I got on the scale this morning as I do every morning because I never listen to the little voice that says once a week is enough.

Well, anyways, it said 305. I am down 60 pounds, 15% of my starting weight since I started this journey.

I am NOT dieting. I am eating the same things. I just cut the portions a little and am logging everything. I don't go to bed hungry like I always have on other diets.

I have NOT been working out. I have been walking and doing a teenie bit of running about 5 hours a week. I stretch for about 5 minutes every morning and pick up my 10 lb dumbbell for about 10 minutes 2 or 3 times a week. But I am not waking up sore like I have from other work outs.

I have NOT been banded. I've lost a lot of weight and post on this site a lot with my cool little ticker. But I have not been banded yet like other posters.

A lot of my weight loss has been with the help of the Bodybugg. Other has come from the nutritionists at my surgeons office.

I will schedule my LAP-BAND® surgery in 6 days. It will probably be for the first week of February.

I am having second thoughts. I am doing so well without the LAP-BAND® that it has me wondering if I need it at all. I am still about 80% - 20% in favor of getting it but that number is dwindling.

This scares me because I have lost a lot more than 60 lbs in the past only to gain it back and them some. But in the past I was dieting. This is different.

And if I decide not to get banded I have to stop being sarcastic and witty here :Dancing_wub:

I guess only time will tell.

You have a lot of soul searching to do. After your heart attack scare, you have to decide if you are losing now out of fear, and will that fear subside? If so, will you go back to your old habits? For me, the band was my insurance policy that will help me keep the weight off for good - assuming that I do achieve my weight loss goal at some point.

I have to know - what do you do for a living? My money is on an engineer or some other sort of scientist.

Thanks.

Actually, "software engineer" is in my title somewhere.

An approaching birthday kicked this all off. I had my first consultation a full week prior to the heart ache. But the heart attack did help quit smoking. So, maybe it is what is helping me stay on track now.

I guess we can assume that heart attacks are tools for immediate weight loss and the lapband for long term? :Dancing_wub:

Yep, that's what I thought. You see, a lot of your thoughts can be attributed to the same personality trait that makes you good at your job. You're probably an ISTJ as well (Briggs Meyers). The OCD, the second guessing, and the introspect are all "symptoms". How do I know that? Because I have all the same characteristic traits.

This may also be why you are doing so well losing the weight right now. The Bodybugg is your current obsession. You have the numbers right there in front of you that TELL you what you need to do to lose weight. You can't question real data. The question is .. Can you maintain that relationship with the bodybugg? Probably for 6 months or so until some new obsession steps in to take it's place (just ask my pedometer.. it was replaced by food journaling along with the lapband).

Sorry if any of this offends you, but I really am the same way. I have many conversations with myself in order to make decisions - particularly if there aren't any numbers to base those decisions on.

Good luck in your journey! Feel free to slam me if you disagree with my statements. Like you, I can back most of them up with a hard core reference

Well first of all, I weigh EVERY day! LOL. Just have to. I need to know I am doing the right thing. And sometimes I need that kick in the butt or just a pat on the back.

Regarding the surgery, only you can decide. But I am SOOOO happy I did it. Yes you are doing FANTASTIC without it. But the challenge we all face is keeping it off. I have lost this horrible weight at least 2 times before. Each time, gaining back 10 or 20% more. We simply are food addicts. One bad stretch in our lives, we turn to food. And the slippery slope begins. At least that is what happens to me.

I am confident now when i get the weight off it will keep me in check. I personally need that check. But that is me.

Do some soul searching and be completely honest with yourself. I am sure you didn't get to be the size you are because you have great self control. NONE of us do. I had doubts before the surgery as well. I had doubts 2-3 weeks after the surgery, but today I can say I AM 100% happy with my choice. Do I wish I didn't have to have the surgery...absolutely. Is it challenging, yes. But so is everything else. That is a small price to pay for the feelings I have today! I am optimistic about life for the first time in a long time because I KNOW I will be successful now.

This is a difficult decision and only you can make it. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best. Keep up the great work.

Hey, I'm an IT geek too. Or, I should say I used to be... worked in IT for Hewlett Packard for 14 years. I'm a SAHM now. It is our nature to analyze things right up until the end. I say go ahead and schedule the surgery. You can always still cancel it or postpone it indefinitely if you haven't decided by your surgery date.

I know for me there were two big things that made me confident that WLS had to be my next step (and hopefully final step) in trying to achieve a healthy weight.

First of all, I had already taken off large amounts of weight on Weight Watchers and other programs. And, despite being one of the only people in the room who kept coming back, I could not ever reach a goal within the 'healthy' range and ultimately could not maintain what I had lost. On my last stint w/WW, I went for 2.5 years and lost 50 pounds. I felt like I really gave it my all this last go-around and if it didn't work then, it would never work.

Second, the statistics I read that only 3% of people who become obese are actually able to take it off and keep it off using only diet and exercise long-term. The fact that our bodies are even capable of becomming this big seems to be predictive that we can't take it off or keep it off without WLS. I know that was a hard pill for me to swallow when I read that. I always thought 'mind over matter' and I could achieve anything if I wanted it enough.

Oh well, so I got this band inside of me now. Its pretty new. Just got it 2 weeks ago. Really, the surgery and recovery was not that big of a deal. I don't have any real restriction right now as others would describe on this board, but I have a little and it is pretty cool. I am not as hungry as I used to be and I am satisfied on much less food and for longer.

One thing I have thought of and you might consider is that if you do get the band, you do not have to have it adjusted soooo tight like some people here on the boards. There is really no need to PB and slime and all that junk. Mine is empty and my portions are still about half of what they used to be. Don't get me wrong, I will definitely get a fill. But, if I am losing at a rate that makes me happy after my first fill, then I won't be running to get another fill just so I can feel something get stuck.

Anyway, I am rambling, but wish you all the best.

Thanks for the support all!

Your assumptions about me are frightening because you were all right on the money.

At this point, I do plan on going through with the surgery and unless I get an epiphany in the next couple of weeks; it will happen.

I am responding to people on the forums that have the same concerns that I do in a positive manner and am not sure about myself. I am basically using them as pawns to reassure myself. Is that a bad thing?

Not a bad thing at all. we all need reassurance. Keep posting your progress. Good luck!

Perfect way to get positive is to be it...you're doing it right. I had 20 years of major yo-yo dieting and I got the band not to help me lose it (again), but to keep it off. I was more excited than anything coming up to my band date, but even I was nervous and had moments where I couldn't believe I had gotten to the point of needing WLS. Anyone who says they weren't at least a little nervous is probably just fooling themselves. The fact that you can lose it means that you'll have the committment needed to use the band properly...you're going to do great! -BG

I would be a lil' concerned with anyone who doesn't take a moment to second guess major surgery and the implanting of a device into their body. It's perfectly normal, especially as you've been successful losing prior to the band. I did the same just before mine, as I lost 32lbs in just 3 weeks prior to getting it.

As someone who's lost 140+lbs on my own, and kept the majority of it off, people didn't understand WHY I was doing this, especially after another astonishing weight loss just before surgery. It's simple - the up and down HAS TO STOP.

You'll be given a tool to help aid you in your losing, making it omni present in your mind of what you can and can't eat, how much to etc, etc...

If you're like me, all it takes is a bad few days and you're off the diet or "lifestyle change" bandwagon. There's no real option for that here, unless you have self-esteem issues and will purposely sabotage yourself and not lose weight (Sorry for those of you who gained with your lapband but barring any medical issues that's what happened.) but you don't strike me as the type. You seem like the type to do well in everything you do.

I took a week and thought it all out, did I REALLY want to do this??? Yes I did, and at a day shy of 2 weeks post-op I am SO glad I did.

Was supposed to get my date today but nothing ever works out for me. I'm used to it after 45+ years.

No major setback at all, I just have to wait for my surgeon's office to contact my cardiologist and get his ok for me to stop taking Plavex for 2 weeks prior to surgery.

I hope he is ok with it. I had stents placed in my coronary arteries after the heart attack 3 months ago and you are supposed to take Plavex for 6 months after.

It just gives me more time to research and think.