Complete Lap Band Failure & Then Success

[dhoff 4]

Banded March of 2009 at 275lbs and over the next 3 years only managed a 20lb sustained weight loss! (pretty far from my 100lb goal)..............I consider the surgery to have been only slightly better than worthless.

After 3 years of failure I regrouped and I am now down to 210 (or a 65lb loss)......How????? I went back to the tried and proven (for me anyway). I transformed into a HFLC lifestyle.....For those of you who do not know HFLC stands for "High Fat Low Carb"............Basically the old "Atkins" diet............I know many people here don't want to hear it. They want to think (as I did) that without any effort that a surgery would fix their problem..........I learned the hard way once again that "there are no shortcuts!"...

What made the difference for me being able to follow this diet is that I educated myself endlessly for hundreds of hours about the research behind it. I now know that not only is this the best way to lose weight, it is also the healthiest way to live. Almost everything we have ever learned about eating a "low fat" diet is EXACTLY WHY WE ARE FAT AND SICK!!

The truth is that some people can reduce calories down to near starvation levels and STILL not lose weight. The idea that its all about eating less is simply not true, as proven by countless recent credible research studies.

Read everything you can by Gary Taubes if you want a resource for all the research. Read his book "Good Calories Bad Calories" and see how credible studies have proven that calories are nearly worthless in the weight loss battle.

Here is a link to my Pinterest page with a lot of videos of Doctors and other researcher experts in the field explaining all of it......... http://pinterest.com...w-carb-experts/

I know we all have to find what "works for us".....I hope my experience helps someone else enjoy the happiness I finally am.........

[Sharpie 3,306]

so you failed and not the band? Isn't there a forum for promoting Adkins or whatever? If you could do it on Adkins but failed with the band then it's probably you not the band... interesting no information about yourself ... your experience as you call it is not something we haven't all tried before.. been there done that.. check back with us when you can say Adkins failed you.

[gowalking 10,790]

Congratulations on finding what works for you. I eat a more balanced diet...which includes carbs but that's the good thing about this band. Find what works for you and let the band help you be successful....which for me means 74 lbs. lost since starting this journey on December 31st.

[GoingforGoal 1,734]

Whether it be the band, adkins, or liquid pea Soup diet... the point is a diet requires some level of commitment and sacrifice. Most importantly it is what one can sustain that seems to be the most successful diet of all. This is what works for you (super!) but I feel this post was to discourage people away from their band diets. Seemed inappropriate?

[lisacaron 5,075]

I agree, the title of the post stating band failure was meant to lure people in thinking that something happened to the band and since most of us here have one or will have one soon so our interest is peaked to read the post.

If something works for you by all means share away. No matter what it is because even under Water basket weaving techniques might help out someone who is looking for it, but be authentic in your statements please.

You didn't have 100% band failure. Even if you think that is what it is, it is not. If your band there it's functioning then it's not failed.

Everything takes effort and commitment. If using the band as a tool didn't help you I'm sorry to hear that you chose to give up on it. It was meant to be worked not just implanted like a magic bean stalk bean and poof you lose 100 pounds.

If the diet is working for you keep at it. If your reading this post and you’re a bandster new old or yet to be, find what works for you and use your band in tandem as the tool it was meant to be.

[Jim1967 3,569]

I did Atkins once for about 18 months and I lost 174lbs. I gained it all back plus an additional 90lbs because Atkins for me was not a lifestyle solution. So sure Atkins works if your in it for the long haul but if you're doing it just lose weight and do not plan to adopt that lifestyle for good then you could be doing more bad then good in the long run. Everyone is different and everyone has different disciplines. I considered at one time to do Atkins along with my band with hopes it would bring me to goal faster. After a long thought I decided it was not the best route for me. I needed to really change my life and Atkins is not a feasible life long option....for me.

I am losing weight just fine with the band and it works quite well and I have lost the same amount of weight in less time with my band versus my 18 month low carb life. No deprivation just Portion Control.< /p>

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

I'm truly glad you found what works for you. I think the key here is- what works for you. Everyone has to figure out what works for them and their specific body. Sadly, dieting isn't a one size fits all thing. No people are exactly alike so no one diet works for everyone.

For me, high fat/protein low carb (Atkins) doesn't work at all. I did lose about 40 pounds following this plan however I also ended up with a major kidney infection due to a build of up of Protein and high cholesterol. Of course, once I stopped the diet I gained it all back and then some, too.

I guess that's why I love my band. Not only has it helped me lose over 220 pounds but it will help me keep it off too. I've lost tons of weight over the years on various diets but always gained it back once I stopped the diet. With the help of my band- I'm no longer on a diet. I changed my lifestyle. There's no diet to rebound off of and gain the weight back.

[Pygo 63]

I lost 90lbs on Atkins but it's not sustainable. It's a loophole where the body goes through a chemical reaction that eats fat stores. It turns your body into an acidic state which leads to all sorts of problems. I agree it's good for fast weight loss and occasionally good for the body but its not sustainable at all. There are too many temptations in our world even when you are in the OWL stage to keep carbs so low. I used to be all for it.

