B-52

We cruise very often, and I throw caution to the wind and just go through each day and let the band do it's thing.... And I have found it does which convinced me the band does not change...it is a constant no matter if I am on a cruise, at a big dinner, picnics, parties...no matter. Therefore, I have no fear....

I think your concept as to what this is designed to do for someone who is banded, is 180 degrees out from what I believe it is for.....but then I read different opinions here all the time so who knows.... Whatever works for you in some way, then go for it!

I'm at the age where I need to get one regularly also.... I do not see or understand how the band can interfere with the procedure in any way...... And if you can't consume liquids, then you are having other issues you need to see your Surgeon about.

My band really did not kick off until about 3 months...up till then it was a lot of ups and downs, even gained weight...took a few fills, then around 4 months things started to make sense.... And even though it was my last fill, and I was in the Green for sure, it took me to the 1 year mark to understand what was happening and and learning new lessons to adjust myself to really find that groove where everything finally clicked.....once that happened....

I have the band, and happy with my decision and could not be more pleased with the results..... However, From what little I know about the sleeve, I kind of wished that was the way I went...Reason? the band is adjustable, and involves some maintenance.... The sleeve is what it is...no adjustments...it just is... talking with my Dr. and staff at my Bariatric center, they all say the success rate is much lower with the band, not because the band fails, but due to the fact it is adjustable...and the patient has the ultimate say how it should be adjusted....in other words, the patient has too much control.... Control is not a bad thing, unless you choose to not have it adjusted to the point you can eat whatever and whenever you want....so what's the point? They tell me stories about people who come in to get Fluid taken out because they are going on vacation and they want to "Enjoy" themselves....then come back afterwards..... Kind of sounds like the way I used to cheat on traditional diets... With the Sleeve, it just is....at least that's my limited knowledge....

It all depends upon what your goals are....if you are aiming at working out in anaerobic zone...85% MHR, then it is essential you have something to gauge your heart rate... I invested in a good watch, heart rate monitor from polar.....however I mainly run on a treadmill 80% of the time so I don't use the GPS...theoretically I'm standing still.... Then I realized all the equipment at my health club has state of the art displays that can read my chest band, and tell me all kinds of other stuff....so I don't need to wear the watch.... I only use it when I am not running in the gym, which is not that often...and never during cold months...

I take whey Protein, some fresh fruits and berries, etc, maybe some Peanut Butter with banana, pineapple...you name it...throw it all into a blender with 6-8 oz's of Almond Milk, maybe an ice cube, and Wha-La! Delicious, nutritious and 45 Gm protein.... Been doing that for almost 4 years now.....how much eggs, bacon, Cereal, etc, would it take to equal that? And it gives me energy all day, with little or no lunch.... As far as flavors, and combinations, leave it up to your imagination...anything goes....

At least it wasn't page 6.....

Loosing weight is all about calories consumed versus calories burned.... I once had a Dr. tell me the simplest truth once....he said I was fat because I ate too much! "STOP EATING" Problem was, I could not control my eating on my own, and when my health and my life for that matter started to suffer, my PCP refereed me for WLS - Lap band. Don't ask me what I eat, or how much,counting carbs, calories or anything that sounds like traditional Diet mumbo-jumbo, because I don't know or don't care....All I know is I eat very little, and when I do, it is always something aimed at Protein if practicable...I'll not waste that small window on something like a slice of pizza, etc.or anything that has no real nutritional value...., that is not going to do me any good....when I do eat, it has to be the very best! Last summer I had 1/2 cc taken out of my band, for no good reason...just asked to have it done...immediately I started to eat more, and started to gain weight....went right back and had that 1/2 cc put back in...(had to put up with the Dr.'s and staff's "I Told you so's") and all that happened within 2-3 weeks. It can be that sensitive a balance.

Yes I agree....thank heaven for the band!

I know, it can get some getting used to....myself, I stopped worrying about it....stopped counting calories, using apps, etc... The ONLY thing I aim at everyday is getting my daily Protein in, plus Water...and I take my Vitamins and some extra supplements like Omega 3's, Vitamin D, and one or two others. I continued to loose, and my energy levels continued to rise...my health improved dramatically much to the delight of my Dr.'s....( I was seeing as many as 5 every 3-4 months) so I must be doing something right. Never had a negative outcome in any way.... food is simply not that big a deal anymore, shopping costs have gone WAY down.....except we tend to eat out more...

