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How did I let this happen again? I had lost nearly 60 pounds, and slowly but surely, the weight had reappeared. I say that as though it happened without my knowledge or consent. I guess it would be more appropriate to say I put the weight back on. I wear it around like a lead coat. It stifles me, it breaks me, it pains me. Yet, I have done this over and over and over for my whole life. All the fluffy girls reading this know exactly what I am talking about. As a collective, we have probably gained and lost the same 60 pounds a million times. I hate to think it is because I am lazy, or that it is because I have no will power. I know that’s what most people think when they look at me - that woman is a glutton. I suppose there is some truth to it. Although, if they knew how disheartening it is to reach a goal, only to have it taken away . . . wait, there I go again, acting like some invisible power caused this. I know I have to take responsibility. I did this to myself. It didn’t happen to me, I caused it. But could it be that I can’t help it? It may be my fault, but maybe I just need some help to be successful. I tried many different things to “help” but nothing worked in the end. Weight Watchers was great, and I certainly learned a great deal about what foods to eat, and what portion size I should be eating. I remember the first time I learned about the portion size for pasta and rice. I think I laughed out loud. I did lose weight, quickly at first, but I never could get past that 40 pound mark. I had such a long way to go, over 100 pounds, and stalling out at 40 pounds just threw me over the edge. And when I would cheat, I WOULD CHEAT. I think it is a great deal like being an alcoholic. If I had one drink, or in my case, bite, it was all over. Forget about moderation, or “Points” or whatever. Then getting back on the wagon was harder than ever. Again, I know, excuses, excuses. Nevertheless, that was my pattern. I even tried medication for a while. I went to my doctor and begged for help. I remember saying, “I think something must be wrong with me. Even when I am really good, for a really long time, I can’t seem to lose the weight I need to lose!” So she gave me Wellbutrin. It states clearly that it is a medication for depression that should not be taken by people with eating disorders. Well, at 300 pounds, isn’t it fair to say I had an eating disorder? 50 pounds later, gained, not lost, I decided to quit taking Wellburtin. It definitely took the edge off, and helped me realize that I probably have some anxiety issues to work on, but it certainly did not help me lose any weight. In fact, it just made me complacent. The end result, however, was that it did force me to recognize that I have an addiction to food. It forced me to recognize that there was not going to be an easy fix for me. That was a huge disappointment. So, this last bit of temporary weight loss came from a surprising turn of events. I was pregnant, and all of a sudden, food was not my first priority. Taking care of the little being inside me was the most important thing of all. Because I was so large, 355 to start the pregnancy, my doctor was very worried about gestational diabetes. I met with a dietician at the hospital, and I followed her directions to the letter. I cut back on carbs, no more orange juice, lots of fiber, plenty of protein. Well, compared to the fast food junk I had been living on up to that point, it was no surprise that I started to lose weight. All told, I gained 13 pounds through my pregnancy, but lost 35 immediately after my daughter was born. Then, the most difficult thing I have ever had to do in my life occurred. My dear little one came 6 weeks early and was critically ill. She had to stay in the NICU for nearly a month. For the very first time in my life, I did not turn to food for comfort. In fact, I could not stand the thought of eating a thing. Leaving the hospital without your baby is the most unnatural thing in the world. I felt like I was literally being torn apart. I remember, the night I was discharged from the hospital, my husband and I were walking across the parking lot, and I said, “I feel like I am forgetting something.” Then I broke down and bawled. I don’t think I quit crying for the rest of the evening. I had to pump every three hours because I was hoping to breast feed my baby. Since I wasn’t eating, there wasn’t any milk to pump. I didn’t figure this out for about three weeks, and was getting very discouraged. However, I did find it funny that every time I turned around, someone was trying to make me eat. It was the strangest thing! My father especially, who was such a champion for me during that time – driving me back and forth to the hospital – would always try to get me to eat. I just couldn’t do it. In the end I lost an additional 20 pounds, creating an ultimate weight loss of about 55 pounds at that point. Eventually, my beautiful baby did come home. She is the light of my life. Being her mother is what I have been waiting for. I know all mothers probably feel this way, but she is the most lovely creature I have ever seen. She spreads such joy everywhere we go! I feel so blessed to have a baby that can make even total strangers smile with glee. I continued to lose weight. Ava and I walked every day. All the climbing up and down the stairs with baskets of laundry didn’t hurt either. Breastfeeding did work out in the end, so I know that helped me shed a few pounds as well. All told, I lost over 60 pounds. Then, I had to go back to work. Summer was over, and I had to return to my job as a literacy specialist at an elementary school. I started eating again. It happened slowly, and I saw it happening, but I didn’t do anything about it. It was as though I could watch myself through someone else’s eyes, but I didn’t try to intervene. I just kept eating. WHY? I have thought about this a great deal, and I don’t have any good answers. Was I feeling guilty about taking my baby to daycare? Probably. Was I worn out and looking for comfort? Probably. Was I wishing for more consistent help from my husband? Probably. Are those good reasons to gain 60 pounds? Absolutely not. So here I am, obese again, trying to raise a well-adjusted girl in the United States. That is why I have made this decision. She is the reason I am going to be successful this time, even though I have been unsuccessful all the other times. I want to raise her, not watch her from the sidelines. I want to still be alive when she gets married and has beautiful babies of her own. I want to be able to chase her if she is getting into harms way. I will do this. So that brings us up to date. I have decided to have gastric banding, also known ad Lap-Band surgery. This simply has to work. I have to do the hard work to make it work. I am going to be successful at this! Several things happened to bring me to this decision. My good friend Heidi had gastric bypass surgery a little over a year ago. I mention this for several reasons. First of all, I love Heidi. I have always thought she was one of the most beautiful women I have ever met, even when she was heavy. Second, Heidi has always reminded me of myself. We were both women of faith, school teachers, intelligent, opinionated and well-read. I hold her in the highest esteem and respect her immensely. When Heidi told me she was going to have gastric bypass surgery, I was so excited for her. She had followed a path similar to mine, struggled with her weight all her life, tried all the commercially available programs, all to no avail. I was a bit worried of course, especially because I had just heard about another person I knew that had died from complications from bypass surgery. I started thinking about the notion of never being able to eat gluttonous amounts of food again. I thought about not being able to drink a can of soda pop. I thought about eating only Dixie Cup sized potions. Yuck. That was not for me. Not only that, it scared me. (continued in part two)

