lola0806

Congrats on your great accomplishment. You have done a wonderful job be proud and show off your new body.

They really left it up to me. They didn't think I needed one since I have had a steady loss, so I decided to not get one at this time. I'll continue to weigh my self and if I see my loss slowing down or gaining I'll call them to get a fill. My surgeon does not believe in being too tight and has been very conservative with my fills. I only have 3.5 ccs in a 10 cc band. I can honestly say that I have had only 1 problem with being stuck and I think I probably didn't chew enough and the chicken was too dry. So as long as I continue to lose I am a happy bandster.

I had a similar problem too, I would fluctuate between a few pounds. I actually started using sparkpeople.com and according to this website I was not getting in enough calories. I increased my calories and I've been losing at about 2 lbs a week for the past 6 weeks. You might not be eating enough and your body is trying to tell you something.

We have all gone through this same thing. It can take several fills before you feel any restriction, you should keep on top of it and make the follow ups with your Dr to get the extra fills. I have started to keep track of what I eat on sparkpeople.com and it's helped me a great deal. For a while I was eating less calories and my weight loss was slowing down, when I went onto sparkpeople it calculated more calories than what I was eating and since I've been monitoring it this way my weight loss has sped up a little. I even went in for a fill this week and they decided not to give me one since I am doing ok. I know a lot of people eat only 3 times a day, I actually eat about every 3 hours and I don't feel those hunger pains. Of course, when I'm home and bored my head is constantly telling my stomach to eat :ihih: so that is when my self control has to kick in, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. Your doing great so don't give up on your self, we are all here to help you out.

I eat some type of carb at least twice a day sometimes even 3 times. I usually have oatmeal for breakfast or ww toast or ricecakes, and then again for dinner I'll have a carb. I have tried italian bread, but it does not agree with me so it's really not a big deal if I don't eat it. I've had pasta and rice, but now I buy the whole grain pasta and brown rice. I figure everything in moderation works for me and it prevents me from going overboard on something that I haven't eaten and might start to crave.

Everyone is doing great!!! I too have been going slow and steady. But any weight loss is great so I take it day by day. I go for another fill on 6/8 and am hoping to have some restriction, so far I haven't had any restriction at all. I have weeks that I fluctuate between a few lbs then all of a sudden I lose them and a few more, not sure what my body is doing but as long as I'm going down that's all that counts. Have a great weekend!

The only rule my dr stresses is not drinking a 1/2 hour before and 1/2 hour after my meals. I actually eat protein, veggies and carbs for lunch & dinner everyday. I also eat fruits between my meals if I find that I am hungry. I will have a sf pudding or a low cal fudge pop or skinny cow ice cream after dinner sometimes. I pretty much eat something about every 3 hours.

I too noticed that my weight loss was slowing down and I was get frustrated, even though my Dr. thought I was doing well. I logged on to www.sparkpeople.com and registered on the site, well according to their guidelines I am eating a few hundred calories less than what I have been eating. So I decided to eat the extra calories on the days that I go to the gym and I noticed this past week that I lost 3 lbs. Keeping a log of what I eat is really helpful and this website is a great help for me too.

I decided to only tell a few close coworkers, one of whom is also banded and my immediate family. Like many of you, I didn't want people watching to see what I'm eating and watching my weight come off. Even though I've had several fills, I still don't feel much of a restriction, so if I wasn't watching what I ate and exercised most of this weight would still be on me. And that's what I tell people who have commented on my weight loss, I watch what I eat, smaller portions, better food choices and I exercise. My husband thinks I should tell anyone that asks that I was banded because he doesn't think it's some to be ashamed of but proud because I decided to do something about my health and weight. Maybe one day I will, but for now only the handful of people that know are the only one who will know.

