123crod

I complete understand! I was thinking the same thing this morning after reading some rude responses. Some people are so quick to display their superior knowledge about weight loss they do not even know their replies are rude. I have also noticed how people are trying to outdo each other with who knows the most about the band, calories, and freaking formulas! It’s actually hilarious sometimes because if you are such an expert then why you are in the same position that I am in?

You sound like a really nice person --too nice. But I'm not saying you need to be rude, either. My Ma was "old South" and NO BODY pushed her around but she was so sweet about everything you never knew when you'd be "told off." Conversations with her on a topic that was NONE of Someone's business went like this:
Busybody: Oh, Mary, your weight is . . .
Ma: Daisy May, I do not want talk about my weight when we can talk about your trip to Timbuktu --and how are those boys of yours doing? Why I don't believe I have ever seen two nicer looking fellows. . .
In otherwords, no one REALLY wants to talk about YOUR LAPBAND --they just want to "get your attention" negative or positive --so give it to them. People really just want to talk about themselves. Next time you meet your family or friends, come armed with questions about them --their families, their trips. Stop talking about yourself. As a formerly depressed and fat person (100 pounds ago) I thought way too much about ME ME ME --now I try to follow Dr. Phils advice and make sure that every one I meet leaves feeling better about THEMSELVES than when they ran into me.
The best defense is a good offense. Take control of the conversation. When it get's close to your end zone (where you don't want them to be) punt a queston into their territory then listen to the answer.
Shelby

Erin,
Just my .02...this may not be about your band at all. You sound like you're suffering from depression and it needs to be treated. If your mom won't take you to see your regular doctor (not the band doctor) to get help, ask another friend or relative. Therapy helps, but I also know that when my doctor temporarily put me on anti-depressants after my son was born (years ago), it was like someone turned on the light. I had no idea just how dark my world was until it wasn't.
If you're not covered by insurance and have no money, there are usually free clinics or agencies that will help. Please...seek it out. You're worth it.
.

Good to have some newbies. My advice to you is for you to stay true to your eating plan and workout, the first year is when you can lose the most so take advantage of it. Don't make this board your first source of support, you need to be in touch with real people going through what you are. Find a support group and keep going to it.
Also don't get your feelings hurt by people on these boards, most people are trying to help, sometimes we all type something and we mean good but just does not come across that way in typed words.
Cheri

For those who get grief about eating a low carb, high fat diet...thought you might enjoy this article.
.

I did the in-depth research on the various weight loss surgeries. I asked the questions. Did more research. Asked more questions. I lurked on this forum and other band forums for months. Despite that, I discovered some things post band that I wish I had known before surgery. Would it have made a difference in whether or not I had it...or whether I had chosen another method than band...I don't know.
When I was lurking in the forums, trying to make up my mind, there were very few negative posts about the band. When someone did post that the band wasn't working for them or they were having difficulties, other posters told them 'the band didn't fail you. You failed the band." It left the impression that the band works for everyone who works the band...and that's just not true.
I wish I had known...
That the band would not restrict the quantity of food I can eat. I got the band because I thought it would make me feel full or make me stop eating...which is how it was advertised at the time and what people were saying it did on the forums. Perhaps it works that way for some but it has never worked that way for me. Even at my sweet spot I can eat as much as I could pre-band *if I choose*.
That the band is not consistent, even at the sweet spot, at controlling hunger. Since the band tightens and loosens even a bit on its own, there are days where the hunger is intense and days where it's controlled. On the hungry days, all I can do is white knuckle it. Sometimes I'm successful, but sometimes it goes on for enough days that I lose it.
That the band can cause phrenic nerve pain that may or may not go away and which may be persistent enough and painful enough to affect my sleep, whether I can sit in a car or plane long enough to go anywhere and my range of motion and general health related to trying to prevent that pain.
That eating would become a daily challenge. Foods that were fine one day, would not be fine the next depending on whether my band tightened or loosened a fraction. That, despite taking small bites and chewing well, I might still find myself in a restaurant unable to eat the meal I had just paid for because my band had tightened.
I'm not trying to convince people to not get the band, or to do vertical sleeve or bypass instead. I just think it's important, and wish the surgeons would be more up front about these problems, so we can make more informed decisions about something so important. For many people, these forums are where they get the information they need when trying to make that decision, so it's important that we be just as honest about the difficulties we've faced with the band. Not to scare them off but so they have *all* the information and not just one side of it.
After 16 months I am in the process of getting my band removed due to the pain it is causing me. Bypass is not an option. There are worse things in life than being fat and, in my opinion, bypass is one of them. At this point in time, I can't bring myself to do the vertical sleeve either. It's just far more invasive than I'm prepared to go at this point.
I've kept journals since I was a teenager. My husband suggested I pull the journals from the period when I lost 70 pounds without the band...and kept it off for almost a decade now. When I look back at my journals from that time, some days were good days...some were bad and I had to whiteknuckle it. Much like I do now except I didn't have to deal with the pain in my arm, stuck and sliming episodes or wondering whether I was going to have to excuse myself from the dinner table. So, I've pretty much decided to give it a go on my own.
One thing the band has done for me is make me far more aware of my eating habits and create new ones that make me more successful at putting down that fork and choosing the right foods. As a result, I no longer take insulin and my diabetes is under control with diet alone. So it's not an experience I regret. It's just life. We make the best choices we can with the information available to us and, if it's not successful, we regroup and revise.
Just my .02.
.

