ovahkummer

I've been kinda down the past couple of days because I've been seeing the scale either not move at all...or move in the wrong direction. Of course, I'm chalking it up to PMS. You know, water weight and all.
 
I'm also really bad about stepping on the scale every freakin' day. I have to stop that.
 
Instead of going to church today, My son and I stayed at home and watched Dr. Charles Stanley on television. His message today was about waiting on God's best for you. Wow! I needed that reminder. You see, when we don't wait on God...when we move ahead of Him, we step outside of His will and His plan for us. We can wind up hurting ourselves or others. We can get frustrated, distracted or disappointed. But mostly, we lose out on His BEST for us. Sure, whatever we get might be okay or even good. But when we move ahead of Him, we lose out on His BEST.
 
That really hit home for me. Learning to wait, to be patient and knowing that everything, especially this LB journey, takes time. I didn't get my body in this shape overnight, and I'm not going to get it healthy overnight....but I am taking steps to get there.
 
I'm just going to trust Him and this tool He gave me, to get there in just the right amount of time...and stay there this time around!
 
I pray God blesses you all richly and abundantly!

Two months later I'm still going strong. My ticker is one third of the way to goal so I can't believe I'm only two months back on track. My children broke my scale this week and I can't even begin to explain how over-joyed I was to walk into the store and buy a 'normal digital scale'. Two month's ago I probably woulld have had to fork out more money to get the ones that can weigh more than 330 lbs. Just to encourage anyone who is struggling after having the band for a number of years... after 4 years mine was still there... just get the right adjustment and your head in the game and you will be able to do this.
 
My stats for March 2012
 
2nd March - 319
9th March - 315
16th March - 310
23rd march - 308
30th March- 306
3rd April - 301
 
Total - 18 lbs 2nd month!
34 lbs in 2 months
51 lbs since being banded
 
My goal for 3rd May is 286 or 15lbs lost.
 
 
I continue on my weigh dowm.....

Two months later I'm still going strong. My ticker is one third of the way to goal so I can't believe I'm only two months back on track. My children broke my scale this week and I can't even begin to explain how over-joyed I was to walk into the store and buy a 'normal digital scale'. Two month's ago I probably woulld have had to fork out more money to get the ones that can weigh more than 330 lbs. Just to encourage anyone who is struggling after having the band for a number of years... after 4 years mine was still there... just get the right adjustment and your head in the game and you will be able to do this.
 
My stats for March 2012
 
2nd March - 319
9th March - 315
16th March - 310
23rd march - 308
30th March- 306
3rd April - 301
 
Total - 18 lbs 2nd month!
34 lbs in 2 months
51 lbs since being banded
 
My goal for 3rd May is 286 or 15lbs lost.
 
 
I continue on my weigh dowm.....

Nothing much to report this week... bit depressed sometimes... don't know why. Slowly but surely coming along... another 2lbs gone this week! A grand total of 46lbs so far...
People are really starting to notice the weightloss now, even sitting in my car I receive compliments.lol Earlier this week a friend of mine who saw me about two weeks ago excitedly asked "Where did the rest of you go?". lol And of course the inevitable question of "How are you doing it?!!!" came. I matter-of-factly replied "Eat less and move more"!
I continue on my weigh down....

I finally went to Lane Bryant to get fitted for bra's. I"m so sad that the girls are disappearing! UGH! one effect i didnt want. well anyway she helped my find my right size and she asked how i was losing weight and i gladly shared with her about my lap band. She thought it was great. She asked me what size i wore now and i said 12's/ she told me you are too small for anything in our store! I COULD HAVE KISSED HER! never in a million years would i ever think someone would say this to me. And normally i woiuld reward myself with food, but this totally motivated me to hit the gym as soon as i left the store! WOW that felt sooo good!!!

This gets better and better as the days go by! My bmi is now 49.7... Whooo hoooo! I aimed for it to be below 50 by month end and with 8 days to spare I'm down to 308 today.
 
