Northwest_Nance

At last, this morning..... hard work, patience, and determination paid off...... Onederland! I haven't been posting around here much lately, because I just needed to back away..... was getting too obsessed with this board and the scale, and I just wanted to step back and kinda forget about the band (as if I could), make my healthy choices, and live my life. The break was good for me. But I just wanted to share with those who get discouraged, as others shared when I was discouraged..... you can do it!! I have lost 56 pounds since March 15th. Here's how it went down (no pun intended): Lost 10 pounds on my own from March 15th to May 1st when I first met with the surgeon Lost 10 pounds on the pre-op diet Lost 36 pounds in the 15 weeks since surgery on May 15th. For most of that time after surgery, I did not have restriction. I got some very very mild restriction around August 1st and better restriction in mid-August. It isn't easy to lose before you get restriction but I believe if you want it badly enough, you can do it! I need hip replacement surgery and am pretty limited in what kind of exercise I can do..... so if I could do it, anyone can! And then when you do finally get restriction, it's all worth it.... finally you know what the band is all about. I eat 900-1200 calories a day, enjoy several glasses of wine a week, can eat just about anything I want (but have to chew extra slow and carefully on some things). My exercise is pretty much limited to the treadmill and walking, but I'm about to also start swimming. I will have to have hip replacement surgery at some point in the coming months and I'm worried about how that will affect my progress, but all we can do is take one day at a time. Now my challenge is to STAY in Onederland.... and then keep on moving down!

For my pre-surgery psych consult I met with a wonderful psychiatrist who was around 65 years old. She has been banded for 7 years. While we were chatting she asked me if I smoked pot. I told her I used to smoke it alot, now only on occasion. She said "Well there's a lot of us ageing hippies around!" and she said "There's nothing wrong with smoking it after surgery, but just keep in mind that it doesn't really go hand in hand with the lapband, because of the munchies. You just need to be really aware of that if you choose to smoke."

Hi Trina! Well, I am one of those who wants my band at a level that helps me control my portions but still lets me eat pretty much anything I want, in the proper portions. But I am still noticing a big difference, especially because I'm usually not finishing everything on my plate. For example the other day I grilled a salmon fillet and when it was done I thought "I don't really need all of that". I think it was about a 7 oz. fillet. Until recently I probably would have eaten the whole thing without thinking twice. I cut it in half and I ate that, and a small mound of mashed cauliflower (like mashed potatoes) and I was absolutely satisfied. Maybe I could have eaten the rest of the salmon (I'm not sure) but I just didn't want it or need it. This is totally new for me. Everything they say about learning how to listen to your stomach and your head and the band, is so true, because it's not eating until you are "full" like we used to do. For Breakfast today, I had 2 hard boiled eggs, 3 slices of tomato, and a piece of fat free cheese. I didn't quite finish the 2nd egg. I left half a slice of tomato and 1/4 of the slice of cheese. I COULD have eaten it all, if I wasn't thinking about it. But I just knew I was done. This is all so new and it's wonderful. I'm afraid to hope it lasts, lol. I would say I'm not getting in the 1200 calories a day I try for. It's probably closer to 850 or 950 right now but I'm sure that will change in time. Good luck with your next fill!

What a happy day! You should be proud of yourself. Congratulations!

It took me 6 fills and 8.2 cc's in a 9 cc Realize band to get restriction (thank God my doctor will let us have our first fill 4 weeks post-op and then every week after that if necessary, I would be going crazy if I had to wait months and months to have gotten to my sweet spot). On my last fill I went from 8 cc's to 8.2 cc's and that little .2 cc's made all the difference. I was also told not to be concerned about the fact that it's still early in the game for me and I only have room for .8 cc's left in my band.... they said most bands can hold more than what we're told, as long as they're filled carefully using fleuroscopy.... and once you hit that sweet spot, the next time you need a fill it probably will only take a tiny little bit to get you back to the restriction you had before.

Best of luck to you, Frazzled! I'm so glad you researched both procedures. I know when I finally got through that process and made my decision (for lapband) it was such a huge relief to finally be done with the decision making process. I'm sure you're feeling the same. I wish you all the best!

