Just thinking out loud...I got my surgery on July 30th. I have lost around 22-25 lbs. since the week before surgery and as I have heard others say, I feel as if I did it through pure diet and willpower on my part. I do well with the willpower for about 2-3 weeks and lose oh maybe 5 lbs. then I start to get discouraged (as I always have with diets)and gain 2 or 3 back because I overeat! I'm going in for my fourth fill on Tuesday. (After my second fill my doc said he usually doesn't have to give a third fill and after my third fill he said he RARELY has to give a fourth fill) so hopefully he will run out of adverbs and this one will do the trick. I am truly discouraged and I feel as if I have wasted the "Honeymoon " period...or does the honeymoon period begin when you start really losing the weight?

I don't know if the lapband was the wrong answer for me or not. I dont feel like I probably was overeating, but eating the wrong foods to lose weight, so now I feel like Im back on my diet. I watch my sugar and carbs, but still eat pretty much otherwise as I did before being banded. I think the band helps me in the evening when I want to snack, thats my hard time. Im also walking daily. Im age 58 and without the walking I dont lose, so I walk, and walk some more. I need to start strength training my arms, can feel my arms are weak. So much to do and its hard to keep at it.

For me the band only helps me stop eating junk at night, but thats enough that I hope this time I wouldnt slip back into junk food habits. Iv had 3 fills and can see on the fluoro machine how tight I am, yet I can eat anything. So I think you do have to still watch your eating, just having the band isnt enough to make you lose as much as most of us want.

OP Im another July bandster, was banded July 9th.

I don't know where that term "honeymoon period" came from, but I don't like that term. Because I have sure had to fight for every pound I have lost. It sure hasn't been a honeymoon for me. But like Jack said, I wouldn't go back for anything.

Jack,

Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful response to my whining. I think what I'm hearing you say is to be appreciative of What I HAVE lost and the small non scale victories that I may be taking for granted and just keep on working toward my goals and try not to give up...? I think that was a great piece of positive advice and I'll try to keep it in mind. I'm 20 something pounds lighter than I was and I can move forward and try to inch along in my weight loss, or I can regress and say to heck with it and sabotage everything I've done so far....hmmm, think I'll move forward. Thanks!!

Just thinking out loud...I got my surgery on July 30th. I have lost around 22-25 lbs. since the week before surgery and as I have heard others say, I feel as if I did it through pure diet and willpower on my part. I do well with the willpower for about 2-3 weeks and lose oh maybe 5 lbs. then I start to get discouraged (as I always have with diets)and gain 2 or 3 back because I overeat! I'm going in for my fourth fill on Tuesday. (After my second fill my doc said he usually doesn't have to give a third fill and after my third fill he said he RARELY has to give a fourth fill) so hopefully he will run out of adverbs and this one will do the trick. I am truly discouraged and I feel as if I have wasted the "Honeymoon " period...or does the honeymoon period begin when you start really losing the weight?

Every person is different. You might need 8 fills before you feel restriction. You will not have a 'honeymoon' till you get restriction. You will have a really hard time to lose weight until you get that restriction. Count calories and eat mainly Proteins until you get that restriction. Patience is a virtue. Keep going back to your doc for fills until YOU feel restriction. Ignore his comments about other patients. They aren't you.

Yes, I had a honeymoon period, the first three or four months I lost weight like crazy, in fact I lost a third of my excess 100lb and given that I only had a BMI of 35, that's pretty good.

But the fact was, i was one of the few very lucky ones who had awesome restriction after surgery, MUCH better restriction than I have ever been able to achieve since. Half a cup 3 x a day was all I needed and I just lost pounds each and every week. I did start exercising right away with my band, but at that stage I was only walking, and only about 2 miles a day.

So of course I look back on that as a "honeymoon period".

But the truth is, that's just a brief spurt of fast weight loss, great if you get it but not in any way an indicator of failure if you dont. Get good restriction, choose good foods and get plenty of exercise and your excess weight WILL come off. So you might not get a run of really stupendously fast loss, big deal. A pound gone is a pound gone.

Hang in there and work your band and you will see the rewards.

I was banded on July 4th that was Independence day from food for me. I have had 8 fills. The last two with a thicker fill than saling. My band finally has started working. I lost about 30 lbs. on my own and now I have lost 8 more since my fill on Nov. 13th. Is is much much easier when you have restriction. I kept going back to my doctor's when I wasn't getting any restriction. Start going more often, if you are not getting want you want from where you are going, go some where else. I was persistant you need to to and get things changed. You will find it I did and I thought my band was not going to work Now I am trying to figure out how the band works since it took almost 5 months to get restricition. Good luck!

Thanks to all for your replies and great advice. I'll just keep plugging forward. I just get discouraged, because I BARELY feel like I've even HAD surgery. Yesterday was one of those days when I overate and I get discusted with myself for reverting back to old habits. I ate for breakfast, a scrapple and egg sandwich on wheat toast. For lunch I ate two good-sized bowls of chilli (made with lean ground beef at least! LOL!!) I ate a big handful of veggie crisps (like a healthier version of potato chips, about 6 bite sized candy bars (someone's $5 gift exchange for a small office party, and I was the "lucky recipient") 2 or 3 handfuls of bite sized saltines WITH cream cheese on them!! and then some good friends invited me out to eat last night, and I went because I needed to get out of the house, but all I could eat was a HALF of a chicken salad on Wheat toast and about 6 french fries!!! I just had a day where I wanted it so I was going to EAT it! I do usually exercise more self control than that, but there are some stressful things going on in my life especially here at the holidays (as with most everyone else), feeling lonely, etc (third christmas not with husband after 23 year marriage) and my self control was like my self esteem at the moment.....LOW!!!!

Today is a new day and I vow to do better! Going to church to get my JESUS on, and He'll help me get through this. Thanks everyone!!!!