wineguyd

Congratulations!!!!! Please post before and after pics!

Wow, good for you! How about posting some before and after shots...you must be literally unrecognizeable from your previous self.

I've noticed the opposite, I had three fills in the first 8 months and then stopped. I've reached a point where I can't over eat but I can still enjoy a modest three course dinner in a good restaurant. I no longer loose weight from the bands restriction of calories...now it's finally from will power and excersize. My last 15 pounds will come off from a healthy lifestyle and the band will be a referee on the sidelines. Several men that got the band after seeing my success have not been as happy because they keep going back for fills and unfills and want to make the band the sole arbiter of their eating habits without out using an ounce of discipline. They get unfills before holidays and family affairs and then refill after they put on a few pounds. I strongly believe that the less you manipulate the band the better it will be for the long run.

Okay, we can all agree that the first and foremost benefit of weight loss surgery is the health benefits. But that being said, the second greatest benefit(to me at least) was that for the very first time in my life I was able to shop in the normal size sections of the clothing store, and for the first time in my life I actually had choices in style, and for the first time in my life I actually saw the person who I always though I was in the mirror...not the caricature that stole my image for the last half a century. I think I speak for all of us on this one. By the time I had lost 50 pounds I had to throw out all my clothing, everything, the only thing I was able to still use were my socks. So a crash course in learning to dress well was in order...I'm alway reminded of the scene in the movie "Moscow on the Hudson" with Robin Williams when he experienced an American supermarket for the first time after defecting from the Soviet Union...he was so overwhelmed with the selections that he passed out. My wife remembers my eyes tearing when we went to Macy's to get me a new sport jacket, the last time I was there I purchased a size 58 and there were only two or three choices in the "Portly" section. I had just put on a size 46 and it was loose, I had to fight back full blown tears. I'd love to hear about others in this forum that have lost a good chunk of weight and are now discovering or re-discoving the joys of dressing. Post some shopping tips, style tips for the newly slim. I've got some great tips and resources for those of you about to transition into a new wardrobe. I now worship at the alter of Brioni, Canali and Zegna! Cheers! Eli the WineGuyD

Retro is fun...have you ever browsed thefedoralounge.com? If not get on ASAP and enjoy!

Hey Andrea...looks like you are closing in that shopping date! Post a pic of your first purchase.

Be sure to post some pics!

The things normal weight people take for granted! I went recently into a mall and there was an A/X Armani Exchange...I thought to myself what the hell and went in and sure enough I found clothing in my size, they were the largest end of the spectrum, but none the less A/X was the last place I thought I could ever shop in. Hey Jackie's Girl...throw out some shopping tips when you get the chance...things like great transition stores or brands for people in the midst of the band weight loss.

Tomorrow is your "re-birthday"!!!!

To borrow a phrase..."You go girl"

Buy tight fitting...they'll fit better later and you'll get more use out of them.

Did you wait till you drop a lot of sizes before shopping for a new wardrobe or did you do it piece by piece gradually?

I definitely gravitate to vintage...I suppose it's just a stage..but I love that I can have fun with it. A new wardrobe is just around the corner for you....post some pics when you hit the size you've been dreaming of.

Thanks kll724, you and your son should post some life stories about your new wardrobes!

As we all know, white meat chicken is a real challenge to the band, it's one of the few things that still block me up. But more important, you admittedly eat too fast and I'm assuming you are not cutting your food into small pieces, putting your utensils down with each bite, and are not chewing well. I'm over three years into this and yet I still find myself once and a while briefly wolfing food down and then paying for it minutes later....slow down...period!

I was diagnosed with ADD as a child, I'm pretty sure I still have it but the band was one thing I never had trouble focusing on...when your health, if not your life, is on the line you overcome many obstacles!

Are you eating late? if yes, you might still have food sitting near the band that is causing bile to be produced. Try not to eat solids less than four hours before you turn in.

I don't doubt ppillows19's pain or problems but she really is the exception not the rule. No procedure works perfectly for everyone....peoples physiology are unique. Also, a lot depends on the experience of the surgeons that perform the procedure. I had a perfect experience, literally no pain and minor discomfort post-op, to the point that I never took the pain meds they gave me...for a few days it felt like I did a belly flop in the pool, no worse. The air bubble ppillows19 is referring to is a result of the surgeons literally inflating your stomach cavity to create work space, in the majority of the procedures the air bubble dissipates through the incisions and occasionally a small bubble gets trapped inside and gives a bloated feeling for a few days...again I think hers was an unfortunate exception. Follow all the instructions they give you to the letter and DO NOT try to modify the recovery process. I have a customer who got the band after seeing my results, six months later he had only lost 20 lbs, when I started to ask about his eating habits he admitted that he polishes a bottle of wine a night...that's 600-800 calories a day right there plus carbs and sugars. If you gloss over the forum you will see that the overwhelming majority of people had a great weight loss experience with minimal discomfort....good luck...can't wait to see you six months from now!

Exactly! Our mothers and grandmothers always new the secret....chew your food well, eat slowly, put the knife and fork down between bites! If we had heeded that advise in our youth we might never have gotten to the point where we needed the band in the first place!

I had the Realize Band on 1/9/09 and I consider it a 100% success. I'm within 15 pounds of my target weight but where I differ from many of the folks on this forum is that I eat and drink everything I want. I sip a glass of wine with dinner and I have a small cup off coffee in the morning with breakfast. Let me preface that by saying the my previous obesity was a result of eating too much food, not from eating the wrong foods. I'll have a piece of bread here and there and I always leave room for desert...the only difference is now I eat a quarter of the food I used to eat.