B-52

The days I just donot want to go to the gym, usually turn out to be the best workouts..... I get down when I miss a gym day..... I go to the gym 5 days a week, at 5-6am.....after my morning coffee, Vitamins and a shot of Protein..... Then off to work all day seeing patients in clinic...so I am always on my feet. Calories in versus calories burned!!!

I am one of those...and there are many of us, (I belong to other groups) who has NEVER counted calories...... I also eat whenever I want, snack all day if need to.....If i snack, I don't have meals. Bottom line is, as a whole, I don't eat that much anymore.....and I am very rarley hungry....... So when I do eat, I concentrate on Protein..... This is my NEW Lifstyle with the Band! Counting calories sounds too much like dieting, which I will never do again! I now eat the way normal people eat.....seldom and very little, combined with lot's of exercise. I've shared this with my Dr.(s), and their response is "Hey...it is obvious working, you'r heathy and fit, so don't change it..."

I'm 2 years out alo, and for me It WAS, and IS a piece of cake...because I have a tight band with good restriction....very little commitment on my part, other than not keeping up with my Dr visits....if I did not have good restriction, then it would be a struggle because then I would have to diet and count calories...which I have never done......I let the band do it all.... You say you have 8.5cc in a 10 cc band.....have you ever had good restriction to the point where it is IMPOSSIBLE to overeat? You say you can eat everything and anything.....sounds as though you don't have a band at all! But if you have 8.5cc as you say, then there is something wrong.....a leak? A herniated pouch? A slipped band? Are you a diabetic? Diabetics have high pain threshold due to nerve issues, and possible problems with the band can go undetected. I had a heart attack and never felt anything because I am / was a diabetc. I have 7.5cc in a 10cc band, and 2 years out I still find it impossible to overeat.....and my hunger and cravings are non-existant....all characteristics of being in th "Green Zone" 8.5cc in a 10cc band, you must feel something.....

I read here and other groups I belong to about people who are "FAILURES" AND YOU"RE NOT ONE OF THEM..... You're just getting your new life in order, setting up a stronger foundation.... As far as comparing oneself to others, I do it all the time....since last year I have been observing the eating habits and behaviours of "Skinny" people....what they eat and drink.....and that is now MY lifestyle as well.... So we learn by others examples.....and you are not a example of some loosers (and I don't mean weight) you read about...... 6 months...you'll be fine....

Keep in mind, you have to burn more calories than you take in...so if you consume 1000 calories per day, you would need to burn app. 1500 calories the same day. And that formula is for a weight loss of 1 lb per week....multiply the calories burned per day for more..... If you have trouble burning calories (lack of exercise, etc) then consume less..... I NEVER counted calories, let the band dictate portion sizes and I made wise food choices.......and paid very close attention to my protein and water intake to sustain my metabolism and vital organ functions............ I have studied the "Starvation" mode very closely when I was first banded, and from a Physiology standpoint it makes perfect sense...for a NORMAL WEIGHT person.... It does not take into effect overweight people have a lot of fat stored to get through many famines.....as a matter of fact I WANT my body to rely on that stored energy source........just get your protein so your body does not turn on other important things you don't want to loose. That's always been my philosopy, and my body fat % is now very, very low.....as far as metabolism, I have more than enough energy with some to spare... I read somewhere....If you need to eat to loose weight...then none of us would be fat... It's all about burning calories versus calories consumed...always has, always will be. And the band is there to stop us from consuming to many calories...

DITTO......it's amazing how people can make excuses for their behavior....everyone knows why someone is obese..... Also, I do not see how a band, once adjusted to it's maximum efficiency, can stop being a band! When I hear stories like that, there is usually something not being told.

Amen....why push it....... And for possibly getting dizzy, can always go for the Protein.... Overweight people have plenty of energy...glycogen, etc. Stored away as fat for those rainy days....well, those rainy days are here!

Remember, because we eat so little as compared to before, our normal stomachs begin to shrink.....and occasionaly I will eat some foods I normally do not anymore, or overeat with a slider food like a ice cream sundae or large milkshake, I will get a good old fashioned tummy ache.... Also, with such small portions, the strength of the food is intensified.......I used to eat a entire bag of chips....now, just a small snack will give me reflux! Incidently, even when I find a way to eat around the band, the fact that my smaller shrunk stomach cannot handle it saves me every time!

