Lana24

Again with simplicity, to help.

Yes, I realized I was living a dream, and now I am awake. My purpose, is a statement a lot more complicated. So in the interest of simplicity I will say. I realized every event in my life has tuned me, every tragedy has fine tuned me, all to be an instrument of God. And for those things I am incredibly grateful. :thumbup:

Well put Restless...

:sneaky: WHY THANK YOU! :sad:

Most of that info will be obtained during your preop, not everyone has to go on a liquid diet. I did spend 2 days in the hospital... they should tell you that as well. I know how nerve racking this can all be. But you are in the right place for questions. Feel free to message me and I will tell you anything you want to know, good luck and enjoy oyur journey! Lana

Hi Pokes, I had a few people try to discourage me along this journey as well. No one can mke the decision to get banded except for you. I know that before the band i was never going to lose a signifigant amount of weight. I know now, or at least I strongly feel that my sensation of hunger is broken. For me: the band changed my eating habits because along with portion control I am now hungry at the approprate times during the day. Pre- surgery I never had hunger pangs in the morning usually because I was always the hungriest in the middle of the night. Again the band is only a tool, IT ON ITS OWN DOES NOT help you lose weight. The only thing that can make you lose weight is you through proper diet and exercise. Again the band is only a tool, its not a magic tool and for a lot of us the weight doe snot come off easy. I have to exercise and watch what I eat. Even with the band if I eat at Mcd's every day (like I used to!) I will still be big..yeah I might lose fast at first but I will plateau and eventually gain it all back. As you can see some on her have. The point of the band for me was control what was out of control...my portions and the literal amount of hunger I had. Again success is slow, I barely cleared 30 pounds the first year. but tha tis because I exercised hard. I lost few pounds but gained muscle, ability, agility and insight. This is a journey not a quick fix. No matter how you look at it. I wish you all the luck in the world with your decision.

Hi Wisteria and welcome. There is a wealth of information here left for newbies. Check out everything... Best wishes! Lana

Congrats on being banded! I personally think this is a wonderful journey and I am glad to be a part of it. You will succeed, but remember those Non-scale victories those are just if not more important then what the scale says.

Of course you can be successful! This process is a journey that can not necessarily be measured in pounds on a daily basis. A lot of it is about simple change. Good luck, enjoy the journey and get up and out as much as possible.

Hi Joe and welcome, This is a wonderful journey!

I have two big regrets with regard to lapband: One not doing it sooner and Two the first six months I spent beating myself up because the scale did not reflect the work I was putting in. Now I can see how silly it was. My advice, don't measure your success by the numbers on the scale. Get up, get out and move, enjoy your life.

Cowmommy, Don't worry, it is a process that can not always be measured in pounds. It took me 14 months to lose 26 pounds I thought for sure I was a complete failure. But with the exception of the scale, I am doing fantastic. I have never looked or felt better. Trust me your fine, eat and try to make better choices, exercise and enjoy your new life. It was hard for me to understand weight because I thought the scale was the measurer or success. Now that I measure it for myself I am a superstar! You'll do fine, don't worry...look at all those who have come before you, look at the success and the failures and simply decide which group you want to be in. Good luck, this is a great journey. Lana

Buddism teach that when you realize your purpose, you also realize God. To understand a dream within a dream you must ask yourself, Am I dreaming?

yep, I realized this is only as hard as I make it. Period. You go girl!

It really is a trip. I love being on this journey I could never say that before. I erronerously thought I was cursed. What a silly, silly girl I was. Thank you for understanding, this is too deep for the masses...lol

Your still in what is refered to as Bandster hell. You will be fine. It took me 14 months to lose 26 pounds. If I only concerned myself with the scale then I would have given up, some weeks you may lose pounds other inches and then others nothing at all may happen. The important part is developing healthy habits. Its all right that your hungry, its normal. Just eat...try to make good choices but this is not about starvation or even deprevation its about learning how and why we got here in the first place and then fixing the behavior that caused the gain. Take me for example, the scale says I have lost 26 pounds, but I know I gained muscle and I look amazing. I look like I have lost about 80 or 90 pounds because I exercise. This is not all about one thing, its about many things. rememeber this is a journey, and it will only be as hard as you make it. Good luck! Lana

Hi all, This is a great thread, I have had a lot of non-scale victories over the past 14 months. I guess the biggest and most profound are the mental changes I have gone through. I have realized that this journey will only be as hard as I make it. I realize that my self esteem does not reflect the numbers on the scale. And I totally realize that my weight loss is 100% cause and effect. I used to think wishing and hoping were part of it, but sadly NO. And I realize that this is NOT rocket science, I was making the whole process very hard for myself. The band has done more for my head then for my stomach.

Don't worry you will get there. I had to have a lot of fills, but I am finally there. So I am sure it will happen. And yes it does sound like you need a fill. :smile2: Good luck! Lana

Realization: :smile2: Another wonderful aspect of the band. This journey really has blown my mind.

:thumbup: I wish I could make this all better for you. Just know I have felt your frustration, disappointment and furiousness at having had the surgery and not having much happen. This is how I see it, Pre-band I was a total mess. I had horrible eating habits. Although I was not well-adjusted at the time the band did remind me that I needed to make healthier choices. End result, the band was the ideal tool for this realization. Pre-band I was really confused about the weight loss process. I thought there was some formula, a secret formula for that matter. The band helped me to realize that to get the true results I wanted, its simply NOT rocket science...eat less and move more. Another powerful lesson from a device that I had previously cursed. Pre-band I was all about the scale, if the scale did not reflect the numbers I wanted to see, then I must be some kind of failure. I have since learned to see success in my behavior. Today my weight loss is a cause and effect ideal. If I eat veggies my body will do what I want it to if I don't then I will not have the results I want. The band helped me to uncomplicate my whole life believe it or not. Funny, six months ago I wanted to kick my doctor in the nuts! Today I would thank him for simply helping to put the struggle back into perspective for me. I don't feel "out of control" anymore...so the band must be working, granted not in the way I thought it would. Funny the band works more on my head then on my stomache...lol :smile2: Good luck, remember this is a journey not a quick and easy weight loss trick.

Grrrr, heck no its not cheating. If you don't exercise you won't lose any weight. Small minded people!

I love this thread, i think about creation all the time. Is God real? Well from an enlightened point of view it all depends on your definition of real. We are living a dream within a dream. So what is real? Thanks PattyGreen for starting this!

From what I have learned this journey is more than about those silly numbers on the scale. First of all its about Well-being and second dealing with the actual problems that got us all there in the first place. If you only focus on those numebrs your going to miss out on a much larger portion of the journey and that is seriously a journey into Well-being. Learning a new way to take care of yourself that only serves your highest good. Granted you can have the surgery and not partipate much but I gurantee not much will happen. I only lost 21 pounds my first year, I was so frustrated I wanted to give up but then I opened my eyes and realized..I am off my BP meds, I feel better, I am not being strangled by my Ginormous tits! My clothing size is smaller, sex is better, I can run and exercise regulary. This is happiness. What more can I ask for? My body is going to do whatever its going to do in response to what I put into it. Weight loss is a a cause and effect business period.

Hi there and welcome to lapband, I am in Sacramento! Good to know you, feel free to message me. Best wishes Lana

Yep I am one of those people. :biggrin::tt1: