1shauna1

This makes me sad, you are not a failure. I have told my friends and family....I have been banded 1.5 years and I'm down 32 lbs only. So....maybe they are thinking I am a failure too because I should have lost more. But everyone has their struggles....the good thing is you know what you have done (bad habits creeping back in) and what you should do (eating right; maybe you need a fill?). Don't feel like a failure, get back on that horse and win this race again!

Everyone is different. I am 1.5 years out and only down 32. So, you make me envious! You are doing great; you have lost weight that won't ever come back! And if you're continuously losing, then why complain? It's working!

EVERYONE is entitled to feel however they feel about themselves & they can chose to describe themselves as cows weighing 199 standing 5'4!!! I mean geez who the heck is anyone to tell other people how to feel or how much they should or shouldn't weight or when they should or shouldn't get the band or ANY other typpe of surgery??!!
I'm 5'3 and my weight was 180 when I decided to regain control of my health, my body & my life!!! Now I'm weighing 157 & I still have 35lbs to go to get to my goal weight. Do I care that someone bigger is mad because I CHOSE to not let myself get outta control b4 doing something about it? NOPE cuz no one here pays my bills or has top live inside MY body but me. So to all those low BMI people that got banded, doodles to you all!! I commend you for getting a jump start!
If ur "friends" act distant & isoated, blow it off or away lol.... Do you!!

OMG, since surgery (2.5 weeks ago) I sound like a drunken frat boy with the burping! I rarely ever burped before and found it horribly embarrassing when I did. Now, I burp loudly several times a day and just wince before getting on with life. If that's the worst side effect of the band, I'll deal!

I would say that yes it is because of dehydration. Alcohol dehydrates and dehydration makes a band tighter.

If it was as bad as you say that night, you probably really irritated your band and even thick liquids could cause issues. But as mentioned, if still having issues after the weekend, see your doctor

You would only be a fraud if you actually didn't get banded but tell everyone you were! Believe me, even with fills you are still doing most of the work. This isn't an easy fix at all. You still must work, eat right and exercise. Be proud of your decision!

This whole lose 30 pounds gain an inch of thing is pretty spot on for me......I mean nothing like gainning a little extra......
Just felt like telling someone.....lol....

I also wanted to add to the previous post and say, the reason a lot of people's post op diets are a bit different (my doctor requires me to be on liquids 3 weeks followed by mushies where as other people go on mushies starting week 2) is because every doctors surgical technique is different. Some doctors suture the heck out of the band... what I mean is, the band is tied into place with a few sutures until your skin heals and natural forms its own sutures and holds the band into place. Other doctors such as mind, did not do too much suturing of his own (this is what he told me) because he prefers my body do the suturing rather than him do it which will lead to longer recovery and more pain.
So to reiterate, the reason why some doctors move patients into mushies and solids much more rapidly is because of their surgical technique, thus a much less likelihood of the band slipping.
This is to say, follow your doctors orders verbatim because only he and his stuff know what they did. Dont compare yourself or your diet to anyone else because everyone is different. So to read that some people start solids so quickly therefore its ok for me to do it, is a complete misunderstanding since everyone is different.

Not sure I can really help but I do feel your pain. I haven't lost as much as I've wanted to either, and I've had a lot of bad days. All we can do is keep following the rules & working the plan; the band is only a tool as much as we use it that way. I just got a fill Thursday and so far I feel it is a good one; way less hunger and the main thing, feeling fuller longer. I just have to get my brain & my stomach to start communicating; my head always thinks I'm hungry even when I'm not.

6 months and a week ago, i had no health problems even with a 47 BMI - BUT i felt so disgusting. I hated clothes. I wore things just to hide myself. I knew I had a pretty face but that all others saw was the fat. Today, 6 months after surgery and 88 pounds later, I feel INCREDIBLE. i am all about what i'm wearing, my make up, I feel just plain unstoppable. I want you to know that yes there can be complications. I have experienced none so far (truly this is thanks to GOD and following my surgeon's instructions) - but they can happen. I am very, very sorry I did not do this 10 years ago (I'm 38). But i cannot dwell on that. This is a LIFE CHANGING thing if you let it be. I truly wish all of you the best of luck in your decision and if you have the surgery - the best of luck on your journey. It TRULY is a journey. God bless us all!!!!

I can eat rice. I can eat pizza. I can eat most of the foods I've always loved, just not as much. That is the wonder of the band. It may be a foreign body inside you, but I don't even think about that. I preferred that I didn't actually have to cut out part of my stomach to have a smaller stomach. If the band has to be removed, you still have your full stomach. I think also with bypass there is some issue with sugars, correct? So you wouldn't be able to eat chocolate/icecream....I sometimes have some dark chocolate or a scoop of icecream....would you be able to give those up?
Obviously there are pros and cons to each...and you can regain weight with each. I don't know what to tell you, except don't let someone else pressure you into this lifelong decision.

Anywhere you go you will find positive and negative people. I actually don't mind reading some of the "negative" side effects of the band....gives me things to look out for just in case! But there are many wonderful supportive people here too. And I'm glad I live somewhere that allows me to vent if necessary!