If I am not in the mood (or interested) to eat, I don't......sometimes I snack all day and never have a full meal..... Only thing I do worry about is getting my Protein in. If busy, I have gone full 24 hr days without a meal.... To loose weight it is all about calories in verseus calories burned.... The band is designed to prevent us from overeating....so yes, most times I have to remind myslf I MUST eat.....

I'm 2 years out and never crused my meds....and some of them are the large gell caps that cannot be crushed......

I started the C to 5k program last april....9 week program.....took me about 15 weeks to complete because if I hit a roadblock during a given week, I would go back and start the entire week over. I then moved on to the C to 10k.... Now, I run 5 miles, 5 days per week...... I had hit my weight loss goal months ago, but running has caused me to continue to drop clothing sizes.....changes your body, for sure! Did I mention I'm 61 years old and had one heart attack? resulting in coronary surgery? Because of the Lap band, loosing weight and starting a rigorous exercise routine, my cardiologist and other Dr.'s say I am their most remarkable patient! Thank You LAB BAND!!!!

WHOA!!! Don't go that far.... Very glad to see you're still here doing so well, and most of all telling it like it is and inspiring others.....

Hve not been around here in a while......good to see so many people with positive outcomes to share....... As for myself, coming up on 2 years soon. I have not lost any significant weight in over 6 months. My Surgeon (and I) agree I have lost all the weight I am going to loose which is just fine with me. At this point, having nsuccessfully completed the journey, it is now back to life as usual, being it is a NEW LIFE. I have gone from XXL shirts to Mediums, and 46" stretch waits band pants to normal 34".... You learn all the lessons, learn new habits to a point you don't think twice about it anymore. Most days I do not even think about being banded...it is as though I had surgery once upon a time and now it is behind me. I don't get stuck, or slimed anymore......that only happened to me when I was still learning, the hard way. But once you learn to "Listen" to your band, it is business as usual. My band is still tight...the way I like it, and have all the characteristics of living in that "Green Zone"....no hunger, automatic portin control, and most of all.... PATIENT SATISFACTION! I do know the band is there...I feel it with every swallow...."Speaking" to me, giving me constant feedback. I USED to be a (out of control) Diabetic with numerous oral meds and daly injections......that has all been reversed. No more meds. Not to mention all my other blood work that was off the scales! ALL NORMAL NOW! I have had one heart Attack, resulting in Cardiac Surgery (Catheterization with stents). I now run 5 miles per day, 5 times a week! My cardiologist cannot believe the transformatom...and he was one who questioned my surgery over good old fashioned dieting....I made him a believer. My PCP is the one who suggested this surgery....it was either that or DIE! And I have the family history to back it up both my brother and Sister passing away after a very ugly medical trip all due to obesity. VERY UGLY. I no longer care, or need to, worry about dieting...counting calories, etc....Just let the band do what it is supposed to do and go about my life. No offense, but dieting is for overweight people!! I don't worry about being faced with parties, large family dinners, buffets, etc...the band is not going to let me over eat so what is there to fear? Does not matter what is put before me....a few bites of this and that, here and there and I am finished....same way skinny people do it! Since I know my food intake is limited, all I need to do is make wise food choices. That does not mean I don't induldge and spoil myself from time to time with dessets and Snacks....nbot to mention drinking beer.....what normal skinny person does not? Plus I feel my exercising wipes that away.... Early on, when I was still learning, red meat was one of the foods that gave me trouble....so I gave up eating red meat altogether. My Dr.'s have been preaching this for years, along with some of my health concious friends, so it was as good as time as any to make that decision. I'm not fanatical about it, I'll have chili and such things with meat in them, just won't see me ordeing a steak or hamburgr ever again. Don't eat breads, rice, pizza, Pasta, and other things anymore either. I suppose I could learn techniques to do so but why bother? The way i have always looked at it is I was fat because my eating was out of control, so I had surgery to correct that...so why should I worry about not eating like a pig anymore? I really do not miss it. It is more rewarding to be slim and fit. When I was in that learning curve, getting stuck very ffrequently, I did not blame the band as being to tight, but blamed myself for not regulating the way I was eating...and for me it worked. The first 6 months were the hardest...Bandster Hell.....a time where even though you have had surgery, it is a time to get the band properly adjusted, and a time to lear how to re-learn to eat properly. After that, it has been the easiest thing I have ever done.....very little effort on my part. After all, what could I possibly do to make it better? All that was needed was to learn to let he band take control and do what it is designed to do.....and not to fight it!

