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It is so true that comparing yourself to others is not a good approach. It will only result in feelings of failure. That said, I am also one month out and have lost a total of 17 lbs. since surgery. However, I will be honest that like you, I have been exercising minimally. So, I made a resolution today to make the most of this very valuable tool (the sleeve) and really do my best for optimal results. So today was my first day back in the gym (I had only been walking before) and I hit the elliptical for 30 mins., did some lights weight for my arms, and about 10 mins in the steam room. I am going to do this at least 3x/week and see what kind of difference it makes. It is easy and convenient to just label yourself a "slow loser" and do the bare minimum. However, I think we owe it to ourselves to really push and make the most of the advantage we have with the sleeve to get optimal results. I want to succeed, and I know you do to. Now, after all this I still may not be the fastest or biggest loser. But what I will be is confident that I tried my best and put my best foot forward. So, do you wanna take this next step with me and take the "minimal" out of your exercise regimen? I have a feeling we will not be sorry. Here's to a fresh start!

Well once I decided that this was for me... and I knew that my insurance did not approve weight loss surgery, I researched doctors. After I found the doctor I liked, I applied for loans. Good luck!

Having been in this game for only about 2 months now, I feel somewhat reticent to write on the subject of slimming down - but having dropped over 50lbs in eight weeks, I am perhaps able to see the results more clearly than had I lost weight more slowly. A large drop in a small timescale has left my memories of Billy Bunterdom less hazy that most. For all those sending me cyber-daggers as they read about the initial success, please relax in the knowledge that my primary sprint has turned into a deatlhy crawl and that you have plenty of time to catch up. Remember the tale of The Tortoise & the Hare…? Having discussed much of this in length with another one of my close buddies and actor friends, Mr Christopher Barlow, I figured it would be an interesting topic to scribe aimlessly about. I met Chris about 18 months ago during a production I was staging of The Merchant of Venice and in that time, without any surgical assistance whatsoever, he has managed to shed almost 100lbs. So, I was quietly confident that our shared experience of weight loss was one that many people would be going through also. This article is simply about the things one tends to experience during weight loss that may not have been instantly obvious when starting out on the journey. I also must take this opportunity in the proceedings to advise all ladies and those of a sensitive nature, that during this article, I will be slightly touching upon male genitals (excuse the deliberate and well intended pun). Probably, the biggest issue faced during The Sheddage, has been confidence. For all those yet to embark on the cruise upon SS Not-so-Titanic, you will probably be assuming that I mean - with weight loss comes confidence. Let me stop you there, rewind the tape (or DVD if you are too young to remember tape) and correct that now. What I actually mean is, the speed you lose weight seems to have no bearing on the speed you gain your confidence. None whatsoever. I am very much aware that I look very different having lost the weight that I have done recently and over the past two weeks have been paid slightly more attention by the opposite sex. Not much - but slightly more. I am also able to wear my clothes (purchased from a normal shop!) in a more publically acceptable way. Shirt tucked in instead of Smock-central, a la Demis Roussos. Not to mention that Hawaiian shirts are no longer part of my wardrobe. I now only have two chins instead of four and all in all - I know that I look better. However, I don’t seem to be able to let that knowledge boost my confidence. When anyone catches my eye, I automatically assume they are thinking the worse. My posture is still uncomfortably poor as I try to hide my 6′3” frame away from people’s seemingly accusatory glares. I drink far more than I should of an evening just so I can talk to people. All in all, I would consider myself an emotional wreck! Why wasn’t my 50lbs of flab converted into 50lbs of pride? I know deep down that it should have been. Obviously enough, the years of self-hatred and self-consciousness that is often hidden beneath The Jolly Fat Man image, takes far longer to heal and be rebuilt as one gets used to the new life. Just beware when you start out - it will take longer and quite a lot of effort to fix that part - but it will no doubt be fixed in time. Another thing they don’t tell you is what you should do with your day once eating is out. You will get so very restless because time seems that much longer without a side of cow in your mouth! Boredom it is not. I find the whole idea of eating a lot very opposed to my life now - I don’t miss it and I don’t crave any kind of forbidden mastication. What I do crave, is something to replace those moments of my life when I would automatically reach for a packet of crisps (or chips for those across the water), just to pass the time. Luckily enough, I have hobbies that have come to the rescue. I have been more prolific in my music writing over the past two months than I have ever been. I wrote ten songs yesterday and I do believe my skills at such things are getting better. And all because, I don’t want to snack. So - before you start off - prepare yourself a list of things to do in the quiet, fidgety moments. Our lives are hectic these days - but those quiet times will come and you will need to have something to entertain your grey matter or risk going ever-so-slightly mad. At this juncture, people who do not need to hear about “man bits” can turn off. I write this for the men out there that need that extra little kick before they decide whether weight loss is right for them. I suppose it may well interest their lovers also… Imagine, if you will, a tree. A tree that has stood the test of time in a garden, overlooked perhaps by an all girls school. Each day, the tree would look up to the sun and stretch out its branches to welcome the new dawn, as the sun beat down upon the boughs. Because the gardener loved the tree so much, he used to ensure that its roots were well tended and that the soil below was well stocked. So nervous was he that his pride and joy would topple, that he overlaid much of the lower section of the trunk with turf and soil. This made the tree look very small indeed. But the tree didn’t seem to notice, or even mind. He just enjoyed the occasional attention he sometimes received! However, the girls at the school were mean. They used to look out of their dormitories and laugh. Laugh at the size of this little tree. The tree spent many days listening to the laughter and brushing it off as a fundamental fact of life. “They can laugh” thought the tree, “but that is how God built me, and there is nothing I can do about it”. But the gardener saw the tree slowly wilt over the years with sadness, as his own words of support no longer seemed to be helping. So, one day, the gardener decided that he would help the tree. He woke up bright and early and set about removing much of the soil from around the trunk, exposing far more of the tree than had ever been visible before. When the horrid girls woke up in the morning and leaned out of the window to laugh at the tiny tree, they were shocked to see that it had become so big - they all ran away screaming. This made the tree very happy. It was also fair to point out that the gardener still prays to this very day that that the tree doesn’t fall down after this rather quick soil loss… Enough said? So - there are things to think about and some things that I am sure to find out about as I delve further into this brave new world. I suppose you can guess which particular surprise I am most happy about in a shallow man kind of way - but who knows, there may well be more deep Zen and emotionally deserving surprises just around the corner - at which point I may write a part 2! Originally posted at: Lap Band Blog