This week was really, really, really did I say really?, STRESSFUL!!!!! There were days when I went up to over 1500 cals and I didn't exercise a single day this week but still I lost. Last night I stepped on the scale and it was still saying 310 and I said to myself at least I did not gain under all that stress. But sure enough when I got on this morning, it gave up the 2lbs. Wheeew!
 
Cause of all the stress this past week, I do appreciate the 2lb loss this week even more than the 5lb last week, plus it did put my bmi under 50 for the first time in almost 10 years!!!!
 
I am also elated over the fact that I can now pull on and off my favourite jeans without unbuttoning them, not to mention how much fun I'm having boasting about my skin 'wings' and having my sons crack up. (They're 10,8 and 2 yrs old .... so cute!) lol
 
My husband is now happy that he's seeing our investment finally working. I secretly giggled when I heard him bragging about the weight his wife has recently lost, to someone on the phone.
 
44lbs and counting... On my weigh down...

This gets better and better as the days go by! My bmi is now 49.7... Whooo hoooo! I aimed for it to be below 50 by month end and with 8 days to spare I'm down to 308 today.
 
This week was really, really, really did I say really?, STRESSFUL!!!!! There were days when I went up to over 1500 cals and I didn't exercise a single day this week but still I lost. Last night I stepped on the scale and it was still saying 310 and I said to myself at least I did not gain under all that stress. But sure enough when I got on this morning, it gave up the 2lbs. Wheeew!
 
Cause of all the stress this past week, I do appreciate the 2lb loss this week even more than the 5lb last week, plus it did put my bmi under 50 for the first time in almost 10 years!!!!
 
I am also elated over the fact that I can now pull on and off my favourite jeans without unbuttoning them, not to mention how much fun I'm having boasting about my skin 'wings' and having my sons crack up. (They're 10,8 and 2 yrs old .... so cute!) lol
 
My husband is now happy that he's seeing our investment finally working. I secretly giggled when I heard him bragging about the weight his wife has recently lost, to someone on the phone.
 
44lbs and counting... On my weigh down...

Happy Friday!!! I am so pleased that the weekend is almost here! So a few weeks ago I blogged about a co-worker who is banded and seems to struggle a lot. I felt bad for her and could not understand. Well over the last week I have gotten a clear understanding of why and it pisses me off a bit. I am not any better than anyone, nor do I think I know all the answers. What I do know are the basics. We work so hard to get our bodies ready for the surgery and go through so much afterwards, why would you just say screw it? We had a celebration for our top performers today and the snacks were candies, cookies and juices. I was in charge of passing out the snacks and she came to the line three times and ate skittles, starburst and capri sun. Then she ate a hot pocket. I again am not perfect but I know these things are not good for us, especially with the band. Afterwards she came to ask me how long has it been since my surgery because I was losing weight fast. I explained I was five weeks out and had started to exercise again. She told me she has had 5 fills and she is really tight but can still eat some food. I told her maybe it was time go back to the see the doc. Her reply was that she would be going back to have it taken out since the band " failed" her........ It was not my place to suggest it may be the behavior and not the band, so I just said I was sorry to hear that.
 
WHY??? It is not a quick fix, it will not stop us from making bad food choices, nor will it stop you from possibly wanting to eat those things. I just did not know what to say and it made me feel annoyed that she feels that the "band" failed her. We have to eat right, exercise and take care of ourselves. The band is only a tool. Now I am back to feeling sorry for her because I think she wants someone to help her but I dont know if I am that person. She is seven months down the line and I am a newbie just trying to get my own bearings....

This gets better and better as the days go by! My bmi is now 49.7... Whooo hoooo! I aimed for it to be below 50 by month end and with 8 days to spare I'm down to 308 today.
 
This week was really, really, really did I say really?, STRESSFUL!!!!! There were days when I went up to over 1500 cals and I didn't exercise a single day this week but still I lost. Last night I stepped on the scale and it was still saying 310 and I said to myself at least I did not gain under all that stress. But sure enough when I got on this morning, it gave up the 2lbs. Wheeew!
 
Cause of all the stress this past week, I do appreciate the 2lb loss this week even more than the 5lb last week, plus it did put my bmi under 50 for the first time in almost 10 years!!!!
 
