Allison0927

YOU ROCK!!!!!! THAT IS AWESOME - i'm at 203.2 this morning - started at 277 so i'm just about where you are and i KNOW how good seeing that "1" is going to feel. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't mind people giving all types of opinions including the "I know this isn't what you want to hear, but..." ones. All opinions have value. I will just say that I disagree with Donna's post in only one respect - that the original poster's post will discourage other would-be bandsters. Even before I was banded and reading all the posts obsessively to gather all possible knowledge before the surgery - I could easily tell in 99% of the posts where people were complaining that they were not losing weight while banded that the person was not losing weight because they were eating the wrong foods and/or just plain too many calories. In other words, those posts were not discouraging - but more of a warning of what not to do when I got banded. The posts that truly scared me were the ones from people through no fault of their own had major medical issues after being banded - either the band or doctor was defective or some other unrelated health issue caused banding problems. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF US ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!

congratulations - that is fantastic!!! i started at 277 and am at 205 so i'm in serious countdown mode to onderland - again i'm so happy for you - and i TOTALLY understand your thinking on almost being afraid to hit it after being in the 200s for so long - i'm right there with you - have had the same thoughts - great job!!!!!!

good luck - it's the best decision i ever made for myself!

i'm just excited to say that between yesterday (Thanksgiving) morning and this morning - i lost 2 pounds instead of gaining anything! i owe this ALL to my band! There is NO WAY i could have just had a spoonful or two of each of the dishes instead of piling the plate high and corner to corner with food. I still ate everything that was served just in much smaller portions. I had a couple vodka/crystal light cocktails too! I just can't believe how many changes a year brings - last Thanksgiving i would have eaten and eaten - and been sick to my stomach from so much food. This year - it was all controlled and manageable on so, so much less food - yet i still had a wonderful day and never felt deprived! I LOVE MY BAND!!! BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF US ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!

I just had to shout it out. I did my morning weigh in this morning and there was a zero after the 2!!!! This has not occurred for YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS - probably 15 years (I'm 38). I am only 8.7 pounds away from one-derland. My goal was to get there in 2011 so i'm feeling good about likely meeting the goal. LAP BAND WAS THE SMARTEST THING I'VE DONE FOR ME IN YEARS. I'm so happy and satisfied with it. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!!!

You will be fine i promise - the surgery is truly the easiest surgery i've ever had - gas was worst part of recovery but it was manageable! BEST OF LUCK TO YOU! =)

WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME! best of luck for your upcoming surgery on 12/16 - you will do great!

Every single morning - no matter if i know it will be up or down - it's the thing that has always kept me accountable. Not weighing is what led me to get morbidly obese - the weight was out of sight out of mind. I know that the scale moves up sometimes through no fault of my own (i.e., water weight at ovulation or time of month) but i still do it.

how was your restriction before this last fill? i have 7.5 in a 14 cc band and am not at restriction although am starting to feel a little something since this last fill? Just wondered!

mine took about 1 or 1.5 hours - about 20 minutes was talking - and the rest was taking two tests - one was an IQ like test and the other was a profile of some sort. It was very easy. It appeared that the point of the whole thing was finding out if I had a support system in place, whether i was good at following directions (so that later i'll take vitamins, follow surgeon instructions etc) and whether i was one to eat mindlessly all day or overeat only at meals (the latter being someone who is a good candidate for surgery). I told the truth - which is i was never a grazer that ate all day long (constant snacking) and i was never big on sweets. My whole problem was eating too much at a sitting/meal. He said you are the perfect type of person for lap band surgery. Best of luck to you - you'll do great.

Hi - I will say this. People often talk of fear of the actual surgery. I'm not a doc or in the medical field - but my own two cents are - this is likely the easiest surgery you will ever have. It's fast, little scarring, little pain (if you take your meds) and you're only in the hospital a few hours - and recouping a few days. That was the EASY part if that is your concern. For me, the surgery was the best decision i've made for ME in years. Wish i had done it sooner. Don't know what the future holds - but i do know that there is NO WAY i would have lost nearly 70 pounds in the last 5 months without doing it - i likely would have progressively gained weight during that same time frame. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU WHATEVER YOU DECIDE!