i AM LOOKING FOR A SURGEON TO REMOVE THIS PIECE OF JUNK ! !
I GOT ON THE PHONE TODAY WITH THE PERSON IN CHARGE "DR. HASN'T GROWN A PAIR YET !" THEY TOLD ME THE REASON FOR MY FAILURE WAS BECAUSE I KEPT EATING Cookies, AND CAKE. DENIED NICOTENE,ALCHAOL,AND CAFFEINE, AND HE DID EVERYTHING OCCORDING TO THE BOOK. SO THE BAND DID NOT BLOW IN HIS OFFICE.
SO I TOLD MY SIDE "THE TRUTH !" HE NEVER EVEN BOTHERED TO CHECK ME IF I COULD SWOLLOW BY OFFERING ME A GLASS OF WATER! HE CLAIMS HE DID, BUT I WENT HOME AND TRIED TO SWALLOW Water, AND COULDN'T, SO I WENT BAK. HE CLAIMS I ATE A BOLOGNA SANDWICH, IT GOT STUCK, SO HE TOOK THE FILL OUT???????????? ARE YOU SERIOS,,, I GET A FILL, AND I AM GOING TO GO HOME AND EAT A SANDWICH... NOT TO MENTION WHO CAN EAT bread? I SURE CAN'T. HE COVERED HIS A** SO BAD IT WAS PATHETIC. I KEPT TO MY JOURNAL, LET'S NOT FORGET A KEY THING THOUGH... I LOST 100LBS. BEFORE I EVEN SEEN HIM, THEN ABOT 20LBS. WITH THE BAND. I DON'T SMOKE, DON'T DRINK,AND CAFFIENE KILLS MY STOMACH, SO I DON'T USE IT. AS YOU CAN SEE, I ALWAYS SAID " GEE AT THIS RATE, I'M A CHEAP DATE" I STUCK TO MY PLAN THE BEST I COULD, AND I GOT SCREWED RIGHT UP THE A** ! SO NOW i WANT THIS OUT.
IF YOU KNOW OF SOMEONE IN NORTHERN, MICHIGAN THAT WOULD TAKE THIS OUT, PLEASE RESPOND.
THOSE OF YOU THAT I SAID PLEASE BE CAREFUL ABOUT YOUR DECESION.... AFTER ALL THE LIES THAT THEY USE TO COVER THEMSELVES, SO THAT IF THERE IS A PROBLEM, THEY ARE COVERED TO THE MAX ! ! I WOULD SAY SERIOUSLET THINK TWICE. LIKE YOU, I WOULD NEVER THINK THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN TO ME. WELL IT DID,, AND HE COVERED HIS TRACKS, AND COULD CARE LESS. HE'S ONLY INTERESTED IN THE MONEY.

What your doctor has told you just reinforces what I have been saying and that is that bariatric doctors are all over the place and there is no standard of care for pre-op and post op testing or the pre & post op diets, how the band works or what and how to eat (and drink) when you start on real food. I think there should be a consistent standard of care and because there isn't there is much confusion on the part of patients. The doctors should be on the same page and the fact that they're not just shows me that they really don't know how the band really works.
I have early stage breast cancer. No matter where I would have gone for care, the process would have been the same (either lumpectomy or mastectomy - my choice) - a sentinel node biopsy, radiation and possibly chemo (depending on pathology report). But with lapbands it varies greatly from doctor to doctor. Some let you eat full meals until the day before surgery - others (like mine) require a strict 2 week liquid only diet.
That all being said you have the right to know how many cc's are in your band. Nothing should be a "only the doctor needs to know" - it's your body. You should know. And the doctor should pull out what is in your band and measure it before doing a new fill.
Ultimately you will learn what works for you. But for some, like me, the band does not work as promoted.

I'm not having the exact same issues as you but I did regain 50 pounds and then re lose it in the past couple of months. It was a real downer when I started re losing as I had to face the fact that I had regained so much weight. But I believe it was a learning experience for me and has made me even stronger in my resolve to lose. It can be that way for you too. While it stinks that you're having band issues (which you should continue to address with your doc), start doing something to get yourself back on track today. Start exercising or logging your food or cutting back on the high calorie foods. Take a walk! I love walking - you burn calories and it doesn't even feel like exercise. If it's too cold outside, it's a great time to walk laps in the mall with all of the holiday displays up. I'm here to help if you need a hand or some advice/motivation to get yourself back on track. The hardest part was restarting my exercise, logging, healthy eating etc. But once you start, it becomes part of your routine and gets easier!

I have been on both sides ..... I have been offended and I'm sure I have offended others. I'm not so sure they were trying to offend me and I know I have not tried to intentionally offend anyone. I try to just keep in mind that we are not all just fat people. We come from all walks of life and are all unique in our personalities. There have been times when the site and the people get on my nerves. I just take a little break and then return. If someone really rubs you the wrong way just put them on your ignore list and go on about your own journey. It's as simple as that.
Please keep in mind that I am not perfect and I can really only stand to be nice 98% of the time
I have had pretty good luck with the band and try to offer help with how it has worked for me. What I say may not help you one bit. You may think I'm an idiot. I may be an idiot. At least I'm a thin sexy idiot in my own shallow mind
My point is ..... try not to be so offended. We are all just human.

But it's not all one sided. There is no body language here so it's difficult to read a person's intent. I generally give people the benefit of the doubt unless they start name calling. The truth is that no matter how polite someone is, there's always someone else who chooses to believe that person is rude.
.

You are so right. There are several kinds of posters who respond to post from struggling posters. They are:
1) The successful, know-it-all. It worked for me because I followed all the rules. And if you follow the rules it will work for you. The band is only a tool ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
2) Those who think the poster just needs some " tough love" and they're just the ones to give it. No apologies here.
3) The stupid poster who says things like - I am so sorry you are struggling. I've never really had any problems myself. I lost 50 lbls the first month without a fill and 100 lbs. in the next three and can eat most foods but in smaller quantities.
4) The resident "doctor" who tries to explain in clinical terms how the band works and why it should work for you if you only do the right things.
And then there is the poster who actually can offer some sympathy and good advice in a way that would be well received. They offer several concrete suggestions that the poster can try. We need more of these types of posters.

I am a new lapbander and I have read numerous posts where people are sharing their personal feelings and concerns about the lap-band procedure and I've seen the most heartless responses. How can people who share in the same weight struggle be so judgmental and cruel? I myself have received some rude responses for my posts. Don't get me wrong, I know that people will be people, you have the good the bad and the down right ugly who build themselves up by putting others down. But, honestly, I thought this site would be a little more sensitive to those with weight issues. Weight issues stem from eating disorders in many cases, and these disorders aren't going to go away over night. Sometimes people make mistakes and turn to sites like this for a little encouragement. I'm sorry, but I have had my successes and I have also failed at times. And because I know I am prone to fail, I can show a little understanding to someone in their time of need. If you have responded harshly to someone who may have been crying out for help or encouragement...shame on you. If not, thank you for your kind words. You never know how your words can hurt or help someone.

I think loosening it for an overseas trip, where care may not be available is a valid option, but not one you should be doing thinking that you can eat heaps on the trip and really enjoy yourself - that is the kind of dysfunctional thinking that made us fat in the first place. You can actually indulge in unusual or out of the ordinary foods on holidays without loosening your band, and you can enjoy it thoroughly. I think yo'[d find most doctors are willing to unfill for travel becuase it ensures band safety.
To think you can unfill for one special occasion, that's not a very healthy way of thinking of life with the band. You need to be committed to a lifestyle change and that means your life no longer revolves around food - the whole point of a holiday or a wedding is not how much you can eat. And with a properly adjusted band, you can eat sensibly and enjoy special meals anyway- if you cant, you're too tight.
When you get to goal, you can unfill. I never did, I stayed the same weight for years with the same fill, but recently, I had to be completely unfilled for cancer treatment. Amazingly it has not caused weight gain, over time on maintenance, you do learn to eat your caloric needs one way or another - and in hindsight, I was doing a fair bit of eating around my band - sweet treats, alcohol, Snacks, they made up the gap between the caloric values of the size meals I was able to eat and what my body needed, and they were the "extras' that I wasnt eating during the losing phase. When I was unfilled, i got straight onto tracking calories and have moved onto a three meals but bigger meals and healthier foods (all the fruit, vegies and salad I couldnt eat in real quantity while restricted) and I've actually lost about 20lb more (that I really didnt need to lose). I'm finding my balance over time, but am amazed that I need well over 2000 calories a day to maintain my 135lb - so my metabolism, given all the running and circuit training I do, is definitely not shot, its actually very healthy. But I exercised vigorously all the way through my loss and never dipped below 1500 calories, I think very low calorie diets are going to set you up for having quite a deal of trouble in the longer term maintaining your weight loss.
Like the poster above me, I monitor my weight, and adjust if it goes up a little - had a big weekend away with a once in a lifetime gourmet dinner with wines matched to each course for our 20th anniversary. Ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in restaurants and cafes - yeah, got home with 3 extra pounds. So its back to 1400 calroies a day and right back on the exercise regime for the next week or so to shift it. If you remain aware, know what you're eating and are sensible, it is indeed possible to live unfilld once you've lost.

#1 take out the diet mentality - I have not dieted since I started my journey 3.6 yrs ago... My goal was to get healthy - to get healthy you have to eat healthy and exercise and allow for treats too.. I am a FIRM believer in keeping a food diary - I asked a lady at work how she kept her weight down - she said when I have gained a few lbs - I start keeping a food diary writing everything down and keeping my calories around 1000- 1200.. She's one of those pple who we think - can eat whatever she wants and stay thin - Well there is no such person really - and we have to quit thinking that we can eat junk and quit exercising and stay thin or lose the weight...
This is about a LIFETIME LIFESTYLE change in our eating and exercise habits - If we want to lose the weight and maintain it we have to understand this.. We have the tool to help us.. So why are we going to screw that up..
I've maintained my weight loss for 2.5 yrs now - How you ask - Cuz I eat healthy 98% of the time allow for treats 2% of the time and continue to workout 4 days a week.. I know that I have to do this to maintain the weight loss - I know that my previous eating habits and lack of exercise is what got me fat in the 1st place - I feel to freaking good to go back there..
I can also tell you that almost every single night since 7/17/07 I have had dessert - SF puddings, sf ice cream, sf yogurt... I go on vacation and eat what I want but continue some type of exercise - but when I come home I go right back to eating healthy..
It was my Birthday last weekend - I had bday cake & ice cream Sat & Sunday - Monday morning it when in the trash !!! I looked at the cake a few time during the day on Sunday -(in the past I would have eaten it all day long) but said - you are going to have some tonite - if you eat it now - no treat tonite - I wanted to save it for the evening.
Peeps - you can do this - you just have to understand that you can't eat high fight - high sugar - high carb foods 24/7 365 - you can have them as treats - but on a daily basis you have to eat healthy and exercise.. As the saying goes you can't have your cake and eat it too..
You have to decide for yourselves - what feels better for you - being morbidly obese or thin and healthy - I hate the saying nothing taste as good as thin feels - cuz I love the taste of food - (fat & sugar) but I can tell you nothing feels better than being able to live your life with out your weight limiting what you can or can't do.. And I can still have that fat & sugar even now and then as long as I exercise and eat healthy the majority of the time..
I'm a 56 yr old grandma - who can now zip line - Para Sail - scuba dive - hike a mountain - walk all day long - leg press 400 lbs - I'm the grandma who can catch air - not the fat one sitting on the beach looking at everyone else have fun..
Use your tool - quit sabotaging yourselves - Love yourselves enough to do this for you - to improve the quality of your lives - Don't let that little devil tell you it's ok to eat the junk - cuz it's not - it's going to catch up w/you..
Sit down plan your meals - plan your treat - budget your calories to allow for sf dessert at nite and make sure you get your exercise..

I think it has to be said that if you do not start out following the rules what are you going to be doing 6 months down the road? When you are suppose to be healing you should follow the rules to the best of your ability. Everybody seems to be giving you support for not following the rules that were made for your well being. I would have wanted people to tell me stop it and get back on track when I was starting out and could not have enough self control to stay on track. People are not being being mean by telling you . . . you are slipping up, take advantage of the time when you lose the most weight about the first 6 to 10 months.

