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I just love reading these boards and hearing about everyones success. I applaud you all I also love the fact that we all share so many of the same feelings and experiences (good and bad). These boards really are a great way to embrace the whole banded life experience. I am down 66 pounds as of today, with 45 more to go. I feel great, and I am back into clothes from my own closet that I haven't worn in years. Little things that have made me smile lately are streatching at my desk at work, seeing my reflection and noticing that I have collar bones again, who knew.....and my necklaces are getting longer, I can atually see my pendant when I look down now.....so strange. I just went through a copule of difficult band weeks...I was a little tight through pms, then got stuck so was even tighter so I went to all liquids for about a week and half. During that time I dropped 6 more pounds and I've got to say it made it all worth while. I love love love how the band is helping me reach my goal, and for holding me accountable. My one year band-a-versary is July 22 and while I know I still won't be at my goal weight by then, I sure am happy about how this past year has changed me.

Allison, down 110 WOW! That is awesome!!!!!!! My loss has been much slower but it has been steady slowness!!

I am doing and feeling great. Down 63 pounds so far, 50 more to go. I wish my weightloss was faster, but it has been steady, and consistent. I enjoyed not gaining any weight through the holidays for the first time in my life, and I am also enjoying not gaining weight period (with the band I am officially off the diet roller coaster!) This week I put on a pair of sz14 jeans to see how close I was to them fitting and low and behold they fit perfectly, I haven't taken them off for three days LOL! The band works great for me but I have had good and bad times with it, getting stuck now and then resulting in my opening swelling so I have to go on liquids for a few to several days - but I loose weight great when that happens :-) all in all I am happy and thankful that I finally did this, my only regret is not having done it sooner. My hubby got the band also 1 month after me and having a live in support group has been very helpful, and I think it had brought us even closer together.

You sound like you really have your hands full with two small children to take care of, and it sounds like you did great with your pregnancy - not gaining a ton of weight. You should be really proud of yourself!! You can make your band work for you agian, but it will end up being more about what is in your head than what you put in your mouth. I think counseling is likely a great idea but if you don't have the time or desire to do that - have a talk with yourself and recommit to yourself to be successful, then start with the very basics. Find a few healthy options that you enjoy and keep your diet really simple for a while so you don't have to spend a ton of time thinking about it and be sure to track your calories. I know it can be really hard with kids in the house because you end up with "kid food" in the house and that can be tempting but you the phrase nothing tastes as good as thin feels is a good one....tape it to your refrigerator or stove as a gentle remineder!! You can do it!!!

Same boat here, nothing for me untill I've been up for a few hours and then only liquids (usually coffee), I can't even eat cream of wheat untill 11 or 12. I am kind of use to the routine now but it took time to not feel deprived or try to force it by eating anyway. The band is a great lesson in patience.

Well said Shoshanna. And I feel compelled to add (and I fully expect to be blasted for this comment by some)....if someone eats enough to throw up 5x a day for several years, and not only not loose but gain weight, you have to wonder how much that person is eating, and what they are eating. I was banded last August, have good days and bad days, have learned to listen to my body and have changed my eating habits as a result. If I want to loose weight I have to limit my intake to 1000 calories or under per day. The reality of the band is you can't eat certain things, may have difficulty eating at certain times such as early mornings and if you ignore these things you will have problems. For that reason, because some people maybe can't read their body too well or don't understand the effort and commitment it will take to use the band effectively, the band is not for everyone. To say that postings on success are false or are perhaps submitted by greedy surgeons is just nonsense, and is insulting to those of us who work hard making good choices to be successful! I wish all fellow bandies, and all who take another path success in their weightloss journey.

