Hey all.

I just passed my 3 month bandiversary and adore my band. I am 65 pounds down. Wow how life has changed! I have a question for bandsters who have had their weight off for a while. And in advance, sorry, it's a question about loose skin. :blushing: Just wondering if you have found once you got to goal if your skin tightened up a bit as it adjusted to your weight loss, or if it pretty much stayed the same? I realize this is dependant on many things, just looking for others experiences. Thanks!

Melissa:tongue2:

Awesome loss! I am down 21.5 and was banded on 10/5/09. Hope I do as well.

Just personal experience here....I was banded June, 2008 (15 mo?). I have been at goal for about a year. About 1/2 way through the weight loss stage I was in a panic about the way things looked.

When attending my initital seminar on the Lap Band, my doc mentioned that it's a good idea for anyone thinking of PS to wait at least a year or more after reaching goal when considering PS. Well, happy to report that I do not have a need for it. I realize that everyone is different when it comes to the elasticity of their skin. I am very happy with the results on this 54 yr old body. (54 in a couple of weeks)

Wish you luck!

Congratulations! I just passed my 3 month anniversary also (surgery on July 10, 2009). I've lost 65 pounds too. I'm not sure about your skin but mine is terrible! I'm not sure it will shrink because I was chubby even as a child and have been overweight ever since. I'm going to start a good core workout next week and trying to use weights now. I'm hoping that'll help because my insurance won't pay for plastic surgery of course! :laugh: I'm really excited and happy about my weight loss and my experinece so far! You're done wonderfully! Awesome job!:blushing:

Everyone is truly different. I was told that we should wait also for PS but only for the fact of being certain the weight loss would stay off. I was told by some doctors that it is almost a certainty that PS would be necessary if a person is a 100 pounds overweight and has been that way 5 years or longer.

When I lost all of my weight it was in July of 2006. I started to see PS surgeons then. My next task was to quit smoking as they all had said that they would not do the surgery until I quit. They were talking about nipples falling off because of the smoke would kill the skin. Yes, that is what I was told and yes, I went from a full C to an almost A. My breasts looked like cow udders once I lost all my weight and they were hanging to the end of by chest cavity.

I quit smoking in Dec. of 2006, waited 3 months and had a TT and a breast lift. I was lucky with my arms. Nothing had to be done to those. My butt with clothes on looks good. The skin dropped down and it looks like I have a J Lo butt.

So, for most, PS is necessary as exercise and weight lifting does get rid of excess skin. Keep on truckin with the weight loss you are doing GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!

Josephine

Wow...I am so impressed with you and mbranham0306...65 pounds in 3 months!! Is that all post op? I was banded July 15th of this year and including the 8 pounds pre-op, I have lost 30 pounds. I have only had one fill...and have a 10cc band...he put not quite 1cc in it cause he said I was already a little tight (didnt have any fill during surgery itself)..and I honestly do not feel like I need another fill...cause when I do eat, I am not able to eat much before I get that stuck in the throat feeling...however, I do get hungry about 2 hours later.

What did ya'll do to lose so much? I have also started walking on the treadmill in the last month and for the past 3 weeks..have been at a plateau...any suggestions for overcoming that??

Congrats on your progress!! That is truly inspirational!

Thank you all so much for your support and feedback! Much appreciated:)

Audjbr: To answer your questions, I did loose 10 pounds pre-op, but the rest was post op weight loss. As for what I have done to loose so quickly? Im not sure:) I am quite tall (5'10) and my starting weight was around 300 pounds. So I think sometimes the heavier you start, the more rapidly you seem to loose weight initially. I do work out almost daily from 30 mins to an hour, and trying to eat high quality foods. To be honest I think the best thing I have done Is take all the pressure off of myself. I used to be so hard on myself before I had the band, when I would try to loose weight and fail. Now I don't care what the scales says, I am just trying to be the healthiest person I can be:) Good luck!

mellabella78 and those who lost 30-65 lbs post op what are you doing special to loose that much weight?

What are you eating? I am 4 months post op and haven't lost a pound.

esv what are you eating? Are you eating solid foods that keep you full for a while or are you eating sliders?

I don't know why you are not losing but it could be a couple of things.

Weight loss not occuring is due to still taking in more calories than you expend.

So maybe you haven't had sufficient fills and are still eating large quantities of food. The opposite could also be true. You may be too tight, unable to get solid food down and eating high calorie sliders such as icecream, chocolate, crisps etc. You may be eating around the band by constantly snacking. This is easy to do ask me. (I just went on a scrapbooking weekend and ate far too many sweets as they were sitting there on the table - the food choices at the weekend were also very limited so not good for following my diet but in the big scheme of things it is 2 days out of the rest of my life and I am already back on track).

Are you exercising?

So you need to look closely at what you are doing. Maybe record calories/exercise for a while. If you are not in need of a fill and are really eating less than you expend then you should go back to your Dr as maybe there is another factor affecting your weight loss.

But you need to be honest with yourself. As fat people we are very good at convincing ourselves that we are not really eating that much.....................

Thanks Audjbr. I really don't know what I've done that's so great. I do follow the low carb eating exactly and do not allow myself many carbs, I don't eat bread except for low carb tortilla shells and maybe 1/2 a piece of light whole wheat toast occassionally. I always get my protein in for the day and I do exercise everyday. I usually walk about a mile a day and lift weights. Thats really all. Just eating right and cooking healthy has been the key I think. I LOVE to cook and make things by changing the recipes around all the time. Thanks for the nice thoughts. :crying: I feel 200% better than I have in years and love being able to find clothes in sizes I never thought I'd be able to wear again! It's awesome! I do want to say that everyone is different with the weight loss and if no matter how much you're losing, it's a great accomplishment and you should be very proud!! :thumbup: