I did it too!

Wow - my surgery date was Thursday, Feb 17 2011!  I am excited to start my journey, well, I'll be more excited once the gas and lingering nausea leave! I am enjoying reading about everyone's experiences and hope to soon have some "words of wisdom"  to share too:)

Congrat's on your surgery ...Hope you have a speedy recovery...

Thank you!!  I've been following your posts too, good luck to you in whatever you decide :)

Welcome to the Loser's bench Spudz!  This is the best decision I ever made.  It's been a lazy Sunday afternoon and my hubby can't keep his hands off me today! mmmmmmmm mmmm!

My biggest words of wisdom?

·         Be patient.

·         Don't compare yourself to others or it will drive you mad.

·         You may do exceptional and start dropping pounds fast or you may be slow and steady, but if you psycho analyze why you are not losing like someone else you'll feel defeated and likely bummed out.

·         If you don't lose as fast as you had hoped, try to realize it may just be your pace.

·         Take your fills slowly to let your body adjust.

·         Preportion your meals so your cravings dont get the best of you.

·         Chew Chew Chew...while you probably won't have a stuck episode until you reach real restriction you want to get in the practice early.

·         Remember the band rules are there for a reason and you dont want to risk having a problem down the road so stick to them

·         OH is an amazing place to come for support so book mark the Lapband forum

 Again, be patient. Knowing all that I did about lapband I still let myself get impatient early on. A friend of mine seemed to eat just about anything and still lost so quickly while I was following the rules and losing like a turtle. Then I would come to the boards and read so many stories of people losing weight twice as fast as I was and felt defeated like here I was now the only person who would never lose weight even after WLS. Well like they say, slow and steady wins the race. My 1-2lbs per week eventually turned out to be 76lbs gone in just over a year. You can do it just keep your chin up!!

Congratulations! Everyone has given you super advice, so far. When you have questions, ask, when you don't then just read. I found reading posts and replies helped me immeasurably. Learn all you can about this journey so you will be prepared for what ever may happen. It will take quite a while before you feel like you know much about this. About that time you will find you don't know much at all. We have all been there.
Good luck, Sue

"Words of wisdom,"  you must make a commitment to follow the band rules.  You will occasionally  have a slip up, but get right back with the program.  Don't let anyone or anything deter you from this.  Just take it one day at a time.  It takes a long time for you body and mind to do all the adjusting it has to do.  This is what I have found out.  Congrats and Good luck to you.

 Hi there!  Congrats on your surgery, and hope you heal quickly!

I know you didn't actually ask for "words of wisdom", but since others offered theirs, I'd like to offer mine, too.  Embrace this surgery as a catalyst for change in your life.  Too many new bandsters wait for restriction to lead them to a thinner life.  I'm here to tell you...Don't wait.  Do everything you can right now to set yourself up for success.  Follow your doctor's post-op instructions, follow the "band rules", and be proactive about your own health and weight loss success.  Educate yourself about good nutrition, set up some accountability (a band buddy, support group, or even posting here), exercise at a level appropriate for your own level of fitness *consistently and progressively*, document your stats (weights/measurements/food journal/photos), and enjoy each and every little victory that you experience!   

Best wishes!  Looking forward to reading your "words of wisdom", too!

Tami

Congratulations...............

NORMA

 Congrats and welcome to the loser's bench!