Too often we see newcomers overwhelmed by all the negative publicity and horror stories about the band. If that isn't bad enough, we all know there's a ton of downright false information flying around about it too. We've all heard it and we've all spent our fair share of time trying counter all this negativity with truth.

It's unfortunate that it seems those having major problems are the always the loudest while the happy successful people sit mostly silent on the sidelines. This is a big part of the reason people assume the worst!

People, are you happy with your band? Have you lost any weight? I know you're out there, so tell us about!! Really, it's ok to brag!! Share your hopes, your dreams, your success stories! Not only is it good for your own spirit but it really can encourage others and give them hope when they need it most.

Post your success stories here please!!

I LOVE MY BAND. I am at Docs goal of 175 for my height, but going for 165. 8 more pounds to go!

Best thing I ever did for myself. Size 22 down to size 8 jeans! Yay me!!!!

I am very happy and I have only had a few bumps in the road with all being user error, but you learn from your mistakes, right? As of today I have lost 75lbs and I'm wearing clothes in my closet from 4 years ago. People call me skinny (and I call them crazy ) I know I can get smaller and then they can call me skinny, lol. I am really happy I made the decision finally (took 2 years to do it) and it has been well worth it! And this website and the great people on here have been my saving grace.

I am very happy with my band and have had little to no complications. I have been banded since October 2010 and have been at or below goal since September 2012.I started this journey in a size 24 W(very tight) and I am now wear a size 2 or 4 skinny jeans. And yes I am really that skinny and no I do not have a lot of excess skin. I have a personal trainer that I have been working out with since March 2012 and with hard work he has helped me lose my last 30 lbs and drop from a size 12 to my current size. I have been on this site long before I had surgery and this is what I learned. The negativity has always been here but instead of getting worked up over the negative comments and all the issues I chose to watch and learn from others mistakes. This is what I learned when I was new to the forums, take what you want from the postings and leave the rest. Learn from both the successful people and the unsuccessful people. This is not a diet and you have to learn to eat healthy to be healthy. If you want to be skinny you have to think and eat like a skinny person. You have to make it a way of life and not just a vacation from the old life.

Why do I love my lap band:

• LB has helped me accomplish what I could not with a diet.
  
• LB has helped me improve my health, I no longer take 4 medications for my blood pressure or have difficulty with my asthma, have sleep apnea or joint pain so bad in my knees that I cried.
  
• LB has allowed me to exercise.
  
• LB has allowed me to have more energy to enjoy my grandchildren.
  
• LB gave me back my life that I thought I would never get back.
  

Honestly I thought I would die just like my brother of a stroke due to my morbid obesity or I would have diabetes before I hit 60.

As i have stated before and many may not agree but I am an addict! I am a food addict, food was my drug of choice and my coping mechinism. I have been successful with lap band because I gave up my drug of choice and now make healthy choices. My behavior no longer controls me, I control my behavior and how I deal with stress and all issues that are placed before me. Food was not the enemy, I was.

So I encourage all of you to embrace the change and really look deep inside and figure out who is in control, YOU or FOOD!

I LovetheNewMe!

I am very happy with my band and have had little to no complications. I have been banded since October 2010 and have been at or below goal since September 2012.I started this journey in a size 24 W(very tight) and I am now wear a size 2 or 4 skinny jeans. And yes I am really that skinny and no I do not have a lot of excess skin. I have a personal trainer that I have been working out with since March 2012 and with hard work he has helped me lose my last 30 lbs and drop from a size 12 to my current size. I have been on this site long before I had surgery and this is what I learned. The negativity has always been here but instead of getting worked up over the negative comments and all the issues I chose to watch and learn from others mistakes. This is what I learned when I was new to the forums, take what you want from the postings and leave the rest. Learn from both the successful people and the unsuccessful people. This is not a diet and you have to learn to eat healthy to be healthy. If you want to be skinny you have to think and eat like a skinny person. You have to make it a way of life and not just a vacation from the old life.

Why do I love my lap band:

• LB has helped me accomplish what I could not with a diet.
  
• LB has helped me improve my health, I no longer take 4 medications for my blood pressure or have difficulty with my asthma, have sleep apnea or joint pain so bad in my knees that I cried.
  
• LB has allowed me to exercise.
  
• LB has allowed me to have more energy to enjoy my grandchildren.
  
• LB gave me back my life that I thought I would never get back.
  

Honestly I thought I would die just like my brother of a stroke due to my morbid obesity or I would have diabetes before I hit 60.

