Livingthe Dream

I was concerned with the cost going to Colorado every time I needed a fill. That was my biggest concern by far because I could not afford to make 7 or 8 trips to Colorado at 200 bucks a pop. My first fill I lost 10 pounds in 4 weeks. The second fill (current to date) I have lost 50 freaking pounds and am about to hit goal. I know everyone is different but Dr. K really does try to get you to the sweet spot safely.

I feel good coming back now and posting my pictures. I feel like I have come full circle and the risk was worth the reward. My plan is to have ribs and abs by July. I am 6'3 and started out at 280 and just hit 217 this morning.

Hey Guys, I know that typically we are not the sharing type but would anyone be willing to post some before and after pictures? I am scheduled for surgery on Dec 18th and I am trying to get the correct expectation. I know there is a picture before/after section and I have gone through the 100+ postings but most postings are ladies. We all have the same issues I'm sure. I would like to lose the belly and somehow lose the man boobs so I can wear a shirt without feeling uncomfortable.

I thought I would post since seeing my friend Manatee representing the guys. I was banded on Dec 18th by the great Dr K. in Aurora CO. Started at 280 and now 217. I plan to have ribs and abs showing by July. Sorry for the underwear picture I didn't plan on ever posting them online for goodness sakes.

surgery on Dec 18th so I am coming up on 4 months. I am 6'3 and was 280 now at 217. Lost 9 inches off my belly so I am excited.

Yeah I wanted to reach 220 and I hit that with no problem. I have changed my goal to 195-200 range which would give me a flat belly and based on diet might get me a little definition in my abs.

I will attach my bodybugg chart so you can get an idea of my weight loss average. I was banded on Dec 18th and I am about 100+ days post op. I have only had two fills the first being 4 weeks after surgery and the second being 7 weeks after surgery. This last fill has done the trick and my average intake is about half of a kids meal or 2000 calories a day. I am 6'3 tall and this morning woke up at 217 pounds. You can tell that it is a gradual process and it should be obvious if you have good restriction. It's funny because I do the cooking in my family and made tacos last night. I made 4 average size tacos and sat down to watch some TV. My wife walked by and laughed and said who is going to help you eat all that. She was right, I ate 1 1/2 taco and was stuffed. I still have eyes bigger than my head but now I don't force the food down. When the band says stop I stop. When you have the band the "full" feeling doesn't feel the same. Your brain is screaming finish it off and the body is feeling a bit cramped. It is hard to explain it is just a different feeling than that happy and fat feeling after thanksgiving dinner. The one weakness with the band is it is easier to eat crap than protein, that Hershey's chocolate bar always went down easier than the chicken breast. Protein sits heavy and that is why they want you to eat it first but if not careful milk shakes and chips and dip can load those calories and sneak right pass the band. When you get restriction plan for 6 meals a day. Take care goal.bmp

Hey Salsa, Since I am a guy I carry my weight completely different than you which is no big surprise. I wont need a tummy tuck most likely and I doubt my wife you be happy with another 10k expense. Do all tummy tucks have the scar under the belt line? The ones I have see the scar about makes me pass out considering the pain it appears it would cause.

After reviewing the threads in this forum I wanted to throw out what has worked for me. I have lost 60 pounds in my first 100 days of post lap band bliss. I do the proper diet with just a few exceptions a day. :wink_smile: I asked my wife if it was ok to really focus on my health/body and would she pick up the load if I worked out 3 days a week. She is a great lady and has done just that. I started at the local YMCA doing 1 hour of cardio and hated it. TV, Ipod reading a book but nothing made the dreadmill any more tolerable. Once I started losing weight my friend at church asked if I wanted to play basketball in the church league and I passed on it since I wasn't ready but asked if I could be the referee. I ran up and down the court and lost the weight. I then starting playing Bball and Volleyball where ever there was a sign up. My rotation is now Sunday night basketball at the Rec center, Saturday sand volleyball and one league night bowling. I burned 1100 calories playing basketball for 2 hours, burned 700 calories speed bowling at lunch and at least that much during volleyball. My point being don't live on a dreadmill get out and meet friends and start living. If you were not a athlete in school then so what make a change. Those that hit goal either developed a new lifestyle or had one that needed a tweak like smaller food portions. If you sit on your butt all day and night except for one hour of cardio then you will most likely get 60% of your goal.

and Dude you are not fat. Those days are behind you now.

