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WOW derby... I can hardly agree with you more! Sorry if I came off like a cheerleader... but it seemed like you had enough success AND failure to know what had to be done. And you know that the lapband is a very little help. Though as JJ demonstrates it affects all of us in different ways. I'm not sure if I ever had actual physical hunger before or after the banding. I ate for emotional and social reasons... and the band does nothing to address that. I don't really see how JJ feels less hungry between meals... the band controls stomach access not volume. But JJ gets to the point that we are all different and I still believe that the key to our success (when there is some) is the decision to DO SOMETHING ABOUT OUR WEIGHT. The surgery is just the first step. The bypass provides much more physical assistance but as JJ said, has a much higher risk level. The lapband is safer but provides less deterrant and lower weight loss on average. But in both cases, we have made the decision to lose the weight at any cost. If we can get past the point where we expect the surgery itself to solve our problem, then we can succeed. You are correct derby: " I'm sure you're strong enough that you could do it without the band if you really wanted to. We all could have. But just know that whatever has held you back on previous diets will eventually going to show its ugly head again....lapband or not." In most ways I have done it myself... and in most ways I COULD have done the same thing without the band --- but I never would have!!! Agreeing to let the docs carve me up (I was slated for bypass right up to the very last moment in the operating room) set my mind in concrete that I would make this work one way or another. I knew the stats were against me, BIG time! But the surgery was my last 'out'... if I can't make it work, then I stay fat and immobile till the end of my days. So I made it work! The doctors, the scalpels, the Protein powder... NONE of that will lose your weight. YOU will... or YOU won't won't. So the lapband didn't lose the weight for me, or even help much, but having it done forced me to do what I never would have otherwise. I stick to the diet... as much as I can. I exercise... as much as I can. Believe me it isn't much in either case... but as long as I don't stop TRYING I seem to do okay overall. I went on a 800 calorie, 80g protein (min), 25g fat diet. I did what exercise I could, which in the beginning was pitifully little (stretch bands mostly) but it all adds up... do what you can when you can! If there is a secret for ME, it's the journaling... JJ was right on there. I would actually give MORE credit to my food journal than the lapband itself! Knowing what I ate day-by-day made a HUGE difference. Nobody has ever seen my journal (3 books now!!) but except for rare occasions, I put everything in there... even the days when I go way over. I only cheat myself when I cheat on the journal. We have trained ourselves to hide the amount of food we eat -- from OURSELF! Don't fall for the trap of thinking "this day was a blow-out... there's no sense writing all this stuff down... I'll start over tomorrow". It's a pain having to constantly look everything up... but DO IT! My only exceptions are on days or even a week once, when I decide IN ADVANCE not to do counts. I have to admit I get as much pleasure from not writing it all down as I do from eating what I want. Even on those days I try to keep it reasonable. But I expect to journal my food for the rest of my life... because I can't be trusted when it comes to FOOD! I know that now for sure! I hope it all works out derby... no tomatoes for you!! You are very astute... just take what you learned and use it to win this battle! Sorry this turned into such a long ramble!:thumbup:

Congrats on what you've accomplished derbygirl... don't let it go for naught! So you took a break... NO PROBLEM! Now get back to the program. As you say, it won't be easy. It was never going to be EASY... just a little push to help you along. You've proven that you CAN do it... now prove that you can slip off for a while, and do it again! The band does NOT fix your psychological or emotional 'weaknesses'... I think you fixed a few of your own when you decided to take this step; now make it pay off!! It'll take work... it'll take YOU to make your life what you want it to be -- and then YOU will get the credit. I hate even telling people that I have a lapband, because then they will think (as some lapbanders think at the beginning) that the lapband took the weight off while I sat idly by, watching the fat fall off: I didn't lose the weight, the lapband did it for me. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and the fact that you've been through it shows that you know the truth of it also. So Celebrate what you've done... and make it last. Stop "eating around the band" and remember why you did this. When you 'beat the band', you beat yourself. The struggle continues... it will even after you reach your goal... but you'll have something to show for it, and a clear memory of what life was like before you dropped the pounds. You're still on track derby... I think you are gonna make it all the way!!! :ohmy: Good Luck!

