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To feel better about myself and because I finally realized everything I was doing was not working! In fact, I think dieting is actually how I became obese!

I had a plateau for about 7 or 8 months and since I was able not to gain I thought I was ok restriction-wise! Wrong! Its all about the fills...if you are not losing weight you are ingesting more calories than you should be...get a fill even if you have to go to a different doc.

Generally self pay means you are not sick, or fat enough to get the band paid for (I was a not quite fat enough) but when you ARE sick (esophagitis, reflux that isnt taken care of by meds etc) insurance covers.

Oh, I totally agree with hummingbird! I can barely eat a half cup of anything! My doc says anything less than half the volume of your band is like not having a band. I have a 10 cc band with 7.5 in it. I am at perfect restriction. My doc had me lay down, accessed the port, then they crank the table up so I am sitting and hand me a cup of water to chug. She is injecting as I chug and when I choke she says, "Perfect!"...she was right. I dont know why these docs are so 'cheap' with the fills! It just makes people feel bad when they dont have enough restriction and then they are dieting and feeling bad about that!

More focus on fills. I dont know why so many places are so 'cheap' with fills. These boards are full of stuff about diets, low cal this and that, exercise programs etc....but I had already failed all that, right? With a perfect fill I can forget about all that crap and just lose weight. I dont exercise and I dont eat anything low cal etc!!! So many people on here are still dieting etc and still feeling like a failure if they 'cheat' ...its all in the fill!

OK, I'm too lazy to deal with powders but I am vegetarian so protein is critical. I start every day with a Premier Protein drink from Cosco...choc or vanilla. 30 grams of protein and 160 cals!

I think that fat puff above the belly button is fat that has slid down from my boobs! LOL! I have it too and I hate it. There's no exercise for it though...I am thinking it will go when all the fat is gone but right now I am hating it!

I have noticed a lot of people getting PS when there are around 20 pounds or so from goal...is there a reason for this? Why wouldn't you just wait till you are at a normal body weight? I am asking because I really dont know. Of course the surgeon will do it any time because it is self pay and he wont send you away...

Dear Newb, Hey I agree if we could successfully diet we wouldnt have had our stomachs lassoed! LOL! Get a fill! Seriously these boards are full of diets and low cal recipes and exercise programs...all not necessary if you are filled right!!! I can only have liquids at breakfast, basically mushies at lunch, and tiny meals later in the day. Unless I ate shakes or ice cream my band doesnt let me over eat and I lose about a pound a week! I dont eat ANYTHING low cal or fake sugar etc...I have done all that crap for 20 years and it all made me fatter...get another fill girl and dont listen to the dieters!!!

Good luck. I also started at 215 and I am 5'4" so I was squeezin into a size 16 and most people wouldn't have screamed bariatric surgery either! LOL! But I had never kept weight off and in fact lost it and gained more each time over a period of 20 years. One day I just said well everything I have done so far has not worked so I have to do something different. I had to self pay or gain weight (no way) so I did and its the best money I ever spent. I had my band 5/09 so it has been a very slow process for me. Mainly because I had it down in LA and it takes me at east 5 hours to get there etc etc...the point is I was not filled enough.Anyway I went to a doc in Santa Barbara for a fill (only 1.5 hour drive) in October and have been losing nearly a pound a week with NO effort ever since. I really dont exercise but sometimes I treadmill and listen to my audiobooks. I can only eat very tiny meals and I am really never hungry...I have 12 pounds to go to normal BMI at 145 pounds...YOU WILL DO GREAT!!!!

My only ambivalence was thinking what if I am the rare person that fails. Thankfully this has been the best decision I ever made and I think everything you said, Elfie, was totally reasonable but some people take things very personally!

Let us know how the process goes...I would be interested to know how and for which reasons these nip and tucks get paid...will be pondering same for myself soon! Glad you are continuing to do so well...I never had a doubt! D

Premier comes in a red box at Costco. There is Chocolate and vanilla. I will be drinking one every morning for the rest of my life. Between the band restricting how much I eat and the fact that I am a vegetarian, I have to start the day with as much protein as possible. Also I cant eat solid food in the mornings until the band loosens up later in the day! I think its 27$ for the case of 18 juice-type boxes her in Ca.

I was worried too, thats just normal! Now I think why didnt I do this sooner! I am not a good dieter, rule-follower or exerciser but the weight has slowly fallen off. I still go out to dinner a lot and I take food home and eat it for days! A restaurant sized meal is 4 to 6 times what I can eat!My husband says I am a cheap date. I did get a wrinkly weird lower gut but it looks great in clothes and I greatly prefer it to the big gut that was bursting a size 16...My size 8 jeans are getting loose and this has actually been easy once the restriction was nice and snug like I needed! Hang in there!

The preop diet just plain sucks! I have failed dieting obviously or why would I need a band...AND I am hoping to retrain myself out of the stupidity of diets but this is what the doc wants...it was no fun and I was headachey and starving but after that , never again. Hang in there and suffer it. I am so glad I have my band it is nice and snug and I simply cant eat like I used to and still often would like to! Since I got my band I never dieted and I never really exercised but the band kept me eating tiny meals...the weight comes off without all the crazy stuff we do before the band! PS use this site to get lotsof support!! I always advise newbies to read band_groupie's blog The Sweet Spot from the beginning...it will make you laugh and cry and KNOW you are not alone!! Good luck..

Oh and also my doc stitches the stomach together by pulling a little piece from above and below the band and has NEVER had a slippage...please dont get your stomach cut out and tossed in the trash because of fear of complications. The FACT is that complications are much greater as you choose a more invasive procedure. You are at less risk with the band than sleeve. I am a complete no willpower diet failure and I am finding this easy. I cant eat as much as my piggy self wants to and I just keep losing weight...I dont exercise. I am in a size 8 now and started in a bursting 16...good luck!!!

Get yourself some one-cup sized bowls...they're tiny! Start with half full bowl of protein every meal. After that try to eat some fruit and veg. Eat only when hungry and try to get at least 60gm of protein a day. If you can eat more than 1 cup of solid food you need a fill. I am very tight in the morning so I always have a premier Protein drink...they are in a case at Costco. 160 calories and 30 gm protein. I never count calories because I cant eat enough for it to matter unless I ate ice cream (slides thru band) all day. Good luck, I think you will get lots of good support here but yes, it can be a bit overwhelming.

For both of you that are relatively new, I recommend reading the entire blog of band_groupie. Its entertaining and you will laugh and cry. I think it will really help you through these phases...the early one is called bandster hell where you have gone through all this stuff including surgery but still dont have enough fill to help you. The blog is here somewhere and its called the sweet spot but its also on google now. I found it very comforting, reassuring, and motivating...good luck!

Premier is the way to go and our Costco just got vanilla which I prefer...I have one every morning...

Premier is the way to go and our Costco just got vanilla which I prefer!

Hang in there! My doc has said if you are less than half filled you basically dont have a band. Keep getting fills! My doc accesses the port while you are lying flat then cranks up the table so you are sitting up. She has you chug water and injects fill at the same time...when I choked on the water, she said, "Perfect!". And it was. I can only have liquids or mushies in the morning (well worth it) and then at dinner I am lucky to be able to eat one slice of pizza with lots of chewing. Evening its a little looser and requires a tad of will power. After that choke/fill I am at 7.5/10cc band and I am losing about a pound a week with no real effort or exercise! I went many months without a fill and thought that since I was maintaining it was my fault I wasnt losing! If you are dieting/counting calories/ exercising to lose weight etc....YOU DONT HAVE ENOUGH FILL! When you are filled right, this is easy! Good luck!!