That being said I think the fact that you are honest with yourself and others about your situation is a great step in the right direction. People who can be honest with themselves about what they ate and why they ate it are going to be sucessfull. So my advice to you is to stop eating what you are not suppose to follow the rules and stop testing the band, let it work with you. But . . .pat yourself on the back for being honest with yourself that is the hard part!!

Cheri

Cheri

Welcome to my world. Have you been tracking what you eat in something like fitday.com? Do you know how many calories and how many carbs you're eating *consistently* every day? As we lose weight that caloric discrepancy shrinks between what we need to eat to maintain our current weight versus what we need to eat to maintain our ideal weight. Plus, some of us just have slower metabolisms and have less caloric needs than others.
I've been charting everything I eat (even on the bad days) for about 10 months now. The charts say that if I eat 2100 calories for my height, weight and age, I'll maintain my current weight. The fact is that I will not. I will gain at the rate of about 2 lb per month. That means, for my metabolic rate, my current weight most likely only needs somewhere around 1850 calories per day to maintain. Which explains why I'm only losing 1 lb per week when I'm consistently eating 1200 calories and less than 60gm of carbs per day.
It may be worse than that since I do Tae Bo every day for at least 30 minutes, sometimes twice a day...which is 30-60 minutes more exercise than I used to get.
Drink Water, record what you eat even on the bad days. You'll either find that you're eating more calories/carbs than you should...or that you have a slower metabolic rate and need fewer calories than others.
.

You must feel wretched about this. I suppose at the end of the day, its only weight. It can come on and come off, the same way it has always done. Its just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and regaining control.
You can do this. You need to remind yourself every time you got to eat inappropriately about what matters more.
Easier said than done, I need to remind myself of this today as well. Home from work, lack of routine and lots of junk has gone into my face. But if you succeed more often than you give in, then the weight will come off again.

I have been binge eating on carbs for about 6 years now and have gained about 60 lbs. I'll loose it and regain it. I don't do it all of the time so I started doing research on the internet for carb cravings. I have done a lot of research the past couple of years because I found out that I wasn't processing my thyroid hormones the right way. After working with my doctor we found out I wasn't processing my T4 properly and they ended up putting me on pure T3 called Cytomel. To my great surprise and dissappointment, the medicine didn't help with my carb cravings. I also have a family history of depression and several doctors have tried to put me on antidepressants. I have refused but after having lab work done and doing a lot of research, I found out that I am severely Vitamin D deficient. If you are Vitamin D deficient then you don't convert serotonin the right way. I started taking Vitamin D supplements and that helped a little. Then in the process of doing more research I heard about an amino acid called Tryptophan. Normally you get it in just about all meats but the other amino acids in Protein compete to get past the blood brain barrier. I also found several formums where people were talking about another amino acid called Glutamine. I ordered both. I have been taking the Tryptophan first thing in the morning when I first wake up and then wait an hour to eat any Protein. Then I take a tablespoon of the glutamine power and mix it with a little juice. I also take a 5 hour energy drink (you get at Wal-Mart because it has so many good Vitamins in it.) I have been taking this for just a little over a week. I feel like a million bucks. I have lost 4 lbs and my carb cravings are gone. I didn't think this was ever possible.

I would advise you to do your own reearch on it but going to the doctor and getting a blood test to make sure you are not Vitamin or mineral deficient is a good place to start. My regimine above has also greatly increased my motivation to work out and I don't seem to have as many aches and pains as I used to. I developed plantar faciates a few months ago in my feet and the tryptophan seems to help with the inflamation. In my research I found that it is given to a lot of fibromyalgia sufferers. This is important to me because I don't have any real medical problems yet but they run in my family, as does depression. My mom committed suicide in 2003 after suffering from being over weight all of her life and then developing health problems related to it. I am supposed to be banded in late Feb or March but just having the carb cravings subside is inspiring.

Just listen to your body. That was the first place I started. I know it is not normal to binge carbs. Start with your symptoms, read everything you can on it and then talk with your doctor about your findings. Best of luck to ya.

When I went for my psych eval, it became pretty clear that the psychiatrist was trying to ascertain whether I was a bulemic or binge eater. I'm neither but when I asked her afterward, she said it's because bulemics and binge eaters are rarely successful with any WLS *unless* they get therapy for their disorder because it's a 'mental' thing and you're right, it is possible to eat around any WLS...as evidenced by the number of bypass, sleeve and banders who either never lose the weight...or gain it all (and then some) back.
.

