asksdf

With the exception of one or two, the only people I see complaining (or freaking out) are those who have recently been banded. Most are still in the healing post-op phase.

Did not gain all your weight in 30 days, can't expect miracles right away.

All weight loss at that time is from the pre-op and post-op diet regime. Sooner or later you will be on regular food. Then you have to learn to live and use the band.

It took me 3-4 months before things started to fall in place. Six months till everything started to work the way I had hoped it would.

And I am still learning things all the time.

This was pretty much my deal too. I didn't start really learning how to work the band until about four months into it.

You mentioned that your world as you knew it was going to end. Really though, it's going to change for the better. You'll still be able to eat your favorite foods too, just hopefully not as much.

Why are you depressed? This is an exciting time for you, a new way of life. You'll come to love it.

Ok, so you lost almost a hundred pounds, and now you're in the process of throwing it all away. I refuse to believe that you can actually feel good after eating all the ice cream and whatever else it is that you're eating. I'm thinking you're eating to the point where you're stuffed? That never felt good to me even when I was overeating every day. You've gained 20 pounds, the clothes fitting a bit tighter? Hope you didn't throw out your bigger clothes. A slip-up here and there for a couple days is understandable. But not this. Did something happen to make this start again?

You need to come up with a plan, and start tomorrow. Start eating right and start exercising again, because I'm guessing that stopped too. Just go back to square one. You did this already for long enough, you know what it takes.

I honestly don't think a fill is going to help. It certainly won't help with ice cream filling you up.

I think a few people started noticing the weight loss at around 30 pounds, I still remember one friend who I rarely see was blown away when he saw me at 40 pounds down. People at work didn't notice really until I went away for a week vacation and came back. I kept hearing "Wow you did a lot of walking on your trip, you lost some weight." No, I've spent the last four months losing 75 pounds. It irritated me, but I suppose it's to be expected.

I can see my collarbone clearly

Fitting into smaller clothes, although the sizes are moving slowly

Can cross my legs, I don't have to pull it up halfway with my hand

I'm no longer overflowing into other peoples' seats at the movies or hockey games

And not really NSVs, but....I'm much more energetic now, my overall mood and attitude have changed completely, I now dislike sitting around the house for hours on end, I have started on increasing my flexibility (as of right now I'm as flexible as a brick), and overall I just want to go out and try new things that I never did before because of the weight.

The band gets a lot of hate because it's known to allow for slower weight loss, and it's success depends on if the person truly wants to succeed or not.

Completely forgot to check in last week. I'm at 235.4 as of this morning.

I went up a couple pounds last week, hence the slower loss.

I'm fat because up until I was banded, I ate out at least once a day - sometimes twice, and I got tired just thinking about the word 'exercise'

But oh, how much has changed...

What you're experiencing is just temporary, and most of us went through it too. Soon enough you'll be able to eat again, just hopefully not as much as you're used to. It's honestly the best thing I've ever done for myself, if you're willing to put the effort into it, you'll feel the same way.

I'm a guy, so I'm programmed to find no joy whatsoever in clothes shopping. That being said, a couple months ago I bought a pair of jeans and some undershirts for work. At the time, it was questionable if I'd fit in them or not. I fit in both the jeans and shirts, but it wasn't pretty, they were too tight. Now every once in a while I'll try on either one to see how it's fitting. It's just another way to gauge the weight loss.

I really do need new shorts and pants though. It's to the point where I've had to make new holes in my belt, and the top of the shorts are folding over in places because they're too big, and they're pulled too tight. I don't have a problem spending money on clothes, but I just want to "get by" until I'm closer to my goal.

If your weight loss slows or you gain a couple pounds, try your hardest not to let it discourage you. It discouraged me, and I fell off the wagon for a bit because of it.

I'm not a doctor, but that sounds absurd being on a Protein drink only diet for 90 days. And even then, what happens when you start eating food after the 90 days? Probably gain a lot of the weight back.

The first few weeks after surgery are hard, we all expect that we'll be the special case and lose lose lose. Unfortunately it doesn't happen that way. Hopefully everything will go great with your fill and you can get on the right track.

I workout everyday from 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Today I had nothing better to do, and my new kettlebell came in, so I just finished working out for about four hours. My body is DEAD. I haven't felt this sore in a while. That, and I'm continuing eating right.

