lellow

I work a pretty high stress job. I'm a project manager. Long days, high responsibility. I find working out helps de-stress me, so I made time for it. Also planning your meals ahead of time helps, but when I can't I will make an effort to find healthy food. Invest as much in yourself as your job, you're no less important.

It can take some time to get to the right level of restriction. Some sooner than others. But to your point I will say this: I lost the majority of my weight before achieving any real restriction. The reason for this is my belief that once the band kicked in, it would help me maintain my weight loss, something I had never been able to do before. So I worked on losing and waiting for my band to start working. It took me getting to 8.5cc to get restriction, which meant a LOT of fills, in comparison to most. Once I was there, it was a cake walk maintaining the weight I'd lost up til then, and in fact I continued to lose for the following year without trying. They will go slow because they don't know what fill level will get YOU to your green zone. So, as trite as this might sound, be patient. And keep trying to lose, because it's not for nothing.

I think a corset with bones is a HUGE no no, because it will press on your port site and cause issues (don't ask me how I know that ) but a girdle or shapewear shouldn't be an issue. Just nothing that is too rigid.

I think almost all of us only ever understand 'fullness' and this is what got us here. My boyfriend and I had a long conversation about it when my band was leaking. I experienced hunger for the first time in 3 years, and so I ate, and ate to 'fullness' and started to gain. He asked me on a couple of occasions "are you still hungry?" when he saw me continue to eat more than I probably should have. That's when we started talking about it. Because I realised he wasn't asking me if I was 'full' but if I was still hungry. He has never been big, and the reason is, he stops eating once he's no longer hungry. He does not seek out that feeling of 'fullness' like I do. That was a huge a-ha moment for me, because I realised then the fundamental difference between overweight people and normal BMI people - they don't seek out 'fullness', they stop when they're satisfied. If we can learn to stop when we're satisfied, never again will we need to worry about avoiding certain foods because we will over-indulge. We can eat a variety of foods and stop after just a small taste. We don't have to hate food, or make it our enemy. We don't have to mourn its loss. All we need to learn to do is stop eating once we're no longer hungry.

I can't speak for all the different types of 'soft stops' but my old soft stop was a dripping nose, and my doctor explained that it was food getting too high up in the esophagus that caused that. I now get hiccups sometimes since being rebanded, other people get shoulder tip pain, etc but I have no idea why those soft stops occur.

I set big goals for myself. I don't think it's a bad thing, as long as you KNOW it's a big goal. I was going to work like hell to get there, but there were times no matter what I did I couldn't lose that week! I was a low BMI bandster, and I wanted to lose 100% of my excess weight within 6 months (about 70lbs). I didn't quite make it, it took me just over 7 months but hell, I'm still proud of that!

It hurts for the millisecond it takes for the needle to go in. Much like taking blood. Except taking blood hurts more I reckon. Congrats on getting through your first fill! In the beginning, doctors can go a little more aggressively with fills because the expectation is you've got a ways to go to get to the green zone yet. Especially if you say anything like "I can't really feel the band right now", or "I'm getting hungry pretty quickly". It's the patients who come in and say "oh I still struggle to finish a cup of food" that they'll be more cautious with. Just take it easy for a day, you'll be fine!

Nope. I can't burp. I didn't burp for over 3 years . For some bandsters, burping is something we just can't do. One of the reasons I suspected I was leaking in fact was because I not only lost restriction but suddenly could burp again. I have not burped since being rebanded 2 months ago. Honestly, your body adapts and initially it all comes out the other end (sorry TMI) but that settles eventually too. My boyfriend thought I was the most delicate of princesses because I didn't ever burp when we started dating, now he knows I just couldn't!! I really don't miss it.

I just wore a shapewear singlet because I had an incision just between my breasts high up on my sternum and wearing a bra hurt it. So I happened on the benefits of shapewear for my incisions quite by accident trying to solve a different problem. rbmk14 I am wearing the kind of shapewear you're describing now after lipo and I can honestly say it's irritating the incision I was talking about above even now, 2 months post band replacement, so if your incision is anywhere close to where mine is, I'd go for a different sort of shapewear.

Never, not once, ever, even after changing states and therefore doctors, has anyone ever told me to restrict carbs, or that carbs were to blame for obesity. I understand that for some low carb is their preferred way of losing weight, and they're very successful at it, but I can honestly say that I've never restricted carbs and have successfully lost over 100% of my excess weight. There is no right or wrong answer and I am constantly amazed at how personally people take things around here. Own your choices, because if you do, who gives a flying whatsit what others say as long as it's working for you?

tym4me, two words: sports bra. I have DDs now and I have the rockingest sports bras I can buy and they strap them down nice and tight!

I had an E cup and deflated to a B cup full of nothing but skin when I lost the weight. I had implants to get them back up to a DD cup! We should have swapped boobs!!

After my band replacement, I went out and bought firm control shapewear, which I wore for 3 weeks after surgery. It made such a difference, because yes it was easier to cough, or even sit up, and more importantly, when I was suffering from bad nausea and was retching, it didn't feel like my stitches were going to bust open. Great tip!