I am also elated over the fact that I can now pull on and off my favourite jeans without unbuttoning them, not to mention how much fun I'm having boasting about my skin 'wings' and having my sons crack up. (They're 10,8 and 2 yrs old .... so cute!) lol
 
My husband is now happy that he's seeing our investment finally working. I secretly giggled when I heard him bragging about the weight his wife has recently lost, to someone on the phone.
 
44lbs and counting... On my weigh down...

This has officially become easy... yes I said easy! I raise my heart rate for a few minutes and lose weight! My appetite is virtually non-existent, my growlies in my stomach tell me when to eat and now it doesn't take much to satisfy them! Even water does the trick when I'm out of calories for the day. I can eat what I want in 1/2 cup portions. Still try to use my calories wisely though. I drink at least 40 oz of water a day and eat an average of 800 calories. I did PB eating a piece of chicken wing the other night and I can tell you I used to do it like almost every day before I got my head in the game, and it was never as near painful! Even have to allow water to take its time going down right now. So right now I'm on cruise- control and my 15k investment is finally allowing me to do what I should have been doing years ago.....
 
 
Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... I exhale....
 
I am no longer worried that the weightloss is going to stop. I weigh myself everyday just to get the rush when I see it go down. If it goes up (cause there are days it does go up!) It doesn't phase me cause I know I need to eat 3500 calories to gain 1 lb of fat and there' s no way I'm eating any way near that amount, so it has to be water or something else. After doing some research on the basal metabolic rate(bmr), I think that many of us are being advised wrongly by using the calculators. The calculator told me I needed over 3000 cals for my bmr, having a somewhat sedentary lifestyle. But the body weight analyzer scale advised that I only needed 2200! So now I don't have unrealistic expectations about losing tremendous amounts of weight when I only need 2200 cals to maintain my current weight. I now realize that even if I starved myself and didn't do any exercise whatsoever, I would only manage to lose 4lbs per week! Also I find myself questioning the starvation mode theory. Afterall bypass patients have to eat way less than 1200 cals and they still lose weight. So if I can get in enough of my important nutrients such as protein in under 1000 cals, that's what I'll do. I find the scale sticks for long times whenever I try to go over 1000. Below 1000 works for me, it might not for you.
 
I am no longer worried that my loose cothes will start to get back tight! I wore a 22 jeans today and the legs have space!
 
My greatest joy comes from hearing my sons' and husband's remarks about how much they enjoy watching me shrink! lol
 
I have more energy now to actually get out of bed and make them lunch and they are thoroughy enjoying the healthier meals the're now getting, plus I'm getting in exercise by being out of bed an hour earlier. Win-win!
 
To my weightloss.... This morning, beginning of my 7 week, I weighed in at 310 lbs. That's 25lbs in the 6 weeks, 5lbs this week and 42 lbs down from my pre-op weight.
 
 
I am estatic! My BMI is exactly 50! So I know by next week it will be below 50. ESTATIC! Till next week......

This has officially become easy... yes I said easy! I raise my heart rate for a few minutes and lose weight! My appetite is virtually non-existent, my growlies in my stomach tell me when to eat and now it doesn't take much to satisfy them! Even water does the trick when I'm out of calories for the day. I can eat what I want in 1/2 cup portions. Still try to use my calories wisely though. I drink at least 40 oz of water a day and eat an average of 800 calories. I did PB eating a piece of chicken wing the other night and I can tell you I used to do it like almost every day before I got my head in the game, and it was never as near painful! Even have to allow water to take its time going down right now. So right now I'm on cruise- control and my 15k investment is finally allowing me to do what I should have been doing years ago.....
 
 
Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... I exhale....
 
I am no longer worried that the weightloss is going to stop. I weigh myself everyday just to get the rush when I see it go down. If it goes up (cause there are days it does go up!) It doesn't phase me cause I know I need to eat 3500 calories to gain 1 lb of fat and there' s no way I'm eating any way near that amount, so it has to be water or something else. After doing some research on the basal metabolic rate(bmr), I think that many of us are being advised wrongly by using the calculators. The calculator told me I needed over 3000 cals for my bmr, having a somewhat sedentary lifestyle. But the body weight analyzer scale advised that I only needed 2200! So now I don't have unrealistic expectations about losing tremendous amounts of weight when I only need 2200 cals to maintain my current weight. I now realize that even if I starved myself and didn't do any exercise whatsoever, I would only manage to lose 4lbs per week! Also I find myself questioning the starvation mode theory. Afterall bypass patients have to eat way less than 1200 cals and they still lose weight. So if I can get in enough of my important nutrients such as protein in under 1000 cals, that's what I'll do. I find the scale sticks for long times whenever I try to go over 1000. Below 1000 works for me, it might not for you.
 
I am no longer worried that my loose cothes will start to get back tight! I wore a 22 jeans today and the legs have space!
 
My greatest joy comes from hearing my sons' and husband's remarks about how much they enjoy watching me shrink! lol
 
I have more energy now to actually get out of bed and make them lunch and they are thoroughy enjoying the healthier meals the're now getting, plus I'm getting in exercise by being out of bed an hour earlier. Win-win!
 
To my weightloss.... This morning, beginning of my 7 week, I weighed in at 310 lbs. That's 25lbs in the 6 weeks, 5lbs this week and 42 lbs down from my pre-op weight.
 
 
I am estatic! My BMI is exactly 50! So I know by next week it will be below 50. ESTATIC! Till next week......

This has officially become easy... yes I said easy! I raise my heart rate for a few minutes and lose weight! My appetite is virtually non-existent, my growlies in my stomach tell me when to eat and now it doesn't take much to satisfy them! Even water does the trick when I'm out of calories for the day. I can eat what I want in 1/2 cup portions. Still try to use my calories wisely though. I drink at least 40 oz of water a day and eat an average of 800 calories. I did PB eating a piece of chicken wing the other night and I can tell you I used to do it like almost every day before I got my head in the game, and it was never as near painful! Even have to allow water to take its time going down right now. So right now I'm on cruise- control and my 15k investment is finally allowing me to do what I should have been doing years ago.....
 
 
Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... I exhale....
 
I am no longer worried that the weightloss is going to stop. I weigh myself everyday just to get the rush when I see it go down. If it goes up (cause there are days it does go up!) It doesn't phase me cause I know I need to eat 3500 calories to gain 1 lb of fat and there' s no way I'm eating any way near that amount, so it has to be water or something else. After doing some research on the basal metabolic rate(bmr), I think that many of us are being advised wrongly by using the calculators. The calculator told me I needed over 3000 cals for my bmr, having a somewhat sedentary lifestyle. But the body weight analyzer scale advised that I only needed 2200! So now I don't have unrealistic expectations about losing tremendous amounts of weight when I only need 2200 cals to maintain my current weight. I now realize that even if I starved myself and didn't do any exercise whatsoever, I would only manage to lose 4lbs per week! Also I find myself questioning the starvation mode theory. Afterall bypass patients have to eat way less than 1200 cals and they still lose weight. So if I can get in enough of my important nutrients such as protein in under 1000 cals, that's what I'll do. I find the scale sticks for long times whenever I try to go over 1000. Below 1000 works for me, it might not for you.
 
I am no longer worried that my loose cothes will start to get back tight! I wore a 22 jeans today and the legs have space!
 
My greatest joy comes from hearing my sons' and husband's remarks about how much they enjoy watching me shrink! lol
 
I have more energy now to actually get out of bed and make them lunch and they are thoroughy enjoying the healthier meals the're now getting, plus I'm getting in exercise by being out of bed an hour earlier. Win-win!
 
To my weightloss.... This morning, beginning of my 7 week, I weighed in at 310 lbs. That's 25lbs in the 6 weeks, 5lbs this week and 42 lbs down from my pre-op weight.
 
 
I am estatic! My BMI is exactly 50! So I know by next week it will be below 50. ESTATIC! Till next week......

