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Don't forget they have the luxury to work out like 8 hours a day and do you ever watch the "after" the Biggest Loser shows? Not trying to be a downer, but it's hard on your body to lose it as fast as they do and you don't learn for the long term on how to actually eat and keep it off. And I'm not sure what you mean by pureeing your food forever with the band, you make sure you chew well, but eat solids. If you aren't ready for this, don't do it. But personally I needed my own reminder on a long term basis to keep the weight off, not just lose and gain like I've done all my life. You can do this if you want it bad enough.

I did it. I called it "Last Supper Mentality" lol. I got my date in September for January surgery (had to save more $$ than I expected so I needed to have my surgery scheduled for a few months away). In those 3-4 months I pigged out and ate everything. I gained 4lbs!! I've seen a lot of people do things like that.

PORT REPLACED as tubing 'blown' & HANGING in PELVIS I have just returned from Bruge where I had a second operation (general) to replace my port and reconnect it to the tubing after it Blew apart. I was losing FABULOUSLY (28pounds in 3 months) and then in May 2007 I suffered EXCRUCIATING PAIN where I was hospitalised (check my other posts) and they did all kinds of tests but found nothing. I have regained all the weight I lost bar 2 pounds. I have literally just got home from Bruge and am writing to WARN people about a BAD BATCH OF BANDS that were in circulation across the world between DECEMBER 2006 and FEBRUARY 2007. The bands are 10ml bands made by HELIOGAST and the connection blows out after about 2 fills (or 5-6 mls) and gives CHRONIC pain in the port area and also in the pelvis. it feels like you are going to have a baby NO JOKE. The port is stabbing you in the tummy, and the tubing is prodding around in your pelvis! They bandied words like Kidney stones and Diverticulitis in the hospital, but cam up with nothing. It was only when I started regaining and had NO restriction and was eating whatyever the hell I wanted even after a further 4 fills and the assurance of my fill doctor (Dr. Dovey) that all was fine, that I booked to have a fluroscopic fill. Initially it was because I thought they must be missing the port or something... NO!!!!!!!!!! Dr. Dovey said everything was fine, but it was NOT. The last fill I recieved I got an infection and was off work for a week! I had had 4 fills since my blow out, regained 25 pounds and my fill doctor thought we were I QUOTE "MAKING PROGRESS"!!!!!!!!!!!! As you can see I am VERY angry. Helioghast are paying all expenses, but I am RUINED EMOTIONALLY. This has caused me pain and suffering for 5 months straight as the port connector jabbed and stabbed me in the stomach for the last 5 months. I AM APPEALING TO EVERYONE WHO HAS HAD A SUDDEN ONSET PAIN and then weight regain, or similar problems with port to contact me. cge@talktalk.net I am also not alone, I know 4 others from the same hospital that suffered the same problem. WE MUST SORT THIS OUT... I was banded 14th FEBRUARY 2007 in BRUGGES BELGIUM by DR. DILLEMANS. When I had the fluro the band was there - fine. The port was there... stranded on its own with the connector sticking directly upwards towards my head. The tubing was hanging down INTO MY PELVIS It was shocking beyond belief. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH IF YOU HAVE SUFFERED EXTREME PAIN or think this might be the same as you. Claire Eldred

No, you don't have to lose. In fact, if you lose, they can deny your surgery because you were successful. Try not to gain, but don't woryy about the numbers. I actually gained 5 pounds during my diet. It just shows them that you cannot lose even when supervised. Ask your nutritionist about the time frame. Shey're experienced in what insurance companies will accept. Good luck!

overit- Per my billing specialist at my surgeon's office she told me not to lose any more weight because I am only at 39 bmi however I have high uncontrolled bp borderline diabetic so she was like when you weigh in weigh with your shoes on hold your purse. I have to do 6mnth supervised before they can do the surgery so I am just trying to hold my own at 230lbs. Good Luck

My insurance required a 6 months medically supervised diet BUT only the last three had to be in the office. I had to show a steady loss to prove my commitment to lifestyle change. I was specifically told that a gain could cause issues. I was approved and had lost aproximately 5% over the three months. I am scheduled for Monday. Every single insurance is different though. Good luck!

My insurance requires this. I had actually started a supervised diet back in March before looking into lap-band. I lost a little weight the first 2 months but then ran into some stressful life situations and gained it back plus more! I was hoping they would consider March as my 1st month as I had gone in monthly and June would be the 4th month. However, my question is, do you have to show continual loss? Doesn't the gain show I have a problem? A problem I have had my whole life. I have lost weight on countless diets but can NEVER keep it off. Quite honestly if I had to start over and show a loss each month, I am afraid i would no longer be approved as I may have too low of a BMI. I am under the 40 and about at 37, but have Diabetes, CAD, high BP and cholesterol. Yes, I may be able to lose the weight starving myself and they say you are too small. But my life history has proven I cannot keep it off. It is a big rollercoaster. what are the insurance companies looking for in these 6 months?

