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Unfreaking believable!!! Weight watchers and the band



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OMG I cannot believe how horrible the WW boards are to Lap banders!!!!

I recently started using WW along with the band and have been seeing amazing results! WW has always been my favorite lifestyle plan so I wanted to combine the two together. I talked it over with my doctor and we adjusted my points to fit my band.

I posted a message on the boards saying that I have the band it is the only thing that has helped me to this extent and the combination of the two is amazing.

The responses I got where hurtful and uninformed. First they kept comparing me to a Gastric Bypass patient, which I would never want to be due to the complications. That's why I picked the lap band. Second, the called it the Lazy man's diet, also stating that I shouldn't be promoting WLS on their boards. Some of the other things that they where saying: They couldn't believe that i've only lost 35lbs in 4 months compaired to their 45lbs wl in the same amount of time, how could I spend that much money just to be cut up and still have to be doing the same thing as them, Did I mention they called me lazy, said I had underlying mental issues. and so forth.

And I all I said was that they combination of the two for me is a great one!

I just can't believe it!

Look at this post!

"I honestly don't care you have taken that route, I call it the lazy route, all I'm saying is please don't be coming to WW and touting surgery as an alternative to diet and exercise.

So, take your story elsewhere. Last thing I want ppl to do is read ur rant and give up on a healthier way to lose weight and opt for the lazy option like you did! your 10lb gain is not "magic" on cruises, its called you can't stop eating. "

The funny thing is that this posters signiture says heres hopping the third time is a charm! ha!

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Wow, that is really lousy. I'm sorry that happened to you. That would make me so angry...

I am very newly banded, but when I went in for my consult my surgeon actually said that a lot of his patients love doing WW with their band so I was thinking of doing that once I get to the real food phase.

Now I don't know!! How disheartening! ;)

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That had to hurt, I know I just had my coaching session with my bodybugg and I was aware that I couldn't put it in the profile or mention it, but when she saw how low my caloric count was of course I had to be wrong and compared me to anorexic. Grrrr I am so not ashamed of my band, and I love the bugg it makes me more accountable.......The last thing I was considering adding was weight watchers, we have a group near me that I could of walked to but this isn't the first thing I've read that was similar. If they only knew the truth behind a successful weight loss with the band they might not be so quick to share their rude comments

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So sorry also, but I'm sooo not surprised. I'm kind of in a remote area and I have no doubt that the group leader at my local WW group would be the same way. But the good thing about WW is you don't have to go to a meeting group just to follow and count points. There are so many programs out there these days that will do the same thing. I had a program for my Palm that tracked points and now on the iphone there's numerous. But you can get that reaction from many non-WW people. I haven't been banded yet (June 1), but my daughter has, but I've stopped telling some people I know because of their reaction. Even my previous primary care phy's reaction was "just count calories." DUH!! Silly me for not ever having tried that approach.

So not to worry. Some of my greatest successes have been on WW, and also my biggest weight gains after I stopped following WW.

Trisha

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I am a nurse and I am also a lifetime member of weightwatchers and who ever wrote that to you is purely jealous! Weight is not understood fully by anybody including nurses and Drs. Weight can come due to hormones/ age/ low thyroid, Diabetes.. I find it to be a disease and equally an addiction as any other addiction, but harder because you can't give up eating entirely.

We need support and whatever you can do to lose weight is a good thing. Be proud of yourself! At least you care enough to work on it.

Most people are jealous. I am happy to know that you are managing to do those two together because Wt Watchers alone hasn't been helping me at almost 55 years old, and I would like to do both the band and wt watchers too! Thanks for the info!!

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eww!!

First off most people would not say that to your face lol...well in jersey they wouldn't because us jersey gals can get rough if you mess with us!! :mad2:

Second, all weight gain is a mental issue. I'm sorry--maybe this will not make me popular for saying this--but i believe very few people gain 100lbs because they just love food that much. I gained 150 because i 1) love food and 2) ate when bored and lonely. It was how i would cope with anything.

SO if my theory is correct--then WW peps would have the same freaking issue!!

I don't tell everyone that I have the band--just those i trust because many are ignorant.

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People just don't understand the band! Even with me I keep trying to explain it to my Mom and she always changes the subject because she thinks its like gastric bypass and disapprove of my decision and just doesn't want to hear it and neither do the WW people. I attend meettings because I LOVE my leader. I call it "diet church" because I get so inspired when I leave but I do have to say that the fact that I 'm getting the band makes me a "dirty mixer." haha. They really are just jealous. Its not the lazy way out!!! Its the long term results that I look forward too.

This time it will be FIRST time is the charm. Maybe you should change your screen name and start over. Having support and recipe ideas are important, don't give up! Weight Watchers in the BEST diet for me becuase its the truest to real life healthy living.

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It is sad how hateful and ugly some people chose to be. I hope you don't take that vicious garbage to heart. Anyone that would be so rude and hurtful to a "fellow weightloss struggler" doesn't deserve a second thought.

And let's be honest, you stand a much better chance of longterm success then "thrid times a charm"!!!

I know how easy it is to let someone's negativity seep in to the cracks of your thin shell and really make you start to doubt yourself. If it were me I think I would continue to follow the WW eating plan (if that is the one you find best for yourself) but not waste my time or energy with their boards.

Congratulations on your suceess so far....trust me I KNOW this is NOT the "Lazy Way Out"!!!

~Monica

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Weight Watchers members are generally anti any kind of WLS. I was a member many, many times, and if you mentioned WLS, everyone would jump on it being the "easy way out" and then talk about the "friend of a cousin" who died from it. I guess when they're spending $48-plus a month for their program, they get defensive about it. I did pretty well on WW -- lost 54 pounds, then gained it all back when I got depressed.

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That makes me so mad! Weight Watchers actually now supports people who've had weight loss surgery. You can search their site and see their info. I thought this was particularly interesting.

"Lifestyle modification is the cornerstone of the Weight Watchers approach– making wise food choices, being physically active, developing positive thinking skills, and being in a supportive environment. These four pillars are especially important for those who have undergone bariatric surgery."

My WW team is very supportive of WLS, they've even asked if I would be interested in being a leader there some day. WW is a great program and I think works very well with the Lap Band.

Honestly, it's like the women who say you can't enjoy the birth experience if you have an epidural. You use the tools you need in your life to get to your goals. End of story.

If I could find that dang post I'd give her a piece of my mind! Don't you let her small minded pettiness stop you. If you find WW useful then you do it.

Britt

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There are very few things that make me embarrassed for my species more than the idiotic ramblings of random morons on the web. Some people get a thrill from saying stuff hidden behind a keyboard they would never say in person.

Never let anything get to you that was spewed by some anonymous internet mouth-breather (me included!) :cursing:

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I not surprised but it is so wrong. I went to WW for a while after WLS and I never did tell anyone about the surgery because I feared all the negativity. I know from past experience at WW meetings most people are very judgemental about WLS I have to be honest and tell you I felt the same way at one point. I think WW is alot like any other group or organization- they have their way and if you disagree they take it very personally. But perhaps this will be a way to educate others. I think we all know that WLS is not an east way to lose, these negative people need to learn that WLS is just like WW it is a tool to aid and guide our weight loss. WLS doesn't work for everyone and neither does WW. Good Luck and try not to let these ignorant people get you down.

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Your post made me reflect, think and finally chuckle, not for your pain they caused by being nasty, but because I had a pretty horrible experience on the boards there as well, so bad in fact that I was actually crying afterward.

However, I know now that I was dealing a group of narrow minded women who wouldn't have been happy no matter what :biggrin: Some things (and people) never change...thank god I did.

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Sorry I'm really curious why your having your port moved from one side to the other. If you don't mind me asking I'd love to know. If I'm being to nosey just ignore please

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Sorry I'm really curious why your having your port moved from one side to the other. If you don't mind me asking I'd love to know. If I'm being to nosey just ignore please

Hi Saundra, you are not being nosey at all and I don't mind people asking :)

I had a low profile port that replaced my original one six months after my first surgery, it has been fine for six months or so, sitting low and not causing me pain like the first one.

Now, for whatever reason it isn't sitting right and hurts all the time, they have poked and prodded trying to figure out why, the only thing that could be causing this is the fact I have had two port surgeries in that same spot and a tumor surgery (years ago) very very close to the same spot - possibly scarring that is causing this to happen.

So, if we switch to the other side where I have not had surgery maybe it will sit better and stay put :)

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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