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I get asked this question all the time; How were you able to lose weight with Lap Band? Simple I followed the rules! I read on this web site all the time about every one hoping to get restriction and frustrated because their band is not tight enough, worried that they need more restriction. Well bandsters, the band and our weight loss is not about restriction, that is not the purpose of the band. The purpose is to slow down your eating so you eat less and become satisfied sooner. So if you are new or struggling, read below. I have lived by the rules of lapband throughout my 2 year journey. It has not always been easy and yes there were times I was hungry. This is not easy, it is a very emotional and personal journey. No two people react to the band alike and you have to have a lot of will power and want power. If you are on this site and had surgery, I know you have tried everything else and our now hoping the band is the answer to your prayers. Well it can be but it can also be the beginning of your nightmares if you do not make healthy choices. You and only you can make the band work and the sooner you figure this out the more successful you will be. I am now in my maintenance phase of this journey and living happy with lapband. I have worked hard and continue to work hard to make healthy choices to sustain everything I have worked hard to achieve. Is is easy no, but it gets easier everyday. You can be successful with lapband but you have to follow the rules. You have to become knowledgeable about the band and how it works. You have to deal with your behavioral issues surrounding food and you have to modify your behavior. If you do not do these things, you may lose weight but research has proved that successful WLS patients modify behavior. Below is an article from another site I wanted to share for all of you who are new and for those that are struggling and of course a reminder for us that have been successful. Good luck and success to all new and old, LovetheNewMe! EDIT/Addition added after original post: Just to give credit where credit is due this post came from Dr. Simpson's web site. This was a site I found very early in my band journey and have referenced it many times. It taught me things about the band that I was not aware of, it also is the site that helped me lose my last 30 lbs. this is the web address, check it out. He is one MD who coaches his patients that they can lose all of their weight. I read his book , "Losing the Last 30lbs" and it was very helpful. http://drsimpson.net/index.htm Weight loss surgery works by decreasing appetite-allowing people to eat less and utilize their fat stores more efficiently. What successful weight loss surgery DOES NOT stop you from eating anything. Whenever a patient says they don’t “feel restricted” it means they want the operation to do something that they won’t do for themselves. In this case, they want the operation to keep them from eating too much, or eating something. Successful patients DO NOT describe appetite suppression in that manner. This became clear when several groups showed that food remains above a well adjusted band for only a minute or less, not longer. It is not that the band keeps food from going through it - -it is the act of food going through the band that allows the satiety mechanism to go into effect. The study was simple – take a patient who is losing weight, and feels their band is at a good point. Give them food that they say satisfies them for a long time, and label the food with something we can see on an x-ray. We were shocked, and others repeated this experiment. But, then it all made sense. Whether they have a band, a bypass, a sleeve, or a DS – all of the operations allow a smaller amount of food to provide appetite suppression. Without that, appetite suppression does not occur. This is revolutionary in all aspects of patients – it is not “restrictive,” and having the band tight is not helpful. The bottom line is simple: solid food, slowly eaten, provides prolonged appetite suppression. This can be all overcome by: eating too fast (for band patients this leads to esophageal dilation, erosion, or slips or by drinking liquid calories, or soft food. What works for our patients who have had long term success: Measuring the food they eat Not depending on the band to tell them when to stop Not depending on the band to tell them when they are too full The Lap-band will NOT tell you when you are “full” The band will NOT stop you from eating “more” food So the latest revolution in weight loss is not in a new tool, it is in those four simple words that will keep your tool sharp: eat small portions slowly.

I am so blessed to sit here and write that surgery went well. better than expected outcome, I did not feel any pain or nausea. I didnt even use the lortab i picked up for post op pain. I am a little disappointed that i have i did not drop any weight since pre-surgery. i only weighed myself all week the first seek after surgery and the number did not go below 240. i figured i will wait until my 2 week post op appt to weigh in with doc and ask him why! I know it could be any numbe of reason. but in the back of my head i'm thinking, am i the exception to the rule? i know i'm just freaking out. i can tell my clothes fit me loose and and my face is already smaller. but i can sure take in a lot of fluids. i mean i have no problem getting in 64 ounces of fluid. today i tried my puree soup with 3 saltine crackers. and i feel ok. last week, i took a nibble of a cheeseburger sample at costco. i thought it would be stuck or something, but it didn't. it was mostly the meat and i chewed it well. since then, nothing other than liquids. and walking. i've done it every day so far, tonight i may skip it. i had my first massage post surgery and i feel a little sore. maybe i;ll get up early and have a nice saturday morning walk. ahhh thanks for listening. ttyl

i knew i liked you love if i am successful, its in part to posts like this from you outstanding post

You are a great Mom!

