Hello! I wanted to start up a ongoing support thread for all of us who are actively seeking the extra help from either regular Weight Watchers or most especially Weight Watchers Online.

I do not have the money to fork over for extra fees to attend the WW meetings etc. I also am not sure how many banded folks there are on their message board. I thought this would be a good place to hang out, discuss how well or not well we are staying within our points system, our extra activities and whatnot.

We can share ideas or new recipes, or just anything related to Weight Watchers... and even keep each other accountable.

Help me, I need support!!

Do you all know there is a free tool very similar to this one? it is www.sparkpeople.com. These are the same exact tools however; you aren't using points. I have had great success using this tool. I also previously used Weight Watchers; to me, this is the same minus the cost.

those of you who are banded and do WW do you find it very helpful? Do you have to alter the points more when you are banded?

I was banded 12/27/10 and started WW about a month ago (3/2011). I felt it was necessary because my doctor is pretty conservative when it comes to fills. I was feeling almost no restriction, and was having a pretty hard time staying on the wagon. I figured WW would give me some structure and control while I waited for my band to start doing it's job.

It's worked out great! Better than I expected, actually. Right now, I get 34 points a day and I'm able to stay within that easily- something that was a struggle for me in my pre-band days. I've got more restriction in my band these days, so I'm not always able to eat all my points. Here's how I've modified WW to fit my band;

-I stick to three meals a day. No snacking. The band helps with that.

-I serve myself (and track full points value) of a plate of healthy food- I love WW recipes!- but make a point to eat my protein first, then my veggies, then my carbs. That way, if I run out of steam and can't finish, I've got the essentials covered.

I go to the meetings but, like others have mentioned, I don't mention that i'm banded..

I was banded 12/27/10 and started WW about a month ago (3/2011). I felt it was necessary because my doctor is pretty conservative when it comes to fills. I was feeling almost no restriction, and was having a pretty hard time staying on the wagon. I figured WW would give me some structure and control while I waited for my band to start doing it's job.

It's worked out great! Better than I expected, actually. Right now, I get 34 points a day and I'm able to stay within that easily- something that was a struggle for me in my pre-band days. I've got more restriction in my band these days, so I'm not always able to eat all my points. Here's how I've modified WW to fit my band;

-I stick to three meals a day. No snacking. The band helps with that.

-I serve myself (and track full points value) of a plate of healthy food- I love WW recipes!- but make a point to eat my protein first, then my veggies, then my carbs. That way, if I run out of steam and can't finish, I've got the essentials covered.

I go to the meetings but, like others have mentioned, I don't mention that i'm banded..

Hi ! I was really happy to find this post. I was banded a little over a year ago, and my weight has basically stayed the same. I kept thinking (hoping!) the band would be enough... but it isn't. For some reason, I felt that if I had to go back on ww or nutrisystem or jenny craig, it would be like admitting that I failed the band. Finally I decided what I really need is more direction on what to eat every day.... so I decided to join ww last Monday. Today is day #2. So far so good. Hopefully now I can start seeing the scale go down! I agree with the previous posters who said lap band + ww = weight loss success. It's not like failing the band, it's like adding another tool to the chest, they can work together to help me succeed. I also agree it's going to be easier because I am less hungry, so that's good. Well, just wanted to say hi and good luck to everybody !

Hello everyone. I was banded 11/17/09. I went from 316 to 231 lbs in about 1 year and then hit a plateau and then began to gain due to old eating habits. I ended up getting back up to 246 lbs. My doctor is also very conservative with fills. Therefore, I JUST hit my sweet spot when I got my last fill in January 2011. Still, my weight loss was sooooo slow! In January, I started going to the gym 5 days a week and began weight watchers. The weight loss still seems to be a bit slow for a person with a lap band. I am back down to 229 lbs. However, I look a lot smaller becuase of the exercise (I lost a lot of inches and gained muscle). My surgeon asked me how many points I was allowed on WW, and I told her 35. She was like no, uh uh....bring that down to 30. She said I should be having a hard time eating 35 points. I didn't follow her advice and kept eating my 35 points. I just don't think I should go all the way down to 30 points because that would leave me know room to decrease points once I hit another plateau. But, since January 12th, I have only lost 12 lbs. So maybe I should have followed her advice. Soooooo....being the stubborn person that I am, I am going to keep my points at 35 and leave my activity and extra allowance points alone (except for special occassions). Have my 3 meals a day and my 0 point snacks. I will see if this works. If it's still slow, I'll go down to 30. Whoever thought the Lap Band would make things easy, HA...think again.

