Been away from my computer for few days. Opened my e-mail and down came a long list of new posts from this website, and ALL were NEGATIVE!

WHAT A DRAG!

Then I find a post from a person who is considering the surgery but having 2nd thoughts because of all the info he/she is reading here. THAT got to me!

So I need to vent.

First, I have to give disclosure that what I say is only from my own personal experiences, and of course, everyone should follow what their Dr. says, not a stranger.

I LOVE my band. It is the best thing I have ever done, and without a doubt has changed my life and probably saved it too.

It is doing everything that I had hoped and imagined it would do! And I can honestly say I do not have one single complaint or problem!

People say it is a "Tool" that you use and with a little hard work and determination you can make it work. Well, sorry, I have been on more diets that I can remember and this is the EASIEST weight loss

experience I have ever imagined. I have undergone major bariatric surgery and had a foreign object put inside me to change my eating habits...and that is exactly what it is doing. The main discipline for

me is making wise food choices. And for that there is a learning curve!

First, it has controlled and curbed my hunger. There are times when I know it's time to eat and I just don't feel like it.

Second, when I do eat, the amount of food I can eat is very, very small! I could not overeat if I wanted to!

Recently people here have stated they dread the thought of Thanksgiving and not overeating and ruining their progress. My only anxiety is that I WON"T be able to eat my favorite foods! I've thought this through and think I am going to at least have a "Taste" of everything on the table. But I will have to save the stuffing for last because that's not going to work at all.

I still go out to my favorite restaurants. I drink coffee all hours of the day. I enjoy an alcohol drink now and then. I don't measure/weigh my food. There is just so much that will fit in my pouch. If I did weigh/measure what I ate I am sure I would find it to be proportional to what I should be allowed. In other words I can't overeat no matter how much I may want to!

My Diabetes is completely reversed! At one point I was taking 60 units of Lantus at bedtime, plus oral meds during the day with meals. NO MORE! GONE!

I now go to the gym and workout like a madman. Not because I have to, but because the things I can now do are amazing (to me) and I can't wait to get back and do it again!

I wear clothes that are "Normal" sized. Bought 2 winter coats that are MEDIUMS!

I have not had a fill since May. I tell my Dr. everything I am doing. He says I am in a good place, exactly where I should be, in the Green Zone. Go and enjoy your life and I will see you in 3 months.

I have to say it continues to get better every week as more old habits die away and new habits are learned and become second nature.

I get up and go to work and come home everyday. There are days I do not even think about being banded. (like having bridgework)

I need to say it took me 4 months from surgery to get to this place, where things started to fall in place. THAT was when my weight loss journey began. NOT when I had the surgery.

And like I said, it keeps on getting better.

There. I'll get off my soapbox now.

Amen and thank you B-52 and Jeeptrk...I was banded 7/7/11 (4 months ago) and it seems like I enjoy my band more with each and every day passing. I too am having a fill on 11/22 and I don't care if it is a day or two before Thanksgiving - so what...I have lost 65 pounds and I don't care if I don't eat - I'll drink my Thanksgiving shake and love every drop. I am very happy with my band and I wouldn't go back for anything. Thanksgiving is at my house this year and there will be 20 people for lunch - I get to cook and serve and clean and talk and enjoy everyone's company and I will not be moaning later about eating too much ! hahaha jokes on them ! I will enjoy my visiting more and I can have some turkey later. Thanks to my band, I think I will be around many more Thanksgivings and that makes it all worthwhile. To the "negitive thinkers" out there - the BOO Birds - well, you didn't enter this thing in the right frame of mind in the first place ! I hope you can find your "happy spot" soon and enjoy the rewards of the band. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone !

Thanks so much for this post. I'm only 5 weeks post-op and it's very hard to stay focused and disciplined at this early stage. I'm eating right and exercising, but the scale isn't moving. It hasn't moved in weeks. My first fill is this Monday and hopefully it will start helping me. I'm so ready to see 100 pounds lost on my ticker!!!

I was able to lose 30 pounds by exercising and dieting 3 months prior to surgery and I lost another 20 on the pre-op diet. However, it seems like my body has just quit loosing weight. I bounce between 272 and 274 every week. What I wouldn't give to see 270 pop up one day.....

It is very hard for me to understand how this is going to work right now since I'm not seeing any progress, but your stories really inspire. Hopefully, in 6 months, I can come here and share my success with newbies.

Thanks to all of you for your help and encouragement!!!

I'm with B-52! Life is great and I love my band! I havent really perceived most of the posts here on this site as negative but then I just skim through them because I have been successful. Those negative posts probably stayed in my mind and weighed heavier on me when I was newer and still figuring this whole thing out and also a bit afraid to fail...

That being said I try to limit negativity and negative people in my life in general...good luck to all! I agree this is a heck of a lot easier than dieting! (much less of those bad voices in my head!)

Love Love Love my band! I had my band surgery May 4th 2011 have lost 80LBS!!! I wanted a Thanksgiving fill but lost 9lbs this past month so I didn't get one which is probably best. I know we go through some problems but most are related to our rules and I don't mind because this is what I signed up for my weightloss has been effortless with the exception of the gym where I work out hard! We have to work with our band not figure out ways to eat around the band or get an unfill to gorge ourselves on vacation! This behavior defeats the purpose! The more I loose the more I feel empowered by my success!!

Thanks so much for this post. I'm only 5 weeks post-op and it's very hard to stay focused and disciplined at this early stage. I'm eating right and exercising, but the scale isn't moving. It hasn't moved in weeks. My first fill is this Monday and hopefully it will start helping me. I'm so ready to see 100 pounds lost on my ticker!!!

I was able to lose 30 pounds by exercising and dieting 3 months prior to surgery and I lost another 20 on the pre-op diet. However, it seems like my body has just quit loosing weight. I bounce between 272 and 274 every week. What I wouldn't give to see 270 pop up one day.....

It is very hard for me to understand how this is going to work right now since I'm not seeing any progress, but your stories really inspire. Hopefully, in 6 months, I can come here and share my success with newbies.

Thanks to all of you for your help and encouragement!!!

I like your attitude. You're gonna get there and you are not going to believe the change.........IN EVERYTHING!!!!!!

CBreeden,

Hang in there and be nice to yourself...these first few months untill you get enough fill for your band to be working its mojo for you are THE WORST! All you can really do is be patient and good to yourself and try not to gain! You'll be laughing about this later!

I had to stop reading for a while in the beginning because of the negativity but I try to remember people come here that are having issues or have questions. It is hard to do sometimes. I love my band too! YAY!

I by no means meant to label "people" as negative. I have been there, in the first few weeks if not months bewildered and confused also. Wondering what I got myself into.

What got to me is that this board had nothing but people stating their problems, concerns, and worries post after post.

I KNOW there are many people, like myself, that are experiencing success and a changed life because of this surgery but for whatever reason were not speaking up!

I want everyone to know, especially the newbies, that we are out there!

B-52, I agree! This is the easiest weightloss and maintenance of my life. I have been on almost every diet known to man and I still ended up morbidly obese. I am so glad I did very little research before getting banded. I think all the negatives would have freaked me out and I may have put off getting banded. I would still be obese. I didn't find this site until post-op. From day one I have not "worked" at it, counted calories, weighed, measured or counted anything.

The band has done it's job and I have put in very little effort compared to all those lousy diets in the past. I Lost 100 pounds in one year this way.