That is a great improvement and your waist line looks really fit now. I now weigh 219 and still wear clothes that I wore at 280. I have kept my measurements and I have lost 9 inches off my stomach so I know these shirts can not look good now. The worse fit are my pants which my nephew pointed out by grabbing two hand fulls of material that were hanging loose on the butt. The final example would be the occasional trip to a customers location where it appears that I am wearing my Dads suit. My 18 inch neck is now 16 inch so it looks funny.

I always enjoy coming back to this thread and seeing the results. I started this thread in Oct of 2007 and can remember my concerns and anxiety about how and if this surgery would work for me. I have always felt like a athlete stuck in a overweight body and now I am finally living the dream. I have gone from 280 down to 219.5 as of this morning. I have lost 9 inches off my belly and 2 inches off my neck. I lost 4 inches off my chest which is a great feeling. I had my surgery in December and the night before I was to go in I bought a pair of running shoes. I still use those same shoes but when I lace them up the eyelets touch so I never assumed that my feet would lose weight as well. I am 6'3 tall and have lost 61 pounds in 100 days and feel great. I encourage everyone to get involved in intramural sports as much as possible. Those treadmill workouts can be a drag so I play basketball and volleyball 3 nights a week. I volunteered to ref a couple of kid basketball games because they run fun court and that helped as well.

I was afraid that was the response I would get back. My biggest fear is that I hit goal and still have a belly. I don't think it is skin I think it is fat at this point but I only have 20 pounds left and who knows if it will come off my belly or my butt which is already pancake flat. Yiihaaa

From one guy to another I say go for it. One bit of advice I would give you is to make sure you wear clothes that are truly your size. Wearing baggy clothes can give the appearance that you are losing to much weight. It has taken me months to not go out and buy the biggest shirt on the rack even though I have lost 50 pounds. IMHO you look like you are ready to load protein and start lifting. Then if you can still loose 20 pounds doing that routine then so be it.

I wanted to give you guys an update and let you know that I read the forum and have enjoyed your comments. I was banded by Dr. K on Dec 18th and have had great success so far. I had about 80 pounds to lose and my bodybugg states that July 13th will be the day. I was 279 and am now 233.5 as of this morning. I found the sweet spot on the second fill and have been really working out. I have always used my kids as a excuse as to why I dont work out and I am trying to not use that as a crutch. My wife has fully supported me and she said that I can do what ever I need to do and after July13th she knows I will be back in shape and a better father. My issue is that I dont like Gym exercises at all but I love playing sports. I have joined 2 volleyball leagues and 2 basketball leagues and that has done the trick. I average about 3 nights a week and my wife will let the kids stay up a little late so I can see them. I only have to do this until I reach goal then I can maintain on much less I believe. I love the fact that it "appears" that I am wearing all new clothes to work but really they are clothes that have been out of the rotation for so long that no one has seen them. I am so glad that I put my trust in Dr. K and didnt wait for a miracle to fall on me. Take Care and see you on the walking trail.

I agree with Never Again. I think that you have to have a fighters mentality and use all of these hurtful stories as fuel to make a change. There is plenty of opportunity to play the victim if you allow yourself to do it. I don't want to sit next to a obese person on a plane so if that is discrimination then I am guilty on that one.

I wear my bugg everyday and I now have to pay for a new subscription which I hate but feel that it is important. I like seeing my progress on the goal chart and that my target is July 13th if I stay at it. I would like to report that I was 279 in weight and was easily burning 2000 calories by 2:00 pm each day (im a guy). For some reason I just noticed that time and correlation to the calories so it is what I use as a gauge. I now weight 237 pounds and I am lucky to hit 2500 calories by Midnight doing the same routine. That is why I bought the bugg because that is an important change when it comes to what I should be eating.

Hey Redd, I don't know where you are at in the journey but I wish you luck. I would ask for an itemized list of expenses from the hospital and ask them to sit down with you and explain it. It doesn't mean that they are getting paid before the house payment or electricity bill but lets see what they have to say. I just told my wife over the cell phone not 30 minutes ago that healthy food is rough to digest at this point but chocolate always goes does easy. I have been working out like crazy so I am not going to get to concerned but I do healthy along with the bad stuff. I buy these little cups of cottage cheese to eat anytime I eat something stupid. Another tip: Put your food on a child's plate and use a child's fork. You feel silly at first but it is much harder to take bigger bites. I had to slow Waaaaayyyyyy down from my usual eating and now stretch my meal over a 30 minute show of Everyone loves Raymond.

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply to your question. I got my second fill 2 weeks ago and for the first time I felt restriction and have been focusing on that. My exercise routine is all sport based so I play Basketball at my church and volleyball at a friends church. I am the worse shooter on my basketball team so I rarely shoot the ball but I can rebound and jog up and down the court and that does it.My goal has been to never walk up the court an it has worked for me. I burn 3-400 calories on my treadmill and I hate it, I burn 800 calories playing basketball and dont even consider it work.

I know this is an odd statement but I just got my second fill and my first real restriction and I can't tell when I get a full stomach. I eat a meal and I am so hungry that the full feeling doesn't happen then I over do it and have to make myself throw up. I think I am zeroing in on the amount I can eat but man I guess I am in shock that one cup of solid food is about a 1/3rd to much. I was happy with my first PB because it validated that I had restriction but I just need to get use to it. liquids are fine and most solids are fine when I eat one bite then walk around and come back for a second bite but sitting down and just eating bite after bite is over. I am actually excited to have restriction just looking for reassurance that this is semi normal. I am on target to go from 279 down to 205 and be there by July 13th which is the day I go on vacation. I am going to do this no doubt.

I get about 1500-2000 calories a day but I burn at least 2800 a day. I really hate counting calories and I will do away with it once I get closer to goal. I have gone from 279 to 240 in 55 days so I am not going to change anything.

I watch the biggest loser on a 3.0 speed each Tuesday night and during commercials I bump it to 6.0 and hang on. That show is encouraging and when they struggle I think I am not working that hard.

The Bodybugg is the rolex of calorie counting and I have really enjoyed having one. I am not big on surprises so I like to know how many calories I burn. I don't know anything about the Biotrainer but if it gives an accurate numbers on calorie burn then go for it. How can you diet when you have no idea what you burned that day. The bugg should come with the band if you ask me.

You need to be careful on what you call normal eating. Normal eating is what got you reading these comments and what got me to write them. The USA is the most Obese nation in the world so portion size and being normal could be a bad thing if you are looking at your peers for setting the right example. Everyone makes bad decisions when eating but the band helps keep your bad decision from killing you. Did you know that the cheese fries at the Outback steakhouse have 2900 calories. That is what I burn the entire day in calories or how about those mozzarella cheese sticks that have 3 times the saturated fat as a double Whopper. Macroni Grill salads have 1000+ calories and you would do better to eat four cheeseburgers at McDonald's than to eat one of their large fries. These are just examples of the ticking time bomb that is normal eating. Here is my advice if you want to eat normal and as the lord had intended. Go to your grocery store and shop the produce aisle then the meat aisle then go home. There is a good chance that if your food is in a box, bag or can it will eventually kill you. (processed food)

Come on guys, Do you want to watch memories go by or do you want to make memories for yourself. I went on vacation last year and my wife had purchased a new camcorder. She wanted me to log our entire day at Disney world with our kids, which I did as the good husband. When we got to the hotel that night I realized that I missed a lot of memories because I was recording and not participating. I didn't really enjoy the day because I was constantly getting the perfect shot or worried about audio or getting all the characters in the frame. I wasn't in any of the photos because I was to busy "watching". That is how I feel about being over weight. Are you going to be happy if you spend your entire life watching or should you lose the weight and get a life. Do I want to watch someone coach my 6 year old in basketball because I cant run the floor or do i want to coach her myself. This surgery is about getting a life and not losing your life. I had high blood pressure and a torn ACL and that was it prior to surgery. I didn't consider this surgery much more dangerous that getting my tonsils out.