shelley2b

Hey all - it's been a while since I've been here, but I wanted to share that I just hit 100 pounds! I had moments of despair all the way along, and some of you might know me from being on this site and asking for help, advice, support.... but it happened. I had my surgery in Dec 08 - so it's taken me just about 2.5 years to get here. My experience is that I would lose 20lbs then stay the same for months - then another 10lbs... I tried to think of it as a journey. To give myself time rather than getting discouraged (although of course I did). I guess I never thought this was really possible. I don't think the band is for everyone, because ultimately it's your eating habits that get you here - but I just wanted to let you know that it's possible, it happens. I was 244 when I started, I'm 144 today. I went from a size 18/20to an 8/10. You can do it, you've just got to stay in it for the long journey. ANY OTHER 100 LBS BANDERS, would love to hear from you.

Good luck everyone - make sure you stick to your doc's rules post-surgery. It's tempting not to, but will make a big difference to your success in the long run. Best of luck.

I'm 2 years into my journey, and recognize everything that everyone's saying. Before the surgery, I would think about food all the time - every day. Even now, I still miss the freedom that I had, I sometimes still order what I used to - then can't really get past a few bites. If it makes you feel any better, I found that since I wasn't hungry all the time, I turned into one of those people who actually FORGET TO EAT!!! There's no way I ever thought that would happen to me, but now when I'm busy, the time just passes and the busier I am, the more weight I lose. This band isn't a silver bullet, but it is a very useful tool that you can use to break your addiction. Alcoholics don't have a Lap Band for drinking, but thankfully - it's helpful for us Food Addicts.

well done! i'm at the point where i'm down from a size 20 to a size 10 -- still a little ways to go, but it certainly feels good to be this far. nice to hear that others are doing well...

definitely not worth the side effects of living with reflux. my experience was that I had bad reflux for about a month - had my unfill, then re-filled the band and it didn't come back. so now I'm at the same fill level, still losing weight, and no reflux at all... the nurse said that when you unfill that the band slightly shifts and so the reflux might not be an issue again. it may delay a bit of weight loss, but better than having reflux. good luck!

Hi guys - this is a very common problem, but doesn't necessarily mean that you're too tight. Apparently it's part of the band - I think of mine like a machine that needs to be oiled and warmed up before you use it. In other words, when you wake up in the morning, it's dry and tight... then what you have to do is drink warm liquids, like tea or coffee or even just hot Water.... then more liquids... then you have to try a single bite or a handful of nuts. There's something called first bite syndrome that means that if you try to eat more than one bite first thing in the morning, it doesn't work... Then what I do is wait for that first bite to go down - sometimes as much as 30-45 mins... then I can think about eating more. If I'd really like to eat early, then I go for a run -- for some reason exercise helps it as well. Also - I'm pretty tight, so if I want to go out for dinner, I have a handful of nuts about 30-45 mins before I eat dinner... then by the time dinner comes along, I'm ready to eat a reasonable sized meal without PBs. Hope that helps. Good luck.

Well done... I've just passed the 70lbs mark and am hoping that I get to 100lbs... I'll be close to goal by that point. My weight loss has been a lot slower, but I recognize a lot of the feelings and emotions that you're talking about. It's funny - I wanted my band out and it took me 8 months to figure out how not to throw up almost every time I eat. Now I'm just in the home stretch of weight loss, and then I've got to think about how to keep it off in a healthy and nutritionally balanced way. Good for you!!! Good for us all!

OK - so just got home, and my giant weight loss wasn't that... it was just a new scale. I'm actually at 173.6 - so that's not too bad.. It's one pound down despite being away from home and stuck in a Volcanic Ash cloud. I'm going to get back in the gym today and will try to focus on losing a few more pounds. Good luck to everyone - it's a long haul, not a magic bullet!

Hi guys - one of the first posts I've seen that's similar to my story... although I've had my band a lot longer. I was banded in Dec 08 - then lost about 20lbs and then it stalled then another 10 then a plateau, and so it's gone. What I've found, is that I'm in it for the long game - so I just wait them out and try not to worry. In fact, I've found that if I eat more during my plateaus and then go back to a restrictive diet that it works better. For example, I've been stalled at about 175lbs for a while -- I stopped thinking about it, upped my calories (not on purpose but because I've been traveling and going to restaurants) and then started being strict again. Today I got on the scale and it looks like about 167-169lbs... just stay with the program and think long term. It's so much better than going in the other direction.

To give you a little hope - I was in the same place. I got banded in Dec 08 and had lost about 15 lbs before surgery and only about 35 lbs after surgery!! even less than you!! Then about Feb this year I went to the mountains and the altitude did something to my band - it tightened it up and I lost 12 lbs in about 3 weeks --- clearly I wasn't using my 'tool' like it was meant to be used!! So when I came home, I tightened it up and managed to lose another 8 lbs pretty quickly. Now I'm almost at 70lbs total and about 55lbs since surgery.... I'm really happy with my progress and am happy to plateau for a bit to let my body adjust. Just go get tightened, try and eat properly and give yourself a break!!

Hi guys - I know what it's like. I've been banded since Dec 08 and it took me a whole year to start to get it under control. We expect ourselves to be perfect and to have a consistent weight loss journey, but if we were perfect - we wouldn't have had to get a band in the first place!! My rule is that it's OK to slip - as long as I don't gain more than 2 lbs... if that happens, I go back to 100% being healthy - that way I either am going down, or staying stable... over the long run, it seems to be working for me. Keep trying and stop beating yourself up. This is a long haul game - not about getting it all done immediately!!

thanks for posting - i'm so glad that i'm not the only one... I've read a lot of statistics recently that say that a lot of peple with bands don't lose the weight - and only achieve a minimal level of weight loss, but I think that it's not a magic bullet - rather it's a tool and you have to do the work to make the changes. now i'm certain that i'll have more plateau's and more struggles - but eventually I'm pretty sure I'm going to get there... it's just a matter of doing the right things most of the time and minimizing the bad days... anyone else??

Have you heard of first bite syndrome? Think of it like oiling an engine - apparently if you haven't eaten in more than 2 hours, you need to 'prime' your stomach before trying to eat anything real. So I had the same problem for months. Now I try to eat/drink a bite or two about 20 mins before I sit down at the table. Like a cracker, a couple of nuts, etc... It kind of oils the machine so that the rest goes down. Give that a try and let us know how you're doing... ps - you might want to search for first bite syndrome to find out more.