laurigee

I think this is so different for everyone, just like your weight loss journey will be. I am normally a very quick healer and was back to push mowing the lawn in 3 days. What you need to do is listen to your body and do what's best for you. Don't use others experiences to determine whether you are on track or not. This can lead to unwanted and unneeded discouragement! Your journey will differ so much from others even though we end with similar results! Good luck and stay positive! Strive for better health!

Well, since I last posted I have done some soul searching! I have came to the realization that health is my ultimate goal! So why am I so obsessed with my scale? Why do I feel that the exercise and healthy choices I make with food are worth nothing if I don't see a change in the scale? Are we so programed that we think fitting into a certain size Jean automatically means we are healthy? Why when people go to the doctor and are not overweight do doctors assume they are healthy? I have seen and read many things with people who have been banded that are losing their hair, or consuming so few calories that it would be impossible to be properly getting the nutrition they need! There is no difference between dying from being overweight or dying because we didn't eat the nutrients our body needs to survive, except maybe the size of the casket! So I encourage all of us to reprogram our brains and put health first and then celebrate as the numbers go down on the scale!

Same thing happened to me, almost the same amount! We can get back on track together! Don't be ashamed or embarrassed! As long as we have learned something from it its a lesson not a failure!

I have been banded for 6 years and have finally came to a small realization. I got the band not only for weight reasons, but for health reasons. If you are eating healthy, drinking your water, and exercising, count that as an achievement! That means more than the numbers on the scale! Our goal is not to be unhealthy and thin, but to have overall health! I have seen many people over the years that forget about their nutrition and obsess over the numbers on the scale. Again, if you do it right, and healthy, it may take longer, but you will be putting in place new healthy habits and you will be more likely to be successful in the long term! Good Luck, remember, it's a journey, not a race!

198.

Name, real or screen~Laurie Goal weight for January 29th~190 Weight on January 1st~204 Age~45 Dietary goal for January~No Soda!!!..Increase Water intake Exercise goal for January~Make it fun again! Personal goal for January~Realize that this is a journey to health, not a jean size! Date banded~9/2006 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~70lbs What is your favorite New Year Activity?~Anything with my husband and 2 boys!

Sounds like your eating around the band, not that your band slipped! I was banded in 06 and have become a master at this! You need to try to regroup! Make sure your not drinking 45 minutes before a meal, with the meal, or to soon after the meal....Go back to eating slow again and chewing!!! Eat protien or things that will stay in our stomach longer! I went back to the mushies stage and followed all the rules and I now feel my restriction again without having to get a fill! I know everyone is different but it may be worth a try while your waiting on the doctor! Good Luck and keep us posted!

I am a mother of 2 boys! I was never heavy but aways worked hard to maintain my weight. After having 2 boys in 3 years I was very overweight and struggled for many years to get the weight off...I did pay for my lap-band myself also..it s a nice tax deduction ...I will be honest with you, I think by reading your post you are probably like me and an emotional eater. The band does not help with that. You, like me, will figure out a way to eat around the band. Work this next few weeks before the band at really being honest with yourself. Write down all our thoughts and feelings about food, when you eat, and how you feel! I was losing my best friend, food! It gave me comfort, security, and was always there when people weren't! Never disappointed me like people can! Now I was suppose to comfort myself!!!! HOW? Learn to love you on the inside, and gradually it will show on the outside! Don't get the band thinking the only objective is weight loss! Use it as a tool to get your body healthy again! Know that the things we avoided in the past we are going to have to commit to. Eating the right foods, drinking our water, and exercise! I'm so frustrated that some people on is site think fitting into a certain size jeans is a success story! A true success story is when you have achieved a HEALTHY mind and body! Yes, just like everyone I have a goal weight, however, I will not achieve it at the cost of my health. I have been banded since '06 and know it can work using healthy choices and unhealthy choices! Don't choose to die thin, choose to live healthy! I'm rambling, sorry! About telling other people, I would tell close family, but just like having any other procedure done, does anyone really need to know? When they see you exercising, and eating right, they won't even question why you are losing weight! If you need someone to talk to, even just to vent, I would love to help you as much as I can!