It won't be easy hopeful, but it surely can be done!! I just broke the 300# barrier after having lapband surgery 19 months ago. As I'm sure you've been told, that kind of weight loss (mine and yours) is well beyound the usual range for a lapband. Even so I have more to lose, but I no longer have any doubts that I can do it. The important thing to remember is that the lapband will NOT lose the weight for you --- YOU HAVE TO DO THE WORK! The band helps... a little... but you have to stick to a diet and move up your exercise just a little. Little things count. But don't let small setbacks deter you either. We have a weakness for food and will give in now and then, but forget it and go back to your plan. Even while ON your diet you have times when the weight loss will stall... KEEP GOING! It's in your hands... there's no magic... simply the promise of a life where your weight will not determine everything that matters in your life! I did it mostly to prove that those doctors didn't know what the :eek::thumbup::tt2: they were talking about hahahaha! Good Luck :thumbup:hopeful!!!

Overall I've done pretty well... some ups, some downs, but still I've lost lots of weight. Of course I HAD lots to lose! I am at last getting the knee replacements which have been my goal from the beginning. The couch is missing my constant presence:tt2: hahahaha! My exercise program is moderate but I stick to it pretty well. I stick to my diet though I have both weak times:thumbdown: and also times when I boost my intake deliberately to keep my metabolism cranking. I am at a stall right now and I was wondering if anybody had any tips for bumping up the weight loss again. I hate to be greedy but my new knees will benefit from every pound I remove and I am still quite heavy. I've been bouncing around in the same 2-3 pound range for almost 2 months now. I've spiked my diet (up to 5-6000 calories:w00t:) a few times and gotten no change in weight loss. I've seen here where some have eaten large amounts of chocolate etc. to get a bounce in weight loss... :confused2: but that can be abused I bet! Sweets don't do it for me anyway... maybe I need a couple pounds of bacon hahahaha. The bottom line here is: 800 calories/day or 5000 calories/day seems to yield the same result!! I do expect to move up my exercise program a bit after the knee surgery, but I hate flat-out exercising and I'm not gonna kid myself into thinking I'll become a 'work-out king'. I need to keep the diet working for me during this period of time. Any suggestions??

Well kitty... this may not be helpful or encouraging but: I'm sure you know as I do that once you reach your goal the EASY part is over:cry. The hard part will be maintaining all that normalness and the nice clothing compliments. As with all weightloss, keeping it off is the ultimate challenge. Anyone can lose weight; we've all done it lots of times. I am hoping that this period of losing will 'train' me for the future and I can relax and eat healthily without quite so much effort, but I expect I'll be watching my intake and fighting my lifetime habits of overeating till I go on that final 'the worms are eating my flesh diet'.:omg: Just remember what you've been through and don't let it slip away. Stop thinking you've won the war... you have to keep those troops on the battlefield! You are the same strong woman you were when you started... keep using that strength! :clap2: Just 20 more pounds and then 40 years of holding on to the good life. :bounce: We are going to keep you around for a while hehehehe.:heh:

Congrats to both (all) of you!! I just crossed the 250# mark...:bounce: and you are right kittykoo: the money doesn't seem like so much now! Carrying the lard was costing lots more!:faint:

I know the feelings darr... it's more about the loss of control over eating than the weight gain. Though the weight gain COUNTS!:speechles I had 10 months of delays leading up to my surgery and my "goodbye to food tour" [TY doxie hahahaha] and gained 40 pounds!:faint:My doc made me lose that 40# BEFORE the surgery on the liquid diet... I dropped 54# pretty easily as it turned out once I had a DATE! So... don't worry about it, but worry a little hehehehe.:heh: You'll get there once you realize that they won't do the surgery unless you lose the weight. Good Luck!:whoo:

Thanx Karenann.... Greece here as well! That's really a big help... and you're so fast!! :clap2: Looking for a doc in a directory really stinks.:phanvan I appreciate your consideration:kiss

Well I've moved again... from Michigan to New York state near Rochester. I don't actually need a fill right at this moment, but I figured I'd better start looking.... anyone have any suggestions, recommendations, or juicy gossip :heh: about the local bariatric folks?? Why don't these people want to work on "somebody elses patient"?? They still get paid!:cry

Good luck Yoops... I also moved... from west Michigan to east... many doctors seem not to want to take on another's patient. But a 3 hour drive was too much for me, especially in the winter!!:omg: Even though all my followup support services were pre-paid in Grand Rapids, I did find a new guy over here and I'm doing well. I'm sure that somebody here from yooperland will have someone to recommend. Be sure to check the DOCTORS/HOSPITALS board here at LBT..... doctors themselves often reply.

