suzahhn

You will be able to get the juice down if you do everything they tell you to. I take things very slow and just in case I have extra swelling, I wait a few extra days before transitioning to firmer foods after a fill. Also, when I do have a low and I JUST had a fill(this actually happened last night), I add a few spoons of sugar to some juice and sip it. It has worked wonderfully and I understand the fear but it will be ok.
I have lost about 70lbs and coming up on my 1 year on the 31st. I just got a fill because I have only lost 7lbs since August. It will be harder to lose as a diabetic but you can do it. I let my sugar levels run a little high, 130-160. That way, when I work out, I'm not forced to drink a sugary drinks and it's been easier maintaining my sugar level this way. My A1c is 7.0 and now that I've had the band for a year I'm more comfortable with lows.
Let me know about any question I can answer

every consumable weightloss product is a gimmick.........IJS......

My doctor told me 1-2lbs a week is where they want me to be. Keep in mind this isn't the get rich quick schemes of the dieting world. Some people will lose faster and others will lose slower. You are not in comptetition with them but rather changing your life, your lifestyle, your whole outlook on eating.

Never ever weigh on someone elses scales. They never are the same as yours.

I always weigh first thing after I pee in the morning. My scale and my doctors scale is exactly 2lbs different. I would stick to the same scales and weigh only before you have eaten or drank anything. There are days where I have gotten on the scale thinking how in the world did I gain 4lbs today? Then I remember that I ate dinner and then worked out and drank a couple bottles of water. The next morning I'm back to normal and hopefully a little lighter. Good luck on your journey!!

I follow the diet to a T, as it is habit now.......its nothing i am doing wrong......and my Dr agrees.....my body just rejects the foreign object! I follow a strict 1200 calorie a day diet with no red meat, no sugars or white flours, no carbs.....and now have to live with the constant reflux, vomiting, and sliming...which by the way, can cause esophagal cancer! and i have no fluid in my band.....not gaining, but no loss either......sorry, but it isnt for everybody.....

People WTH you are not supposed to be vomiting ever. You think that its normal and its okay really???? People with the lapband are NEVER supposed to throw up and if you are then you need to get some unfill or tell your doctor that you are throwing up. You are putting yourself at risk for a slipped band. It is not normal to throw up and not normal not to be able to swallow water. You should be able to eat without issues and if you are having issues especially vomiting that is not normal. SMDH

Yes you are right, today there are so many people that are so busy that they don't have time for exercise. so it is very difficult for them to loose weight. so there are so many medicines and other type of things available for them.

I can tell you, having lost 15lb from my already thin (BMI 22 or so frame) it made a HUGE difference. I have loose skin now that I didnt have 15lb ago. I got bonier and flabbier and looked no better being thinner. I can see now that any further improvement to my body would have to come from plastic surgery. Do you really NEED to lose the 18lb (ie are you already a healthy BMI)? I can tell you, I have a flat (if flabby) tummy, but I sure wish I could put some fat on my chest, neck and face, sadly if I try it will just go straight on my bum!
If you really need to lose the 18, then wait. Why would you go through PS, all that expense and healing, if you werent going to be sure you'd get the very best result possible?

Here is why I was fat:
I was/am an emotional eater. I ate when I was: happy, sad, angry, excited, depressed, tired, sick, lonely, frustrated, bored, unhappy, etc.
I thought the band was the answer for ME. IT IS!!!!

I have been in therapy on and off for more than 30 years about my weight and other issues. I knew what I needed to do to lose weight ... I just couldn't seem to get it done ... until I got banded! Now I eat healthy (mostly), I walk 3+ miles every morning before work (never thought THAT would happen ... but I LOVE it), and because of the way the band works for me, I don't overeat when I am emotional. Bottom line here: Different strokes for different folks.

I am honestly happy that you have conquered your demons and lost weight without the help of the band. Good for you!

As for me, I'll keep my band ... it's workin' for me. And you know what they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

All the best to you on life's journey.
~Fran

Sorry, not my style of humor. I believe if people ask me a straight forward intelligent question, they deserve a straight forward intelligent answer.

Men often don't know how to word things. He may have simply been saying that you are looking looser (this is a good thing, it means you're losing weight) and oddly, that extra skin can make someone look like they are gaining weight because the skin isn't tight. Working out with weights will help bring your skin in and fill you out with muscle instead of fat.
YOU may want to go apologize to him for jumping to conclusions and tell him that it hurt when he made those comments because YOU interpreted them negatively and didn't take the time to ask him what it is he was seeing that seemed different.
You are too close to how you look to see what others can - he was simply being honest, regardless of how you chose to take it.
Instead of being insulted you could have said, "Really? I'm looking flabby? I hadn't noticed since I look at myself everyday, but that's good! That means I'm losing more weight! You're probably right that it's time for me to step up my workouts to try to pull some of this old skin back in."
Instead, you chose to be insulted and chose to take it out on him. Had you been positive, and if he really meant it as an insult, that would have made him rethink what he said to word it better or to not say it again. Being negative and overreacting in response just makes the situation worse.
No one can make you say or do or feel anything - they can only present you with a stimulus, it's up to you to respond.
The second you go on the defense, you've already lost.

