During my last talk with my surgeon about food, calories, dieting, etc., we talked a lot about "the Honeymoon Period." I asked him why it was so easy for the first 9 months, but now everything is so hard.

He explained that the Band is just like anything else - when it's new, we are excited and motivated, which is why the weight falls off. But he told me my "honeymoon was over." That's when we have to get down to reality. I think some people are really lucky and they find a way to live the rest of their life in the honeymoon phase, but for me it's a lot harder.

I'm sure getting a new port and a fill would be like going on a new honeymoon. But I still have so much restriction in the morning that I wonder if I even need a fill.

Next time lightening crashes and the sky opens, I hope the answers fall out.

Vinesqueen, I know what my problem is, I want to look like Pamela Anderson and that will never be for me. I am too focused on my outside appearance than my inside. I get soooo many compliments that I am pretty, or for people that have known me before that I look great, but I don't feel that way. It is the week before my time of the month so maybe that is why I am feeling so down....but, I am not happy with lots of things about me. Sometimes I am and other times I am not!!!!!!!! But, like Leatha says, I will get up and dust myself off again!!!

I lost 68 pounds in 8 months and for the last two have lost and regained the same 2 to 4 pounds... I'm finding that though I eat WAYYYY less than I used to, I can still eat plenty of the creamy junk like ice cream and chocolate (DQ Moolatte's)! ... My meal quantity isn't increasing, but my loss has stopped.

Pam, that's pretty much exactly what I've been going through. Our stats and band dates are very similar! Mind you, I'm not complaining. Life at around 200 lbs. is a lot easier than life at 260-270, that's for sure. I'm just tired of wearing the same two pairs of trousers over and over again, since I don't want to get a whole new wardrobe until I'm smaller.

Kelly, Pamela Anderson wants to look like me. It's all about attitude, Baby!

Lisa, that is why I asked you the other day to touch me, so your attitude could rub off on me!!! I love you girl!

I don't care who you are, how pretty, how smart, how rich, how wise, how educated--if you've got the FAT DEMON it is going to be a daily exorcision. Some days the demon will be sleepy and quiet and somedays it will be screaming but it would be a big mistake to think that just because we've got this piece of silicone around our tummies that we've killed it.

Sometimes success comes in small, chewed-to-death bites. It's hard! Is it worth it? I often doubt it, then I remember the alternative....

I think you are so right! I was just banded 2 weeks ago and I feel like my expectations were very high. I expected weight to just jump off me, but now I know it's takes 2 (you and the band together) to do this thing. I thought it would get rid of my fat demon, but it hasn't. Because chocolate milkshakes went fine during the liquid stage...honestly, it's a lot of work. But I feel more confident in myself now that I have a little extra help. Before I was banded I got to the point of not even wanted to start exercising and dieting because I knew I would just fail at it. So why bother? I didn't like to go out in public and I didn't do anything special to look nice or dress up at all (that has to do with having a 2 year old, as well, but I really didn't like myself.) Even though I've only lost 6 lbs. so far and am in the 'honeymoon' period, just having the band and knowing it's there makes me feel like maybe I will succeed this time....let's hope! Wish me luck on my first fill (Aug. 31st), I hate drinking that nasty stuff!!!!!

Oh, yeah, and who wants to look like Pamela Anderson, anyway???? 100% FAKE! And look what a mess her freakin' life is...DeLarla has it right...she wishes she looked like US!

*** shakin' my big ol booty***

I just meant I want a body like that, not the boobs, I have plenty of those.....that is y a breast reduction is on my calendar for October 31st!

I'm just tired of wearing the same two pairs of trousers over and over again, since I don't want to get a whole new wardrobe until I'm smaller.

Go buy something Zoe, not a whole wardrobe--just one or two things that make you feel pretty. Yes your size is changing, but your life is NOW. If you feel better about how your look right now you are less likely to eat and more likely to move into that new wardrobe sooner.

My advice is to INSPIRE YOURSELF!

Everyone's experience with adjustments and head work is so individual that generalizations are pointless. I think the key is going in with a realistic understanding not only of what the band will and will not do, but of our own expectations of ourselves.

Personally, before being banded my biggest concern WAS the long-term reality of living as a banded person. This is what I knew would be the hardest thing for me. Zoe, I know EXACTLY what you mean when you say "I think I have Lap-Band fatigue. I'm fed up with all the chewing, and I'm kind of bored with all things having to do with the band." I knew that would happen, and it has indeed, more than once. But that just means we're transitioning into the long-term life of a new normal.

