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IDK what the fuck I have to do to lose weight. Im finding myself eating out of anger that Im not losing how I want. BUT you know what, that is self destructive! I workout and I mostly eat right (TOM and stuff). Im competitive with myself and I am not pleasing the judges. FUCKING A! Get it together!:thumbdown:

Bander here. Lost 100 pounds in 7 months and have been at this weight for about 8 months now. I want to lose fifty more. That fifty will take much more work. The band (or any WLS) only does so much, and the rest is dependent upon good habits and discipline. I'll get there. Good luck!

Hi everyone, I just joined this forum to see what options are out there. My husband and I struggle so much with weight and for me it is been a lifelong battle. We went through a six-month OPTi fast program at our local hospital, and we are both back to our starting weight. The good thing about that is that my insurance requires a six-month program as part of the conditional approval; however, I am not sure what else has to be done yet. I have an appointment in a week and a half to discuss options available to me. The only people I know in "real life" have all had the RNY surgery. I have not talked to anyone who has the sleeve. So many questions come to mind... Differences in nutrient absorption, recovery time, long-term outlook, etc... I am sure all of these things have already been addressed, so I will get to looking around the site! It is good to be here, and I look forward to reading of your journeys as well. ~Laurie

I made it through day 3. I've lost a total of 3 pounds so far this week. I know the goal isn't weight loss for the 5 day pouch test but I would have been very disappointed if I hadn't lost. I do feel much better while eating. I can tell my pouch seems happier. LOL No pain while eating and food goes down better. I think we definitely need to give it a rest every once in a while. This seemed to do the trick. I am thinking about doing one day of liquids every week. We'll see if I candle that.

The actual fill did not hurt very much. The needle seemed large but the prick hurt less than a a blood draw. Dr's do things differently but my dr (and, it seems, many others) put you back on liquid for 2 days, then mushies for 2 days then food. The diet is because there can be some sweeling when the band is filled and they want to be careful. I look at it as an opportunity to opptomize some weight loss each time I get a fill. When you first get back to food, take it easy. You never really know the level of restriction you will have until you eat something that does not agree with you. I have had 2 fills and found that I sort of have to relearn what works with the band each time as the restriction goes up. Good luck to you.

with this last fill its hard for me to want that 3rd meal but I do try to get it in. I track every bite so I also try to meet the calories count, I also make sure I have breakfast within a hour of waking whether I am hungry or not then I count 4 hours a head and notice the time and eat something...I often make up that last meal with a protient drink..its fast non filing and keeps the calories up so my body doesn't hold on to calories thinking I am straving it..It take calores to burn them so try to stay within a set calories count for the day talk to your doctor about what that should be mine are 900-1200 after 33 lb weight loss I am staying 700-900 and we will see how that goes.

The Protein levels that are typically recommended are our basic maintenance needs, or a little above - the amount needed to do the normal replacement of our muscle and organ tissues over the course of our daily living, plus what's needed to supply the amino acids that drive various biological functions in our bodies. These maintenance levels generally correspond to our lean body mass, so most women are fine in the 50-70 gm per day range while most guys need in the 70-100 gm per day range (more if one is particularly muscular, and still more if one is actively trying to build muscle mass.) Think about it - 100 gm protein is 400 calories, or 10-20% of our typical pre-op couch potato diet, so hitting those basic levels is largely incidental amongst all the other things that we are eating. However, post-op, we still need that basic maintenance level, plus a bit more for healing, etc., so we work to minimize most everything except protein in our post op weight loss diets - we may be running 50-80% protein, representing the dramatically lower proportions of carbs and fats during that time. Also, protein tends to be more satisfying, and longer, than carbs or fats, so there is another emphasis on protein there - it's easier to eat less overall if we eat protein forward so many eat more protein than the minimum for that reason.

Greetings, My name is Saida. I live in Central NY. I was banded on 11-10-05. I had a first fill on 12-13-05 (1 CC in an Inamed 4CC band). I felt no different than prior to the fill. I can eat "normally"... meaning that I feel no restriction and I can eat as much as before surgery. I was on the MediFast diet (liquid Protein shakes) for 4 months pre-op. I lost 30 pounds pre-op, I have lost a total of 5 pounds since surgery (nothing in the last 4 weeks). I am curious to know how many fills it takes to feel the restriction. I have a second fill scheduled for 1/3/06. I pray that one gets me shedding weight. The surgery went well. I had a barium swallow study the dy after surgery. I've healed well. I feel terrific. I'm just not losing weight like I thought I would. I'm not worried yet as I have read that soemtimes it takes as many as 3 adjustments to feel a restriction. I would like to hear from anyone that has had a similar experience. Saida Banded 11-10-05 Highest weight: 214 lbs. Pre-Op weight: 184 Current weight: 179

Carly I am glad I read your blog. My surgery is 1st Sept and I am so nervous. Getting cold feet. I am starting to think if I am doing the right thing as a lot of the blogs say they have not lost weight. Just nerves I suppose playing on my mind.

I have Medicare and U care (Medicaid) And no one told me that I have to be on a 6 months diet, but it takes so long for this process that it doesn't matter really! I was just requested to lose 8-10pds before hand. I started this in late Dec. I just got approved from the psych visit, they will be sending the paper work to the insurance, then I have to see the dietican one more time at the end of June, the psych in early July for a follow up, then I will be seeing the Dr. for the first time sometime in July and then maybe I will have a date for surgury, so I am guessing I will be getting this done in Aug-???? lol.. So, yes and no.. this is a long process and you will be on a diet, learning new things etc. So be prepared for that, but don't give up either, I know once you get banded and lose all the weight it is worth all the head ache in between! Good luck!

It's time to do this. You gotta start somewhere, right? Right. Where to start so as not to bore any unsuspecting reader into a seizure? My signature really tells the beginning story, not much else to tell about that part. It's everything that came afterward and the sheer frustration and disappointment in my band that led me to this point, five years later. Five years later I am still struggling with my weight. Five years later I haven't lost but a little over 60lbs. I had wanted to lose 100. I still remember standing in my surgeon's office at my consultation and telling him my goal was to lose at least 100 pounds. He smiled and laughed and said I would lose that in 6 months, EASY! OoOoOoOoh!! Sign me up, I'm sold! Actually, WLS was something I had been contemplating for several months, but at the time LB wasn't covered by Tricare. I have struggled with my weight my ENTIRE life. I was a relatively normal-size baby, then a fat kid, then a fat teen, then a fat young adult. Fat, fat, fat. I weighed about 220lbs in high school. Needless to say I was never asked out to a dance or even on a date. My mother also struggled with her weight and I learned everything I needed to know about gaining and losing from her. I learned that food equaled happiness, a reward for a job well done, something to pass the time when you're bored, and an excellent TV companion. She used to buy junkfood by the bagful and we'd lay in bed all day on a Sunday and just eat and nap, eat and nap. Cheetos, candy bars, candy, ice cream, Fritos, Banana Flips...we ate these like it was going out of style and when the food ran out, we just walked down to PDQ and bought more. When she finally decided she had had enough of being obese, she crash dieted through starvation and anorexia. I watched her melt away into a skinny, sexy, bombshell and suddenly she started getting the attention I so desperately craved. I started starving myself during my senior year of high school and I lost about 50lbs or so. I started getting noticed. I had my first boyfriend...and then my second...and then I got pregnant at 18. By the time I was 29 weeks I had gained 40lbs and I ended up delivering my son then. Who knows how much I would have gained had I not delivered? Between the stress of a failing, abusive relationship, being a young mother, and moving across the country, I didn't care about my appearance as much anymore, and the weight sort of clung. Then I got pregnant again at 20. This time I put on a whopping 80 pounds! I really, REALLY enjoyed using pregnancy as an excuse to gorge myself silly. Fast forward a year and my relationship with my abusive partner finally ended, and I found myself the FAT, single mother of two young babies. Feeling desperate and scared of being alone forever, I again became anorexic and starved myself. I lost about 90lbs in 9 months and WOW did I get the attention! I think that's when I really started equating being thin with being worthy of love...how terrible is that? It makes me sick now, but back then I really thought that way, and to some degree, it has stuck with me. I met my husband when I was this skinny, non-eating person. He couldn't figure out why I never ate in front of him...or at all, really. I would subsist on nothing but a few crackers and juice for about 3 days, and then on the 4th day I would eat one large meal of whatever I wanted. Real healthy, eh? Anyway, my husband was the one who eventually pulled me out of that disorder, and gradually I began eating again...which meant back came the weight. Grrrrr! I got pregnant in 2006 and with this baby I gained 70lbs. Sigh. Back on the dieting wagon. I did WW for a while and I excercised like a crazy person. I lost most of the baby weight I guess but by now my body was just never going to be the same. For the next couple years my weight just slowly crept up. I battled severe postpartum depression with my third baby and I struggled with the medications I was on and the intense feeling of hunger they produced 24/7. I continued to pack on the pounds and I entered a stage of self-loathing. Ultimately it almost cost me my marriage...I had absolutely no sexual desire nor did I feel sexy, I felt my husband was not attracted to me anymore, and I felt incredibly sad and powerless against my weight. I started having weight-related health issues like horrible arthritis in my hip joints and worsening asthma. I was tired all the time and had no stamina. I was resentful that everyone (it seemed) could eat whatever they wanted and not gain an ounce, but that I had to starve myself in order to lose or maintain my weight. By this time my weight was creeping toward 240lbs and I started contemplating WLS. After much research I decided on the LB. Only problem was that Tricare was not yet approving this surgery for weightloss. About four months after my decision to pursue the LB, Tricare finally approved the LB and I jumped at the opportunity. I was banded on April 23rd, 2007 in Louisville, KY. (to be continued)

I do weigh daily but only record my weight once a week. I sometimess find that if we have done really well eating and exercising for a few days u sort of get a delayed reaction on the scales, not always, and if u have eaten too much it might not show up for a day or two, just one of the mysteries of life i think

Wow, you are doing great -- thats a lot of weight loss since March. Whatever the plateau is, it's temporary -- you are on your way to that goal. Best wishes!

