One Year Ago Today ....

this time last yr I was being wheeled back into my room to start my new of eating and learning how to eat the proper way.

What a year it has been. It hasn't been easy, but the things I have learned just from having the surgery is well worth it

I have lost almost 70 pounds, down a couple sizes in clothes and in shoes, I have been smoke free for ONE YEAR AND TWO WEEKS !!!!!.  I think that has been my biggest accomplishment right there !! If it hasn't been for the surgery then I would have never ever quit smoking !! I have added years to my life just from not smoking no more !!!

Sometimes I wi**** would have been more weight loss, but I'm not going to sit here moan about what I should have lost or didn't lose.    I have learned so much in a yr about eating and that is what I wanted from the band.

I never wanted to give up foods having this surgery saying I cant eat this, or I cant eat that no more. I knew if I would do that then I would fail . I still enjoy my pizza, my chips and my fries but now I have learned how often to eat them foods and I watch my servings on them foods.  That is what I wanted from the band and that is what I am getting from the band.

I know I can sit down and eat a nice steak, veggies and yes a baked potato and be happy with that.  I know I dont have to go back for seconds now, I know I dont need a 16 oz steak but  a nice 4-6 oz steak is more then enough,  I know when I leave that table I have ate a very well balanced meal of protein, veggies and carbs and I am thrilled I am learning these things .

I'm not 100% eat healthy all the time , I have my weeks where I eat all the wrong foods, or I get extremely lazy in exercise , its going to happen that is part of learning how to eat healthy, and be healthy :o) .  Even when I have my weeks of screwing up I dont gain no weight because deep in my brain I still watch my portion sizes even on them days that I eat every wrong food  and to me that is  huge accomplishment I never did do that before.

I still have not had a fill,  even though weight loss has been slow the last three months or so if I was totally honest with myself about my exercise, my calories, my food choices then it would fall back on me not doing what I am suppose to be doing .  A fill wont cure them problems for me that is something I have to do and work on . 

I have really changed my eating habits how much I eat, how often I eat , and what I eat and that is what I wanted.

My doc told me to be successful in losing weight and keeping the weight off you have to change my lifestyle.  enjoy them bad foods but learn how often and how much of them foods.   I still grab the chips on the weekends( not a whole bag but a handful ) but during the week I grab fruit , or veggies for my snacks and I dont feel guilty at all on the weekends eating some of them chips and dip.

A vet told me on here when I first started moderation not deprivation and I truly believe that. If I had to give up all the foods I loved then I dont think I would be where I am today and I dont want to live that way .  I am in control of the food now the food dont control me !!! 

If you are considering getting this surgery then make sure you know what you are getting into.  My doc told me when I first met him many things.

The band wont stop you from eating the wrong foods
The band wont stop you from snacking
The band dont stop you from overeating
The band dont make you get up exercise .

  If you dont change the way you eat, the foods you eat,  exercise at least 3-5 times a week then the odds of you losing weight are slim to none.  And the band is the slowest weight loss out there . My doc said anywhere from 4-8 pounds per month is flat out kicking ass lol.

Dont become so obsessed with fills that you end up depending on them fills so much and not learning how to eat properly, or learn to eat normal healthy portions .  I know so many people that has went through this and now they are paying the price for losing their band for keeping it to tight, and when the band came out they had no idea how to eat a normal healthy meal because they didn't learn them tools while having the band .

I dont regret getting this surgery at all.  If I hadn't had this surgery then I wouldn't be smoke free , and I have found out how mentally strong I really am doing this. It took this surgery for me to find out how strong I really am (mentally and physically ) and how I can really change my lifestyle but still enjoy all the goodies around me in moderation !!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everybody !! 

First of all, I do want to congradulate you on quitting smoking and on your weight loss as well.

I do though think it is important to point out to pre-ops that might be reading this that from what you have posted in the past...........that you have lost the weight by dieting ONLY since you have no restriction because you are afraid to get fills due to the high incidence of band complications.

