B-52

My 6 month diet started out good, as with any other of the many diets I have been on....then it went all downhill, also like any other diet I have been on...... If I could diet, I would not have needed the WLS and I would not be on this forum right now..... When I was considering this surgery, I was told my insurance wanted me to complete this, and have it signed off by a Dr., complete with progress notes, charts, etc....when I asked why, I was told it had to be documented that I did indeed try, and FAIL, at other traditional weight loss programs.....even though that was true, they still wanted something "Official" in my chart..... That dos not mean you should not try and do your best....you should do your best and have it on record how good you are at traditional diets.... This diet IS NOT to be be confused with the pre-op diet for liver shrinkage....the 6 month diet. with my insurance, had to be done anytime within 2 years prior to my surgery date.... Once I was approved, and a surgery date set, I then planned for the pre-op diet which took me 2 weeks of nothing but shakes....

Today, 1/31...marks 2 years with the band, and all I can say is I could not be more happy and pleased..... 61 years old, going on 40....... A little background on MY JOURNEY.... first 6 months was HELL!! Very frustrating to say the least...all that anticipation only to be told I had to count my calories and measure my portions...I did not go through surgery to do that!! I've done all that before, many times.....But the Dr. explained to me until they get the band properly adjusted, dieting is the only thing I could do...be patient.... 3rd and final fill 4 months after surgery, and it still took me 2 more months to figure this thing out....I wish I had a dollar for every time I got stuck, slimed and spit everything back up! But I was determined to make this thing work....and after 6 months things finally started to sync...in other words I FINALLY BEGAN TO LISTEN AND OBEY THE BAND....forcing me to break all my bad habits that made me "Morbidly Obese" in the first place.....once I got my act together, eating (and avoiding) the right foods, etc, etc....then and only then I found that "GROOVE" where everything became effortless and easy...that's why I do not call the band a "Tool", but rather the "MASTER"...if I do what the band tells me to do then all is good..... I have not been stuck in over a year.....I have automatic portion control, and I am seldom hungry...and most times have no interest in food.....all because of the band and truly being in the Green....I do not need to count calories nor do I worry about portion sizes......just choose good foods and listen to the band when it says stop, I stop.... I have not eaten Breakfast in 18 months.... I reached my goal app. 13 months after surgery.....but my body continued to change and tone due to exercising....(I don't have much excess skin) And now, 2 years later, I have to say there is a life after lapband surgery...there is a time when there is no more dieting nor is there any worry about gaining weight.....I do what every other normal weight person does every day...I enjoy certain food pleasures, have a beer or 2 (I know how to do it), but the bottom line is i NEVER (cannot) OVEREAT....and I REMAIN ACTIVE...running 5 miles a day, 5 days a week.... And always...get my daily Protein, Water and Vitamin requirements...... I know other people have a different approach....and that is good.....as long as people are successful and happy, then nothing else matters.... YOU CAN"T ARGUE WITH SUCCESS!!!! And to all who are starting out...STAY AWAY FROM THE NEGATIVES>>>>THIS THING DOES WORK!!!!

And THAT...is what this WLS is all about....it's about the Band.... All too often I read through all the posts here on this forum, and all I read is about controlling hunger, getting back on track, falling off the wagon, counting calories, measuring portions, keeping food journal, etc, etc....all good things in their own merit... But if I did not know any better, this website can easily be interpreted for a Weight Watchers website, or any other diet support group....I've been on 100's of diets and they all say the same thing.... Sometimes you can't recognize this as a website for people who have undergone WLS, as opposed to other weight loss programs.... Granted, in the beginning before the band is properly adjusted and performing as it was designed, that is all you can do....took me 4-5 months! I did not need a band wrapped around my upper stomach so I can do all that again....I needed the WLS because I have/had a serious FOOD ADDICTION...and no diet was going to stop me from eating 24/7....out of control....large pizza's at a single sitting, all by myself, as one example, ......but the band did!!! Sometimes I just want to scream...WHAT ABOUT THE BAND!!!...this thing MUST do something why else would so many people devote so much time and $$ to have it done?? What people should be asking is whether or not the band is doing (speaking) what you have stated, and if not, WHY?

