Welcome to the "Slow Loser" thread on LBT.

A few orders of business to begin.

First, we need to elect a leader. Someone who will voice our opinion clearly and with wisdom and humor. Our Leader will support us in our efforts and remind us of our NSV's and to not be discouraged.

I nominate - Vinesqueen. I can think of no on here on the board more eloquent and positive in her day to day outlook. (she has no idea about this, by the way - this is my own little invention - but I still think she should be our leader)

Second - we need to define "slow loser". I would propose that a slow loser is someone who is losing (or lost) less than 1 pound per week (average) during the first year of banding.

Third - Our Mission. Our Mission will be to stick together as a group. There is always strength in numbers. As we see newly banded people losing more in a month or six weeks than we have lost in 6 months to a year, we will join together and remind each other of how well we're doing. We'll chant the LBTSL ( that LapBand Talk Slow Loser) mantra of "It's not a race, it's not a race" over and over again.

Will you join me? Will you, a slow loser, a turtle in the weight loss race, make your voice heard amongst all these rabbits? Mostly will you let me know that I am not alone out here in bandland?

Looking forward to hearing from all of you.

Is it possible for us to get this made Sticky so other slow losers can easily find it? I think this is too important to fall off the radar.

It is so hard for some of us Turtles to only see the results that the Rabbits have. We start to feel like we've done something wrong, even though we have followed all the stupid bandster rules to the letter, and yet we still don't lose weight. We get discouraged and stop trying because the Band is obviously working so well for everyone else (oh look at me! I lost 8,000 pounds in 5 weeks!, or worse yet, "I've only managed to lose 8,000 pounds in 5 weeks, what am I doing wrong?") and we manage to lose .000008 pounds in 5 months.

We need to have this a sticky so that we know that there are others who are being the best little bandsters in the world, model bandsters, but we can't manage to lose that 1-2 pounds a week like we were promised. Hell, sometimes we can't even lose 1-2 pounds a month! We need the encouragement to update our NSV lists and to be reminded that there are other measures of success beyond the scale of pounds and kilograms.

So, can we make this thread Sticky so it doesn't disapear?

I second! Well stated, VQ. There have been a few times I have wanted to post a link to this thread and had to go digging. As turtles, our activity is a bit more sporadic and we go a week or two or more! with not much to report. I'd love to see this Stickied!

Going now to add another NSV to my list...

To fill or not to fill...

I need some advice from some fellow turtles. I'm scheduled for another fill tomorrow but am really re-thinking it. I'm fairly restricted now- that means I can eat but have to follow the rules and I'm fine. If I drink with meals I can eat much more, so in the last week I have really tried to kick that habit and the scale moved a couple of pounds. It seems like I am losing the same 4-5 over and over.

I'm supposed to get a fill tomorrow but am worried that I'm so close to the sweet spot that it wouldn't be hard to go over...but I'm also tired of not losing any more. ARGGG. I don't want to waste my or my doctor's time.

I should add that my doctor is very, very busy so if I don't get a fill tomorrow it may be two months before I can see him again. But then again, maybe just not drinking with meals will help?

Ideas?

Megan

Hi Megan, I think you answered your question yourself! Stop drinking with your meals and skip the fill. You can always make another apointment, right? Yes, I know it will be a while before you can get in again, but do you are already fairly restricted. Do you want to have to get an unfill?

When was the last time you had your body fat percentage measured?

Megan,

Besides not drinking with meals (man that one is HARD), if you go in for a fill, you can get as little as .1cc's, so you could get just a little itty bitty teeny tweak, you know?

I'm going in for a tweak on the 19th. My last fill he filled me up to 2cc's and I was slightly choked off - i could get down softs and mushies but no solids and had to have an unfill of .5cc which seems to be too much. Im still able to eat quite a bit before I feel full - so I'm going in for a tweak - thinking I'll ask him for .3cc for a total of 1.8cc - hope it won't be too much for me but I gotta get the scales amovin!