This has officially become easy... yes I said easy! I raise my heart rate for a few minutes and lose weight! My appetite is virtually non-existent, my growlies in my stomach tell me when to eat and now it doesn't take much to satisfy them! Even water does the trick when I'm out of calories for the day. I can eat what I want in 1/2 cup portions. Still try to use my calories wisely though. I drink at least 40 oz of water a day and eat an average of 800 calories. I did PB eating a piece of chicken wing the other night and I can tell you I used to do it like almost every day before I got my head in the game, and it was never as near painful! Even have to allow water to take its time going down right now. So right now I'm on cruise- control and my 15k investment is finally allowing me to do what I should have been doing years ago.....
 
 
Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... I exhale....
 
I am no longer worried that the weightloss is going to stop. I weigh myself everyday just to get the rush when I see it go down. If it goes up (cause there are days it does go up!) It doesn't phase me cause I know I need to eat 3500 calories to gain 1 lb of fat and there' s no way I'm eating any way near that amount, so it has to be water or something else. After doing some research on the basal metabolic rate(bmr), I think that many of us are being advised wrongly by using the calculators. The calculator told me I needed over 3000 cals for my bmr, having a somewhat sedentary lifestyle. But the body weight analyzer scale advised that I only needed 2200! So now I don't have unrealistic expectations about losing tremendous amounts of weight when I only need 2200 cals to maintain my current weight. I now realize that even if I starved myself and didn't do any exercise whatsoever, I would only manage to lose 4lbs per week! Also I find myself questioning the starvation mode theory. Afterall bypass patients have to eat way less than 1200 cals and they still lose weight. So if I can get in enough of my important nutrients such as protein in under 1000 cals, that's what I'll do. I find the scale sticks for long times whenever I try to go over 1000. Below 1000 works for me, it might not for you.
 
I am no longer worried that my loose cothes will start to get back tight! I wore a 22 jeans today and the legs have space!
 
My greatest joy comes from hearing my sons' and husband's remarks about how much they enjoy watching me shrink! lol
 
I have more energy now to actually get out of bed and make them lunch and they are thoroughy enjoying the healthier meals the're now getting, plus I'm getting in exercise by being out of bed an hour earlier. Win-win!
 
To my weightloss.... This morning, beginning of my 7 week, I weighed in at 310 lbs. That's 25lbs in the 6 weeks, 5lbs this week and 42 lbs down from my pre-op weight.
 
 
I am estatic! My BMI is exactly 50! So I know by next week it will be below 50. ESTATIC! Till next week......

Today marks the begining of my sixth (6th) week back on track. Still can't believe that I had this restriction all the time and was not allowing it to do its job! Still keep wondering if its just willpower. Still amazed at how often hunger really happens in our heads! Today was extremely easy, the easiest day I've ever had when it comes to eating! I had absolutely no appetite an now I truly understand what it means to eat to live.
 
I now eat insanely small amounts of food and feel satisfied. I try to average the necessary calories per week for a 2-3lb loss per week. I can and do eat(or sometimes taste) most foods that I want to. Some days I go as high as 1100 cals and others I go as low as 600 (protein shake days).
 
I have lost 4lbs this week. YAAAAY!!! I weighed in at 315 this morning and that's 20lbs loss since I re-started my journey on 3rd Feb '12, which originally began in 2008 with me weighing in at 352lbs. I have lost 37lbs overall!!!
 
I am down from size 26 dress to a snug-fitting 22 in the five weeks. I am still receiving complements, the degree of which depends on how long ago the complementee (word? lol) has seen me.
 
My major goal for this month is to get my BMI below 50... even if its 49.99 lol. I am pretty close cause it's now 50.8. Also I have started to exercise. I have pledged to myself to walk at least 15 minutes a day everyday, even if it kills me! lol I have been keeping my pledge since last Saturday. YAAAY!!! lol
 
Till next time..... I continue on my weigh down!

