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During your first year that is the time to change your routines around and make your life proactive to weight loss and maintaining it for life. It is a tool to help you get the weight off and keep it off. You are the master behind the tool and it will only be as effective as the master wants it to be. I believe you have to purposely do things counterproductive that will cause weight gain. Such as drinking when eating to push the food through your sleeve so you can eat more or eat carbs etc until your full wait a little bit and then eat some more. If you are careful and eat accordingly you should be fine. Again the modifications that you make in your first year are going to make the difference. Hang in there!

I saw a friend a few days ago whom I hadn't seen in a couple of months. She was going on about how much weight I've lost. When we were leaving, she said, "You need new pants, yours look loose." I was laughing, because all of my slacks had been falling off so I had just gone and bought 2 pairs of new ones the day before and I was wearing one of them. I guess I should have gone down another size? LOL. I'm going to exchange the second pair for the next size down instead of wearing them. Actually I don't think they would fit quite yet, but hopefully soon!! I'm down 4 pants sizes since surgery in Feb! Down in tops and undergarments also.

Get job on the non- scale victories! Even though your number isn't changing, your body obviously is! If you've been following the plan and exercising as much as you have been then the weight will start falling off again once your body catches up. Good luck on your second fill!

I have 1 bad knee but have been working out, which helps. Try water aerobics and take it slow. Just do what you can do. I also do Nautilus for upper body. I also work on legs but am very gentle on my knees. Use low weights and slow movements. I am trying to build up the muscles in my legs to support my knees. I also do better when I avoid carbs as much as possible. Don't give up hope! It will start to come off soon!

Has anyone had any experience with this plastic surgeon in Mexico? If you have I would like your feed back. I'm currently working with Medical Tourism of Mexico to get quotes on removing excess skin since weight loss. Any help would be appreciated!!!

Everything went well!!! I have lost 38 lbs!!! 5'5" surgery weight 328. 6 week check up 290.

Lol So funny how different everyone's body is! I cant physically tolerate not eating and I have not lost any weight so far. VERY depressing/frustrating especially since I cannot eat until friday

