Hello from Houston

[stardaly 0]

I am new to this site. I had lap band surgery on Feb. 14, 2008. Dr. Matthew St. Laurent is my doctor. I have lost appr 40 lbs since the surgery. I am looking for support and to hear others stories of their experience. It took me several years to decide to do weight loss surgery and so far everything has gone well, only a few glitches and mostly due to my slowness to re-educate myself. Everyday seems to get easier. I would like to hear from others and how they learned a new way of eating.

stardaly

[RestlessMonkey 7]

I'm too new to be a pro but I've lost 41.4 pounds so far...I have longed for something like the band forever. I truly get HUNGRY between meals and this will help that tremendously! I did go to a behavior therapist because many morbidly obese people are emotional eaters and that never really fit for me; but I discovered I was using food as a reward, if you will. (for example: I worked hard today I don't want to cook I'll pick up chicken I DESERVE a break) that type thing. Apparently I warranted a LOT of rewards LOL. Being aware of that helps, but the band has given me hope. Because I have successfully dieted many times in the past, only to get bored or tired of writing down every bite etc and I would gain it back. With the band, I think I'll eventually be freed of all that worry and nonsense. So many diets require you think constantly about food; I do better when I can put food in the background. Once I get the knack of chewing, Protein first, no liquids during meals etc I think I'll be able to do just that; let food take a back seat to life.

SO I'm no pro yet but very hopeful; I think my plan will work!

Welcome to you!

[kacee 3]

You'll do fine. Just go with the program. I was VERY religious in my restrictions for the first 6 months, but then I got the hang of it and it was natural. Maybe I am unusual, but I found the weight FALLING off, and now I am 5 pounds BELOW the lowest goal I set for myself.

[MistyD65 1]

Hi Stardaly and welcome! I really wanted to use Dr. St. Laurent, but he is not in my network and my insurance won't cover ANYTHING for an out-of-network bariatric surgeon. I am happy with Dr. Ricardo Bonnor though, and he is very close to home. He has also just joined the Journey Lite staff.

I've been trying to get a Katy/Cypress area support group going, but Ike kind of shook things up. A few of us have met, and had a blast. It's wonderful to be able to talk with people who are on the same journey. Where in Houston are you? If you are in my neck of the woods, and interested, I'll add you to our list.

I'm a bit embarassed to admit that, like Kacee, my weight has really been coming off since surgery. I read about so many folks struggling, yet I'm having a relatively easy time of it (knock wood). I'm 10 weeks out and have lost 38 pounds. And I really feel that I have made some strides towards thinking like a "normo" (as Jack calls them) regarding food. My first big epiphany came a couple of days into the soft foods phase. I had finished eating the amount of food that I was supposed to, took stock of myself and realized that my hunger was sated. However, I was kind of surprised to realize that, regardless of not being hungry, I still wanted to eat more. Realization #1: Thin people stop eating when they are no longer hungry, overweight people stop eating when they have had all they want or when it is all gone.

There have also been some moments, when I am about to prepare a meal, that I find myself almost upset about the small amount of food I'm about to eat. It didn't matter that I knew I would no longer be hungry after eating that small amount. I wanted to eat a LOT, darn it!! But, being aware of that feeling, I was able to face it down and get past it.

I'm still fighting the "eating for entertainment and to combat boredom" monster, but it is getting easier and easier.