It is about you....know matter what others may think, in the end it's still the dance you'll do alone... Also, I have noticed, that the biggest critics are those who are the fattest? It's got to be jealousy, and it is us who have the courage to do something? While the fat critics are cowards? And don't have the nerve? Pathetic! They're the ones who should be ashamed of themselves....not the ones who make the decision, get skinny, fit and healthy...

Jan 2011, never had a single problem...don't think about it all that much anymore

I am coming upon my 4 year mark....I consider myself being 100% successful and have been for years now.... I don't count calories, don't worry about portion sizes. I eat healthy and get plenty of exercise, just as my skinny fit friends do who never had WLS....I've adapted the same lifestyle... I have never had one complication.... The things that were once new because of the band, like my inability to eat Breakfast, have become very matter of fact...new habits that developed into a normal way for me...same goes for things like red meat, pizza, etc...people here talk about such things all the time....I don't give it a 2nd thought anymore...same goes for eating out, parties, traveling..you name it, I do it all. But I do it as the new me, with the new way looking at things, all because the band forced me to change. I have very little fear of ever gaining weight back. I weigh myself twice a day, when I first wake up and later at the gym...and nothing has changed for almost 3 years now....normal fluctuations within the same 5 lbs. Most days I do not even think about the band...I can go all day and just live a normal day to day life...although it is a "New Normal" that only came into being due to WLS... It all started with the "Rules" which became "Habits" and then became "Normal" and along the way the rules have changed somewhat, some became very important, some became useless and soon forgotten....but I had to start somewhere.... The band is always there, doing it's job to control hunger, cravings, etc....it's just that I have gotten to used to it and perhaps take it for granted....but step out of line and the band will let me know real quick who is really in charge! Many of the veterans who were on this forum when I first came, are all long gone...and I used to follow every post they made....but it can be very hard to hang around with the majority of people just starting to learn baby steps, let alone walking and then running.... There are things I could post, but not many people would understand what I am saying and would only confuse people, and they are not ready to hear it.... Many posts, just by reading the titles, I will skip over entirely....else I would get very frustrated not just by the questions, but also by the answers people will give.... Even though I can take it for granted, forget about it at times, reading posts here keeps me focused and mindful that I am still a WLS patient, and no one should forget what it took to get there... There are countless of people out there who have completed this "Journey" (I don't like that term myself)...it's just that they have moved on....but they are out there....

It's hard to assume what you may be experiencing....you have only been banded 1-1/2 years? Don't know how much is in your band...are you one to rely on your hard works and discipline or are you one that depends upon the band to do most of the work?..... There is much that can be happening, including another fill.....again, don't know where you are at with the band..... For ME, I have been in the Green Zone for about 3 years now, have not needed a fill in about the same amount of time.....I am done loosing weight. I know my band very well, and can pick up on any slight variations,,,which everyone can and will do given time. The are normal cycles when all of a sudden I realize I am eating more than usual....because I know and expect what the band will limit me to per meal, and can predict what I will not be able to finish....then amazed I actually ate as much as I did with little or no effort..... For ME, I believe this happens from normal dilation of my pouch....it is still the stomach and is designed to stretch....permanently if we continue to eat too much...(beer belly) So I will go all liquids for 2-3 days, every 6 weeks or so...NO solid foods at all....give everything a rest.......this will, again for ME, return my pouch to it's normal healthy state, returning the restriction, portion control that I am used to experiencing every day....plus it is good practice against erosion, etc... I have found it interesting that when someone goes to their dr. with a dilated pouch, possible slippage, etc., the first thing the Dr. does is give a complete un-fill....to give the band/pouch a rest and let everything "re-set" itself. Some people call this the 5 day pouch test...why, I'll never understand.... But again, I do not know where you are at with the band.....doing something like the 5 day pouch test will never give a person something they never had in the first place, only return them (hopefully) to a place they were.... So give it a try...can't hurt...nothing but Protein shakes, Soups, etc for a few days....nothing you have to chew...see what happens? An experiment?