Remember that the object of the band is not just to lose weight, it is also a tool to help us improve our overall health! I've been getting so frustrated that people think that being thin, or fitting into a certain size jeans is the objective! Being thin doesn't make you healthy! Is our objective to die thin or to live longer because we are healthy? Being able to starve ourselves by getting the band so tight that we can no longer can eat protiens and healthy foods is NOT HEALTHY! The things that you avoided in your past, like water consumption and exercise are still things you are avoiding or not putting as priority! Don't let the scale judge our success!!!! Concentrate on water intake, eating healthy, and exercise! The weight will follow! We chose to put those 3 things on the back burner for too long and that is what brought us to here! Now those are the things that will lead us out! Good Luck and keep us posted with your healthy path to a new you!

I think maybe some of us have lost the big picture! Including myself! Is the band meant to be used just so we fit into a certain Jean size? I thought it was suppose to help us in encouraging us to work on our overall health. Those that use the band so they don't eat a whole bag of chips, they just eat a handful, isn't suppose to be the final picture! Is the goal to weigh a certain number or is it to encourage a healthy lifestyle?! Are you healthy because the scale says so? Your not automatically healthy because your thin! I hate to say this, but you say that you started a 17 day diet and are exercising 6 days a week, this is just another set-up for failure! Start slow, work your way into it! Gradually change your lifestyle, don't immediately jump off the top rope! I got my lap band 6 years ago and went off the top rope, only to lose 100 lbs. within a year, then gaining back 40. All because I wanted it fast and now! I'm now trying to adjust my thinking to health not the numbers on the scale and I dont feel like I wasted any time or feel like exercise was a waste of time because I didnt lose weight. If you focus on health you won't be angry at the band, you'll be proud you are using your body the way it was designed to be used and fed the way it was intended! It's not an easy journey for anyone, but it's definitely a memorable one!

Please know that everyone has a different experience and expectations with the band! Don't be discouraged or frustrated! 6 years ago when I got my band I would have thought it was impossible to ever go backwards or sideways! I would have stood on my pedestal and preached my commitment! However, my insurance did not pay for my surgery, therefore every appointment I went to came out of my pocket! Recently as the economy has gotten worse, so has my ability to be able to pay for frequent visits. Life happens! I also need to re-commit to my health and remember the reason I got the band in the first place! I would like you to join me in getting back on track! Re-adjust our expectations and give it another shot! One fail does not make us failures!!!!

I also need to recommit! I'm worried I may have a slipped band. I called my doctor and am hoping if I remove all the fluid from it, it will go back into place. I was at my goal of 160 when I felt exhausted and that I needed a break from everything! Bad idea. I am now 202 and need a kick in the butt! Maybe we need to start a "re-start challenge" to inspire and support each other! I seem to do better when I'm being watched. Lol...

Right now I'm thinking my band may have slipped also! For a while, after I was first banded, I had a problem with getting fills. Just the band on my stomach with no fill had some benefits. Maybe smaller fills? I know I couldn't do the recommended amounts! I personally wouldn't have it removed, it doesn't hurt anything to leave it and not fill it. Once your able to get back to eating solids and your system gets use to it again I would think you would start feeling better. I would always leave surgery as the last option! Good luck with your decision and keep us posted!

I have never had any problems with taking medicatios with my band. I hope you are able to start taking them and get on the road to recovery!

I haven't been here for 5 years now. I was ashamed of myself and felt like a failure. I was blessed with the ability to be able to afford this opportunity, and I felt like I let down not only myself but my family. My starting weight was somewhere around 290. I never had any problems with the band except occasional shoulder pain if it was overfilled. I exercised religiously and within a year I was at 160. I felt great again. I was never overweight as a child, my weight problems began with having my 2 sons within 2 years of each other. So I was confident that I would never have weight or food issues again. It was just a bump in my road of life that the lap band solved! WRONG!!! I'm sitting here feeling defeated, not sure if my lap band has slipped from overeating and not following one lap band rule for several years! It's a real wake up call! I'm hoping if I get on the right track again some of the symptoms I have been having will improve! My dad passed away from cancer last February and I can remember having a conversation about gaining some weight back. His response was "take care of yourself and don't get back to that weight again!" He struggled with his weight for many years, and I know it meant a lot to him when he felt like I had my problem under control. Wow...I'm rambling now, sorry! I am now at my all time high since losing the weight of 202. Maybe we can be each others kick in the butt that we need!

I think people worry more about the exercising now that we are banded because they see the amount of food that most can only eat at one time and they worry that the exercise is far exceeding the amount of food we seem to be consuming. I was only heavy for about 10 years, prior to that I was always extremely thin. I was at the gym 6-7 days a week and no one said anything about it. But they would see me down a steak, potato, and salad for a meal. Maybe that's the difference? I know that is what my mom and dad worry about. Who knows?

