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29 lbs in 5 weeks is amazing!! - that's about 6 lbs a week - when did you ever lose weight that quickly before? I'm only averaging around 4 lbs a week and I'm delighted with that. Think positive - this surgery is a tool, not a magic bullet. Depending on your starting weight and goals, it may take close to a year to lose all the weight. Don't get down on yourself - counting calories is not my main goal anymore. If I eat the correct quantity (no more than 1 cup at my stage) of the right foods (protein, fruits and veggies), then the calories take care of themselves. I use a tracking app called MyFitnessPal which I love. You might want to start using that - it has an amazing data base of lots of foods so it can tell you how much protein, fat, carbs etc you've consumed. What phase are you in? (pureed food, soft foods?) I also got tired of the Protein Shakes but found I love scrambled eggs, cottage cheese and fish (all mashed in the puree phase). Talk to your nutritionist about ideas and recipes etc Good luck!

My therapist said that's very normal. She said that our weight is a big part of our identity so it's going to take longer for us to "see" the results as opposed to others seeing it. She suggested taking pictures throughout the journey because it's easier to see the loss in comparing them. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

For my six month weight loss trial it had to have my weight documented, as well as what exercises I have been doing and discussion about what I will to different to work on my weight loss the next month. I had gained weight one month after a taking a stretch of steroids for an injury, so there had to be additional discussion on why I gained weight and what I will do to not only lose the weight I put on but additional weight as well. The weight loss physician wrote the letter of medical necessity for my insurance company.

Hello Traveler......you are the SAME weight and SAME height I was when I was sleeved 3 years ago.....it changed my life....at first I only told a few trusted friends.....I was lucky to have a support group, but as time went on I realized I had nothing to be ashamed about....I was taking control of my own life and if someone felt I was taking the easy way out or was judgemental in anyway, then hey, that was THEIR problem. For me? I love my life now and my only regret is that I did not do it sooner. You will gain your health back, your looks, and your confidence and then you will feel better about surrounding yourself with new friends! Go get 'em!!!!

I am so lucky to have the amazing support system I do...first and foremost, my husband has been wonderful throughout this process and has always stuck by me making us healthy dinners. My mother in law had the sleeve done too about 4 years ago so she's been wonderful. My mom has seen me struggle with my weight my entire life and although she was hesitant at first, she's seen the new life this process has handed me and wants to have it done too! My 2.5 year old has been so patient...from me not being able to hold her for 2 weeks (hardest thing I've ever done) to kissing the "boo boos" on mommy's tummy...she's my reason for wanting to be healthy. My best friend's mom had her sleeve procedure done 2 weeks before mine so she's been wonderful from being a gym partner to someone to talk to and lean on and someone to share the process with. The rest of my family and friends have been encouraging, supportive and wonderful...I am so fortunate to not have any negativity in my life regarding this decision...it's been the greatest thing I've ever done for myself and my family! I go to the boxing gym weekly, go to the gym, run & I'm running my first 5K this weekend...I'm certain I never would be doing this without this new found confidence/determination. <3 It's Not Where You Start (It's Where You Finish) <3

I never thought that I would be able to "get back on track" after 4 years. It was like an overnight decision this past Jan. My whole mindset woke up and----here I am, working with my sleeve , not against it. and--- I have this site and the people who post here to thank for any weight loss success I have. Without their (your) support, I would still be in a dark place alone. Instead, I look forward to each and every day becoming healthier, happier, and motivated to keep on keep'n on!

I've made many big changes, but the most unbelievable to me was fried foods. Even after LapBand I was eating fried foods all the time. A typical daily meal was Popeye's fried chicken strips. My weight loss had basically stopped after 10 months post op. I finally gave up my deep fried everything 20 months post op. It has totally changed how I eat now and I am not craving lousy foods anymore. Slowly my weight has started to go down again.

I also went to a weight loss center.... Franciscan Weight Loss Center in WA. This is what they do! So they are well set up to see you through the process. Look for that type of set up in your area.