I AM NOW A FIRM BELIEVER IN MORE CALORIES BURNED THAN CONSUMED IS THE RIGHT WAY. PLATEAUS ARE A GOOD THING AS I BELIEVE WHEN THE WEIGHT EVENTUALLY COMES OFF ITS A LOT HARDER TO PUT BACK ON.

[PrettyThick1 1,860]

I'd rather not follow a diet whose creator is dead because he followed his own plan. High fat? Who does that?!?

[Sharpie 3,306]

The adkins diet has been linked to severe Liver failure.. the object of it is to put you in ketosis.. not healthy ... my Dr. advised especially if you are a diabetic.. but hey if it works for some go for it.. I don't believe posting things like Band Failure is appropriate..

[dhoff 4]

I apologize for "slamming" the board, the truth is that it (the Lap Band) probably IS helping me. I think where this comes from is that I have a bit of pent up resentment and hostility by the way the band was marketed to me. I truly thought my lifelong desire to be thin was going to be handed to me with a surgery, and it wasn't. I thought I was only going to be able to eat tiny amounts of food before feeling stuffed and this was partially true, but instead of eating the whole pizza at one sitting I just did it in two or three. Yes, I had all sorts of fills/adjustments, I had it so tight at one point I developed night cough. So, needless to say I was left incredibly depressed and disappointed over this for years. It was like thinking I had a winning lotto ticket only to realize I had read the numbers wrong.

I have come to realize that weight loss is much more of an art than a science. You truly do have to find what works for you, and it might be entirely different than what works for somebody else. Frankly I had tried LCHF in the past and lost weight only to regain it, so I know it too is FAR from "failure" proof!

Maybe LCHF could be combined with the Lapband (for some). All I want to suggest is this, look at ALL THE NEW research on the LCHF lifestyles. Yes I know there is a a study here or there that says bad things about it. What I am talking about are the meta-studies, where instead of looking at 50 people in one isolated test they instead combine ALL the tests with tens of thousands of people to draw meaningful results. In my opinion the jury is no longer out (like it was even 5 or 10 years ago), if you dig deep with an open mind you will see that we have gotten to the point there is a virtual avalanche of evidence that this is (one of) the most effective ways to gain control of your weight and health. If you want a shortcut you can start with the list of studies on this page: http://www.dietdoctor.com/science

Again, I apologize for the initial negative tone. I understand this struggle and the fact that we all need encouragement and positive suggestions. I just happen to have become passionate about something that works for me (and may not work for others). So, if you are one of those Lap-Banders like me who was/is stuck and depressed about the lack of progress, this is simply my experience with what is working for me. (and I still have 30 more pounds to go)

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

I lost 90lbs on Atkins but it's not sustainable. It's a loophole where the body goes through a chemical reaction that eats fat stores. It turns your body into an acidic state which leads to all sorts of problems. I agree it's good for fast weight loss and occasionally good for the body but its not sustainable at all. There are too many temptations in our world even when you are in the OWL stage to keep carbs so low. I used to be all for it.

I AM NOW A FIRM BELIEVER IN MORE CALORIES BURNED THAN CONSUMED IS THE RIGHT WAY. PLATEAUS ARE A GOOD THING AS I BELIEVE WHEN THE WEIGHT EVENTUALLY COMES OFF ITS A LOT HARDER TO PUT BACK ON.

agree with this post

[dgoertz1 120]

I can see where he's coming from. My lap band doctor only pushed "low carb" diet. That's what I did along with my surgery

and have never gotten on the scale since day one without losing or least staying the same. Lost 80 lbs and at goal since my surgery Nov 6,2012! Don't knock down someone else success! We all want to lose. Just some do it differently!

[Ladybandito 516]

Dhoff, I also do best with a low carb diet AND my wonderful band! The difference I see now is that I don't immediately put weight back on when I do eat carbs. Your thread could have been better-named, but I can appreciate your message. Some of us get a little touchy on here (could be the sugar, lol!)

[FentonMama 19]

I'm truly glad you found what works for you. I think the key here is- what works for you. Everyone has to figure out what works for them and their specific body. Sadly, dieting isn't a one size fits all thing. No people are exactly alike so no one diet works for everyone.

For me, high fat/protein low carb (Atkins) doesn't work at all. I did lose about 40 pounds following this plan however I also ended up with a major kidney infection due to a build of up of Protein and high cholesterol. Of course, once I stopped the diet I gained it all back and then some, too.

I guess that's why I love my band. Not only has it helped me lose over 220 pounds but it will help me keep it off too. I've lost tons of weight over the years on various diets but always gained it back once I stopped the diet. With the help of my band- I'm no longer on a diet. I changed my lifestyle. There's no diet to rebound off of and gain the weight back.

Took the words out of my mouth, everyone is different. I also like that your posts always seem encouraging and helpful not critical or judging. Thank you so much for being straight forward and positive it is an encouragement to me.