Need serious advice!

[Michele M. 0]

Michele, no worries...since you are paying for this yourself, you can delay it a bit and see if you can be succesful with a smart eating plan. You say you dont have a clue what you are doing. If this is true then you should NOT have surgery yet. Research the hell out of this, understand what you will put your body through, realize what your life will be like for the next 60 yrs. You have time. You are only 22 yrs old. Get back into your sports and eat CLEAN. Go to EATCLEAN.com. Eat lots of Protein, veggies, fruit and Water. Cut out the junk, soda and sugar. You cant eat junk after WLS. As you have heard, lapband is only a tool. It does not fix the head....you will still have cravings. This is just my opinion. I wouldnt be saying the same thing to a 45 yr old who has been yo-yoing for yrs, facing diabetes and is morbidly obese.

Thanks for the website! It's great and will help me out since I am just begining to cook lol : / I am so glad you were honest with me and weren't telling me to go ahead and go do it just because. I know it has been wonderful for some people, but for me I have been contemplating the decision very hard. I did do some research, one of my friends that got lap-band loved it and lost weight, and the other gained weight and eats everything they used to. I know, my head sure does need fixing lol My parents were so worried! They were supportive, but I could tell they were really worried, so I'm sure they will be happy I'm waiting and trying other options. You want to know the saddest/funniest bit of all... my husband co-owns a gym that I have full access to and a nutritionist.... and here I am jumping feet first into this :/ Thank you for opening my eyes, and making me take a good look into what I'm doing wiand the decisions I'm making : )

[GLove 44]

You say you are getting back into your sport. Obviously, you must be training and competing. That expends alot of calories. Learn to feed your body what it needs to be competitive. I assume you have a coach who will guide you and teammates to keep you motivated. Watch the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead streaming free on Netflix. Very motivating.

[Michele M. 0]

You say you are getting back into your sport. Obviously, you must be training and competing. That expends alot of calories. Learn to feed your body what it needs to be competitive. I assume you have a coach who will guide you and teammates to keep you motivated. Watch the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead streaming free on Netflix. Very motivating.

Eww... Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead sounds pretty scarry... but motivating and eye-opening I presume! So are you also contemplating the decision of surgery? You seem very well informed, not just on the surgery, but on nutrition as well.

[GLove 44]

Michele, I'm so glad I have helped you. You have lots of time to consider this and no one should go into it without fully understanding it. It's a lifelong commitment. OMG, you are so lucky to have full access to the gym and nutritionist. USE IT! Make yourself a priority. Make this MISSION MICHELE and get in the gym and get it done. Get the book EAT CLEAN DIET by Tosca Reno. Use all your resources. If you are an athlete you have a competitive spirit and NEED to win. Do it for yourself Michele. You deserve it. Good luck.

[GLove 44]

Yes, i have officially been on this journey since March. I have thought about it and read about it for years. I have worked in the athletic department of D-1 school for 36 yrs and have self taught on nutrition and wellness. I was even a Aerobic instructor for about 5 yrs. I have worked out at least 5x per week since I was 21 yrs old. I LOVE excercising...i cant go a day without some form of aerobics. I am now into kettlebells and crossfit training....much of what our athletes are doing. BUT, Im a good 75 lbs overweight and just cant get it off. My problem is Portion Control and binge eating at night. I am textbook during the day and something clicks in the evening and I go crazy. I recently lost 20 lbs eating clean. I will be getting a Feb surgery date and frankly, I dont think I will be able to do it.

[MelindaH 3]

Michele,

You have received some very good advice and I agree with Glove. Hon, you are so young and have so much life ahead of you. See what you can do on your own. Have you tried Weight Watchers?

Keep increasing your activity level, stay focused on losing weight and educate yourself on proper eating technigues and nutrition. I bet you can do it. Drink at least 64 ounces of Water a day.

Do drop in often and keep us inflormed on your progress and ask us all the questions you want.

All the best to you,

Melinda

[Maddy1 55]

I'm pre-op and my surgery is scheduled for next Monday, November 21st. I am begining to have second thoughts and I really want to make sure this is the right decision! I have heard both good and bad stories and I am so confused on what I should do! Also, I am paying for it myself, so that is also a reason I am begining to second question everything : (

[Maddy1 55]

I think your feelings are very normal. I am self pay also and have questioned myself a few times. Anything big like this has some not so good outcomes. A lot depends on how much you are willing to follow the rules and guidelines. You always have a much better chance of success if you can follow the best practices that years of experience by other people have shown.

[Maddy1 55]

I think your feelings are very normal. I am self pay also and have questioned myself a few times. Anything big like this has some not so good outcomes. A lot depends on how much you are willing to follow the rules and guidelines. You always have a much better chance of success if you can follow the best practices that years of experience by other people have shown.

[Cazzy 725]

I am also 57 yrs old and to be contemplating at 22 yrs old this surgery is a big deal. I used to play a lot of sport when i was your age and i did eat a very healthy diet, but life over took me and the sport and exercise became low priorities, then a heavy duty stress job and diabetes boom my weight exploded. If you can possibly do this on your own please do try to. I have had no problems with this band, am losing on average 3 lbs a week and it suits me really well, my diabetes is gone now and i am exercising like mad, but the biggest change was in my mind, eating what is considered a healthy diet is a mind set change having the band fitted can be the trigger that changes your way of thinking about food but it doesnt make the right choices for you, its just finding that trigger to get you in the right frame of mind to do it and then to stick to it.

I cant give you any horror stories about the band as i havent got any if i had my time again would i at your age have the band, then i would honestly have to answer no i wouldnt, not unless it really was the last resort. I was also self pay so this was an investment for me for the later part of my life. The minute i used to tell myself i was on a diet, i was more hungry than ever, so dont look at what you need to do as a 'diet' just get fit and eat healthy and i am sure with your sporting activities things will change for you

I wish you good luck and support is on the forum whatever your decision is.

[GLove 44]

@ michele- thinking about you today and wondering how you are feeling about your surgery on Monday?

[Esther54 0]

The best thing about lap-band is that if you want to reverse it further down the road, this is a viable option. I would go for the surgery and gain the confidence that you can keep the weight off for years after surgery. I have heard from too many people that getting the lap-band was the best decision they ever made, that it was less risky than staying obese.

[54Shirley 105]

I understand that you are self pay. But what has that got to do with your Health ? That's like waiting for the price for surgery to only go up.....

If your weight goes up, you will feel only more concerned about not doing what you came on this site for. Looking for the right thing.

I'm sorry, but I won't sugar coat it..

I know nerves play a key factor in this decision, been there, and it scared the Hell out of me, but deep inside, I knew that I had a hunch, that this was the right thing to do. It was !

It's easy, and then since it's a new thing, it can be hard at times, but that's what were here for, and so is your Dr.'s Office, to assist you threw the things that you don't understand.

This year you weigh ? Next year when you have tried a Diet, lost weight, and maybe failed, then gained it all back plus more. You will way what ?

Instead you could do the smart thing, and see what you end up weighing in 1 year.. I am willing to bet that you would be a lot happier.

But this is your call, you have to come to grips with it, and be ready to do this.

Do some thinking about it, and see what you come up with.

Good Health to you, Shirley.

[Michele M. 0]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I spoke with my "representative" today at True Results, and we postponed my surgery till January, and the best part is she will call me and check in with me in January. So I have some more time to consider and really give this deep thought and research.

[Dawn200321 146]

It sounds like at the most you have 40-45 pounds to lose. I really think you can do that! Most of us here who had the surgery needed to lose a lot more than that.