This band journey has been one of the greatest, albeit challenging, experiences of my life. Losing 125 pounds has been life-changing. There are so many changes a person needs to adapt to and they're all not just physical. I think of the idea of being a mentor as a way of sharing all that I've learned in my almost two years of being banded.

I'm a 36 year old woman, living in New Jersey. I have a four year old son, who thinks his mommy is beautiful....I LOVE THAT!!!

I do work but as a moderator here...I am here almost daily so I promise I will be great support for anyone at the beginning stages of this journey.

It's an incredible experience and an opportunity for you to prove to yourself that you CAN be successful at weight loss. Be proud of yourself...

I'm just starting my 2nd month of my 6 month diet. I need all the support I can get.

I would love to have a mentor - I was banded in December and at this point I am 50 lbs lighter. I started with a bmi of 49 - not sure what I am now. Since my last fill (2 weeks ago) I have had some new experiences. I have had food stick - so I now know what it means, also have had food come back up. I am alittle jumpy at this point so I am eating foods that are soft. Is this normal and will it pass with time? I have a support group that I attend, but it is only once a month. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Billie (from Washington)

It is great that you are willing to help others. We just got back from living out of the country and I had never heard of the lapband before a commercial in April. When I had my first doc appt with a stateside doctor she asked me to consider the lapband. It has been a whilrwind of trying to accept the fact that I need this, and then understanding what it is. I have twins girls that are 9 and have had eating issues with them for years. One of them has lost so much weight that she was monitored monthly for a year. I would love to have someone help me understand what is going to happen so that I can make the best decision for me and my kids.

thanks, Sherry

I would love to have a mentor - I was banded in December and at this point I am 50 lbs lighter. I started with a bmi of 49 - not sure what I am now. Since my last fill (2 weeks ago) I have had some new experiences. I have had food stick - so I now know what it means, also have had food come back up. I am alittle jumpy at this point so I am eating foods that are soft. Is this normal and will it pass with time? I have a support group that I attend, but it is only once a month. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Billie (from Washington)

Billie,

What you are experiencing is normal. You're probably feeling a little more restriction than you've had before. Make sure you're taking small bites and chew, chew, chew!!! Try not to stick with only soft foods, that defeats the purpose of the band. Soft foods can slide through more easily and you end up eating more than you should.

Typically, I have issues with chicken so I tend to eat a lot of fish as my main Protein, but everyone is different. As for chewing, I was taught to count to 30 with each bite before swallowing. It seems obsessive but it's just until you get into the habit of chewing your food to mush...LOL!

I'm happy to help and answer anyone's questions....fire away.

Hi I'm Cynthia and I am looking into having lap band surgery. I am 289 pnds and miserable because of my weight. I also am scared because of the serious history of Diabetes and High Blood Pressure in my family.

I went through all the preliminary test last year and chickened out. But now I am ready just need to talk to someone who understands

Libra, well first let me say thanks for volunteering to be a mentor. After reading about 20 different stories of bandsters offering to mentor on this new thread I think that you fit me best. I'm 35 yo with a 3 yo son, I've been happily married for 15 years. I've been overweight since my early 20's and been battling that long as well. I was banded on 12/26/07 and have been blessed enough to have lost 83 lbs. so far. But now I seem to be failing myself and my band. After some hard self examination I've come to the realization that now that life is not as hard on a daily basis I'm slacking off on my eating and exercising habits. The worse part is that even though I'm cheating almost DAILY, I'm still not gaining (it's just keeping me from losing) and the reason I say that's the worse part is because I'm not stopping and I think it's cos' I'm not really seeing the consequences of my actions like I would preband. So what I think I need the most mentoring and help on is how to keep strong long term. I'm trying to get to 250 and try to get pregnant before I'm 36 (which I'll be in November) but even though I have set that goal for myself I just can't seem to get back on track! What is wrong with me!!! I always said I would not go through something as serious as surgery and be one of those people who backslide... but here I am doing exactly that!!! HELP ME PLEASE! I'm desperate right now cos' I'm starting to get scared of this addiction. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Much love, KKG

If you don't have too many replies yet on your offer to be a bandster buddy, I would love your help. I was banded on April 3rd and have lost 62lbs thus far. I sure would love to have some insight on A) how to keep losing (I've had a bad plateau recently) :sad_smile: How do you keep the weight off and "normailze" when your goal is reached?