I am the last to give advice.... but 100 pounds that really impressive! Keep up the good work. I once lost alot of weight by eating only half the portion I once ate.. it worked! I would get another fill... The band is there to help... use all you can! Good luck :sneaky:

You will do fantastic! Im trying to decide whether to wait on my insurance and "waste" another year being fat or to self-pay. I can DO it but it would be a major squeeze and once Ive lost some weight Im going to want that money to start living again!!! Isnt it funny how everything we do is controlled by weight? There are so many things I dont do because of it and if I have to wait a year to get the whole surgery paid for, thats almost too long and I litterally am contemplating financing it just to not "waste" another year. Now who says it has to be a waste? Me. I feel like anythign I do as a fat person is a waste. My therepist isnt fond of that mentality, but thats how I feel. I am excited for you. Post your results and let us know how you are doing!!! XOXOXOX Lauren Ashley

Hi Sandaisa! Congrats [emoji5] Mine was the 21st too. Pre-op weight 284, SW 271, 2 wk post op 263 and now 3 wks around 250. So far so good. Puréed food was a little tough but now it's better. I just have to remember to eat slowly [emoji106]🏻

Hey, just play the game to get your insurance benefits. I wouldn't go below the 40 BMI either. You don't want to give your insurance any reason to disqualify you. I was self-pay, and had to gain some weight to qualify with a 40 BMI. I just got banded yesterday and am doing fine. I know it's worth it already!

Hi all......................I am a newbie to this site, I thought I would drop in and introduce myself......................I am 43 and have type 2 diabetes and I weigh 126 kgs which I think is about 279 lbs, I have have weight problems all my life and am having my surgery on June 24th here in Christchurch, New Zealand. I am really excited but so nervous about it. I joined a WLS group here in NZ but they are mainly gastric bypass people and although 99% of them are a great bunch there does seem to be a lot of negativity about gastric band. This has made it difficult because I have several times questioned whether I have made the right decision. Anyone else faced the negativity from others

What kind of medication are you taking for your hypothyroidism? I've done well with Armour Thyroid, but I still need a lower calorie intake to lose weight. I am hoping my thyroid improves as I lose weight. You might try a medication or dosage change before doing something so drastic like surgery.

Cardio is always good, but if you really want to tone, then you need to weight train. And don't worry about the myth that you will get bulky. That is actually very, very difficult to do. There are good books out there, or if you can, getting a trainer is a good way to go if you can afford it. Hit the gym, or get resistance bands, or do workouts using your own body weight. There is lots of info on the Internet! Great job on your weight loss success!

Have you been building sufficient muscle? Your body fat percentage might be way different than it was in high school, and that can make a huge difference with how you look at a given weight. Here's a progress pic of a woman (admittedly thin to begin with) who gained ten lb of muscle: http://i.imgur.com/uqHFK.jpg

I don't struggle with drug or alcohol addiction, but I wanted to reach out and tell you how brave you are for telling your story and looking for support. I can't imagine dealing with these food issues we all face on top of maintaining sobriety. It is a lot to handle, for sure. In the food realm, the "one day at a time" approach has served me well in this journey. I used that strategy to get me started in March, and although I am firmly rooted in what I am doing now, I try to embrace that mindset when the scale is pissing me off or I have to face any of the occasional obstacles that present themselves. The fact that I have now lost 124 pounds is comforting no matter what happens in a day. As you lose more weight, that will comfort you, too. I encourage you to find something non-food related that is fun and makes you happy and get out there and do it. I go to the spa every day, and that has helped me as I move into the final stages of my recovery before I go back to work in a couple of weeks. Also, lean on your husband. I lean on my partner every day, as he leans on me. That's one of the most important parts of relationships. I wish you all the best!

I called my claims administrator today, I was starting to get panicky about the timeline, and someone offered me some solid advice and calmed me down until I could call. I'm very concerned about being able to have my sleeve done before the end of the year. Effective January 1st, my insurance will change, and I will lose my bariatric surgery coverage. I started this process officially end of July, but had seen my PCP in June and July to try and see what could be done about my weight. So, I called. We rearranged my appointments a little bit to get about another week squeezed into my timeline. I'm up for team review the 25th of September, from there, I schedule my consultation with the surgeon. I'll have two more visits to meet insurance requirements, the last one is on November 1st. After my appointment I call this gal back and she submits everything to my insurance. She said it should take a week, but we'll have an answer by November 8th. After that, it's just a matter of pre-op, and scheduling surgery. Could be all said and done as early as December 6th. SQUEE

hi everyone again i am 12 days post op and i know i posted 10 days post op that everytime i ate i felt pain and it was like stuck feeling but now i am feeling the same exact way i felt before my surgery i am able to eat just as much as before with no discomfort so how am i suppossed to loose weight with this? i have my first fill on dec 27th does anyone else feel this?

