Not sure the best place to place this. I was banded in September of 2009. When I was banded I was around 270 pounds. At my first visit I was 308. due to the lengthy approval process I lost a good bit before. I got down to 215 after surgery and creeped back up over the years to 247. I have been between 245 and 247 since 2010.I know my band works I have just not been working it. Plenty of restriction I just don't seem to lose. I really think I can pinpoint it to Exercise. As i get older my metabolism slowed. I also disconnected from this board and when you do that really take your mind off it. My insurance no longer covers Lap Band and When I called to get an appointment just for follow up they wanted to do the Xray thing which costs about $1500 that insurance will no longer cover. like I said my restriction is fine. I can be satisfied with 4 ounces of food and don't have alot of issues. Just don't know how to get back on track. I set up a new blog today and joined a gym Hopefully that will help. Wish me luck.

Greg

http://www.mylastfatsummer.tumblr.com

It looks like you just need to get back in the zone. Exercise as much as you can and your heart rate will increase and your body will start using the fat stores. Thus you will see the weight drop off again. Good luck

Greg, I just posted in the men's room almost the exact same problem and dates you are experiencing. I'm headed in for an adjustment fill with no X-ray next week and hope to get back on the horse. I've decided to start respecting my band and all the effort I've put into it over the last 5 years and let it do what I wanted it to do. Restrict the foods to that I eat to ones that will fuel my body rather then just take up space. I've spent the last 2 years trying to find things to eat as I enjoy eating rather then eating the things I know I can and should eat. I'm back to being excited about the band and the future rather then pissed off that I can't eat what I want. Come and join me for the rest of the summer and let's see how we can do. I'm getting up 45 minutes early to do 30 minutes on the treadmill. My goal is to go .25 of a mile further every week in that same time. I'll start off walking this week and try to finish with a walk/sprint combo by the end of the summer.

Go back to how you ate at around a couple of months post-op. Start with dense Protein, then veggies, carbs if room. Put out a measured portion, eat it, walk away. It is probably a good idea to spend a week or so rigorously checking every mouthful, your portions have probably crept up.

If you feel hungry when it is not a time you should be eating, get busy! Keep occupied.

Excercise is important for all sorts of reasons but all research shows it is only a small part of actual weight loss. Weight loss only comes when the calories we burn exceed the calories we eat and lots of research shows that people tend to underestimate how many calories they are eating and greatly over-estimate the number of calories exercise burns.

You can do this! You are unlikely to be older than I am (64) and I don't do any regular exercise except walking. I lost all my excess weight in around 15 months and, with a few blips, have kept most of it off for 7 1/2 years.

I just checked your blog....I see a lot of similarities between you and me...mainly body types

The fat you are carrying is different from other people...call it masculine?...yes, I was 270lbs + before lap band surgery, and I am only 5'8"...and as fat and out of shape I was, I was still a man who did the things a man does....cut grass, cut down trees, build things like decks, paint the house, install new windows, worked on the car,.....in other words I was not a lazy blob of Jello....

And like me, you will not have any issues with excess skin like you read about here all the time...

My stomach is as hard as a drum!

Simple terms, we are fat because we cannot stop overeating....in spite of all the mumbo-jumbo physco-babble people try to rationalize their short comings to, , it all comes down to how much we eat versus how much we burn off...

I watch TV shows, movies where they show WW2 POW's from the work camps all skin and bones...ghastly images....but I have to think, what would they look like if they were given 80 grams of Protein, Vitamins, and unlimited Water???

Years ago I had a Dr. flat out tell me "You're fat because you eat like a pig"..."want to loose weight? STOP eating so much"...Yes, very simple...Problem was I could not stop eating...I was in love with eating...I tried to stop 100's of times and simply could not.....

Hence...Weight loss surgery as a last resort...and yes, the Band now does what I could not do on my own...it limits my portions, prevents me from overeating, and takes away my hunger and desire for food...I too eat like a bird....What more can I ask for???

Example: The other day I bought a dozen Buffalo Wings....I could only eat 4 out of the 12...I think I had a little cole slaw...but that's it...could not eat any more.

In the old days those 12 wings would be an appetizer before my main meal....

I should also say, I eat ice cream and Hershey bars...just not enough to feed 10 people...I also drink beer from time to time when at a back yard picnic or a ball game...there a lot of things I eat that people on diets would never dream possible....that's because I am not on any diet...i simply (thanks to the band) eat less...a lot less, than what I used to. Like a Bird!

And over a 24 hr period, it is ridiculously a small amount...there are days I eat more, and there are days I may not eat at all....

There are also foods I will never eat again, primarily because they don't go down well with the band. As it turns out, most of the are not that good for me in the first place...like Pasta or flour based foods such as breads, rolls, dounuts, etc.

So now that my eating is totally under control, it is time to BURN off that fat I have been carrying around for no good reason.

We are hunters-gatherers...and excess food we gather we store as fat to be used for those times of famine when there is no food to gather.....

When I exercise (which is a lot) I am focused on burning that fat I have stored away as my energy source....so I work out on an empty stomach....other than water and my morning coffee....but no food prior to working out....WHY? I need energy to exercise, and I am using that auxiliary fuel tank as opposed what I just ate 1 hr ago.

If I eat before exercising, then I burn off what I just ate...NOT what I have stored away. that would remain untouched.

That approach for me, has worked....I have burned off ALL EXCESS FAT....I have a very low body fat %, leaving behind muscle and skin....you can see every vein in my arms and legs....

So, as a man (I'm 63 BTW) it all comes down to Eating less, and working harder!

And when you exercise, you should be drenched in sweat!

Sorry for ranting on, but it's how I feel....other people on this forum have different views, but if they are happy and successful then that's all that matters....me, I could not be happier...once the band got that eating under control, then everything else got VERY EASY....just have to work my butt off at the gym.

And yes...there is a difference between women and men when it comes to loosing weight...and the majority of posts you read here are from women....but every now and then I see a hard working woman, focused on that "Hard Body" coming from obesity, and I am impressed.