Success feels like cheating

[hely88 883]

I know people who answer with I am doing a high Protein diet and exercising. It is your choice what you choose to share. The only one you really have to be accountable to is yourself. Way to go on your journey!

[lekanto 50]

Ah yes...one of the websites "know it all's"

But that's Ok, I've been called a lot worsethan "Moron" by people I actually know....

Just because YOU have had a hard time with this band, does not mean it's true for everybody....

I happen to find this the EASIEST thing I could have done to loose all my weight and be skinny and fit again...sure, the first 6 months were tough, the white knuckle "Bandster Hell"...but once I hit that MAGICAL green zone, and I learned my lessons, it has been very simple....I hardly think about it anymore..it's a new life for me...

Counting calories, measuring portions, and just plain old dieting is hard and painful...and I failed every time...But this...what can be more easy than to let the band do all the work!!

Of course, it is adjustable and everyone has the freedom to use it as they feel....and no negativity is going to bring me down from this....

So, if that makes me a "Moron", as you say other people on this website are...then I guess I'm a HAPPY SKINNY and FIT MORON, ....your slur does not compare to how good and successful I feel....

Now the "ignore" list....

Dude, she didn't call you anything.

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

Dude, she didn't call you anything.

Ok so it's not just me. I didn't see where she called him anything either.

[Ashleigh Childress 16]

Thanks all. I'm not ashamed but I do feel it is a personal topic and wanted to know if anyone else understood what I was feeling. The band has made weight loss very easy for me whereas in the past I'd never lose more than 40 lbs before it would start to creep back on.

[♥LovetheNewMe♥ 1,216]

Thanks all. I'm not ashamed but I do feel it is a personal topic and wanted to know if anyone else understood what I was feeling. The band has made weight loss very easy for me whereas in the past I'd never lose more than 40 lbs before it would start to creep back on.

Asheigh you are correct it is a very personal decision and everyone has to be comfortable talking about how they lose weight. There is so much stigma attached to WLS and so many people do expect people who lose weight to fail at some point or back slide and gain weight back or revert to bad habits. I do understand how you feel and we all chose to deal with these feeling differently, I am one who was totally honest from the beginning and I knew others would be watching. My being honest kept me honest with myself and I needed the accountability in order to reach my goals. Good luck to you, and always remember there is only one person you need to be totally honest with and that is yourself!

[Lose100 178]

I am not ashamed of be banded and I don't feel like I am cheating. However, I only told a few people about my WLS because I didn't want to deal with the stigma if

[Lose100 178]

I am not ashamed of be banded and I don't feel like I am cheating. However, I only told a few people about my WLS because I didn't want to deal with the stigma of "taking the easy way out". I have very hard by watching my portions and exercising. It has not been easy for me, yet some people that know about my WLS still think that I "took the easy way out. I can't be concerned with their opinion. I don't feel like I am being dishonest when someone ask me what I am doing to loss the weight and I reply Portion Control, exercise, etc... because that is the truth. I personally didn't feel that omitting the fact about my band gives someone false hope. I know plenty of people who had WLS (gastric bypass and the band) that failed!!

[Frederic 500]

I still believe we bear some responsibility for the stigma when we don't take the time to explain the Band is not an "easy way out" which also makes us at least in part responsible for people who fail because they weren't prepared for the hard work.

Whether you tell people you have lap band or not is going to be a personal decision but I think it's important when making that decision to remember no social stigma ever went away because people denied being part of it.

[Terry Poperszky 2,784]

****Caution Personal Opinion****

I tell anyone who notices my weight loss and asks how I did it that I had WLS. My reason? I struggled and failed for so many years trying to do it myself that I would hate to add to the guilt of anyone else when they failed at doing what it took surgery for me to do.

[medicrn 88]

****Caution Personal Opinion****

I tell anyone who notices my weight loss and asks how I did it that I had WLS. My reason? I struggled and failed for so many years trying to do it myself that I would hate to add to the guilt of anyone else when they failed at doing what it took surgery for me to do.

Lol we are allowed to have personal opinions on this website??? Who'd have known !! Lol Jk

[dee257 1,516]

When I fist started this journey I didnt tell many...I did tell one friend thinking she might be interested in it ..( she is very heavy) she made me feel horrable...acually said she couldnt wait to see when i started dumping !!!! I was like wow you have no idea....I didnt say anything to her that day I was so hurt.....a few other friends I told when they came right out and asked.......

then I got to a point where it was non of any ones bussness and Id answer...just eatting right and walking LOTS...

Now that im almost to goal...Im proud to tell people I have lap band.....I dont care what others think any more....Im happy and healthy !!!

[suzannetex 100]

I love my band and I'm proud to tell anyone who ask!!! I don't care if the whole world knows it and I'm sure they do because I'm on Facebook and I tell everyone!!!

Sent from my iPad using LapBandTalk

[Summerrain 520]

I'm not ashamed of having weightloss surgery to help me get rid of my weight. It's still work on our part. I was more ashamed that I had let myself get as big as I did. If people ask how I've lost so much I tell them, most are curious how it works. When I first got it I didn't go out and advertise it to all, no ones business what I do in my personal life but as I've dropped the weight and people notice I don't mind telling them if I'm in the mood to do so otherwise I say Ty because they have made a nice comment on how much I've lost.

In the end it's personal choice if you tell people or not. So do and say whatever makes you comfortable because its about you not others. And there are some people out there that need to mind their own business and get on with their own lives instead of stupid gossip.

[jaydee7 63]

You're not cheating at all. Look at it like this:

The band is just a tool. Everyone uses different tools for different jobs. When a painter is complimented for a beautiful piece of art' date=' do they respond "Oh thank you, but I cheated, I used a brush to paint with". No!

You're not cheating. You wouldn't be losing weight if you weren't eating right and changed your relationship with food. That is 100% YOU. That's not the band. Look around these boards, you will see post after post of people still eating like they did before surgery and not losing weight as a result. That's not the band's fault, that's their own fault. The band is just a tool to control your hunger, it is YOU that is doing the work.

When someone asks what you're doing, tell them with pride! "I've changed the way I eat and watch my portions". That's not a lie, it's the truth, and it's a truth you should be proud of. The fact you used a tool to do is irrelevant.[/quote']

I loved this!(:

[elcee 3,341]

It took me a while to "come out" but now i am quite happy and open about it. In fact since I came out I have heard about lots of people in our community or friends of friends that have had WLS.

I have heard about the guy that had surgery, never went for a fill and weighs as much as he ever did.

I have heard about the couple that survive on mashed potatoes and gravy

I have heard about someone else that throws up every time they eat.

These things make me glad that I came out as I can help dispel some of the myths of what living with a band is really like. Also because of these bad examples my friends realise that the band is not a magic wand, that it still takes work. I have 1 friend who has been doing WW(very successfully) and she keeps telling me that I am her inspiration.I have another friend that has now being referred to a WLsurgeon by her GP (probably for a sleeve), something that she would not have been comfortable doing prior to knowing about me and my band.

So no having a band is not cheating and you do not need to be ashamed of it.