I agree with Melody, you should try a food journal. I just started one on www.sparkpeople.com and find it very helpful. The reason I started this was because I went for a fill on 4/14 and still don't feel restriction and can still eat a good amount of food, but I noticed last week when I got on the scale I only lost 3 lbs in 3 weeks and I've been so used to losing an average of 2 lbs a week I became frustrated, I felt as though I am always hungry and the scale isn't moving. So I registerd on sparkpeople and once you enter all of your information about the weight you are at, your goal and your exercice program it will tell you how many calories you need to consume. The range it gave me was between 1440 and 1800 a day, and I've been eating between 1000 and 1200 a day. So I decided for a week that I would eat the extra calories on the days that I go to the gym which is usually 4 to 5 times a week and when I got on the scale this morning I was down 3 lbs. I will try this out for the next few weeks and see how it goes. My next fill isn't until 6/8 so when I see my doctor I'll mention it to her and see if she agrees with me.

Like most of you have said this is a "Life Style Change" and that's how I've been living my life for the past 10 months. But I also know that if I don't have a glass of wine when we go out to dinner or a taste of a dessert or some other treat once in a while I'm afraid that I will binge and go back to my old habits. Every day is a struggle so I take it one day at a time. There are days I wish I can just lose all of my weight and be done with it and then there are days that I am glad that I am losing at a steady/healthy pace. My last visit with my surgeon I had not lost as much as I wanted and I complained to her, we had been socializing a lot more lately and I said to her if I didn't have the drinks that I did, or eaten what I did I would have lost more. She told me that I was living my life and if I didn't enjoy some of the foods that I ate before I am depriving myself and might go off the deep end later on. So during the week, which is the easy time of the week for me, I stick to my "Healthy eating lifestyle" and on the weekends if we go out and I have a martini or a glass of wine or eat something that is not as healthy I don't beat myself up over it or at least I try not to :smile2:. As long as the scale is going down I figure I'm doing what I set out to do. Good luck to all of you.

Hi All, I was banded on 12/23/08 and have had 4 fills. I still don't feel restriction, but I notice if I eat slowly and chew, chew, chew I will start to feel full. I am not eating the portions that they told me I would be eating, but as long as I continue to lose I am fine. I am hoping that with my next fill I will have the restriction that everyone talks about. Good luck to all of you.

The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood has seminars. The group of doctors/nurses that do the seminars is the group that I used for my surgery and they were great. Let me know if you have any questions.

Having my husbands arms go around me Being able to sit next to someone on the bus/train and not worry about squashing them Walking up the stairs from the train and not being winded when I get to the street Starting to have more confidence in myself and a much happier person Crossing my legs My wedding band/engagement rings fit, but are now getting to loose I was nervous to walk into a regular size store because I thought the sales people would wonder what was this fat person doing there, but I did it and was able to fit into a size XL top from Ann Taylor

I think we all obsess once we start to lose the weight and want to reach that goal that we have set for ourselves. I am 3 pounds short of hitting the 100 pound mark and when I went for my fill this week I was so disappointed that I only lost 7 pounds. I mentioned to my doctor that we have been socializing more lately and if I didn't have those glasses of wine or drinks I might have lost the extra 3 lbs and reached my goal. My dr thought I was being too hard on myself and she said that what I am doing is living my life and if I didn't satisfy a craving or have that glass of wine I will go back to the way I was before. As long as I am aware of what I am eating and not overindulging and I continue to lose I am on the right track. So that be hard on yourself, look how far you have come. You are doing a great job.

I also have UHC Choice Plus and I had to deal with a nurse throughout the process and I needed to have the 6 month supervised diet with my DR. Each plan is written differently, so I would definitely log onto www.myuhc.com and make sure you register and you can check your benefits from there. Once you are logged on you should look under my benefits section I found my info under special services and hopefully you will find some info. Here is the number I had used when I first reached out to UHC about have the lapband done, Since I am in NY I'm not sure if it would be the same number across the US, I guess it won't hurt to try one more call :smile: 1-888-936-7246. Good Luck, hopefully you can get someone to help you out.

Jerseygirl, it's great that you will be joining the rest of us bandsters, but you should probably be getting the dietary guidelines from your surgeon. After being on this site for several months I noticed that there are different rules with different doctors. My surgeon's guidelines were quite different than the ones posted. I was on clear liquids only the day of the surgery and on to full liquids the day after and as long as I was able to tolerate/keep down the full liquids, then I was allowed to go to mushies on the 3rd day. Even though I was allowed to eat I didn't much have an appetite the first few weeks after surgery, so I pretty much made sure I ate/drank something every few hours. Wishing you much luck on your journey.:crying:

Same here.....Now I wear winter pjs and a thick robe to bed and double up the comforter for my side of the bed. I'm hoping that being cold will hold me through the summer months. Hated the feeling of needing to take a shower the minute I stepped foot outside the house.

Hi Olivia, I am experiencing the same problem. I am trying to figure out what it is but am having no luck. I thought it might be yogurt, so I stopped eating that and the gas continues, the same with milk and coffee. I seem to experience more of it when I am at work so I'm not sure if it is stress releated. Is that weird? I have tried gas x but it doesn't seem to help.

I also needed to do a psyc eval and my surgeon had recommended someone that they use. He too was out of network with my insurance and I didn't want to pay the $350 fee that he charged so I contacted my insurance, UHC, and saw someone in network. I met with him 2x and all I paid was the copay. He wrote the letter for me and submitted it to my surgeon and to UHC and I was approved and my surgeon was fine with that.

Everyone has their own reasons for telling or not telling, just because I decided not to tell everyone does not mean I am misleading anyone. One of the reasons I started this whole journey was because of medical issues. I had not had a physical in years and when I decided to see a doctor the test results actually opened my eyes to what I was doing to myself. I decided then that I would change my eating habits and I was able to lose 60 pounds prior to my insurance approving me for the band. I have had my 3rd fill and I still don't feel the fullness that people talk about, so as of right now, I feel that everything that I am doing is still on my own and I don't feel that I am "lying" to anyone because it is the truth. If I had continued to eat what I ate before, with or without the band, I wouldn't have gotten this far. The band is here to help us control the portions of food we eat and without making conscious decisions we would all be where we were prior to going through all of this. I guess my "boost" was in seeing a doctor that gave me the confidence and strength in doing this and I know that one day my band will also be a boost for me in helping me keep my weight off.

Like most of you have replied, it's a personal decision. I decided to tell only a handful of people because I didn't want people watching what I eat and how fast/slow I am losing. What most people don't understand is that this is a tool but also if you don't watch what you eat and exercise the band will not help you. My husband thinks that I should tell people because he is so proud that I decided to do something that will help me get healthy and that it is nothing to be embarrassed about. I might down the road but for now I tell people that I am watching what I am eating and exercising....which is the truth.

Like many people on this site, I had to have a 6 month supervised diet/visits with my PCP in order for my insurance to approve the surgery. The reason for my decision to have the lapband was because of my medical issues, which gave me a huge scare and it was enough to help me to stop eating the way I was and to finally make a change. During my 6 month diet (which I don't call a diet but a lifestyle change) I was able to lose about 60 lbs and I was still approved by my insurance. Having the lapband is not an instant miracle. You have to work at it, it's just a tool to help you get to where you need to go. I still need to make wise choices when I'm planning a meal, I still need to exercise. I also ate out of boredom, the food was there, I had nothing else to do, so why not eat, and there are days that I just want to eat whatever and not think about it. This is a struggle that will take time to get over, not overnight. Now I make sure that I don't have any type of food at home that I would binge on so I don't have that temptation, but I also don't want to go back to the person I was before. I try to take it day by day, and if I have a set back, I look forward and I try not to forget how far I've come. Being on this site and being able to read all of these posts is always an inspiration to me. You see the struggle and accomplishments that everyone has gone through and I know I can make it too. Good luck to all of you on your journey.

Hi, I was banded on 12/23 and when I had my 1st post op visit 2 weeks later I had lost 7.8 lbs. I was worried that I would have problems losing weight since I had been on a supervised diet for 6 months and had lost weight. My dr advised not to worry that I would continue to lose as long as followed the nutriotionists plan, she also said that it is common not to lose any weight or even gain until my 1st fill. I will have my first fill on 1/27 and will be glad to stay the same. Maybe after your next fill you will see a bigger weight loss. Have you spoken to your doctor about this? What did he have to say? Good luck on your wonderful new journey. Helen