positive stories

christa94 · June 1, 2006

does anyone on here have a positive story about the lapband?

what healthy foods do you find are easy to tolerate? what about foods that aren't so easily tolerated? i like vegetables, do you think they will be a problem for me?

i hear alot of people on here saying that the band didn't help with emotional eating and things like that. it is my understanding that the band is a "tool" for weight loss and that no it is not going to solve all your problem. i used to binge and purge. and for anyone that understands eating disorders, you know that it is not about your size but moreso a coping mechanism. emotional eating has to be dealt with before ANY weight loss plan (the band, gastric bypass) will successfully work. years of therapy has taught me that.

ok. just my $.02 worth. i mean to offend noone.

and how does that little number line come up to show where you are now and where you are with your weight loss?:help:

cashley · June 1, 2006

Well I struggled with the band in the beginning because things didn't feel different to me. I didn't have restriction prior to my second fill and since I've always ate somewhat healthy (just too much) and love exercise - nothing was really different.

I do think now that I have restriction that this has helped me with the emotional eating because I'm not that "turned on" by food any longer. I kind of have this nasty 'ucky' feeling toward it.

I eat a lot of salads with fresh dark greens and spinach.... and I actually like them. I eat more veggies and wasn't a huge veggie eater before and for the most part "fatty junk" isn't that attractive.

I still like "regular" dressing on my salads, occassional chips and some sweets but not really much. An applesause to me is just about as good and refreshing as eating a piece of cake or pie. In fact, I like it better. (now)

So... I know this is just a tool but since I have restriction it feels so much better then before. I actually feel I will suceed and before I was a "doubter".

christa94 · June 2, 2006

well 28 lbs since feb. 2006 sounds pretty good to me. thanks for sharing your experience with me.

cashley · June 2, 2006

Well it's been 18 weeks and that is 1.5 per week. That's way better then I've done in the past.

Thanks!

"Nita · June 2, 2006

Positive stories???

Well I love my band!

I have lost 88 lbs in 11 months.

I have gone from a BMI of 42 to 29.

I have gone from a size 26W to a size 12-14 (regular).

As for foods, You will find what yu can or can't eat is very individual but since you asked, here is what works/doesn't for me.

I don't have trouble eating most healthy foods. I can eat chicken, steak, almost any meat. ( I can not eat sausage, hot dogs, or tough ribs or meat that is very tough--hard to chew)

I can eat most all veggies. ( baked potatoes must be very soft not grainy or firm.) Cooked veggies go down better than raw for the most part. I can nibble a little bit of raw broccoli or carrot but I have to chew it so well and so tiny..cooked is just much easier.

As far as other foods...I can't do rice. Some people suggest I try fried or spanish but I just haven't felt the need to try to eat it anyway. I chose to give that up. I cannot eat soft tortillas.Tried that twice...not good at all! French fries and tator-tots do not work at all. Also, I have tried Pasta once, it didn't work. I cannot eat soft bread or anything of that texture but I don't usually miss it at all. This is shocking coming from a self-admitted carb addict. I do still eat crackers now and then, chips ( as well as many other junk foods like cheetos, candy, Cookies, ice cream etc..) will go down fine although for common sense dieting sake, I try to avoid them. But, even when I give into tempation...I can now eat two Cookies instead of an entire box.

Basically, I have found that the foods I gave up weren't worth trading for my band. Before I was banded, I did some serious soul searching (it is sad to admit) as to whether I wanted to lose weight bad enough to give up foods I loved. Notice I said loved because I had a relationship with burgers and fries and french bread and Pasta that I thought was just too dear to risk, LOL I had tried adkin's before and thought I would honestly die without those foods. Well, I am OK without them now. I can honestly say I hardly miss them at all. I have found to my suprise that Italian resteraunts offer other things besides fettucini or tortilini. Rosemary chicken with steamed veggies and roasted red pepper are actually what I crave now when I think of italian food. ( I know it is difficult to believe...I can go to Olive Garden and not shed a tear over the bread sticks..LOL)

So yes, I would call mine a positive story. I wouldn't trade my band for all the french fries in the world ( even if they were magical non-fattening ones!) LOL

christa94 · June 2, 2006

Wow nita! congrats on your success. and thanks for sharing your positive stories. i have read some not so great stories. and don't get me wrong, i don't want to hear ALL good, but i would like to hear both positive and not so positive stories. i like to hear about someone that has victory over obesity!

