stateofzen

You are not a failure! The quoted success of the band is 60% of the weight you need to lose. If you need to lose 190 lbs, then anything more than 114 lbs is *beating the odds*-- you've done better than the average banded person already even if you never lose another pound! Still, I know that doesn't mean you don't want to lose that last bit. I think the above suggestions are exactly right. You might consider the 5-day pouch test (google it)-- I've seen some plateaued bandsters swear by it.

I think that there is a level of "negativity" on support boards because it is where people go when they are having problems. I have had an amazing experience with the band so far, and I'm considering taking a short-or-very-long break from the boards because my experience is so different than many people who post here and for me, the cynicism can be too much. If my experience is anything like those who have come before, that means that people who are doing really well just don't visit the board that much which leads newbies to see a misrepresentation of the positive vs. negative. I do not feel mislead, but compared to some, I've had an easy time of it. I have had only 2 small fills (2.5 cc in a 10 cc band) and I've lost 63 lbs in 5 months (rest of my loss was pre-op diet). My doctor told me lap band patients lose 60% of their excess weight. I am at that point now, and still losing, so I'm doing better than average. I haven't had any pain, I can eat almost anything I want (for some reason french fries are the one food that regularly goes down slow), and I've never vomited, PB'd, slimed or foamed. I also am losing without exercising or counting calories (though I do pay a lot of attention to what I eat and make healthy low-carb choices). Based on these boards, I am a huge exception to the rule. But, through my experience with blogging I see more people out there "like me". This leads me to believe that the boards may be a misrepresentation of the general experience of lap banders.

I threw up my liquid Lortab so doc had me take regular Lortab cut up. Good luck-- I know how it feels to have your pain meds put you in more pain. it sucks.

How incredibly frustrating! I don't have much to offer, except my support. You're almost there!

Amazing! Congratulations!!

Amen. I may desire to weigh 150 when this is all said and done, but even if I never lose another pound, the 90 that I've already lost have greatly changed my life and my health. And nobody can tell me that isn't a success story.

I don't exercise. Well, I've started to do Zumba twice a week (for about a month now), but other than that i don't exercise. I've been losing fine without it, SO FAR. I fully expect to have to add it in at some point when diet alone stalls my loss, which is why I'm trying to find things I enjoy now. I do think my body would look better if I spent some time exercising. For instance, I've been trying on size 12 shorts and being thrilled that they fit. But I sure as heck am not going to buy them because my thighs need some major toning before being uncovered in public That just might be my motivation to finally exercise more.

I don't know if you still have your menstrual cycle, but that can play havoc with hunger temporarily. It's kind of hard to tell for you at this point but you might keep track of how hunger fits with your cycle in the months to come (if you have one) and then at least you'll know what to expect

Ok, I'll put this in terms of pre-band eating rather than weights or cups. Please realize that I don't eat these foods regularly (I mostly follow a low-carb diet because it works for my body). Before the band, I would eat at least 4 pieces of large regular crust pizza plus breadsticks. Now, I eat 1 or 2 medium thin crust slices. Before the band, I could eat a full Pasta dish (plus salad and bread) at a restaurant. Now, on the rare occasion I get pasta, I skip salad and bread and eat the pasta for four meals. Before the band, I would eat an order of hot wings and as many fries as you'd put on my plate. Now, I will eat 3 wings and zero fries and be deliciously full. Before the band, I would get a pulled pork or smoked turkey sandwich and a huge order of fries at my favorite barbecue place. Now I get the sandwich only and don't eat the bun. I am not tight at all. I have about 2.5 cc's in a 10 cc band. I am at my personal sweet spot-- because I get hunger satiation on smaller amounts of food and I'm steadily losing. My band lets me eat whatever I want . I have to make better choices than the ones above 90% of the time to lose, but I can have them and I do in moderation. The above may be way more than other bandsters can eat, either because they have their bands tighter or because they have to watch calories more closely than I do. But this is one person's experience with pre-and-post band eating.