Okay, first a little perspective.....you're DOWN 75 POUNDS! You're more than half-way to goal. I understand your frustration. I really do. My weight stalled out between 202-205 lbs. for three months (from January through March - see my chart below.) I wanted to break that 200 lb mark sooooo badly. But my restriction was not good and my motivation steadily decreased. But....and this is the key......I kept going back for fills. I whined to my surgeon, I logged my calories, I kept exercising......and SLOWLY (notice the slug on my ticker!) I hit my "sweet spot." My band suddenly had that "shiny new feeling" again, my motivation kicked back into gear and the weight started to move. I've dropped from 202 to 186 in the last six weeks! I have another fill appointment tomorrow. I still have pretty good restriction so my surgeon may decide not to fill, but I'm going in to see him anyway. I'm sorry your fills are not remaining steady....but make another appointment.....and keep going back until you are satisfied with your restriction! I still don't always make the best food choices. But now that I have restriction as my conscience, I'd say I eat healthy 85% of the time and I don't beat myself up for the other 15%. Moderation is not something I'm capable of when I'm hungry all the time. That's why I got the band! My Weight Chart: Good Luck!

Hi all, It's been a long time since I have posted anything or visited this site. I have really missed everyone. For some reason, my old computer quit allowing me to access this site, but I am back and glad to see all of you have been doing so well. I have been losing really slow, but that is ok for me. Going through this slow process allows me time to make life long changes and see what works for me and what doesn't. Like so many of you have stated, we are all different. I have had three fills, the last one being in March. I have about 8cc in my 14cc band. At first, I didn't think it took because I was still able to eat too much. It wasn't until about 3 weeks ago that I started thinking I may need to get an unfill. The reason I haven't is because I have to travel 2 hours to get my fills and just decided to deal with it, but maybe I should. I have been able to eat much, which is great, but at the same time, I have been spitting up more or feeling like things are getting stuck, that once weren't. My weight loss seems to stall every 2-3 months and maybe it is just my body trying to get use to a new set point. In any case, I feel much better than I did almost a year ago and when asked often, If I would do it again, the answer is always the same; "in a heart beat". Everyone keep up the good work and I look forward to reading about your continued success.