Hi ya cosean... It's a tough topic. You may be due for a band adjustment... have you had one? Your nutritionist should be helping you with diet. Every person is different so specifics are hard to come by. If you've been sticking to your diet plan (whatever it is), I can say that variation is needed to keep up the weight loss. Your body adjusts to current circumstances and will accommodate even a very low caloric input if you do it for too long. You will see on many posts here saying that raising and lowering your limits occasionally with help keep your system "guessing":cry and readjusting. If only it was as simple as maintaining the same level of calories, fat, protein etc, many of us would be VERY happy indeed.:clap2: You may need to raise your eating levels once in a while to keep the pounds coming off ~~~ DO NOT USE THIS AS AN EXCUSE TO PIG OUT!! (if you are able to hehehehe:heh:) I know it's the biggest temptation for me... "I need to boost my calories today..... :hungry:is that a whole cheesecake I see over there??" hahahaha There are many boards here on LBTthat deal with the specifics of foods you can eat... in fact there is LOTS of info about everything here, so check them out. But again, you really should keep in touch with your surgeon and nutritionist about this. Some slowing down is normal, but I know you didn't take this step so that you could remain the same weight. Good Luck!!

As gayle and gonnabethin and others have said..... everyone is different and will lose at different rates. Especially if you have more to lose at the start. I try to take some satisfaction at losing 188# in six months (more like 146# post surgery) but I still have a long way to go. That puts me at 57%, but I am slowing down too and will be THRILLED to reach my goal weight at one year! And we all know that the battle isn't won until we can MAINTAIN our goal weight! So plan to keep after it for a long time to come. :gluck:

I've had confusion on this issue as well. But everyone reacts differently so I just go with it. Some say they are never hungry.... I get hungry every day but not all day, though it's hard to say when it is REAL hunger or psychological hunger. Most of the time I feel no restriction, but still I PB 3-4-5 times a week. Sometimes I'm eating too fast, or not chewing enough (related issues) and other times I'm baffled as to why. In any case it is almost always the foods I SHOULD be eating that cause the problems: plain (dry) meats, fresh veggies, fruits (with skins), and very soft breads. Nasty things like popcorn, desserts, mashed potatoes, onion rings, pasta, etc. go down quick and easy!!:phanvan The amounts I consume are usually less than before... but still well above my diet plan so willpower has to be employed ~~~ something I've never been known for hahaha But this is life I guess.... all I went through to get the band done will NOT be for nothing if I can help it, so I stick with the program and just try to slide past my weaknesses. Reading comments like these always keep me encouraged ... so I know it isn't just ME!! Thanx to all of you.:clap2:

Oooooooooops! :tape:

Well, you won't be dieting on your own deb... you'll have the lapband backing you up. I myself have muttered MANY times "if I could make a diet work for me, I wouldn't be asking for :crySURGERY:omg: to help lose the weight. Even so they constantly told me I'd have to follow a 'diet'..... including the month before surgery when I thought I was proving I didn't need surgery in order to qualify for the surgery.:faint: But don't kid yourself deb.... this ain't magic! You will have to follow a diet.... most of the time you will have to rely on yourself, but if you weaken, the band should give you a hand slowing down or stopping. I know how you feel..... diets are awful and diets that don't work are even worse, and we all would love to never follow another one-- :hungry:EVER! This banding can work..... but it can be beaten (easily according to the stats) so you will have to work at it. I'm not trying to convince you to not go for it..... but if you think the band will do it all, you are bound to fail, so save the money, the stress, and the risk: just skip it. It CAN work...... if you make it work!!:clap2: Good luck!!

It's a bit complicated to get into here james.... and it will be different for you no doubt. The docs insisted that a wound on my ankle be totally healed; ditto with some stomach wounds (these were all small sores... very small but hard to heal); they required a colonoscopy which took an unusual amount of time to get done; they changed procedures midstream and eventually changed back -- I had to get a new surgeon for each one; they wanted me to get my BP down even though it wasn't very high; et al et al. My feeling at the time was that they didn't want to operate until I was in PERFECT health... in which case I of course wouldn't need this surgery in the first place. Anyway, you may have different issues, or none at all. For me it seemed like nobody told me up front about all this stuff and it was one delay after another. Make a list... ask them hard and for sure, "what do I have to do? tell me EVERYTHING I have to do!" This is gonna be work james..... don't kid yourself. I think the only reason I am having success right now is that I don't want to go through this medical cr*p ever again!! Sorry to be so cynical.:angry Good luck again..... keep after it!!

