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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.