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This is why I need the band -- I can't lose weight on my own. . . I'm on my pre-op diet. . . I've eaten between 900 and 1200 calories a day for about a month. (This is down from my regular diet of about 3000 calories a day.) The first week and a half I lost 17 pounds -- okay, I know that's a huge amount. It's been almost three weeks since then, and I haven't lost a pound. And I'm starving! If I didn't have to keep the 15 pounds off for surgery, I would have given up by now. This is what normally happens when I go on a diet. I stop losing, so I quit. But, if I used to be able to maintain my weight at 2500 calories, versus maintaining now at 1000 calories, why should I starve myself? Only, now if I were to go back up to 1800 or so calories, the weight would come rushing back on, and I couldn't have the surgery. I just can't understand how I cannot lose weight eating 1/3 of what I used to eat. Oh well, I have less than two weeks until my surgery, and if I can keep the 15 pounds off, I'll have reached my first goal. Thanks for listening.

YAY YAY Kathy, I'm so proud of you! ! ! Let your ass hang on for dear life. Mine is gone, gone South that is ha ha ha. I need to hit the gym, or get back to working out because my hiney looks horrible. You'll love having a hiney to add curve once you lose all your weight. I mean it's bad that I've considered buying the "booty pop" panties just to get some junk in my trunk.

Yay for the stall being over! I have noticed it's my waist that seems to be really defying the weight loss I see on the scale. My jeans are huge everywhere but still fit my waist. It's weird. It'll all even out some time, right?!

I had read somewhere (not sure how accurate it was) that the bypass procedure was actually meant to treat reflux not weight loss initially. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. Other research I came across showed stats like 20-30% of sleeve patients have reflux issues post surgery. Not sure if this is long term, severe etc. verse the study I read said bypass patients only a small percent reported new or worse reflux symptoms but most reported improvement.

Everyone is different. When you are on liquid and purees, yes you are going to miss food. I couldn't watch people eat and for some reason the smell of ham made me want to cry. Which seems funny now. Once you get to the solid phase you probably won't miss much. Sometimes I miss sushi but I'm afraid to eat it yet. I also don't know how the rice will go down. Maybe when I'm further out or I can just have sashimi without the rice. I go to fast food places and I really have no desire to eat anything there. I have salad and can barely eat any of it. I would say the first few months are very hard but some people just seem to have no issues. I think I miss having a drink on the weekends more but even that is going away. I just love losing weight more than food or alcohol.

Congratulations on your weight loss.

I had surgery June 13th. I went into the surgeons office because my incisions weren't looking good to me. Not only were my incisions ok I weighed. I went from 330 June 13th to 317 today! Feeling good about the weight loss but I did find out I'm eating too much yogurt!

Hey all you banded experts! I have almost 3 months ahead before my scheduled surgery because I had to do it between college semesters. I am sitting here twittling(sp?) my thumbs and wondering what I can be doing now to prepare physically and emotionally for the surgery. I have just started seeing a therapist because from my past experiences with weight loss I do know that as each pound came off, I felt more and more vulnerable and I think Ive subconciously sabatoged each past effort. I also KNOW I have low self esteem. I also am wondering what physical preparation I need to make. What items should I have on hand (a blender? Protein powders?) by the time surgery day rolls around. How do I prepare my family members for the "new" me....especially hubby. He's a bit overweight as well and I'll admit I'm his partner in bingeing sometimes. I want the lap band to be a new life for me and my family- I want to succeed!!!! So where do I start and what do I do to prepare????? THANKS ALL!!

@elektrik- thank you for the long post. I appreciated knowing I can come here to talk or vent. I am just so worried nothing will change. I have list weight many times without the tool but when I get stressed I EAT my weight back up. I want to address it now before I sabotage myself. My husband is selfish. He doesn't say anything negative per say about the surgery except that he would never do it. He is about 80-90 lbs overweight. He doesn't support me either though. He just says whatever you want to do. Work is a bunch of drama and I couldn't even tell them what surgery I was having because my boss would have treated me differently. When I told him I have an ulcer he even said "I just wanted to be sure it wasn't voluntary surgery". I work for a large corporation and technically he wasn't even supposed to be asking me anything but he did. Most of the time he is a pretty good boss though. I work with too many other women and women can be so mean and troublemakerish. My kids are awesome but they need me and I worry about them. I grew up with a mother that was 300+ lbs and my dad always had a big issue with her weight. I think that's why I feel so low about myself when I'm heavy like no one would ever want someone as fat as me. I just want to deal with all this.

@Jessica9091 Your husband sounds like my boyfriend minus the weight. I'm actually with someone who's underweight, but he was an alcoholic for several years, so I supported him through his time of need, as I still do. I honestly think he may need counseling. I also work for a big corp. My boss knew about my surgery. I was terrified to tell her, but I felt so much better after I did. My problem is with 2 other chicks. I don't understand why they still have a job. It can be so unprofessional at times. I always turn to food for comfort too, but I haven't been able to do that lately, so I'm always out and walking around. It seems to work. I joined a gym too. Haven't been in a couple weeks, but I'm there as soon as I have energy when I get off from work.

Warning: I just wrote a book...LOL!!! I have all those issues as well. I was sleeved last week and I will tell you what everybody has told me...EVERYTHING CHANGES!!!!!! My work issues...I've decided not to care anymore. My blood pressure is lower now (I didn't start blood pressure meds until I started this job). I used to worry if I was going to lose my job everyday and I'm the best damn employee in my department. I'm over it and I only care about my check. If I lose my job, I always bounce back and find something better within a month and on a positive note, I have more experience to add to my resume. My Kids...Yesterday we sat down and reorganized our way of doing things at night (bath-time, checking homework, getting ready for the next day, etc.) If I want to be a better person, I want my kids to be better little people too. My boyfriend of 8 years (never married)...I decided its time to drop the dead weight next month. I don't care if I'm single for the next 20 years, I am a better me when he's not around. I've put up with so much it's ridiculous. It is taking him way too long to grow up. The final straw was seeing how much he 'cared' about my recovery. He hasn't done anything for our household. Hasn't cooked a meal, cleaned, asked me if I needed anything. I returned to work today. I don't need him now. I was just amazed at the level of support he gave me, which was NONE. And last but most certainly not least, self-esteem...You are fabulous and guess what, you will be even more fabulous after you have the surgery and start losing weight. I've only lost 10lbs since surgery last week, but I lost myself when I gained all that weight. I want me back. Those issues will resolve itself. You just keep being the best you, you can be and it will all fall into place. If you ever need to talk, I'm here.

I used to do the laxative thing you described before I had the band. But I think that even if you flush it out of your system, it was still there, and the body is going to adsorb those calories. Maybe it won't show up on the scale, but I don't think real weight loss is going to happen with laxatives. Nowadays I try to add Benefiber into whatever it is that I eat or drink. It mixes well. That way I stay regular, if you know what I mean. It seems like you are using a whole lot of milk of magnesia. I don't know, but I think that you can hurt yourself from using that stuff too much. Call your doctor and tell him what you are doing. Maybe you are just needing a fill or aren't eating the foods that help keep you full. Good luck.

I was banded by Dr. Kuri in TJ on Jan 10 and it has been great. His office just called me Friday to touch base.... make sure I am still doing okay. If I have any questions. Great Experience!!! Good Luck to you it is a wonderful tool for weight loss.

I was banded April 6th, so about 1 month ahead of you and I am only down 43 lbs. They say it's all about getting to that sweet spot. Also do you exercise? I am just getting more active and now I've hit a platue People tell me it's muscle gain but either way it's frustrating! Hang in there!

I created a sort of new normal. I eat a most of the things I used to eat pre-op, but many things I don't eat. High on the list of things I no longer eat or very rarely eat are highly processed carbs like breads, white rice, and refined sugars. I didn't even have brown rice until I was at least 6 mths out. Some will eat the pizza toppings and leave the bread. I think I've had pizza maybe twice since I was sleeved 14mths ago. It fills me up too fast with not enough of a Protein payout to make it worth while. They can also end up being slider foods. Foods to can eat easily but also overeat easily or lead to bad eating habits that cause you to gain or impede your losing.

After smoking for 17 years I also quit by using an e cigarette. I smoked that for one year and now I am completely smoke free and losing weight! I highly recommend the e cigarette!

I'm newly sleeved - just since June 4th. However, before my sleeve I couldn't get the weight off no matter what I did until my surgeon put me on a low carb diet. You may want to track your carbs and try to keep them under 30g total to see if that would jump start your loss.

There are very few people that I've told that I was banded. Really, only my family and a couple of close friends know. I haven't told my in-laws because I really don't think they would be supportive and when I made the decision to have this surgery, I didn't want any added stress. I know some people say "It's the easy way out" but I know what I've had to do and continue to do everyday to be successful in my weight loss. Yes, the band has helped with my weight loss, but I've changed my eating habits and started to exercise.

