lellow

It can get harder to lose the closer you get to goal. The reason is that your Basal Metabolic Rate lowers as you lose, and where you could eat 1600 cals and not exercise when you were at a BMI of 40 and still lose, you can't do that when you're lighter. That why you lose big numbers when you first start out, but then it slows down. I would suggest either tracking your calories for a few days to see what your calorie intake is and/or doing more cardio exercises. I think adding strength training is a great idea too now you're close to goal, because building muscle (and therefore increasing your metabolism) will help you in maintenance. Being too tight and eating high calorie sliders can DEFINITELY stop weight loss. Sliders also don't promote that feeling of 'satisfaction' that you get with more solid food, which then defeats the purpose of the band.

taking some out was absolutely the right thing to do. Throwing Water up as soon as you're filled means it was too tight. It doesn't mean you can't have some put back in if you need it later on. But slowly. I get 0.1cc fills at a time now so as to ensure I don't go over.

I'm a size 4-6. I still have many days where I see a fat girl in the mirror. I was one of those who actually lost to a point of being too thin and have since committed to staying healthy instead of thin. Now don't get me wrong, long past are the days where I would pick up clothes FAR too big for me at the shops. I know what size I am. Where I used to hang my shirts up and think 'omg they're so small', these days they look 'normal' sized to me, so I wonder if I'm too heavy again often. Your head can be your worst enemy. I still struggle with mine.

I don't expect everyone to feel the same way as I do about this, so of course I accept that there will be those who don't want to say anything, and those who do, but I decided to tell everyone. And the reasons were 1) I wanted to be accountable. If I failed on the band, and everyone knew I had one, I only had myself to blame. 2) I didn't want anyone who was overweight to think that I 'miraculously' lost the weight and kept it off for years all on my own, because it would have made ME feel like a complete failure with no willpower if I were them 3) I wanted to show them that when you have a problem, you do what you need to in order to fix it. There is no shame in that. I've never regretted telling everyone. I think I represent a good outcome as a lapband patient, and if that helps someone else make the decision to change their lives, I'm proud of that.

Australian doctors actually advocate the band for low BMI banders. The prognosis for banders with low BMIs are very good indeed. As long as a bander shows a history of trying to lose and being active already, they're actually the best candidates for lapband wls, because they already have a lot of the lifestyle elements that assist with losing weight, so the transition is easier. My BMI was 35 at surgery and I'd already lost about 30lbs on my own by my estimate before deciding on getting a lapband. I walked a lot, and I was strong, if not fit. And had lost and gained many times previously and I was looking for something that would keep it off. What I needed was something that would help with my hunger. Even before I got the green zone where the band eradicated most of my hunger, I was working out, sticking to band sized portions and in fact, I lost the majority of my excess weight before finding that perfect restriction. I believed that once I got there, the band would help me keep it off so this wasn't a diet where I could 'fall off the wagon'. If I hung in there, it would eventually kick in and would make it easier. And it did. I won't say it wasn't a learning curve in identifying what the band helped me with as opposed to what I thought it would do, but in the end, what I REALLY needed it to do was control my hunger, and that's just what it did. For the rest of it, I put in the work, and I lost all of my excess weight and more as a result. I also believe that had I not gotten the band, I probably would have gotten less active as I got older, would have continued to gain (as I had slowly but surely all my life) and eventually gotten to the point of being at a BMI that was much, much higher with possible co-morbs that would have made the surgery more dangerous. I'm glad I did something about it early, because I honestly don't think I could have done this by myself otherwise.

It was harder than I initially thought it would be. Initially I thought the band would stop me eating and BAM I'd be thin coz I'd eat less. But with research I realised the part I would have to play in it. But it wasn't hard. I ate well, exercised and the weight came off steadily. And when I finally got to green zone, my hunger pretty much became non-existent (like after you were first banded) and then it was easy. The hardest part was staying on program while I trusted that I would get to the green zone eventually.

Yeah my husband was not at all jealous when I was bigger. That really changed when Iost. I didn't even know he had it in him to be that jealous. Funnily enough though, that didn't actually translate to him changing the way he treated me.

Ok this is just my perspective. I loved my ex-husband. He wasn't romantic and our marriage was very much one of friendship not passion, and I had hoped that when I lost weight, things would change. Things changed, yes. He got more jealous of other men looking at me. But what didn't change was the way he treated me. And perhaps it wasn't fair of me to expect that, because if he had, I think I would have been equally disappointed. In the end, I left him. Because the fact is, he couldn't win either way. If he had loved me the way I had hoped to be loved, it should have been from the first day, whatever size I was. And I realised that was not the case, but only after I lost the weight. It's not a great story but I guess what I'm trying to say is this: your weight loss SHOULDN'T change your relationship, it should make a strong relationship stronger. If you can say that, then no, you're not going to change your mind. If you can't, then I'd say it may well break you.

I won't lie, I found maintenance difficult in that I personally found it hard to break the habit of wanting to lose, and being in the green zone, for me, meant virtually no hunger.. I am one of those posters who have often said I lost too much (not my opnion but in the opinions of others, including my doctor) and had to work to gain a little or risk being unfilled. Even now, being in maintenance at a perfectly healthy BMI of 24 and a BFP of 19%, I still have days where I think "I reckon I could stand lose another 20lbs" even though I've been 20lbs less than I am now and even then, I kept thinking "just a few more lbs". It's easy to get caught in the idea that weight loss in the only goal, instead of a means to an end (a healthy weight). Everyone said 'let your body decide' but for me, it didn't work like that. If I left it to the band and my mind, I wouldn't eat, and my body would starve. My head had come to believe that weight loss was always good (even when it wasn't) and my band helped it by taking hunger away. Those two things in combination is not a good thing, So now I consciously decide on the weight I want to maintain at and work to stay on or about that weight, and also leave myself a little unrestricted in order to allow myself to feel hunger. I expect that for most people, that happens more organically though.