Wintobethin - YES.....only my "stall" lasted about 90 days! I lost almost thirty pounds in the first 3 months, and then the scale bounced around 2-5 pounds for the next three months! You need a fill. My doctor was very conservative with fills also. Everything I lost prior to my last fill was "dieting." I monitored my calories at around 1200 cals/day and still wasn't losing. It was incredibly frustrating. With my last fill, I finally reached my sweet spot. I now consume around 800 cals/day and my weight has dropped 6 pounds in the last week! I get comfortably full on 1/2 cup of food and I don't get hungry between meals anymore. This is an amazing breakthrough....I have never experienced this feeling before in my life. The one positive I can say about gradual fills is that it's given me several months to "practice" (eating slowly, chewing thoroughly, no drinking with meals.) Before I got good restriction, I'd sometimes forget these rules without consequences......now my band lets me know immediately! Keep doing what you're doing, ask for another fill, and remember this is all about the process (but it's also ok to swear at your scale once in a while just to let it know who's boss!) Here's my weight loss since surgery....you're not alone. My Weight Chart: >

My body is super sensitive to fills as well. I only have about 4ccs in an 11cc band. My fills have to be relatively small or I . swell shut. I got a .75cc fill yesterday and spent most of the evening swollen shut. Today I am getting coffee to go down, so far, but know that I would be in a mess if I even attempted thin mashed potatoes for at least another 12 hours. I will be good in a day or so and will be able to eat regular food, just smaller portions, again. I do drop close to ten pounds each time I get a fill like this, though. I like this kind. Makes it go fast. I then stall for about three weeks but it gives my body time to adjust to the weight loss. It seems to work well for my body and my system. That first 24 hours is rough at times, especially if I swell completely shut. I have done the ER thing to get a bit out but we only take enough to be able to get some Water down and then we stop there because the swelling will go away.

Funny that you said this, I have problems with chicken breast too. I had some El Pollo Loco chicken and almost died. I can eat chicken salad, but I have found any protien I eat has to be moist. Even eggs. I place them scambled in my oatmeal. Dry for some reason, I can feel it going all the way down and then I get that LUMP. Let me know about thigh meat. I can eat steak, Med Rare of course, but like I said, juicy meat, yes. Even lunch meat has to have mustard on it. I know gross, dipping turkey in mustard, but it works. I had stopped my protien drink and found my weight loss stalled. I started again this week and dropped three pounds. Anyone else have that happen? Maybe I wasn't getting enought protien. And YES my hair is still falling out. Take Care Debbie

Please don't give up on yourself yet, hopefully you will get more restriction once you get your second fill. If you are sticking to 1200 calories a day then maybe you have just hit a plateau? My weight loss stalled for a couple of weeks, I think the body needs to catch up on itself . The worst thing you can do now is to stabbotage all the good work you have done so far. I have no special advice other than try and increase your exercise and make every effort to make good food choices. I too was banded in November and had my first fill on 12 December. I have been busy so haven't had time for another fill but its booked for 24 February so not long to wait. after a three week plateau, where i lost nothing I have lost 3lbs this week. good luck to you and why not call and see if your surgeon will agree to bringing your fill forward a little as you are struggling. Sue