Why? Another weight-loss gimmick.

i love a good cat fight...lol...... but LOSER and LOSING are two different things....i don't think anyone called anyone a LOSER!!!!:lol:

I was reading a post from a fellow bandster who is having trouble with a "friend" who is jealous and lashing out about her weight loss. Of course, we all know the phrase people like to use when they are passing judgment:
You're taking the easy way out!
Well, let's put aside for the moment that being banded is hardly easy, nor does weight magically fall off. I would argue that it is, in fact, EASIER (or why else have your body cut open and a foreign object placed inside?).
Here's my question: So what? So what if it's easier? So what if it's easy? Why the heck is that bad? The band is a piece of technology that makes work easier (or, even makes it possible, period) than it was before. We, as humans, have invented millions upon millions of pieces of technology to make our lives and our work easier. It's what we do.
Driving a car or even riding a bike with gears is taking "the easy way out" when you have two legs and can walk. Yet I don't hear too many people willing to give up their gas guzzling, environment and natural resource draining cars so they can "do things the right way".
Look, people who have this attitude are not hard to read, they have a simple motivation that isn't at all about you and completely about them: They want to judge you for being fat (which equates to lazy), and feel superior for not being fat (or feel comfortable because they are also fat and you make that ok by your very presence).
It isn't about YOU. It isn't about your health, or your well-being, or your self-confidence. It's about how your changing size affects the individual and either their need to feel comfortable or their need to feel better than you as they sit in judgment. if it were about health, as people always claim when they stand loud and proud in their open prejudice against "disgusting" fat people, then they'd all be more than happy to have everyone banded, losing, and healthier by any means. Don't let them fool you that this is concern about you and your health. It isn't. It is about THEM.
So here's my answer. So what if I'm taking the "easy way out"? It's a way out, period. So bring on the easy.

if you feel like things are moving too fast then they probably are. there is no shame in putting the surgery off for a couple of weeks!! you should NOT have the surgery until YOU are ready!!
with that being said, i didn't start research on the band until January 2008. I went to one seminiar January 2008 but the doctor didn't take self-pay patients. i found a surgeon i liked early February 2008 and went in for my consultation the end of February 2008. i did my psych, nutrition and pre-op testing mid-March 2008 and had surgery mid-April 2008. so from research to surgery it was less than 4 months.
when i look back on things, i wish i would have waited a bit because i don't think i did enough research. i hadn't talked to anyone who had the surgery. i didn't truly understand what life post-op was going to be like. i thought it would be easy... just not eating much... but it's hard. while your stomach may feel full, your brain wants you to keep eating so it's a tug-of-war each meal for me.
so, if you don't feel 100% ready, don't let your surgeon talk you into surgery until you are ready. i'm impressed that you may hold off a bit! most people just want to jump right in... and that's probably why he's moving so quickly.

Since he's only legally married to one of the women, nobody is underage, and the kids aren't being subjected to anything inappropriate, I don't see where they're breaking any laws. So I don't think the State has any grounds to bring charges, other than to stir up lots and LOTS of press about things, which results in ratings for the show. (These people were even on Oprah last week...)
Having said that, (and probably because of all the press), I watched a few episodes of the show yesterday. I think the wives are the smart ones, and I think the husband is a colossal, arrogant jackass. I was projecting things a bit, but can't wait to hear the one wife has divorced him, and the women are all living as a group home without him.
I think when the media frenzy is over, the show will quietly fade away, like so many others of its kind. :smile:
Dave

I know how you feel, but Unfortunately they have to submit everything (test included) to the insurance company for approval. United Health Care told me the reason I was approved so quickly (2 days after they submitted everything instead of the 10 days) was beacuse the sugeon submitted everything required. Good Luck!

Don't get frustrated, just start over the next day. It happens. As far as exercise, just move, whatever you can do will help in the long run. Walking, doing errands, or something low impact like an exercise bike.

We talk about Santa Claus, vampires and honest politicians too. What does that mean?

Trust me, it is even harder for some of us to understand how anyone can believe in a god and we are far from hopeless. We live one day at a time and don't get stressed out about whether or not we are going to a good or bad place for eternity.
We take responsibility for our actions and decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.
But the best thing is, we sleep in on Sundays without guilt.

He also tells us that we shouldn't speak about our beliefs loudly to others.

I have seen several posts lately about calories, carbs, fats etc. and I just want to put this out there.
There are 3500 calories in a pound. You must take in fewer calories (if you used to eat 2500 calories a day and now you eat 1000 then you are losing 1/2 pound a day!) and exercise. Walking you only burn about 150 calories per mile (unless you are power walking) - so get moving and start sweating!! If your combination of fewer calories and exercise equals a net of -3500 then you lose a pound (yes there is Water weight etc. but more or less this is true over time).
I am a bit of a number cruncher but I like seeing it in black and white - so hopefully this perspective helps someone. This is also why it is important to track everything that goes into your mouth and your exercise.

I know exactly what you mean! The day I got my date (1/31/11) I was having cold feet and I looked at the pics I was in earlier that day and all doubt was removed

I got cocktail forks and demitasse spoons-it was all I could find at Ross, but they totally help! And, no plastic involved.