What you need to know about living with the band By Robin McCoy When you begin the decision-making process to have Weight Loss Surgery (WLS), and specifically Lap Band® Surgery, it is vital that you fully understand the changes you must make in your lifestyle. WLS is not a magic pill. Weight loss is something that you must work at to be successful. There are several rules and circumstances that someone who has undergone Lap Band® Surgery, a “Bandster,” must follow and understand to see success and have a high quality banded life. Drinking Before and After Meals Not drinking during meals is, by far, one of the most important things to learn and is vital to your weight loss success. It is also one of the most challenging. Stop drinking all liquids at least 30 minutes before your meal. This allows all that is in your pouch to drain through to the lower stomach. Therefore your pouch is empty when you eat allowing the food to fill you up properly. Forgo all beverages during your meals. Drinking during a meal flushes the food through your band and the band is unable to function properly. Most people will have 2, 3 or even 4 glasses of liquid with meals. Servers in restaurants, trained to keep customers happy, will keep beverage glasses full throughout the meal. This is unhealthy for bandsters and sabotages their success. State firmly and clearly that you do not want a beverage. From personal experience, I know the often bewildered looks that follow the statement: “nothing to drink for me,” but diligence is the key. Like most changes required after the Lap Band® procedure, not drinking with meals gets much easier with time. Having now lost over 100 pounds, I no longer have difficulty asking my server not to bring me a beverage! Do not drink for an hour after a meal.The main reason is the same as drinking during your meal. Liquids wash the food through the band defeating its purpose. Another reason not to drink after a meal is if your pouch is full the beverage might not have anywhere to go…except backwards resulting in a spit-up. Suffice it to say that food and liquids making a return visit is not satisfying. By starting this practice immediately, at the next meal, you will be well on your way to a successful banding experience. Smaller Bites. More Chewing. Slower Eating. Begin to recognize and understand what a Bandster Bite is. At your next meal look at your bite size. Look at the amount of food on your fork and remember it. Now, cut that bite in half. This is the Bandster bite size after surgery. Now, cut that bite in half. This is the size of a Bandster bite after the first fill or adjustment. After each fill the bite size will get smaller until the bandster is eating toddler-sized bites. The reason for this is so the bite can be chewed completely to a liquid before swallowing.

I am almost 4yrs out and started gaining at 2.5 years out. DOS I was 346 my lowest 210 never even got to goal. On September 30,2013 I was back to 257. I had a revision done on September 30,2013. I hope with the revision I can make it to goal. You have to really want to change forever and I didn't. After 2 years I could eat everything. I tried to get back on track but my pouch was so stretched it was hard. I will keep you I'my prayers.

I am 2 months shy of my 2 year anniversary and I am already gaining my weight back! I'm so discouraged! I am able to eat sugar and that makes it hard. I have not gone back to soda, which is great, but I am not motivated to stay on my diet anymore. I hit my 100 lb mark at 1 year, (my goal was 175) but have gained back 25 lbs in the last year. SO DISCOURAGED!! Looking back now, I wished I had realized that there was a small window of change to take place mentally. I knew this was a tool to lose weight, but I thought I had more time to change. Its different when you CANT eat, but now its work!

I bought new bras back in late July or so well now they are too big!! It's ok I'll just go buy more but some I haven't wore yet but I think my mom can wear them. I told my hubby I'm getting boobs, I can deal with the no butt because I can find some pants that make it look good but boobs are another story lol. When I've lost weight before I never lost them but now I guess the band is diff. It pulls from all over your body and not just a little here and there and alot somewhere else. I am pleaseantly pleased and I ow my life to this band. :thumbup:

I never really realized that when you loose weight it comes from everywhere not just in one area. I've lost my precious behind. It's gone...was one of my best assests. My boobs are hanging kinda low, but they don't wobble to and fro, can't hang 'em in a knot or tie 'em in a bow--YET!! And the oh so wonderful bat wings. They are awesome lol!! No sleeveless shirts for me. I must love every part of my body even if it's changing at the moment.

Yea! I got a new bra too recently and its the bra I always dreamed of. The old gals look 10 years perkier I haven't shopped in a brick and mortar store for years. I figured if I could fit in it that was good enough and putting on makeup felt like decorating a gourd. Now that I've dropped some weight I find I do care about fit and color and makeup etc so i went out shopping last weekend. And it was a blast!. Enjoy your new attire!