9 months in and going so well.., I am 6 kilos off my goal weight. But I have had three days of nausea and vomiting... Last night waking up and choking on fluid... Cannot lie down flat and feel like crap. I am trying to find a specialist here in Copenhagen Denmark. I just moved here a few weeks ago. Every time I breathe I feel sick. Any advice? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I'm not an expert by any stretch but I follow weight watchers and adjust it to suit my band. I don't eat meat now I substitute it for quorn, everything is low fat no added sugar. I always eat Protein first or I'm hungry pretty quickly. If your hungry quickly after meals maybe your band needs slightly adjusting, I believe everyone plateaus (so I've read) I don't know if you can but I walk over an hour a day. chin up more calories out than in is the key... Sent from my GT-S5830 using LapBandTalk

Congratulations on your amazing success! It's crazy, but some people actually do need more calories to lose. When you have too little calories your metabolism gets sluggish but too many calories and you won't lose. It's a tricky thing to find that perfect middle ground. I actually had to increase my calories from 900-1000 daily to 1000-1200 daily because I just wasn't losing. When I increased the calories, the weight came off a lot faster. Perhaps your body needs a little more than your usual 1000 calories a day? Just a thought. Best wishes!

Been working on getting a Lap Band for over a year. My sister got her's about 18 months ago and is doing great so I've been working on getting Banded too. UnitedHealthCare said NO. Said it's got to be IMMEDIATELY LIFE THREATNING condition. I have diabetes, sleep apnea, osteo-arthritis and high colestrol but nothing immediately life threatning so....NO GO. But now I am on Medicare because I'm disabled with arthritis. Several Weight Loss Centers in Tucson and Phoenix have applied to be able to take Medicare but none have been approved yet. So I decided, "to heck with it! I'm tired of waiting. I'm going to fly to Detroit and get the surgery done there." I can get follow-up care from one of the Bariatric centers here in Tucson. Medicare doesn't pay for fills anyway so that would have to be out of my pocket even if I could get the surgery locally. Is there any info on long-term effects of the Band? I would like to hear from people that have had the Band more that 5 years. Horsetrainer

How many calories are you getting in? Your weight loss looks about like mine did at 2 months out (see the bottom of my signature). Stalls are pretty normal. If you are getting your fluids and protein and avoiding bad carbs plus exercising I am sure it's just a normal stall!

Hi, I was banded on 16 Aug. I lost 6 pounds before surgery and haven't had the weight loss that I thought I would have since surgery. Realizing it took awhile to put the weight on, I was still hoping for faster results. Can anyone tell me what the average weight loss per week is after being banded? I had planned on losing about 20 lbs per month; is that unreasonable? thanks for the help...pls

Both kids are in extra activities. My older daughter is blessed with a metabolism that won't quit. My little one ( she is 8) tends to be chubby. She is very active but eats too much sometimes. I really hope that she grows into her weight but in case that doesn't happen I want her to at least settle the gaiing down. I don't want her to got through what I have over the years.

Dee, Congratulations on your great weight loss! Imagine how great it will feel next year when the 25th anniversary and graduation pictures get taken! I just got back from a family wedding and was so grateful for the 23 pounds I'd lost since the band. I wasn't hiding from the camera for once. Well, keep up the good work! Annette in Boulder, CO

I went to my weigh in appointment I supposed to lose a least 50 pounds before surgery I did lose 10 of that now I have just 40 more to go and my next appointment in 6 weeks I want to make weight by then dose anyone have any suggestions to help me do it quicker I've been doing my shake diet . Sent from my iPod touch using the BariatricPal App

Well its been two weeks + waiting so far. The first time I called medical mutual someone told me there was no claim on file (!) I was only semi worried because I knew the jewish hospital folks knew exactly what they are doing. Now Im nervous. I called and got another representative! I was told my information is in the nurses review part and it would take another five to seven days (!!!!!!!!) thats it. I am crossing everything on my body now. Seven days is around the nineteeth. After my first week of work. i hope those nurses arent suspicious of my weight watchers diet

Y'all are going to hate me My insurance covered it (United Health Care). I thought there was an exclusion, but I asked HR and they said that the insurance covered bariatric surgery through the end of 2007 and it was going to be dropped in 2008. I routinely go to the doc every 6 months or so for a checkup, and so I already had the 5 years of weight history and the co-morbidities documented. (For those who are curious -- sleep apnea, high cholesterol numbers and something called "metabolic syndrome".) Gave my insurance info to the specialist, they cranked it through, and I quite literally had the surgery about a month after asking HR about coverage. Sometimes, things just go right