I could not have lived without chili made with both Beans and ground hamburger. I ran it through my food processor until it was pureed together/no chewable chunks and ate it like crazy. High in Protein and it tasted like "real food", so it was satisfying to me. When I introduced eggs (can't remember which stage-- it was early), I made a crustless quiche by mixing eggs with some cream and soft cheese and baking it for 20 minutes or so. It made the eggs really fluffy and soft and easy to go down (I even think I added some pureed artichoke dip once to give it extra zip). The ricotta-or-cottage cheese topped with marinara is a much quoted goodie- tastes like comfort food. The hardest thing for me during these early stages was that I tend to be a low-carber and all of the foods you're allowed to eat in the beginning are high in carbs. It was mentally challenging for me. Just remember that this stage is about healing and learning new eating habits (like not drinking while eating, etc.) and give yourself a break on the weight loss until you're back to regular foods and have a good handle on habits.

Sometimes it just takes a while for things to kick in gear. It seems like a lot of people go months in the beginning with very very slow or absent weight loss and then things start up out of the blue down the road. Sometimes, our bodies are weird and develop a weight loss pattern that is frustrating but still ultimately effective. If I went a month without losing, then I'd personally be worried. But I very regularly will not lose over the course of a week or two, and then suddenly the next week drop several pounds overnight. I also will notice my body maintaining a weight, but redistributing things so my clothes fit better and I "feel" thinner. Bizarre, but I've lost 90 lbs in 6 months, so even though I'm not losing consistently every week it is coming off nonetheless. Keep at it. There is very little chance that you could follow the rules as you are, eat as few calories as you do, and not eventually lose weight.

Clothes shopping seems to have replaced food as my newest addiction My rule has been not to buy anything that fits me perfectly "now"-- I buy things that will physically fit on my body, but that I won't wear right away because it's too small. Then, I'm always growing down into my closet. In pants, I try to do "every other" in sizes. Luckily, I had saved some pants in the size or two lower than the 22/24 I was in at surgery so it was awhile before I bought any. I bought jeans at 18, then made do when I grew out of those, and now have a few pairs of all pants in 14 since the 18s and 20s are falling off me now. I now "fit into" size 12 but it's not a pretty fit and I think I'm going to try to skip 12's anyway. I mostly shop clearance at TJ Maxx, Target , banana Republic and Gap outlets, and department stores (Macy's and Belk's have great clearance sales). I buy nothing full price, ever. Still, the ways things are going (yay!), I'll have bought at least 2 or 3 full brand-new wardrobes by the time I'm done losing (boo!).

I second (or third) the suggestion that you go with a higher Protein shake than SlimFast. GNC should have them, but even just reading the labels at your local walmart (or wherever) should help you find something higher. I liked the carb control EAS or the cookies-and-cream Pure Protein shakes. Those are both still fairly low in protein though. Keep in mind that the first two or three days on the liquid diet are the worst. Your stomach will "shrink" pretty quickly though and if you can tough it out for a couple of days it will get easier.

Definitely. The last couple of days or so I've been hungrier (I think?- maybe head hunger) than usual. I may have pinpointed it to trying to shortchange myself of protein at lunch. We'll see if I can make that small adjustment and be less obsessed with food.

It's a tool is shorthand for the idea that the band isn't a magic weight loss wand. Abbra cadabra! No more hunger! No more cravings! No more bad-for-you-foods! You'll lose weight no matter what and it will be super-duper fast for everyone! Because if that's what people are expecting, they are going to be sorely disappointed The band helps me stay not-hungry (notice I say not-hungry, which is different than full) longer on much smaller portion sizes. That's its job, and it does it well. I lose weight faster or slower depending on what *I* do, like whether or not I make good choices (my band doesn't stop me from eating ANYTHING), or whether or not I push past the point of not-hungry because I'm just enjoying the taste of the food (because it doesn't make me throw up either). It is pretty awesome. In some ways, it might seem like the same old diet but it's not. It's so much freaking easier to maintain over time than any diet has ever been because I really don't feel like I'm dieting. A lot of that has been my own hard mental work, because the other thing that the band doesn't magically do is change your brain or your habits. It is work. But it's potentially easier work, and more importantly, you stand a better chance of your work actually lasting more than a couple of months before the big rebound happens. That's a deal I'm willing to take.