Day 6 status post roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery. The past five days of a clear liquids diet has made it abundantly clear to me that if I thought I had turned a new leaf, I definitely hadn't. Me: I'm hungry Ed: Oh, that food smells so good, doesn't it? It would be so good to take a bite. Look at it, just sitting there. Me: I'm going to turn away and not look at that Ed: Yeah, but whoops! There it is again. One of your kids left a perfectly good bowl of noodles drenched in Alfredo sauce just sitting there. Oh, the thought of eating it! Me: Distract! I'm going upstairs! Ed convinced me to just try purees a few days before I was supposed to. I did. It went okay, so he talked me into advancing the diet to purees a day early. I countered and decided on full liquids (liquids you can't see through but that still go through a strainer, like milk). Except he talked me into cottage cheese at night, just for fun, and I struggled to resist him. Me: One cup, and that's enough. Ed: Fill you up! Fill you up! Oh, it feels so good to fill you up! Don't you love that stuffed feeling? Don't you feel better now? Go take another cup. You can, you know, it's legal. Me: But I felt sort of full even before I finished the first one. I won't have a second one. Ed: DOOOO IT! Get up! That's right! Go over there and get another one, and make sure you pack it tight too! Level it off so it looks legal. There. Make an excuse now. Me: (to my daughter) "And I even get to have seconds! To think that this would have been two bites in the past -- haha! -- sigh." I don't want to eat another. Ed: But it does look so good. Really savor it. That's how you can justify it. You have 30 minutes to eat and it's only been 15, so you may as well. Me: But it doesn't taste so good any more. And I feel full. Ed: EAT IT! Me: Okay. And then later when I was in my daughter's room: Ed: Look! It's those powdered rice crispy things. What are they called? Puppy chow? There's three on her desk -- no SIX! Jackpot! You can take them without her looking. Do it! Me: I am not going to take them. They are soooo not on the diet! Ed: Take those three! There. You got them. Now the other three, right back there. She can't see you. Me: Why am I doing this. I'll throw them in the trash can. She noticed I'm doing something. Ed: No you won't. Walk out. Hide your hand. Real casual like, by your side, as if nothing were in it. Me: I'm going to dump them in the trash when I get out. This could really hurt me if I eat them. Ed: Eat them. Just chew them up good. Me: But the carbs! It's pure refined flour and sugar! Ed: Eat them! Good, good, now another... and another... Chew them slowly if that makes you feel better. Me: God. I hope I don't get dumping from this. How can I have cheated the first day I'm off clear liquids? Ed: Except you weren't, right? We ate that baby food meat for two days now, didn't we? Me: I feel so awful. Ed: There you go. You blew it. You didn't need any more food, but you had it anyway, didn't you. Didn't it feel good though? Me: No. It didn't. I feel horrible. Ed: You should. You never really will learn. You're going to start a blog, aren't you! You think you'll stick to that daily schedule you made today? You won't. You'll get bored like you always do and walk away. Sure, sure, maybe you'll get published some day, or maybe you'll just help someone. But really, you're going to quit like you quit everything else. You probably just gained back some of those pounds that you lost. And you didn't exercise today either. Hah! Fat lotta motivation you had for that, right? Me: But I thought... I was at least trying... Ed: But you failed as usual. Put it off. Screw this. Go to bed like you always do. Me: Okay. I'm not trying to shift the blame. There is no other person who is "forcing" me to eat the way I do. These are conversations I have in my head all day long. However, I've begun to read a book called Life Without Ed (Jenni Schaefer, 2004). In it, the author describes how she became the patient of Thom Rutledge and conquered her eating disorder by process of separating herself from these thoughts that had become so very internalized to her and later, as a separate "being" was able to end the relationship she had with the eating disorder/ED/Ed. I'm hoping that by blogging along as I read the book, I can experience some of the recovery that she has. Although the author describes a cycle of "starving, bingeing, then purging," it is just as easy for me to substitute the words "eating until I can't feel any more." Too easy. I have sought help for the craziness that causes me to eat when I'm not hungry, to eat until I'm stuffed, and then to eat more, but I'm told this is not an eating disorder. Like hell it isn't! So for now, those of us who don't binge and purge or starve ourselves, those of us who just have a problem with "poor food choices," or "portion size" and "not enough exercise" can go through the motions and get ourselves weight loss surgery. But why do so many of us not reach our goal, or gain so much of the weight back, eventually? Because we still are in the grips of disordered eating, or whatever you want to call the process that makes us want to eat when we're not hungry. I didn't even know that another way of eating existed until I had my third daughter. If she is not hungry, she will not eat. Plain and simple. She "saves up her hunger" when she knows she is going to her dad's for visitation, because she doesn't want to disappoint him by not eating. You see, if she forgets and has a snack after school, then she literally cannot eat dinner at his house, and ends up having a late dinner with me when she comes home. Or she will just skip dinner altogether, since she doesn't like feeling full at bedtime. One time I found a third-eaten Reeses Peanut Butter Cup laying on the counter. I had just enough restraint to ask her what that was all about before I devoured it in one bite. Her answer? "I took a bite and then I wasn't hungry any more." I gave birth to this child? Seriously? She definitely has her dad's genes, those of the calm observation that "If you just stopped eating after supper, you'd lose a lot of weight. It worked for me!" And of course it did. He snacked out of boredom or because he liked the taste of the food, but he really could take it or leave it. So he left it, and reached his goal weight within a month. If only it were that simple for the rest of us. But I see that I've gone on a rant, so I'll just shut up now and go to bed.

Preop start weight...385 Surgery weight.........367 5 weeks post op.......344 We always wanna move faster in the weightloss department but ill take 20ish pounds a month. Especially being that I just started walking exercising. Been smooth sailing, never took a pain pill outside of hospital, never had any naseau or vomiting. My pain was never more than a 1 after surgery. Went back to work 4 days after surgery. The new life is being good to me so far. Also never hungry, not even head hunger. I feel I'm one of the lucky ones.

Has anyone taken a month long break from active weight loss? Was it hard restarting the weight loss phase? I had major surgery the first week of December. The week prior I had to stop going to the Y due to Covid concerns. I admit I lost focus when it came to diet while recovering. I've increased my calories, especially carbs, more than I should have. But I didn't gain! I finally got the ok to start exercising again and I'm ready to focus on diet. Prior to surgery I was close to my goal weight but hadn't officially entered the maintenance phase. I'm curious if I can expect my weight loss to resume as prior to surgery or can I expect it to be more challenging since I have been in a 4 week self induced stall? Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

Yes, I am doing exactly that. From Thanksgiving to today I have eaten what I wanted but sensibly, keeping track of my calories about 1/3 of the days. I didn't gain, but I also didn't deprive myself of the foods I enjoy. I also overindulged a handful of times. I don't feel guilty and as of today I am following my program, wanting to lose another 15 pounds. Back to basics and plenty of protein! I haven't entered the maintenance phase either. I did this on purpose. I'm not sure if it was a good idea or not. We will see in the coming weeks.

