I had my surgery on June 15, 2010. I posted soon after that it wasn't working. I seem to up set a few on here. Their replies pretty much turned me off of this site, so I have not posted. Well guess what I still hate this thing. It doesn't work for me. I will say it again...really think about this before you do this. it seem to work for some,but please understand it doesn't work for everyone. I see the Doctor Tuesday and I'm going to tell him do something or take it out. I'm done with it.

Want to be thin: Why don't you get back on track in small doses instead of trying to do it all at once which might seem overwhelming and setting you up for failure. First, get rid of all the cookies, cakes, rolls, etc..all the food that we shouldn't be eating and replace it with:

bread - lite whole wheat (toasted)

milk - skim

lunch meat - lite (low fat)

use mustard instead of mayo

make a half of sandwich with this.

fruit - buy those no sugar added 1/2 cups of peaches, pears,mixed fruit, etc..

veggies - get canned, fresh or frozen.

butter - use I can't believe it's not butter spray.

carbs - make them complex - like a high fiber cereal, oatmeal

eggs - use egg beaters

buy a rotissiere chicken (if available) and remove skin, chop it up and add some fat free chicken gravy.

get some rice cakes (35 cal/each) and spray them with some I can't believe and then sprinkle a mixture of splenda and cinnamon on them.

salads - use lite balsamic vinegarette - Newman's makes a good one.

baked potatoes - get those microwave ready one. A baked potato now and then isn't going to kill you.

There are some 100 calorie protein bars that are good.

sugar free jello - 10 calorie

sugar free pudding - 60 calories

This should give you a good start and provide you with enough food choices.

At first just do the replacements of the unhealthy food with the healthy. Then after about a week or so, start keeping a food journal and measuring and weighing the food and decide on a calorie level (like 1500 to start and them lower over time).

Start exercising a little each day if you haven't. Just walk or if you have a treadmill, do that. Then you can increase it as time goes on. I do the Richard Simmons Sweatin to the Oldies. My adult son makes fun of it, but it's the music I grew up with so it's fun.

You also need to see your doctor again and visit with the nutritionist. I am not going to tell you the band works for everyone because it doesn't work for me by reducing hunger and providing satiety, but I do what I can to keep the weight off. It is a constant battle and it is for life and no, it's not fair. I was the thin girl for the first part of my life and now I'm not. So don't worry about being seen as the fat girl. What others think isn't important. It's what you think.

Think about getting healthy instead of getting thin. Some of us aren't made to be thin, But we should try to be healthy. Good luck.

Guys here I am. Today 240. I am down 9 lbs. Yeah Baby. I have the mindset to do this. I am gonna do this. I do not want to fail. My band does work. I am back tight. Cannot not eat but 1/2 piece baked fish tonight and about 3-4 bites of rice. and Yes the rice got stuck so I excused myself to the bathroom. Sat backdown and finished the 1/2 fish and now I am satisfied. My hubby is sitting over there on the couch right now eating a nutty bar (LOL) and it does not bother me one bit. He is thin and honestly if he did not eat what he ate he would be a skeleton. Oh well, I am on my way, and excited. We can do this.

No, you read it into it.

wow, this is quite a "hot" topic on whether the band works or not. I am living proof that with some hard work and SELF CONTROL of my eating habits, the band works even at my age of 58. I am down 90 pds from being banded on 12/20/08 and at first I felt just like fluffy that this is the worst decision of my life...but after the first few months of depression on "what on earth did I do to myself", I resigned myself to get down and get to work on this battle of the weight that I have had for over 40 years. I do believe it is not for everyone, but so many people go into this band surgery thing thinking that this is a miracle cure and you just sit back and it happens. WRONG, this takes a lot of work and perserverance on watching your calories and getting exercise everyday. I am not a gym person, so I made up my mind that I would only do exercise that can be done forever, not just during the weight loss. I walk every chance I get at least twice a day at break time at work and do whatever yardwork I can at home on weekends. Keeping active is the other key besides counting calories that make the difference in this journey. I am telling you now, gastric might work at first, but I have a nephew that is steadily gaining his weight back after 4 years because he is stretching his stomach out again, so if you are looking for no control over your food, that surgery is not going to work either over the long haul. I am sorry, but I am a firm believer in the band and it literally saved my life, good luck on whatever you choose to do with your band.

Good post Cleo's Mom. This is actually about how I went about things pre-op and post-op (once past the healing phase). I was not put on a pre-op diet so I wasn't weaned off the white carbs.. I did it slowly and it wasn't difficult because I was gentle with myself. I didn't use exactly the things you list, but close enough.

Want to be thin: Why don't you get back on track in small doses instead of trying to do it all at once which might seem overwhelming and setting you up for failure. First, get rid of all the cookies, cakes, rolls, etc..all the food that we shouldn't be eating and replace it with:

bread - lite whole wheat (toasted)

milk - skim

lunch meat - lite (low fat)

use mustard instead of mayo

make a half of sandwich with this.

fruit - buy those no sugar added 1/2 cups of peaches, pears,mixed fruit, etc..

veggies - get canned, fresh or frozen.

butter - use I can't believe it's not butter spray.

carbs - make them complex - like a high fiber cereal, oatmeal

eggs - use egg beaters

buy a rotissiere chicken (if available) and remove skin, chop it up and add some fat free chicken gravy.

get some rice cakes (35 cal/each) and spray them with some I can't believe and then sprinkle a mixture of splenda and cinnamon on them.

salads - use lite balsamic vinegarette - Newman's makes a good one.

baked potatoes - get those microwave ready one. A baked potato now and then isn't going to kill you.

There are some 100 calorie protein bars that are good.

sugar free jello - 10 calorie

sugar free pudding - 60 calories

This should give you a good start and provide you with enough food choices.

At first just do the replacements of the unhealthy food with the healthy. Then after about a week or so, start keeping a food journal and measuring and weighing the food and decide on a calorie level (like 1500 to start and them lower over time).

Start exercising a little each day if you haven't. Just walk or if you have a treadmill, do that. Then you can increase it as time goes on. I do the Richard Simmons Sweatin to the Oldies. My adult son makes fun of it, but it's the music I grew up with so it's fun.

You also need to see your doctor again and visit with the nutritionist. I am not going to tell you the band works for everyone because it doesn't work for me by reducing hunger and providing satiety, but I do what I can to keep the weight off. It is a constant battle and it is for life and no, it's not fair. I was the thin girl for the first part of my life and now I'm not. So don't worry about being seen as the fat girl. What others think isn't important. It's what you think.

Think about getting healthy instead of getting thin. Some of us aren't made to be thin, But we should try to be healthy. Good luck.

Wow, many here are more busy arguing with other things people said instead of ansering the question. The topic starter should *start* by reading the dietary information. lots of it. You have the Band, try it before you pull it. I have not had surgery, I am considering the Band or the Sleeve. All the "working" makes me nervous, as the work i've done this far hasn't worked. Maybe the poster needs to consider the Sleeve IF this doesn't work out, give it 6 months, a year.. I'd NEVEr do a Bypass or anything that messes up my intestines-I'd rather stay fat! It does suck to get this surgery, think that you won't be hungry and will be able to lose weight. It seems a lot of a tool (in the bad and good sense of the word). Try to learn what you can as long as you can stand it..and ignore all the people's 'political' discussions!

Wow, many here are more busy arguing with other things people said instead of ansering the question. The topic starter should *start* by reading the dietary information. lots of it. You have the Band, try it before you pull it. I have not had surgery, I am considering the Band or the Sleeve. All the "working" makes me nervous, as the work i've done this far hasn't worked. Maybe the poster needs to consider the Sleeve IF this doesn't work out, give it 6 months, a year.. I'd NEVEr do a Bypass or anything that messes up my intestines-I'd rather stay fat! It does suck to get this surgery, think that you won't be hungry and will be able to lose weight. It seems a lot of a tool (in the bad and good sense of the word). Try to learn what you can as long as you can stand it..and ignore all the people's 'political' discussions!

Wow, many here are more busy arguing with other things people said instead of ansering the question. The topic starter should *start* by reading the dietary information. lots of it. You have the Band, try it before you pull it. I have not had surgery, I am considering the Band or the Sleeve. All the "working" makes me nervous, as the work i've done this far hasn't worked. Maybe the poster needs to consider the Sleeve IF this doesn't work out, give it 6 months, a year.. I'd NEVEr do a Bypass or anything that messes up my intestines-I'd rather stay fat! It does suck to get this surgery, think that you won't be hungry and will be able to lose weight. It seems a lot of a tool (in the bad and good sense of the word). Try to learn what you can as long as you can stand it..and ignore all the people's 'political' discussions!

.I'd NEVEr do a Bypass or anything that messes up my intestines-I'd rather stay fat!.

You're Kidding, right?

Tell that to the hundreds of thousands of people for whom the Bypass has changed their lives dramatically, for the better.

If you have decided to have WLS, be open to ALL the procedures. ONE of them will be better for you. But don't rule out anything.

If you limit yourself like that, it's unlikely you be successful with any WLS. It requires an open mind.

S.

I'd NEVEr do a Bypass or anything that messes up my intestines-I'd rather stay fat!