As i have stated before and many may not agree but I am an addict! I am a food addict, food was my drug of choice and my coping mechinism. I have been successful with lap band because I gave up my drug of choice and now make healthy choices. My behavior no longer controls me, I control my behavior and how I deal with stress and all issues that are placed before me. Food was not the enemy, I was.

So I encourage all of you to embrace the change and really look deep inside and figure out who is in control, YOU or FOOD!

I LovetheNewMe!

Amazing story and very wise words. Thank you so much for posting

Well I'm not a success story yet, but I wanted to share my journey so far.

Before I was banded I had no life. Everything in my life was met with pain and hopelessness. I couldn't walk, couldn't play with my grandkids and could barely manage personal hygiene. The LB was my last shred of hope.

Today 3mths out I am so happy with my band and I don't even have restriction yet. Thanks to everyone that has been giving advice and answering questions here on LBT for the last 10mths, I will be a success story.

In 3 short months my life has changed so much. No longer in agony, more energy and for the first time in along time I feel like I have a wonderful future before me.

I've lost 65 lbs and I'm half way to my goal. I am facing a small bump in the road, but nothing that would stop me from getting the band again if I had the choice.

So a big Thank You to everyone here on LBT for your support, inspiration and most of all your wisdom. Without you I don't think I would have success in my future. You are my LB family!

My surgery is tomorrow. Thanks for the positive words exactly when I needed them. Your stories and results are amazing!

I hereby declare myself to be a band success story. I have lost more than 75% of my excess weight and I have rediscovered the joy of living. I love exercise, I think carefully about what I choose to eat, and I have much more energy.

My relationship with my husband is significantly improved (and it was great before) so lucky us!

I wish that I had never become morbidly obese in the first place, but I did so now I am proud to have overcome it.

It hasn't been easy, but I have always known what I needed to do and have the support of my dear husband and a great surgeon to get me there.

The Band has changed my life.......I am one of those people who never count calories, nor do I ever measure/weigh food portions.....(I did i the first 6 months)

I reached my weight loss goal in 12 months....

What I do do, is live a new life...with eating totally under control......

I have many friends who are normal weight, enjoy eating/drinking things in life, and you NEVER hear them complain about dieting, counting calories, etc etc....

What you do notice is that they NEVER make total pigs of themselves, as a matter of fact they do not eat all that much at all!!!

You will also observe they have very active lifestyles, filled with things like cross country cycling, hiking, running, kayaking...etc, etc....

My skinny fit friends are all also very health conscious, many vegetarians, never eat junk, into organic foods, no sugars, no artificial crap.....

THIS IS THE LIFESTYLE I NOW LIVE....Dieting is a dirty word!!!

The only difference between me and those who are normal weight, healthy and fit and non banded, is that in the background I have the band still in charge (not a tool) and dictating my eating behaviors. And no one needs to know this.....otherwise I am one of them....

Yes, I had to complete the lap band journey first, had to get my band properly adjusted enduring many stuck/slime episodes to get there, had to learn new eating lessons, had to learn to give up certain foods, had to learn to "Listen" to my band and stop eating when it is time to stop eating....also I had to get my band properly adjusted to where I am not only in the Green, Bug after being there for over a year I have found my "Groove", my "New Lifestyle"

As long as the band is there, with no complications, I HAVE NO FEAR of ever gaining weight EVER AGAIN.......

I read posts from people who say they have failed and gained all their weight back....I scratch my head and wonder if they were ever there in the first place, and were just on another diet with the band being nothing more than playing a small part in their process......(a tool)

Of Course, medical problems are a different issue......

I am happy to say, along with my new life, I have no current medical conditions or concerns....Once upon a time I had diabetes with daily insulin injections, high blood pressure, cholesterol, lipids, you name it....all that went away as my life and weight changed....

I also suffered from Coronary Artery Disease, had one heart Attack resulting in Heart Surgery....but now I have no side affects, running 5 miles a day with no shortness of breath.....like my cardiologist said after my last nuclear stress test, I am as healthy as someone 30 years younger....

So, I am happy to say that I have completely and successfully traveled through the Lap band Journey, coming out on the other side a new person with a new lifestyle.

BTW, with my new way of living, I have NOT gained one single pound, nor have I gotten stuck/slimed in about a year now.......

I'm not loosing weight anymore either, as was explained to me my body will stop loosing when it feel it wants to, when there is nothing left to loose - Low Body Fat %.....and mine is very low.....

So you see....there is a life after Lap band....Once you learn all your lessons, loose all the weight, learn to let the band do what it was designed to do, you can come out the other side a different person....but it is up to you to make the hard decisions, and not back down as I see so many people do.....

I read all the posts here from other people talking about Dieting, counting calories, measuring food....are you allowed to do this or that????......I keep my mouth shut, knowing I was there in the first 6 months also..........

80%, if not more, of the members on this forum are either just starting out, or still getting through their weight loss......so you see it is hard to take part in many discussions.....but I do belong to other groups, on in particular, that are smaller made up of people in a more advanced stage...that keeps me sane....

I'm a lap band baby (4 months out) but I've lost 50 pounds my feet don't hurt anymore, I can run and play with my kids, I'm not obsessed with the next meal while I'm still eating this one. I already feel successful!!

I LOVE mine down 127Lbs wear a size 9 jeans was in a 24. I weigh 165lbs was 292 goal weight 140 almost there

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Well I'm not a success story yet, but I wanted to share my journey so far.

Before I was banded I had no life. Everything in my life was met with pain and hopelessness. I couldn't walk, couldn't play with my grandkids and could barely manage personal hygiene. The LB was my last shred of hope.

Today 3mths out I am so happy with my band and I don't even have restriction yet. Thanks to everyone that has been giving advice and answering questions here on LBT for the last 10mths, I will be a success story.

In 3 short months my life has changed so much. No longer in agony, more energy and for the first time in along time I feel like I have a wonderful future before me.

I've lost 65 lbs and I'm half way to my goal. I am facing a small bump in the road, but nothing that would stop me from getting the band again if I had the choice.

So a big Thank You to everyone here on LBT for your support, inspiration and most of all your wisdom. Without you I don't think I would have success in my future. You are my LB family!

Contain yourself....it get's better! More than anyone can describe, or understand at this point....but it does work if we just get out of the way and let it!

Being as I started this thread I suppose I should add mine *laughs*

I've lost 175 pounds in a year with the help of my Lap-Band. I still have more to lose but I know I'll get there. The Lap Band is the best decision I've ever made for myself. My life has gone from sofa bound misery to active and happier than I've ever been in my adult life.

It's been work, I count calories and try my best to make healthy food decisions. I never eat more than a cup of food per meal and I exercise as much as I can. The band is a tool, not a magic fix for fat. If you use it the way it's meant to be used amazing things can happen- and I'm living proof. I've gone from being disabled with Multiple Sclerosis, sofa bound in pain and miserable, to walking 2 miles a day with ease and absolutely loving my life (despite still having MS!). If I can do this then anyone can!

I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said by others, but I am 100% happy. To put it in the simplest terms and repeating what others have said, it was the best decision I ever made.

Well I'm not a success story yet' date=' but I wanted to share my journey so far.

Before I was banded I had no life. Everything in my life was met with pain and hopelessness. I couldn't walk, couldn't play with my grandkids and could barely manage personal hygiene. The LB was my last shred of hope.

Today 3mths out I am so happy with my band and I don't even have restriction yet. Thanks to everyone that has been giving advice and answering questions here on LBT for the last 10mths, I will be a success story.

In 3 short months my life has changed so much. No longer in agony, more energy and for the first time in along time I feel like I have a wonderful future before me.

I've lost 65 lbs and I'm half way to my goal. I am facing a small bump in the road, but nothing that would stop me from getting the band again if I had the choice.

So a big Thank You to everyone here on LBT for your support, inspiration and most of all your wisdom. Without you I don't think I would have success in my future. You are my LB family![/quote']

This is actually my first ever post.... but I needed to post this! The first sentence of your post absolutly broke my heart... to think you're not yet a success story yet is terrible. 65# down and an improved quality of life is nothing short of remarkable. I am getting the band late feb/early march and can only hope I have the success you have already accomplished!!! Keep up the great work

This is actually my first ever post.... but I needed to post this! The first sentence of your post absolutly broke my heart... to think you're not yet a success story yet is terrible. 65# down and an improved quality of life is nothing short of remarkable. I am getting the band late feb/early march and can only hope I have the success you have already accomplished!!! Keep up the great work

I am so honored that your first post was to praise me. Thank you so much!

I mainly posted b/c I wanted to thank everyone here for educating me in the way to be successful with my band.

I know without a doubt that without their help, I would be struggling.

So let me welcome you to the forum. I hope you post often so we get to know you. As I said, you will find a lot of support, knowledge and inspiration here. My Drs office stressed how important it was to join a support group and I really wasn't happy with the few ppl that showed up at their meetings, but I feel the support I get here is so much better and I hope you'll feel that way too.

Thank you again for your support!