Needing Some Support

[LaraTX 0]

I was banded on December 4th, 2007 by Dr. David Elliott in Richmond, VA. The weight loss has been slow, so any advice would be helpful. I have only lost 14lbs in 6 weeks! Very upsetting to me, but I do see a few people who are losing slow as I am. Please give me tips if you have any!

Thanks so much. :smile:

[stepoffaith 0]

thindolphin: glad you have your seminar behind you. Think of it as one step along the journey. I know there is a ton of paperwork - I had alot of trouble remembering all the diets I have tried. Probably forgot alot of them. Hope to jog my memory when I actually talk to the dr. and there is no way I will remember all the dates. I figure it may hurt me and the insurance may require a supervised diet because of it. If they do, I guess thats the price. I will try to keep my chin up but I am hoping they won't. I am excited that I have an appt with the surgeon to talk to him next week- we'll see what happens from there. I am putting in lots of overtime right now, not telling anyone why I want two days off next week. Good luck thin and let me know. Write back often, I'll be here:biggrin:

[delo 1]

dlw, yes it's not a good thanksgiving day full, it's a hurt full feeling. I miss the good full feeling. I know the one more bite feeling sooo well. hate getting stuck. also, the slim that comes up must have some acid in it, cause it makes my lips chapped.

[phyllser 3]

There is a "Bandster Bash" in Seattle next month. Sounds fun. It's called "Seattle Splash". Here is a letter from the coordinator off their website. If you want more info, let me know. I'll try to paste the website url.

http://barbooch2.homestead.com/SeattleBandsterSplash2008.html

Letter from our Coordinator

My name is Joanne Godmintz and I've been the Coordinator of the Seattle Splash Bandster Bash and Conference for the last six years. (This year's is set for February 15th-17th at the Seattle Airport Marriott Hotel ).

Over ten years ago this event started out as a party celebrating Lap Band weight-loss surgery in someone's home in Seattle. It's hard to believe it's been that long.

This initial group were really the pioneers of U.S. banding. The largest group of Bandsters come from the Pacific Northwest because this is where the FDA trials occurred. These patients were sent to Dr. Rumbaut in Mexico who was the surgeon for the FDA trials. This first group (I was not one of them) are why many of us are here today. The The Lap Band was new, not only to doctors but also to patients. These original patients had to create a game plan with dietary rules, working by trial and error to determine what worked best for the banding weight loss.

This first group helped start the Yahoo Bandster groups, networked, and gathered from all over the country here once a year to network and Celebrate.

The event outgrew a house six years ago, and became a larger conference to Celebrate banding and to share information from doctors, psychologists, nutritionists, endocrinologists, dieticians, diabetic educators, fellow and prospective Bandsters and many others to help make our weight loss surgery successful.

It looks like there are many new faces this year, so let me tell you what typically occurs at the Bash.

It opens Friday, February 15th with registration between 4-6 PM. Each registrant is provided name tags, agendas and session maps, and that first night we have a no-host dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Last year, we had over 250 people registered for the Splash and 70 signed up for the no-host dinner. Then more than 125 people showed up and overwhelmed the restaurant. So please, if you're coming to the no-host dinner, sign up on the Seattle Splash Yahoo group, then add yourself to the Friday Night Dinner Setup database. Friday's dinner is always a blast because, besides sitting beside speakers and vendors, you are meeting new and old friends.

At 7:30 P.M. Friday night, after a free hor d'oeurve party, we have a surgeons' panel for questions and answers. Often informative and occasionally very funny, it's a place for everyone to let their hair down and ask those questions you always wanted answered.

After the panel, join others at the hotel's tropical pool for hot-tubing and maybe a splash in the warm pool (bring your suit!)

Saturday 7:30 A.M., hopefully you got enough sleep because this a jam-packed day of dozens of speaker sessions, vendors tables, a catered lunch and banquet dinner, fashion show with before and after clothes, raffle, auction, a Before and After Banding slide show (a real tear jerker) and entertainment and dancing. It's all included in your registration fee.

Sunday morning's agenda is still in the works, but Bandster discussion groups, Plastic Surgeon Presentations and maybe some fun exercise sessions are planned.

Many hours of planning and preparation have gone into the Splash This is an entirely volunteer-run, non-profit event.

Now your job is to get registered and join us.

