And yet, when the time comes, I just don't, because I don't feel that sense of 'loss'. I'd rather eat a little of any one thing that a lot of it in a binge. I think breaking the habit of binging is fundamental to being able to live with the band long term, imo.

No it's not easy so for every day that you get through where you complied with the rules, know you're a stronger person that you thought you were!

The first time I saw my collar bones I didn't know what they were. I actually yelled out to my husband that there was something wrong coz I had a weird lump just under my neck! And not everyone loses their boobs. I did, but I have friends on here who didn't (lucky girls!), so maybe you won't!

I don't want to lose anymore but want to get my BFP down too. I don't think weight loss is an accurate measure when you're working to build muscle as well. As I continue to strength train, I fully expect that I will gain some weight so am monitoring my BFP and measurements of my body instead. I want to be like Brad! Well the toned female version at least lol. I looked at the bowflex but ended up getting an Inspire M3.

I don't know how other drs do it but my doctor didn't care if I had 20 shakes/drinks during the day as long as I stuck to liquids. He said it was about healing not losing, so I could have as much liquids as I needed to keep from feeling like I was starving. Check with your doctor if this is the case. Shakes will keep you satisfied (but obviously not full) for an hour or so, so as long as you keep drinking shakes, water, broth, whatever, you should be able to stave off real hunger throughout your liquid diet. Don't get me wrong, I was dying for solid food by the end of the two weeks, but I never felt really hungry because if I did, I just drank something.

The goal my dr set for me was a BMI of 27, because he didn't believe that a BMI of 27 was overweight for my frame. And at that BMI, I wore a US size 10. I got down to a BMI of 21 and I personally think that's too thin for me (a US size 2). My ribs showed through in my cleavage and my hip bones stuck out. My arms were stick thin and my neck was sinewy. I now believe I look best at a BMI of about 24 and will do what I can to maintain that BMI. I'm never going to be perfect, but I know at what point I am happy with what I see. So imo, don't worry about the scales or BMI or the pressure to meet a number ideal if you don't want to, because half of the battle is also about finding a happy place with your body. We don't do that enough. Just to be able to look in a mirror and say 'I'm really happy with how I look right now' at whatever BMI you choose would be a huge win. And to know that with every lb lose you reap health benefits and that's something to be celebrated.

Ivy I actually wasn't referring to you when I spoke about trolls, I was replying to your comment that assuming someone was a troll was ridiculous. I'm saying that is it not at all ridiculous, and in fact very common. It pays to be cautious of taking anything you read on the net from some faceless person sitting behind a keyboard as the gospel truth, and that includes me. That's why forums like this are great for information, but everyone needs to watch out for the crazy extremes from every side, because you just don't always know the motivations behind other people's posts, and like another poster here said, I *hope* people are smart enough to figure out inconsistencies for themselves.

Ivy I didn't read Mis's post as attributing any of the quotes to you, I think you may have misread that. They were quotes from various other posts on this page, and she's right, those statements are no less extreme then saying 'I had success and so will EVERYONE'. I have always been respectful of you and anyone else who has had complications (I have had my own) but take a step back here. The only times you see someone like Mis get angry is when people post unreasonably. And it's UNREASONABLE to tell everyone that they are doomed if they get the band. And make huge claims about how long they've had the band, or how it's ruined their lives, but change their stories several times along the way. Yes this IS the internet, and that's where the trolls are. Trolling is incredibly common - I'm a moderator on another forum and we see them regularly - same IP address but different names, stories, etc. Or inconsistent stories. Or just outright lies. And usually it's in threads where there are 'fights' so to speak, and one of the mottos we have adopted is our other forum is 'Don't feed the trolls'. In fact it's a rule, and it works really well. The more people fight over them, the more they enjoy it. If this person is real, then my heart truly goes out to her, and to be honest I'm interested in hearing the details of her complications, but I'm NOT interested in her or anyone else standing like a loon in the town square telling me the sky is falling. Give me your facts, give me your experiences, don't give me hysteria.