Just returned from my surgeon's office today and I am thrilled to report that I am down 42 pounds since my surgery on July 29th!:thumbup:

I am also down 26.75 inches all over!! I finally feel like the weight I am losing will never return. The lap-band is a fabulous tool! Still no fill.....Doc says I am "smoking it" so no need to mess with the band!

Congratulations on your progress!!! ive been feeling a little down about the lack of progress since my surgery which was also the 29th of July. I've only lost 6lbs so im very frustrated! Have any tips or advice to share? Whats your daily regiment like?

Just returned from my surgeon's office today and I am thrilled to report that I am down 42 pounds since my surgery on July 29th!

I am also down 26.75 inches all over!! I finally feel like the weight I am losing will never return. The lap-band is a fabulous tool! Still no fill.....Doc says I am "smoking it" so no need to mess with the band!:crying:

Congratulations! I cannot wait to join the ranks...

Just returned from my surgeon's office today and I am thrilled to report that I am down 42 pounds since my surgery on July 29th!

I am also down 26.75 inches all over!! I finally feel like the weight I am losing will never return. The lap-band® is a fabulous tool! Still no fill.....Doc says I am "smoking it" so no need to mess with the band!:crying:

Super, you are doing very well! but I would tell your surgeon he is a moron and ask him what HE is smoking? If you could lose weight and KEEP it off, you would not have needed the the band to begin with. keep up the good work but you are losing weight by will power and when that runs out you will need a filled and properly adjusted band to get you over the hump and all the way to your goal and KEEP IT OFF permanently. There seems to be a bunch of stergeons that just dont get it.

Maybe I have it wrong and will take my licks if I am wrong with thes view point, but I know I tried everything before and was not having any LONG term success and it gets harder the older I get too.

That's my story and I am sticking with it!

Super, you are doing very well! but I would tell your surgeon he is a moron and ask him what HE is smoking? If you could lose weight and KEEP it off, you would not have needed the the band to begin with. keep up the good work but you are losing weight by will power and when that runs out you will need a filled and properly adjusted band to get you over the hump and all the way to your goal and KEEP IT OFF permanently. There seems to be a bunch of stergeons that just dont get it.

Maybe I have it wrong and will take my licks if I am wrong with thes view point, but I know I tried everything before and was not having any LONG term success and it gets harder the older I get too.

That's my story and I am sticking with it!

Congrats Sprinkles, you're awesome. Dman, you are so right and you bring up a great point. I was banded on 08/16/2010 I've lost 24 lbs, but DAMMMMM I'm hungry. I'm just doing this through shear will power. If I go to my next appointment and my doctor says "Ohhh you're doing great no need for a fill, I going to be upset, to say the least."

Sprinkles, do you feel like you have restriction? If you do that's great, but like Dman said be prepared to possibly need a fill at some point. I've heard that some people never need a fill, but that's hard for me to believe and makes no sense. Once your swelling goes down from surgery your stomach is back to the same size it was pre-surgery.

I certainly disagree that my surgeon is a moron! And yes, I do have restriction. I eat only about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup per meal and I am full and stay that way. As soon as I feel full, I stop eating no matter what is left on my plate. Pre-band, I would have been able to stuff it in, but no longer. Throughout this whole process I have never had the hunger that other banders talk about. I know that I will need a fill eventually and he told me if I start to get hungry between meals to call and schedule an appointment for a fill.

Natalieg, I am exercising about 3x per week and have the goal of increasing this to 5x per week. I have a Protein shake around 6:15 or 6:30 in the morning and only snack on days that I teach/attend class to avoid getting that hungry feeling. My Snacks are usually 2% string cheese or reduced fat Peanut Butter and fat free crackers. For lunch I usually eat chilli, deli turkey, or chicken salad with 5 fat free saltines and if I am not stuffed on that, I will eat some fruit, such as a sliced fresh peach. For dinner, I usually eat some sort of sea food and a green vegetable. In between times, I either drink Water or crystal light. I stick to the list of acceptable foods that was given at the Doctor's office.

