3+ years post surgery? Please tell us about your journey!

[skinnyoneday 2]

I've always wanted to see a thread dedicated to people who've been several years post surgery but have never come across one. While success stories are great, I'd also like to hear about stumbles and failures just so I can get as close to a realistic view of where you can end up weight-wise after surgery. I am struggling and would love to hear about others who also struggled and still reached their goal weight.

I had surgery on 7/15/08. I initially lost 50lbs and was doing great in the beginning. But since around March of this year I have been going in the opposite direction and have gained back 20 pounds. I'm really looking for encouragement right now and would like to know how our "veterans" are doing. I am sure I am not the only one who needs this so.... if you're 3+ tell us what's been going on with you. Share your low points, high points, tips, anything!

[marianthelibrarian 0]

I lurk here occasionally, but I registered today so that I could respond to this post. I'm almost 4 1/2 years post-op, and I've had some ups and downs on my banding journey. Here's my story.

I started out at 342 lbs. I'm 5'9", so my BMI was 49 or so. I didn't have any comorbidities. The surgery went well, and I did great with my weight loss. (I was really watching what I ate!) I lost 146 lbs in the first year after banding. (I got down to 196.) The I battled about 16 lbs for another year. Then some things changed in my life (MIL issues, moving to a neighborhood with no gym, general stress), and I reverted to my bad lifestyle choices-- no exercise and lots of sugar. Needless to say, I gained up to 262. I finally decided to get myself under control again. I started getting some therapy to help me find other ways to deal with stress other than trying to eat away my problems. I found out that I had a leak in my port/tubing, and I got that addressed. And I'm seeing a personal trainer. I am back on track. I've lost 22 lbs of my regain, so I'm down 102 lbs from my pre-band weight. I'm working everyday to get the weight off. The good news is that my band works just as well now as it did four years ago. However, I think now I'm more accepting that this is a life-long battle, and that I will always have to watch what I eat and will always have to exercise regularly.

[skinnyoneday 2]

Wow, Marian, thank you so much for your input. Your story is very encouraging to me in that you did not gain all of the weight back (or even most of it for that matter) and that even now you are back to losing weight. And thank you so much for officially joining so you could respond. I hope many others follow suit.

[KelinTx 1]

I was banded 3 years ago this month. The first year the weight just flew off me. I will say i was very strict with myself and followed every rule to a T. I lost over a 100lbs the first year. My mindset was this, i willingly had an elective surgery that i was fortunate enough to have had insurance pay for, i'll be damned if i was gonna screw it up. I kept having small frequent fills in order to keep feeling a certain level of restriction. I am filled to 9.2 in the large VG band. I did have one temporary set back. I needed port replacement, i struggled to maintain my loss during that time when we were trying to figure out where my Fluid was going. Luckily i did maintain my loss but it was pure hell without restriction. I joined a gym when i got to the point where i was comfy enough to exercise with others. I go 4-5 times a week. I will be perfectly honest and say i still have food issues and most likely always will, i am a total food addict. That is why i MUST keep myself super restricted so that it is impossible for me to overindulge. I am still able to eat anything i want but i am only able to eat a very small amount. Thats what works for me.

[Jachut 487]

Its almost 4 years for me and has been a smooth journey.

I got banded at 245lb, at 5ft 10, that's a BMI of 36. I too had no real comorbidities, but the weight was makign me tired, lethargic and I worried, at 38 about going down hill pretty quickly, as I knew I would continue to gain.

I hadnt been fat all my life, I'd always hovered at a BMI of around 26, which to me was humungous, but it was after 3 babies that i slid into obesity. I'd been active and athletic until that lifestyle change that comes with having children.

I lost quite slowly - I had driven myself nuts (and made myself fatter) dieting, had never had ANY success at it and vowed never ever to do it again. So I never counted calories, Protein, carbs, nothing. I just eat healthy and that's it - I buy organic, cook from scratch etc.

I took up running, slowly at first, and then onto a couple of half marathons - took me 2 years plus to get to that stage.

I lost about 70lb first year, probably 25lb the next year and a couple the year after that.

I'm at the point where my weight is perfect, at 150lb, but I think I still have a bit much body fat. My exercise focus has shifted - my main love is running, but I'm focussing a lot more on VERY intense circuit training and interval running in an effort to fine tune my figure.