Having been in this game for only about 2 months now, I feel somewhat reticent to write on the subject of slimming down - but having dropped over 50lbs in eight weeks, I am perhaps able to see the results more clearly than had I lost weight more slowly. A large drop in a small timescale has left my memories of Billy Bunterdom less hazy that most. For all those sending me cyber-daggers as they read about the initial success, please relax in the knowledge that my primary sprint has turned into a deatlhy crawl and that you have plenty of time to catch up. Remember the tale of The Tortoise & the Hare…? Having discussed much of this in length with another one of my close buddies and actor friends, Mr Christopher Barlow, I figured it would be an interesting topic to scribe aimlessly about. I met Chris about 18 months ago during a production I was staging of The Merchant of Venice and in that time, without any surgical assistance whatsoever, he has managed to shed almost 100lbs. So, I was quietly confident that our shared experience of weight loss was one that many people would be going through also. This article is simply about the things one tends to experience during weight loss that may not have been instantly obvious when starting out on the journey. I also must take this opportunity in the proceedings to advise all ladies and those of a sensitive nature, that during this article, I will be slightly touching upon male genitals (excuse the deliberate and well intended pun). Probably, the biggest issue faced during The Sheddage, has been confidence. For all those yet to embark on the cruise upon SS Not-so-Titanic, you will probably be assuming that I mean - with weight loss comes confidence. Let me stop you there, rewind the tape (or DVD if you are too young to remember tape) and correct that now. What I actually mean is, the speed you lose weight seems to have no bearing on the speed you gain your confidence. None whatsoever. I am very much aware that I look very different having lost the weight that I have done recently and over the past two weeks have been paid slightly more attention by the opposite sex. Not much - but slightly more. I am also able to wear my clothes (purchased from a normal shop!) in a more publically acceptable way. Shirt tucked in instead of Smock-central, a la Demis Roussos. Not to mention that Hawaiian shirts are no longer part of my wardrobe. I now only have two chins instead of four and all in all - I know that I look better. However, I don’t seem to be able to let that knowledge boost my confidence. When anyone catches my eye, I automatically assume they are thinking the worse. My posture is still uncomfortably poor as I try to hide my 6′3” frame away from people’s seemingly accusatory glares. I drink far more than I should of an evening just so I can talk to people. All in all, I would consider myself an emotional wreck! Why wasn’t my 50lbs of flab converted into 50lbs of pride? I know deep down that it should have been. Obviously enough, the years of self-hatred and self-consciousness that is often hidden beneath The Jolly Fat Man image, takes far longer to heal and be rebuilt as one gets used to the new life. Just beware when you start out - it will take longer and quite a lot of effort to fix that part - but it will no doubt be fixed in time. Another thing they don’t tell you is what you should do with your day once eating is out. You will get so very restless because time seems that much longer without a side of cow in your mouth! Boredom it is not. I find the whole idea of eating a lot very opposed to my life now - I don’t miss it and I don’t crave any kind of forbidden mastication. What I do crave, is something to replace those moments of my life when I would automatically reach for a packet of crisps (or chips for those across the water), just to pass the time. Luckily enough, I have hobbies that have come to the rescue. I have been more prolific in my music writing over the past two months than I have ever been. I wrote ten songs yesterday and I do believe my skills at such things are getting better. And all because, I don’t want to snack. So - before you start off - prepare yourself a list of things to do in the quiet, fidgety moments. Our lives are hectic these days - but those quiet times will come and you will need to have something to entertain your grey matter or risk going ever-so-slightly mad. At this juncture, people who do not need to hear about “man bits” can turn off. I write this for the men out there that need that extra little kick before they decide whether weight loss is right for them. I suppose it may well interest their lovers also… Imagine, if you will, a tree. A tree that has stood the test of time in a garden, overlooked perhaps by an all girls school. Each day, the tree would look up to the sun and stretch out its branches to welcome the new dawn, as the sun beat down upon the boughs. Because the gardener loved the tree so much, he used to ensure that its roots were well tended and that the soil below was well stocked. So nervous was he that his pride and joy would topple, that he overlaid much of the lower section of the trunk with turf and soil. This made the tree look very small indeed. But the tree didn’t seem to notice, or even mind. He just enjoyed the occasional attention he sometimes received! However, the girls at the school were mean. They used to look out of their dormitories and laugh. Laugh at the size of this little tree. The tree spent many days listening to the laughter and brushing it off as a fundamental fact of life. “They can laugh” thought the tree, “but that is how God built me, and there is nothing I can do about it”. But the gardener saw the tree slowly wilt over the years with sadness, as his own words of support no longer seemed to be helping. So, one day, the gardener decided that he would help the tree. He woke up bright and early and set about removing much of the soil from around the trunk, exposing far more of the tree than had ever been visible before. When the horrid girls woke up in the morning and leaned out of the window to laugh at the tiny tree, they were shocked to see that it had become so big - they all ran away screaming. This made the tree very happy. It was also fair to point out that the gardener still prays to this very day that that the tree doesn’t fall down after this rather quick soil loss… Enough said? So - there are things to think about and some things that I am sure to find out about as I delve further into this brave new world. I suppose you can guess which particular surprise I am most happy about in a shallow man kind of way - but who knows, there may well be more deep Zen and emotionally deserving surprises just around the corner - at which point I may write a part 2! Originally posted at: Lap Band Blog

Hello out there. My name is Rebecca and I am in the early stages of getting the Lap Band. I sent all my paperwork in and got a call from the office saying that my packet was incomplete.....I need 5 years of doctor documented and supervised weight loss attempts. This is very discouraging to me as I moved so much during my life...OH, NY, CT, RI, and three cities in NC. I have been pregnant for the past four years. My weight loss attempts are scattered about time and states. I don't know where to begin calling for records....who has tried to help me and who has given me the whole "just diet and exercise" bit. I'm feeling like I should give up the insurance battle and begin planning on getting a loan for self-pay. It's so discouraging to think of more debt....but I really want this...I really NEED this. If you're a self-payer....can you talk to me about the steps you took??

Good luck to you as well! Great job publicly documenting your weight-loss journey. It will really help you keep on track & stay accountable. I did the same thing when I had surgery three years ago. We look forward to you sharing much more. Good luck! You are not alone!

When people ask how you are losing, just say you got some help from your doctor. Hopefully that would be enough to satisfy their curiosity. If they want more details (as I remember sooo many times when I've lost weight before - i.e. "omg- tell me your secrets!") you can say, "ya know, weight loss is very different for everyone...if you want to lose weight I'd suggest going to your doctor to discuss the best method for you."

I didn't have to have anymore tests, thank God!!! But I do have an appointment with the nutritionist May 19...after that, all my information and test results will be submitted to insurance. But the appointment started out by me getting a "before picture", then getting my blood pressure, weight, and height, with no shoes (which made me shorter by 1/2 inch and made my Bmi go up lol), then I stood on a scale looking thing and held a pole type thing in each hand and it printed off all kinds of wild information like, how any calories I burn on a typical day without exercise, just at rest...it even told how much my right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, and trunk weighed. I was told by the nutritionist who came in my room for a few minutes that 100 to 105 lb weight loss would be right for me. Then the Dr. came in and said that the sleeve is the surgery he would also recommend for my size...he listened to my heart, my pulse in both sides of my neck, he examined my stomach for hernias and where the incision sites would be, and he checked my ankles. I will have a two day liquid diet before surgery. I will have a drainage tube. He didn't foresee me having problems. I'm hoping my insurance is approved by mid June and surgery is scheuled no later than August 1 because I want to be feeling better by the time my daughter goes back to school August 20! I will update...everyone take care and God Bless!!!

sweets are carbs and the more you eat the more you crave... try counting your protiens first...get them all in. Then maybe you wont have room for the sweet stuff. I went thru the same thing and had to start keeping my food diary again. I use myfitnesspal. I went thru this at about 7 months..it is a bit easier now. good luck! I didnt gain weight but I certainly didnt lose any either! This is hard dammit! I also made sure to get all my water in too.

i wish i had not told anyone besides my sisters and husband!! I am 7 weeks post op and just had my first fill last thurs. and as of then showed a 22lb weight loss. i have no restriction right now, so i am trying my hardest to watch what i eat so i can keep losing. i have a few close friends i told about my surgery because i was so excited to get it. Well i guess they don't think 22 lbs is good enough. when i told one of them she was like oh. then after telling another (who was thinking about speaking to her dr about getting it) she said " i don't think i want it now". And i feel like i have been trying to explain it takes awhile sometimes. my surgeon doesnt leave any Fluid in at surgery and you have to wait 6 weeks to get your first fill, and i wouldn't be at all surprised if he were conserative with fills. anyway i just got off the phone with the last friend who wanted to know how i was doing, and she pretty much made me feel like a failure. i just wanted to vent. Anyone else with similar results have some promising results to share, i am trying to keep my head up but that really uppset me.

I have almost the exact same stats as you. I am about the same time frame out from surg and loose the exact same way.....I also am stalled and frustrated. Though I haven't considered filleting myself yet I have been trying to reflect on if there is anything else I could do differently. I was stalled for quite awhile and I sort of became discouraged to the point where I started to let myself slide a bit....almost that old self- sabotage behavior (though not nearly has bad) This of course has really made be me stall even longer and thrown me off track for the past month and a half. It is time to regroup and go more hardcore towards this goal. It's ok...We can do this. Just stay focused (try not to derail like I sort of did for a bit) and the weight will eventually come off.

I weigh at the same time everyday immediately when I get out of bed in the same pajamas. Lol. I will even change the pjs to the weigh in ones. Lol. I am Very meticulous. Oh on the same scale in the same Place on the floor. I posted in haste. I know I was sticking to my plan. I after my surgery I never stalled nor did I ever gain only stayed the same once in 7 months. So the water gain could have been that my PCP told me I had to add more salt to my diet because my BP runs low. Not Confident enough to weigh once a week yet. Maybe in time. But I am Going to work on not stressing.

You are very normal - don't stress out! I lost (somehow) 12 pounds in the week after surgery. I lost maybe a pound every other week until I finally had my 5th fill (7.5 ccs in a 10 cc band) I got to my sweet spot and finally have great restriction and have lost 8 pounds in a month. Remember: Everyone is different and loses weight at a different pace. Many people struggle to lose any weight without proper restriction, which can take 4,5,or more fills. You don't know the whole story when you see weight loss reported on this sight. Some of the people with large losses started out with really high BMI's. Some lost a lot on pre-op liquid diets and are counting those losses. Some are just fortunate to be really fast losers! I'm definitely not a fast loser-never have been. Try not to compare your losses with anyone elses. (I know it's hard) Hang in there and be patient and you will get there! And hopefully I'll be right behind you!

The first 4-6 weeks are for healing, not weight loss. If you watched a video of your surgery you'd realise why it's so important to listen to what your Dr says and stay with what's on your list to eat. At this point though, you are very likely ready for a fill. You'll want to make sure to monitor your Protein intake, Fluid intake, weight, etc. to show your Dr. your progress and your current situation. Don't lie about anything. Some people are tempted to say that they're losing weight to make themselves feel good - that won't help you. You likely won't get a fill if you're losing. Conversely, if you lie and say you're not losing but you are - then you risk actually being overfilled. If you go see your Dr with a good track document showing how you're doing s/he'll be able to make the right decision for what you need at this point. If you are super hungry all the time and feel like you could eat anything tell them that. But don't tell them you CAN eat everything if you've just come off of a liquid diet. Chances are you can't eat as much as you think.

I belong to BCBS of IL and the Drs office has told me the same thing, 6 months supervised diet, 5 years of medical records showing weight. Someone said it's to show your really going to follow directions with the LB. I'm seeing the Dr on 9/28 for the first time. I'll do whatever it takes to get this weight off for good! Good luck!

Funny you should post this. As I was brushing my teeth this morning I noticed several were very sensitive to cold water and just kind of felt like they ached. I just chalked it up to the weather and arthritis and all the rest of aches and pain reasons I have. But then I wondered about rapid weight loss and how much different my face was even. I would wonder if that would cause any issues with teeth as well. I will put that on my question list for Dr. in 2 weeks. My surgery was Oct 26th, 2015 so I am at the 3 month point.

Amen to that. The people that spout off the most know the least about metabolic disease. It feels great to rant and get it off your chest and this is just the place to do it. Now, just get it done and stick it right up her A$$! I have what I used to call a friend do the same thing to me except she was just and big as I was. Since having surgery and watching me work my plan and get to goal, she never ever ever comments about my weight loss unless someone else does first and then you can see her become severely uncomfortable with the conversation. My husband saw her last week (it's been about 3 months since I have seen her). He said she has gained no less than 25 to 30lbs more. She is soon entering the super obese but apparently she knows everything. Oh well, to each his own.....right! Best if luck to you!

Like @@B-52 said, I also told no one exclusively because I didn't feel like dealing with their judgement. Ok, wait, I lied there...I told my three best friends after I had the surgery because I can't keep my mouth shut, but to my knowledge they have never told anyone and they have never once made me feel like I took the easy way out or I did something wrong. I was 100% sure that first, everyone would be watching to see if I gained the weight back and then have all kinds of things to say about me and second that everyone would be watching to see how I eat and to judge that too. I may not have the thickest skin ever and I know that, so I made a point to tell no one. Again, like B-52 said, the fact that I was fat is now old news. I am almost 3 years out and most people don't tend to see me as the reformed fat girl but just a normal size person. There are no more annoying comments about how much weight I've lost, no really how much in pounds have you lost, no more thoughts about what I eat or how often I exercise, and I just get to live like a normal person. I am very happy I chose to tell no one because now there are no resentful rude comments about how I cheated or I don't deserve to be thin because I cut out my stomach and that makes it a lot easier to feel comfortable as a "normal-sized" person.

Good point!! How come you didn't get the whole gastric bypass? That's what I'm going for. And yeah I'm not trying to gain that's for sure! 20 pounds is good for one week!

To those just starting out, THIS is exactly why I never told no one....that was 5-1/2 years ago. Now, all the weight has been gone for years, the fact that I used to be fat-obese is old news, hardly anyone remembers. Personally, so what if it is the easy way out??? People do things everyday as part of their daily lives to make life easier...most inventions in history were aimed at completing some task easier.... Accusing someone for doing something that will make their life easier, improve overall well-being and health, is totally illogical. It's all about finding an easier way...and I can't be more glad I did it... I'm glad I avoided it....

I guess all I can say is sometimes you have to reach down deep and push yourself. You have to motivate yourself and want this so that you can be healthier. I have had multiple knee surgeries and problems so I do understand where your at. Part of this stage of the journey is to see if you can comply with what is coming. Yes to help with the liver and other things but part of it is also to show if you can do it or not. Yes even with the weight off there are still those cold wet days where my knees are throbbing. Try to look at is as a challenge. There are also many other forms of exercising, I find an exercise bike works well on bad knee days.

I am so sorry this happened! Ridiculous! I was just talking to my sister-in-law yesterday who recently completed her personal training and group teaching certifications and talked about my eating, success, etc. (she is VERY supportive by the way). I was telling her how the personal trainer I had was spouting stuff they didn't know and she agreed that people in this profession should NOT be giving nutritional advice - at least without previously getting at least some nutritional advice. She has a new client who had bypass a few years ago and has gained back most of her weight so I was really stressing to her how important it was to be cautious with nutritional advice for our sort and she agreed. (I also told her to encourage the person to seek therapy which might help.) Anyway.... this person said "and tell me i was doomed to fail and this would just create more issues then i already had"??!! You need to report her to the gym (or wherever). I don't care what you are doing to lose or gain or maintain, no one in this profession should spout these words and those to whom she reports needs to be made aware before she continues to do it to others.

I had a personal trainer tell me that if you can only do 10-lb weights (instead of the 30-40 lb weights she was using...), then it really isn't worth your time. Really?? Don't we all have to start somewhere? Needless to say, not working w/her any more --

Looks odd to me. Does it have an order? Is it hot to the touch? If so definitely have your doctor look at it. If it gets any bigger make sure to see the doc as well Preop weight 389 current weight 314...that's 75 lbs lost since RNY 6/11/13

I have the Bariatric Advantage brand Protein shakes now- bought from their website, also you will need Multivitamins and skim fat free milk makes the shakes easier to tolerate. Otherwise it's real thin and hard to drink all the time. I prefer the Isopure zero carb Protein Shakes though and intend to go back on those afterwards. It's better as far as carbs and fat and stuff goes and I liked the taste a tad better. Bout the same price too. I also recommend V-8 and soy milk. :sad: Oh and I have this cookbook which I used and pureed the food during my mushy stage: Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery, Patt Levine M.D., Book - Barnes & Noble I thought the recipes were tasty though I've only made a few of them so far- and they tell you how much to puree for the lapband or for gastric bypass etc. I have a Blender Bottle and use it every day! It's so easy to make the protein shakes with and is easy to just rinse out real quick afterwards and let drip dry- rather than a blender or spoon to stir with. Otherwise, nothing else comes to mind. Congratulations by the way!