Has anyone removed the band just because they have reached goal weight, and no longer "need or want" tha band?

Generally speaking, when you reach your goal weight, your band helps you maintain that new weight. In fact, I believe that the band gives more value in maintaining weight loss than assisting in weight loss.

I recently had a leak and lost restriction in my band (i.e. the band stopped working) and I struggled to not gain weight. I recently got some restriction back after fixing the leak and this last week lost 1.5kgs without really trying. So I think anyone who thinks that they don't 'need' the band anymore once they get to their goal weight do not realise how they may be exposing themselves to the very real risk that they will regain the weight they've lost.

Ditto. Having spent nine months unfilled due to another illness, i really struggled to not regain, even having chemo! You like to think youve changed, but its easy to lose the sense of how much the band is helping. I need my band and an hour of running every day not to gain weight again.

Being at my goal, I have asked myself the same question many times. I'm 60 years old and considered having it removed before 65 and I loose my insurance and go on Medicare.

My next visit to the Dr is in May, and I am going to ask for a slight unfill, perhaps 1/2 to 1 cc, and see if I can still maintain, or will my hunger get the best of me.

Not yet banded but just curious. Thanks guys.

LELLOW & B-52 !!!

A question for you guys that are at maintenance, what are you doing different to maintain the weight from when you where trying to loose

the weight? My surgery was 8/19/11 starting

Wt. 248 size 20 jeans, I'm down to 182 in size 12

Jeans. And I'm 5'10 so to be at a normal BMI I have 20 more lbs to go, and I will be very happy

to get down to a size 10, but due to my Ht. I don't want to look to skinny and look like I'm sick. I work out 5-6 times a week, I take Zumba classes at least 5 times a week and i do weights 3 days a week. What would I have to do different ones I reach my goal ?? I would appreciate if

you guys can share your knowledge. Thanks you

LELLOW & B-52 !!!

A question for you guys that are at maintenance, what are you doing different to maintain the weight from when you where trying to loose

the weight? My surgery was 8/19/11 starting

Wt. 248 size 20 jeans, I'm down to 182 in size 12

Jeans. And I'm 5'10 so to be at a normal BMI I have 20 more lbs to go, and I will be very happy

to get down to a size 10, but due to my Ht. I don't want to look to skinny and look like I'm sick. I work out 5-6 times a week, I take Zumba classes at least 5 times a week and i do weights 3 days a week. What would I have to do different ones I reach my goal ?? I would appreciate if

you guys can share your knowledge. Thanks you

First, congratulations! The last 20 are the HARDEST in my opinion. Even though I did not need it, my Dr. gave me 1/2cc which kicked started me to drop the last few lbs. I was stalled on the last 10lbs for months!

As far as maintenance, I'm still trying to figure that out myself. I'm still loosing, although it is only 1lb every 2 weeks give or take.

All I can say is that I really don't think about what I should or should not do. It all seems quite natural now. Eating habits, food choices, portion sizes are all new ingrained habits.

Like you I love to go to the gym, not because I have to, but because it now feels so good! And I feel bad when I miss a day.

So for now, maintenance to me is just going about living my life. All that pre-op, post-op stuff is over. Including dieting. No more struggles.

If anything should arise I'll take care of it when it comes.

I only see my Dr. every 3 months now, and those appointments take just a few minutes.

Next time there, I'm going to ask to have that 1/2cc he put in removed. see what happens after that.

My experience of maintenance is that you don't actually do anything any differently. The lower your body weight is the less calories are required to maintain it so eventually you get to a point where you stop losing. To continue losing would require you to cut calories even more and that becomes really hard. In fact if anything the level or restriction seems to change after you have been banded for a while, things that were hard to eat become easy to eat, there is not the same discomfort etc so I think you start to eat a little bit more.

The trick is to try to keep this under control as there can be a fine line between no longer having the same level of restriction and being too tight.

For maintenance, my losing lifestyle is what i adopted forever, nothing changed from when I was losing. My weight loss just petered out over time, in fact i eat less now than i was able to eat when i first began losing although i think over the ast two or three years, goods have become easier to eat and i get more variety now. I run for an hour several times a week, do a couple if rpm classes and to or three body pump classes a week - much MORE exercise than I did during the first year of my journey.

None of this feels hard or like a diet, its just my life.

I am five feet ten, 140lb, burn 600 or so calories a day with exercise and work as a teacher, so am on my feet all day. I have three kids aged 16, 14 and 9, so my "leisure" time is active too. Yet i gain if I eat more than 1800 calories a day, most often I sit at 1500. I definitely need my band. I may need it less if I were happy to weigh 160, but Im not.

I've been in maintenance for about a year now and would never remove a drop unless I had no choice due to a medical problem. In fact I have had a couple tiny maintenance fills. For me, staying in the green zone keeps my weight in check. My weight stays the same within a pound with very little effort.

Congrats guys! You guys are really doing great and I am happy that you are able to share all your experiences. I am not yet banded but I am learning a lot from you all . Thanks for sharing.