Hi there,

I've been banded since Feb. 25th and am doing ok. Weight is coming off VERY slowly. I know I've seen it on here before but can't seem to find it now...for the successful bandsters out there...what is working for you? What things do you do that you find make you successful? Any tips would be great! Thanks

* Weigh & measure all meals eaten at home (3oz Protein, 1/2 cup veggies).

* wait 20 minutes after eating.. if still hungry, I can have another serving veggies.. provided no sauce, cheese, etc.

* Only 3 meals a day...unless awake an extended period of time, then may have a 4th meal.

* High protein, low cal Snacks only if truly hungry between meals. Drink Water first to see if thirst is masquerading as hunger.

* drink 20 oz of water immediately before meals, and nothing during or after meals.. at least for 30 min., preferably for an hour.

* exercise 5 or 6 days a week, minimum of 90 minutes. (when I started it was only walking..as I get more in shape, I increase the intensity of the exercise).

* As little processed foods as possible.

* no rice, no bread, no Pasta, no potatoes, very little corn.

* Lean meats (I strive for 90/10.. 85/15 is the highest fat I will buy). Not all ground turkey is lean.. surprise!

* Avoid HFCS like the plague (high fructose corn syrup).. read labels, it's in everything!

* No fried foods. Oven fried is allowed though.

* minimum of 64 oz of water a day. Most days I'm at 80 or above.

*journal my food intake

*attend support group (online or in person or both)

*try to keep trigger foods out of the house, or at least out of sight (have a cabinet for my DS's and DH's treats).

There might be more, but this is all I can think of right now.

WOW great weight loss! Congrats to you - When you say excercise 5-6 days a week a minimum of 90minutes are you saying 90 minutes each day you excercise or total in the 5-6days??

* Weigh & measure all meals eaten at home (3oz Protein, 1/2 cup veggies).

* wait 20 minutes after eating.. if still hungry, I can have another serving veggies.. provided no sauce, cheese, etc.

* Only 3 meals a day...unless awake an extended period of time, then may have a 4th meal.

* High protein, low cal Snacks only if truly hungry between meals. Drink Water first to see if thirst is masquerading as hunger.

* drink 20 oz of water immediately before meals, and nothing during or after meals.. at least for 30 min., preferably for an hour.

* exercise 5 or 6 days a week, minimum of 90 minutes. (when I started it was only walking..as I get more in shape, I increase the intensity of the exercise).

* As little processed foods as possible.

* no rice, no bread, no Pasta, no potatoes, very little corn.

* Lean meats (I strive for 90/10.. 85/15 is the highest fat I will buy). Not all ground turkey is lean.. surprise!

* Avoid HFCS like the plague (high fructose corn syrup).. read labels, it's in everything!

* No fried foods. Oven fried is allowed though.

* minimum of 64 oz of water a day. Most days I'm at 80 or above.

*journal my food intake

*attend support group (online or in person or both)

*try to keep trigger foods out of the house, or at least out of sight (have a cabinet for my DS's and DH's treats).

There might be more, but this is all I can think of right now.

I drink at LEAST 100 oz. of water a day. I track EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth via myfitnesspal.com. I think tracking has really made me aware of what I eat. I also swim every day at least 45 minutes.

WOW great weight loss! Congrats to you - When you say excercise 5-6 days a week a minimum of 90minutes are you saying 90 minutes each day you excercise or total in the 5-6days??

Most days I exercise 2 hours or more.. My easy day I do 90 minutes. This is NOW.. at 2 years out. I started out just walking..and didn't time it, I just walked a little bit further each day until I was walking a mile.. then I tried to increase my speed.

Not everyone has the time to exercise like I do.. my kids are grown and (almost) out of the house.. makes a difference.

Many ways to add exercise to your day w/o going to the gym. Look for ways to not use your "labor-saving devices".. I've been known to do lunges across my kitchen putting away one piece of silverware at a time. Or squats while on hold on the phone. Put on some great music and dance while vacuuming or sweeping.. take one piece of clothing at a time from the dryer to the bedroom.

I also park far away from the stores and try to make myself walk the perimeter of the grocery store before putting anything in my cart. And I take the cart all the way back to the store.. avoiding those oh-so convenient corrals. If it's really raining hard or really really cold.. ok, I'll give in to the easy way, but otherwise.. nope.

I now take weight lifting and cardio classes at my gym. My poor doggies miss their walks.. I should start that again.

Most days I exercise 2 hours or more.. My easy day I do 90 minutes. This is NOW.. at 2 years out. I started out just walking..and didn't time it, I just walked a little bit further each day until I was walking a mile.. then I tried to increase my speed.

Not everyone has the time to exercise like I do.. my kids are grown and (almost) out of the house.. makes a difference.

Many ways to add exercise to your day w/o going to the gym. Look for ways to not use your "labor-saving devices".. I've been known to do lunges across my kitchen putting away one piece of silverware at a time. Or squats while on hold on the phone. Put on some great music and dance while vacuuming or sweeping.. take one piece of clothing at a time from the dryer to the bedroom.

I also park far away from the stores and try to make myself walk the perimeter of the grocery store before putting anything in my cart. And I take the cart all the way back to the store.. avoiding those oh-so convenient corrals. If it's really raining hard or really really cold.. ok, I'll give in to the easy way, but otherwise.. nope.

I now take weight lifting and cardio classes at my gym. My poor doggies miss their walks.. I should start that again.

I love how you put away laundry and silverware. I think I'm gonna do that too! Thanks!

* Weigh & measure all meals eaten at home (3oz Protein, 1/2 cup veggies).

* wait 20 minutes after eating.. if still hungry, I can have another serving veggies.. provided no sauce, cheese, etc.

* Only 3 meals a day...unless awake an extended period of time, then may have a 4th meal.

* High protein, low cal Snacks only if truly hungry between meals. Drink Water first to see if thirst is masquerading as hunger.

* drink 20 oz of water immediately before meals, and nothing during or after meals.. at least for 30 min., preferably for an hour.

* exercise 5 or 6 days a week, minimum of 90 minutes. (when I started it was only walking..as I get more in shape, I increase the intensity of the exercise).

* As little processed foods as possible.

* no rice, no bread, no Pasta, no potatoes, very little corn.

* Lean meats (I strive for 90/10.. 85/15 is the highest fat I will buy). Not all ground turkey is lean.. surprise!

* Avoid HFCS like the plague (high fructose corn syrup).. read labels, it's in everything!

* No fried foods. Oven fried is allowed though.

* minimum of 64 oz of water a day. Most days I'm at 80 or above.

*journal my food intake

*attend support group (online or in person or both)

*try to keep trigger foods out of the house, or at least out of sight (have a cabinet for my DS's and DH's treats).

There might be more, but this is all I can think of right now.

You're an a$$ kicking inspiration! I really liked what you said in your second reply. Great advice. I am considering the surgery mainly because of all the months I've put in at the gym (4 days a week w/ 45 min on cycle on random hill cycle-amounting to at or above 10 miles and then 20-25 min on the treadmill at brisk pace, around 3.5 mph w/ slight incline of a distance of 1-1.5 miles) and I was getting no visual results. This was added with eating better, not a strict "diet" diet but changing my eating habits. It's one thing to do all the work and see a payoff and a second to do them and not see anything......grrr :/