Hi everyone, I was just banded two days ago on 1/9/08. There are so many people on here who have had tremendous success with the band, and I am just wondering if people can get together their best tips for being successful in losing weight with the band and reply to this thread. I don't know why, but my biggest fear is that I will go through all of this, and then not lose weight! Any tips would be appreciated. What rules (besides the obvious ones from the doc) have you all followed that helped you lose the weight?

I have three tips that worked like a champ for me.:

1. Weigh every day at the same time (like when you first get up) and log it online somewhere (I use FitDay...there are lots of programs). This is not so much to watch the weight FALL off, but to watch how what you eat correlates with the scales....you get a feel for what you body can work with.

2. Log every single food you put in your mouth on a program like FitDay or SparkPeople. You will become hypersensitive to what you put in your mouth. You will start thinking in terms of calories. This is what Weight Watchers has touted for YEARS and I always thought was "bull hockey". I am now a firm convert!!! If I overdo it for breakfast and lunch, I can know that I need to cut back for dinner, or vice versa, if I know I am going out to dinner in the evening, I will keep my intake low in the morning and afternoon. I try to keep intake to 800-1100 calories a day.

3. Set easily attainable "mini-goals".....My first was to hit 210. Then 205, then to get to Onederland...my mini-goals were 2-3 pounds each and I gave myself an adequate time to reach them. Right now my goal is to get into the 150's....I've been vacilllating from 160-163 since early December, because I have been "bad" during the holidays, but I am getting back into the game. Always set a goal you KNOW you can reach. As you reach them you will get greedy for more goals and successes. Sometimes a success can be going from 163.6 to 162.8. That's the beauty of a scale with 10th of a pounds on them.

Thanks Kacee! Those are really good tips.

Those are great tips. Thanks so much:smile:

you have to exercise. for me its a must I do 30-45 min of Cardio 6 days a week. I cannot just watch my calories it don't work for me I need the workout.. log your food I found that to be the most important

i agree with everyone on all the tips!

i bought a lil pink blank journal and i would write down everything i ate including Snacks and drinks and expecially Water intake....

also, log down exercise, weight, goals, and any notes to self, etc. and goals.

its a great way to look back at your progress if you ever hit a plateau and maybe see what you used to do while losing that you aren't doing anymore or haven't done in awhile.

i actually got out of the habit of writing in my wls journal and was beginning what i thought to be an early plateau...but after going back and reading in it, i see that i had gotten off track some and have now gotten back into writing in it, and staying on a better diet that includes exercise challenges/goals too!

GOOD LUCK!

xoxo, christie