I was a slow loser in the beginning. Instead of beating yourself up over it, think how much more you could weigh right now if you hadn't had the surgery. I was down 13 pounds the first month and only 18 by the second. I would tell myself, "Be happy weighing 217 right now because if I didn't have the surgery I could be easily gone up to 240"! I love the saying, "It's your journey, not a competition". You have had a lifetime of bad habits that got you to where you were. Habits are definitely hard to break, the lapband isn't wrapped around your head!

Rossy - it sounds like a nightmare and I'm sorry you suffered for so long. Worse that it seems no one would take you seriously when you knew something wasn't right. And you're right, people should think long and hard about a decision such as this; it is a major surgery with lifelong effects. Good luck with your weight loss; I hope you find a solution that works for you.

I'm very glad this site exists. It can be difficult for me on other sites that include all forms of WLS, because so many of them are populated with people who have had GB, and some people aren't always so nice to us bandsters. Here, I feel welcomed and among friends. I like reading other's stories, and seeing their success is very motivational to me.

I tried every diet product ever made including that.
I have one word for you: GIMMICK
Don't waste your money... work the band!

Damander, I feel for you, because I feel the same way. Was banded in August 2010 and am only down 30 lbs (thought I would be at goal by now). I feel restriction but if I wait, I can eat through it (bad, I know). I feel like I self sabotage a lot. I haven't lost since my last fill either (which was in the fall, I think). I have a fill Thursday and am really hoping it helps. I don't want to give up; I've been working on my weight for years (unfortunately). Next year I'm 40 and I'd better be thin by then!!

I have often started one of these threads, but would stop after writing a bit because while the LAP-BAND®®® has helped me lose weight and now maintain my weight for nearly two years, it seems crazy to feel like a success. I started with a low-ish BMI (37) and losing 90lbs+ didn't seem significant enough to class me as a success, I thought!
And I just felt that I was very fortunate that the band worked for me. Yes, I exercised - 40 mins 3 times a week when I was losing - but I didn't count calories, I didn't do low carb, I just got regular fills, ate when I was hungry and in time, my addiction to food diminished and I just lost weight. The band helped me with Portion Control, but more importantly, it stopped me thinking and wanting food all the time. Does that make me a success? You be the judge lol!
It's funny but opposed to other ways in which others lost weight, I think, for me, not counting calories and not worrying about not eating certain food groups actually meant that I stopped thinking about food, and that was why, in my opinion, the band worked for me. Food stopped being an obsession.
A lot of people ask me what I ate while I was losing. Well, everything really, just in much smaller portions. I ate the odd portion of chocolate sometimes, had an ice cream on occasion, but I ate everything in small portions, and as a result, didn't really ever feel deprived of anything.
The mindset that seemed to work for me consisted of general guidelines that my (Australian) Dr gave me and ones I made up for myself. These included:

Only eating when I was hungry. I often felt 'peckish' and would think of food, get cravings and feel like something naughty. But before I went to get something to eat, I'd ask myself if I was really hungry. If my stomache wasn't growling, I wouldn't eat. I'd tell myself I'd eat when I was really, truly hungry, and the funny thing is, when I really was hungry, I usually felt like something savoury and not chocolate or sweets or anything. Over time, the 'peckishness' seemed to stop.


always eating just enough food to 'tide me over' and telling myself that if I was still really hungry in 30 mins, I could have some more food. In all the time I've been banded, I've gone back for more food just once after the 30 mins. Now I just automatically eat small portions, even when I could easily eat more.


Exercising even if I didn't feel like it. I don't think anyone feels like exercising. But afterwards, I'd jump off my spin bike and do a little dance, and remind myself of how good I felt. I had set days that I'd have to exercise, and the only time I didn't do it was when I had the flu for a week. Otherwise, sore or tired or grumpy, I owed the bike the 40 mins and I'd do it, even if it was past midnight, even if I couldn't think of anything worse than exercising. No excuses. I don't exercise much on a formal level anymore, but being active has become very much something I just am now.


Allowing myself loads of rewards for getting to mini goals: I think we are truly hardest on ourselves and we don't think we deserve to Celebrate our successes if they're 'small'. I wrote down all the rewards I would get myself once I reached this weight or that weight, and I made sure I rewarded myself. Every single bit of motivation helps!


Telling myself that I wouldn't have to live like this forever - fighting the cravings, exercising like a demon, only ever eating when I was hungry, not indulging myself. That helped me with the will power side of things, feeling like it was just a temporary thing I had to do. Yet funnily enough a lot of the things I was doing are now habits that have become a part of my life. I now only eat when I'm hungry (and sometimes when I'm not thinking about it, I forget to eat!), I no longer have to fight cravings (just don't have many cravings anymore), I remain active and am quite fit in general. I don't have to fight to maintain because the band lifestyle has become my 'new' lifestyle and that allows me to maintain easily.


