Leaderboard

This weight loss site/forum is a living and evolving place. You have your lurkers. You have your new people that ask a question and never come back. You have your new people that visit and post often and try to absorb all of the info and support offered. You have your people in between that are in the stages of losing. And then you have your veterans who maybe only need to lose 10-20 pounds or have reached their goal. When I got a lapband, I didn't really do a lot of research on the other surgeries. RNY was totally out for me as it seemed too radical. I didn't consider the sleeve because I didn't like the idea of cutting my stomach. I felt the band was reversible, it was a chance I was willing to take. Now, I DO NOT feel there is anything wrong with having the first two surgeries. They just weren't for me. Looking back, if I knew I would end up being as committed to this journey as I am, I may have considered the sleeve more seriously. If you read up on the lapband, it says that the majority of patients will lose 60% of their excess weight. Meaning, if you're 100 pounds overweight, you could expect to lose 60 pounds. Leaving you 40 pounds overweight. BUT...there are plenty of people who reach or closely reach their goal weights. What is the difference between those who don't lose hardly any weight, those who only lose about 50-60% of excess weight, and those who reach a healthy, suggested weight for their height and build? We all know why some people don't lose weight. Or lose weight and gain it back. They eat around the band. They make very poor food choices. They either were never really committed or lost their commitment somewhere along the way. Those who lose 50-60% of excess weight. What causes them to stop losing at that point and not continue on? I imagine there are many reasons. But I suspect that these may be the people who depended solely on the band to do all of the work for them. Those who did not commit to eating healthier as a habit and did not commit to exercise. They depended on the band to make them eat less, but still eat high calorie foods with low nutritional value. (Now, this is just speculation, but I'm probably close to the mark.) And the veterans? The people who have almost or have already reached their goal? Don't you see the common theme among them here on the forum? THEY USED THE BAND AS A TOOL TO HELP THEM MAKE A CHANGE IN THEIR DIET AND EXERCISE. These people are not the ones on here saying, "I feel like such a failure because I ate a double helping of chicken alfredo with breadsticks followed by a piece of chocolate cake." NO...these are the people on here saying, "I make healthy food choices every day. I watch my portions. I listen to my band. I exercise 4-5 days a week. I may have a piece of chocolate cake, every now and then. But it's more then than now. And I only eat a small piece, and then I'm back on track." Those are the people who inspire me. I have lived most of my 40 years on this earth eating mindlessly. Not caring about what I have been putting into my only vessel on this earth. I have lived an eating life based on convienience and overeating. I do not want to do this to myself any longer! This is MY body! I have to take care of this gift. I need to fill this body with the fuel it needs to exist and be healthy. I'm just trying to point out, to you and myself, that success depends on committing to a new way of living and eating. We cannot continue on the same path we had been on before. We have to take the new path. It is not the easiest path. We will get roughed up along the way. But I believe it leads to a place of beauty. A place where our bodies and our minds can live in harmony. This place is called, "Healthy." I hope we see each other there.