Joanne Godmintz

[MyKdsDad 1]

Lara, welcome to Bandland. Your post sort of got hijacked. To answer some of your concern, give yourself a break. The doctors talk about pounds per month. You're losing about 8-9 pounds a month. Have you had a fill yet? If not, then you really haven't gotten started. You're just walking around with a hunk of silicone around your stomach. You have been healing and you really shouldn't be all that concerned with losing. How long did it take you to put the weight on??? So you think it should come off over night, maybe a week or two? This tool is something to help you take it off slowly. You want to lose 25 pounds overnight, have the doctor take off a leg or something. You have to work at it. MsJoy is 2 years postop, down about 75 pounds and still losing. She has also had 6 or 7 fills. Just do what you are suppose to do and it will come.

[christasha 0]

Lara - it does slow down . . . I'm supposed to get my first fill tomorrow . . . and I've been at the same weight for 3 weeks it seems .. . it's just part of the process (which I wasn't expecting even though I thought I had read everything before surgery) . . . it just "is" . . . but if you keep doing what we have to do . . . something has to give at some point . . . just hang in there!

[phyllser 3]

Lara, welcome to Bandland. Your post sort of got hijacked. To answer some of your concern, give yourself a break. The doctors talk about pounds per month. You're losing about 8-9 pounds a month. Have you had a fill yet? If not, then you really haven't gotten started. You're just walking around with a hunk of silicone around your stomach. You have been healing and you really shouldn't be all that concerned with losing. How long did it take you to put the weight on??? So you think it should come off over night, maybe a week or two? This tool is something to help you take it off slowly. You want to lose 25 pounds overnight, have the doctor take off a leg or something. You have to work at it. MsJoy is 2 years postop, down about 75 pounds and still losing. She has also had 6 or 7 fills. Just do what you are suppose to do and it will come.

I couldn't agree with you more, Randy. It's easy to get impatient... my weight loss for this week 6/10 of a pound... but, we didn't gain it overnight and we won't lose it overnight. I chose the band over bypass because I thought it was a healthier option and with that comes slower weight loss, but healthier, in my opinion. I'm 5 days away from my 6 month "bandiversary" and 6/10 of a pound away from a total of 60 pounds gone so far. I still have a long way to go, but baby steps are okay as long as it's a steady downward trend. We can't get discouraged. We're in this for the long haul!

You're right... first priority... healing. Then, we do have to watch our calories, we do have to watch the quality of food we are eating... we all know this... Protein first, then veggies, keep carbs to a minimum, watch liquid calories (I'm enjoying a small glass of wine at the moment... SMALL), and... a biggie.... EXERCISE!! That's important. Those of us with extra weight often have joint problems and mobility issues, arthritis, etc. My exercise is Water aerobics and I LOVE it!! But, find an exercise you can do and be consistent with it and it will help the weight to come off.

Hang in there gang!! We're going to do this!!

:smile::cool::eek::Banane30::Banane28:

[Twilight 2]

I too am getting very frustrated. I have no one to blame but myself though. I have taken a good hard look at my behavior and my plateau is not going to break until I break myself of these bad habits....here are my problems.

first....I have not been moving the way I need to move. I need to be more active and get more exercise in. My team told me that when you stop losing it's because you're body is used to what you are doing to it....and then it will maintain. I need to dedicate myself to getting things organized in my life and getting my priorities straight.

Second, I'm a snitch. I snitch all freaking night. From the time I get home to the time I get to bed there is something I'm putting in my mouth. It's never anything big, a lick of peanutbutter off of the knife, a bite of my hubby's ice cream sandwich, the last couple of bites off of my kids plates after dinner, a piece of chocolate here and there. None of it is anything huge. I'm not sitting down with a jar of pb and spooning it or eating two ice creams, or having two helpings of dinner, but I'm not hungry and still putting food in my mouth. THAT HAS TO STOP!!

Finally, I've got to get positive about this again. I have hit that interest plateau as well. The same place that I get every time before I turn to myself and call it failure. I am, in a way, bored with this. It's not new and it's not exciting anymore and I'm sabotaging myself before I ever have a chance to succeed.

I don't know what I can do to turn some of this around but I need to do some serious soul searching. I spent way to much time, money, and pain to get here. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!

Maybe you all can relate, maybe not. I know I need to turn this around and only I can do it. If it helps to see someone else struggle, keep watching, because I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel anytime soon.

Thanks for listening

[sewenup1 0]

I too am getting very frustrated. I have no one to blame but myself though. I have taken a good hard look at my behavior and my plateau is not going to break until I break myself of these bad habits....here are my problems.

first....I have not been moving the way I need to move. I need to be more active and get more exercise in. My team told me that when you stop losing it's because you're body is used to what you are doing to it....and then it will maintain. I need to dedicate myself to getting things organized in my life and getting my priorities straight.

Second, I'm a snitch. I snitch all freaking night. From the time I get home to the time I get to bed there is something I'm putting in my mouth. It's never anything big, a lick of peanutbutter off of the knife, a bite of my hubby's ice cream sandwich, the last couple of bites off of my kids plates after dinner, a piece of chocolate here and there. None of it is anything huge. I'm not sitting down with a jar of pb and spooning it or eating two ice creams, or having two helpings of dinner, but I'm not hungry and still putting food in my mouth. THAT HAS TO STOP!!

Finally, I've got to get positive about this again. I have hit that interest plateau as well. The same place that I get every time before I turn to myself and call it failure. I am, in a way, bored with this. It's not new and it's not exciting anymore and I'm sabotaging myself before I ever have a chance to succeed.

I don't know what I can do to turn some of this around but I need to do some serious soul searching. I spent way to much time, money, and pain to get here. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!

Maybe you all can relate, maybe not. I know I need to turn this around and only I can do it. If it helps to see someone else struggle, keep watching, because I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel anytime soon.

Thanks for listening

Stephanie,

I haven't hit that problem yet with the band but everyother time I have tried to lose weight I have. So I have worked out with DH a reward system. When I reach a certain weight he gives me my reward - be it a weekend away, a pair of shoes, a handbag - until I reach the goal I have set I can't have it.

My first goal is to reach 130kg (started at 165kg and so far have lost 12.6 since banding in Dec). When I reach that weight we are going to spend a weekend at the Hilton Hotel here in Sydney. I don't get that weekend until I can show him the scales read the 130kg. So everytime I go to put something in my mouth that I know I shouldn't I look at the picture of the Hilton stuck on my fridge and ask myself which I want more.

Don't know if this is something that would work for you but it does for me.

Danna

[Twilight 2]

Danna,

I will have to talk to DH about that. Some support on his end would help. Not that he's being negative, but he's not being overlly enthusiastic either. He has been very appreciative of the figure that has been returning.

Maybe Aunt Flo has a little to do with my negativity. She needs to leave and maybe stay away for a few months. And maybe once she leaves I can get back to weight loss.

Thanks for the suggestion...I'm taking it under advisement.

[christasha 0]

Oh Steph . . . you can do this . . . I know you CAN! I feel the same way right now that I've lost the same amount of weight years before .. .and have never been able to break the point I'm at right now . . . I want to see the scales say something BELOW 273 so badly . . . and at this point it's almost "why did I do this". But then . . . I remember why . . . my knee, my hip, my back . . . and they are starting to feel better . . . so I am hanging in there . . . and you can too! We're here for you and each other . . . it's band wagon time! Jump right back on it! :pray2:

Chris

[ForwardLeap 0]

Hi I was banded on Christmas eve, so we are pretty close when we were banded.

My doctor told me to expect 1-2 pounds a week weight loss. So 6 weeks x 2 pounds=your ahead of the game! Hooray for you!

Remember until your first fill you have no restriction.

Prior to your first fill it is all about "healing". My doctor said if I lost weight during this time that was just an added bonus but this was not the time to worry about weight loss that will come after the fills. Right now is the time for healing, in fact he said some people actually gain during this time-and that was okay. Your tool is not in the actual working order yet to help you!

Your doing great-and once you start getting fills you will do even better!

Good luck,

Christie

[brickgirl 0]

I feel your pain. First, I am fighting off the same two pounds constantly, and then my scale broke. At my post op appt, the surgeon jokingly asked me if I listed presurgery, because they told me over and over at about 3 to 4 weeks your body starts holding on to the weight and won't let go until about week 6 and then you get your fill.

Keep your head up and know you are not the only one.

[Totallytater 1]

Lara,

You are not that big so you are not going to lose weight as fast as a 400 pounder is going to lose it. A lot of people that have really quick weight loss are also much heavier. I had my surgery on 12/11 and I have lost about exactly the same as you.