FLORIDAYS

I had 4 pieces of general tau chicken last night.... first fried food I have had in 21 months! I am guessing it was 2 oz of meat but then Breading is what kills ya. But Not a darn thing wrong with it except I too feel guilty... But I am 9 lbs from goal and it's not like I ate the entire quart... Thats the beauty of the band... Even if you fall of the wagon it will not let you drown as long as you are paying attention to it, And what I learned from this journey is that today I am eating normally and there will be no reprecussions. It's the day after day of eating poorly that catches up to you.

What a wonderful post... Good for you! I know how it feels and I am sure you agree.... The feeling is better than you ever expected.

I got to the hospital at noon and walked out under my own power at 730 pm... I had no complication and I am way older than you are..... just be comfortable with the surgeon you select.... that is paramount! Good luck!

I lost 80 about 6 years ago.... no sag but still lots of fat. this time i am over 50... I wasnt so lucky. But maybe it wont be the case for you.

I am saggy. MY belly button frowns....my Upper legs, butt, boobs and arms are wrinkled....I am working on trying to see if exercise will help but i have been walking 2 miles a day for almost 2 years and it hasnt so far. But thin and saggy is better than fat and fluffy.

I have no diet to follow other than... 1000 calories a day and at each meal (3x day) I can have 4oz protein, 1/2 c veggies and 1/4 c starch. 2 sensible Snacks are allowed....

I smoke. I have the band. I told my surgeon I smoked and while he prefers I quit he just told me to make sure I let the anestheologist know before surgery. I did. I had a perfect surgery. No complications. I healed fine and have been rather successful. I know I need to quit. Just like I knew I needed to lose weight. And I will.. and it will be cold turkey when I am ready. Just like it was when I gave up carbonation and everything else I have given up for the band. And I will be successful but on my timetable not someone elses or not for something.

Be careful.... that may do more damage mentally than you think. I would find a healthy alternative or better yet something to do with my hands instead of eating.

It took me week to feel better and 2 weeks to feel like myuself.... your body is healing. Good luck to you.

You know what to do! Good Luck!

Sorry but Faith alone isnt going to get the weight off. I am not bashing anyone's religious beliefs so please dont get upset. I have mine too. However... where ever you draw your personal strength from is fine...if its a higher power that fine too... but you need willpower, dedication and old fashioned sticktoitness to change your life. If religion plays a part in it thats wonderful. If it doesnt thats ok too. Just know that whatever you choose... you still are the one in control of being successful or not.

You know what? I didnt bring a thing. Granted it wasnt an overnight stay.... but I handed my license to hubby and just brought myself. I didnt need anything while I was there. They gave me socks for my feet and bottled water to drink. 7 hours I was in the car on my way home. Just my personal experience.

Congrats on your decision! When is your appointment? Now for a gentle nudge about blame. Fat people make excuses. Thin people do not seem to make as many. I am not sure why that is but I know used to make more excuses about why I couldnt do something when I was fat. I am sure your of health problems ( diabetes, COPD on 24 hr oxygen, hypothyriodism, fibro myalgia etc) arent fun and are very real. I didnt have those issues but I was on the road to them... and I knew losing weight would most likely prevent me from getting them. If anything it will no doubt improve them so instead of looking at them as a reason to fail why not look at them as a motivation to lose weight and maybe get off that oxygen, possibly be done with the diabetes and the other ailments. Just something to think about....

the band wont automatically slip if you vomit because it is sewed in. However repeated expansion of the stomach could be problematic so my Dr advised getting it unfilled if you have a severe stomach virus for several days... I havent had to do that and I wouldnt think most people would. The band is very resiliant... trust it.

Several people asked specifically how fast the weight fell off...when I hit plateaus etc.... so I decided to post my weight tracker of my journey from my phone ap. There was no particular way I tracked it... just when ever I thought about it I entered it. I am obsessed with the scale... but the results are worth it. So here it is.... my loss by the numbers...so far Goal: 160.0 lb Start: 377.0 lb Date Weight 2-Sep-12 169.0 lb 25-Aug-12 170.0 lb 14-Aug-12 173.0 lb 12-Aug-12 177.0 lb 9-Aug-12 179.0 lb 1-Aug-12 180.0 lb 22-Jul-12 182.0 lb 21-Jul-12 183.0 lb 19-Jul-12 183.0 lb 14-Jul-12 184.0 lb 16-Jun-12 187.0 lb 11-Jun-12 188.0 lb 28-Apr-12 191.0 lb 20-Apr-12 199.0 lb 17-Apr-12 201.0 lb 14-Mar-12 206.0 lb 11-Mar-12 207.0 lb 27-Feb-12 209.0 lb 30-Jan-12 214.0 lb 25-Jan-12 216.0 lb 22-Jan-12 218.0 lb 16-Jan-12 220.0 lb 12-Jan-12 222.0 lb 10-Jan-12 224.0 lb 31-Dec-11 225.0 lb 24-Dec-11 227.0 lb 16-Dec-11 228.0 lb 9-Dec-11 229.0 lb 5-Dec-11 230.0 lb 4-Dec-11 231.0 lb 1-Dec-11 233.0 lb 30-Nov-11 234.0 lb 29-Nov-11 234.0 lb 26-Nov-11 236.0 lb 20-Nov-11 237.0 lb 28-Oct-11 241.0 lb 27-Oct-11 241.0 lb 24-Oct-11 245.0 lb 21-Oct-11 247.0 lb 19-Oct-11 249.0 lb 27-Sep-11 252.0 lb 19-Sep-11 254.0 lb 12-Sep-11 255.0 lb 9-Sep-11 257.0 lb 7-Sep-11 259.0 lb 31-Aug-11 261.0 lb 30-Aug-11 262.0 lb 22-Aug-11 264.0 lb 15-Aug-11 266.0 lb 12-Aug-11 267.0 lb 4-Aug-11 268.0 lb 2-Aug-11 269.0 lb 30-Jul-11 270.0 lb 29-Jul-11 271.0 lb 27-Jul-11 272.0 lb 26-Jul-11 273.0 lb 23-Jul-11 274.0 lb 14-Jul-11 275.0 lb 8-Jul-11 277.0 lb 5-Jul-11 279.0 lb 4-Jul-11 280.0 lb 2-Jul-11 281.0 lb 25-Jun-11 282.0 lb 15-Jun-11 283.0 lb 11-Jun-11 284.0 lb 9-Jun-11 285.0 lb 7-Jun-11 286.0 lb 29-May-11 287.0 lb 28-May-11 288.0 lb 26-May-11 289.0 lb 19-May-11 291.0 lb 14-May-11 293.0 lb 10-May-11 295.0 lb 9-May-11 297.0 lb 6-May-11 298.0 lb 30-Apr-11 299.0 lb 28-Apr-11 300.0 lb 21-Apr-11 301.0 lb 17-Apr-11 302.0 lb 12-Apr-11 305.0 lb 13-Mar-11 308.0 lb 11-Mar-11 309.0 lb 8-Mar-11 311.0 lb 6-Mar-11 312.0 lb 4-Mar-11 313.0 lb 27-Feb-11 316.0 lb 16-Feb-11 318.0 lb 13-Feb-11 319.0 lb 11-Feb-11 320.0 lb 9-Feb-11 321.0 lb 5-Feb-11 322.0 lb 29-Jan-11 324.0 lb 20-Jan-11 326.0 lb 16-Jan-11 327.0 lb 15-Jan-11 328.0 lb 12-Jan-11 329.0 lb 5-Jan-11 332.0 lb 1-Jan-11 334.0 lb 31-Dec-10 334.0 lb 9-Dec-10 352.0 lb 24-Nov-10 377.0 lb

I dont think I have changed at all. I was a happy fat person. I had a healthy marriage, wonderful family and terrific job. I just wasnt happy about being fat. LOL I suppose the only thing that changed is that now I take more care of me .... I put myself first for the first time in my adult life. Its sounds selfish but its a change I had to make in order to take care of me.

I smoke. 1/2 pack each day. My Dr suggested I quit...of course. But he still did the surgery...he just told me to let my anestheogist know. I had no trouble with surgery, healing or anything else. Not saying its the case for everyone... just my personal situation. I am going to quit. thats next on the list. I am 9 lbs from goal.... once there I will cross that bridge.

please do not throw up. you can usually bring food back up gently if it isnt going down well.... but vomiting isnt good for your band,

Some questions have no answers... it has happened to me too.... Did you make sure to cut it into tiny pieces? CHew CHew CHew? And eat as slowely as you did on Sunday? Sometimes just one thing will trigger getting stuck and its horrible. I am sorry you went through it.... but there may not be any answers. Beef is always a risk for me. You never know how the band will like it on any given day.

I posted my loss tracker in another thread.... you may want to look at it... the weight comes off as it went on... 1 pound at a time. Its low and tedious....but it will come off. I think I felt the loss right away but didnt "see" it until I had lost the first hundred to be honest with you.

I will preface this by saying the following is written with compassion and concern but I dont sugar coat things. I worked hard to make the band work for me as I think everyone should. Sometimes thats not the popular way of thinking. You wrote that you are hurt and embarrassed. Why? If its because the Dr was being honest with you... you need to put your feelings aside and think about why you got banded. Did you know you would have to make food choices? Were you looking for a miracle? They havent developed that yet...altho I for one think this is close. For your Dr to say you are filled correctly is interesting. I wonder how he knows this? Were you communicating with your Dr each month about how the band is or isnt working? SInce you havent been in over a year I am guessing not. However that said...And I am not trying to be insensitive but what are you doing to help yourself? DO you eat 1000-1200 each and every day? Do you weigh your food portions? Are you exercising? DO you eat healthy? DO you drink Water? Are you able to eat more than 6oz of solid food at a time? If you dont have trouble with skinned fruit or popcorn or big chuncks of meat ...you may not be in the green zone and need a fill. I knew when I needed a fill. I had 5-6 before I felt I was in the green zone. After that... I "thought" I needed a fill some visits but I showed a 10lbs loss in a month and my Dr said... lets wait. Several times he talked me out of it... but a few times I explained why I felt I needed it and he gave it to me. Its because I was working with my band instead of thinking it would do all the work. And my Dr knew it so he respects my opinions. Even now... being 9 lbs from goal I see him every 3 months. The last time I was there he told me to stop tracking my calories. He didnt want me to be dependant on it. I was horrified.... and scared I would gain it all back. Guess what... that was 30 lbs ago!!! He was right. I know how to eat.. how to eyeball my portions. In summary.... if you want to be successful you must do whatever it takes to get there. Start with making an appointment and starting over... I would even ask if I could go on liquid for a week... just like in the begininning. But you need to want it. I think thats where you start. All the best to you!

Thank you so much for those kind words. They are really appreciated!

I think its really very simple.... first you must wrap your head around deciding to make the changes in your life. You have to do it for you...not your partner, your family, your friends, your love life.... just you. Its drastic in the grand scheme of things...its permenant! For me I had dieted my whole life and always gained it back for reasons I am not sure why except that no matter what I "learned" I always ignored it once the weight came off thus gaining it back. I needed a permenent solution and I felt I found it with the band. I learned that food is fuel. I only need so many ounces to feel satisfied then I move on to doing something else. I also did this for my health. I was 50 years old and didnt want to die. I was really scared that I woulod have a heart attack or something. I didnt have an health issues but my Dr said it was coming...... if I didnt make some changes. I was very strict with myself. Maybe too much but I know if I wasnt i would have never made it. Even now I am 9 lbs from goal so I can relax a little but most days I dont. I just want to "get there"! Another thing to remember is you can still function in social situations. I see people on this board asking about...what do I do if type of questions.ANd they are so worried about what people will think. Here is the thing. No one really cares what I eat. If I go to a birthday party I limit myself to eat one bite of cake. I just do not want or need any more. And no one is going to say.. hey...you need to eat that whole piece of cake or I wont like you! Or if I am out with friends having pizza... I have 1/2 a normal sized slice and then I am full. No one says... hey you have to eat 2 slices or we wont respect you. And most importantly If I am watching tv and hubby is snacking on a bowl of whatever... 1 peanut is enough. He isnt going to tell me to eat 2 handfulls!! Its all about setting limits and being true to yourself. As for the medical end of it.... if you do exactly what your Dr tells you... you will succeed. Period end of story. My Dr is very happy with my progress...except one. I didnt exercise. Ok..well I walked 2 miles every day but I didnt go to the gym like he wants me to. I am just not comfortable there yet. But he knows I have followed his orders to a T. I didnt cheat on my pre op diet. I came to every single appointment. I gave up carbonation (ugh). I tracked my calories...never eating more than 1000 which was the number we came up with for me personally. I took my Vitamins and I drank enough Water to fill a whole lot of swimming pools. He told me the band will do 70% of the work. I had to do 30%. SO far this has held true.

You guys are so sweet!, I just want to pay it forward becaue I once was new and remember seeing so many people on this board who lost weight and I was on the other side,,.. It was motivating to see so I thought I might be able to help someone!

I am self pay 10k for me too.... 5k down and balance interest free for 2 year through hospital. (no finance company) but after 2 payments for $208 they sent me a letter and said if I could pay it off by end of month the would reduce it 50%... so in theory it cost $7292 This include 3 months of fills and all Dr appointments. Now appointments are $25 and if I get a fill its $50