I learned the lessons of public perception and the problem other people have with obesity at a very young age, and it was not easy. My "weight" history has been a roller-coaster! By age 10 obese, I was told at that time by the teacher in charge of the "pep squad" that nobody wants to see a fat cheerleader. By age 12 I morbidly obese - suffered countless hours of bullying from my middle school peers, likely the most painful period of time in my life. As a result between 8th grade and freshman year - with no viable self esteem I "aquired" bulimia and lost all excess weight down to 115lb. Same peers from middle school suddenly sought out my friendship. Not so politely, I told them all to piss off! I stayed a healthy weight until I was 18, I gained 85 pounds. I lost that eventually, but by age 22 I was on what would become a 12 year incline that includede many brief ups and downs in weight, "topping out" at age 32 at 286 pounds. Through pure self determination, I lost 145 pounds in about 10 months, promising myself I would never be obese again.....of course I continued to go up and down by 40 or 50 pounds for the next several years, but by age 42 I had ultimately regained up to 256. That was when I decided to have the lap band surgery. I have gone into stores and felt invisible (in my obese body) because the sales clerks will not make eye contact with you, and what can be even worse that that is going into a clothing store that sells average sized clothing and have a clerk look you up and down and in a patrionizing voice say "uh can I help you" clearly communicating you don't belong there. I don't know about the rest of you but in spite of having been thin at different times in my life, and even now that I'm down 60 pounds with only 50 more to go to reach goal, I feel much better physically and mentally however, regardles of my actual size, I will always be that 12 year old in middle school on the inside. Not all people who have enjoyed an average sized life are rude, superficial, and ignorant....but I think that most all people who have struggled with weight have learned lesson in empathy, and compassion which the average sized world cannot even begin to comprehend.

Exer-what? When I think about exercise I can talk myself into feeling motiviated, even charged up about it but when it comes to actually doing the exercise, well-not so much. It is terribly frustrating. I don't know if it is low energy, low motivation, laziness or just a consequence of a very busy life where it is easy to "not have time". The only good thing for me is I have lost around 60lb, so I feel better and am definitely more active (ie. working in the yard, more apt to vaccum a few times a week instead of month). I have tried zumba which is a lot of fun, but I have bad knees and I just can't hack the high impact pace....but as with other writers in this post - I have a low impact eliptical machine, which sticks its tongue out at me every time I go into our garage and goes spthththt! Not exercising does slow weightloss though, and you would think that "should" be enough to get us all off our arses and out there moving! If anyone figures out the secret to the exercise challenge please do share!

Liquid suggestions: cream of potato soup heated with a teaspoon of taco seasoning, strain out potato chunks, and add a tbl spoon of fat free sour cream! Major yummy! V8, and spicy V8 juice. Lots of flavor in both. Cream of chicken herb soup, strain out the chunks. Greek yogurt with scoop of protein powder, thinned with silk soy milk. (I did try this and it wasn't bad, but I hate yogurt so have not tried it again) Organic butternut squash soup with couple tbl spoons of reduced fat ricotta cheese mixed in (this was actually filling too). Went to my favorite Chinese restaurant and got take out containers of egg flour soup and hot & sour soup, strain the chunks and add scoop of plain protein powder. All in all just have to use your imagination.

I am so have happy to have read that other people have tubs of their own clothes that they are excited to get back into, I thought was my own lunacy! I have always spent a lit of money on "skinny" clothes, so have not wanted to part with them but when I'm heavy I never want to spend any money because I always have in the back if my mind oh I'll loose weight so the good clothes will fit so why buy "fat clothes"....even more so have never thought that I really deserved to buy new stuff when I'm heavy. Consequently I have a ton of clothes that are size 8 & 10, quite a few 12 & 14's, some 16 -18's, and very few 18-22's which is my current size. I am really looking forward to being able to enjoy my own clothes, and all the new ones I will find a reason to need in the future, the hope I feel today is amazing. The band, and band community is awesome!!

Thank you Cindy, that helps. I guess for making chicken & tuna salads I will need to stock up on fat free ranch dressing to get to the right consistency, chicken broth too ( which I have been drinking anyway on liquid phase. Thank you brmb6, That actually sounds really good, I love ricotta and cottage cheese. Salsa would probably be good with that too!!! Today I have been really hungry, all day, and have been kind of obsessed with food. I guess I just need to find something else to occupy my mind. Getting banded really kind of takes over your life, I hope that is temporary, like the shoulder pain and the gas LOL The best thing so far for me has been finding this site, and all of the wonderful and helpful people that I now have more in common with than just wearing plus sizes :-) I really hope I can get my hubby to join this site when gets banded next month so he can commiserate with and learn from everyone like I am! Again thank you.

Yogurt, Greek or otherwise (blah!) everything else sounds good :-) tuna and chicken will be a welcome addition once puree is allowed. I am the only person I know that doesn't like pudding or especially - yogurt......

I have read other diet pop banders do that very thing so they can continue to drink pop. And honestly I've thought that I might try it for my black butte porter, although I don't usually drink at home. I don't drink much or often, but after a 2 week pre op diet of fat free milk only plus knowing I need to wait till 6weeks post op before I am released for the occasional grown up beverage, it is driving me crazy, I am really looking forward to that bloody mary!