ONCE YOU GET FILLED YOU FEEL DIFFERENT THOUGH RIGHT? BECAUSE WONDERING HOW THIS HELPS YOU LOOSE WEIGHT IF NOT

Hi folks, Here's my situation. I got a band in 2006 and did great for the first 18 months - lost about 75 pounds. A year ago I had a fill somewhere other than my doctor's office and plateaued then started gaining. A few weeks ago I found out I had a lot of inflammation and had an unfill at which time I also discovered that I'd lost saline from the cheap fill -- who knows, maybe I didn't have a real fill that whole time. I went to another doctor who diagnosed a slip and pouch dilation. He recommends a VSG but insurance denied it. They say they don't cover VSG which I can fight because they do (Federal BCBS). And they also say my complication doesn't warrant band removal and that since I no longer am morbidly obese I don't qualify for revision (that's just stupid since I met all the qualifications and had coverage when I got the band). I went back to the original surgeon who repeated the barium swallow and says if anything was wrong it was a very small pouch dilation which is now reverted. They gave me a very small fill with the idea that I could slowly return to restriction. I'm up about 30 pounds from my lowest weight and pretty upset about it. At this point I could either try to make things work with the band OR move forward with a VSG revision, most likely self-pay with Dr. Aceves. But that's a lot of money and I worry that if I couldn't keep the weight off with a band I could just as easily be unsuccessful with a VSG. I'd love some insight as to whether I ought to give the band some more time with proper physician visits, support group etc. Or if I ought to just scrap it and dig into my savings and get the VSG. Any thoughts? Thanks, Britt

Hi everyone Looking for some words of encouragement. I was banded 9/27 and lost 23 lbs in the first three weeks of swollen stomach and generally feeling lousy. Since then I had a fill in nov of 5cc and 2days ago another 3 in my realize band which holds 11cc. I am starving!!! Trying to stick to soft foods just so mentally i will stay on track But I just ate some pretzels anddddd nothing! Little restriction. What? I'm already at 8?!? I know I'm not supposed to worry about the number but really?!? I'm getting discouraged. I've gained 9 back. Seems like its the same old of not being able to control myself. Worried this won't work for me If I go back for more will I ever get there?

Totally understandable. Many of us have felt this way. For many years I thought about surgery then I would go back to self talk of "I think I can lose this weight by myself." Well, I did lose a couple of pounds here and there then pack it al back and more. I spent so much money and time on so many different diets. Finally admitted that the sleeve was the best tool to help me lose weight. Finally got sleeved July 28, 2017. I feel this is THE best decision I have ever made for my health. I have lost a log of weight and happily still losing!!

It's good that you're being so supportive and planning to work on this together. Personally, I think the lap-band makes it easier to adjust emotionally to the changes because the weight loss is more gradual than with the RNY. However, I guess any weight loss can cause emotional issues to surface. I hope that your insurance covers the band. Some companies are more open-minded than you might expect. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get approved (I had United Healthcare). Personally, I am not that enthused with the RNY. Since the lap-band is so much safer and less drastic, I think it's a better first choice for most people than the RNY is. You can always go back and get the lap-band revised to an RNY, but if you have trouble after a RNY there are not as many options left. So I'm really glad the lap-band was a choice for me. Good luck

You have exactly my situation. Same height and weight and goal. I chose the sleeve after all of my research. The risks and complications of bypass just weren't worth it to me.

I'm down 98 pounds so far with the sleeve. I do work to stay on track with good food choices though. If I don't make an effort I can easily eat lots more food and gain weight. I went wild over the holidays and gained 6 pounds in two weeks. Probably much of that was Water weight from eating lots of sweets, but it was eye opening and let me know that I'll need to track my eating and avoid sweets forever. But - I don't feel deprived at all how I'm eating. It's just I need to work at avoiding mindless and emotional eating. Bypass does seem to lead to better weight loss, but there are more health risks. You really need to stay on top of Vitamins and such or you can develop a host of health problems. In support groups I go to I've just heard a lot of stories about issues down the road with bypass. Mostly related to Vitamin deficiencies or intestinal problems. Whichever you choose (with guidance from your doctor/surgeon too) just make sure to get your head in the game and prepare to change your relationship with food. The surgery is a great opportunity to do that, but if you don't make the most of it, it's not that hard to regain with any of the surgery options. I wish you the best!