Katie, From one "Katy" to another... I know it is super frustrating... And don't be discouraged... but I'm going to be honest with you--- drinking with meals will SIGNIFICANTLY alter your weight loss. You can consume A LOT more calories even if you only drink a little with your meals... In the beginning of my journey, I drank a teeny bit with my meals. But, I finally buckled down, and got rid of the beverages. That made a HUGE difference. Here's the deal... once you get out of the habit, you won't even miss it or think twice about it. I sat at Thanksgiving dinner, with a huge glass of wonderful wine that my grandmother had poured for me and it didn't even cross my mind to drink it. Later on in the evening I did have a few sips though. Retrain your brain by changing your actions. I promise you that after a few weeks, you'll be so surprised you waited so long. Big HUGS!

Yes, it's frozen over. Have you seen my 6 mo. Diet Ticker lately? Well, I’m done! DONE I TELL YOU!!! The 6 months of dieting is so over!!!!!! Newbies, cover your ears just a sec….All you LBT’ers who posted that “The 6 months goes so fast!” I want you to know I have all your names and I learned how to Google Earth my way to your houses and yes, I’m letting this one slide, but if I find out this ‘restriction thing’ that you also posted about is yet another LBT Urban Legend I’m coming after you!!! This has been the l—o—n—g—e—s—t 6 months of my life!!! Well, it didn’t help that I started looking at this last May, and it took me most of the summer to decide, and until September to get in to my PCP, and then I couldn’t do anything constructive to make the time fly by, …and so I past the time by (whining about) blogging every gory detail of my (dys)FUN(ctional) life and bored all my new friends on LBT until they were so tired of my incessant (whining) blogging about my 6 months of (misery) dieting that they too, (wanted to throttle me) were counting down the days until my 6 months was over, (Just so they didn't have to listen to me anymore) but it was still a LONG 6 months! OK, my friends, here’s your reward…yes, I said reward…you’ve earned it…you were always there for me laughing, crying, ranting, (whining), and yes, peeing. You’ve come along on my magical ride and now here’s the pay off… …the 6 months are over. APRIL FOOLS!!! No, I wasn’t lying and now you have to suffer through more months with me, the 6 months ARE over, but that’s NOT your reward…bet you can’t guess?..........time’s up!!! I got my Band Date!!!!! (No, NOT April Fools!) Isn’t that great!!! What a reward!!! You were just calculating how many weeks of (whining) blogging about waiting to get my date you’d have to suffer through, and there will be NO (whining) blogs about that!! Good news for everyone! Here it is, served up on a silver platter just for you….drumroll please……my Band Birthday is April 22! April is going to be the best month ever…April 22, my new shiny band…April 24, our 27th Anniversary (guess that won’t be a wild night)…April 27, my big 5-0 Birthday (Broth for everyone!), April 28, DH’s 50th Birthday! Wow, all within 7 days! Then I have the 29th and 30th to get the house cleaned, party decorations up and meals made (maybe catered now) for all the company coming on May 1st for DD’s Graduation! Now here’s the ‘cherry on top’…wait for it…………..there’s NO pre-op diet! Yep, I won’t be (whining) blogging about that either! Just a pre-op class next week and a physical with the nurse there sometime before banding and I’m golden (oh, and that approval thing…I should know within 72 hours, submitted today…she said ‘no worries’, so I’m not). Let the ROASTING begin…. I can hear it now…. BG- Thank GAWD it’s over! BG- If I had to hear one more word about your suffering with having to gain weight and your ‘non diet’ while we're all out here sweating and counting every blessed calorie… BG- Whine, whine, whine... BG- I thought you were banded years ago! OK, maybe not that last one…I’m off to blog the (boring) nitty-gritty about my day.

All I know is I am SICK of being fat and SICK of how slow this is going!!!!! I had gained 30 more pounds rapidly after my wedding in September which is what made me think it was time to get the surgery. So, I have the surgery about 2 1/2 months ago and all I've lost is the 30 I recently gained!!! ARRGH! I know it's progress, but it doesn't FEEL like it! I want my clothes to start falling off of me, dang it! I want to look in the mirror and not see that double/triple chin anymore! I'm tired of still feeling tired and run down from dragging all this extra weight around with me! Sorry, just having a bad day....

I think we're all at this mindset at one point or another. I just try to console myself that maybe our slower weight loss will mean less loose skin in the long haul. I think 30 lbs is great! I am three weeks out and stuck at 12 lbs, so I would take 30, LOL! I know what you mean though. I have definitely had to revise my goal dates. Hang in there!

