Search the Community

Hi everyone I'm new to the site, my surgery is scheduled for May. I've seen a lot of your before and after pictures and most of you have lost a lot of weight. I just wanted some advice on how to lose a lot and keep it off. Thank you!

For me? Follow the protocols. After they remove your stomach those first 3 months are first a healing nightmare and then quickly becomes so fun with losing so fast. Then our tummies really heal and people's bad habbits can come back. For me I avoid it by just focusing on my protein and water goals. But I do it by making really awesome, delicous dishes at home. I currently make (and these are all low carb, high protein meals): Chilli Tandoori chicken Butter chicken Chicken Teriyaki Maryland Crab Cakes I took the time to practice and try stuff out. If I didn't like something or it didn't go down well, I brought it into work and gave it away. I spent a good month sourcing recipes, trying them out and now I have delicious protein meals that are SOO much better than anything I'd buy on the fly. I don't even CRAVE the stuff I'm not suppose to have cause i"m just excited to eat the awesome gourmet food I made. That and walking 15 minutes at 10:00 and 3:00 as well as a half hour at lunch. Those are my absolutes. Doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing, unless I'm on jury duty or something. I walk briskly at those time. Not a stroll, I'm out to MOVE. Finally, Stairs. I run up any flight of stairs I can. At work we have a flight of 16 steps. I do sets of UP & Down at least 3 times a day. Usually I come back from my brisk walks and end it with a set of 3 on the stairs. It doesn't really take that long. I invested the time on the front end for the recipes and now I have them down pat, can buy the ingredients with ease and throw together my meals for a whole week in a few hours. I make sure I walk 3 times a day and take advantage of the opportunities to move when they are presented. I've been fairly successful so far, I'm dropping inches consistently and then lbs are a little less predictable but our metabolism doesn't like to lose weight at this rate and will fight us from time to time. Overall this whole process is simple, but not easy. The way to make it easier on ourselves is to commit to the post surgical protocols. Good luck! I'll say this, the 1st 8 weeks were a nightmare for me, I had the VGS, Hiatal hernia repair and gallbladder removal. I hit a massive regret and depression wave around week 4 or 5. I cried my self-pitying eyes out and let myself feel all those emotions. Then I picked myself up again and haven't looked back. Nobody is gonna have a EASY time, but it will be faster and more fun if you follow the diet instructions and watch your body reveal itself to you. I am now happier than I have been in years but it wasn't a cakewalk getting here. So try to keep your head up, eyes on the prize and remember to allow yourself to feel all of your emotions and deal with the psychological stuff that comes up so you can enjoy this new life you are birthing for yourself.

Like anything else, you get out of it what you put into it. If you use it the way it is intended to be used, you will lose all the weight you need!

I was reading up on the lapband last night and read that the average person only looses 45 to 55 % of their access weight with the lapband. I wonder if that's true...So in other words If i need to loose 100 pounds, statistically speaking, I will prob. only loose 50 pounds. That is discouraging to me...very! I hate to pay 14,900.00 out of my pocket plus go through surgery unless I would loose 80% to 100 % of what I need to loose.

my dr told me that statistically i could lose 50% of the weight with MINIMAL COMPLIANCE. i asked what that meant and he said that statistically if you try minimally then you will lose 50% of the weight but if you adhere to proper eating and exercise that you can lose all of it. not sure how true that is, but that's what i was told.

Don't be discouraged! Statistics are just that: statistics. I'm sure they include people who haven't lost any weight into those averages as well. Plus, I think doctors tell their patients this, so if they don't lose all the excess weight they can't say their doctor lied to them or they will be prepared mentally if they don't lose all the weight. I feel it is possible to lose it all! I have faith in myself (for once in my life) and faith in my band. I just CANNOT eat like I used to, the band won't let me, and that is one contributing factor to my current success. As you can tell from my ticker I want to lose 188 pounds. There are many people on here that probably look at that stat and gasp and say she will NEVER do that and there are probably some medical professionals that believe the same. Personally, I know that it can be done. I've seen too many success stories. I have NEVER been slim or a normal size in my life and I finally feel as though I have the opportunity to make that happen. I'm almost already to that 45 to 55% stat. Maybe I can hit a homerun and get that 100%. I'll probably already be satisfied with my body before I even hit that stat. I'm already fitting into size 20s. I don't like statistics anyway (I took too many stats classes in college). LOL!