To all the successful banders out there, what is the one thing you think made it all click into place for you? For me, it was deciding that failure was not an option. I got the band because my younger brother was diagnosed with diabetes and I was scared that if I waited any longer to do something about my weight, I wouldn't see my youngest son into adulthood. So the day I decided to get banded was the day I made the commitment that this time, I wasn't going to fail. I read the statistics about average weight loss etc etc but I always intended to lose all the excess weight and keep it off. I have said before the band will help you that 30%, but you have to put in the 70% if you want to succeed. I fell off the wagon when my band started to leak because I forgot for a while why I did this, and I was disillusioned about the band failing me, and then over Christmas I spent 3 weeks with my son and it made me remember again, and I recommitted to this. No food was more important than my son. I hope I never ever forget that ever again. If I do, I welcome any of you to kick my butt. So what was your a-ha moment that you credit your success to?

I think after a while we all get complacent. Bad habit creep back in, we get used to life with a band and learn to eat around it if we want to. So to me, the trick is to recommit to the band lifestyle. Go back on the 'diet' for a while, and in the meantime, get in to see your surgeon and see if your band could use a bit of 'tweaking'. Or even if you may have a small dilation or some other thing go amiss. Like B52, when on maintenance mode, I was able to stick to the band lifestyle for 3 years. When my band sprung a leak and I lost restriction, I reverted bit by bit to my old eating ways due to the increase in hunger and I gained. But I recommitted to losing weight and seeing my dr, and I lost 15lbs in the 5 months prior to my full band replacement. It may not sound like much but it was going in the right direction for once, and proves that you can recommit to losing weight if you want it. And if you want it, then the change you have to make starts NOW, not tomorrow, but right now, with band sized portions, and making healthy choices. Just on the aside, my best friend (who is not banded) has been following the same portion control as a band patient since I was rebanded in May, to see if following my lead will help her lose. As of today, she's lost 15lbs, in just over 6 weeks. Weight loss is 30% the band, and 70% YOU, and she is proof that even that 70% makes a huge difference.

I agree dehydration can happen fast! Always make sure you're having sufficient liquids and if you can't, you need to go to see your dr or the emergency dept immediately. It only takes a day to get dangerously dehydrated.

I had complications too. My band was leaking for 15 months. I gained weight fast and I struggled with hunger. BUT I stopped and took stock, and started focussing on losing again. And I did - 15 lbs in 5 months until I got my band replaced. Gaining and over-eating is not the band's fault, no one controls that but you. The band is there to try to help you NOT over-eat but it won't do it for you. If you want to lose, you can do it with or without the band. I won't lie, it's HARDER without a band, but it's not impossible. I know it's frustrating having complications and not ever knowing if you'll have a functioning band, because it's something you can't control. I understand, I've been there. But there is ONE thing you can control, and that's whether or not you manage your weight in the meantime, while you're waiting for answers.

Wow no offence but he sounds like an ass. He's not living it so how the hell does he know if it's easy or not? And besides, shouldn't he just be happy that you're getting healthier? Or is the problem that he worries that if you lose the weight you won't put up with him being an insensitive moron anymore?

Thanks so much for posting your experience and letting me know it's normal. OMG the itch last night was driving me batty. I'm taking benadryl and it's helping a little, but it doesn't take it away completely. Oh well, this is the price we pay, right?

That looks great!! I was stalking your thread yesterday to see how you'd gone but couldn't find an update! How much did the surgeon take out? I'm only 3 days out today but he removed very little from my thighs so as not to leave me with lots of loose skin, but it's an improvement nonetheless! My thighs still touch but they don't really rub anymore.

I've actually never fasted before a fill. Not on purpose anyway! I usually make sure I eat well before a fill because I know it'll be a few days before I'll eat well again. In fact if I haven't had time to eat before going in for my appt, I'll stop at a cafe along the way just to pick something up to eat. I've even told my doctor I do this and he didn't think anything of it.

I counted calories when my band was leaking in order to lose, but I don't count them when my band is working, because when it's working well, it helps me manage my intake all on it's own. Having a band changes the rules for me: I eat well, Protein, veg then carbs in that order, and I exercised til I was dripping with sweat 30 mins 3 times a week, and I let the band tell me when to stop eating. And I didn't count the calories that went in or what I worked off. I don't drink shakes to 'up' my calorie count. I just live life with the band and let it do it's thing. That seemed to have worked well for me. And thankfully for me, is a lot less complicated. I really hated counting calories!

I'm so sorry you had to go through this! Right now I completely understand you feeling like just throwing the towel in, but give it a little while, and get that second opinion as to whether they can help you or not. You've been through a lot right now and you have every right to be pissed off, but don't give up just yet, you're so close!

Thanks Debpaige! Sascha, sure feel free to add me! Just to give you a run down, I first had a lower body lift to remove excess skin, then breast augmentation and now lipo to finish off. These surgeries I did over a 4 year period, not all at once. Mind you, I was 38 when I was banded so while losing the weight was awesome, my body didn't survive it so well, especially my tummy and boobs. If I were you though I wouldn't worry about excess skin until you get closer to goal - I know plenty of people who have been heavy all their life whose skin bounced back just fine. By all means save the money but you might find you'll need less surgery than me in the end.

when in the green zone I wasn't hungry either. But after several occasions where I came home from work and my whole body was trembling from a dip in my blood sugar, I started setting an alarm at work to remind me to have lunch. I wasn't hungry so I didn't eat much but I ate something, because you may not be hungry, but your body needs some food.