Brace up james... some can get it done in a couple months, but most take 6 months to two years or more. I didn't have Dr. Deol (she didn't accept my insurance:mad:) but I needed 10 months from the time I got my insurance all lined up. I had thought that once I had the costs covered, I'd be set in a month or two, but the doctors set up one condition after another leading to great delays. I know many (or most) were for my own safety, but I was suffering in many ways while they seemed unconcerned about getting me 'on the table'. I feel they were being overly risk averse. My only advice would be to do as much as you can (tests, pre-treatments etc) as fast as you can --- and keep pushing them to schedule you!! Good luck mate!! :heh: Be tough!

Thank you Shirley... I now have an appointment with another recommended doc nearer to my side of town. But if I'm not happy with what he says, I will check into your choices. I've grown very particular about doctors and am tired of taking all the nonsense they can dish out, so I shop for docs as I would a new car -- it's an even MORE important selection! I hope you are doing well and get as much success as possible from this procedure; as I'm sure you've discovered, making this work depends only 20% on the operation itself, and 80% on US!

I'm with you margo....... all the way! I waited a year and a half for a new insurance that would cover it... until October 2005. Then I thought I'd be 'under the knife' within 2-3 months, but it took 10 months!! :omg: It wasn't an insurance hold up at that point.... from my point of view it was the doctors covering EVERY base health-wise. But if I was perfectly healthy, why would I be going through all this? And like you, if I was able to diet and exercise successfully, I wouldn't have gotten to this weight in the first place! But basically they seemed to be in no hurry, as my weight crushed my knees day-by-day. I was as frustrated as you seem to be...... I wish I had the answer for you. I kept pressing but in the end I was at their mercy: to find someone else would not be so easy; and starting over (from the BEGINNING!) with new doctors didn't seem likely to speed things up. So I can't tell you the time will fly by..... mine didn't!! I was suffering and desperate and I had to keep pushing. If you can change surgeons, do it now... don't wait. Otherwise just bug the h:mad:ll out of them!! As you said, the band is not the whole answer... you WILL have to eat better and work a bit. On the bright side, waiting and waiting... getting frustrated with the whole system, made me determined to use the diet and exercise to get the weight off so that I wouldn't have to go through all that again! I never thought I would be able to do that! Sorry to burst the 'happy talk' bubble...... but I never want to deal with this kinda stuff again. I'll get my health back in any way I can!! This journey has been too arduous to ever consider repeating!!!:angry Good luck margo...... get it done any way you can!

You should be talking to your doctor/nutritionist smita. But lana is spot on..... for the first 2-3 weeks, you will need all the nutrition you can get and it may be hard to get it in. So focus on the protein and water. You won't be able to consume many calories anyway! GOOD LUCK!!!

Not sure I know what you mean either. Maybe the doctor is the one to ask. My stomach was far to big for a "mini" anything! hahaha

"washing food past the band" was never a possibilty for me.... it makes you choke all the more if there is any blockage. One good reason not to drink for 45 minutes after eating I guess. Another I was told (by my nutritionist) is that the small amount of nutrients you are taking in while on a presumably low cal diet may pass through your system unabsorbed if you drink 15 minutes before or 45 minutes following a meal. If you are on a reduced diet, you need all the nutrition you can get to remain healthy. As for the main question, water is good between meals to restrict appetite. Although, as has been noted... it may be tougher to drink large amounts at one time.

I feel much better with a smaller group of folks.:nervous I'm really happy to see locally active people... I've been feeling lost since I moved to the Detroit area. I had my banding done in Grand Rapids 5 months ago. I wasn't totally happy with my surgeon but the center at MMPC was great. Still the 6 hour round trip from where I am NOW is just too much for the followup services I need, so I am looking for someone nearby to take over my treatment. I've been stalling since I was told not many doctors will take on a bariatric patient in mid-stream (so-to-speak) but the time has come to face the music. Anyway, I have mostly stuck to my diet plan.... the banding helps when I start to weaken as it should. I've lost a lot, but I have so much to lose that it seems like an endless process. My knees scream at me every day: "GET OFF OF OF US!!:angry" . . . so I stick to the plan! Reading the comments of others here sure keeps me from feeling so alone. :clap2: Thank you all!!! :clap2:

I was banded 8-29-06 down 142# even after some holiday weaknesses:hungry: .... although I felt awful:sick most of the time I was cheating so maybe it was a good lesson for me hehehe.:guess A good weight loss for sure... but I'm not even half-way thru and it gets more difficult as we go on. You guys help keep me on track!!

I just had my first fill and had the same experiences.... I also had trouble sleeping without choking and ended up sleeping in a chair for 4-5 days afterwards. Drinking enough water became my biggest problem but it has eased quite a bit, and basically I figure that slowing down my ability to eat is what I paid for!