I used to be pretty active on the forum, mostly because my lapband was the center of my universe. I still log on daily, browsing the new content to see if there is anything interesting or pertinent to my life, but I rarely find a post that tells me something new, or where someone hasn’t already said what I would have said.

I used to log every meal with MFP, meticulously logging my exercise as well, but I can’t remember the last time I was there. I eat what and how much I want, I exercise when and how I want, not paying much attention to calories burned.

I haven’t been in for a fill in almost a year, I will check in with my lapband surgeon in a couple of months, not because I need anything, but because I agreed to do it yearly when I got my surgery.

I stopped weighing myself daily, and sometimes forget to do it weekly. I have lost almost 70 of the 100 pounds that I want to lose, I am still losing a pound every month or two, but I am comfortable, happy and have been told looking good at where I currently am.

My point in all this is, my lapband is no longer the center of my life, Mistress Band just is. When I started this journey, my relationship with her was the intense burning of a new love, and now I feel more like the comfort of a life companion. I feel normal now, my life doesn't revolve around my band, or food. It is the greatest gift that Mistress Band has give me.

Nice to hear from you Terry, Glad to hear that you still check in once in awhile.

I too am not as active as I used to be, I follow a few threads.

I am also very comfortable with my band and see my dr once or twice a year. I know what I am supposed to do and hold myself totally accountable for my journey.

The band is doing what it is supposed to do and my life is pretty good.

Yep....I know EXACTLY what you mean....I take my band for granted, as though it isn't even there some days...

It does become a normal way of life eventually....

With so many newly banded people on this forum, I know that is hard to comprehend....when all this is no longer the center of your life...and that includes worrying about weight and dieting....

No more counting calories, food logs, etc, etc....I do weight myself everyday but not for loosing weight purposes...My gym has very expensive one in the locker room that does more than just weight....hard to pass by on the way to the showers...

Good for you Terry. I feel the same way. Four and a half years. I don't think about my band ever unless something is stuck. Other then that I just enjoy life. I do weigh myself but not every day. Freedom is a great thing.

Love this and looking forward -- after five months on here pre-surgery doing serious research by following threads, asking questions eventually and then six more months post-surgery I feel like I'm beginning to settle in and get it. I hope to be able to just come here occasionally to say hello but not to be living and breathing the band -- just having it be part of my life. There are people here who have really helped me -- you guys for starters -- and I want to give back, but I also just want to live. And I can. I'm not in a diet. I am fine now, 50 down and healthier. Yes I want to go further, can social media connections help with that? I've not been on a forum together. It's pretty interesting - to know one part of people so well without ever knowing them at all....

I think we all will eventually get there. Check in ever so often so we can continue being encouraged by someone who has made it.

"Me too"

PostOp Bandster Life is good.....VERY good!!!!

You Don't see that many veterans on this website....I have been here just long enough to see many just drop out of site....

And I get it..I can understand why....This forum is mostly comprised of people just starting out with WLS, and have all the beginners questions and fears....so they ask the same questions time after time after time....

And that's fine - good...they need to know. I asked the same questions and ad the same fears also. But the people whose posts I would follow are all long long gone....

So it does get a little old after a while and you definitely need a break to get on with your new life, and not linger around the starting gate forever.....

But then, you see a trend, a movement of belief about WLS (Band) taking place, and much of it can be based on a misconception, or what one or two individuals believe, whether it b fro what they have experienced , or read, or some you-tube......and all the new people start picking up on it and following - believing it as though it is the absolute truth and there can be no variation....LEMMINGS....

I read some posts, scratch my head and say what in the world are they talking about? Where is that coming from?

And if that is what people believe, then that is OK also...me or no one else is in a position to tell others their right or wrong, and how the should run their lives....

What this forum does need, are people willing to stand up and say Look...I don't care if you believe me or not, but here I am....this is how I do things, and this is the results I have gotten...take it or leave it....does not matter to me....

When I read your OP, my immediate belief is that many people will say that this is not possible...it's fiction. You mean there is a life after this????

The world needs people who will speak out...willing to go against the tide....what a boring, colorless world this would be if everyone believed the same, dressed the same, looked the same.....followed the same leader, had the same religion (or not).

And NOT be intimidated by the "Secret Police"

So Terry, I understand completely what you're saying...but the world needs to know there are people like you are out there...individuals with different stories and viewpoints....and still going strong in spite of what others may believe...

The world needs people willing to admit they were abducted by aliens...(Where the heck did that come from???)

How about...I have sailed around the world and I can tell you, first hand, the World it is NOT FLAT!

(It's 5am, I always ramble this early over my morning coffee....off to the gym, and afterwards sanity/reality begins to kick back in)

So Terry, I understand completely what you're saying...but the world needs to know there are people like you are out there...individuals with different stories and viewpoints....and still going strong in spite of what others may believe...

B-52, one of my realizations about the band was that it works differently in different people, and the we each need to figure out how it is working for us. I have watched (and participated) in the flame wars over how to work your band, how to get through a plateau, what you should/shouldn't eat, until I came to the realization. Now, much like you I share my experiences and let people take them for what they are worth.

I was positive that I was going to lose the whole 100 in the first year, and the first 60 came off fairly easily, the next 5 where hell on earth as I logged, and exercised and sweated and cursed for the next 6 months, until I finally gave up and started living my life and listening to Mistress Band. Then one morning I weighed myself and I was down a pound, then a couple of months later, down another.

Yet I look at my friends on the forum who have lost so much more than I have in a shorter amount of time and there is a temptation to get jealous. But the important part is, I am happy where I am. I am wearing clothing sizes that I have not been able to wear since I was in Jr. High School. I feel good, I am moving and doing things that I never could have done before. My health is better.

And no, it is very hard for the newly banded to understand where we are. Why? Because (for me) it is someplace they have never been. So, I visit the forum on a regular basis, exchange PM with friends, and answer posts when I feel my answer will make a difference.