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i too was on that and it worked great in the begining I was on it for 8 months .....i was down to 120lbs .....i thought life was great I was on the white with blue speckels ....i would break them in half and take half in the am and half at 4 pm so i would not stay awake...... i too would clean like crazy ... my friend found me cleaning my dryer with an alchol wipe !!!!! as soon as i went off it i gained the weight ack in a years time !!!! it is a short fix to an on going problem

Drinking water – big ol’ drinks! Questions… Okay so I had something unexpected happen this morning. I took a big-o-drink of water. More like three consecutive drinks. Swallow, swallow, swallow….you get what I am saying. I actually felt the water being held up. Like not super drastic, but I felt it in my stoma and throat. I felt a mild alert over the situation. Um, never had that happen before! Wow! Until this happened this morning I have been able to chug-a-lug my water at a good rate, any time of day. I know, some don’t understand why people like me drink so fast, but we are all different. I am a fish! Ha! Just kidding but I have a habit of drinking a couple of swallows each drink. Not all the time now as I am working on slowing down….but I am a drinker. I have been reading on this board for a while now, so there have been many subjects covered. Which I love, by the way, because it feels good to have working knowledge of the band, even if it is not my own working knowledge. : ) So, thank you all for sharing your band experiences! You are appreciated! That being said, I’ve thought it is strange when people talk about having a hard time getting there liquids in. Sipping through out the day….sucking on ice cubes, ect. I’ve read many posts about not being able to tolerate food in the mornings. Even some posts about not being able to eat anything solid until evening. That being said, I know our bands are fickle. Each person can have there band affected differently. Some talk about weather, flying, stress, their monthly visitor, a bad PB episode, drinking cold liquids, and much more, and how it can affect the bands tightness. What I would really like to know is how tight you prefer to keep your bands’? Do you keep your band snug enough to feel water back up if you drink a big ol’ drink? Are you a sipper? Can you eat in the mornings, or afternoons? Do you have to wait on your band to loosen up before a meal? Can you put into words what band restriction means to you? I am curious on what the “norm” is and if is varies a great deal from person to person. I am working on getting to my sweet spot or being in the green zone. For me, I can enjoy breakfast everyday. Depending on the food, I can eat a cup to ¾ cup of food at a meal. I focus mainly on protein and often feel like I leave out veggies and fruits almost completely. I seem to have better success when I eat steamed veggies vs. fresh veggies using broccoli and carrots as a good example of this. My band tolerates muffins and cake well, wish came as a surprise to me. We had treats at work and I tried these yummies and had no issues. I have no idea if I can eat bread, because I have cut it completely out of my diet. I no longer eat a sandwich or anything like that. I stick to the guts, the insides of a sandwich. Protein, protein, protein… I am planning on posting this in the forum as well as a blog entry. Please reply and share how you like your band, and what works best for you. Last monthish there were some great posts about a few gals feeling there bands were too tight. I know from your posts that being to tight does not equal weight loss or a safe way to keep your band. So all experience is valuable! I am scheduled for an up coming fill in December and I have been on and off the fence about it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and if you don’t feel comfortable posting, please PM me. You guys are the best!

I am going to try it first to see if i can lose some weight. Has anyone used this before? I am really hoping it works. He said he has seen alot of sucess with it?

Don't worry. Stalls happen. Try eating a little bit MORE as Sunnyway said. Six spoonfuls is not a lot. Energy in vs. energy out - you are doing more than you are eating, so the stall WILL break and you WILL lose weight once again.

Hi all. I'm 31 and suffer from cervical stenosis and pcos that causes my infertility. I have been doing infertility treatments for the past two years that have made me gain massive amounts of weight due to meds/injections and depression from all the failed attempts. I had my fist consult nov 13 and I decided on the sleeve as my procedure. I have to wait 3 months to complete all the insurance pre requisites n will schedule surgery march/April 2013. So excited. My game plan is to start back on birth control this month because it helps decrease the presence of cysts due to pcos and hopefully will help with the weight loss process. I would like to be healthy. I have no goal weight in mind. My goal is whatever I lose in 18 months following the surgery and that is when I will try to have a baby again. I am risking time waiting but I believe if I got pregnent at the weight I am now I would n the baby would suffer. I am willing to take the risk. Current bmi 41 Current weight 250 Height 5'5" Jeans sz 20 ????Cheri????