I cannot believe how fast a month has flown by! Ok well at first it seemed as if it was crawling but hey tomorrow begins my second month! YAAAAAAY! My original and only goal was to be under 300lbs by this time. A month has flown by and I now know that it was a really really, really tall order in such a short time. I came off the liquid diet on valentines day cause my husband decided he was taking me out to a formal dinner and there was no way I was going to pass up on making such wonderful memories. :wub: I just had the soup and dessert and brought home my entree for the babysitter. Next day I continued to eat normal foods in half cup portions. I did not meet the original goal but I'm in no way disappointed. I'm wiser now! Ususally in the past I would have just given up and rolled right back into the old swing of things. "What's the use... I'm not seeing the results I expected!" That was B4! But thanks to good ole perseverance and loads of invaluable advice from you guys right here on LBT I consider my first month in an overwhelming success!
 
What did I accomplish?
 
1. I now recognise that the last fill I got since over a year ago had put me in the green zone(aka sweet spot.! I was there all along!
 
2. I now understand what it means to have your head in the game and how necessary it is for this banded life to be successful.
 
3. Every morning I smile 'cause my normal clothes are getting loose and the tight fitting ones are now fitting right. Also I have clothes that I can put away now cause I know I'll never wear them again. I have a few outfits that I ordered just b4 christmas and were small in some body areas due to their cuts. Those are starting to fit and will come in handy when my current clothes get too big. Shoes that I was able to wear for only half of the day stay on my feet all day now cause my toes don't rub on the inside of them anymore. (Go figure! My feet lost weight!)
 
 
4. I understand what it means to just eat two spoonfuls and be satisfied and I no longer have the mentality that any food is forbidden cause I'm on a diet.
 
5. I have recognised and have come to accept that slow and steady is the way to go when it comes to weightloss.
 
6. I have managed to keep my caloric intake between 800-1200 for the past month. ( I have never, ever, ever been able to do that before)
 
MY STATS:
 
Ok so by now you're like... "Tell us how much you've lost already! " So without further delay... here are my figures for the month....
 
 
 
B4 Feb. 3rd 335
Feb. 10th 325
Feb. 17th 321
Feb. 24th 318
March 2nd 319( TOM in full swing)
 
So for the month I lost a grand total of 16lbs for the month and 33lbs since I've been banded!!!!!!
 
My goal for next month is to exercise cause that was definitely lacking in this month.
 
Thanks for readng and check out my before and after pics for the first month. I would greatly appreciate your comments. Thanks for posting about your journeys cause when I get stuck or lost I run unto the site search for posts related to my problem and I'm on my weigh again!
 
 
Til next month......

You know, relatively.
 
First off, I feel the need to simultaneously thank and apologize to everyone who read through yesterday's bitter, angry rant. I did need to get that off my chest, but now Logical Me has woken up from the knock out punch she took from Emotional Me and is able to add a sliver of rationality to the discussion. Because there IS more to this than calories in and calories out, and I'm not in this for an overnight weight loss. I'm in this for the long haul.
 
I really do appreciate everyone who took the time to point out all the things Emotional Me didn't want to hear, because I do need to remember all that, things like: we're more than an equation, plateaus happen, the band does work, calm down and just keep chugging along. I did need to hear that. I didn't really want to yesterday, but I needed to.
 
One good thing--one really good thing--did come out of yesterday, though. I had my mad on yesterday, and I was plenty bitter. I had more than my share of "to hell with it" thoughts, and in previous years that would have equalled a cheeseburger at the very least. Instead, I just kept plugging. Yeah, I ate a few more calories than the day before, but I tracked them all and I still stayed below 1200, which in bandster hell is still something of a victory. I kept working, and even if I didn't have a smile on my face the whole time, the work is the important part.
 
So today, I woke up and got back to it. Breakfast was a small protein shake and half a banana, and I already have lunch and dinner planned with lean protein and fresh veggies and the knowledge that I can't control the scale, but I can control my own behavior. Thanks to the band, that is. We just need to keep getting to know each other and figuring out how this all works.
 
I think we can do it.

