♥LovetheNewMe♥

So sorry, we have all made this mistake and it is one you hope you learn the first time but unfortunately it will happen from time to time but it does make you think before you eat. I will never eat a tortilla chip again, had a real bad episode with them and it taught me a good lession, all so chicken nuggets very bad. Just had a thought, our pets may all lose weight also due to the long walks.

I haven't blog in few weeks or months, but wanted to let everyone know I am still out here, reading the blogs and forums to keep up with everyone. I spend more time on MFP these days. I started working out with a personal trainer 5 weeks ago and that is really working out good for me. I had really hit a slump in my program and was pretty much dead in the water again. My band was working, but I just wasn't eating very well. I had hit a spot again when food just wasn't my focus and was eating way to few calories. My trainer told me I was pretty much starving my muscles and my body was holding on to those fat cells for dear life. Sad I had to pay someone to teach me how to eat, but it is working. At first I thought there is no way I can do this. I am suppose to eat 3 meals a day and that is it. But guess what 5 weeks later, I am eating my 3 meals a day but I am supplementing a protein shake twice a day for snacks and most days take in 100 plus grams of protein. I still have my days I struggle but they are fewer and further between. My first month I lost 5lbs and 9 inches. I am hoping to lose 4 lbs this month and I will finally be out of the 150's.. While what a mile stone, I have not been this petite since high school. I used to think a goal of 132 was unreachable but I am finding out if you have the right attitude you can make anything work. Now don't get me wrong I have my ups and downs with the band but for the most part this is the best thing I every did for me. And seriously it really is all about me at this time. This is my chance, my time and my journey. Lap band is not an easy journey, it is paved with trials and tribulations. It will test your passion, it will test your commitment, you will have to fight temptation on a daily basis. There will always be food and lots of it, you have to realize that food to you is no different than alcohol is to an alcoholic or drugs are to a drug addict. My journey has consisted of distancing myself from temptations, I do not allow certain foods in my house or more specifically in my cabinets or fridge. I have no control of what others do but I do have control over what I put in my mouth. I find my self more aware of what others eat and I often think, man I used to eat like that and look where it got me. I think now my goal has become an obsession, I work my butt off, 3 days with a trainer, 6 days a week of cardio and logging religiously every morsel I eat. I have a new set of fears now, I used to fear not losing weight, my new fear is how will I maintain? I am trying to make exercise routine and part of my life. To all you newbies and those weighting to have surgery and lose of you who are struggling, stay positive, stay focused and if you detour, forgive yourself, pick you up and move forward. We can all get caught up in the soulda, coulda, woulda! Look at everyday as a new beginning. Good luck to all of you and if you know a nurse be extra special to them this week, this is our week to celebrate. It is national nurse week, so hug your favorite nurse this week and tell her how much you appreciate what she does.

The weight loss journey with lapband is so much more difficult than I think we all imagined. Everyones body responds so differently to the band and the rate at which we lose weight. Some times on this site we only here half the stories and not all the frustrations. I have had my share of ups and downs, some tiimes I shared part of the frustrations but mostly I shared my successes because I felt that people needed the postive as much as my negative. If I were to look back at my weight loss and give you a summary of how I lost you would see months that I sat at the same weight, doing everything right, never cheating, exercising, but the numbers never moved. I spent days, weeks and months, getting stuck, pucking back when I ate too fast, getting to a point where I didn't care if I ever ate because it was just not worth it somedays. But I couldn't give up, I hate to fail at anything, can't is just not in my vocabulary. I became obsessed with what I ate, I logged every morsal I put in my mouth, I lived on this web site. Go to your inbox, we can get through this and you will be successful. Cyber hugs and I am glad you came back.

Congratulations!

Once you start eating your meals on a regular basis the rumbling subsides. Some mornings, like today, when I have coffee and wait to have breakfast my rumbles. Be careful mowing the lawn, maybe you could pay one of the kids in the neighbor hood to help. If you do mow just watch the pushing and pulling, you are still in recovery stage. As far as not telling others I understand, none of us want to be under a microscope while we are learning how to adjust to the band. Good luck to you.

Excited for you, I have had great success with my lapband. I am 19 months post op and very close to my goal weight. Just go into this as a life style change and as the band being a tool to help you reach your goal and you will do great. I look as my band as my safety net, it helps me stay focused and on track. The band is my check and balance, it has helped me to learn true portion contol and the drop in pounds has motivated me to continue to make healthy choices. I encourage you to develop an exercise plan early in your journey it helps the pounds come off faster during periods when the scales don't move and also take your measurements because sometimes the scales do not move at all but you lose inches and drop sizes. Good luck and remember this is a journey and with all journeys there may be obstacles along the way but with a desire and a postive attitude you can be successful.