I had a similar experience with the woman who registered me at the hospital for my pre-op testing. When she started asking me info and realized what kind of surgery I was testing for, she went on and on about how I really don't need it, and she used to be bigger, but lost weight due to a depressive incident and not eating because of it. The whole time, I was thinking "Ok nutty lady, you can stop any time now." People always have a tendency to tell me their life story, but this got really awkward. I thought a medical professional should be just that... professional. Geez.

Also, keep in mind that as our bodies adjust to weighing less, our caloric needs have changed. I know this isn't the perfect example, but think of the point system for weight watchers diets. As you lose weight, your allowable points decrease. I think that's also true for sleevers. We are told to decrease calories to 600-800 to lose (or whatever your surgeon has instructed for you) but then when we maintain to up it to 1200-1500ish? Your body will probably wonder what the hell is going on and need to adjust itself again. Of course, this is all just my postulation since I'm not in maintenance mode yet, but it makes sense in my head Most importantly: At almost a year out, I eat whatever I want. I just downed two Ghirardelli squares and could easily eat another few. Diets are a lot more lax at this point for me BUT I'm still losing because I've started exercising so much more than I had been. So if someone is saying it's taking them a lot longer to lose weight from overeating, they're probably not scrutinizing their diet as well as they did a year ago. There are probably a lot more 'hidden' calories in there than you'd think.

Boy you about have me covienced! Can you eat salad and fresh fruits and vegtables - I really miss this stuff. Sounds strange for a prior fat person to say but its the truth. Do you think I will do ok the first few weeks I am VERY picky about what I eat and liquids and Protein drinks aren't gonna do it. Do you think I will drop much weight sure don't want to loose more than 10 pounds I have spent a lot of money on plastic surgery and don't want to ruin that. You know back when I was banded they sent me home with no instructions or diet. Only home a few hours and was eating a little cup of pineapple! Sounds like things are much different today. You have been a great help and have put many of my fears to rest I was ready to forget it until it became an emergency but now think I will schedule it. Hope I can stay in contact with you. Best Regards, Sandy

For my height I need to be at 134 but I think I would like 145.. im blk and still want my curves lol not looking to be stick thin.. I just want to be healthy!!

Good for you! And who knows, in a few weeks you may be doing so well with your weight loss and new eating plan, you might not even want the cookies.

I'll be home for a while now... I am taking 2 classes at a time from now until December 15 - GRADUATION. It will be worth it to be a homebody for a while. :tt2: Tiffany, welcome. We would love to have you join us. Yvonne, how's the food diary looking? That's always the first place I look. It's easy to not realize how much or how little we eat - both are bad for the waistline. Too much can cause you to not lose or worse, gain. Too little can make you lose slooooow or not at all.

I was 100% sure and hung in there for a year waiting to get insurance approval. When they said I was approved, I suddenly thought uh-oh. I must say that I was nervous and thought about it, but I knew this was ultimately what I wanted to do. The yo-yo dieting, losing then gaining more than I lost for years and years had to end. I am happy to be banded and I would do it again.

Hi: You could get a ring guard put on your wedding ring until you get to your final size. Then, resize what you have and maybe get a special ring for your other hand to Celebrate your tremendous weight loss! I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Monday is my big day and I am excited and nervous and wondering how I will get through the weekend!! I want this weight off once and for all and I KNOW I will do it!!

I think George said he would be there too- isn't he out of town right now though? I wonder if he's bringing his friend again this time too? You may want to add 2! I'll be there with bells on! :embaressed_smile: (and other things- don't worry, I haven't Lost THAT much weight!) LMAO :cursing:

My dr told me at the first visit we lose weight from the head down.... In my case I lost weight everywhere including 4 ring sizes in my fingers so no doubt you will lose weight everywhere. Best wishes for a successful journey!

