"You weren't that big?!?!"

[cherry03 0]

I support you 100%. I am 5"6 and I weigh 230 and I've heard all of it myself...

Losing the weight is a lot harder for me I mean I go to the gym and work out and I don't lose weight I just build muscle. I am larger than I look but I feel heavy because I am.

Regardless of what people say make it happen for you.

Congrats......

[parent2 0]

I am gettin banded on July 2nd, yippers!! I am currently 220 lbs and 5'6", BMI at 35. I also carry my weight well (if you can carry that much weight well :biggrin:) Anyway . . . I know I will have many comments like "YOU COULD HAVE EXERCISED AND GOT THAT OFF!" or "OH, YOU HAD SURGERY??" or "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT" etc, etc, etc.

I need some good comebacks to all of these comments, yall have any????? THANKS!

My BMI is 31 and I am worried about what people will say but I have been higher and I am ready to keep it down and get it down.It is not cheating weightloss it is wanting to be a better healthier person and why should you have to slog hours in the gym if you have a busy life its hard.

I am not telling anyone Just wait till you see the results then see what they think I am going in on Wednesday and I think it sounds like it will be far from easy so you go and you show them opiniated people Why you chose this way.

[stephyleighrose 0]

i also have a lower BMI of 36.6, i was just wondering if anyone had problems with their insurance with lower bmi's? i have bcbs and its going through auth right now so im super nervous to hear back from them.

[alabamm 0]

Too Funny! I am 5'4" 222lbs and I too carry it well but people are very quick to tell me how much weigh I'm gaining(or losing) but the second I mention that I'm getting lap band, they start telling me how big I'm not. But they are not the ones on this roller coaster nor are they going to suffer the diabetes, hypertention and kidney disease for me if I don't get this weight down and keep it down. I'm 44 years old and can't take anymore chances on gaining and losing weight when this opportunity is waiting!

Im 5'4 and i was 225 when banded. I too carried my weight well. I can't count the number of times i heard "just work out a few times a week" or "you dont need surgery you aren't that fat" meanwhile my BP was out of control, my knees were killing me and i felt like crap all the time. Not to mention i was probably on my way to being a whole lot heavier. I finally started asking people if they thought i should have waited til i weighed 300 pounds and could'nt see my own feet? Thst shut a few people up.

[cakegirl 12]

I'm getting banded on the 15th of August, and I've already had this comment from a lot of people - that I don't "need" the band to lose weight.

Well, I've been trying to lose it for years. I've lost and regained the same 5kg over and over again, and in the meantime my general health is getting worse and worse. I like the comment about not getting the band to lose weight, but to keep it off. I think I'll use that one.

[luckyfive101 6]

Good for you! You go girl!

I'm getting banded on the 15th of August, and I've already had this comment from a lot of people - that I don't "need" the band to lose weight.

Well, I've been trying to lose it for years. I've lost and regained the same 5kg over and over again, and in the meantime my general health is getting worse and worse. I like the comment about not getting the band to lose weight, but to keep it off. I think I'll use that one.

[us plus 3 0]

Hi slpcat,

I exercised, yep, but not 7 days a week or anything like that. I work full-time and study part-time and I have kids, so exercise needed to fit around all that. I also wanted something sustainable. I don't think I would have had the ability to exercise 6-7 times a week for months at a time - I reckon my husband would have divorced me if I did.

I basically set aside 120 minutes a week to exercise - that's 40 mins 3 times a week. I mainly cycled (I bought a stationary spin bike and a mountain bike) but sometimes would go for a run. I made sure that whatever exercise I did, I worked up a good sweat - I think it was important that my 120 minutes were devoted to intense exercise.

I got fills every month but didn't get restiction until my 4th fill. But knowing I would eventually get restriction, I tried to eat well while I was still 'loose'. I gave up sugar, chocolates and ice cream, but ate a balance of Protein, carbs and veg (I didn't do low carb or count calories at all).

I only ate when I was hungry (like when my stomache was almost growling) and would stop before I felt full.

I was losing about 3kgs (7lbs) a month doing that and with the building up of my endurance and strength from exercising. Once I got restriction, I was easily losing 5kgs (12lbs) a month because that's when the band started doing it's work, and by then the exercise had become part of my routine, so it was just falling off in the last few months.

Today I only exercise for fun, like maybe a cycle on the weekend, and a walk once or twice a week while my 3yo son rides his bike. I have good restriction, so eat very little, but now eat some chocolates and ice cream if I feel like it. Despite 'relaxing' a bit, I'm still losing weight, albeit very slowly now.

I should level out soon, which would be good as I'm now a size 1-2 (US sizing) and am happy with where I am. :thumbup:

The band generally does work well for those with 'lower' BMIs, so you'll probably find that it will help you lots. And in my opinion, you're doing it at the right time too. I know that I was heading for a higher and higher BMI every year had I not done something. I'm glad I did it sooner rather than later!