As of June it will be two years since getting banded, for the first time I have gained weight -11lbs to be exact. I have never had this happen but I am not going to let it slide. I have an appointment in two weeks for a fill thankfully. I am refocusing on my diet and exercise - looking back to my old success from when I first got my band, I just need to take good look at what I have learned and reapply it once again :smile:

This made me laugh. So often people want instant results. It is hard work to lose weight and get in shape regardless of having WLS.

My post-op program didn't say much about carbs except to keep them low. It did state things I should not eat initially and later on during the losing phase, but because the pre-op diet they had me on limited my carbs to 30 per day or less, that's what I continued in my initial post-op diet. I was only on clear liquids for 2 days and then full liquids for like 2 weeks. I then progressed to soft/mushy food that I stayed on for another month I believe. I'd second/third people's suggestion to talk with your surgeon/nutritionist. Ask your questions and get clarification until you're content with your plan (even if it deviates from their recommendations). I just feel that it's nice to have input from the professionals to help us make the best decisions as possible. As for the weight loss rate, it's so hard to guess these things before hand. I tended to be very conservative with my estimates so that I wouldn't be disappointed with the loss. This kept me from getting too disappointed and set myself up for failure. BUT, you know yourself best, and maybe this kind of thing wouldn't bother you too much. Good luck!

My surgeon said you loose the most weight with RNY and not as much with the sleeve. I wanted to get be best results and that was the RNY. My down time was 7 days, I had surgery on a Monday and I was back to work the following Monday.

Have you ever drank beer or wine? Did you like the taste of those the frist time you drank them? Probably not, but like most people you kept drinking them for some reason, and i bet it wasn't for a reason nearly as good as you have to not use sugar. That would be your success at losing weight and your health. My point being is you can get use to it if you give it a chance, and you will be much better off. Drinking high calorie drinks like sweet tea will set you up for failure. We don't want to see anyone fail around here.

So... First of all I should conitnue blogging I think it makes a person feel better! Since no one else around me understands. Second I have made this change to my life.... and I have no damn clue how to live it! I know I am supposed to have certain portion sizes and so on, however they don't tell you what calories to stay at in order to keep losing and how many carbs to take in and how many grams of sugar. I have decided to hire a personal trainer to help aid in my weight loss journey. I meet with her today at 11:30. I hope that goes well and she provides me with some good information. I have been trying to get through to my dr. His secretary is an idiot! Why are Dr's secretaries so dumb?! I want to know what size band I had put on, well I finally find out its a standard size? Ok WTF? So here I am searching on the world wide web to find out about a standard band. GRRRRRRRR :huytsao I called the nutrionist this am to find out where I am to be with calories since I was unsucessful with the SECRETARY :rolleyes. I guess I am to be taking in 1100 calories and I am not even exercising yet. Gah I am soooooooooo scared to put any of this weight back on. I have been stayin right around 872 and bumping myself up to 1100 wow. But she says I will see faster results cause at that level I am not in starvation mode! :whoo:Thanks to her I got a little bit of helpful information. I still have strong hunger pains which is weird. I cannot wait for my first fill! I have 3 more weeks though until I get it. If any of you have any information please let me know or you can add me on yahoo: militarywif3y is my id. Missyd has been a huge help to me! And I thank her alot! This will get easier? I will learn good foods and how to continue the good lifestyle change I am hoping?

When I had my original surgery (evil band) 5yrs ago I went from a 9 to a 7 1/2 shoe size lol. I still wear a 7 1/2 even with the weight I gained back. Hoping not to have to get new shoes again this time lol

Adrianna, I don't want to hijack this thread but my journey has been ongoing and learning is a daily occurence!!! I was banded in Oct of 2008 and started losing (after post op gain of 15 pounds) 4 months later when I finally started getting restriction. Best wishes, Mimi

How long did it take you to lose all your weight?

When you lose weight you lose fat around the stomach and typically need another fill. This is all normal. You need a fill. I have heard people go as much 7ccs or more in 10cc without a problem.

That's great to hear Chelle. I didn't have my first fill until Jan, so if you are still feeling good and not eating much then you don't need it. If I remember correctly they do start us off with a 2ml fill. Big congrats on your weight loss. Did you stay at the B&B in the middle of the country and have the famous steak at the pub?

Good luck, the sleeve will help you lose the weight and could resolve your liver issue. Hope it happens soon for you.