I have to agree. I've done lots of research and came to the same conclusion. There are worse things than being fat. I belong to another forum that is mainly bypass patients and they have the same problems band patients do. Some do well...many do not. Even the experts in the WLS recognize that the vast majority of bypass patients never lose more than 50% or so of their weight (what they normally lose as a result of malabsorption) but they deem this a success anyway. Many gain their weight back and then some. Some hit their goal weight and continue to lose...and not because they want to. I now know 5 people who've died in this manner over the last 3 years.

Ask a surgeon why he recommends bypass for someone who failed the band and he'll tell you it's because bypass is more 'successful'...but their success rate is not based on people who reach their ideal weight...or even on people who lose a specific percentage of weight and keep it off. It's based on people losing at least 50% of their weight...which bypass patients typically do in the first year or so, but there is no follow-up to see if they keep it off.

The reality is that the VS and band both have a honeymoon phase. After that phase, if the person does not 'work' that WLS, they will gain the weight right back...only now they've made major revisions to their insides which sets up its own set of complications (more so in bypass).

.

I have not had surgery, I am considering the Band or the Sleeve. All the "working" makes me nervous, as the work i've done this far hasn't worked. Maybe the poster needs to consider the Sleeve IF this doesn't work out, give it 6 months, a year.. I'd NEVEr do a Bypass or anything that messes up my intestines-I'd rather stay fat! It does suck to get this surgery, think that you won't be hungry and will be able to lose weight. It seems a lot of a tool (in the bad and good sense of the word).

I have not had to "work" at it. I have lost 109 pounds with very little effort on my part. But, I am one of the lucky ones that the band works for like it should. This is the easiest weightloss of my life. Over the years I have tried every diet you can think of and they were all much more "work" than this has been for me.

I don't have hunger issues. The problem is that you really don't know if you will be one of the lucky ones that does not have to put in a great deal of work until you get the band and follow up with adjustments/fills. The sleeve is pretty drastic too. They do remove most of your stomach.

think that the way fluffy took the post was as if elfie had said "well why do you THINK it didn't work for you" as if she was saying she didn't actually know if her band wasn't working for her.

The way that she had actually mean the post was "why do YOU think the band didn't work for you" maybe it was just her way of trying to be supportive and figure out what it was that was causing her problems.

Wow, many here are more busy arguing with other things people said instead of ansering the question. The topic starter should *start* by reading the dietary information. lots of it. You have the Band, try it before you pull it. I have not had surgery, I am considering the Band or the Sleeve. All the "working" makes me nervous, as the work i've done this far hasn't worked. Maybe the poster needs to consider the Sleeve IF this doesn't work out, give it 6 months, a year.. I'd NEVEr do a Bypass or anything that messes up my intestines-I'd rather stay fat! It does suck to get this surgery, think that you won't be hungry and will be able to lose weight. It seems a lot of a tool (in the bad and good sense of the word). Try to learn what you can as long as you can stand it..and ignore all the people's 'political' discussions!

It doesn't matter the direction the thread has taken or what people say in response to other's posts. If you go back and read, you may come to the conclusion, as I have, that the OP does not want help with the band and how it works.

I have to agree. I've done lots of research and came to the same conclusion. There are worse things than being fat. I belong to another forum that is mainly bypass patients and they have the same problems band patients do. Some do well...many do not. Even the experts in the WLS recognize that the vast majority of bypass patients never lose more than 50% or so of their weight (what they normally lose as a result of malabsorption) but they deem this a success anyway. Many gain their weight back and then some. Some hit their goal weight and continue to lose...and not because they want to. I now know 5 people who've died in this manner over the last 3 years.

Ask a surgeon why he recommends bypass for someone who failed the band and he'll tell you it's because bypass is more 'successful'...but their success rate is not based on people who reach their ideal weight...or even on people who lose a specific percentage of weight and keep it off. It's based on people losing at least 50% of their weight...which bypass patients typically do in the first year or so, but there is no follow-up to see if they keep it off.

The reality is that the VS and band both have a honeymoon phase. After that phase, if the person does not 'work' that WLS, they will gain the weight right back...only now they've made major revisions to their insides which sets up its own set of complications (more so in bypass).

.

As usual, you haven't a clue what your talking about.

S.

As usual, you haven't a clue what your talking about.

S.

Can't you just be nice Spartan? Next thing you know you will start name calling and get kicked off the forum .....again.

I had my surgery on June 15, 2010. I posted soon after that it wasn't working. I seem to up set a few on here. Their replies pretty much turned me off of this site, so I have not posted. Well guess what I still hate this thing. It doesn't work for me. I will say it again...really think about this before you do this. it seem to work for some,but please understand it doesn't work for everyone. I see the Doctor Tuesday and I'm going to tell him do something or take it out. I'm done with it.