Good luck to everyone! I am so glad that I had this surgery!

i think the idea behind not giving fills unless it is "necessary" is simply "if it ain't broke don't fix it". the band is in there and can be filled at any time. for me, getting banded threw me off my regimen a little and i was actually losing weight more steadily before my band. still, i know its there, i know i'll get fills and restriction, and i'll lose the rest of the weight, reach goal and keep it off and the band will be a big part of that. its there, even if i am not using it right now.

I certainly disagree that my surgeon is a moron! And yes, I do have restriction. I eat only about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup per meal and I am full and stay that way. As soon as I feel full, I stop eating no matter what is left on my plate. Pre-band, I would have been able to stuff it in, but no longer. Throughout this whole process I have never had the hunger that other banders talk about. I know that I will need a fill eventually and he told me if I start to get hungry between meals to call and schedule an appointment for a fill.

Natalieg, I am exercising about 3x per week and have the goal of increasing this to 5x per week. I have a Protein shake around 6:15 or 6:30 in the morning and only snack on days that I teach/attend class to avoid getting that hungry feeling. My Snacks are usually 2% string cheese or reduced fat Peanut Butter and fat free crackers. For lunch I usually eat chilli, deli turkey, or chicken salad with 5 fat free saltines and if I am not stuffed on that, I will eat some fruit, such as a sliced fresh peach. For dinner, I usually eat some sort of sea food and a green vegetable. In between times, I either drink Water or crystal light. I stick to the list of acceptable foods that was given at the Doctor's office.

Good luck to everyone! I am so glad that I had this surgery!

You would be one of the lucky ones that have the proper restriction with just the band installed.

99% of everyone else needs a fill or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 to get the proper restriction so not to feel hungry all the time only eating 1/2 cup of food.

That is great!!!! keep it up

Your surgeon is back on the OK list, there a bunch it would seem that ARE morons and dont understand anything but the fees they get for the surgery.

Congrats on your success!! I am 7 weeks post op as of tomorrow. I weigh in tomorrow also (I only weigh once a week). I have lost 38 pounds without a fill. When I went to my surgeons 2 weeks ago, I decided to put the fill off because I am losing steadily without it. True it takes more will power. But believe me, the little hunger pains I may get now are nothing compared to how I used to be hungry prior to banding. I am steadily losing four pounds a week, why lose more than that? I want to lose it slow. If I wanted to lose it faster I would have had bypass. Keep up the good work, and dont sweat the fills. They are there if you need them but there is nothing wrong with will power. There are those that say if you could do that you wouldnt need the band. Garbage. The band, even unfilled,:smile: changes everything. Get that exercise up to like 5 or 6 days a week, and you will continue to do awesome.

Congrats to you as well! You are doing super. I don't weigh myself, so I don't know if I have lost anymore and I don't go back to the doc until 11/9. I may have to invest in a scale!:smile2: I am sure some of my weight loss is through sheer willpower, but I will never know how much is the band or me. I know before I had the surgery, I made my mind up that this is it, so I will not jeopardize my efforts at all. And surprisingly, I don't miss any of those pre-band foods. Sweets used to be my weakness and now I have no desire to eat them. I agree about the hunger pains! They are almost nonexistent, unlike before the band. It is finally cooler here, so I am beginning to walk at lunch time and that makes it easier to get the exercise in! Good luck to you!

I know what you mean about not craving pre-band foods. I have been a pasta fanatic my whole life. Growing up in an italian household in NY, we ate it several times a week. I was worried that Id get bad withdrawals, but I dont really miss it, which amazes me. I had my 7 week weigh in by the way and lost 6 more pounds this week, to bring my total to 44 pounds so far. Seeing the pounds come off every week definitely helps keep me motivated in the gym.