Reality for Newbies.

Everyone in this forum is going to have different opinions if the lap band has worked for them or if it did not. It is a personal choice. For me, I got banded June 2007 and mentally I was not ready for it. I still wanted to eat the way I had been eating before the band and did not have much success but a 25lb weight loss for years. I did not blame the band I blamed myself. I stopped getting fills in the early part of 2008 because my new insurance company didn't cover the payments. I got pregnant in 2008 and had a boy May 2009. Surprisingly after I had the baby I had dropped another 20lbs in addition to the pregnancy weightgain which put me at a total of 45lbs lost since I had the surgery. I was still eating what I wanted.

Well it's 2011 and on January 10th I declared war on my weight and starting in at 310lbs (51lbs lost  since I got banded) I started the HCG Complete Diet. This diet is totally restricting calories and is hard to follow and even though I have not been following the diets meal plan I have been eating much healthier than before and now I am weighing in at 263lbs just a month later.

If you choose to have any weightloss surgery know that you have to be dedicated and determined to eat healthier and live a better lifestyle. There are no shortcuts. People complain about the gastric bypass and people complain about the lapband but at least with the band you know if you have any stumps you can get a fill to tighten it up. I have a friend who had gastric bypass and she has now put half of the weight she lost back on. She cannot get a fill to tighten it up and restrict what she eats. She has to rely on dieting all the way now. I am glad I chose the lap band and have an appointment to get back on track with fills again week after next.

Good Luck on your goals.

Great post, and good luck getting back into the swing of things.

So  true!!!   Im a year and 2 months out ..i lost 50 pounds in the first 6 months  ! then christmas came....put back on like 15 ...i got very comfortable ...eating sweets and such ...stopped weighing my self and so on.....i now have about 7 pounds to go to get of that gain....i work out 45 min every day ...eat healthy and get 96 plus water in a day.....i struggle ....do i love my band/ ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY!  but we still have to choose what we put in our mouths ! Way to go getting back on track! oh and i have great restriction....havent had a fill since june ...but the sweets and carbs go down too easy .....

Yes...I agree.  The Band only works as hard as you do.

I had limited success losing weight for 18 months.  I wasn't restricted enough and was able to eat too much.  I cheated frequently.  I finally got to a decent fill and was able to stick to the Band diet.  I was lucky I never gained but I lost slowly.  I also started to exercise.  Something I should have been doing all along but was to lazy and came up with great excuses not to exercise.  If I did exercise I would walk for 15-20 minutes.  I didn't even break a sweat.  Now I exercise my butt off and sweat like crazy (6 days a week, 90 minutes a day).  So now I am almost 2 years post-op and I am losing a lot of weight.  I lost 13 lbs. last month!!!  I can honestly say that there aren't many surgeries that you can come back 18 months after the surgery (cheating all long) and lose weight the way I am.  Usually the "honeymoon" period is over for most surgeries.  Although, I think maybe I would have been better suited for a different WLS...I still am soooo glad I have my band.   

I feel like there should be an understanding that the Band isn't automatic...it won't lose weight for you.  Also, people should be told until you get your "green zone" fill you are on your own.  I see so many people on here going to get their first fill and wondering why they can still eat too much.  They should know this!!!  Why didn't their doctor tell them...or were they not paying attention. 

I was guilty of the first part.  I thought once I got my band the rest would be easy....THAT'S A BIG NO...I still have to work hard.

 

NK - yours is a perfect band story, and one that sounds like it's going to end very happily!  The great thing is that you KNOW you can be successful if you do what it takes.  If you're willing to let the band be the help it is designed to be, and not expect it to do all the work for you, then you can't help but succeed, and surely you are on your way!

GREAT thread for newbies who may be coming into this thinking they can just keep eating the way they always did and the weight is going to drop off.  Ain't gonna happen.  But the effort you make will be greatly rewarded in the end, and the greater your effort, the greater the reward.

Your band + eating good, wholesome foods + controlling portions + exercise + drinking lots of water = SUCCESS.  Guaranteed.

Thanks everyone I agree with you all! I thought I would be able to eat what I wanted and still lose weight because my stomach pouch was smaller and what a joke that was. I think mentally you have to be fed up with your weight and ready to commit to that change. I am two pounds away from a one hundred pound weightloss and I thought I would have seen a dramatic clothes size drop which I have not. I am down just three clothes sizes since the surgery so now I am ordering the Zumba exercise dvd's to sweat some serious inches off and hopefully that will help to. I can't wait to get on a plane and only take up one seat! So far I don't have to ask for an extender so that was great. It's the little things you notice that means so much. My true victorious point will be when I can ride a rollercoaster at an amusement park and not worry about if I can fit in the car.

 I have a very similar story.  Good for you getting back on track.  I too am getting back on track and I love the fact that I have a band because all I have to do is my part, it kinda makes me feel like I have a partner holding my hand through the whole thing.

NK that is such a great post. I am a newbie, i had my band put in on December 27, 2010. I have done well so far, but i am thankful that i was aware that i had to work at it as well as if i was doing it on my own. I have gotten off my behind and am walking 2 miles a day for starters but i know it is going to take a lot of hard work. But i am thankful that i can read posts like this. It really is encouraging!
Lisa