Ok, I have started this wonderful journey went to the pcp a month ago then 6 weeks later went to the Orientation, which i do have to say is inspiring. Not towards the band lol. Well they gave us a binder, with what we can and cant eat and so on.

I am starting to think i wonder if i can trick myself. Like not cancel any of my appts which next isnt even for 2 months, but to keep on track for my banding, but do the diet to a T and everything.. The dr said the band was just that, and its not a miracle and so on, and that the job was ours to change how we feel about food.

Do any of you feel you could have done the same diet you are now without having surgery??

I joined the gym and paid for a trainer.. i am going to do the 1200 calorie diet and weigh the food like my binder says.. and only eat a cup of food etc, and do a Water diet one day a week.. do you think its possible? Or am i in a pipe dream of fairytale land??:smile2::thumbup:

I actually thought of this too. My problem is that I don't think I could get that full feeling without having the Lap Band as a tool.

BTW: I haven't been banded yet, just my two cents.

I lost over 80 lbs doing low gi eating, approx 1200 calories a day allowed. The only problem was I didnt hold the weight loss. Iv gained and lost and gained and lost too many times. I got the band in hopes this would make it once and for all.

weight loss is so frustrating:(

Have either of u ever used a trainer? I paid 50 for 3 sessions for the first time today.. And i plan on paying more and more.. do they help? The gyms ya know talk great about them lol. And i got the Wii fit for fitness classes in my living room lol, and so far it has helped i love how you can monitor your progress:)

Im just walking. Im up to averaging about 4 miles or more a day because walking is easy. I know I need more strength training and will do my WATP CDs when I get motivated. Walking helps keep the weight moving off more than just plain exercises for me.

Ill get going on weights some time though, but just at home. Joining a gym is a waste for me, I dont keep going. Been there, done that.

Hello to everyone

I thought I would share my journey with you about walking. I was banded August 2007 and weighed 19st 8lbs and in the last 14 months have lost 10st in weight and mostly because I have walked it off as well as eating less of couse lol.

I used my pedometer every day in the house as well and every week increased my walking and now have to walk 7 miles a day which is 16.000 steps to keep my weight off.

The pedometer was my inspiration, I kept a walking diary and every day tried to increase it by 100 steps and set myself daily targets I dont know if this will help anyone but for me it has kept me loosing weight and taken my mind of all that eating worry.

I think being banded is so hard when you have eating disorders and for me now I have reached my target weight I am scared if I dont keep walking I will focus on the food again .... so for us all I think we have and are doing really well.

take care Dianne :smile2::thumbup:

Iv been trying to up my walking. First (Im in Texas) I got a nasty heat rash that spread really wierd and had to lay off a month. Got going again now finally. I have had some days Iv done about 3.5 twice and I throw in a little jogging to get my heart rate up.

WATP (walk away the pounds series) of CDs has easy steps and adds arms to the walking steps. Any time you raise your arms over your head you increase your heart rate/metabolism. I like the arms alone, and then she adds weights, the best for the back half of the walking CD.

I truly believe in walking to lose weight too and keep it off.

I met with a trainer 3 times a week for 3 years before getting banded. I was stronger and healthier but not thinner. Exercise is GREAT, but it (or lack of it) is not the primary cause of obesity. We are obese because we take in too many calories.

I tried to change for 15 years. If I could have those 15 years back and get the band then, knowing what I know now, I'd do it in a FLASH. Have you read the medical literature on weight loss surgery? The statistics (I was a math major, so I trust math, haha) say that less than 5% of people with 50+ lbs to lose can lose it and keep it off for ONE YEAR. Well, I was wanting to lose four times that and keep it off for 70 years! So what would the stats be on that?

I got a PhD and a JD in the same semester. I mention that to illustrate that obesity is not about self discipline. I have that. I ran 2 marathons and 12 half marathons last year. But I'd still be 350+ if I didn't have a band, instead, I wear a size 4. Don't kid yourself into thinking you can do it yourself. Look at the math. Less than 5% can do it for a single year.

You are not a failure for needing a band. You are a person taking control of your health and using the best tool available to reach your goals.

I met with a trainer 3 times a week for 3 years before getting banded. I was stronger and healthier but not thinner. Exercise is GREAT, but it (or lack of it) is not the primary cause of obesity. We are obese because we take in too many calories.

I tried to change for 15 years. If I could have those 15 years back and get the band then, knowing what I know now, I'd do it in a FLASH. Have you read the medical literature on weight loss surgery? The statistics (I was a math major, so I trust math, haha) say that less than 5% of people with 50+ lbs to lose can lose it and keep it off for ONE YEAR. Well, I was wanting to lose four times that and keep it off for 70 years! So what would the stats be on that?

I got a PhD and a JD in the same semester. I mention that to illustrate that obesity is not about self discipline. I have that. I ran 2 marathons and 12 half marathons last year. But I'd still be 350+ if I didn't have a band, instead, I wear a size 4. Don't kid yourself into thinking you can do it yourself. Look at the math. Less than 5% can do it for a single year.

You are not a failure for needing a band. You are a person taking control of your health and using the best tool available to reach your goals.

The dr told us at orientation that 30% of patients fail in the first year, and the statistics go up after that. He said its very hard for people to keep it off up to 5 yrs, and that is WITH the band. He said that its a lifestyle change either way we go. And the only surgery that is the most guaranteed is bypass, but that he doesnt recommend it because of the risks.. It is just so confusing, i am not stoping my lap band journey, because the apts are still scheduled im just going to see what i can do i guess.. You can stretch your belly back out, and they say a huge percent have to ahve the band removed after 7yrs.....

not what i'm seeing. Several people in the original first lapbandsters in my local clinic have their bands still. They've been doing the band for 7+ yrs. And my personal mentor has had hers for 5 yrs and looks great.

