Leaderboard

I took a look at your blog and regarding the upkeep of the RNY (bypass) you are aware that you have to have labs (blood) drawn ever so often and supplement with lots of vitamins/minerals? The malabsorption of the bypass can make keeping certain levels very tricky. You need to do more research. I've been banded 2 years, no complications and have lost 200lbs. The band is to help control the appetite, controlling what you put in your mouth is up to the banded person.

Wow! My husband and I have been talking about getting bikes and a rack too! After reading these posts, I think we are going to have to get them sooner than later! We have some excellent places to ride here. The gym is little over a half mile away, and walking home after working out in this weather is not fun so I have been driving. Oh that would be fun to bike!

LOL! That's so awesome No NSV's for me this week. However, my company has a fancy suite at Coors Field, home of the Rockies, and on Thursday I was the winner of 2 tickets plus the free parking pass. My husband and I arrive in the suite (which is right behind home base) and there's a TON of food - hotdogs, brats, all the fixings, chips, nachos, fajita bar, beer, you name it. Popcorn, peanuts and crackerjack are in bowls all over the place. I was really proud of myself - I ate a brat and a hotdog, no bun, just a little mustard. I put some of the chicken fajita meat on my plate, put lettuce and cheese on it, and ate that, then snacked on roasted peanuts while drinking nothing but Water. I did have a cookie though - they brought them fresh-baked around the 6th inning and I could not overcome the smell of oatmeal raisin! But otherwise I didn't go crazy and gobble Even when the icecream bars were passed around in a basket on the 8th inning, I held my ground and said NO.

This is something I recently posted to someone researching. I would say that there are three regularly occurring post-op posts that you should be aware of as you prepare. Being aware will help you deal with the psychological aspect of the band in the weeks and months following surgery. 1. Be aware: You may experience a lot of discomfort after surgery that is pain related. People vary so much on this and of course everyone hopes to be one of the "bounce right back" folks, but be prepared to be in a lot of discomfort for up to a week or even more. It is NORMAL to be depressed and/or regret having the surgery immediately post-op. 2. Be aware: It is very likely that your weight loss will stall or even reverse (meaning actual gains) during the first weeks to month after surgery. This is counter-intuitive to people, because they just had weight loss surgery AND they are on a liquid diet and not eating. But it is NORMAL to plateau or even gain Water weight while your body is recovering from the stress of surgery. Try not to despair. If you keep at it, you will begin to lose weight soon enough. 3. Be aware: A lot of people feel very hungry and ready to eat eat eat almost immediately after surgery. For a lot of people, the band alone doesn't do anything for weeks to month until it is filled. This is what people refer to as Bandster Hell. A smaller subset of people do feel a reduction in hunger right away-- but if you don't go in automatically expecting you'll be a lucky one, then you won't be as baffled and disappointed if you aren't. It is NORMAL to feel hungry and frustrated until you reach the appropriate fill for your body, and that may take weeks to months. Knowing these things and expecting them will help tremendously with your emotional reaction to the band. If any of these things happen to you, you are in good and prolific company. Don't despair! Figure out before your surgery how you might cope with them when they come up and odds are, they won't be a problem for you. Knowledge is the key. I would add the following to that list: 1. The average loss at 2 years with the band is 60% of excess weight, according to band literature. So if you need to lose 100 lbs to be in a "healthy BMI", then the average person will have lost 60lbs by the end of year 2. This is the average, which means that there are going to be a few people who lose 0 lbs in 2 years and an equally few people who lose 100+ lbs in 2 years. Most people are going to be right around that 60% mark (I wish I knew what the standard deviation is, that would be even more helpful). 2. Weight loss is not constant and linear for most people, even if they are very very consistent with their eating behavior and activity level. It seems like it should be-- calories in/calories out-- but there are a lot of people that tend to lose in cycles and you may be one of them. For me, I lose weight in chunks, then I "plateau" for a few weeks, then I drop another bunch of pounds within three days, then "plateau" again. You may also be one of those people-- don't let it worry you. 3. Exercise may temporarily stall your weight loss or even make you gain, especially if you are starting or intensifying your program. I have been working out consistently for the past two weeks after about 10 years of nothing. I have GAINED weight even though my eating hasn't changed and I'm burning more calories. That's normal. I know if I keep at it, I will drop that plus some more and have a healthier heart and more stamina to boot. 4. This is hard work, even though the band DOES make it easier if you let it. I get full on small amounts of food-- not "stuffed" full like I was used to, but "ok, I've had enough and my body doesn't need more" full. This is REALLY hard to get used to. Full is never again going to feel like full has felt in the past. But, I can still eat past the point where my band says "eh, you've fed your body as much as it needs" and very very often my brain says "do it, you know you want to, mmmmm it tastes so good, just one more bite!". It is a real struggle sometimes to listen to my band and not my head hunger. I actually have a little mantra when I'm eating and being mindful. I say "if I'm not going to listen to the band when it says stop, then why did I bother with this surgery in the first place?" That tends to turn down the volume of the head hunger. I think people naturally go into this surgery very optimistically. They go to the seminar and the surgeon and the carefully selected successful patients of that surgeon talk about how amazing it is. They come on this board and look at the success story forum, and the "I lost 100 lbs" forum, and the "before and after" picture gallery. They see people's tickers (like mine) who have lost huge amounts in months, not years and they expect only the best , most luckiest results, and ignore the fact that the average expected loss in 60% of excess weight at two years. I understand this because I did it too, and I fully believe that I have been incredibly LUCKY so far and that it's "easy" for me to say this but I do think that bandsters who are really in touch with reality and not overly optimistic are going to be able to emotionally adjust to banded life better. Do not get the band if you expect it to work like bypass. If you want super fast results, and you want malabsorption, then get the bypass. With the "plusses" of the band, including its adjustability and its reversibility, come some costs and one cost is that it requires adjustment which is unpredictable in some ways, and it's associated with a slower rate of loss.