That being said, I can't tell you how many times I have been blasted on this site by hateful people telling me I am doing it wrong and I am making newbies think it is a "magic wand". I hate the "tool" talk. If it is a tool, it is some sort of automatic tool for me that I do not really have to operate. Heck, the damn this is magic for me! Then I get comments like, "well, that's great for you, you are lucky, you can bask in your effortless success!" Then the links get posted about "it's not about restriction." Yes, it is about proper restriction. I am living proof! I think many bandsters make it harder than it has to be. Oh well , I guess I choose to do it my way and let others "work" at it. LOL..... now I get off my soapbox :biggrin3:

Humming Bird, congrats on your awesome weight loss. I hope to be in your shoes someday. Loosing 100 pounds in a year has been my goal all along. I hope my band experience mirrors yours. I would love to be able to eat just enough to satisfy, but not be able to gorge myself until I'm miserable. My worst times are late in the evenings after dinner. It has become routine to snack while watching my shows. I have been doing good as of late and I try to avoid doing it, but my band is empty and so it's all on me right now. I just keep telling myself that at least I have not gained since surgery. I have lost 6 pounds since 10/10 which isn't a lot, but at least I didn't go up. I would like to start dropping about 10 pounds a month. Is that feasible once I get to restiriction?

Also, how much exercise do you do? This is where I struggle also. I have a 2 year old and my husband works 2nd shift and getting to the gym is hard. I ordered some workout dvd's to do at home after little one is in bed. I got the Leslie Sansone videos with multiple workouts (1,2,3, and 4 mile walks)

Count me as one who absolutely loves their band. The only time I don't "love" my band is when I am not being accountable and want to blame it on my band. But the band does it job and does it well for me. Happy Thanksgiving all.

Humming Bird, congrats on your awesome weight loss. I hope to be in your shoes someday. Loosing 100 pounds in a year has been my goal all along. I hope my band experience mirrors yours. I would love to be able to eat just enough to satisfy, but not be able to gorge myself until I'm miserable. My worst times are late in the evenings after dinner. It has become routine to snack while watching my shows. I have been doing good as of late and I try to avoid doing it, but my band is empty and so it's all on me right now. I just keep telling myself that at least I have not gained since surgery. I have lost 6 pounds since 10/10 which isn't a lot, but at least I didn't go up. I would like to start dropping about 10 pounds a month. Is that feasible once I get to restiriction?

Also, how much exercise do you do? This is where I struggle also. I have a 2 year old and my husband works 2nd shift and getting to the gym is hard. I ordered some workout dvd's to do at home after little one is in bed. I got the Leslie Sansone videos with multiple workouts (1,2,3, and 4 mile walks)

Yes, 10 pounds a month (or more) can be done when you get restriction. I don't exercise at all. I'm not saying that is the proper way to do it. I'm just telling the truth. I am more active in general since the weight started coming off just because I feel better. If you exercise I'm sure you will have even better results than I do.

Humming Bird, I like your little bitty ticker, it's so short and cute! And I like your status of "Normal BMI"! That's a success story if I've heard one!

I by no means meant to label "people" as negative. I have been there, in the first few weeks if not months bewildered and confused also. Wondering what I got myself into.

What got to me is that this board had nothing but people stating their problems, concerns, and worries post after post.

I KNOW there are many people, like myself, that are experiencing success and a changed life because of this surgery but for whatever reason were not speaking up!

I want everyone to know, especially the newbies, that we are out there!

The thing is the negativity is that people maybe didn't do a lot of research before getting th surgery. How many posts do we get. "OMG 3 weeks post op and I'm not losing!" I knew this may be the case with me because I had to do a 6 month supervised diet before the surgery and spent my time reading this board and saw that could happen. So when I didn't lose week 2-5 post op, sure I was frustrated, but knew it would move again. Also people come here and post every ache and pain they have. Seriously not every pain you have is related to the band. Scared to eat real food, I mean really, I was thrilled to move between stages. You are not gonna get stuck on ricotta, if you do, somethings wrong. These are just my opinions. But really, people should do there research. I kind of wish I'd done more and not gotten surgery and just changed my eating habits like they are now.

Thank yall so much for these posts. As a newbie just starting out (i had my consult and my first nutrition class monday) I have read some of those posts and thought to myself (OMG! What if i do all this then hate my life worse than i do now??). I really appreciate the reassurance,

I think positive thinking makes everything better..I love my band also.keep up the positive thinking..good things are awaiting u out there