mommyrkr

Mypov, I have not told my local Weight Watchers people that I have had weight loss surgery, it is nobody's business but mine. We all know plenty of people who have had surgery, and have not lost the weight, so any weight I lose, despite the tools I chose to use (ie. Weight Watchers, exercise, or the band), it is still my personal success. I called the national Weight Watchers and talked to them about WLS. They told me it was completely fine. No leader should be talking about it, though mine did last week, and I almost stood up and socked her!!! I am in the process of filing a complaint about her though. There is so much discrimination against people who are overweight, but it is ridiculous to think that there is discrimination among overweight people about how they lose the weight!! I would call and complain if I were you. I can still use the support from WW. Statistics show that at most, 4% of people who lose a significant amount of weight (50 pounds), can keep it off. Even with Weight Watchers. It is a depressing figure. It seems to me, that Weight Watchers might like those of us banded to help them boost some statistics or be a big success story. Anyway, don't feel like a fraud, you are not. It is all your doing, and it is not anyones business how you do it. Becki PS. I have no problem using all my point, I just quite with all the fat free stuff. I eat real cheese now, limited, of course, but it adds the points up real quick. So does Peanut Butter.

For me, I have done Weight Watchers off and on, (mostly on, starting fresh every Monday)for the last almost 4 years. I know, that is ridiculous. But if you have questions about Weight Watchers, I am an expert. For me, staying within my points was almost impossible, because I was so hungry. Now I can eat all my point, but I don't do fat free everything. I know use regular cheese, normal bread, and that kind of thing. It allows me to eat normal food, just much less of it. And it works great with my points. I have done the Core program. It works great, and there are so many great foods to try that are "free". I highly recommend it. The one problem for most people who are overweight, is that the Core program lets you eat until satisfied. For most overweight people, especially myself, I had no idea what satisfied was. I always ate until I was very full. So it made it harder to eat the right amounts of food. But with the band, it might be completely different. I am still pretty newly banded. I swear by Weight watchers. If you follow the plan, it is guarenteed to work. You can't get better than that. And the accountability, and other meeting topics are really helpful also. Becki

La madam, Thanks, and congrats again, good luck with Weight Watchers.

I love being able to eat anything I want. When I did WW before and lost 50 pounds, I ate a snickers bar almost every day, just because I could, and counted the points. It was well worth it to reward my good eating during the rest of the day by having the points available for my snickers. Congrats on keep off 100 pounds. That is quite a feat and very impressive. Can I ask how long you were banded and how long it took to lose the weight? I am just starting on my own 100 pounds, banded 5 weeks ago.

WW does not publicly humiliate you with your weigh in, it is very private, just you and the worker there know. But it really does work. Knowing that I will be weighed at the same time every week and I can't skip it really helps. I count the food, not to help me eat less as much as to be able to check that I am being healthy. For me, I would love to lose the weight, but there seems to be no point in being lighter if I am not also much healthier. I know just losing the weight makes you healthier, but why not take it to the next level and live a few more years, and be active longer by learning about good nutrition and healthy eating? I love Weight Watchers, and will use it forever. It helps me stay on track. Becki

Irish Girl, Thanks, April makes a lot more sense than August. I am guessing from your fills that you have the VG band. How has it all been going for you? Your weight loss is impressive. I will be going for my first fill on the 23rd of this month. And I am anxious to get there. Have you been eating healthier, or just less? Do you PB very often? Is there much you can't eat? Are you exercising regularly also, so see such great results? Thanks

Irish Girl, So we were banded the same day. I am curious how you had fills before you had the band though? I have yet to have a fill, as my doctor won't do them until 6 weeks post-op. You are luck that that they didn't drag on and on. I have been in pain for 3 weeks now. I know I have pretty large stones, but they are waiting to see if they will pass on their own. Thanks for sharing your experience. Becki

Irish girl, Looking at your stats, where you banded in 2006 or 2005? Your fills kind of indicate 2005, but I was just wondering. I was banded August 28th, 2006. Anyway, I have not had my 64 oz yet today. It is hard for me to get it down. I wait an hour after eating, then just forget, until I am hungry again, and want to eat. I have really been working on that. Today, I have had 16 oz so far, then Breakfast, and now I need to wait another 45 minutes. But I did get myself 32 oz of crystal light that is ready and in the fridge in my Water bottle, all ready for me. Out of curiousity, did your stones pass on their own, or did you have some help, and how big were they. I am wondering how long to live in pain, and when to go back to the doctor. Any help would be appreciated. Becki

I have no idea about having had stones in the past and having the lapband. But I do have an experience with this now. I was banded 5 weeks ago, and diagnosed 2 weeks ago with kidney stones. From all my reading, it seems that a decrease in liquids, higher protein in the diet, and being and overweight female are all contributing factors. I am curious if this is a side effect of the surgery, and how common it might be. I know it could easily be completely unrelated to surgery, but I am curious. Anyone else with kidney stones after surgery??

You are very mistaken about following WW not letting you change your REAL habits. WW works!!! There is no arguing that fact. If you follow the program, you will lose weight and keep it off. The key to following the program is to change your bad eating habits. The problem for many of us, was that after following the program, eating healthy and exercising, we were still hungry. So having the band and using WW is a terrific way to use all the tools you can to acheive a healthy life. It sounds like, from the food your are still eating, that you might need to make some major changes. You don't sound like you have changed your eating habits, except for the amounts. You might be eating less, and lossing weight, but it won't last forever, and your body needs some better nutrition. Getting the right quantity of food is only one part of the process, getting the right quality of food is the other. For those who just want to lose weight, I would say maybe WW is not the right solution, but for those who want to lose weight and really be healthy, WW is a perfect support group, information place, and has great recipes. It really works, scientifically proven, if you follow that program.