Hello everyone! So I have been researching the Lap Band and I am curious to know if anyone on this discussion forum has gotten their surgery done in Orange County, Ca because I am interested in getting a consultation but I have no idea what dr to go to. I am kind of worried that I might not be eligible to even get the lap band because I am on the lower side of the required weight...I am 5'2 and weigh about 203lbs and my BMI is 37. I'm only looking to lose like 60-70 lbs but I am not sure if the Lap band is right for me. So if anyone can give me some info/opninion and tell me about their experience with it I would be most appreciative.

Good job. Keep working and striving to get the weight off and to keep your body toned.

I had my surgery June 28, had a full to 2 cc's late July and a 2nd fill 2 more cc's a week ago. I started at 170 but being 4'10 I needed to lose at least 50 lbs. I had lost a total of 25 lbs from pre-surgery diet until this week. Now somehow I've gained 1-2 lbs. how does this happen? What am I doing wrong?!

Hello all, I am currently thinking about getting banded. I am going to my 3 month initial evaluation i guess it's called in a couple of weeks to the surgeon. My doctor has put me on a 1800 calorie siet for now, i have been on it for the last 2 months in 2 weeks it will be 3 months and i am coping very well. I am learning to limit myself to those 1800 calories, at first it was very hard to adjust becasue i was not feeling full, sometimes i still dont always feel full. i have lost 12 pounds so far on this diet. I am very new to all of this. I have no idea what i am doing. I know for sure i want this done. after discussing with my fiance of 10 years i finally am ready to do this. I am like some others on regards to who to tell, who to not tell, I told my fiance of course, and my sister which i already regret and didnt even have the surgery yet, she wanted me to talk with someone about all of this. she wanted me to talk with someone who had the band already, but i did not want to put my personal buisness out there like that. So deep down inside i have lots of questions and worries but cant bring them out, i dont want to freak out my fiance....after the surgery how long will i need to be out of work? i see some people have been out for just a couple of days and were fine... others a week....i am trying to schedule this around some vacation i will have but only about 7 days. I dont know if that will be enough? i work in a hospital and have to lift people....not sure if that will be ok? and what do you have to do before surgery? do you have to go on a 2 week liquid diet before surgery? i will probably have all my questions answered in about 2 weeks when i see the surgeon, but just in case i forget something i thank all that replies...i still think i have no clue what i am doing...exept for running on the treadmill almost everyday like crazy my doctor keeps telling me what speed to go up to and what incline to go up to every time i go to her....it is always a challenge and i think im going to die when im on that thing...but i do it. any advise to what food will make you feel full or not hungry in 1 hour? i have been breaking my meals up as much as i can..B L D is 400 cals each with 200 cal snacks in between each one...sometime i have to eat the snack with the meal other times i can break it up...i have already lost 12 pounds they saif i cant gain any weight at all....

Applebtmgrl77 - I agree, after watching the movie "Super Size Me" I began to think the same way. There are 32 ingredients in a chicken McNugget. 32! They admitted that the more processed a food is, the lower the nutrition and it becomes less healthy to eat. I can only imagine what they do to the Big Macs to make'em taste so good. If you haven't heard about the movie, the star went on a 30 day diet, eating exclusively McDonalds' food for every meal. At the start, he went to 3 doctors for a baseline reading and their expectations of what would happen to him. They figured he'd gain weight and have higher cholesterol levels. But by the last week, they were telling him to stop eating fast food - it was destroying his body. Check out reviews, it was a great movie and will really open your eyes to the stuff they put into fast food. http://goo.gl/n8BPk

I was told not to loose any weight..but maintain my weight...225 ...so when ive been getting weighed..seems like ive been losing..2 3 lbs....so to maintain...ive been enjoying..the fast food life....heres the.thing...anyone else FEEL LIKE CRAP...SLUGGISH TIRED...JUST CRAPPY...HATE TO SAY..I HATE GAINING WEIGHT...LOL

Well done so far. The big weight losses will slow down and there will be stalls along the way. Weight gain after surgery is usually due to iv fluids and inflammation and then the fluid retention usually goes within a few days, hence the big losses. Just checking you are getting plenty of fluids and the required amount of protein??? What food stage are you at?

You are so close to providence hospital, have you considered going there? They are a weight loss surgery center of excellence. It was a great experience...