Making sure I had regular fills - this I think is crucial. The band works best when it physically prevents you from eating too much. I have never been ashamed to use my band to it's fullest potential. It stopped me over-indulging yes, but it also had the unexpected effect of making me understand how little food I actually needed to survive. And taught me to eat to live and not live to eat.
After getting to my goal weight, I had a lower body lift, and a week ago, I got breast augmentation. I still am a little stunned by the chick looking back at me in the mirror in the mornings, but I've never been happier with my life. I now surf, cycle, play soccer with my 4yo - I feel like I'm finally living the life I was meant to live.
And as glib as it might sound, it just wasn't that hard to lose the weight in hindsight. At the time I was losing, it seemed so difficult and seemed to last forever, but in the scheme of my whole life, it was really only less than a year for me to get to my goal weight. The band was an absoloute godsend to me, and I appreciate every single day of my life since it was put in.
Now can I also add the disclaimer that I am in no way advocating that my way of losing weight is the way anyone else should. I believe that band rules are there for a reason, and am all for doing whatever works for you. For me, it was more about mindset than particular details about diet or exercise, and the main lesson I learnt from all this is that you can re-train your brain to do the things you need to do to lose weight and keep it off. But I also know that without the band, I couldn't have done it, not on my own.
In the end, the proof is in the pudding though. I have been big all my life and I now have a BMI of 21 and have maintained for 18 months. I don't care why it worked, I'm just grateful it did!

I would think by now you should be healed; I had some seepage on one wound but only for a couple of days. I would suggest contacting your doctor's office and see if they want you to come in to check it out.

I don't think I've ever seen it recommended that you fast on Water for two days before a fill! I do know my clinic suggests eating lightly the day of the fill, and then liquids for two days afterwards. But I understand how you feel...and it's normal that you lose restriction as you get thinner in some cases. But I don't think you're anywhere near to being overfilled, and you would definitely know if you were; you wouldn't be able to get/keep anything down. Just take a breath and go back eating the bandster way, and then see if you need another fill ( I think I should take my own advice here! lol).

Carol,
You can still eat all them foods but you have to watch how much you eat of it and how often you eat of it .
I love pizza its my favorite food, but instead of eating it two or three times a week now I eat it once or twice a month .
My doc has always told me its not about giving up your favorite foods its about learning how to eat t hem foods in proper Portion Control and how often to eat them foods
pizza, sweets , french fries helped us getting us over weight but it wasn't what made us overweight. What made us overweight was sitting down and eating half of a pizza and sub , what got us overweight was eating a Big Mac , large fries and something else. what got us overweight instead of eating one small slice of cake we sat down and ate a pound of it That is what got us overweight.
I still enjoy McDonald's, I still enjoy pizza, and I still enjoy my candy during the TOM , BUT now instead of eating a half of a pizza and large sub I eat two slices of pizza and I am happy with that .
If I have to give up my foods I Love to for the rest of my life I would fail at this also. I was like you , I can eat healthy for so long then boom I would snap and that would be the end of it .
As far as exercise that is something you just have to do unless physically you cant and even then you can still exercise . The lap band is the slowest WLS out there and I bet about 98% of people with the band have to exercise or you just wont lose weight .
You will lose weight first starting out with no exercise but after while your body is going to get use to it and you will just stall . Exercise is just something you have to do and it tones your body up .

Carol, you have to take this into your own hands. If you really want to lose the weight then you have to do your part. Most all of us here love food and love to eat all the things that caused us to be the size we have become. We all have to make the choice each day. It is a conscious choice every time you choose to eat whatever and do not use the tool you have been blessed with. We each have to decide what is more important, using the band or satisfying that thing in our head that says "Eat the pizza, the whopper, the huge slice of cake and bowl of ice cream." In just the month and few days that I have not had any of those things and have started eating more healthy and in proper portions I can honestly say that my desire for the other things seems to have dissappated to almost nothing. I bought my grandson who is spending the night some chocolate cupcakes and could care less that they are over on the table. I love this feeling. Perhaps you need to go see you doctor and talk to them about this possibly getting some fill to help you curb your appetite. And are you suffering possibly from chronic depression? I really think you need to see your doctor. This is not always an easy journey but one that is worth every stuggle to see it through.

Hi All,
I haven't been on this site in a while. I have been busy with this crazy life! I just wanted to share that the Lap Band has changed my life and I am so happy. I had my surgery on August 4,2011, I weighed in at 256. This morning I weighted 188lbs. It has been a lot of working out and really watching my portions. I currently have 5.5ccs and I do feel restriction. I get stuck sometimes... god is that awful.... but it is always because I have tried to eat too fast or not chew enough.
I came to share this with you, because i was thinking how much this site helped me in the beginning couple of months. I had so many questions and concerns. It felt so good to see that people were making progress and taking time out to give us newbies advice.
So, to any of you just starting out... be patient,exercise (it's not so bad ) and follow your Dr.'s advice. It will come off, really!!!
Good luck everyone!
Laurie

Once you have good restriction, food wiil accumulate in your pouch while eating, and you will have to stop eating at some point. Automatic Portion Control, part of being in the Green Zone.
So, drink Water on top of that....and you will learn why real quick, and you will never do it again.