You'll never guess what my fortune cookie said last night...I was working on my laptop, as usual, and I open my fortune, which said, Put business matters aside for now and concentrate on your love life I thought this was pretty funny and appropriate as well!!! So, based on that, I'll be taking several months off work to travel and concentrate on my love life! Yeah, I wish!!!! Okay, I'm kind of stalled for the past two weeks in my weight loss, losing and gaining the same 2-3 pounds. I'm giving myself some slack since I had a really bad cold/flu bug and I'm still trying to shake it, so I only went to the gym one time last week and ate more food because I didn't want to lack in nutrition when I'm trying to get over being sick. I ate zaxby's fried chicken fingers and french fries yesterday, and felt really bad about it, so I didnt eat anything else yesterday which put me at the right calorie level, but I should not be eating that crap. I know I need a fill if I can eat fried chicken fingers! Today I was a paragon of virtue and only ate: coffee w/ sf creamer, nonfat light keylime pie flavoried yogurt, Live Active Light cottage chese snack pack and a protein drink. I'm going to go the gym tonight as well and do weights and cardio. On the dating front, I joined an online dating site to see what's out there and so far I've been propositioned by a married guy (supposedly separated, but you know how that goes) and a sexy croation guy (at least from the pictures) who lives with his parents and I don't think he has a car. Lucky in love as usual!!! LOL. And no, I'm not going to go out with either of them. That crazy guy from the beach drunk dialed me last night and left three long messages about how much he missed me..um What? I haven't heard from you in three weeks?? I have a work conference Wed in Orlando so I'm leaving tomorrow night after work to stay at my parents house. I go to the training all day Wed and then I'm spending the rest of the week with my parents in Orlando. My dad's going to do my taxes so I can pay off at least a big chunk of my medical bills. They put me on a payment plan of $179 a month for a year, but I think I can pay it off in a few months. I think I have all the tax documents I need and I'm hoping on a decent size refund, not the $500 I got back last year (I paid $10,000 to the government in SS and fed income tax and only got back $500!). I really need a fill, so I'm going to do the next week on pure will-power and good decision-making. I'll let you know how it goes. :cheatfree:

You'll never guess what my fortune cookie said last night...I was working on my laptop, as usual, and I open my fortune, which said, Put business matters aside for now and concentrate on your love life I thought this was pretty funny and appropriate as well!!! So, based on that, I'll be taking several months off work to travel and concentrate on my love life! Yeah, I wish!!!! Okay, I'm kind of stalled for the past two weeks in my weight loss, losing and gaining the same 2-3 pounds. I'm giving myself some slack since I had a really bad cold/flu bug and I'm still trying to shake it, so I only went to the gym one time last week and ate more food because I didn't want to lack in nutrition when I'm trying to get over being sick. I ate zaxby's fried chicken fingers and french fries yesterday, and felt really bad about it, so I didnt eat anything else yesterday which put me at the right calorie level, but I should not be eating that crap. I know I need a fill if I can eat fried chicken fingers! Today I was a paragon of virtue and only ate: coffee w/ sf creamer, nonfat light keylime pie flavoried yogurt, Live Active Light cottage chese snack pack and a protein drink. I'm going to go the gym tonight as well and do weights and cardio. On the dating front, I joined an online dating site to see what's out there and so far I've been propositioned by a married guy (supposedly separated, but you know how that goes) and a sexy croation guy (at least from the pictures) who lives with his parents and I don't think he has a car. Lucky in love as usual!!! LOL. And no, I'm not going to go out with either of them. That crazy guy from the beach drunk dialed me last night and left three long messages about how much he missed me..um What? I haven't heard from you in three weeks?? I have a work conference Wed in Orlando so I'm leaving tomorrow night after work to stay at my parents house. I go to the training all day Wed and then I'm spending the rest of the week with my parents in Orlando. My dad's going to do my taxes so I can pay off at least a big chunk of my medical bills. They put me on a payment plan of $179 a month for a year, but I think I can pay it off in a few months. I think I have all the tax documents I need and I'm hoping on a decent size refund, not the $500 I got back last year (I paid $10,000 to the government in SS and fed income tax and only got back $500!). I really need a fill, so I'm going to do the next week on pure will-power and good decision-making. I'll let you know how it goes.

I know what you mean. I think we are in a stall....maybe from the holidays. I got a fill on Monday and the scale has moved a little. I definitely have more restriction. I schelduled an appt in three more weeks for another fill. The PA only put in .4 this time and I think I now have 4.9cc. I consulted with personal trainer. He showed me exercises with bands. He said just doing cardio won't change much. So, I walk one day, and do bands the next. I have to be careful because I have a bad back. He also said only weigh once every other week. I just have to weigh every day, but it can be discouraging. Anyway, I am excited about getting some personal help.

