I've recently been banded, and am very fat. Medical and lifestyle issues were my motivations. I never felt motivated by a number on the scale. I do not know how many CC my band will hold, I have no goal weight. I have no idea how many CC my doctor should put in for my first fill.

Instead I want my medical complications from obesity to subside, and to have being fat be less of a lifestyle obstacle for me. The lap band is intended to be of help to me in seeking this relief.

So many here seem very focused on numbers, on targets and deadlines. Is it OK on this forum to not be worried about exact numbers, or not to have a goal weight?

You do what works for you! For me, I look at numbers just to give me an idea about how I am doing. I can see how I am doing by looking in the mirror, but seeing the number makes it real!

I think numbers help to confirm where I am in my progress. It also helps encourage myself and other bandsters. When I look at another bandster's numbers who are similar to mine, then I know I am on target. Of course we all are different, but these numbers give us an idea of where we should be within a given time period and this is a form of encouragement. For example, if another bandster is losing more than I am at a given time, I like to find out why. Are they exercising more regularly, are they getting their Proteins in...? Then, I will get a better idea of what I need to do get the results I would like. It is frustrating to think I am doing what I believe am supposed to do and I am not seeing results over many weeks. So the numbers and other bandster's experiences help so much.

Also, I think having short term and long term goals will help us in our everyday efforts of keeping on our diets and exercising regularly. I think it is just like everyday life, if we are not goal oriented, then we might tend to flounder off in different directions and wasting time and energy.

Actually you do have the goal of losing weight to feel better as all of us here on this board. Keeping up with the numbers and examining them helps us to constantly co-relate what we are doing with how our bodies respond, then we know to either increase or decrease a behavior to get the proper results. Without the numbers we sometimes forget what we have done, then we could get confused about why our bodies are responding a certain way.

In my opinion, to get serious results, keep up with your numbers and keep a journal.

That's my two cents worth anyway! Smile!

Joyce

I have never really been much about how much i weigh, its more about how active i can be or how clothes fit.

If you arent obsessed about numbers, dont worry about it. Your milestones can be things like when your back pain lets up or when you can clean the bathroom without getting winded.

I know a big milestone for me after i have my surgery and start to lose weight will be when my leg finally stops hurting from walking.. heh And when i can fit into an airplane seat like a normal human being instead of being all cramped into it and having to ask for a seatbelt extension.

There are three things that worked for me in my journey and I will tell you why.

1. I weigh every day...not necessarily to see the weight melting off of me and not expecting a dramatic loss each day but to correlate my weight with what I was doing with my eating habits.

2. I log everything I eat online on a program called FitDay (there are many out there). Weight Watchers always touted this and I always pooh poohed it. NOW I kow why they say to do it. It makes you hypersensitive to what you put in your mouth. As you start out, you are training yourself, your mind, your stomach to be different from the way you were before. This helps you accomplish that. Knowing what you ingest and being able to correlate it with the numbers on the scale is invaluable. When you screw up with the intake and then the scale goes up, you can see it and know EXACTLY what happened and why. Too often I hear people saying "Gosh, I've only lost 3 pounds in 4 months...I just do NOT know WHY." THIS will tell you why. It's not Rocket Science...but it is pure physics. Cause and effect.

3. I set mini-goals. You DO need goals. Goals keep you moving in the right direction. Goals don't mean "Okay, I have to lose 200 pounds." Goals CAN be kinda fun...like I want to lose three pounds in the next three weeks. THOSE kinds of goals. Attainable goals. When you start reaching goals (no matter how silly and small) you get MOTIVATED to do MORE and you start stretching those goals, testing yourself. Without goals you just wallow around making excuses for why things aren't progressing. Success = Progress.