My family went to the movies last night too, no popcorn but our theater sells frozen minute made lemon aid cups so I had one of those. Fat free and only 270 calories for the whole thing, it was a cheat but not too bad of one. The pop corn sure did smell good! * since I am on full liquids & 10 days post op I had 1/2 of it at the beginning of the movie and 1/2 at the end.

Oh my gosh, I can't wait to be on pureed foods. I had 2week pre op milk only diet, and am now 10 days into my 2 week post op full liquid only, then I can have purée! (for 2 weeks, then soft mushies). I have a dumb question though, what consistency equates to pureed? Is it suppose to be kind of liquidy? (I'm sure it isn't going to look very appealing if that us the case)!??

Hi Scott, I had the same kind of pain you described for a week following my 7-20-11 surgery. When my band was placed, I also had a large hiatial hernia repair. Did you by chance? I guess it was normal because now 10 days post op that sensation has subsided, but still have the left shoulder pain. I have found an awesome way to relieve that "need to burp feeling", stand up, relax and then bend over at the waist. I guess that puts enough gentle pressure on the lower stomach to push the burp out, and ohhh what a relief it can be!!!

Hi LeeLee, Gas x did nothing for me. I am 9 days post op and today is the first day I have felt like myself again, but I still have pain in my left shoulder, just not nearly as bad as it was on days 3-6, those were the worst for me. Hang in there, take your pain meds and it will be over soon. *being at home not working or being productive sucks fo sure but you need to rest so you can heal. During my down-time I watched 4 movies and 3 seasons of project runway. My brain may be jello now but my tummy is better for it!!!

I WILL miss beer! I am a micro brew fan, with all the rich and different flavors. But I'm with you on alternative beverages. I think a Bloody Mary with worstshire (sp?), and lots of spices would be a rich flavorful alternative to my Bkack Butte Porter. Ohhhh the sacrifices we must make I also like gin & tonic, but tonic is carbonated so that may not be a good option. I suppose wine is another low cal option, but really....yuck-sour grapes! Ha ha

I know exactly how you are feeling, to grasp that you are choosing to not be able to eat (much) of your favorite foods....for the rest of your life is HUGE. For me beer and pizza will be the toughest things to miss, and it is definitely a grieving process. But the more I considered how truly sad I was about giving up the foods I love, the more clear it became what a good decision I was making. If we had the long term ability (ie. discipline & will power) to loose weight and maintain it, we wouldn't be overweight. The band gives us a built in "reminder" to make better decisions and achieve our goals. (now I will say that pizza, beer, and I did have a nice fare well party the day before I started my 2 week pre-op diet.........small pitcher of my fav Black Butte Porter, and 1/2 of a medium canadian bacon & sausage pizza, from Leonardos the best place in town, I was so full when I was done - and I accepted that with that "last supper", I was finally ok with being done!) Fast forward 8 days post op, on full liquids only, for dinner tonight I had a 1/2 cup of cream if chicken soup - and it tasted good and I am full! Full still feels the same, but now I can achieve that with 150 calories instead of what 1600 or so. What a difference a few short weeks can make :-) down 25 pounds in that time also.

O my god this thread is hilarious! Now I don't feel so silly taking pictures of my own incisions 2 days post op! I will post mine too once I down load them off my phone :-)

Hi, I am 8 days post op and also had the hernia repair when they "installed" my lap band. This has been a pretty miserable week for me. The pressure in my chest and diaphragm is so uncomfortable, even wearing a bra for too long is difficult. And it is funny how it comes and goes. Sometimes when I stand up the pressure increases and I feel like I need to burp, if I am up for more than an hour or two the pressure and gas builds up and the only way to get relief is to lay down. The melt away gas-x has not helped me a bit with this. I am thankful for these support web sites because it is comforting to know it isn't just me having a less than speedy recovery. My doctor has me on full liquid diet the first 2 weeks post op, then pureed food for 2 weeks, then soft moist. On the liquids, I have not been especially hungry, nor have I had any difficulty drinking or feeling full. I can drink my 8 oz protein shake pretty quickly not because I try, but more because it goes down easily. Should I be able to do that? I am happy with my pre-op/post-op weight loss so far. I did a 2 week pre-op fat free milk only diet so I have lost a total of 25 pounds already, so I do feel like the pain and discomfort is paying off. I just hope It will eventually get better. Wow, I wrote a lot. Hope that is okay.