I know you love your band (althought I don't understand WHY you got it since you've never attempted to use it!), and you have done wonderful with your diet. But please be honest in your bandiversary post so pre-ops can have a realistic view of the band. The way you posted it would lead them to believe that you lost 70 pounds FROM THE BAND............which if your previous posts are true.......is NOT correct. Although you may not mind paying thousands of dollars just to put yourself on a diet.........most obese/MO ppl out there would NOT consider that a plus!!!

But please be honest in your bandiversary post so pre-ops can have a realistic view of the band. The way you posted it would lead them to believe that you lost 70 pounds FROM THE BAND............which if your previous posts are true.......is NOT correct. Although you may not mind paying thousands of dollars just to put yourself on a diet........

Maria, many people lose weight just from the band itself.  My doctor's office has a patient who has lost over 100 lbs without a fill and without deprivation.  To "chastise" Steeler for not being honest is just not ok.  My band only has 3.5 cc from 2 fills in 18 months and I do "cheat" and eat pretty much anything I want.  I have lost about 12 lbs this year...in previous years I would have gained 12 for a net positive of 24 lbs as opposed to where I would be without my "crap-band".  It's really not fair to rain on her parade because you are unhappy with your band.  By your own admission you have lost, through diet and exercise and have had no complications.

BTW, those who have suffered severe complications as a result of banding, like Nicci, Lisa and others, have valid issues and I am by no means trying to shove rainbows and unicorns up anyones ass...just think it is thoughtless to jump on Steeler's celebratory thread and call her out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I think it's great that she has lost weight, and of course quitting smoking is a huge plus as well!

I do realize that there are some that don't need a fill. I think it's wonderful when that happens! Talk about the icing on the cake. :-) However from Steelerfans previous post she indicated she didn't have restriction, and has a great fear of getting a fill b/c of all the complications she see that so many ppl have after getting the fill. I just don't think it's fair for her to put out there that she has lost the weight FROM the band.......when she has lost it from diet/exercise b/c she is afraid to actually use her band, since apparently she is not getting a fill b/c she doesn't need one, but rather b/c she fears complications.

I just want those that are pre-op to see accurate descriptions of band life. If I had just posted on my one year bandiversary that I had my band a year and lost 65 pounds, it would have given the impression that my band was working fine and that I lost the 65 pounds during the year BECAUSE OF the band. That was clearly NOT the case. I was honest in my assesment of the band at my one year mark and I expected her to do the same. What I posted was not a result of trying to "degrade" her, as I believe she had posted, but rather an attempt to inform pre-ops that just seeing weight loss after the band does NOT guarantee that weight was lost b/c of the band working properly (or in her case, b/c the band was being used properly). Just as in other instances, some will report an incredible weight loss..........but then it later comes out that they just lost that weight b/c of frequent vomiting. If we're gonna tell it...........we need to tell it ALL. Pre-ops deserve to hear the truth.

Well said steelerfan1.
Well said.

Congradulations, and happy new birthday!

Congrats on your one year..Yor have done a great job and I'm proud of you. Just to keep ourselves from not thinking of food and adjusting to smaller amounts is hard work. Any excercise is better than none at all. You have lost almost 70 lbs. Just think without the band how much more weight you might have gained especially once you stopped smoking. You have been my friend this year and I'm glad to be your friend. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Anniversary!! "You can please some people some of the time, but you can't please all the people all the time." that's what my mom used to tell me. Enjoy life!

Maria

First off you can kiss my ass!!! I have never said I didnt have restriction. I can eat my three meals and a snack and be very happy. You don't know anything about me and my band. And yes I do have them concerns about fills and you would be a fool if you didn't have concerns , BUT that would not keep me from getting a fill. You can sit there and degrade me all you want if that makes you feel better then maybe you won't rain on somebody elses happy post.

You don't know me , you don't know my discussions with my surgeon. If it had been your post I would have said congrats and left my damn personal feelings out of it !!!

And the band is a freakin diet!! You have to all the same damn things as we did before but the band keeps you fuller for a little bit longer on a sensible healthy meal. That is exactly what my band does for me. Just like it's suppose to do.

Spuddzy thank you my friend . I cherish our friendship also and thank you for the kind words.

Dock thank you and good luck to you take it one day at a time

First off you might want to work on your anger management issues. You implied you did NOT have restriction. You said you didn't get fills b/c you are so afraid of all the band complications that start after getting fills. You didn't say you didn't NEED fills b/c you had restriction w/o any saline. You never got fills b/c you are afraid to get them. Which if that's how you fell, fine. Don't get them. I don't understand wasting thousands of dollars to get a band that you have no intention of using .....but that's your business.

What I do have a problem with is you posting as though you have lost the 70 pounds b/c the band worked correctly. It's possible it might have worked for you.............but since you have never tried to use it properly.....you don't know.

Pre-ops need to have an accurate depiction of band life and expected weight loss FROM the band. You chose to do this strictly by the dieting method, which again, I don't understand, but whatever. All I ask is that you please be honest in your post and not try to give the impression that 70 pounds was lost as a result of your band working correctly.  If you choose NOT to ever get a fill, that's fine. But can you at least explain to the ones that might not have seen that post you made WHY you choose NOT to get fills in your band?

maria-

here's a question for you....and i'm asking not to be a snotty newbie....but genuine interest.  Steeler is not the first person i have heard of who has NOT gotten any fills, and the band works.  the band IS going to work to some degree just by being there, without fills...it's already providing some restriction, no? 

My approach is, to date, yes, i may get hungry, but isn't that whaht the band is for? to use as a tool to learn HOW to manage the hunger stuff?  I can tell you i'm eating a WHOLE lot less than before the band, and I'm eating healthier, because I do worry about PB'ing and getting stuck and all of those things.  yes, i know those things can happen even if i eat the correct things, but i'm hedging my bets and saying "if i avoid the crap food as much as possible, just maybe i'll not get stuck and/or PB". 

I don't think having a band without fills is not using the band.  jmho.

Oh I didn't take your post to be that way at all. You posted it very politely!

I have heard of others that got restricion with on fills as well. It's rare, but it happens on occasion. I think those that it happens to are truely blessed! When we get the band, we expect it to work as the describe it, but for it to work even better...........well that's just awesome!

But Steelerfan indicated about 4months ago that she didn't get fills b/c of hearing all the stories of ppl that have complications after getting fills. She was too afraid to get them..........NOT that she would not get them b/c she didn't need them! HUGE difference there!

This is what Allergan *claims* their Lap-Band does:

How it works

Without any stomach cutting or stapling, the LAP-BAND^® System reduces your stomach’s capacity, restricting the amount of food you are able to eat at one time. Plus, you feel full faster and stay full longer, so you wind up eating less.

By that description........it does give you a "tool" to assist in weight loss. Anyone getting a band should do what they can to work with that "tool". A lot of ppl I only expected it to work like it advertised in the description above (which was taken DIRECTLY from their website!). I NEVER expected the band to do all the work. That is why I improved my diet significantly. This is why I do high protein, and usually lower carb, sugar and fat. This is why I do not drink with meals or 30 mins. after.

Now  you stated:

I can tell you i'm eating a WHOLE lot less than before the band, and I'm eating healthier, because I do worry about PB'ing and getting stuck and all of those things.  yes, i know those things can happen even if i eat the correct things, but i'm hedging my bets and saying "if i avoid the crap food as much as possible, just maybe i'll not get stuck and/or PB". 


That is great that you are eating healthier in an attempt to not get PB'ing and stuck. However I will tell you that for many bandsters (this has never been a major problem for me personally), they are NOT able to eat healthier things like lean, dense protein.............so they resort to slider food that is higher in calories, but goes down easier. You are very recently out, and you *could* find youself in that situation as well. Hopefully that won't happen!  Just trying to give you an example of those that want to work with their band........but seem unable to b/c of the effect the band has on them.

You also state:

I don't think having a band without fills is not using the band.  jmho.

My answer to that is it depends. If you're one of those extremely lucky ones that never needs a fill, then that is correct. If you are someone that has such a fear of the band complications that you can not bring yourself to get one....then that is NOT using the band.

Best of luck with your band!