btrieger

WOW WOW WOW!! Congratulations!!!

I suggest reading every blog. The success stories are inspirational but I learn just as much from those that have failed. Knowing why they failed is going to help me I hope. Getting my date tomorrow!!!

I guess the answer is D, All of the above. Both reasons you gave and I wanted to give an outlet for those that wanted to be counted but didn't feel like answering honestly. I don't think I have to genuinely care to be courteous, do I? MOTG, Please refrain from using the term immature when describing me or my actions. I am a 45 year old man. I am way past the point of immature. Below is a list of acceptable terms: abusive, bad-mannered, barbaric, barbarous, blunt, boorish, brusque, brutish, cheeky, churlish, coarse, crude, curt, discourteous, graceless, gross, gruff, ignorant, impertinent, impolite, impudent, inconsiderate, insolent, insulting, loutish, low, obscene, offhand, peremptory, raw, savage, scurrilous, surly, uncivilized, uncouth, uncultured, ungracious, unmannerly, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar, wild

Congrats!!

Congrats!!!

Janet, None of my advice is medical at all. Only a doctor should advise people on how to lose weight? What are you talking about and what does me not being banded have to do with anything?

It's where they don't punch somebody in the crotch to see if they have testicles. :smile2: Wow, I didn't mean to start this whole conversation with the poll but am amused. Keep it up.

Being banded does NOT cause weight loss. The lapband does not make you lose weight!! You can be banded for 50 years and gain 100 pounds. You lose weight by consuming less calories than you burn NOT by having a piece of plastic placed into your abdomen. No matter how long ago. The lapband is a tool that when filled appropriately will make you feel full sooner and quell hunger. Once again, YOU have to lose the weight, the little, plastic thing is just a tool.

Did your band not slow you down? I am getting banded to not gain weight. I can lose it on my own

I think under 21 is too young. They aren't mature enough to make life altering decisions just yet. Nor have they been alive long enough to try the safer alternatives adequately. That being said, I am 45 and have no kids so my opinion really doesn't matter.

I met one on one with the nutritionist once and then once a month in a group for my 3 month waiting.

Everything to you for a 2000 calorie diet but half as much. :rolleyes2:

I plan on asking my surgeon this on Wednesday. One thing I can tell you is that salt isn't a good idea.

I don't have the numbers but it would scare you. It is close to 50% but that depends what you refer to as a failure. Many fail and from the looks of it it is "usually" those that were clueless as to what was going to be required of them and their surgeons should be held accountable for this. They going into it thinking that the band is an easy out or magic pill and don't realize they will actually have to work to make the tool work for them. Their surgeons should make this clear to them before slicing through them and placing a foreign object inside of their body. Others lack the will power it takes follow the rules required by the lapband and are not ready to change their lifestyles and eating habits for the rest of their life. They think of it as another diet and as we all know, diets don't work. I think that mot of these people should seek therapy to understand the reason behind their overeating and then try again since they already have the tool inside. Then there are the complications from the band; slippage, erosion, etc... The lapband is not a fix-all and should not be taken lightly. You have to be ready and want it for yourself.

I know that most of you are women. I am just curious as of the ratio and how many many are going to have to put up with me. :blushing: Thanks for responding

I'd say if you weren't scared and you didn't have questions then you probably are not ready. As everyone else said, the is not something to be taken lightly. It will affect you and probably those close to you for the rest of your life. Try not to be paranoid but keep researching and conquer your fears one at a time.

This depends on a whole bunch of different variables. The biggest being which insurance company you have or whether you are paying cash. It will be less than 5 months for me from start to finish because my insurance company required 3 months supervised dieting. Use the wait time wisely and do as much research as possible. Too many people think that the lapband is a magic pill. It takes work. The wait give you time to decide if you are ready to change your lifestyle and eating habits for the rest of your life.

I haven't had half of these in years and the ones I have had were due to other things, not this surgery. My surgery won't be for a month though, maybe I am in for a pop quiz.

I think the waiting is good. It has given me plenty of time to research further and do the soul searching I needed prior to having a foreign object implanted in my body that will there for the rest of my life. These are not decisions that should be made on the fly and I'm sure that many have changed their mind during the wait. A year does seem to be a little excessive but you have plenty of time ahead of you.

I am 30 days pre-op but rearing to go under the knife and get this over with. I've lost a lot over the last 3 months through altering my eating habits and walking. I want the surgery done so I won't gain it all back immediately like I have in the past. If you need more incentive, dying is nothing compared to the pain of a heart attack.

Weighing yourself too often can be sabotage. Take it from this hypocrite. Your weight will fluctuate depending on the time of day; how much you've eaten or drank; where you position your feet on a cheap scale; riding the cotton pony; etc... If you are burning more calories than you are consuming the weight will come off but sometimes it takes times to accumulate. My nutritionist said to try and keep it to once a month. I weigh myself almost every day but am trying to get it to a week.

Stay away from fast food. It doesn't matter whether it is a kids meal or not. It is poison! It's loaded with MSG, sodium, saturated fat, carbohydrates, etc... If you want to grab something fast, go to Subway and get one of their 6" subs that has less than 6 grams of fat. Eat the contents of the sub first and if you finish that and are still hungry start eating the bread a little at a time. Soups and stews including chili can be considered sliders and unless they are homemade, they are usually loaded with sodium. Drink plenty of Water but not within 30 minutes of a meal. This is not a race, this is for the rest of your life. So, if it takes you a while to get on the right track, it's ok but keep heading in the right direction.

oops, that was meant for your first post.

Welcome! I'm in Keller, northeast of Fort Worth. The minimum requirements will be - The supervised diet. Rumor has it that BSBC is only 3 months now. - A psychiatric evaluation. - A sleep study. Below is something I posted today to somebody else new. I am getting too lazy to keep typing. I don't mean for this to sound negative but if you are seeking an easy out or a magic pill, turn back before you have too much invested. You'll probably have a 3 to 6 month supervised diet prior to surgery. Use this time wisely and do as much research as possible. The LAP-BAND® doesn't make you lose weight. It is a tool that makes you feel full/satisfied faster if you eat the right foods but YOU must work with it to lose the weight. You have to be ready to change your lifestyle and the way you think about food. Read the forums here and see what the successful bandsters have done but also read of the many failures and try to steer clear of their mistakes. Good luck and keep us informed.

Good luck and keep us up to date on your progress. I'm about a month behind you and unfortunately, I do have the 2 week pre op diet coming fast.