Three weeks after surgery one cannot expect much help from the band...there are exceptions, but for the most all you have had accomplished was successfully going through the surgery, and getting all healed up...back to where you where before the surgery. Now comes the next phase, and perhaps the most difficult of all...getting your band properly adjusted, and getting yourself adjusted to be in harmony with the band. This is where many people go their separate ways, and follow their beliefs and comfort zones where they want to be and how they feel they want to do it....some find it, some do not...some are 100% successful and complete this journey, some not and never will....the band is adjustable. Sometimes I feel it would be easier if it weren't, but it is. And there is a big learning curve one has to go through....that is why they start drilling in the "Rules" long before the surgery itself....they will start to become practicable soon. Three weeks in? Nothing.....NOW the real journey is about to begin.

By the time I reached my 1/2 way point, which was a little over 6 months, my band really started to kick in, became very comfortable learning how to live within the Green Zone, quit counting calories and measuring portions by then, quit using any tracking apps, just let the band take over and found my "Groove" After that, it was all an effortless breeze, a new easy lifestyle of eating and exercising...and still is today....the "New Normal" I hit my goal without any problems, and went beyond to a point I never felt was imaginable....I have faith in the band to do what it was designed to do and what I expected it to do prior to surgery.... Definitely nothing else I could do...otherwise I would have not needed to do this.

It will change your life....it's not a cliche...and it just keeps getting better and better.

You need to elaborate....for me it was no big deal, nothing I could do to prepare. He just sticks the needle in, does his thing and I'm out the door....10-15 minutes. He had me hold the syringe once, sticking in me...while he took an emergency phone call.... There are a few precautions AFTER a fill I had to follow, usually for 24 hrs or so.

It's not the metal detectors, it's the thing where you stand with your hands raised and it takes a picture of you naked....make sure you're not carrying bombs in your underwear, or elsewhere... If your port is close to the surface, like mine is right under the skin, it will show as something under your clothes as something odd that should not be there....(the port...not the band) It showed up once for me, that I know of, and to make a long story short after a few pat downs, wands, etc...they had me look at the screen and asked me "what is that?" I simply said it is a surgical implant, an injection site....that satisfied them.

It's called Grazing.....you can do it all day if you wanted I suppose.... I remember one of the rules they taught me early on, with all the rules about eating, bottom line...come 20 minutes and you're finished. I think it was 20 minutes, could be wrong. But they did set a time limit per meals to prevent me from grazing.... Fortunately, I don't graze because I have no interest to in the first place.... You hear about people "Cheating" the band, or working around it...and that is one way to cheat it. My band only lets me eat so much....it does not stop me from doing it every 20 minutes all day. Actually it does, but in a different way.

I watch Pizza commercials on TV and have to ask...WHY?

To this day I have never felt full....that only happens when someone eats to much...which will result in pain (stretching the pouch) before anything else. So you learn to stop when nit's time to stop. For me, being in the Green Zone is something much, much different that a physical feeling.... And it took me to 4-5 months after surgery, with a few fill adjustments, and then adjustments to myself as to what and how I eat to balance out with the restriction before I could say this thing was working. But after that it has been a dream! Easy-Peasy once you get it all in harmony...but it does not happen overnight, or even in that first phase after surgery.....

I do not want to be something I'm not....I am happy to now be the person God intended me to be....and it just keeps getting better everyday...even at my age. Wish I had done this 20 years ago....where would I be today if I did? The younger people here just starting out.....just hold on tight...Because you ain't seen nothing yet! In EVERY aspect of your life, big and small! It is TRULY a life changing event, and NOT just by getting skinny, fit, and eating healthy.....

I was fat because I ate too much of the wrong foods....the band changed all that, for good! I have not been stuck, puked, whatever for over 3 years....prior to that it was not uncommon to get stuck 2-3 times a day on occasion, because I could not get it through my thick head that this is a life changing thing, and I needed to change... When I think about the foods I no longer eat, I realize not many of them are that good for me in the first place, and it's a blessing their out of my life for good. If I was able to eat what, when and how much I choose, then why have surgery? Otherwise it is all the same diet mantra I went through a hundred times....I needed surgery to change what I could not do on my own...I'm not ashamed to admit it...