Julie, thank you so much for this, it is so inspirational to see, and good luck for your weight loss this week xxx

Your doing the right thing by getting back on track with another fill. Don't worry about the weigh-in, your doctor has seen it before (and he'll understand because your unable to exercise). I have been at the same weight for nearly 3 months. I just got another fill, and already I am able to get back on track. Best Wishes

Hi Everyone! I am back with an update. I am having my band removed on June 4, 2015 and six months later will have the gastric bypass procedure. I did lose 34 pounds with the band, which is awesome. The weight loss has helped me be more active. However, I am almost seven years out and I am having band issues, which include port pain which is not associated to a fill; loss of a lot of fill Fluid within weeks of a fill; and being stuck which landed me in the hospital. So, to the banded veterans, are you having your band removed or is it removed already? AND are you having another WLS procedure? Please share. Thanks,

I was laying in bed today, (it's my day off) I was reading some posts and came across one that motivated me enough to get me out of bed at 7 and go do a 40 min workout. I was going to do the workout anyways but I was putting it off until later. Today is my double workout day...God help me. I've decided that I need to change things up for myself. I have already gotten in my 3 days of workouts that I require myself to do and still have 3 days left. I do believe I'll get in 5 days atleast this week. It's been a long time since I've done 5 days straight. I love to workout, I just let my life get in the way. Well not anymore. I know that if I want to reach my goal weight by my 41st birthday in July I need to get moving. My body is screaming at me for using muscles I haven't used in years, but I don't care. If I can move I'm moving this body. No amount of arthritis is stopping me now. Nor is my weight for that matter. This is my year. I normally don't think about myself so much as I do everyone else, but when I turned 40 I decided all that was gonna change. Let's talk about me!

Last Friday I went into my old place of work to see my old workers and co-workers. Despite the stress of the job, I have to admit, I really liked what I did and the people I worked with. Some of these people haven't seen me at all since my weight loss. Others have not seen me in a few months. So, it was interesting to see the looks on people's faces when I came in. Most would scream in delight to see me and then focus on my weight loss. I heard so many positive things that I felt like I should go up there once a month just to get the support. I was surprised that I didn't get any mean comments or people who were passive aggressive about it. To be honest, i really expected it with a few people. The shock on everyone's face was so extreme that it made me start thinking, "was I really THAT big before?". Well, one of my old workers had a photo of me (a couple actually) from my wedding shower. I took a good look at them and I have to admit, I was HUGE. I am not sure why I thought I wasn't that big. I mean when it was taken I weighed around 290. But like I have said before in my blog, I never felt fat. I mean, I knew i was I just didn't let that run my life. I refused it to get me down. There were times it did, but at a whole, I was happy. Don't get me wrong, I would have been much happier if I was a size a 10 but we can't always get what we want (according to the Rolling Stones anyway).. But, even though I was happy with who I was, I knew I would be much happier if I wasn't on all the meds i was on for my medical issues. At my age, it really bothered me to have to so many pills daily. That's one big reason I had the surgery....and now I am off them off (except my pain meds) and much happier with myself. Now, as I was driving home I started thinking. Why is it that no matter how content we are with our body (big or small), we always feel so much better about ourselves when we have people give us that double take look. Sure, it's better when it comes from the opposite sex, but even getting it from the same sex can put an extra bounce in your step. It sure did for me. Does that make me one of "those people". You know the kind. The ones that strive for the double take, especially from the opposite sex (or same sex if that's your thing). Am I turning into the girl that I've always made fun of/ You know the one. The one who always looks great. Who bats her eyelashes too much, shakes her but even when there is no music on, and always wheres a push up bra and a low cut shirt only to bend over in front of the person they want to get a reaction from? The more I thought about it, the more I was positively sure the answer was NO!!!! Just for a laugh...hope you like it. Reminds me of Joey from "Friends" Those girls don't have high self esteem and need to get reassurance from people who are only looking at their body. I am far from that woman. I am the woman who my whole life never felt like men found her attractive. I am the girl who was only asked out once in high school and to be honest, i am still not sure if that was a date or not. I am the girl who's self esteem through all that stayed very high (thanks to my wonderful parents) and I was able to see the difference between outer beauty and inner beauty. And, I didn't need someone to want me just to have a pretty girl on his arm. I wanted someone who wanted a pretty girl with brains and a sense of humor. It took me awhile to find that man, but when i did, i kept him close. But, with all that said, I am human. I like to be admired. I like to be looked at in a way that says, "Damn she's hot!". I mean let's be honest. Who wouldn't? So, I will continue to bask in the glory of the double takes and smiles, the positive feedback, and the flirting that happens from men I've known for years. I will take it all in and then come home to a my husband and tell him how happy I am to have in in my life. A man who loves me for every part of me....big or small....crazy or sane....pensive or talking his ear off for hours....yes, that's the person for me. And as I have done for 11 years, i will always do a double take when he walks in the room and wonder, "Damn, how did I get so lucky?"

