Ok so I told a friend that I was considering getting the lapband and I have been researching it. She said, "that sounds like a cop out to me, you just need to work at it, why would you even consider surgery?" :smile2: Needless to say I was hurt and frustrated by her comments, most of the postings I have read in here say that one still really has to work hard to remove the weight and that although the lapband is helpful it is not fool proof. Am I justified in feeling like she is way out of line? Do any of the "banded" feel like they copped out so to speak? Any thoughts? I believe I really need to make a permanent change and the band can help me with that. My doc suggested I look into it. I guess I am just frustrated. Any words of encouragement would be appreciated.

I've had a lot of time to think this one through. I am 15 months post-band and am less than 10 pounds from goal.

Truth be told? This was so so so so much easier than trying to lose this weight on my own and keep it off. For me, that would have been an impossible endeavor. But, with the band, my hunger was satisfied, and I have had results that inspired me to keep going.

Could I have stayed on a traditional diet for 15 months (including 7 months of a hard core boot camp workout program)? Honestly, it's highly unlikely. I don't think most of my diets pre-band lasted 15 weeks!

Do I feel like my band was a miracle cure to a life-long struggle with my weight? You bet your bippie I do.

Did I have to put in the time and effort to make my weight loss happen? ABSOLUTELY. I have worked my @$$ off in the gym and have been very good about making the right food choices 99% of the time.

Does the band give me some guarantee that I won't gain the weight back, whereas traditional weight loss does not? YES. Statistically speaking, I am not gaining this weight back, whereas if I'd lost it on a diet, I'd -- statistically speaking -- be gaining all of it back and more.

If we are all going to be totally honest, the band is EASIER than traditional weight loss. But, it's by no means EASY. All of us work hard for every pound lost, but they do come off, and the band has given me a level of optimism, hope and confidence in my ability to live my life as a thin person that I never had before.

I wouldn't worry too much about your friend's perception. Take a look at my before/current photos (link below) that I just posted and let me know if you could deal with a few ignorant haters in exchange for getting your weight under control and feeling good about yourself!

Best wishes for your success,

Catherine

I ate a stupid little grape tomato last night and was miserable for an hour and a half and can barely get liquids down now! Wore a hole in my carpet doing laps up and down the hall, my napkin didn't catch all the PB that surprised me, the pain, the pressure, the stupid faces trying to make it stop. Rough way to find out that the skin was just a bit too tough for me to chew thoroughly.

Stupid me, started pondering getting a fill, that is a sure-fire trigger for a stuck-event for me -- being so close to goal.

Yeah, easy way out my Aunt Fanny!

The easy way out is giving up on oneself and gaining weight until diabetes or heart disease takes its toll and we are in the grave.

it is not a cop out! This is the hardest I've worked for anything in my entire life. It is not easy at all. it really angers me when people assume that we take the easy way out by having surgery, they have no idea how hard it is for all of us!

Oh how I do LOVE the stupid comments! This is the exact reason I have kept my surgery to myself. People just don't get exactly how hard it is with the band. 2 yrs out and I still have bad days. Days when the band and I are not friends and it gives me nothing but trouble. Some days eating something that should go through with no problem ends up giving me 30 min. of pain. But without the band I would still be 189lbs and dealing with a butt-load of health problems. Did I take the easy way out? Maybe. But to me it saved my life and made me a better friend, mother, wife, sister, daughter.

My reaction to this comment is let them be haters! Someday when all their head issues are worked out and they are perfect then they can judge us. Until then, they can keep their ignorant mouths shut.