This is a pretty common concept among heavy people who have lost a lot of weight. Our minds sometimes have a delay catching up how we really look. I think that is why sometimes we still need some counseling to help us adjust to the new us. I look you have lost a lot of weight, I did weigh 248, now around 150. I wear a size 8, used to wear a 24. People tell me all the time, don't lose anymore weight, your so skinny. I even get, I didn't realize you were so short, duhh, yes I was always 5'1' but I used to be real "fat" so I was wider than tall. Funny but just recently I caught a side few of myself walking down a hall in a window, I actually stopped and took a second look. OMG, who is that person? I barely recongnize myself these days, I look totally different. The only thing that makes me realize it is really me is my smile and my natural curley hair, everything else is gone. So yes I can relate, I never thought I was that big until I look back now and realize, oh yes I was that big. I keep a reminder on my frig, I never want to forget how I looked because I never want to go back there. I am now working my butt off to try and tone up some of my shrinkles for the summer. You look amazing, put your pictures side by side, it really gives you prospective on how we once looked. I did mine on my profile page before and after. It helps to see how you have changed. Learn to love your new body and be proud of your success.

I do occassionaly miss certain foods but than remember how I got to where I was. If I could have continued to eat that food and lose weight I would not have had surgery. I need my band to keep me from back sliding to the old me, How I feel and look now outways all the bread and pasta in the world.

It will grow back, some lose hair afte the surgery due to the rapid weight loss, you see this more with the other WLS but it does happen with LB. When mine started I took bioton and it is now thick again.

It takes time to get your calorie intake up and protein intake what it should be in the beginning. In the beginning that is why you really need to still drink protein drinks twice a day. That will give you 30 to 50 gms of liquid protein depending on which one you drink. I use the powder form so I can control the volume of the liquid. These will also help you get your calorie intake up. As for food, just remember to always eat your protein first. In the beginning you will not feel like you are eating a well balanced diet because it is difficut to get the vegtables in when you are trying to get 2-3 ozs of protein per meal. Your goal should be to eat no more than 3 meals a day, with no snacking between. If hungry between meals, drink a protein drink. I consider those my snacks. If you allow your self to start snacking early on it defeats the purpose of the band. I also recommend to reading the blogs on Lapband.com. There is some additional good info on their site when you are new to lapband that can help you stay focused and understand how all this really works. In the beginning, I lived on the web sites and the blogs just trying to figure out how all this works. Stay positive and remain focused, this is a journey and still requires a lot of work and dedication on your part. Good luck to you.

First and foremost I want to say congratulations and you look amazing. Your story made me want to just cry, it is so sad that others need to justify to themselves why others are changing. I have a theory on why people treat us different when we either lose or gain weight. Part jealousy when we are losing and pity when we are gaining. I would like to think I have not changed but if I am going to be totally honest, I have changed. I don't have the tolerance for ignorance like I used to, I have less patience than I used to and I have had to learn a new set of coping skills. Food used to be what I turned to when I was stressed, sad, happy or just what ever and now I have to actually deal with all of those feelings and emotions and believe me it is not easy some days. Some times my work friends tell me I am a bit of b***h, I think I always was but kept it bottled up inside and didn't tell people exactly how I was feeling. Does that make me a b***h, no I think it just makes me honest. We have no control of what others think or say but we are learning to control our lives. You need to feel good about you and look at where you were and how far you have come. Do not allow the ignorance of others to undermine your confidence in your self and your success, you have worked to hard to get to where you are. Chalk it up to ignorance and jealousy, remember you can't fix stupid.

I have a friend that is 3 years post band and was below goal. She had to have all fluid removed from her band for 3 months for the very thing you describe. They tried removing small amounts at a time but she kept having problems. The band is finicky, just when you think you have it figured it tightens up. Hope you got your unfill and are feeling better.

This is a process of unlearning years of bad eating behaviors for all of us. We all have a tendency to fall back into bad habits during stressful times. I am learning to measure my success not only in weight loss but also in my food decesions. I no longer say things like I can't have that, now I say I chose not to eat that. I have been banded by for 18 months and what I have learned most is to not compare myself to anyone else. We all lose at different rates and ways. Some lose pounds and some lose inches. I have set several goals along my journey, I try not to tie them to dates because I would feel defeated if I missed the goal and always obsess over where I went wrong. I do track my daily intake and exercise, several of us on this site are on myfitnesspal.com and we are helping motivate each other, join us if you like. I have not found my local support group that helpful, I have found this blog and myfitness pal more helpful. Keep up the good work and stay focused. Good Luck!

Most doc's do first fill in 4-6 weeks. They like to allow the body time to heal and that seems to be the normal. I know you are excited and ready to get started on this journey but it will happen soon enough and you want your body to be ready for the first adjustment. You need to keep practicing your portion control and healthy food choices and this takes months and even years of reprogramming. Some things to start now is along with the chewing eat off of a small plate and measure everything. We all think we understand and know portion control but sadly we don't and it takes time to develop healthy habits. Good luck to you!

Your welcome, I know you can do this, because I believe we all want this bad enough to make it work. '-)

Learning portion control when you need a fill is very hard. Why not try adding a snack in the morning and afternoon that consists of a protein drink which contains at least 25 gms of protein. Munch on an apple with a table spoon of peanut butter. Will power is hard, that is what got us all here, lack of it. I know you want the weight to fall off but slow progress and developing healthy eating habits is the key to long term success. Good luck!