20 months post surgery...normal weight, fit and in good health..... To walk your daughter down the aisle a new man....!! Hey Men...this is what you can look forward to! And who says this surgery isn't worth it! \ \ \ \

I have been away also, so fill me in on your details..... How much weight did you initially loose? How many cc's in what size band? Would you say you once had good restriction? I am only 2 years out......I can understand how easy it can be to eat bad foods....I have ice cream all the time...plus unhealthy Snacks, etc. But for me, I depend upon a TIGHT band.....it prevents me from over indulging...I may grab a donut, but one bite/swallow and I can feel that lump, a pre-cursor to getting stuck. so I HAVE to throw it away OR ELSE! as a rule, I have always gone to 2-3 days periodically of straight liquids just to keep my pouch from over expanding....that's the only "True" maintenance I do...I believe I need to give it a rest from time to time. I believe our pouches will stretch allowing me to eat larger portions.....I will notice that I am eating more than usual, and taking longer than usual to feel restriction. It is then I will go with all liquids, shakes, Soups, etc, to give my pouch a rest, letting it return to normal size. I have seen x-rays of over sized pouches, and it is not pretty. Some refer to this a the 5-day pouch test...but it's just giving it a time out for a few days, letting things settle down. Another thing I have found, is because our food intake is so small for so long, our lower (actual) stomachs shrink! So, even if I partake in "Slider" foods such as ice cream, or have more than one beer, I can feel that traditional "Stuffed" unbuckle my pants feeling very quickly.....before being banded it would take a lot to get that feeling, now it happens very quickly with food that passes through the band easily. Another thing, for me, having the band adjusted as it is, I am very seldom hungry.....a characteristic of the "Green Zone".....does not mean I won't crave something like ice cream, but in actuality I am not hungry.... If I am occupied with some activity for the day, I can forget about eating at all....I have to remind myself to stop and eat something. Plus, like I said, eating less keeps my band tight. But it is important to me to keep busy also. And lastly, daily exercising is key!!! Aside from life with the band...exercising can cover a myriad of sins! The same way skinny people eat bad things and get away with it! Loosing weight is, and always will be, all about burning more calories than you consume.....we are banded to restrict our calorie intake because we could not do it on our own by willpower......but we still need to take the initiative to burn off more than we take in. 3500 calories burned more than consumed will equal 1 lb of fat....

First, Congratulations.... I like your attitude, healthy and realistic..... Many people cannot see the Forrest because of the trees.....this is a lifestyle change, not a diet plan.... I am coming up on 2 years.....the first 6 months was all about getting the band adjusted properly. The 2nd 6 months was about learning the new rules I need to live by, and making them my new habits, forgetting the old. The 2 nd year has been all about living the new life. Never felt so free and unburdened. I have made it a habit if observing normal, thin people, how they eat and behave, and I realized my new lifestyle is no different. Not obsessed with food or overheating, yet still enjoying the good things in life. Everything you said I could not agree with more.....look forward to your 2 nd year!

Don't come around here much anymore.... But things could not be better....coming up on 2 years banded soon.....met my goal of 100 lbs in about 13 months. I have stopped loosing...the body will do that, stop on it's own when it reaches what it considers normal. (provided you get your Protein in) The band has been the easiest thing I have ever done for weight loss.....I now eat like a skinny person does. Never count calories, or measure food....just let the band do it's thing. I have become a gym rat...not because I have to, but because it is a now a thing of pleasure to be able to achieve things that normal, healthy people do. Below is a pic of the treadmill at the gym...I am now running over 7 miles in about 70 minutes!!! And this is from a 60 year old guy who has had one heart attack, resulting in cardiac catheterization.....not to mention my out of control diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol..all of which are now non existent. The other pic is me at my Daughter's Wedding, a few weeks ago. If I can give any words of encouragement, I would say that this thing REALLY DOES WORK....you just have to get out of the way and let it do what it was designed to do....it's tough in the beginning.."Bandster Hell"...but once you get it properly adjusted, and learn how to eat all over again....it's all easy!!! Loosing weight is all about "Calories In versus Calories Burned" Always has been! The band controls the calories in part, we just need to get up and burn more than consumed. Simple! / / / DON"T GET DISCOURAGED!!!! AND DON"T LISTEN TO THE NEGATIVITIES!!!