I can feel my band in the morning....as a matter of fact I can feel my band 24hrs a day, every time I swallow.... Back to your comment....I am tight every morning....I CANNOT eat solid foods..have not had a solid Breakfast in 20 months....have a high Protein smoothie....and sometimes that is difficult... When I drink my morning coffee I can hear/feel that classic "Gurgling" as the liquid circles the drain and passes through.... AS the day goes on, it does get easier.... It's not the band that actually gets tighter...that is a constant...it's a combination of things, one of them is the normal stretching and contracting of the pouch it self....the more we use it, the more it stretches, just as the normal stomach does.... It's the smaller in the morning because I have not eaten anything in over 12 hours, and had 6-8 hours of sleep on top of it....as the day goes on and I swallow more and more, it stretches and gets easier.... I prefer it this way....I am able to monitor my band's heath almost hour by hour, and predict...I can easily tell when food is still present in my pouch, and has not yet passed.... It is because of this my Dr. let's me drink beer...because I can tell/feel each swallow and determine swallow sizes and intervals with no consequences.... To me, the secret of this WLS is knowing how to "Listen to your Band"

I like your Dr. !!!!! I have NEVER felt full.....feeling full is what I used to feel when I stuffed myself and had to unsnap my pants button....it is impossible to feel that ever again....plus, if you overfill your band you are going to feel PAIN...and probably spit it all up.....unless of course you have no restriction... What the band does is send a signal to your brain telling it you are full....as though you were, but you're not so you never feel full....another way to describe it is you are "Satisfied" and have "No Interest" in eating any further, if at all..... This did not happen to me the day after surgery....it took months and fills to get there...the "Green Zone".....and even when I did get there it took me a another 1-2 months to figure out what was happening and adapt to it and learn to live and eat a different way.... As far as eating out, it's like this for me..... The band is only going to allow me to eat just so much....limit my portions for me....so I need to make the best of it and choose my foods wisely....skip the appetizers, unless they are my meal, and no bread...no sense in blowing my allotment on something not nourishing.... I order what I want (that I can eat without a problem = Band Friendly) and eat as much as I can = as much as the band will allow me.....auto portion sizes.....keep in mind that all this time I am not really hungry so I have no desire to eat in the first place..... So it all really does not matter.......and it is all not that big of deal.......

I stay away from apples.....but my band is more tighter than yours I assume....

I'm a big coffee drinker....so I picked up where I left off maybe 24hours after surgery...on my 2nd cup as I type this, @ 5am.....then heading off to the gym. Never affected my weight loss..... My weight loss has always been about the Quantity and Quality of the food I eat...very little, and very good......

You've mentioned everything that YOU are doing...even mentioned that YOU are afraid to fail the bad....is the Band doing anything for you? Or are you trying to do it all by yourself..... Not nit-picking, but sometimes we loose sight as to why we went through this surgery.......

I have not lost any weight in over a year now.....but since I started running...5 miles per day, 5 days a week....I dropped 2 clothing sizes..... I had someone say to me "You're a runner, right? I can tell..." All all the exercises one can do....running is the best for burning calories and and toning up he body...including loose skin..

Keep it up...should be encouraging....What was your starting weight??

I did not tell anyone...other than the closest family members that needed to know.... As far as SOCIAL STIGMA'S I am as thin...MORE THINNER than most people around me....I am MORE PHYSICALLY FIT than most people I know...and if I consider my age group that is a very small fraternity... Social Stigma's??? I have to chastise myself when I observe Obese People trying to get out of a car, or huffing and puffing simply from walking......and I do ask myself WHY DON"T THEY DO SOMETHING..... Which Social group would you rather be in??? I don't make any excuses for turning, no check that......SAVING MY LIFE....... EASY way out? SO WHAT......yes, for me it was the easiest thing I could have ever done (after hitting the Green Zone, first 4-6 months was hard) but dieting....now that was hard...so hard in fact I could not do it and failed numerous times, each time I failed it LOWERED my self esteem.........but what does that matter to anybody but myself and those closest to me.....

I love that...."Remember this feeling" Also, I agree...I will stand and stare into the refrigerator and forget what I'm looking for....I guess I do it out of old habit...but staring I see nothing that I really want.....and realize I'm not hungry and really don't need anything........

Wow...that sounds high... On one hand the band is designed, just as any traditional diets do, designed to get us to eat less....overeating is why we are fat..... Then your Dr wants you to eat more...for me it would be eating AGAINST the band.... But it's your Dr. and to make things work you need to follow his/her plan...... For me, my Dr. NEVER preached to me about calories...just concentrate on Protein and Water.....and that's still all I ever do....and it worked just fine... Eat more to loose weight.....I know there is truth in there somewhere...it just rubs against MY common sense....but that's just me....I have always found that when I wanted to loose weight it was always about eating less....

When I told my Dr. I was having problems with red meat, he said most of his patients cannot tolerate ground beef.... I tried ground turkey, etc, but that did not work...all they're doing is trying to replicate the texture of ground beef...so the effects for me were the same..... Because of the overwhelming health benefits, I took it as an opportunity to stop eating all Red Meat altogether....and I CAN tell the difference....