Please do intense research. With lap band they place a band around your stomach. With bypass they cut your intestines and re-route them. There are foods you will never be able to eat again. You will have to take vitamin supplements for the rest of your life because your stomach will no longer absorb vital nutrients from the food you eat. I'm not trying to be dramatic. I seriously considered bypass surgery and I know of many people who got through it just fine with no complications and they did lose a lot of weight. I also know of several who had very serious complications. And I know of several who lost lots of weight and then gained it back. There are lots of pros and cons with lap band too. I just wouldn't want anyone to go into bypass surgery without really understanding the short term and long term differences between the two procedures. I don't think any responsible doctor would let you go through it without understanding that, either. It is far too important of a decision to make just from our comments on a message board (although it is very helpful to hear everyone's experiences and thoughts too, don't get me wrong!)

You should do more than just check out a bypass forum, you should do lots of research. Deciding between bypass and lapband is a huge decision that took me about 6 weeks of intense research and changing my mind every half hour before I finally decided. There is a LOT to consider with bypass. With lapband too, of course... but bypass (in my opinion) is a much more serious surgery and you should really know what you're getting into no matter which way you go. Best of luck to you, either way! P.S. Frazzled, I met my (ex) husband in Old Bridge way back in 1971!

That's a great tool! I have been using that website since my surgery, also. Just keep in mind that it also depends on how many calories you use up each day. I use the BodyBugg which is similar -- you tell it how much you want to lose each week, and it tells you how many calories a day you can eat.... and how many calories a day you have to use (and it calculates how many calories you have burned throughout the day). I was pretty shocked how much effort it takes to use up the amount of calories I have to use each day in order to meet my 2 pound a week goal! I'll tell you one thing I have learned from the BodyBugg.... the best thing you can do to burn more calories is just move, every opportunity you have. Get up and walk throughout the day. Take the long way around. Take the stairs. It has made a much bigger difference than I realized, in how many calories a day I burn. Good luck, guys!

I do reward myself but I usually don't figure out what the reward will be until I am pretty close to achieving the goal. Being divorced with a grown daughter, I don't have anyone else to spend my money on, so I tend to reward myself pretty well most of the time..... I used to do it with food, now I've found other ways (my every-other-week pedicures are a favorite little treat). But one thing I've definitely decided I'm going to do when I am at goal or near goal, is get a professional bra fitting! I've probably never worn the right size bra in my life and I am tired of trying to hoist the girls up to where they should be, usually without success. Once I get to goal there won't be as much to hoist but unfortunately, whatever is left is still going to need some good support! LOL.

I had a couple glasses of white wine a few weeks after surgery. My drink was White Russians, in fact I'd say they were my downfall. I absolutely loved them and I could drink them down like water. Now when I look at the calories just one has, it's no wonder I got so fat. I have had a few White Russians since my surgery but they really made me feel full, which they never used to do, so I only drank a couple. And I've found I don't enjoy them as much as I used to, and I am so happy about that. I've pretty much eliminated them from my diet now. I do drink white wine and like some of the other posters have said, I get much more of a buzz on much less wine than it used to take. I don't know if it's because of the band, because I'm drinking less often, and/or because I'm not eating as much as I used to. Whatever.... I've learned to sip slowly, and make one glass last awhile.

It sounds like you don't need a fill. You wouldn't want to eat any less than you're eating now, and you're not hungry between meals.... assuming you're satisfied at the end of each meal, I'd say that's pretty much right on target! And if so, you're very fortunate. It took me 5 fills to get to that point. I would say just make sure you keep getting in that many calories. I've stayed at 1200 calories a day all along, I felt like things were moving kind of slowly for awhile but every time I'd go for a fill, my nutritionist would point out that I was actually doing pretty well. And now suddenly in the last 10 days, the weight is falling off of me. (I also increased how much I'm moving, walking, going upstairs, etc. each day since I got a BodyBugg and am able to track how many calories I day I'm using up).