My old normal was not working for me, so I'm thrilled about this new normal. That doesn't mean I'm thrilled all the time about the fact that I will never again be able to chow down a giant sub, or that I have to carefully watch my behavior to avoid nighttime reflux, or that even healthy food like fresh pineapple can cause problems if it's too pulpy. But the alternative is a path that will very likely lead to a regain of 100 pounds so I am NOT willing to go there.

I find myself answering people that comment on my weightloss, "Well, I still have about 30 pounds to lose." or "Thanks, but Im still not near my goal weight".

Paula, I actually carry around my before pictures to remind myself where I came from. "Are you still losing?" is a question I get a lot, and I did have to learn to just ignore it. At this point I know exactly what I'd have to do to lose more weight, and I'm not doing it. That's my choice. Frankly, I don't want a day to come when I've reached some arbitrary number and say "I'm DONE!" because I know I will NEVER be done. Managing this disease for me has to mean a permanent approach, and one that does not include agonizing over a few pounds here or there.

if you have 100 pounds to lose, will you be satisfied losing only 50, then having to diet?

This is an excellent question to ask ourselves. But there's another option: If you lose only half of what you say you want to lose, will you be satisfied there? The answer really will tell us something about what we expect from surgery. Of course, the answer may change if and when we get there, and that's OK too.

I asked myself this hundreds of times before being banded. Surgery seemed like such a huge step and the statistical predictions weren't very encouraging. But I knew that a life maintained at a weight of 250 would be a very different life than the one I was living, where 340 was the new "low" and it was only up from there. So that was my "goal," just to have a healthier weight and a possibility of a future with more control over my weight. And I'VE GOT IT, and more.

The band is a disappointment for some, but IMO it's because their expectations are unrealistic. Real issues with emotional eating or psychological "demons" are not going to be addressed by the band or any weight-loss surgery. But for people who just want negative behavioral reinforcement, the band does a wonderful job. It's given me exactly what I needed, no more, and no less. I am not a size 8 because I am not willing to make "dieting" my life's priority, though I don't discount that possibility in the future. For now, being able to keep up with my kids and fit into theater seats and wear normal women's sizes is more than I could have ever wished for.

Vinesqueen, I know what my problem is, I want to look like Pamela Anderson and that will never be for me. I am too focused on my outside appearance than my inside. I get soooo many compliments that I am pretty, or for people that have known me before that I look great, but I don't feel that way. It is the week before my time of the month so maybe that is why I am feeling so down....but, I am not happy with lots of things about me. Sometimes I am and other times I am not!!!!!!!! But, like Leatha says, I will get up and dust myself off again!!!

Kelly, in my early 20's I lost alot of weight, I went from over 300 lbs down to 150 lbs (I'm 5'10") everyone told me that I was getting way to thin but dang gum it!!! I had this stupid # in my head of what I thought I had to be. I HAD to be 130 - 140 lbs or I wouldn't be perfect "skinny". I kinda knew I could never achieve this. But I tried and tried. I am not big boned, more like medium. Anyway, going from 300 down to 150, I had a lot of flabby belly skin that I though was fat, my mind was always focused on that big belly. It got to the point where I was starting to give up and thats when the weight started coming back on. Frustrated, depressed, down over a stupid # and what the media calls perfect. I wish I had known then that I WAS perfect (for my hight that is). I wish I had learned to love ME and accepted my new body.

My point is, don't get lost in the #'s. If you are feeling good, eating healthy, than thats all that matters. Get the "fat monster" out of your brain, the sooner you do this, the better. Please trust me on this.

Hugs and Kisses !!!!

Eileen

Know what the funny thing is??? I just looked at some pictures that were taken at our family reunion and there was some of me and I was thinking, damn I look skinny......So the number is just in my head, I am going by the weight chart and my BMI which is 26.6....barely overweight and I have always thought that those charts were insane......I am hoping with my reduction I lose a few lbs..and that will help........Thanks everyone for the support....I love this place!

I bet you used to do what I am doing right now.

I am looking at your ticker thinking I would LOVEEEEEE to see my ticker at 170lbs and that be how much I weigh. We will probably never be satisfied with ourselves because of what we have been through. You look awesome though...A real inspiration!!!

Hugs

Zoe, You're so right! I'm at 198 to 202, 198 today, and it feels WAYYY better than 265...hell I saw 280 once.

I do know just what you mean about the same clothes. I have bought things that make me feel good because I can, and now they sit aside waiting for me to get them posted on ebay... nearly new... It can get expensive to keep replacing them can't it??

I really do prefer that the 'stack of clothes I can't wear' in my closet are too big rather than the too small it'd always been before banding.