Determine-Gem

If I can lose these 18 pounds I would be 199. I would love to see the 2’s out of my life. I am going to work hard to have these 18 pounds gone before March 1, 2012. That is my goal and I am will meet it. During my progress I have not been making goals on my numbers; but I think it’s going to be important to me some goals here on out. I was happy to lose any weight. LOL
I must work harder this month.

I have been apart of this site since the end of 2009, and I have read hundreds of post/blogs with members concerns about other people finding out they have a LB! I really didn't know what approached I wanted to taken once I finally had my band. I first prayed and I thought about all the reasons I decided to get the band in the first place. God gave me confirmation not be ashamed of my decisions to live a happier and healthier life. I think most people on this site were in a life or death situation due to weight issues, and they needed help that they were unable to provide for themselves. After taking a wide overview of several members' reasons for not wanting someone else to know they were banded or getting banded was somewhat overwhelming to read. Most people feared others judging their decisions to get help to lose the weight. Okay, lets get real- if we were able to lose the weight and keep it off on our own then we would have done that. However, most of us are able to lose the weight but we have failed to keep the weight off on a long term basis.
 
I have decided in my life time to stop giving people control and credit to decide what is or isn't good for me. Most people who judge our decisions to do something pretty "major" about our weight issues don't have enough courage to confront their own "demons"! I don't care how prefect we may think someone's life is they still have underlined issues that they still need to deal with. I said all of that to say: we owe no one any excuses or explanations for why we decided to get the LB. Baby- I am proud of this little tool inside my body! That's exactly right: it's only a tool to aid and assist each of use with our weight lost goals! Work and a lot of effort must be done on our parts! The LB is not a quick fix card for all of your weight loses problems. Yes- it takes a lot of work and effort (mentally and some physical) to get the results you want.
 
I am very proud of my decision and I will never allow anyone to make me feel guilty or ashamed for having this surgery. To be prefect fully honest: people judged me fat and they judge me now but overall I am happier with the current me! To all of my fellow LB family, please be proud of your choices to live a happier/ healthier life. Just remember that "old person" who experienced so much hurt, pain, and challenges when you were heavier vs., you now. I love the new me and no person is going to ever change the way I feel. I tell them, "don't hate just congratulate my success"!

It's been 15 months since I was banded. Looking back over this entire process is somewhat of a fog. My feelings are totally different today than I remember them being initially. I was so very excited and I didn't know what to expect from the band or my “body”. I had joined this site almost a year before having my surgery so I was very familiar with the way some things were going to be. However, until you actually cross this bridge for yourself- no one else's experiences can compare to your own!
 
Learning to live with this band and how it's going to work for you is a total different story. There were a lot of trail and errors for me and it still continues to be some rough spots from day to day. My whole entire life, I have had issues with food. I have good restriction now, but I still have to monitor my desire to over eat. When I don't listen to my band, and I eat one bite too many -I do pay for it several hours later. I experience this awful pain that you just can't imagine. I can say- that I am learning to pay attention when enough is enough for me. Really, having this band is not a quick fix to anyone's weight lost problems, but it's an aid to make your weight lost more achievable and to feel full a lot quicker or more satisfied. The key to this band is not to fell full but satisfied. There is a lot of work on my part and self discipline with right food choices. It's very easy to fill up on high calorie foods (that goes down really easy) then wonder why you are not losing weight. Unfortunately, I have been there and done that as well. I think it's really helpful to let others know that bad choices are made with this band, but you can recover from them and still be successful with your weight lost. Yes, I am a slow loser and a lot of it is because of my own choices, but I have changed a lot. I have also lost a lot of weight as well!
 
I have learned to be accountable for my own actions and not blame everything in the blue sky for me being over weight. I've learned that working out is not a punishment, but being good to myself and overall all fitness! Most of all- I love all of the positive attention from other people. Since I am 6"1 people think I have lost a whole lot more weight than I actually have. Yes- I love the new me. I always remember why I did this and I remind myself that anything worth having is worth working toward!
 
My beginning size was 24-26 and today I can wear a size 16-18. Yesterday was my 9th wedding anniversary and my husband purchased me a pant suit from NY & Company size 16! I was tickled pink. I've always been embarrassed for my husband to buy clothes for me due to my size, but yesterday was a totally new and different feeling! Yes- I love it!
 
 

I wanted to post something about all the folks out there getting fills thinking thats what will cause them to drop weight.
It's been almost a year for me and I have only lost 45 lbs ( I really only had about 65 to lose). I had fills and fills until I just couldnt keep anything down. I thought I could drop the weight that way and then just have an un-fill after the weight was gone. Boy, was I wrong!
After many struggles this year I have learned a few valuable facts that I would like to share with you:
 
Dont get your band filled past half way. This is true for most people anyway.
 
We need to EAT in order to lose fat and gain muscle. I went to a nutritionist last week who does training for body builders. I was eating far too few calories. I was working out very hard at about 10 hours a week and getting no where!
 
Exercise is important but its only 20% - the other 80% is the diet! You must eat lots of lean proteins, no sugar substitutes, no sugar and only natural carbs that are in fruits and veggies.
 
You must get about 1500-1800 cals in for women if you are doing exercise 4x a week. Now, those calories must be the good kind.
 
Losing 1 lb a week is awesome! Losing much more than 2 a week is a sure sign that you are losing muscle. Thats not a good thing.
 
Your body will respond if you follow some of these things. I love to eat and I love to workout. So I was killing myself working out so I could eat a small sugary treat every day. I couldnt understand why the fat wasnt coming off. Now, I understand. It's ALL about the diet.
 
DO NOT GET OVER-FILLED THINKING YOU WONT BE ABLE TO EAT AND THE POUNDS WILL DROP. you may lose weight on the scale but you will be losing your muscle first and not your fat. HUGE mistake.
 
Im finally losing the last 20 lbs of fat that I have. With this knowledge, I will be lean and buff in 6-7 months.

I have been reading and researching the entire Lap Band system for 2 years. All the literature I have read warns you have having your band too tight. I believe that is stuck in my head and that’s why when I go to get my fills I am so nerves.
 
I went to get a fill on August 2, 2011. I don’t feel any different than the day before I went to the appointment. I can almost eat anything but; I just make myself stop because I really want this to work. I can guzzle water after a workout better than before. I feel as if I have had a un-fill; I am scared that my band may not be in the correct place. I have so many things running in my head. Not to mention that I have gain 3 lbs since my fill. I want to call the Doctor but I don’t want to be panic for no reason. I am not in pain, I can eat and I am gaining weight.
 
I walk 3 miles a day, workout 4 times a week, I eat very small portion only because I use the portion plates. I just don’t know what direction to go.
 
I don't know how much is in my band... what size is my band.. and my Doctor don't seem to be open to discussing those questions.
Any advice?