Califdreamer

What I do when I think I'm hungry is keep my hands and my mind busy. I watch netflix now because tv has so many commercials and a lot of them are about FOOD! no cable, no commercials! Also have completed projects I had given up on. It's a win win situation. Get banded, have more energy, get more done in the house, way better sex life and things I didn't have 'time' for. It helps when my tv viewing was cut. Never realized how much tv I did watch! Plus I drink so much much more water than ever before. As for the "bad habits" well I like to think of them as different habits that no longer work for me. I need to learn different habits now. When I would say bad habits, it would make me feel like I was a bad girl for doing someting bad and needed to be punished (gain more weight). Then start the downhill spiral of being fat on purpose, not being good enough for whatever, being too dumb to know better and even worse knowing and still doing the wrong things, etc. When I changed my way of thinking, I changed too. Each day is a new beginning.

I did so much research before my surgery. I heard the horror stories, watched actual surgeries on youtube and weighed alol the pros and cons I could even imagine. I have 6 kids, 4 grandkids and a husband. This made me think a lot and after it was all said and done, I went ahead and took that big leap of faith and got banded. Never had a problem. It just took me 2 weeks to recoup after the surgery but then again, I always have had a slight reaction to anesthesia and the self healing stitches. They knew this beforehand, I was accomadated and had to have actual string stitches that had to be taken out later. Other than that, it's been a piece of cake! I have now lost 50 lbs! I for one, am so glad I did this! My regular MD asked for my surgeons name and asked if I would recommend him and I said of course! The more knowledge you have of what is happening, the better you'll feel. Like you say, there are risks in all our everyday lives yet we're still here! Who knows, maybe without the band, you'll have a much shorter life. You just never know.

Exactly, difa!

Hi Erica, I know how difficult it is when you hit a wall. I had my banding just 2 months before you and have hit my 50 lb loss and now have another baby step of 25. After that I still will have another 50. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I have also hit something else too. That dreaded wall! I am a stay at home mom and have 6 kids and 4 grandkids now. 4 of my kids are still home although they are 2 teens and 2 adults. As long as they are still students, we let them stay here! I don't have twins but I did have 3 kids in less than 3 years and then 9 yrs later, I did it again! 3 in less than 3 yrs. I know...some say I was crazy but I would still do it again. Any way, I would like to be your buddy in this endevor but I live in Southern Calif. If you would like, we can at least e-mail or talk on the phone. Let me know and go from there. And congratulations on your loss! That's really great!

ok I will! But if I can't, I guess I will try out the one in Riverside. I lost 50 lbs so far but seem to have lost the momentum to keep going. I know that to succeed I need to keep in contact with people that have and are working hard at this!

I just had mine done in November and I'm 51. I just reached my 50 lb loss 2 weeks ago. I am going in on thursday to see if I need 1 last fill or at least to see if I need it tweeked. I can pretty much eat most things I ate before but in much smaller portions and I do go to the gym since I don't have the room at my home to get equipment I enjoy. I love not feeling hungry all the time either. I can afford to eat better foods because it takes a lot less to fill me up. I thought of the lapband for almost a year. I used that time to do major research, thinking and interviewing many people who have had it done, who had been thinking about it and those that had all the negative you'd want to hear before making such a big decision. When I decided to have it done, it was very apparent to me that this was and is going to be a total lifetime change because obviously everything I had tried just didn't work for the lifestyle I have. As for the complications, I didn't really have any at all. Yet my husband does have a problem with bread as it makes him gag. Bread is my weakness and I thought that I would simply die without it and my diet cokes! Funny how now I love my tea and hard toast. I do not miss that freshly baked french bread doused in butter downed with that coke! In fact I think I hear my body gaging by just thinking about it. UGH! It litterally makes me angry with myself thinking of all that damage I have done to my body! Any way...sorry but I have a tendency to yak away...hope you think about it and just go with your own choice. It is your body.

I was banded 11/04/2011 and was wanting to join a support group in this area. Temecula to Hemet. Anyone know of one??? Would really appreciate it a lot! Thanks.

Maybe it's because of my age or for whatever reason. I don't hide it except from my parents but only because I want to surprise them in August. They live 400 miles away and have no idea yet. Anyway, first of all I would have down played it then probably would have given this co-worker a lesson on the different types of procedures. This way I would have been in control of the situation instead of giving her the upper hand. But like I said, that's just me. I know..I'm a control freak! Go to work with your head held high and keep up the good work. Let them keep following their 'diets' if it does them good. My mom always told us when we were in school, the "friends" there are just school mates. People at work are just co-workers. People you associate with outside of obligatory places are your true friends. (sounds better in our native language! LOL)

I have to admit that at first when we were talking and thinking about the band I didn't see it as a tool. I saw it as cheating. I have been banded since Nov.4th 2012 and am down 45+ lbs. I feel great and haven't told my parents, siblings or pretty much any one except a few close friends. NOT because of any other reason but because my parents live 400 miles away and the last time they saw me, last year, I was at my highest weight of 277 and wearing a 3x! Now I am in an extra large and I want so badly to surprise them this year! As soon as they see me then I will let everyone know. Now I see this as a tool only. I control what and how much I eat. I work out 5 times a week (although the last 5 I haven't due to health problems that have nothing to do with my band) and watch everything I eat. I do not feel like a fraud at all. I am the one doing all the work and it is not easy. Could I have done this without the band? Maybe BUT maybe the question here is...could I have kept losing without the band? Even when things were bad and I would pig out and I'd get depressed and eat more? Yet this band is a reminder to me that I am committed to this and I am a strong person and it's forever. If I overeat, I feel like I'm having a heartattack! I have 6 kids and now entered into the world of grandparenthood and the thought of a heartattack because of my weight makes me want to continue this journey. My band is a "friendly" yet painful reminder of why I did this and for whom (me first then my family). Each one of our journeys is different. And just like the doctor that has to tweak our fills, we have to tweak our minds and hearts, pasts and presents, hurts and joys and falls and goals.

Same here. I have an 11 cc band. First fill was 4cc, the second was 3 cc and the third was..can"t remember. I know it wasn't even 3 cc but I felt no restrictions until my 3rd fill. We'll see how it goes the next time.

my husband travels for work and so far there has been no problems. I have to fly out in July...just watch, I will probably have a problem. I am the lucky one that gets it all even when I travel with a group of people, a priest and a few nuns and I always get to be the lucky one. sheesh! Sometimes I think my group pays for these conferences just so I'll go and they breeze on by while I have to stay back for a bit! LOL!

hip hip hooray!!!! Congratulations!

I agree with all the above. Mostly journaling as you can actually see what you are eating. I eat more now than before the band and I am losing weight! The difference is I more aware of what I eat and more focused on why I eat. These are issues I know I have to deal with for the band to 'work'. I see it like this...the band is a tool. Whether I use it correctly or not is up to me and me alone. I am responsible for what and how much food I place in my mouth. As long as there are no complications, this must work. Was I scared? Oh yes! Nervous? Absolutely. Desperate? Of course. But I knew it was time. Was I forced into this? Nope. In fact when I was in the pre op room taking all my vitals and such, I knew I could still back out. As I walked into the operating room, I knew I could have walked right out too. Then as I lay on the table, my doctor must have seen my expression and asked me if I wanted to stop it all and I said no. But I knew that if I wanted to I could and that relaxed me so much. The next few days after the surgery and each little pain, I would think to myself...What the heck did I do to myself? I researched this so long and even saw some of the surgeries on youtube, All in all, I wish I had done this years ago! Just give yourself as much time as you can to heal and take it one day at a time. I look back at my old life and it seems so funny. It's like it's not really your life at all. It does make me cringe to be honest, on how destructive it really was. I hope and pray I never ever return to that type of so called existance again! Good luck and take care.

What happened yeaterday is in the past. I haven't weighed under 200 in many many years and am so close now so I can only imagine how you're feeling. Don't give up! There are many of us who look up to the bandsters like you!

Same here. I was banded Nov 4th 2011. The burping was uncomfortable and still can't very well but isn't even uncomfortable any more and the yawning, well I chalked it up to the tube I had down my throat during surgery. It all went away after a week or so. It if keeps bothering you, then by all means call your doctor.

I tried these vitamins and supplements and I really try to give things the benefit of the doubt. But I spent a lot of money on the diet supplements, went home and openned them up. Ugh the smell to me was rancid. When I went back the next day, the woman refused to open the door and when I asked for a refund, she denied it and told me...good luck. You already opened the bottles. I took them home and figured well I'm stuck so I might as well plug my nose and try them. I did. Gagged. Threw up. Called the company and again I was told since I openned the bottles it voided the return policy. Wow. My son in law works for Nutralite and what a difference! Totally oposite everything. I've returned half empty bottles and have not had a bad experience with them at all. Now I am sure there are people that have good and haven't had good with Nutralite and Herbalife! But then this is my experiences. Thank God we are not all alike and we get to have choices.

I guess with me it was the childhood mantra of eat everything on your plate because throwing away food is wrong. I would think...then don't serve me so much. But of course back in the old days you wouldn't dare even think of speaking like that to your parents. Meals were served, you sat, ate, then said prayer after. Both my parents come from a different country and the custom to say prayer after meals is the norm. Any way I giggled at the person who would make a night meal/party for themselves. I can so relate to that. I would do that too! I had 3 brothers so I had my own room and at night I would have these elegant meals all alone. A closet eater? I feel this could have been the beginning of my night eating. As a teen I began to lift weights with my brothers. 180 lbs and in a size 12. By the time I was in my 30's with 6 kids and still under 200. Then in my late 30's my thyroid went totally out of whack. Didn't know what and the idiot doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong. Packed on almost 150 lbs. Changed doctors and got illness under control. But after that I kept playing up and down time after time with the same 40 lbs or so. I just got tired of it and am so happy I did this! Every year I spend 2 weeks at my parents house alone and we talk and heal many issues. My kids say I am like a different person each time I return!

I guess with me it was the childhood mantra of eat everything on your plate because throwing away food is wrong. I would think...then don't serve me so much. But of course back in the old days you wouldn't dare even think of speaking like that to your parents. Meals were served, you sat, ate, then said prayer after. Both my parents come from a different country and the custom to say prayer after meals is the norm. Any way I giggled at the person who would make a night meal/party for themselves. I can so relate to that. I would do that too! I had 3 brothers so I had my own room and at night I would have these elegant meals all alone. A closet eater? I feel this could have been the beginning of my night eating. As a teen I began to lift weights with my brothers. 180 lbs and in a size 12. By the time I was in my 30's with 6 kids and still under 200. Then in my late 30's my thyroid went totally out of whack. Didn't know what and the idiot doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong. Packed on almost 150 lbs. Changed doctors and got illness under control. But after that I kept playing up and down time after time with the same 40 lbs or so. I just got tired of it and am so happy I did this! Every year I spend 2 weeks at my parents house alone and we talk and heal many issues. My kids say I am like a different person each time I return!

I so glad for all of you! I also agree how nice to be able to go into a store that is not a "specialty" store for big women! I went from a 3x to an extra large so far. It's fun to go shopping with both my daughters and granddaughter. We can shop at the same store! My 17 yr old just dropped 10 lbs on her own and she's amazed that she lost it without even trying. I told her it's because my husband and I ate eating actual serving sizes that she and her brothers are also more aware of what they eat. This proves even more to me that of course we as parents are and should be examples to our children. It makes my heart good to see all 6 of our kids, married and teens, losing weight along side with my husband and me.

Ok I had a revelation today as I was answering a post. I never thought that I would ever get to the point I liked weigh ins. As I was answering the post I was telling the person that I couldn't wait to be weighed in again. Then it hit me. Me. Liking weigh ins? What's wrong with this picture? Wow. I really can't find the words to explain this. It feels exciting, new and even like having the monkey off your back. A goal perhaps? It just feels plain WONDERFUL! I don't have almost 140 lbs to lose now it's more like 97! Never thought I would have less than 100 lbs to lose in a long long time. I guess I am just in heaven right now and I want to keep this euphoria going as long as I can! Happy Monday to all! PS I tried on everything in my closet and 99.9% of my clothes fit as opposed to less than half!!!! I threw out ALL clothes that were too big...NO LOOKING BACK! Look out world, here I come.....

Yippee! Congratulations!

It is true you need to give your body time. I go to the gym and was talking to one of the personal trainers that told me the same thing the personal trainer I had years ago about excess skin. They said that you should give it 2-5 years depending on how much you lost and about 80% of the people realize that they don't need a TT. This is of course if you exercise and watch what you eat. I plan on waiting. I must admit that I do see my stomach shrinking as I go. It used to hang and touch my thighs even when I stood up (gross I know..Sorry) but now, they don't touch any more! And it's great when my 4 yr old granddaughter tells my daughter when is she going to get skinny like her garndmom! (I have a long way to go for that skinny part.) But I am going to wait. I think about it this way, if I succeed just think of the cost and the scars I will avoid! Seriously though, good luck on your decision!

I understand how you feel. Same here with the fastish weight loss. Pre op diet and first 3 months I dropped 40 lbs. In the last month...4. 4LBS ONLY! I was devestated. I thank God for the great people here and friends I have personally. Your body needs time to adjust after all that loss. Plus I also realized that the day after I was weighed I started my monthly. That usually shows on the scale as a 3-5 lb gain but I saw a small loss any way! I can't wait to get on that scale again! Oh my goodness!!!! For the first time in my life as an adult I am looking forward to getting on a scale?!! Yippee, another fear conquered! Thank You lapband....

same here. Although I was banded in Nov 2011, I never had anything go wrong and never even took a gas x or anything. Until my 3rd filling. I just had it recently and now am feeling resistance! Today I took my hubby to the airport and we stopped to get a bite to eat. We split it so it was a small amount. I was really hungry and thought I had eaten slowly...wrong. I ate too fast and felt a pain I had never felt! I thought I was dying. My husband thought it was funny because he feels it almost daily and I am always telling him to eat slower and drink slower, etc! I realize that I need to eat BEFORE I get to the point I feel like I'm starving. After the last fill up to this fill I felt hungry all the time pretty much. I told my doctor and he said good. I thought good???!!! He explained that obviously I wasn't overeating and with this fill I would be able to eat a little less and not feel like that. He was right! Today was a learning experience...my advice is to listen to your doctor (unless you feel in your gut that he is really, really wrong), follow your diet and keep up the good work! Oh and don't forget to come here and continue to read and post!!!

I am so down. I weighed myself on my friend's scale at home and according to it, I have gained 4 lbs! I was doing so great and yes I did stop going to the gym because I am going through menopause and I had a really bad period that lasted 2 weeks. Now I am very down. I can't say depressed because that would be too "drama Queenish" for me. But yeah, down is the word. I am trying but need a good kick in the butt. Any good suggestions? Oh I was banded on Nov 4th 2011 and lost 40, now gained 4. UGH!