That is what the band will do...at east for me...but it took a few months to get to that point......you're experiencing it now....it may drift away, hopefully not....there are people who can go for a very long time without getting much of a fill..... Green Zone says "No Hunger" Does not say anything about being full.....although I hear people say that all the time....but I have never felt full...impossible for me because I cannot eat enough food for that "Old" unbuckle my pants feeling.....(only if I have more than 1 beer, it gets close) When the band is working, it sends a signal to the brain, telling your brain that you are full...and that you have no desire to eat anymore....thus the "Lack of Interest" in food....WITHOUT actually FEELING full.....It's hard to explain to some, but I don't know how else to describe it.... I have to remind myself that I need to eat most times, especially when I am pre occupied with some other activity.... I have been NOT BEEN HUNGRY.....have had NO INTEREST in food, for well over 1-1/2 years now....THAT'S a characteristic of being in the Green..... I have never sold the band short....I wanted..and have received, EVERYTHING I was told the band was designed to do...... Of course, the band is adjustable and I could determine where I want to be with it...but I wanted it all..... Don't sell the band short......

Because I no longer have any belly fat...mine sticks out like a golf ball right under my skin...Dr asked me if I get any "alien" jokes at the gym.... Anyway it does not bother me...as I was loosing weight I would get a sharp stitch type pain....my Dr said it is sewn to the muscular wall, and as I loose weight and my abbs tighten, that would be expected.... My last visit he said he can move it for me if I liked....more around the side where it is less conspicuous...I said I'll think about it...but they can move it.....

Welcome to the "White Knuckle Club" Even after my first fill, 4 weeks after surgery and 4cc's........I GAINED weight because it made no difference, and I was allowed to eat regular solid food at that point... 2nf fill started to make a difference, 4 weeks after my first, 8 weeks after surgery..... Something we all go through...unless you have a great deal of willpower...but then, if you did, you would not have needed WLS.... Hang in there...there is life at the other end...and it is worth it!!!! Oh, I was in Bandster Hell for about 4-5 months, and then purgatory for 2 more months figuring out what the heck was going on between my band and myself...the band won......

Never tied it to protein....but ever since this surgery.....definitely a change....

If you're laughing, you're getting it....

It is very funny....I'm having fun with this......I guess there are those who think I'm serious...... I could care less....this s the Internet! People come and go......It's not the city planning board...... I have a real life....this is entertaining to say the least...I'm curious to see where it actually goes...... You have the right attitude.......

IMHO, that is how it should be.....I read posts, look at their profile and success also....What gets me is when someone talks with authority and TELLS people that THIS IS THE ONLY WAY....etc, etc...I look at their profile and see they have only been banded for a few months, etc, etc...and I wonder where are they getting their information from? certainly not experience,,,,, If they started their statement with something like "This is what my Dr. taught me" I could accept that......but people with ego's...that is something else... we don't need committees or monitors....we can keep each other honest by our own experiences, examples and stories..... BTW, IMHO means "In My Honest Opinion"

My last fill, it took me about a month for thing to settle down entirely.... I could not get anything down the first week and came close to calling my Dr. I decided to give it a rest also..trying to force foods so close to a fill only kept irritating it.....during the "rest" I stuck with Soups, shakes, and things like mashed potatoes and other mushie foods.... eventually things started to get better.....actually I feel I CHANGED also... I know a lot of people who experience this and stuck it out.....I also know people who went and had a slight un-fill....not going to say one was right or one was wrong.... I will say, I am very glad I stuck it out...i enjoy the restriction I currently have, and have had for about 20 months now..... You'll never hear me complain about being hungry - tempted with foods and fear of over eating,....It's just not part of me anymore.... I am, not only comfortably in the Green Zone....but have also found that "groove" where life just goes on from day to day as though I never had the band....everything taken for granted and has become part of me...not some set of rules I need to remember or abide by....I suppose there are rules, but I don't have to think about them anymore.. Well, the only "rule" I need to adhere to is "Listen to my band" and obey what it is saying....otherwise....

A committee for every forum topic......"All Chiefs and No Indians" I'm curious too...a committee to do what? Sounds like big government....if not big brother.... This whole subject is so LAUGHABLE.....and getting funnier every hour......for the 3 years I've been here, I did not even know there were any problems that needed this kind of scrutiny...

Ready for this??? Dr. Seun Sowemimo, M.D. Central Jersey Bariatrics Centr-State Hospital, Freehold... centraljerseybariatrics.com They're also out of Bayshore Hospital where I had all my testing done....

Should be fine....the storm is moving up the east coast and won't reach Boston till later in the day.... If it were me, I'd get to the islands and hope for storms so I could not get back Home...... Have a Red Stripe for me........