I've been banded alil over a month and waiting to start this weight loss. Can you tell me what made you successful in your weight loss? any secrets with which foods you ate the most, tips or "tricks" you did to lose weight? I also tend to eat when bored at work and would like some snack ideas instead of going downstairs to the store and getting junk food! ugh Im currently at 6ccs in a 14cc band and not at my sweet spot yet.

Get all the junk out of your house. So if you do go sneak a snack it won't be anything bad. I'm not a big snacker but I keep some 100 calorie packs around, they make them of almost every kind of snack food or nuts or chips, so if I have a craving I can get it out w/o ruining my diet. But generally I will have almonds, or crackers and Peanut Butter, try to get some Protein in.Or I love Popchips! After dinner I like to do a small bowl of oatmeal for some reason.. I crave it then ahah. Also I like sugar free bite size hershey's special dark, only 30 cal a piece. Not something to have all the time, but it really hits the spot if you want chocolate, I'll take one when I go to the movies or somewhere I'd normally have chocolate.

Use a baby fork and spoon so you take smaller bites.

After you eat the food you are aloud, get up, do something else, you probably aren't still hungry you just want more food.

Exercise is good, it's still hard for me, but i'm trying to get out there at least 3 days a week, I'm working up to 5. Try different things to stay motivated. Gym, hiking, sports, yoga.. whatever

I think the biggest advice/tip I could give people is to really take your time with your meals... at least 30 minutes if not more if you can... eat slowly (and with small bites like Heather said).

I'd always heard that the time between your brain realizing your stomach is satisfied or full is like 20 minutes... I say "heard" cuz I never practiced that! I was a very fast eater, always in a hurry... but man it is TRUE! When I started slowing down my meals I really got satisfied on less food, even tho I'm not yet at my sweet spot and could probably eat a lot more!

The other thing is really to eat the Protein first cuz it fills you up

And get your fluids (preferably water) in between meals instead of Snacks... so many benefits and then you probably won't feel like snacking...

Good luck!

Thanks ladies!

I'd say exercise, eating more veggies, and eating a lot of poultry have been extremely important factors in my weightloss. Also eating every 3-4 hours has also been very helpful.

Sticking to a low carb diet and always eating your Protein first.

Allowing yourself to have a treat once a week.

Cutting down/ cutting out alcohol.

Drink lots of Water

Work out 3 - 5 times a week and try to walk as much as you can.

Having patience and realise that it is going to take time. If you're expecting to lose 5lbs a week, it's probably not going to happen.

Deal with plateaus (I've just come through a 4 month plateau).

Give yourself realistic goals and stick to them.

Avoid places you know you will want to splurge.

I think the hardest thing for me has been dealing with the slow weight loss, but I've overcome that by thinking that this is now a way of life for me. I feel like I eat like a normal person and my hunger is under control (as long as I stick to a low carb diet). I wasn't huge to begin with with a BMI of 39 but it's taken me 7 months to get down to a BMI of 29 (finally not obese anymore!). The main thing I have trouble with is the alcohol. I'm 28 and single so I like to go out at the weekend. So now when I do go out I drink vodka/whiskey and water.

There's two ways of looking at this - one is for long term, forever after success and the other is what tips and tricks we all have for weight loss.

For weight loss what works for me: three meals a day NO Snacks, balanced meals from all food groups, moderate amounts of treats - something yummy once or twice a week say - and remembering that its basically calories in/calories out (which does not meant that I necessarily have to log everythign, just choose low calorie filling foods). I ate carbs all the way through and didnt particularly focus on Protein. Exercise is absolutely vital and walking is a great place to start. Morbidly obese people are in such bad shape and its so much work to move their bodies that walking will torch calories. But be prepared - as you lose, you will have to work harder than that. To me, it was simply a matter of cardio (I run daily) and moderate bodyweight strength training.

For the forever after success stuff I think its important to remember this is not a diet, its a new way of life. To me, strict regimes which cut out food groups and/or require constant calculations and logging dont qualify as lifetyle changers, they're diets, but meh, each to their own I guess. However, five years down the track I've had to be comletely unfilled for cancer treatment and I am ever so glad I worked not on a diet but on making lifestyle changes - I've had absolutely no trouble maintaining my loss, in fact i wont fill it again unless it becomes necessary further down the track.

But look at how different we all are! To me, I'm soft on the diet side of it and very hard core on the exercise part, but you do have to find your own balance.

But look at how different we all are! To me, I'm soft on the diet side of it and very hard core on the exercise part, but you do have to find your own balance.

Haha- this is true. I don't exercise, but I do limit carbs (i.e. "diet").

I do this because I'd rather give up bread than exercise, without a freaking doubt

I say this, KNOWING, that before too long I will have taken my weight loss as far as it will easily go on diet alone and will have to start exercising. But man, I'm not doing it until I have to.

To the Original Poster, honestly the only secret is that I do not test my band, meaning I carefully watch portion size 95% of the time. I try to eat as little as possible to get me to "not hungry" and then I stop no matter how good it tastes. A lot of the time, I do that with a low-carb mindset that is high on Protein and veggies but honestly I'm not even 100% strict with that-- it's just my general way of approaching meals that I follow a good portion of the time, but that also allows me "treats" when I really want them. My band makes this much much easier to do than before and yes, I expect that I will eat this way for the rest of my life. I honestly don't have a problem with that and it is the reason I got my band-- to help me maintain weight loss long term.

I am exercising 3-5 times a week by either walking or getting on the elliptical. I practice portion control, but I have good restriction. I have some junk food in my house, but nothing I really care to eat. My skinny husband and children love goodies and can eat them and stay skinny but I cannot so they only get the Snacks that I don't love. Raisin creme pies and Fritos are NOT allowed in my house. I don't have control over them.

One thing that I have tried to stick with is my pre-op diet of low sugar. Basically, I eat nothing that has over 3-5 grams of sugar in it. No rice, Pasta, bread, things like that. I eat Protein and veggies. Now I do allow myself a snack ever so often, but I just really keep a good check on my sugar intake. It really makes a difference. I eat half of a banana every morning in my Protein shake, but that is about all for fruit.