Teri

Yeah he said it was just a common thing because of slippage etc with time.. but im sure lots of people keep theirs for a lifetime:)

But about the weight loss.. i know you are a new bandster teri so you might NOT want to read this, but go on this site in the area where girls are mad because they are GAINING all their weight back, and others that are not loosing. That is what i was refering to. It is not a guarantee. My dr told me if i go thru with it to have success i HAVE to keep coming to support groups for a min of 5 yrs. Because the first 5 are the hard years.

I just started this thread to see if i was the ONLY person that heard that the band doesnt really ristrict us much, that it is ALL mental. The Water diet, anyone can go on a 100 calorie water diet and loose 7lbs a week... so it is normal for the big weight loss especially in the beginning. I was just seeing if anyone even tried to follow a bandster diet off the band... but im guessing not...

Good luck to everyone!

All of our goals are the same! To be healthy, and smaller then we are! And i am sure whatever way we go we will get there:) And work our a$$ off to stay there.:eek:

Only you know yourself. How many diets have you tried? How many worked? How many times did you fail? Why do you eat? Why do you not exercise? What are you willing to sacrifice to do this and how long will you make that sacrifice for?

Could I lose weight on another program? Yes.

Did I understand calories, metabolism, Protein, carbs? Yes.

Was I able to do the amount of exercise required to lose weight? Yes.

Could I have lost almost 60 pounds without my band? Honestly, I could have . . . but I know I WOULDN'T have. That's me. That's the mental state I was in. I couldn't do it on my own anymore. And it certainly wouldn't have stayed off -- but since I'm relatively newly banded, the jury's still out on that one.

I started my pre-op diet and the weight started to come off rapidly. All I had to do was keep a food and exercise journal that roughly followed the South Beach Diet to prove to my doctor that I could stick to a "program." It was easy . . . but my band date was so close in sight that I thought "I can do ANYTHING for 2 months." And I did.

Then, the weight started coming off and I started second guessing my decision to have the band. I started wondering if I was making a big mistake and if I could stick to a program and go at it without the band.

Then I remembered my history with dieting. Then I started feeling hungry again.

Yeah . . . I NEEDED the band. BEST thing I ever did for myself.

BUT, I also was not one of those that was going to sit quietly by and wait for my band to start working before I started working -- but that's a mental thing for me. Regardless of the fact that I had an empty band post-op and I was hungry, I started working the program with 1200 calories, high protein meals, TONS of exercise. But I needed to do that for me because I'm impatient.

And I hear sooo many stories about people who were banded around the same I was and who have only lost 5 pounds, or 10 pounds, and they're frustrated and discouraged. BUT, they also aren't the ones working the band, typically.

So, if you can stick to a program, great. Only you know that. But most of us didn't get here because we could stick to program or lose weight easily or keep it off easily.

If you do decide to get the band, though, take a real hard look at the people it's working for. I must have private messaged 10 people who were at goal, maintaining goal, or close to goal and had had their bands for a long time. The common denominators? Their bands curbed their appetite while they stuck to a program, usually 1200 calories. They all seemed to be avid exercisers. THEY did the work . . . the band merely helped.

A few people were really awesome at letting the band do it's job and they relied more on hunger cues. I'm terrible at hunger cues and a little Type-A personality . . . so I went with the methods where I had to work a little harder. And it's working really well for me.

But, time will tell. We shall see if I can keep it off or if I can continue to lose. However, I AM on a roll and I love my new body . . . so I'm guessing I can! :eek:

The magic question, could I have done it without the band? I can honestly say that my answer is no. I had tried for 12 years and always regained every pound I lost and then some. It controled my eating and with exercise the weight has continued to come off. Was it fast? No, not for me. Have I had times that I have regained a few pounds? sure. But never to the extent I had in the past. Right now I am 10lbs from goal and I attribute it to my band, exercise, and my willingness to follow the band rules. Good Luck in your weight loss. Being ready for the band is going to determine your success, so if you are not 100% maybe it's just not quite your time.

Do any of you feel you could have done the same diet you are now without having surgery??

I joined the gym and paid for a trainer.. i am going to do the 1200 calorie diet and weigh the food like my binder says.. and only eat a cup of food etc, and do a Water diet one day a week.. do you think its possible? Or am i in a pipe dream of fairytale land??

Could I have done the diet and exercise? Sure. Could I have kept doing it for the next 50 years? Not a chance!

For me the band is not just about losing the weight, it is keeping the weight off. It isn't about eating X#of calories or DIETING, it is about eating to get and remain healthy.

Good luck on your journey whatever you chose to do.

In Australia, we don't have to do a 6 month diet, we just have to do the 2 week Optifast diet before surgery. I stuck to that for 1 week, in the second week, I had to add extra foods and even bread because I was almost passing out at work. I do a very physically demanding job.

The operation went well and I now have my band. It was primed during surgery, so I came out with restriction. Its a strange feeling that I'm still learning to work with, but I can tell you this, yes the band does restrict me. If I have too much - and at times 1/2 cup is too much - I get a stabbing pain in the centre of my chest and it goes right under my right breast. I can also feel it in my back. It feels like trying to walk around with a knife stuck in me for about an hour.

I'm only 11 days out but I can tell you, the band definitely is making a difference already. I don't even crave coke anymore. I used to live on the stuff! Now I can pour it out for others and I have no interest.

The band is just a tool. If you start now you can be prepared to use your tool to it's fullest, or not use it if you don't need it. If you eat the lapband way, one cup of food, small bites, and chew, chew, chew, and then chew some more. I personal don't count calories but do keep track of my protien. I lost 40lb about four months prior to my band. Right now I am four or weeks post op and have about 60 or so more to go. Use this time to practice and then use your tool if you need to. Good luck......