Sara: I don't know you or him - but if you are truly breaking up with him - can i just tell you - you are doing the right thing based on what you described. Seriously. I wish you the best of luck - you will find someone that deserves you. Does not sound like he does. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF US ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!

Glenda - it truly takes a WHILE sometimes to get restriction - I was banded 7/5 and i've had 4 fills - and this last fill at the beginning of November was the first time i felt ANYTHING in there - and i'm still not at restriction or the green zone. I am hopeful i'll hit it in December with my 5th fill. The first few months of a bander's life is labeled bander hell for a reason - you've been banded but there's no restriction yet - so you are flying without a net. Some lose, some gain, some maintain - but no doubt it's pure will power until you hit restriction. Speed of hitting restriction depends on lots of things including how aggressive your surgeon is with amounts of each fill. I do wish you restriction soon and best of luck on your journey!!!!

I was 277 pre-op with about 130 goal to lose. People at work really starting noticing around 45-50 pounds lost (i've lost close to 70 now). Don't worry - people will start noticing soon - then you'll love the compliments but after people start talking about your weight every other day it starts to get a little unnerving =)

is your scale on carpet or on tile? if on carpet move to tile. If on tile -that's weird and i'd be frustrated too! Christmas is around the corner - it would make a great present for yourself - a new digital one!!!

It's been 4 1/2 months since my banding and i still remember my last meal before the pre-op diet - yummy cheese cake factory! i can still eat whatever i want but i am close to restriction so maybe after this next fill in a couple weeks i won't be able to. Funny (or not so) story i heard from my nutritionist. She had a WLS patient and he gained 30 pounds right before surgery doing a FAREWELL TOUR of all his favorite restaurants every night for a month before surgery - he especially liked buffets like Golden Corale! 30 pounds in 30 days - i'm not sure if she was exaggerating or not - but once i heard that it pretty much put the stopper on my own ideas for a farewell tour! who wants to suddenly start 30 pounds heavier and have to lose that before starting on the real weight! ugh - not worth it!!!

I tell anyone that asks how i'm losing weight - including people at work. Betweeen that and the morning scale (every day without fail) i feel "accountable" to everyone - which is what is working for me - it has kept me from cheating many times. Everyone needs to do what works "for them". It's a personal choice. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!

best of luck to you tomorrow - YOU WILL DO GREAT!!!

I like the minor outpatient procedure tomorrow idea - how else are you going to explain the scars?

i'm sorry to hear you are struggling. sounds like you are doing your best under the circumstances! treat this like the pre-op diet - just 20 days until the fill, 19 days, 18 days etc. - a true countdown. Best of luck to you!!!!

GOOD LUCK!!! you will do great. The surgery is easy. You will be done before you know it!

southern - something you said in your later post really caught my attention - i'm about 1-2 months behind you on surgery i think (i was july 5) - just had my 4th fill - 7.5cc in 14cc band - and this last fill was the first time i felt "anything" - meaning that i could tell i had a band in there. What i feel at this point is about 1/2 the time i eat (no rhyme or reason on time of day) i feel the food slowly (and sometimes painfully) moving through the band hole - right after i ate it. So, nothing was staying in the pouch for any length of time - which is ultimately the goal. Is that what you experienced before you had this last fill? And now is it that food is staying in the pouch for a while so you feel the saitey (sp?)? Just curious - if that is the case you are giving me hope that maybe my next fill will "work" - because even though i now feel many times the food "passing through" the band - i'm still hungry much sooner than i should be - so i'm really hoping the next fill does the trick by actually keeping the food in the pouch for a while before it passes through. How many cc are in your band and where is it at now? THANKS!!!

Sounds like you are getting some good advice on here - i would just add - please do not get your hopes too high for the first fill. I have had 4 fills (7.5 cc total) in a 14 cc band and i'm still not restricted. I am only just now feeling "something" in there. But i know i'm not in the green zone and i can still (but usually don't) eat too much food. I'm hopeful that my 5th fill on Dec. 6 does the trick. All of this is to say - i hope this is not the case for you - but you may find that you do not feel "different" at only the first fill (or for a few fills after). This is bandster hell and it is the worst time for a bandster - heeled up - can eat anything - and not to the green zone yet. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF US ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!