PERSONAL INVENTORY....... I'm 60 years old, soon to be 61 I have been banded for 20 months. My PCP days according to his records, I have lost 100 lbs. All of the medical problems that were slowly (quickly) killing me have all been reversed or eradicated altogether. I am now running for 50 minutes, with a goal to get to 60. Plus the weight training. I eat what I CHOOSE when I CHOOSE with little or no fear of ever gaining any weight back. I eat, drink, work, play and exercise the same was as my slim / fit friends do everyday who are not banded. Difference between them and me is that IF I should ever fall off the wagon and attempt to overeat, I have the band as a "Secret" safety net that will make it physically impossible to do so. Clothes, everything fits well no matter the style, all size mediums, and if I can say so, everything feels and looks good! I have never felt to positive, upbeat and happy, and the confidence to do whatever I feel like I want to so.....Mental health as well as physical. ALL THIS is a direct result to having the Lap Band Surgery, nothing else....and learning to not be afraid of the band and letting it do everything I knew it could do...In other words, "Listening to the Band" and let it be in charge.

AND......My Daughter's wedding is 4 weeks away...Today I went to get measured for my Tux.... Joseph Abboud "SLIM FIT" collection......I'm Psych'd!!!!! / / /

Had the best day at the gym today....EVER!!!! After completing the C2-5K program, I now start each workout with a 30 minute run. But I wanted more than just 30 minutes. So i decided, after the 30 minutes are up, I would then repeat the entire C2-5K program again and see where it leads. Today, I started with a 40 minute run...then jumped into the C2-5K, Week #3, day-2. I did not feel challenged, so I boosted the speed and incline to maintain a good BPM. Better, but still did not feel it was enough. At the end of the C2-5K program, they have you do a 5 minute cool down walk...but I was not yet satisfied....even though I was past the 60 minute mark. So for 3 minutes I did a all out SPRINT!!!! It was both exhilarating and scary....scary because I felt if I slipped I would fly across the room!!! But I was flying on the treadmill, so fast it was like my feet hardly touched the belt! Now I know this a freak occurrence...like seeing a low number on the scale, I know it won't be there tomorrow...But I did see it! And that is enough to encourage me to see it again, and again.... This is not about me...this is about the band...something everyone can achieve....especially those here who are 1/2 my age!!! 3 years ago something like this would not even be something I could imagine myself doing... If anything, being 60 years old and in bad health, including one Heart attack resulting in heart surgery, I felt I was on the down slide of life, not the other way around where things keep improving! And it is all because I decided to have Lap-band surgery, loosing all the excess weight and fat which I could never have done on my own....and obtaining a new life!! And that...is what it's all about!!

Thank You....then you would agree what people here need to know is that you need to start simple, and then build upon one accomplishment after another. Every time I start out I say "I can't do this, today is not the day...maybe another day" But then I tell myself I've done this before, there is no reason I can't do it again.....then again...then again...and so on, and so on...pretty soon there are no excuses....then you step it up to another level and repeat the process......

Endorphins....didn't think of that....but one thing is for sure....you want more!!! It's addictive. Someone asked me if it "Gets easier"....the answer is yes, and NO! I don't think Serena Williams will tell you winning tournaments is "Easy", but if you do it enough and you get used to it.....and live for the rewards....

Like I previously mentioned, I run 30 continuous minutes every morning...... Just last week, after my 30 minutes are up, I immediately without any pause, go to the C to 5k program.... I'm on week #2. Gonna see if it will enable me to run for 60 continuous minutes, or about 12K I was going straight to the elliptical after running for another 30, but decided to stay on the treadmill for the full hour. We'll see . Also, I used to work out to loose fat....I now work out for increased fitness and endurance.....there is a difference.

I lost weight after my surgery because of the post-op diet...then I got my first fill...after that I GAINED weight!! No restriction....nothing was different from what it was before I had surgery. After the 2nd fill things began to take hold, third fill was, and still is the charm.

Used to eat it all the time...right up till my last fill.....No mas! can't handle rice, can only eat 1/4th of a bowl and then I'm finished.