Hello All, Long time no blog! I have been traveling a lot lately for work but I managed to get in my pre-op testing and I am waiting for the insurance submittal. Let me tell you, it all has tried my patience. My surgeon's team has been really great but the nutritionist piece was a nightmare. Under staffed and they are mean! The office staff treats me like I have the plague and I have read about how others have been treated. So I have some words to share. Dear Nutritionists, PCP's and others involved in this process: Don't get me wrong, I get that people start this process and think it is a magic pill or quick fix as the media portrays it, but I do not. I have studied and read and read and read books, websites, blogs, etc. I have a friend who has been through RNY WLS. I know you do not know this about me but please don't judge me. Please try to get to know me and treat me like I have feelings. I am SCARED! I am so scared it makes me shake. This is life altering. We NEED your help and your compassion. I am a patient and human being. I have been picked on, ignored and belittled my whole life for my weight. I want you to be able to answer my questions and not look at me with disgust. I NEED this surgery. I really have tried to lose weight and I need help. It took everything I have to walk in the seminar that day. I had to ADMIT I was Morbidly Obese. Don't get mad when we are desperate for our medical records. We are clinging to a string of hope and terrified that we will be denied. Oh and it is not funny. It is not 'elective surgery' to us. We just want to be happy and healthy. We want to start our lives and not be and feel humiliated on planes, in amusement parks, at the movies, on buses....... We don't want to be the fat person in the room or the fat friend anymore. Contrary to popular belief, WE WANT TO BE IN CONTROL. You are our life line. Every day that passes we die a little inside. Please remember this the next time you dismiss me or my community. Signed, The Scared Fat Girl

Yes, congrats and definitly hang in there the journey on this side is almost over!

Congratulations

Nice to see so many new face's on LBT. I have the day off today so I was trying to catch up on the web site. It is nice to see some old friends and some new faces. I am Diane and I was banded on October of 2010. I have now lost 112 lbs and am 8 lbs from my ideal body weight, a healthy BMI and healthy percent body fat. My journey like all WLS patients has had it's ups and downs. I have had my share of plateaus and difficulties and I can not tell you how much this web site and the people on her who are now friends have helped me. I have been a silent stalker and finally an active participant. In the beginning I didn't feel I had much to share so I read, listened and tried to learn all I could about my body and lap band. lap band got me started on this journey but after the initial 50 lbs the work really starts, honestly having lap band is just a little insurance.(sorry if you did not realize this but it is true) It is like having an extra conscious, that says,"Now you know you have eaten enough and if you take one more bite I am going to make your throw up if you take one more bite" "See I told you" I still have days when my eyes are wanting way more than my tummy will hold, and my 3rd conscious (hubby) says, Di ya gotta lot of food on your plate, you know you can't eat all that. I hate it but he is right. I can not say enough about my family, friends, co-workers and cyber friends. With out all of their support I would never have made it. They have held me accountable and challenged me when I felt things were stalled. Hard work, dedication, goal setting and sticking to the program works. The old saying is so true, "You are what you eat!" I love eating healthy now, I feel so much better, I have so much more energy and I am off all of my asthma medications and blood pressure medications. I never thought that would happen! I love exercising and I love working out with a trainer. Yes it is hard work, yes it takes commitment and yes it is also expensive but I made the financial cuts in my daily life because my health is worth this, I deserve to be healthy. I am thin now, WOW, can't believe I said that but I do have to admit, I am thin. I wear size 4" and 6's, I have no boobs left, (but a really sexy bra from Victoria's Secret with some sexy panties) I do have a little loose skin on my upper thighs and tummy could be tighter. But hey my arms look awesome and with "Justin's" drilling in the gym I will tighten up the other areas in due time. Will I be perfect, "Hell to the No" but you know what for a 56 year old lady who used to weight 252 lbs and wear a size 24 I look pretty damn good. Soooo. lapbander's new and old my words of wisdom to you are: Love yourself, believe in yourself, never lose site of your goal. This is not a "DIET", this is a life time commitment to living a healthier life style. This is about beating the odds, this is about being accountable to yourself. We can lie to ever one else and say, yes I am following the rules when In our hearts we know we can give more. How bad do you really want this? How much are you willing to give? After all it is your life! I am giving this 100% plus, I am so worth all the hard work, dedication and commitment. Remember you are worth it also, give your self a break, forgive your self for what went wrong yesterday and move forward. If you dwell in the past you will never have a future. Hugs and Best Wishes to all my cyber friends, thank you for all your support and encouragement!