Hey I look at it this way...I had about 80 lbs to lose and if I lose 40 and get stuck at least that is 40 lbs that is gone for GOOD! Unlike any other "diet" I have been on where the 40 lbs leaves for 6 months then comes back with 10 "friends" causing that gradual but REAL climb up the scale. I would rather lose 40 and maintain than lose 40 and gain, lose 50 and gain, etc etc so look on the bright side My doctor also told me the same as above....that I will still have to put in the work and I will get out what I put in. There are many many success stories where people lose all or nearly all of their excess weight but the stats have to figure in everybody including those to "eat around the band" and dont lose. You can do this and so can the rest of us on our current journies

Hi I know your thread has been going a while now - but I wondered if you are getting used to your 'new you'. I see you have reached your goal too - which is fantastic! Well done. I am newly banded 28 Feb and so I am just beginning. However, I have been on this journey before and lost 5 stone myself - twice ! Only to pile it all back on. Funnily enough, I remember when I too had lost a significant amount and looking at clothes in shops - thinking, oooh that size 14 looks like it is would fit age 7! I will never get into that, and then finding that actually I could. It did take a while to get used to looking and feeling trim - my brain was still hard-wired to think I that 5 stone heavier. One of the moments I remember was asking my husband if he had seen a particular t-shirt. Oh, that one he says, I thought it was Jack's (our son aged 10 at the time). I am in the weight-loss zone now and for me, in the past couple of weeks am finding that clothes are now getting roomy. I am struggling to find work clothes that don't look I could smuggle a couple of cushions inside! It's a great feeling. Well done on your journey - I bet your life has changed so much, you must be very proud.

I heard a story yesterday about a woman (family friend) who had a RNY done and went home two days later and died! Tragic, right? When I asked what went wrong, they said the doctors say it is because she drank a diet coke when she got home! Diet Coke?!? Are you serious? Who on earth would do that? We are warned over and over about what NOT to do! There IS a reason they tell us this stuff!! These people give the rest of us (WLS participatants) a bad rep! I have heard all kinds of terrible stories about WLS...and ALL of them are self-inflicted. Unless we change our eating and drinking patterns we are not on track for success! I will never understand why people do these WLS's and then think they can continue on the same road that made them overweight in the first place. I think every pre-op patient needs to see the phsycologist...dietician and be involved in a support group. These things have been so helpful to me. Because of the support and knowledge I have successfully lost 45lbs in 2 months ....and my surgery hasn't even happened yet! If you are pre-op...and struggling...please check your local area for a bariatric support group...do your reseach online...talk to other people who have had the WLS already done. Just don't go into it blind...the results could be costly..in more ways than one! Remember why we are doing the WLS...to be healthy! Eating greasy bacon cheese burgers, french fries, pizza and sodas is what got is unhealthy...what makes any one think you can still eat like that and be successful with the WLS? Sure, you may (and probably will lose some weight) lose some..but in the end...unless you change your old habits...the results are only temporary! I apologize if I have offended anyone...but I had to vent!

Keep up the good work! I know it's especially hard to stay motivated if the weight loss isn't stellar... so you're doing great.

Greetings to all, I am a 43 year old single man living in Staten Island, NY. I had a lap band installed on 8/16/2012 which would have been my grandmother's 101 birthday if she were alive. I chose this date because I felt she would be watching over me. Also, it was exactly 5 months after my first visit with Dr. Marina Kurian of NYU Langone Med. Center in NYC, NY. Also, the number 4 has been prominent in my life and I consider it a lucky number. 8/16/2012 are all multiples of 4. I was 320 when I went to Dr. Kurian, lost about 10 pounds on the liquid diet to prepare me for the surgery and now I am at 292. My goal is to get al least to 200 pounds if not less. I lost my wife, Tracy, on April 4, 2011 exactly 2 years and two months from our wedding day. In about 8 months I gained 60 pounds from eating and depression after she died. It was the heaviest I have ever been. I decided in February 2012, I decided I wanted to be healthy and decided on weight loss surgery because dieting failed me. I wanted a R n Y Gastric Bypass but my personal physician suggested the lap band because he had one done at NYU Langone Medical Center. Well, that's enough for now. If there is anything you want to know, feel free to email me or respond to this post. Also, feel free to check out my blog website, www.grizzlybearspeaks.com. Cordially, Rob "Grizzly Bear" Bennett

I can tell you that I had a torn meniscus about 9 years ago, and while it was better after surgery, it still hurt. However, it has rarely bothered me since I lost about 40 lbs after the surgery. It had only really bugged me consistently when I let my weight creep back up about 20 lbs. Other than that, it is sometimes mildly painful if I've been on my feet all day and walked literally 10 miles or more. Even then it recovers quickly. I'm hoping that will become even less of a problem as I start seriously losing post surgery. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using VST

Annette-- I was banded a week before you and i have only lost 12-15 lbs. I only weigh in at my fills for the most part so I am not exactly sure of my weight at the moment since I haven't had a fill in 3 weeks. I am also a low bmi patient so I have expected my loss to be slower. That being said--- I have had 3 fills and my 4th is next week. You've had only 1? And you don't really know how much is in there. I felt ZERO restriction until my 3rd and I definitely need more. Also--since day 1 after being able to eat solids I have been told by my doc to only eat 4oz at a time--3x a day and nothing more. This was to teach me portion control, what hunger feels like and to be able to gage if I need more fills. The goal is to be able to go 5-6 hours with out being hungry. I am at about 4-5 depending on what I eat. And that's a big thing too. I HAVE to eat 3oz of a more dense protein-like chicken or steak or pork. Otherwise I get hungry much quicker. But I wouldn't know that unless I was sticking to the portions...... I am not going to lie-- I have cheated and ate more before I had any good restriction. I also sometimes don't make the best choices. But it is 2-4oz of a bad choice--not a whole bag. Also---I was told to take at least 30 minutes to eat 4oz with NO liquids 30 min before or after. I literally have to lay my fork down between bites. Taking the 30 minutes to eat REALLY helps me-gives your body time to send the full signal. When I eat faster I don't feel as full We're in the learning process Annette!! hang in there-- GET A FILL!! :tongue2:

Nope, starting to love my band! I was frustrated waiting for the right fill level but this whole experience has been great. Very little pain, nice weight loss, feel better, down at least two sizes. I rarely get food stuck or slime or PB ( so far) so I'm very happy and BTW I was self pay and think it was worth it.

I am 41 years old, female; I weighed 216 when I went to Mexico for surgery. I am 5'5". I have had many surgeries including a hysterectomy 6 years ago (and that's where my weight problems really began). I had my surgery at about noon on Friday, June 15th at Clinicia Victoria in Cancun, MX. Dr. Sergio Verbooden was the surgeon and the surgery was arranged by International Patient Facilitators - Sherri Burke. I spent the night in the hospital and was released on Saturday morning. I stayed in Cancun until Monday. The night in the hospital was horrific - no nurses came to check on me unless my husband would go find one and tell them I needed nausea or pain meds. They encouraged me to walk so I did throughout the night and found the only nurse on the floor asleep! The hospital and others tried to get my husband to leave the hospital and go stay in the hotel room and he flat out refused - take someone with you that will push to get the best care for you. Saturday was pretty bad too. Lots of nausea and pain - the nausea was much worse than the pain though. Sunday was better, I went down to the pool (4 flights of stairs) for a while. I flew home Monday and with the help of my family (xxoo to my husband and daughter) made it home last night at 10:30 pm. I am at work today! My advice to those considering surgery in a foreign county: 1 - understand what level of care YOU need and what's being offered. I had no post op diet, no info on how to care for the incisions. 2 - understand the medicines prescribed for you post op. I was given three prescriptions - one for nausea, one for reflux, and one for pain. None were effective so my husband went to the pharmacy three times and bought other drugs that were much more effective. Add another $200 to your spending money for Rx. 3- make sure you can travel home non-stop and with minimal baggage. Sitting upright in an airplane seat was very difficult for me. The turbulence was hell on the nausea, too. 4- have a recliner waiting for you at home! I can't state how much easier it is to sleep in a recliner than a bed right now. 5- Don't go alone. If I hadn't had my husband there to advocate for me, I think I would have emotionally crumbled. I'm not fluent enough in Spanish to understand what's being said all the time, most nurses don't speak English, and the surgery is painful. You need someone to stay in the room with you.

I had the same thing happen in February and went back and had it filled under flouroscopy. It went very smooth in March. I think it is as we lose weight things start to get smaller and start to move around. February was very Very painfull as he was trying to do the fill. Went good in March. Nothing to worry about.

Yes, that is where I started. When I realized how many calories I was packing on with fast food lunches almost daily, even this many calories had an impact :-) Keep going on your bike. Your body isn't used to the activity and will need to adjust. You could also do some "lifting" with cans of food, etc. you might have around, or other light weights. Try leg lifts from your chair, etc. And, keep walking, even if it's just across the room. I'm sure you'll find that it will get easier!

I am sure they had you on IV fluids, it is water weight. It will pass, don't worry. Weigh yourself less, that helps. Commit to a weighing schedule and try to stick with it. Once a week? Once a month? Even, every day if you need to but if the fluctuation bothers you; I suggest weekly. I weigh myself every Monday, because that was the day I had surgery and the last time I was weighed before surgery. Now that I am basically at my (first) goal I weigh myself more because I am excited to get there. haha Best of luck! I hope you are feeling better Sepsis is no joke!!

My first appointment is today too in just a few hours, I feel like it's a formality as I've been reading about the surgery for six months, I don't think I have any questions left. Never the less I am excited to finally be getting started, I have no medically supervised weight loss required so I shoul have surgery end of next month or early November if all goes well.

Just remember that eventually you probably will be *able* to eat anything. However, that will be months and months and months down the road -- after your new sleeve has fully healed. But even after your sleeve has healed, it probably doesn't mean you *should* eat anything. Which foods you can and should eat regularly depends on whether those foods nourish your body and on whether your body's and your mental responses to certain foods are healthy and don't lead to over-eating those foods. Some foods will wind up being "trigger foods" for you, and you will have to avoid or greatly minimize your use of those foods. For example, some people have problems with certain "slider foods" or alcohol or high-calorie coffee drinks long-term. Many people have problems with carbonated beverages long-term. Many people have real problems with sugary foods and other slider foods and fast foods and fried foods long-term. Again, they have to avoid or minimize those foods. If you have any kind of eating disorders or what some refer to as "food addictions," weight loss surgery will NOT *fix* those issues. If you have those challenges, you should address and resolve those issues in therapy. Some people also find twelve-step and other kinds of recovery programs helpful. Some may need to enter residential treatment programs to address severe problems. Bottom line: "Can eat" doesn't always mean "should eat."

the band wont help you feel not hungry or feel (full) it will help you eat less as missy's link point out. you cant live your life doing a pre op diet. you are not on a diet. you are eating better foods to nourish you body. just because you can eat normal/large size portions does not mean you should either...eating your allotted amounts (1 cup in most cases) is what you should be doing...you cant wait for the magical fills to help you lose weight... you must heal and let the band start filling up to help.....so until that time its up to you to eat the right portion sizes as well as Protein, filling foods and find want power and help the band.

I have another insurance but at the seminars you can attend they will tell you what each insurance requires. Or you can call Banner Bariatric/Bridges Weight Loss/True Results along with other doctors offices. Most of the office people are really knowledgeable. I used St Lukes out of PHX but St Likes in Tempe has a program too.

Different stages of this journey have different challenges. One of the hardest parts of the pre-surgical phase is adhering to the required diet when you still have the ability to eat a lot of food--and you may be feeling this is the "last chance." Opinions differ on whether to have "food funerals"; I did, because I knew I wouldn't be eating that stuff for a long time, if ever again (fettucine Alfredo, for example). But I had them before I started my pre-op diet, and I lost 25 pounds on that! Take it one step at a time. You've done all the stuff you had to up until now and you can do the next steps, too. Everyone is different: I had almost no post-surgical pain, but I pretty much hated the first month of liquid and slushy stuff. Still, lost weight then. Still losing weight. Best thing I learned on this site, I think: there will be stalls. They will drive you crazy. You can try different things to get past them, but whatever you do, as long as you follow your program, you will lose weight. And have the best chance of keeping it off you've ever had! Good luck all.

I was told the expensive CPAP machine was OPTIONAL for surgery, and OPTIONAL for daily use. During surgery, the anesthesiologist will just "make some adjustments" which eliminates the need for the machine. And of course after surgery once you've dropped weight, your sleep apnea will probably vanish. Are you sleeping fine without it? If so, call your surgeon and see if your answer is the same as mine. Which will save you some cash.

So our liver shrinking is Water weight?? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App