Well, it's been almost half a year since I had this thing implanted. I have to say, this has quite literally been a lifesaver. I've gone from morbidly obese to merely overweight, and can pass for a normal average person.

The rate of loss has slowed, but I should be able to hit goal by the 1 year mark.

So how are y'all? Still glad you did this?

Thanks for starting this....I want to see how everyone else feels too!

I am glad I did this 99.5% of the time. I am not glad when I am hanging over the toilet barfing!!!! I just wish that my band did not have a mind of its own. Sometimes I can have one bite of something and barf for 20 minutes and other times like yesterday a whole piece of pizza and nothing!

So I just hit my halfway mark, and next week will be my 6 month bandiversary so I may make it! I know now that its going to be more challenging to get the weight off. I need to exercise on a more consistent basis, not just hear and there like I have been.

The real work starts now! I am determined to beat the 50-60% of excess weight loss.

Maureen

I am glad I had it done most of the time. I had my gulblater out about a month after I had it done. I gained 12 lbs because I had to eat more to help me heal after surgery. I took that to an extreme. But as of this morning I am down 57lbs and have about 53 to go.

What kind of rate do you think we can look for when losing lbs now?

This has been such an amazing experience, that sometimes I have a hard time really believing it. I cant believe that I have really lost this weight. My brother said that I look like the old me. I just pray that it continues and I dont get comfortable and start to put the weight back on. Than I remember that I wont because this time my band has my back. I LOVE MY BAND :bounce:

I do not regret my band at all. I have amazed myself with all the things I can do and acomplish. My weight loss has been more than just getting a band and not eating. I work really hard in the gym so that I dont come out of this looking like I starved myself. I want to look toned for the 1st time in a long time. I eat well 90% of the time and my band alone doesnt do that for me. My band has inspired me to realize if I do what I am told it can and does work. I am hoping to reach my goal by my 1 year date but would not be upset if that were to take longer. I just take it one day at a time and realize I WILL get there. I am amazed at my weight loss so far and never believed it would be this good! Way to go everyone we all should be proud of ourselves.

I will be six months tomorrow and even though I have lost more then half of my weight I was really hoping it would fall off until I reached goal. Now the work starts and I am grateful that my band does not allow me to screw up much. . . . It gives me peace of mind and really helps with the determination to keep going when you know the weight won't come flying back on from looking at a desert. My biggest change is the way I think about food. I finally understand what it means to 'eat to live' instead of 'live to eat' and I'm thankful for that.

My band has given me my life back!

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT MY BAND:

I am a much happier person.

I am healthier!

I have confidence.

I have found that I enjoy working out.

I know I deserve to have nice things (before I didn't think I did).

I can wear my hubbys shirts and feel cute.

I don't mind my picture being taken.

Hubby can't keep his hands off me!

I like to shop for clothes.

Feel free to add to it!

I am getting ready to come on my 6 month mark as well.....I agree with everyone who has posted.....We are going to KICK SOME BOOTY the rest of the year and get to our goals......

I feel so much better, and confident, and energized......I finally have a good restriction, and know my limits, and eat better, and not as much. I like the fact that clothes look better, and i can buy normal plus size without breaking the bank and ordering from the SUPER SIZE stores...

I am so happy I am BANDED!

I will say that the Band is my best friend and my savior. I couldn't imagining doing what I did without it. Life is great now and will only get better. Only 47 more lbs to my major goal.

Keep up the good work and make all of us May 07 bander's proud ! :clap2:

Am I reading that right? 142 lbs in SIX MONTHS??

Holy cow.

Am I reading that right? 142 lbs in SIX MONTHS?? Holy cow.

LOL Yes you are ! I am proving my Doc wrong ! He said I needed the Bypass. Well hah to him !

I have lost like 10 since this pic.

Hi, it's Carol. I went for my second fill lst Friday, November 16. I don't feel to good. I have not lost any more weight. A total of only 20 pounds since being banded. I am stuck. Now the doctor really filled me up. I am at 9 cc now. I think that might be too much and am tempted to call him and ask him to take some out. What do you recommend? Did anyone else get really filled up on the seond time? Doctor told me to start post-surgery diet all over again now. So that's one week clear fluids, second week, full liquids, third week, blender foods, forth week, mushies. And yes, I am missing thanksgiving this year. How much do you recommend for the second fill? how much should he have given to me and no more? looking for a number of ccs, please.

Hey Carol: I just got a fill and now have 9.5 ml in my band. I can't eat very much--maybe a couple bites of something or 2 tablespoons, basically, next to nothing. In the morning, I cant eat at all and can only tolerate liquids and even liquids seem to go down slow. But I am not PBing or anything, so I think that I am going to stick with it. It has been 11 months since I was banded but I then had to have my access post removed due to infection and then put a new one back in a month later so even though it has been 11 months, I feel like a newbie since I am only experiencing this drastic restriction. But hey, the weight will come off faster I hope. But I will miss Thanksgiving too. Guess I will make due with a bite of mas potato and a bite or two of turkey. Good luck.

how much does our band hold? what is 'PBing' ???

There are different size bands. If you have had the surgery, ask your doc what size your band is. According to my surgeon, they make the size decsion when they have you on the operating table based on the size of your stomach. PB is produtive burp which is what bandsters call it. I call it plain and simple vomitting.

...I am so excited!!!!!! I am overflowing with enthusiasm!!! Why - well today for the very first time since being banded on the 5th May 2007, I experienced restriction! Yipee!!!!! I now know what you lot have been experiencing at long last.

This morning I had the same Breakfast that I usually have, s small bowl of Tesco Suger Free Museli with a small amount of skimmed milk - Low and behold when I was 3 spoonfulls in I felt this feeling that I have never experienced before - something that told me physically to stop eating. I was having breakfast with 2 colleagues in work and so I quickly excused my self and went to the bathroom and spit up some terrible slime. This soon subsided and I took great delighht in going back to the table and taking my bowl over to the bin and throwing out half a bowl of breakfast that yesterday I would have been horrified to waste and throw out - but then again I didn't need to as I have always been able to finish. The best thing that I felt was a feeling of fullness and satisfaction that acted as a deterant throughout the morning in work, even when clients arrived with Belgian chocolate and Tobelorone bars!

So then it was lunchtime and I had to take clients out for lunch. So I make my usual healthy choice of fish - cod on a bed of mushy peas today. Then it happens again, I am 2 bites in to the dinner and my body tells me again that it is time to stop eating! The sliming begins in earnest and at one point I nearly think I am going to PB all over the table in fronth of everyone and I only just make it to the bathrooms in the retaurant - so this is a slight drawback to the euphoric feelings that I am experiencing but only slight.

Anyway I just wanted to share this with you all as I hope it will motivate any of you who are not experiencing the feeling of restiriction at the moment or at all as was my experience up to now. I stayed away from contributing to this site in recent months as I was so disillusioned with my banding experience and did not want to influence anyone who was beginning their banding journey, but now I am happy to shout out all about this restriction I am experiencing. I really believe that if this restriction holds up that I will finally begin to loose the weight that I need to and become a healthy average weigh woman able to have children next year!!! I also have a huge motivation to fit in to a wedding dress early next year too so I'm off at the weekend to sign up again at the gym to help with the tone up I'll require with this great weight loss I'm anticipating!!! ha ha

I'd love to hear if there is anyone else out there who has experience this late felling of restriction, 7 months and 7ml in band later?