5 year vet now, and I've tried before to get a vet thread going. Went well for a while then it kinda died. Why? I reckon it's coz people who are doing well tend to not talk about the band anymore when it becomes second nature, like breathing. How often can someone talk about how they're breathing? Lol! However it's nice to have a place like this, nonetheless.

Hi hiddn I'm so sorry to hear of your complications. The leak would probably not have caused a lot of the issues you're experiencing beyond loss of restriction but the rest of the complications certainly sound difficult, especially considering that you had no Fluid in your band at all. I hope your removal goes well. I believe that whether it was the band or not, once your quality of life is affected to that extent, you should try anything to try to improve it, including removing anything that may or may not be a possible cause, if necessary. I hope removing the band gives you the better quality of life you're seeking.

Before you decide if you need more fill, I'm going to suggest that you keep a food journal and track all your calories for a few days. The reason I suggest that is because I have a friend who is also banded, who exercises far more than me, who isn't losing weight despite 'eating very little'. One day I spent the day with her and I immediately figured out why. Basically she ate very little hard Protein and instead grazed all day on cookie dough or drank coffees with 2 sugars or would have 1/2 bottle of wine every night. While she felt like she wasn't eating much, in terms of calories, she was ingesting the most highly processed kind she could have been getting. It meant that no matter how tight she was, she not only couldn't lose, but gained sometimes too. She has lost less than 10kg in 3 years and unless she changes the way she eats, I can't see her losing any more. Part of your success will come from your band, but the rest will come from learning to eat well. And of course exercising helps. So start with learning about the quality of the food you're eating.

A friend who got banded 6 months after me found out she was pregnant just one month after she was banded too. She has PCOS and hadn't had a period in years until her pre-op diet, so it was a wee bit of a surprise, suffice to say! She'd had one fill so they removed it and she had an uneventful pregnancy, had a bouncing baby boy, and after she'd finished breastfeeding, they recommenced her fills and she lost all her excess weight. Talk to your lapband surgeon and talk to your obgyn. I don't think you have anything to be stressed about. And congratulations!

I lost 100% of my excess weight (actually 130% of my excess weight) but did in fact exercise and watch what I ate to lose the 100% initially. Once the band kicked in with the right restriction, I actually continued losing without really trying or exercising all that much. 60% is not a hard and fast amount and does not mean that that's all you lose.

It sounds like you've irritated your stoma, causing it to swell and hurt. If you're able to hold liquids down, I'd revert to liquids for a few days, move to mushies, then soft foods. You need to allow it to heal. I find pineapple juice helps with the swelling. You could get unfilled a little but you'll probably lose restriction and have to build it back up again once you heal, but my doctor is of the belief that you ride it out, baby it for a few days and see how you go, so that's what I tend to do after every stuck episode.

I know that generally speaking, once erosion has occurred, it is believed that the prognosis for another band is poor. I personally would not ask for a new band if I've experienced erosion, and I actually think your doctor is being responsible by not wanting to place another band. So the choice now for you really is: sleeve or try to maintain without further wls. I know what I'd choose, I might maintain without the band, but it was always be a struggle, and the chances that I will slip up and regain is too high for me to take. So I'd get the sleeve, because without being able to get another band, that's probably the only other choice I'd be comfortable with (as opposed to bypass). But that's me. If you're truly worried about committing to a sleeve, you do have to option of not making your mind up now. It's likely you will have a period of recovery after your removal and in that time perhaps you can see how you go with managing without your band before you make the decision on moving onto a sleeve.

I had to ask myself those questions too when almost 2 years ago my 3 year old band sprang a leak. In the end, despite having the option of revising to a sleeve, I opted to be rebanded. And the reason is I had great success with the band, I live with it easily and for me, the success of it is known. The sleeve would have been a complete unknown for me, and not a risk I was willing to take. So yes, you can say I don't regret getting not just one band, but two.

Saturday for me now (I love being in the future!) and yes I love Fridays too, but only at about 4.30pm in the afternoon lol. I love my job but I love not having to go into my job more!

I agree with everyone. I consider myself lucky that I am able to lose without counting cals, and that I don't feel like eating when I'm not hungry, because it definitely made weight loss easier for me. But I accept that everyone needs to find their own way. There are many paths to the best outcome, so whatever works for someone is the right path for them.

If you're not chewing, scarfing your food down and not feeling the band kick back until you've over-eaten then you probably need more fill. But sticking to the band rules until you get to green will mean that you'll lose even when the band isn't at optimum yet, so it's all for a good cause - you!

Lol yes, I was having this conversation just recently with a friend. Not all calories are created equal in that 200 of calories in processed sugar is not the same as 200 calories of Protein in its effect on your body, but I'd like to think that someone who was building muscle would know that, as you and I obviously do. I was talking more about the effects of being in extreme calorie deficit and its effect on muscle. I think wls patients naturally lean towards extreme calorie deficit (eating net cals of 500 - 800 cals, whatever the make-up of that is) and this is what helps them to lose weight but the fact is, on that amount of calories you will be losing not just fat but muscle. At the rate that your body absorbs protein that you ingest, you can't replace the protein fast enough to stop that. So if someone's interest wasn't in losing, but in gaining muscle, being in extreme calorie deficit is counter-productive to that. If someone is trying to build a muscular body, being on 500 cals a day will keep them slim but will not get them big.