Sounds like you are doing great. You will feel different after your first fill. Currently you have little restriction in your band, we have some swelling the first few weeks after surgery. The time before the first fill allows our bodies to heal and adjust to having the band. Continue to follow the lap band diet as closely as you can, getting in your protein and learning portion control. Good luck and remain positive.

Jennifer, you are not a quitter! Look at how far you have come and jeans are not the best judge of size. When I got down to a size 12 in everything else I was wearing I was still buying 14 and some 16 in jeans. Yes it was frustrating, so I decided it was the jeans not me. Last winter I was a true size 12 in everything but pants and even dress slacks I still had to buy size 14. Do not continue to beat your self up over the jeans thing, you really look amazing from your before pictures. You have now have definition between your bust, waist and hips. The smaller jean size will come, I promise. As far as the doc's, mine told me when I had lost 60% of my weight that I was doing great and was ahead of most. I can tell you what I thought, NO WAY!. I was still hovering around 180 to 178 at one year and stayed there for 6 months. It was very frustrating, so I feel your pain. I didn't guit, I decided to beat the odds and dug my heels in and worked that much harder. I am still determined that I will reach my ideal body weight, it may take me another year but I will get there. I like you had hoped that I would be close to my goal at 1 year, I mean I only had to lose 103 lbs and I thought, if I lose 2 lbs a week I can do this. But guess what it did not work that way for me, I have had multiple stalls along the path, patience is something I am having to learn. So in answer to your question, no you would not be a quitter if you stopped obsessing over the size 12 jeans, change your focus and the next thing you know the jeans will be to big and you will need a size 10.

Ok, guys. I stayed at the same weight from August of 2011 until Jan 2012. I went down 2 lbs up 2 lbs. I didn't cheat, I ate healthy. I tried to exercise but due to an injury it just didn't happen. I had hoped to be at goal within a year of surgery. I thought I only have 103 lbs to loss, I can do that. But it didn't happen. I had a fill on Jan 30th and bam, 20 lbs gone. Can't explain it, don''t even begin to understand it. Do not get discouraged, if you are eating right and exercising, it will come off. I think the one thing I am learning more than anything is patience. And believe me some days it is hard. I exercise my butt off these days. Scales barely move, I drop a pound and turn around and gain 2. I drop my carbs, I increase my protein. Scales have not budged but I have dropped another size. Please remember this is about the journey and changing behavior and a life time of bad habits. Jennifer you will get in those jeans, I bought a skirt at the end of the summer last year, it took me 7 months to fit into it, and now it is 2 sizes to big. It was a 12 and I looked like a stuffed sausage in it, the first day I wore it to work I could barely sit down but it zipped up and I was going to wear it. Girls we will get there, I believe in all of us.

I sorta agree with above post, working lap band can be difficult at times. It really does require you to learn to work the program. I have lost 96 lbs and I did not lose that weight just because I had lap band. The lap band is my new conscious, it makes me think before I eat and requires me to make a conscious decision about what I put in my body. There are no alarms, no bells and whistles. If I want to eat junk, believe me I can eat junk and it always goes down when protein will not. If I am having a difficult day eating like today for example, I have to work extra hard at making sure I get in my protein. I do not regret my surgery it has given me the tools and is teaching me to be accountable for my life and all of my decisions good or bad. Good luck to you, just remember to have a positive attitude and know that if you do this you need to walk into it with your eyes wide open.

Not sure how far out from surgery you are but this is something that I have tried that seems to be working for me. I have increased my protein to about 100-120 gms per day, I am eating 5 small meals a day. Still averaging around 1000-1200 calories a day but my primary focus is lean meat and vegtables. My metabolism is funny, it gets very comfortable everytime I lose a few pounds and just sits there. I also do 45-60 minutes of cardio a day and work out with weights 3 times per week. It is a lot of work but I am so close to goal I just can't give up now. Good luck to you.

Not consistently losing before your first fill is normal. I know you are so anxious to began this journey and watch the pounds melt away but unfortunately it does not happen just like that. Restriction and the band working sometimes takes several fills, you have to learn how your body responds to each fill and basically learn to eat again. Have patience and believe in your self and most and foremost do not get discouraged, this is a process and it does not happen over night. I do recommend you take measurements, so many of us lose inches when the scales do not move and this will help you stay motivated. Good luck to you.

Great job on the 9 lbs and congratulations for getting back into the gym. True success is adding exercise into your life style. This will help you achieve your goal and have long term success. Good luck to you.

Welcome to the family. I was never much of a blogger myself. (Not sure that is even a word ) But it is good to read and share our experiences Lapband is a process and we all respond differently but it is so helpful to me to read how others cope with issues and successess. In my early days I lived on here and read everything everyday, always searching for answers to my many questions. It was so helpful and helped me through some rough times. So read, ask questions and remember no question is every stupid, and we are not here to judge. We have all had way to much of that during our life time and need a little accoutablitly and support. Good luck to you.