I've never had a regain, my weight never budges, I firmly believe that's all the exercise I do.

Banding was the best thing I ever did for myself. I place a high responsibility on myself to do the right things and make the right choices, I'm very dedicated to my running and I believe that made it a very effective and workeable tool. However, like mentioned above, I dont feel "cured". I have an overly sweet tooth and a bad tendency to indulge in processed carbs - cakes, Cookies, etc. i cant control myself around those foods and it will ALWAYS be a matter of willpower not to eat them. If I didnt have my band, I think I would regain, for sure.

[skinnyoneday 2]

I was banded 3 years ago this month. The first year the weight just flew off me. I will say i was very strict with myself and followed every rule to a T. I lost over a 100lbs the first year. My mindset was this, i willingly had an elective surgery that i was fortunate enough to have had insurance pay for, i'll be damned if i was gonna screw it up. I kept having small frequent fills in order to keep feeling a certain level of restriction. I am filled to 9.2 in the large VG band. I did have one temporary set back. I needed port replacement, i struggled to maintain my loss during that time when we were trying to figure out where my Fluid was going. Luckily i did maintain my loss but it was pure hell without restriction. I joined a gym when i got to the point where i was comfy enough to exercise with others. I go 4-5 times a week. I will be perfectly honest and say i still have food issues and most likely always will, i am a total food addict. That is why i MUST keep myself super restricted so that it is impossible for me to overindulge. I am still able to eat anything i want but i am only able to eat a very small amount. Thats what works for me.

I think I have forgotten the rules of post band living already. Please refresh my memory. Prior to having surgery I said I'd have to be nuts to have spent all that money on surgery (insurance paid for mine also) and not get to my goal weight or at least pretty close to it. However, I've lost focus and that's why I started this thread. So that others in my position would have words of wisdom from our veterans to lean on. This thread will definitely be a "go to" for me when I lose focus again.

[skinnyoneday 2]

Its almost 4 years for me and has been a smooth journey.

I got banded at 245lb, at 5ft 10, that's a BMI of 36. I too had no real comorbidities, but the weight was makign me tired, lethargic and I worried, at 38 about going down hill pretty quickly, as I knew I would continue to gain.

I hadnt been fat all my life, I'd always hovered at a BMI of around 26, which to me was humungous, but it was after 3 babies that i slid into obesity. I'd been active and athletic until that lifestyle change that comes with having children.

I lost quite slowly - I had driven myself nuts (and made myself fatter) dieting, had never had ANY success at it and vowed never ever to do it again. So I never counted calories, Protein, carbs, nothing. I just eat healthy and that's it - I buy organic, cook from scratch etc.

I took up running, slowly at first, and then onto a couple of half marathons - took me 2 years plus to get to that stage.

I lost about 70lb first year, probably 25lb the next year and a couple the year after that.

I'm at the point where my weight is perfect, at 150lb, but I think I still have a bit much body fat. My exercise focus has shifted - my main love is running, but I'm focussing a lot more on VERY intense circuit training and interval running in an effort to fine tune my figure.

I've never had a regain, my weight never budges, I firmly believe that's all the exercise I do.

Banding was the best thing I ever did for myself. I place a high responsibility on myself to do the right things and make the right choices, I'm very dedicated to my running and I believe that made it a very effective and workeable tool. However, like mentioned above, I dont feel "cured". I have an overly sweet tooth and a bad tendency to indulge in processed carbs - cakes, Cookies, etc. i cant control myself around those foods and it will ALWAYS be a matter of willpower not to eat them. If I didnt have my band, I think I would regain, for sure.

Jachut, let me just start out by saying you've been an inspiration to me since I joined LBT. I have to admit I've always been intimidated by your signature. I guess most of my issues with lack of losing can be taken care of by simply stopping with the complaints and just getting up and moving. In fact, I was losing weight steadily until around March when it started getting warm again. I started getting bored with my exercise routine and then eventually hurt my knee attempting the Couch Potato to 5k. Once I stopped going to the gym it was hard to get back into the routine.

We're pretty much the same in that we haven't always been big. In fact, I was an avid exerciser and played handball on a regular basis until around the age of 23 when I had my son. I gained weight when I had him and just continued to gain. I've also tried a few diets with little to no success and this surgery was the last resort for me. I refuse to be fat for the rest of my life. Maybe I'm just being impatient. I don't know. Thanks for sharing.