I'm a binge eater too. I'm seeing an eating disorder therapist for it. I lost almost 80 pounds initially with the lapband. I then was filled just a little too tight and started eating foods that would slide right through my band (namely, milkshakes and ice cream) because eating had become so cumbersome and I was throwing up a lot. That lead to full on binge eating for the better part of a year. I regained almost 50 pounds bingeing on milkshakes and ice cream (and sometimes mac and cheese...for some reason that also usually slides right through which is unusual). I have since lost all of the weight I regained plus more and am working hard in therapy to try and recover from my eating disorder, but its not easy and the evening is always very challenging for me (I can go the whole day without thinking about food...the nighttime is a different story). I think for binge eaters, it is possible to eat around any WLS. Binge eating is a mental issue, and the only way to fix it is to deal with the issues in your head. WLS won't really effect it very much, in my experience. I don't regret regaining 50 pounds, as it was a learning experience, but I do wish I had started going to therapy prior to getting the band. In hindsight, that would've been a great idea (although I'm grateful for my therapist now and it was the right time to start seeing her).
Overall, I would say the lapband has worked for me. Despite still struggling with binge eating, I have completely changed the way I look at food. I've lost almost 90 pounds (I probably have about 50 to go...but I focus more on my body composition - body fat percentage - more than scale weight...the last thing I want to do is start burning lean mass in order to see a number on the scale). And I'm officially a gym rat (that's the last thing I ever though I'd be). So yes, the band has worked for me but I have also put in the work, and it was hard (definitely not an easy fix). My best advice is to start seeing a therapist first (or go to an OA meeting...OA isn't for me, but I know it has worked for many many people), and then look into lapband surgery.

I do drink at least 64 fl oz of Water a day and I find it does have an impact on my weight loss, although I doubt it's because it 'flushes away the fat'. I did a fitness program years ago and the explanation for why drinking Water helps in weight loss is because the organs need that water to work efficiently. When they don't have enough water, they have to work harder and still won't do their job efficiently and we get fatigued. The question though is 'what's enough'? It most likely varies with the person so the 64 fl oz per day is just a general guideline. Some people need more. Some less.
I'd just pay attention to your body. If you're tired or having difficulty losing weight and you're doing everything else right, up your water intake and see what happens.
.

I dont find it to be true.
Water intake has never affected my rate of weight loss, but Water is important for general health. Fat cannot be "flushed away', it has be comverted and used for energy. They byproducts of this process can be flushed away, but overhydrating beyond what your body needs isnt of any particular health value. You jsut pee it out, and that's all that'[s happening when you drink gallons of water. 2L a day is plenty for the average adult.
But is cheap and nboody is likely to serioulsy drink too much, so if it has a positive impact on YOUR weight loss, follow your own body's leads.

Acadia,
Great analogy. I look down at my plate with its little 3 oz of Protein, 1/2 cup of vegies and 1/4 cup of rice or potatoes (maybe) and think, "geez...it's a fraction of what I used to eat. Why am I not losing faster!?"
It didn't make a lot of sense to me until I plugged my stats into a calculator that said the caloric difference between what I need to maintain my current weight vs my ideal weight is only 500 calories per day. So if I eat 1600 calories per day, I can expect to lose 1 lb per week. If I cut my calories down to 1100, I'll get 2 lb per week. Now, I could also throw the exercise equation in there to 'maybe' get another pound per week but to be honest, 30 minutes of Tae Bo *maybe* twice a day is about my max. I detest exercise but at least this is fun.
Plus...this all has to be done *consistently*. Not exercise 'here and there' or up the calories 'here and there' and it all adds up to stalls and slow weight loss cuz we're still filling up that tank a bit more than we need.
.

You're very welcome, Kelly. I too fought hard against the idea of 'dieting'. I kept saying I got the band so I'd never have to diet again. Then one day it occurred to me that statement would be true *IF* I was already at my normal weight but my goal right now is not to maintain...it's to *lose*. In order to do that, yes I need to *diet*...meaning I need to cut my calories so I'm at a deficit and in order to cut those calories, I have to avoid those things that put the weight on in the first place.
I look forward to the day when I no longer have to *diet* but, in the meantime, am teaching myself how to eat like a normal person...and the normal weight people I know live by the 'all things in moderation'. My mother-in-law is only 4'7 and weighs 94 pounds. She still eats cake, pie, chips, etc...but not on a daily basis and all the rest of her eating is 'in moderation' as well. She's so tiny that she only eats 1/2 of a sandwich for lunch. More than that and she'll gain weight.
.