Hello everyone! Today is day 3 of my pre op diet. Well...first let me give you my daily menu: breakfast: 1 scoop protein powder and 8oz milk morning snack: sugar free jello lunch: 1 scoop protein powder afternoon snack: sugar free jello dinner: 3 oz chicken, turkey, or fish with 2 cups salad or 1 cup cooked veggies. 1TB of dressing or oil and water.....water.....water......did I say water? So its the third day, I have had a headache now for three days to match. I think its the lack of carbs, maybe a carb withdrawl. Im not supposed to have caffeine, today I just poured a cup of coffee, and used a dash of my milk that was for my protein shake...I need to rid myself of the headaches, I cant deal with it all day. Im a bit tired and my brain is foggy. Ive read this happens on Atkin type diets from lack of carbs, and supposedly passes. PLEASE PASS QUICKLY. Once you get over the idea that you aren't going to eat you start to forget about it. All doctors have differet preps prior to surgery. What are yours? What about post op? Post op I am a week of the same diet I am on now and then followed by two weeks of pureed foods, then gradually into regular foods. When I did my pre op diet for the band it was similar to this, but no dinner, only liquids and one "cream of.." soup, strained a day. I dont remember being this lethargic or the headaches. I had my pre op appointment on Tuesday. I lost four lbs, which was nice. I also met with the exercise physiologist, who gave me post op instructions, the nutrionist, who gave me 4 one ounce cups to show me what I will be drinking/eating (4 cups is the total quanity to equal a half cup, for each is 1 oz) we practiced how I should sip after surgery, take a sip, breathe out, swallow slowly. The reason for this is to expel any gas from the tummy. Otherwise you get painful gas, and have to be BURPED, OMG! They also gave me a spoon, to remind me of the size bites I should eat..funny, my 7 month old has the same one! I met with my surgeon, he is awesome, he went over the procedure from the moment I am checked into the hosptial. Reassuring me of statistics and my safety. We discussed the dreaded drain that is used after surgery, the good news is, its taken out before I leave "phew" the bad news is...OMG THEY PULL IT OUT WHILE YOURE AWAKE! Finally I met with the nurse who showed me how I will inject my Heparin, 3 shots a day for two weeks, to avoid any clots. Yikes. I hate needles but I definitely dont want to suffer a stroke, embolism, or DVT. So, I will comply. I left with my prescriptions, my shopping list...and here I am today. I will keep you posted! I have to schedule my pre surgical clearance appt with my primary care doctor, and get some blood work too. Report back later. Take care! Jen

Hi . I am from N.S.W and my operation is on the 28th March .I know it's the wright decision for me, but finding I don't want to tell people as I am sick of being told I can do it on my own.starting to feel lonely.

Hello, Thank you for visiting my blog. It is my hope that sharing my journey with you will help along yours. I have an amazing surgical team, nutritionist, & exercise physiologist, but I would have loved to have a "go to" person to answer any of my questions and address any concerns. I hope to be that person for you. A little background about myself. I am a married mother of two children. I have been overweight, obese, and morbidly obese for as long as I remember. I was a yo yo dieter, a fad dieter, a "I WILL DO ANYTHING" dieter, and yet here I am still overweight. My weight has gone up from its highest at 264lbs to its lowest at 170lbs. I underwent Lap Band© in November 2008. I had what all the doctors would consider success, I felt successful. I went from 264lbs to about 175lbs through the course of 2 years. I felt amazing, I was exercising and really enjoying life. I had a few fills here and there trying to find that "sweet spot" we hear so much of. All at once, about four years into my band things started to go sour. I had difficulty eating pretty much anything that wasn't a slip food. By slip food I mean something that would go right through my band, with ZERO difficulty. Slip foods are usually horrilbe foods, ice cream, candy...you know the healthy stuff (sarcasm). If I ate regular food, healthy food, pretty much everything at somepoint came back up. I would be in the bathroom throwing up food that didn't pass through the band, or did pass and...well..it was not pleasant and certainly was getting to be too much. I saw a surgeon after I had my second child because I decided at 33 years old, I couldn't live like this, something had to be done. My surgeon and his staff are AMAZING. After my first visit Dr. said that he would like to do an Upper GI barium swallow in flouroscopy. He saw that I had a hiatal hernia, he then drained my band. That was on Christmas eve. On Feb 10, I had an EGD, it was painless, and quick, I remember pretty much nothing. The dr. did find that my band was so tight he had difficulty passing the camera into the stoma. Yikes! It was empty! No wonder. On the 21st of Feb I had my follow up with the surgeon. We deteremined that I was going to remove the band, and convert to sleeve. After 3 short days insurance approved both procedures at once! I have my pre-op appointment tomorrow at noon. It will last 3 hours. It is there I will learn exactly what will be done, I will be taught how to inject heparin into myself (OMG HELP ME---IM DREADING IT!) my liquid diet etc. I will keep you all posted. I am excited to enter this new stage of my life. I feel like I am a thin person in hiding, I cant wait to come out! Please feel free to share your thoughts, your feelings etc. If you have been there, done that I would love to hear as well! Stay tuned....