Okay guys...I've been lurking the last few days. Can I just start off by saying that counting calories SUX! There...now that I've said that, I feel better. I started with my "recommitt" last Monday, did pretty good for three days, then relaxed because I just can't find the time to write everything down or log on to fitday. So...to make a really long story short...my weight has stalled this week and I didn't commit to ANY of my weekly goals like I intended to. I did walk one day, but have found excuses for all the other days. So...how do I stop this vicious cycle? I'm going to pick myself up and start over today. I'm not sure that I can actually commit to logging my foods and then really carry through with it all week, but I'm going to commit to making slow and clear decisions before I eat this week. Don't eat unless I'm truely hungry (which I seem to do all the time), and don't drink anything with calories, other than Protein shakes, and don't drink with my meals!!!! I go in today for my first fill since my port revision surgery, so I'm praying for restriction! I hope everyone is off to a good start this week! We can do this...I know we can!

I haven't posted on here in awhile and thought I would update. I have done fairly well since my April 4 banding. I am down over 60 pounds since my top recorded weight of 280. I have been at a stall for some weeks. This is a self induced stall as I am not doing what I should be doing! I had surgery on my neck three weeks ago and are still under restrictions for working out except for walking. I am still not walking. I get home from work and it is dark and cold out! I have not been eating well either. I don't know if I am emotionally eating from the stress of surgery but I suspect that is the case. I need to get my brain and my butt back in gear! Yesterday I ate way to much salt and am paying the price with some swelling this morning. Why am I doing this to myself?

I have been stalled for about 3 weeks. I also had neck surgery three weeks ago so it is understandable. I need to get back into walking soon! I am so bummed as I need some motivation! I was so strict with walking before my surgery! Now I have to get back to it although slowly. I have been at 211 for weeks!

I have been stalled for about 3 weeks. I also had neck surgery three weeks ago so it is understandable. I need to get back into walking soon! I am so bummed as I need some motivation! I was so strict with walking before my surgery! Now I have to get back to it although slowly. I have been at 211 for weeks!

I prefer more restriction too as long as I can get food down. I have to eat slowly and work at it but I am able to get three solid meals down per day I don't measure but I eat about 1 cup per meal...solid meat and veggies-no slider foods/mushies--they will not keep you satiated long enough. It takes about 30 minutes to eat the meals then I am good for 4-5+ hours before my next meal. Breakfast is harder to get down, I have to take tiny bites. lunch is hard but a little easier. For all meals I have to chew well and eat slowly but the food does go down and I get in sufficient amounts. I lose about 2 pounds per week. If you are unable to get mushies and drinks down then you are probably too tight. If you are too tight then you won't be able to get enough calories in and in my experience that will stall your weight loss just as easily as getting too many calories. Maybe a slight unfill will do the trick?

Hi everyone I was banded Oct 17th..I lost weight pretty good the first week but now i seem to be at a stall..I get my first fill Nov. 14th. I hope it helps. I am still hungry and halloween was tough I like candy...The only things that seem to bother me are chicken and any bread. I haven't weighed myself since i went to dr. but everything still feels the same. I joined the gym have gone three times times this week doing 15 minutes on the bike and 15 minutes on the eliptical, then doing some arm machines and a few floor. About an hr a night maybe a little more. But on my other days I have been raking leaves (uuugghhh). I really hope i start losing weight because I am getting so frustrated. and hungry I think if i could stand being hungry I wouldnt have ended up being so overweight..well thanks for your time..Sherri:ohmy:

bloom, I was banded the same day as you. I'm still losing, but it has slowed down, to probably a normal level. I'm not drinking any of my meals, unless I'm in a big rush. I'm also getting on my elliptical, but not using the arms and taking it slower than I did pre-band for 40 mins in the morning, and taking a three mile walk in the evening. (hopefully after my doctor's appt next week, I'll be OKed to increase my exercise). I'm watching every carb, to make sure the ones I'm getting are from healthy foods. I also still have restriction from the surgery, so I'm not famished, which is very helpful in not going overboard at meal time. I am sticking to 1/2 c meals, heavy on protein, 3 times per day plus a snack. I'm keeping my snacks healthy. For instance, today, I'm having NF cottage cheese with tomato. Yesterday, I had a peach. I'm also drinking a ton of no-cal liquids (ice water, crystal lite, etc). I anticipate losing my restriction, and maybe having a stall in my weight loss, but after fills, I know I'll kick it back up. I know it's such an uphill battle, bloom, but we're going to make it. From everything I've read, it's not until we get fills, that we really get the advantage from our bands. Hang in there.

yes, if you purchase a used bugg then you have to register it in your name and get your own password etc. It's a little expensive to start - I think $149 for the first three months but then it's a lot less for the continuing months. I also purchased mine on ebay but made sure that it was New in the box with the 3 month free membership. Got a pretty good deal - only $179. Any help here would be appreciated. I've been wearing my bugg for a week now and logging meticulously. It shows a deficit of at least 1,000 calories a day and I still haven't lost any weight. I've basically been stalled since April. Thought this would help me see what's going on. All it shows me is that I'm staying on track food wise and exercsing but not losing the weight. How can this be??? I'm so frustrated!!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!:thumbup:

Yes, at the same spot your in.... I had my third fill 8/26 with 7.5cc in my 10ml band. I have to say this is my sweet spot. I was at a stall between my second and third fill..... Now I've dropped 14lbs in three weeks. I eat anything I want as long as I chew and take my time... much smaller portions yet completely satisfied. This fill will tell me too if I eat to fast or don't chew my very small bites well enough. I love where my band fill is right now... I hope this lasts a very long time... I'm so happy with my band at this stage.

Hey Lisa, I know how frustrating it is! I had great success the first month and a half, and then hit a complete stall. I spent three weeks in bandster hell! I was keeping a journal, using the daily plate Calorie Counter, Diet Tracking, food Journal, Nutrition Facts at The Daily Plate and being so conscientious. I thought I really didn't need a fill, because I was still getting stuff stuck often as well. But, I finally went and got one, and guess what? VOILA! I'm losing again! You've been given some good advice here. Yes, do journal. It's a great tool for identifying problem areas. (if you can bite the bullet, and be brutally honest with yourself), but I would say a fill is likely to help. Good Luck!

I wish I knew . . . . . . some Protein shakes can taste horrible. I should have gotten a sample before I bought a very expensive barrel sized canister of Protein shake that has been gathering dust in my kitchen closet for six months now. . . . ready to drink Isopure clear shakes were tolerable to drink and helpful for protein intake directly after surgery since they fit in as a clear protein. . . . I did not realize logging all calories and protein on fitday.com would be so helpful during the early days. . . . I thought the journey really started when I was banded, but the help did not really come until after my second fill. I did not have realistic expectations of the unfilled portion in the early days where you are soooo hungry but can not eat anything much. I also did not realize that so many people had weightloss stalls (or some even gain)at this point. . . . I did not realize that weight loss comes in fits and starts. It was only easy and steady directly after surgery during the liquid phases. In general for me it looked more like this 202, 202, 201, 198, 202, 199, 202, 200, 199, 199, 198, 200, 198. I now have a rule that I don't change a ticker value unless I maintain a maximum weight for at least three days. . . . I didn't realize that plateaus can be easily broken if you know what to do, so I suffered a little more in the beginning than necessary. . . . I didn't realize that my TOM means an automatic weight gain(3-5 pounds in the beginning and 1-3 pounds now) that comes and goes in about a week. . . . I did not know that losing weight rapidly floods your body with hormones so that your TOM can be drastically worse than normal (not to mention that you can be verrrryyyy moody as well). However, six months out and I think I have stabilized somewhat. Perhaps the general tone sounds like complaints, but it is not. All of the good far, far, far outweighs the bad. If I listed all the good, I could go on for pages and pages. I love my band and I can not tell you how much better I look and feel at this stage of the game. Congratulations on selecting a most interesting journey and change in lifestyle.