Hi Ladies....I have been looking for some inspiration to lose 20 pounds by New Years. I was wondering if I could join you in your challenge? I have been banded for 3+ years and have managed in the last year to put on extra weight. I always found that challenges on this web site kept me inspired.

I had shoulder and back pain for quite a while. Exspecially after I ate or drank something. I, too this day, am very sensitive to fills. I have been banded for 3+ years and recently had all of my fluid removed because of the pain that you are talking about. Start taking prilosac daily if you are not already. After about 7 days on that my stomach really started to feel alot better and the pain went away. Don't give up yet!!! Things get better. Sometimes it just takes longer than what it does for others. Hang in there! Let me know how your doing.

See what a little cry can do! The emotions you will go through during this process are amazing and eye opening. I wish you the best on your jouney! Maybe the next time you feel like crying suggest to your husband a jewelry store instead of red lobster. Diamonds have no calories! LOL. Thanks for the story it made me laugh. I remember those days.

I didn't mean to insult you! I guess certain words seem offensive to me like the word FAT. I thought maybe your thoughts seemed obsessive compulsive and that someone in the medical field could possibly treat that. I myself am obsessive compulsive and part of that is reacurring thoughts and feeling running through your head daily, even though you think they may be unsubstantiated. Sorry if you were insulted by the thought of counseling. I truly was only trying to help. I have been banded for over 3 years and have had alot of different feelings and emotions, up and down. Sorry again!!

My biggest mistake was not figuring out why I overate before I got banded. It is much easier to work on the outside with the help of the band, but there is nothing they can put in you to work on the inside. I thought I had it all figured out. All my problems had to do with weight. Once the weight was off, everything would be perfect. Well, I was wrong! I substituted my overeating with excessive exercising. Then when I had to have knee surgery and couldn't exercise I substituted that for shopping. So my biggest bit of advise(now 20lbs heavier), is figure yourself out. Be brutally honest with yourself. I am thinner than my 260+lb starting point, but I am still a work in progress over 3 years later. Good Luck with your journey!

I guess the first thing that stresses me out in 2 of the above posts are the words FAT and LAZY. Do you really associate these words together. I was OVERWEIGHT but I was never lazy. I would hate to think that now that your losing weight you don't stereotype people. Never forget where you came from. Some are not as fortunate to be able to afford this procedure. Thank god we were. If you are obsessing over weight loss or gaining back I think maybe you were to busy working on the outside and forgot to work on the inside. I Truly think that there should be some manditory thearapy that goes along with the band. Most of us have bigger issues, food is just cover. Possibly you have obssessive compulsive behaviors. Definately if you are obsessing day and night about it. Life is to short! What fun is being thinner if your mind is haunting you daily. Maybe seek counseling, I have seen worse things happen in the world than gaining back a few pounds. Remember, keep things in perspective! ENJOY YOUR LIFE!!!!!

Well I am here to give you your pep talk your looking for. I think that everyone goes through exactly what your going through. You want the pat on the back from others to show you your on the right track. Trust me if the scale is going down, your on the right track. Sometimes people are uncomfortable saying anything about weight, whether it's positive or negative. I also put it off as people so busy with their own lives that they really see threw people, exspecially if you see them daily. Depression is another thing I personally experienced also. I still have bouts of it based on the scale. It is something that is easier to control when you recognize it. Staying active and pampering yourself and patting yourself on the back once in a while really helps for me. I think people started noticing my weight loss the most is when I started wearing different clothes. If you need anyone to talk to feel free to get in touch with me, I hope this helps. TAKE CARE!

Don't worry about how fast you lose. Work on figuring out yourself. If you don't know why your overeating and change your thoughts about food not even the band will help you. Trust me I know. After over 3yrs. of having the band the one thing I have figured out is the key to long term success is not how fast you lose, but totally changing your lifestyle. Exercise is key. I have become lax with everything lately and have now gained back 20lbs. I never really worked on my head, just my body. I hope I can get it under control before it gets out of control again. Please don't think I'm preaching, I just have had the time to live and learn. By the way your doing GREAT!

Michelle: I could have written that post myself. I was almost at goal and have now gained 20lbs. Maybe we should start a challenge of some sort. Make each other accountable again. I was having some funky things happening with my band about a month ago, so I have all my fluid removed. But there is no reason I should have gotton off track. There is still some restriction. We can't beat ourselves up over it, we just have to plow ahead.