Well I haven't had my band long so I cant answer a lot of the questions, but what I can answer is that after surgery and the following weeks I am not allowed to lift weights until my doctor gives me the "okay" at the checkup. I use to power-lift in high school and had recently gotten back into it a year ago. I was benching 360 last year, but I'll tell you it took a lot of time and hard work that I wouldn't go back that route and instead I'm going to go with a more traditional weightlifting routine using high reps such as 6x20's as opposed to 4x5's. The high reps help with burning calories and will help with getting cut as opposed to bulking with the high weight low rep. I eat a lot healthier now, I feel that I am gaining more confidence as I lose weight and I'm walking 2.5 miles everyday so it will still take dedication and sweat but it is definitely worth it.