Gosh Megan, that's a tough one and I'm in the beginning stages of facing the same thing. I feel like it's getting time for just a tad more restricition...but if I work the fill I have, I'm ususally ok. I just have to be in the "I'm on a diet" zone in my head in order to stay away from the poor foods.

To fill or not? Too tight sucks. My restriction is okay if I eat properly. Could be better, but isn't bad. Plus, I feel like I'm getting more life out of my band by doing the head work and keeping the fill count lower for as long as possible. It's a balance. You want to use your band, but if you can make it another 2 months without a fill, and still lose 10 or so pounds...okay, 5? wer'e turtles, ya know...then save the fill for later.

Dang. Tough one. Let me know what you decide!

I'm glad this thread was started. I had surgery 5/9/05 and have lost between 12 to 15 lbs. I'm bouncing between 235-238. I got my third fill yesterday and I'm currently at 3.5 cc's in my 4 cc band. I'm hoping I don't run out of space in my band. It is discouraging, but on a positive note, if it weren't for the band I wouldn't have lost anything and would have gained more. My new name is P.T. "slow" Loser. LOL:) .

Patty

P.T. "slow" Loser. LOL:) .

hahahahhahahahhahahahahhahhaaha - that's a good one! keep up the positive attitude - I had surgery 2 weeks after you and you've lost more than me! I may be and that's a big MAYBE be up to a 10-12 loss now - I'll find out at my next fill apt. oct. 19th. as I don't keep scales in the house.

Sarah - .1cc's is all my doctor will give me! Imagine my frustration. I just went today for my umpteenth fill and I'm finally up to 2.9 cc's. It's been a slow, expensive process.

Meagan - I'm with Sarah - Go for a small fill. It probably won't kill you, and the placebo effect alone is probably worth it. The Band is a tool - get that baby tuned up so it's running right for you. No sense in having the thing if it's not working right for you.

I am the QUEEN of the slow losers!

I just went today for my 8th (yes, count them - 8) fill in just over a year. In the past 6 weeks, according to the doctor's scale, I have lost ..... drumrole please......... 1.5 pounds!!!!

That's right - .25 lb per week! At this rate, I'll lose just over 10 pounds this YEAR!!

WooHoo!!!

OK turtles - who's your Mama???

Well, I was the Mama, but since I had a sudden loss that doubled my weight loss since May, you are the mama!

From May 5th to October 5th, I lost an average of 2.9 ounces a week! no, with my super boost, I have lost an average of 5.8 ounces a week! Woot, I lost more than you did, on average! Woot!

I've decided that at the rate I'm losing I might as well list my weight in atomic units... This week anyway. Who knows, maybe next week I'll decide to use Stones. or maybe Sacks. (yup, real English measure of weight....)

YOU ARE YOU ARE! But I think I'm going to beat you - I have a fill scheduled for Oct. 19th and I don't keep scales in the house so I dont' know what I've lost - but after my 1st fill I lost a whopping 1lb in 2 months soooooooooooo if that's holding steady my last fill was on Aug.31 - my next one is OCt. 19th - soooooo thats a total of 7 weeks - I will sure let you know how much whopping weight I've lost and maybe I'll be your MAMMA then until then - yes you are the mamma By the way - what's our true member total up to? Anyone counting?

How did ya'll figure out your weight loss to weeks? I am 20 weeks post op with an 8lb loss - I took 8 divided by 20 and came up with .4 .........so does that mean I"ve lost .4lbs a week since surgery........for some reason that seems higher than what I thought I was losing.....is that right?

Vines - I'll be the Mama - you be our Spokes Model!

Let's see 1/4 of a pound is what - 4 ounces? (16 ounces ina pound, right?) You are WAY ahead of me with your super duper 5.8 ounces a week.

I like the atomic unit thing - too bad I'm not smart enough to figure all that out. I don't think I'll go for the Stones idea( I have to admit, I've never heard of Sacks!) If I remember right, isn't a stone the equivalent of 16 pounds? If I'm losing 1/4 of a pound, that's only 1/64th of a stone! Too depressing. We have to go use the atomic units, or troy ounces or something like that.