ROFL I'm the kind of person who loses, stalls, loses again. The 15 pounds includes, I believe, one such loss, two weeks of Optifast hell, the surgery, and the week following it. I'd gladly give back most of those pounds to have skipped the Optifast. The sugar content messed up my blood sugar and left me ravingly hungry. I don't know how long it will take to regain my sane appetite; so far it is nowhere in sight. :thumbup: The say those of us who have more to lose, lose a bit faster at first. I hope it's true! My surgeon's protocol is full liquids as soon as you leave the hospital after an overnight stay. Seven to ten days later, you have your first postop appointment and are cleared for four weeks of pureed/mushies. Then an appointment with the dietician to start on solids. I'm keeping my meals to 1/2 cup but I'm eating more than three times a day, I can tell you that! I made a good little meal tonight with 2T rotisserie chicken, 2T leftover steamed green beans, 1T light cottage cheese, and a little light mayo with seasoned salt. I'm allowed to have 2 Ritz, Townhouse, or saltine crackers sometimes, so I did have that with it. The result was moist and tasty. But that was an hour ago and I am hungry again already! Or hungry still. I'm doing some drinking, then I'll have my second protein shake before bed. Good night! Orea

I was banded July 9th, about one month ago as I said above. I lost the easy weight right away the first couple of weeks, then the last 2 weeks, is when I stalled out. Im just going to be more careful of sugar and carbs and keep on eating well. I actually cancelled my lapband surgery and posted two threads saying I was really having a hard time deciding if I should get the lapband if I wasnt not overeating. Three folks attacked me saying I needed to journal and that I was in denial and so many said I must be overeating and just didnt know it that I rescheduled the lapband, but I was never convinced that I was overeating before I got the lapband, so how is it going to help me?? Well, I get my first fill Aug 16th, maybe that will help and the fills will surprise me. On another board, we had a turtle thread for slow losers. Maybe we can start a thread like that. I see some who lose huge amounts and I look and their surgery was 5 months ago, and Im like wow. And hoping for a miracle for all of us. The skeptic part of me wonders. lol. I wish I was as postive about the band as everyone else here seems to be. Im sure willing to be converted to a happy bandster.

SB-- I don't think it is anyone's business except yours. You aren't under any obligation to disclose your medical history to others. I am also playing it fairly close to the vest because of my past failures. I've been up and down so many times and humilitated by gaining all I had lost and more, I just do not want "everyone" to know I had WLS until I really feel confident that "this is it" and I will be able to keep it off. Plus, I still have a looong way to go! I have received a number of compliments on my loss, and that's wonderful, but I just say thanks and tell people I'm working hard on it. I will, however, make an exception for an overweight person so that perhaps they can be helped by hearing about the band. I learned about it from a friend and am very grateful that he was willing to share. I love my band and would definitely agree that it is a journey. I want to do everything I can to protect it (and my stomach) and avoid problems down the road. I don't ever want to lose it. It's weird though-- one week I'll lose a half a pound, the next I might gain a pound and then the next I might lose six-- all while keeping approximately the same routine. It's very easy for me to get discouraged in those weeks I'm stalled out, but it seems like those are the times I notice my clothes getting more loose and people making comments about my weight loss. Anyone else experience that? I do exercise about 5 times a week and like to tell myself (don't know if it's true or not) that my body is swapping muscle for fat during those slow times and maybe that's why the loss is slow, Just can't give up... And those weeks where the scale has a significant drop? WOW! What a great motivator!! My band works great when I follow the rules. I have noticed a tendency to slip into old habits in terms of making bad food choices so I have recently gone back to tracking what I eat on the daily plate (www.thedailyplate.com). It's a bit of work but helps me really see what I'm eating and actually helps hold me accountable to making better choices. My goal is still so far off I can't think even about it so I'm trying to focus on more short-term goals. I'm almost to the point of moving one of those big old 50 pound weights on my scale and that means a lot to me. I still weigh more than most NFL players and getting under 300 is a big deal for me. I NEVER want to go back. I guess we just need to stay after it, be honest with ourselves and keep looking for ways we can improve our approach. The "rules" are there for a reason and, at least in my case, make a huge difference in whether or not I make progress. Hang in there Knockouts-- we can succeed long-term! Twoterville three pounds ahead-- Yahoo!!