"Nita · June 2, 2006

Just do your research. If there is a little voice saying this isn't for me, listen to it. Take some time, make sure you are making an informed choice based on knowledge not emotion or desperation.

I have been very overweight most of my life. My highest weight (which I was at for many years) was somewhere around 315. I stopped weighing so I don't know if I went higher than that but probably did. I have done every diet, drink, pill, doctor, you name it. Some worked for a while some didn't. My biggest success....I lost 90 pounds on diet pills. ( of course it was from a doctor who made me sign a release against any lawsuits stating that I understood the meds I was taking may not be safe and may not be in recommended dose or combination and I couldn't sue if I became ill or died... hmmmmm dead-skinny...dead-skinny...no contest, LOL...I wanted skinny! the pills weren't even labeled so I have no idea what I took for a year...oh well) the point was I lost weight. Now that was a desicion made out of desperation ...wouldn't reccomend that. I did over the next few years start to gain it back which is the way it has always been for me. I gave a lot of thought to RNY but just had a nagging feeling it wasn't for me. When I started learning about the band and talked to my doctor, I had no doubts this was the right thing for me. I have the ability to lose weight. I have done it many times.

My doctor found this very encouraging. He said, I am capable of loss, I know what to do and how to do it...The band will be my constant support and safety net so I won't regain it and slip back up to 315 before I know what happened. He considered me at a BMI of 42 to be a lower end BMI. He told me he would expect me to lose about 75 lbs. the first year and that he could see me reasonably maintaining about 150 or so, but not to expect to be super thin, I would not be 125 and if I was looking to be a super model after weighing over 300lbs of most of my life, it was not realistic. We agreed that my expectations where not unreasonable and here I am banded and very happy.

Please do find out the good and the bad but keep in mind that nothing in this world is a one size fits all. Someone will have a tragic response to say... asprin but that doesn't mean everyone will. If this is something you fully understand and think is right, read the bad stories and try to find a lesson in them but don't let them scare you out of something that you really want.

fiveholts714 · June 3, 2006

The positive is that I have lost 40 pounds. My ankles no longer swell up so much that I can't wear shoes and my pain level is a lot less. My feet have shrunk (yeah!) and my clothes are loose. I can fit in a restaurant booth.

Man, for about 3 weeks there I had bad head hunger, but I have now overcome it and lost 7 pounds this week, after I was staying the same or even gaining. Before I had the band I was on a steady weight gain and miserable. Now for the first time I am losing weight!

I can't eat bread (it's a blessing, probably), but I eat all the veggies I want, moist meats, fish, string cheese, and soft foods. I can eat most fruits. I forget to chew enough sometimes, but I get a "quick" reminder. (ouch!)

So am I starving? No. Can I eat lots of healthy food? Yes. Can I eat my beloved bread products? No. But who the heck cares when I am on my way to being a normal person.

I just spent the last 3 weeks barfing daily, in pain from eating the wrong stuff and feeling lousy. When I saw that I gained 2 pounds I told my husband that I should never have gotten the band. Then I realized that the band was working, I had ceased to work at it. I gave myself a pep talk, went to the gym and was a good girl. And I lost 7 pounds in a week.

Now this sounds stupid, but I made my family fried potatoes last night for dinner. I wasn't going to have any. Then I tasted one. It was like heaven. There were a few slices left over and I picked them up to eat them. I realized that I was starting down a "slppery slope" and would eat all night if I put those salty, fatty slices of pure heaven in my mouth. When I turned to physically toss the potatoes back onto the plate, my innards literally panged really painfully for about 2 seconds. They wanted those potates but I said NO! That shows how head hunger can cause a physical response. For me to not listen to my gut and to do the right thing is a tremendous victory. :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: