Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Stephanie and I'm 47 yrs old. Scheduled to get my lapband May 28th with Dr. Stowers. My weight is 275 and my goal is 150. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions in the near future. Right now I'm just seeing if I can get any weight off on my own at first. Well wish me luck and thanks for listening.

Welcome and good luck with changing your life. This is the greatest site ever. I have learned a lot and met the most wonderful "friends" here. We all try to answer all your questions with honest answers even if they aren't the answers you want to hear. We sometimes just vent our awful day or partner, co-worker etc.

The Band is the best thing I have ever done for me. I love it.

​ Hopefully you will too.

Arlene

Welcome to your weight loss journey. Best of luck.

Hi Stephanie... Welcome !

I’m going into my 7^th year of being banded and have talked about this here several times but I think it’s worth repeating for new bandsters.

Try and take it one day at a time. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t go into this journey saying “I’ll never be able to eat this or that ever again.” I can eat ANYTHING except rice and apple skins and no carbonated beverages. Follow the guidelines given to you by your doctor. Remember… take tiny bites (the size of your pinky fingernail) and remember to finish what you have in your mouth before you take your next bite.

When I was losing weight I checked in every month with my family doctor to get weighed and measured. (I don’t own scales) I also attended two coffee groups for people that were banded. These things really kept me motivated and on track. I still check in every month with my family doctor to get weighed-in and I host two coffee groups. For me support from fellow bandsters plays a big part in this journey.

Back when I was banded my family doctor came up with something called the “Egg Timer Distraction”. It’s kind of difficult to explain here but I’d be happy to email you the .pdf document. It REALLY helped me with “head hunger”. I can’t tell you the number of people in my lapband coffee groups over the years that have said how helpful this “trick” has been in dealing with their head hunger.

Also, I’m not really a “diet” book type person but I recommend you pick up two books.

Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle – by Dr. Michelle May

I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. May speak at a conference when she came to Toronto and her book and guidelines really work well with the lapband journey.

The second book is:

The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite – by David L. Kessler

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions and also if you would like a copy of the “Egg Timer Distraction Document”. --- tomander@bell.net

Tom, Toronto

Banded July 6 06

Wt. Loss: 156 lbs

tomander@bell.net

Hello Stephanie, Welcome! I'm 45 and very excited for you. Take advantage of the best time for losing the weight, the first year. I lost 70 pounds during that time. Unfortunately, I had some medical issues (not band related) and have gained back 35. I'm now back on track and following all the rules again. The post above me, by Tom from Toronto, was great, he basically said it all and gave some great advice. I wish you the best of luck with surgery, it was the easiest surgery I've had to tell you the truth. My only complaint was the gas pains 1-2 days following surgery. I can eat anything, though I did have a slight problem with turkey last Sunday because I tried white meat. I can only eat the dark or I get stuck. Other than that, it's all in moderation. My weight gain occurred when the band was completely unfilled due to the medical issue. It's now refilled and I'm feeling restriction and confident I'll lose the weight again, fast! Well, best of luck as you begin this exciting journey!

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Stephanie and I'm 47 yrs old. Scheduled to get my lapband May 28th with Dr. Stowers. My weight is 275 and my goal is 150. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions in the near future. Right now I'm just seeing if I can get any weight off on my own at first. Well wish me luck and thanks for listening.

Good luck I am 8 days post surgery I weighed 273lbs before surgery and have lost 12lbs. I am so happy!!

Welcome and good luck

Thanks for all the feedback. This seems like it is going to be a great group.