EDIT: I clicked on this topic through the the new topics section, just realized it was for May bandsters. Oh well.

Maintenance on my band is so low it's a joke. My doc has to call me and basically tell me it's time to come in for a checkup. For the first few months, I was required to go back once a month just for general checkups and see how I was doing. I really wouldn't worry about having to be at the doctor's office too frequently.

That's always a great feeling. It's weird, I like getting compliments but I just don't know how to handle them. Yesterday at work I ran into four guys who I hadn't seen in a while, and they were all shocked by my weightloss. Felt really good, but I just kind of stand there smiling and all awkward like.

I'm adding scuba diving to the list of things I want to do once I drop the weight

I've only been on one trip since being banded, but it was for 11 days. I was considering getting a fill a week before, but thought better of it because I was afraid of having problems and being on the opposite side of the country than my doctor.

Damn that really is a huge difference. Looking at your before pics, My first assumption is that most of it was fat. Now I'm hoping that when it comes down to it, if I'll be able to tell the difference between excess skin and fat on my own stomach.

Your band shouldn't limit you at all, except with eating of course. I'd say I go about 95% of my day forgetting that the band is even in me, I just don't think about it. Only time it pops in my head is when I'm full.

Name, real or screen~ sandworms

Age~ 25

Weight on September 1st~ 239.3

Goal Weight for September 29th~ 229

Exercise Goal for September~ keep exercising at least 6 days a week, incorporate kettleball into workouts

Dietary Goal for September~ keep doing what I'm doing, drink more water

Personal Goal for September~ get outside my comfort zone more

Date Banded~ 10/7/10

Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 90.7 lbs

Thank you both for your encouragement! I'm normally really good with my Water intake (normally). I really think stress has a lot to do with my plateau. Plus, I have been an emotional wreck lately. With the loss of my grandmother and just having body image issues - It's been a mess. I think I have been putting way too much pressure on myself to get out of the 240s that my body is going crazy. When I think, maybe I need a fill, I have a stuck episode or a really hard time eating something that would normally not be a problem at all. The mind is a powerful thing and I really think mine is getting in the way. I know this is a marathon not a sprint. I know it's long term commitment not short term gain. Sometimes though, my brain gets the best of me and I'm my own worst enemy. I really need to do the side-by-side comparison shot soon so I can start to see what everyone else does. I mean, I KNOW 80+ pounds is noticeable on anyone. Maybe I just need to start believing in myself again.

I like to take front, side, and back pictures of myself on the same day every month. I take the pics in the same spot in my house too, I try to get everything the same. It really helps put your mind at ease.

I know I commented on your status about this earlier, but I just want to say it again. Try drinking more Water. When I was stuck at the same weight for two months it didn't make sense at all. But thinking back I remember I really wasn't drinking much water during the day. I changed that, and it kickstarted my losing again.

I have officially had my band for a year and 1 month now, and I had NO idea about this website..how is this possible? I don't think you even know how much help all of you could have been to me through some really tough times with the band!!

I am a college Senior..and lovvving life! I have felt like, for the longest time, that I am like the only person to have this surgery that is younger than my mom, who also had it done (no offense, I love my mom, and I love anyone who has had this surgery, but I feel like I am the only one under 40 sometimes..) I have lost around 60lbs in the year since I have gotten the surgery, which compared to some of these other stories I read is chump weight haha. BUT..I am very very pleased with my slow weight loss, and am thinner than I ever was in high school.

I do have a problem though, I have come to a stand still in weight loss and I really want to know some simple tricks that any of you had tried that have helped you to see a slight drop in the scale. I stay pretty active, walking to class, going out and dancing, and continuing to be an avid follower of Jilian Micheal's workout DVDs. Sometimes I don't always eat as well as I should, due to good and bad days with the band. By this I mean some days I can eat as normal as I should, and other days it takes all my might to swallow my own spit, .

I can't wait to get to know the site and those of you who have taken advantage of this amazing social tool! But..let me in on some of your tricks..it's story time .

I was at a two month plateau, I just made sure I drank a ton of Water daily and it started the weight loss again.

I've been preaching about resistance bands on here before, not sure if many people know how effective they are. Considering how cheap they are, how many different exercises you can do, and they take up zero room....you really can't go wrong.