I want to have lap band with bmi 31-32, high blood pressure, high cholesterol. Have anyone had problems after returning from out state lap band Will insurance cover problems from surgery in Mexico once you return to states How long is the recovery How much weight can you loose in a year Have friends had this done together I would like to go with someone whose having the same surgery. How long will it take to get qualified by ins comp pros and cons

Hi Steph, I'm newly banded myself. 1-24-12. If you go to forum down at the bottom there is a group for Looking for mentors/I'll be a mentor. I've just been reading the dailey stuff that gets posted plus talking to a few people locally. Getting the lapband is seems to be more than we signed up for right? But with dedication and determination, we'll get through it, till we will be able to enjoy the weight we have lost and you will have energy to keep up with those boys! Good luck!

I mentioned how desperate I was right…. Well, yesterday I drank two cups of a laxative tea called Smooth Move (one in the morning and one on my way home from work). My husband, bless his soul, also went to the store and bought me a drink called Simply Apple (amazing what an apple can do!). Now I don’t know which one did it or if it was a combo of the two but things got moving! Now I am all better. I knew there would be some difficulty going since I wasn’t putting all that much in my system to begin with, especially the weekend after my surgery. I knew I was slightly dehydrated and that would slow things down. But the bloating and pressure was getting way too uncomfortable. 10 days is a VERY long time to go without having a BM. Now I can get back to my diet plan and hopefully stay moving. I’m thinking of adding some Activia yogurt to my daily diet plan to stop this from happening again. But a little fiber in my protein shake every morning sounds like a plan too and cheaper I’m sure. I can’t tell you all how much I love this place. Everyone is so wonderful and helpful. And yes, for sure we are all a family! I wish I would have found this site sooner… Thanks to all! You guys rock! P.S. I don’t know if I’d ever recommend the above combo to anyone for relief. Even though I feel much better now, it was a desperate measure and it was painful. For me it was worth it as I finally feel normal. Plus now I can feel that I lost weight - NO MORE BLOATED TUMMY! I’m going to be sure to add something to my daily diet so that I never have to go through that again! XOXO -D :sneaky:

I think we all had THAT DAY. We had gone on a small weekend vacation with family and friends. I ate and drank just as much as the skinnier people there. But low and behold upon our return home I had gained 10 pounds in 3 days. So maybe I did eat a little more??? I just wanted to enjoy the vacation. All I know is that trip made up my mind. I had been thinking about the LapBand for a couple months but was scared and unsure. After that weekend I knew what needed to be done. I’m not like everyone else. I’m special and I need something special to help me with this problem. I was terrified when my surgery was right around the corner. I almost left the doctor’s office the morning of because I was so scared. I think that morning at the doc was the bravest I’ve ever been. I’m glad I stayed! I was banded on 7/17. I don’t regret anything so far. I’ve been steadily losing with the liquids and the mushies. I can’t wait for my first fill. It’s exciting. Don’t worry (I know that’s easy for me to say) but it WILL be ok! I would love to hear about how you’re doing in the months and years to come. Just remember the LapBand is a tool, we have to use it properly and it will work perfectly! Take care and I wish you ALL THE BEST! -D

I am wearing my 10 year old slacks today, I couldnt stand to get rid of them when I gained weight so they just hung in the closet and now I can wear them again! (My husband says I am a hoarder, lol.) They had been hanging so long that there was a layer of dust on the leg that was folded over the hanger. I am thinking resale shops....

I went to the Gap for the first time in ten years this weekend. I've always been shopping at Big and Tall or JC Penny's Big section and it was such a great feeling to be able to go to a regular store and fit in a pair of jeans! It took alot of control but I put it back on the shelf knowing that I am still on the path of losing more weight and am not ready to change my wardrobe just yet. I'm curious to hear when my fellow bandsters have started shopping and changing their wardrobes,,,

Can yo guys tell me how many lbs are normal to lose in two months I've lost 40 lbs but gained 2 back

http://gastricbypasstruth.com/145/how-gastric-bypass-surgery-patients-can-lose-35-more-weight