Just got banded on 8/17/11 and I was read that you said you went every month to get a fill until you felt 'restriction' Would you keep it strictly to every 4 weeks? I just got my first fill on Thurs 9/8/11 and can tell that I may need more. I eat a little, then an hour or so later I'm hungry again. Would would you advise? Should I wait a bit longer to get another fill or go as soon as I can be seen?

Thanks for the advice and really, your stats are amazing!! I had a 36 BMI, and being 5'0 I look like a rolly polly!

Can't wait for the day to wear my 'skinny clothes' that I REFUSED to get rid of!

[Jachut 487]

I get it from my doctor! The way my surgeon's practice works, I saw him first, he did the surgery and a follow up visit and I can see him any time I want to, but for fills and general check up, the practice has about six doctors working there. They've changed over the years of course, people come and go. The lady I've been seeing is really one of those pull yourself up by your bootstraps and stop stuffing your face kinda people - never been fat ever i her life, doesnt get it, doesnt understand the issues, but at six years out,, I wasnt that fussed. Anyway, i saw her last year when I went to report that I had rectal cancer and was going to need to be unfilled, and could she just run me through the process, what to expect, when could I refill, basically a vist ot relieve my fears and anxiety, which she did well. I saw her six weeks later, she totally unfilled me at that point.

She said to me that most people totally unfilled will gain, she woudlnt recommend removing my band (not that I mentioned this) as regain was likely, that I woudl have to hang on and really try my best but dont worry, we can start refilling you three weeks after your bowel resection. She seemed to understand that I would have an ileostomy (her mother has one) and big swings in body weight would cause me problems with bags fitting and leakage etc. So I get unfilled at 63 kg, BMI 20, go back about four weeks after my surgery at 60kg (BMI 19) - I really knew I didnt need fill that point, was jut touching base and as expected she wouldnt fill me. But over the months, after I finsished chemo and my body returned to healthy, I regained weight back up to 65kg. Great, I needed to, but I knew I wouldnt be hanging round there for long without some fill. That's when she started the "but you're not overweight" routine. Well, der! But I'm not going to manage that for long! I left that time, but came back weeks later, and really threw a major tantrum to get any fill. After that, she was OK about getting me back up to my previous level, but she gave me the lecture each time about how to eat. In the end, I just booked in with another doctor. Stupid woman, the reason I'm not overweight is that I have had a functioning, filled lapband for the past six years!!!!!

the other doctor was fabulous and understood my reporting that since unfilling, my band was simply not the same anymore. I have more fill now than I had with less restriction! Its adequate restriction for maintenance, but its less than it was.

[elcee 3,341]

I hate Dr's like that. One at my Dr's practice was similar when I was still in the weight loss phase. At one point she told me that I had lost what i was expected to with the lapband so I was successful. Yes maybe I had but I was still either overweight or right at the top end of normal at that point and I certainly didn't go through surgery to settle for that. I hate the way they have so much power over fills and yes I know they don't want people to be too tight but I only had just over 3.5ml at the time and I have a 10ml band. What is the point of having the band if they aren't going to let you use it properley. She was also skinny and I mean skinny in the true sense not what a lot of banders consider skinny which is often normal weight. After that I always asked for the other Dr when I went for my fills and she was so much more understanding.

I eventually got fed up of travelling so far for followups and managed to swap Dr's last year to one a lot closer to home.( Not sure how I managed it as generally he doesn't take other Dr's patients). He is great. I actually get to see him and not an assistant and he always seems to have time to talk and discuss how things are going.

[steph324 1]

I actually had another patient at my doctor's office go off on me in the waiting room about the fact that I don't need surgery. She started off by asking when I had my band added. When I informed her that I was scheduled for the next month, she started getting very upset at me saying that I don't need the surgery and that people like me waste the surgeons time when he could be working with people that need it. I was floored.

I am 5'6. When I started my 6 month doctor supervised diet, I was at 243 pounds. I have Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, and anxiety attacks. When we submitted to my insurance company, my BMI was right at 35. They obviously felt that I had enough serious health concerns to approve me for the surgery with no money out of pocket so why is this woman judging me? As of today I am at 203 pounds and a BMI of 32.8, but that has been through hard work. I know I can lose the weight on my own. I've done it before, if I don't get this surgery, I would continue to do it again and again. This is a tool to help me KEEP IT OFF!

[xavier 153]

For SLPcat...you can tell them you are losing by eating less and that will be the truth. The rest is medical info only to be shared with people in your inner circle.

To the thread starter I have found that witty comebacks just prolong a conversation I dont want to be having. If it is a comment (as opposed to a question) I usually nod as if I am thinking it over and dont actually respond. If it is an inappropriately personal question I take my response from the old Dear Abby, " Oh, I'm SURE you don't want me to answer something SOOOOO personal!" It really puts people in their place that they are out of line... Good luck, be careful who you tell, who ever said there are a lot of haters was dead on!