Been a while since I visited here...have my reasons, mainly I find it tiresome after a while, mainly dealing with the self proclaimed experts....

However....

Thought I would give a report, especially for the newbies.

I go to the gym 5 days a week at 5:30 in the morning.

I run for 30 minutes (3 miles), do 45 minutes of weights, then finish the workout with 20-30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical.

It took me one year to reach my goal, total weight loss of 90 lbs. That was 7 months ago, and I am still loosing although very slowly now.

Your body will stop loosing when it feels it is ready to.

I do not count calories, measure or weigh portions. I eat when I am hungry, which is not often. I do not deny myself the little pleasures in life like desserts, ice cream, alcohol, including beer, etc, etc.

I do get my daily requirements of protein, water, vitamins, amino acids, anti oxidants, etc, etc, with little or no problem every day.

There are days when I just don't feel like eating at all, so i don't force it.

I am not a believer in the "Starvation Mode" I have/had enough fat and glycogen stored away to use as energy, and that is what I did.

All this from a man who is 60 years old, have had one heart attack that I know of, had cardiac surgery due to coronary artery disease, had diabetes that is now completely gone, had loss of circulation in lower limbs with loss of sensation (feeling) which is now a thing of the past, cholesterol, triglycerides, everything is now well within normal range.

Had my stress test a few weeks back and the cardiologist could not believe he was looking at the same person.

My blood work (lab results) are straight down the middle normal in every category.

The band controls my eating and hunger entirely. It is NOT a tool, something that I can control. It is something that is there, constant, doing what it was designed to do.

People are afraid to go to picnics, parties, etc for fear of what I'm not sure.

I cannot overeat no matter how hard I try. Does not matter what food you put in front of me, the band will allow just so much then that's it.

I went on a cruise a few weeks ago and I did everything I can to eat/enjoy as much as I can...Impossible! I lost weight!

I do not get stuck, slimed, etc anymore. It has been a long time since that has happened. There was a phase, when transitioning into the "Green Zone" that I got stuck sometimes 2-3 times a day.

But once I learned my lessons, learned how to eat like a "Skinny" person, I broke through to the other side and life has been normal ever since.

The "New Normal" as my surgeon calls it.

My only advice to newbies is to work the band for all it's worth. Don't settle for second best, something just to get by. Demand everything you have always expected.

I make no excuses for my success and my new life...why should I care what others think? It's me they're going to put in the ground someday...then where will the critics be....I have achieved everything I ever hoped and dreamed this surgery can do for me.

I was once a fat person, so i know what denial and excuses are all about....

So you may see why I don't visit here all that much any more....

I love your post for many reasons, one being that your honest. I know that I'm just a newbie but I also know you can't be 100% perfect and not have anything that is considered bad for you. The band is there to control your eating. Thank you for posting this.

I was wondering where you went B52. Glad to see you are still doing well! Thank you for sharing your experience again. I am happy for you that your band will not let you overeat. That is awesome!

Unfortunately that is not the experience I have had. Hopefully after my surgery to repair my hiatal hernia and reposition my band I will find that green zone too. In the meantime I work my ass off everyday to make smart decisions about what and how much to eat.

Thank you for this post! Wow! This is more along the lines that I have heard of people who have had the band and have done just what you have. I joined this site and feel afraid of every last thing I put in my mouth! I had a piece of fruit today by the pool with my family and freaked! It wasnt protein, It was not because I was hungry, it was for the joy of the sweetness of pure summer fruit. I did not eat too much, I have not even had a first fill yet, I am entering bander hell, as they say. It was pure heaven! I love fruit! I love veggies! If you say that to the wrong person on here, it can come back at you so fast!

I appreciate your honesty. I still follow my doctors directions... not everyone elses doctors. They are not all the same, it does not mean mine is wrong. It does not mean there's is wrong. Its a journey... I am just beginning. I wish all the best to everyone... and I hope they do to me too.

Again, thank you for this post... It has given me some hope that I have lost recently.

Thank you for this post! Wow! This is more along the lines that I have heard of people who have had the band and have done just what you have. I joined this site and feel afraid of every last thing I put in my mouth! I had a piece of fruit today by the pool with my family and freaked! It wasnt protein, It was not because I was hungry, it was for the joy of the sweetness of pure summer fruit. I did not eat too much, I have not even had a first fill yet, I am entering bander hell, as they say. It was pure heaven! I love fruit! I love veggies! If you say that to the wrong person on here, it can come back at you so fast!

I appreciate your honesty. I still follow my doctors directions... not everyone elses doctors. They are not all the same, it does not mean mine is wrong. It does not mean there's is wrong. Its a journey... I am just beginning. I wish all the best to everyone... and I hope they do to me too.

Again, thank you for this post... It has given me some hope that I have lost recently.

You cannot loose sight of the Forrest because of the trees.

In other words you have to look at the big picture.

Some days I eat more, some days I eat less, and there are some days I don't feel like eating at all.

But it is the total accumualtive not the small incidentals.

It is a lifestyle change, not a diet.

Regardless of what I may or may not eat, with my new total lifestyle I eat a fraction of what I would have eaten before the surgery.

I used to be able to eat an entire large pizza all by myself, every Friday night.

Now, if I still ate pizza which I don't, I would not be able to eat 1/2 of one slice.

I have been observing skinny people eat. Very interesting. They all eat as though they were banded also. They eat pizza, ice cream, etc. they're just not pigs about it.

I have come to realize I now eat the same way a skinny person does. The secret is the band is why I am forced to do it.