LoseIt!

msq, if you scour this site you will find several people who have had complications and their stories. Some think it was a waste of time altogether and some think that it was still the right choice. The majority of people out here are having varying degrees of success. I personally was banded 6 months ago and I've lost 58 pounds. All is well so far! Keep doing your research! The answers are different for everyone. Good luck!

Honestly, I haven't seen my surgeon since the surgery. I meet with the nurse each time I have a fill and then I see the fill doc (which I could schedule to be my surgeon, but I don't) when I get my fills. I think I'm supposed to have a 6 month check up with him which should be coming up soon. Even though I haven't met much with him, I feel that I get good attention from the nurse & fill doc if I want it. Do you have a support group that you can go to? I find that most of my best information and help has come from that. Good luck!

Most of could and have gained a lot of weight in a short time. Don't beat yourself up! You are putting yourself on track which is great! You can do it!

This first part is hard, so just keep sticking with it! Once you get the restriction, it will be a little eaiser. Good luck!

:clap clap clap: You deserve a hand! Your success is so fabulous, but it takes courage to get up and speak to people, so go you!! I have to say that the soda thing was a big thing for me too. I never thought I REALLY could do it. Color me surprise, because I barely miss it. I would NOT have ever believed that.

You just have to find out what works for you. Some people work out, some people don't. Some people log calories, some people don't. Some people "diet", some people don't. Based on the varying routines of folks that are successful, I don't think that there is any one magic thing that is going to make you successful. You just have to figure out what works for you. Try one thing, whether it be food related like monitoring carbs or exercise related like walking for 20 minutes, and do it for a couple weeks. Doing something...anything, helps to feel productive working toward a goal. Best of luck to you!!

If you have been logging your calories, take it to your appointment and see if the nurse/doc have any suggestions. Working out should give you energy so maybe you are missing something nutritionally. Good luck and I hope your sadness passes quickly!

Wow, you HAVE been busy!! It is so great that you are out just living your life. ATVing sounds super fun! You are doing so great and I'm sure you will reach any goal you set!

Happy Birthday! Congratulations!! What a wonderful way to celebrate.

I realized late in the day that 1/13/10

I love my LapBand support group! We had our monthly meeting last night. I have made good friends with two of the ladies in the group. I email back and forth with one (Ann) most days. We are accountability partners and share tons of information and experiences. The other (Debi) and I text each other to share SVs and NSVs. We also do things together, like tomorrow night we are going to see Dreamgirls. These two friendships alone make Group worthwhile, but it is even much more than that. Hearing the questions and experiences of so many other people is invaluable to me. My friends and family are SOOO supportive, but no matter what happens, they can't understand it completely because they haven't done it. Our group has a lot of newly banded people, a few waiting to be banded and a few old timers. It is amazing to hear their words of wisdom! Group night also means updated photos for me. I put all of the new ones in my albums, but this angle was particularly great for me. I have attached the "before" picture and then last night's "current" picture. What a difference!!

All normal emotions! Good luck to you and let us know all about it!

Ha! People are just funny like that. Good luck to you. I'm sure it will go great!

You are in my prayers, vmack. I'm so, so sorry for your husband's injury and for your mom's diagnosis. It must be horribly hard.

I LOVE my group meetings. I hope you loved yours!!

I average around 1.5-2.0 pounds a week. At first, I (also) was disappointed, but after 5 months of consistent loss like that, I am happy! I think you will be too. Congrats on the successes! I know you have many more to come!

I'm an open book, so everyone around me knows what I have done. But I'm also extremely fortunate to have a supportive network around me. I have heard stories of people that are constantly judged by their loved ones and that can't be easy. People's journeys are different and how they get through them are also going to be different. I'm 100% behind you that we need to (nicely) stop the Band Bashers.

I'm so excited for you!! Congratulation and good luck. It is important to be informed and to make the right decision for YOU. Kudos to you for doing your homework and making sure you following your course. You can do it!!

Woo hoo!! That's fantastic!

Great blog! Congrats on the success! I look forward to seeing you bust through your next goals. Good luck!