Ok skinny, take a deep breath and let it out slowly ... all is not lost. Do you REALLY want to know why you are gaining? Are you logging your food on "fitday.com" or something similar. There are people on this board that swear by this site. Here's the thing, we have spent our lives doing things that contributed to our obesity and we are experts at gaining weight. We are not, however, experts at losing weight and keeping it off. So, now we need to try something different because this time we want to get a different result -- that being losing weight AND keeping it off. Part of the something different will be not stressing yourself out, because it only hurts your cause. You CAN and WILL lose weight. . Try the "fitday.com" type sites so that you can see in black and white what is going on and do some research on walking for weight loss so that you can make your walks more effective. If you are exercising and dieting there has to be a reason you are gaining weight. So, before you throw in the towel, you need to find out what the problem is and how you can correct it. You are going to be a GREAT bandster. You will lose weight. This is NOT going to be the "end of you". Figure out why you are not losing and change what you can. You'll be all right, really you will ... just breathe. ~Fran

One of my students said to me today, wow you've lost alot of weight haven't you? "I said to her well thanks you are the first to notice." She grinned at me and said "You look good" That really made my day as I haven't told any of the students at work.

NSV ...ran 2.5 miles on the road this morning and am signed up for a 5K! Bring it!

Sounds like you need some tough love in your life...I have not been banded yet, I am in the process for getting approval so you can write what I have to say off as I just don't know but here goes... No matter what the tool you use to loose weight, you have to follow the regimen. You had a serious surgery, that required anesthesia, people don't always wake up from anesthesia!!!! So you risked your life and had a lap band placed to HELP you loose weight. The band is not going to do the work for you. Now several years later you are still struggling with the weight you want to loose. You need to take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you DESERVE to be happy, to feel happy, to be healthy, to feel healthy and to succeed. Take a walk and talk to yourself (in your head so folks don't think you need help) and really ask yourself what it is that you are trying to suppress with food. Clearly you have emotional issues that you refuse to face and instead choose to eat your feelings. We all do sister, you are not alone in this battle. Face the problems of your past and then let them go. THere is no sense in carrying around all this extra baggage. Stop saying "why me" and making excuses for the last two years. Take control of your life, use the tools you have been given to become successful. What is it that you want to do once your at your goal weight? How do you think you will feel once your at your goal weight? Have you thought about what is going to to happen once your at your goal weight? Life is a journey, reaching a goal weight doesn't mean life is over or that you can finally start living your life. It means you have achieved a goal and now you can set another one. I get it just as much as the rest of the people on this board get it, loosing weight is hard. If it were easy we wouldn't be here on this forum! Put your big girl panties on and move forward. Live the life you want to live TODAY. Wether you are 500 pounds or 150 lbs you can choose to feel good about yourself.

I have never seen anyone who has died from lap band, bypass yes, but lapband , no. Don't worry though, you will scare yourself off that way. There are far more complications for staying overweight then there is for being banded. Good luck.

Email me...kissarmy914@yahoo.com my friend sells visalus & it was approved at my dr office & hospital for it's exceptional nutrion value but most of all it's awesome taste! I will get you with her & she can answer all ??? on oi as it is the best out there!!! It is good for pre/ op diets, any liquid one, or even people not getting banded to lose weight.