Hello everyone! I was soooooo happy to see this thread! I have not ben banded yet, but have a tentative date of may 23, 2011. I am currently a Weight Watchers member and have been for 3 years. I have lost 80 lbs on WW with MANY gains in between. I feel as if the band will be a tool to help me keep losing and help keep the weight off. I still have a lot to loose. I was hoping for some feedback on what banders think about me having been doing WW for so long before my surgery...do you think it will be a benefit to me after surgery? When I am on WW, I do it hardcore. I am also an avid exerciser. Just getting really anxious as my date is quickly approaching. Any feedback would be so appreciated! Thanks )

Yes, I think your being on weight watchers will definately help you. Because ww teaches you what to eat, and the lap band helps you eat less and stay satisfied with less food. The two together are a perfect combination. Last week I lost 4 pounds! good luck.

My girlfriend had asked me if I wanted to do the buddy system with her. I wasn't for sure if it was going to work since I have been banded. I may try it after I am able to mostly all the foods, I am almost 2 weeks banded with no fill as of yet. Can't wait for the fill and see what happens.

I just started WW on Saturday the 4/9/11 and I am so excited to be able to have a variety. LOW CARB atkin diet is just too much sodium for me. I like that I can have a variety of stuff. This week I am feeling like I can do it! Its been almost 11 weeks since my surgery and i am only 9.7lbs down. I am hoping with WW I can lose atleast 30 by the end of july!!!

What I've learned about the band is that it's not magic. Just having a band is not a guarantee of weight loss. The truth is , you can continue eating the wrong foods with the band, candy, cookies, icecream, etc. and not lose any weight. It's taken me a year to figure this out. Now that I've joined ww, it's like finding the missing piece to a puzzle. ww will help me pick the right foods to eat (I also like the variety, like the previous poster mentioned), and the band will make it easier to follow by controlling my appetite. I am finally feeling hopeful again.

Hello all, I was banded on March 19, 2010 starting at 246 lbs the day of surgery 239 and by November 2010 with 3 fills and 5.5cc's in band I made it to 191 lbs and kinda stayed between 188-191 for 4 months. Old habits started creeping in, not eating large quantities but eating too many sweets and such, so while reading this forum I decided to joined WW 2 weeks ago and had my 4th fill bringing me to 6cc's ......I have loss 5.2 since joining WW and sooooo glad I did because I was eating way too much and I think you guys are right lapband + restriction+WW= weight-loss and success. It really has been easier to stay with my points each day and I barely use my flex points but some times I do use some. Hope this helps someone who is considering joining WW for a little more structure and accountability.

I had thought about it, but I ddn't know if it would work with the lapband. My dr is so blah about what should be my calorie intake. He keeps stressing Protein, protein, protein. A friend of mine wants to go on a buddy system at Weight Watchers. I told her I would think about it, so it would be okay to do WW while banded, huh.

Hello all, I was banded on March 19, 2010 starting at 246 lbs the day of surgery 239 and by November 2010 with 3 fills and 5.5cc's in band I made it to 191 lbs and kinda stayed between 188-191 for 4 months. Old habits started creeping in, not eating large quantities but eating too many sweets and such, so while reading this forum I decided to joined WW 2 weeks ago and had my 4th fill bringing me to 6cc's ......I have loss 5.2 since joining WW and sooooo glad I did because I was eating way too much and I think you guys are right lapband + restriction+WW= weight-loss and success. It really has been easier to stay with my points each day and I barely use my flex points but some times I do use some. Hope this helps someone who is considering joining WW for a little more structure and accountability.

Yes I think you would do great on WW, I have loss 8 pounds since joining 5 weeks ago and it has been really easy to stay on track. I went to my lapband PA on yesterday and was praised yet again for my weight loss and I told them I had joined WW and they said it was fine. I eat all of my 29 points and a little more than half of my flex points and still been able to lose fine. Good luck on your decision but I do recommend WW.

I had thought about it, but I ddn't know if it would work with the lapband. My dr is so blah about what should be my calorie intake. He keeps stressing Protein, protein, protein. A friend of mine wants to go on a buddy system at Weight Watchers. I told her I would think about it, so it would be okay to do WW while banded, huh.

I will be banded May 24, 2011. I have lost 47 lbs at WW since Jan 19, 2011. I have also lost a total of 90 lbs at WW since 2008...gained and lost twice actually ! What I am having a hard time understanding is how you can eat 29 points and flex points after being banded...that could be a lot of food if you eat healty. They way my Dr and Nutruitionist talk to me, I will only be able to have 3 small meals a day and no snacking. Is this not realistic...3 small meals?!?!

Yes I think you would do great on WW, I have loss 8 pounds since joining 5 weeks ago and it has been really easy to stay on track. I went to my lapband PA on yesterday and was praised yet again for my weight loss and I told them I had joined WW and they said it was fine. I eat all of my 29 points and a little more than half of my flex points and still been able to lose fine. Good luck on your decision but I do recommend WW.