I started at a 46G and I am now in a 38DD after losing almost 90 lbs. I have to admit, they do not look good. I am 35 and my nipples point south. Yes, TMI, but losing weight hasn't really helped the way my boobs look naked, though I look a LOT better clothed. For me, breasts have always been the first place I gain, and the first place I lose. They apparently have been through too much over the years and have given up

The glue came off one of my incisions early too and it was "open" in that the edges gaped on the outside but were together on the inside. Totally freaked me out. I went in and had surgeon look at it (it's safer to do that, because you don't want it infected). He had me put neosporin on it and keep it covered with a bandaid. He also gave me antibiotics, but I think that was more because I was freaking out that it might get infected. He was completely unconcerned. I was the nutcase By the way, it looks fine now-- a little thicker than my other scars but otherwise healed fine.

I did have this reaction at a restaurant a couple weeks ago, and then felt really guilty about it because who am I to judge? It is eye-opening to realize how different the eating experience can be when there is no chance in hell I'll be finishing even half of my plate. My whole approach to meals is so completely different. I tell you, this surgery has made me realize just how HARD I had to work to gain and maintain all of that weight for all of those years.

I agree with Reverie. Acid reflux tells me a fill might be a bad idea. I would add that you could also look for a support group-- either your surgeon or another local surgeon's group and go to a meeting. If you can't find one of those, maybe an OA meeting. To me (and with only a little info), this sounds like a mental issue and not a band issue, if you know what I mean. The good news is, you caught it at 20 lbs, not 30 or 100. Hit the restart button, do the liquid diet, find a support group, and it will be off in no time.

I think people probably cheat all of the time, going by the posts on these boards Probably most of the time it's not a big deal in terms of the surgery itself because I haven't seen a lot of people on here afterward saying-- don't cheat or they won't operate! With that said, I would ask myself this: If I can't make this commitment to myself pre-op so that I can ensure the safety and ease of my surgery to the best of my ability (i.e. shrinking the liver so they can get it out of the way easier), then how well am I going to commit to the post-op diet that is absolutely essential to follow while the stomach heals from being juggled, squeezed and stitched? This surgery is as much about changing your head as it is changing your food. I think some people do just fine cheating and the surgery is the magic switch for them. You may be one of those people. Others, though, have a hard time committing to these major changes and the cheating pre-surgery is just a symptom of a larger issue that continues to plague people after surgery. Only you can honestly look at yourself and know which camp you fall in. Best of luck to all of you!

I miss beer. I don't have much more to add than that Luckily, I also adore red wine so I'll live.

Meanness is inexcusable, no doubt. I have, on rare occasion, seen someone post something that was really blatantly mean or rude but I do believe that is the exception in my perception. However, we all have different personalities, and different points of view. It's a big world and I think posting on an internet message board requires a person to be a little more tolerant of how other people choose to communicate as long as they aren't blatantly mean/cruel. Let's face it-- in our offline lives, we can be friends only with people who say things the way we like to hear them (i.e. the way WE say them) and ignore people who don't match us as well. That's less possible on an open message board that has posters from all over the world. There are lots of people who don't talk the way I wish they would (mostly they don't type it well actually, loose instead of lose, etc.). That doesn't mean they don't have anything of value to add to the conversation, nor does it mean that they are trying to be rude, obnoxious, or ignorant.

I eat the ZonePerfect Protein bars for Breakfast every morning. They are not perfect in terms of the calorie to protein ratio (here is the nutrition info), but I never have any time to eat breakfast and this is the only way I can get it down. I also have to admit that I love the cinnamon roll kind a whole lot and since it's probably the only thing I regularly eat with carbs (other than veggies, of course), it's sort of a morning treat I will say, if I had the time or motivation to do eggs or some other no-carb protein in the morning, that would be highly preferable. I think that if you are really conscientious about your Proteins, you won't need to supplement.

They don't know you best. YOU know you best. This is your decision, no one else's. If you've done your research and feel like this is the best path for you, ignore the family noise. It's really easy to manage someone else's life from the passenger seat and tell them what they *should* do because you don't have to live it. You have to live your life, not your family or friends, -- so you get to make the decisions. Best to you!

I think it sounds like a fill is in order. I wonder why your surgeon wants you to wait? Did he/she specify?