Alright...so its my first time keeping a blog pretty much ever doing one... So I am on my 5th visit of 6. I get another weigh in on Febuary 14th! I am so anxious and excited that after Tuesday there will be one more! I am so ready to get a second chance at my life! I am ready to do things that I am not able to do without worring about being judged! This wasn't a hard decision for me! I knew I couldn't do it on my own and new I needed help! I didn't want something to do it for me I wanted to achieve my goals by working hard with some guidence the Lap Band! This is going to be a journey in mylife I will never forget and I wanted to start this so one day I could share it with people outisde the Lap Band community. When I am ready!
So as of being 4 months in I have lost 30lbs on my own with the encouragement of my husband and friends! I haven't lost that much weight for as far back as I can remember. I am starting this at a very embarrassing weight I am not ready to disclose but one day I will be able to say I started at this and now I am this! I am so excited for that day. I will post pictures and try to update this weekly! Especially during the liquid diet! I know I am going to need encouragement from anyone and everyone I can get it from! So....this is me ready for my 5th appointment! Talk to you all soon!

It's been 15 months since I was banded. Looking back over this entire process is somewhat of a fog. My feelings are totally different today than I remember them being initially. I was so very excited and I didn't know what to expect from the band or my “body”. I had joined this site almost a year before having my surgery so I was very familiar with the way some things were going to be. However, until you actually cross this bridge for yourself- no one else's experiences can compare to your own!
 
Learning to live with this band and how it's going to work for you is a total different story. There were a lot of trail and errors for me and it still continues to be some rough spots from day to day. My whole entire life, I have had issues with food. I have good restriction now, but I still have to monitor my desire to over eat. When I don't listen to my band, and I eat one bite too many -I do pay for it several hours later. I experience this awful pain that you just can't imagine. I can say- that I am learning to pay attention when enough is enough for me. Really, having this band is not a quick fix to anyone's weight lost problems, but it's an aid to make your weight lost more achievable and to feel full a lot quicker or more satisfied. The key to this band is not to fell full but satisfied. There is a lot of work on my part and self discipline with right food choices. It's very easy to fill up on high calorie foods (that goes down really easy) then wonder why you are not losing weight. Unfortunately, I have been there and done that as well. I think it's really helpful to let others know that bad choices are made with this band, but you can recover from them and still be successful with your weight lost. Yes, I am a slow loser and a lot of it is because of my own choices, but I have changed a lot. I have also lost a lot of weight as well!
 
I have learned to be accountable for my own actions and not blame everything in the blue sky for me being over weight. I've learned that working out is not a punishment, but being good to myself and overall all fitness! Most of all- I love all of the positive attention from other people. Since I am 6"1 people think I have lost a whole lot more weight than I actually have. Yes- I love the new me. I always remember why I did this and I remind myself that anything worth having is worth working toward!
 
My beginning size was 24-26 and today I can wear a size 16-18. Yesterday was my 9th wedding anniversary and my husband purchased me a pant suit from NY & Company size 16! I was tickled pink. I've always been embarrassed for my husband to buy clothes for me due to my size, but yesterday was a totally new and different feeling! Yes- I love it!
 
 

I have been overweight all my life despite trying several diets and programs i still remain this way. I would always lose a little and then put twice as much back on. I am currently 28 and after have 4 children (one sadly stillborn) i decided to take the plunge. I told my husband on my last attemp at Weight Watchers that if i failed at this then i would have lap band surgery. so i made the appointment and went and met with Dr Greenslade (my surgeon) this was in March 2011 - it was just before this appointment i discovered i was pregnant again. So i met with the surgeon and told him i was pregnant he said i could have the surgery after the baby was born. After a long year of being pregnant and having a baby - I had the surgery when my new baby was 10 weeks old - thank goodness i have a wonderful mother in law, husband and mother who took care of my children and drove me to Brisbane whilst i had the operation and waited over night to take me home again. I honestly didnt think i would of been so sore and out of it but i was and was so thankful i had my mum to hel,p me for the next few days when i got home. Living on liquids for the first two weeks was a real struggle - but i got there in the end. In the first two weeks the biggest struggle was severe shoulder pain and obviously pain in my stomach - but with some strong pain killers i am getting there. Two weeks in i am still having some pain where the portal is and occasionaly in my shoulder when i eat too much but all in all feeling a lot better. I have also lost about 9 - 10 kilos which is a real plus! I am looking forward to what the future will bring. Starting weight - 133.7 kilos - ashamed to say!