two years since i had the lap-band a little disappointed...

it has been almost two years since i had the lap-band.  i started out at 210 lbs and now i weigh 170, so i've lost around 40 lbs, but i'm still overweight (im 5 ft 3 in)  i have 8 1/2 ccs in a  10 band i'm tight enough i guess i'm not eating the right foods and i'm not excersising i need to start walking again, but i just can't get motivated.  i would love to loose at least 20 more lbs.... 

You hit the nail on the head.  Focus on eating your protein first.  A properly filled band will probably allow you to get in 4 oz, and maybe a bite or two of veggies.   If you can't get that much moist protein in, consider a slight unfill.  This way you can focus on WHAT you are eating.  Exercising is also key for me. 

Hi Melly,  I have been wafting for the call for two years after a  lot of complications with my health.  I now have my date for the Lap Banding "March 6, 2013" and am very nervous and excited at the same time!!!!!   THEN reading all the stuff about the Lap Band and how people have been negative about the weight loss they have had.  I am sooooooooooooo confused and have no choice but to have the Lap Band, even though it could be deadly for me.  I am ready and willing to put my life on the line to go through with this procedure, as I am so tired of being tired because of my weight!!!  

Any help or information you would like to share with me would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Thank you so much

Pat

Congratulations, Pat!!! 

I had the LapBand for 4 years and had to revise to the VSG (sleeve).  I am not a band basher, as I know it's a good tool when everything is adjusted correctly.  Let me explain.

Out of surgery, most of us are very motivated and so ready to FINALLY be a normal size, for some of us, we have never been skinny or it's been too many years to count.  So, before we can get a fill, we are fairly compliant with our eating.  It's tough.....you just went through surgery, but really the band isn't at a level, fill-wise, to be of much help. 

Then come the fills.  Some surgeons are aggressive and give big fills so that your band can start helping you sooner, and some surgeons are very conservative.  Once the band has a decent amount of fill, it really is a great tool.  For me, my hunger went completely away.  I could only eat very small portions of solid protein and stayed satisfied for hours. 

At the same time, my brain wasn't banded.  So, I still WANTED to eat chips, cookies and candy, which slide right through the band.  I was pretty motivated and stuck to my plan about 85% of the time.....definitely not perfect, but for me, that's pretty good!  ha ha.  People tend to run in to problems when they have too much of a fill.  I pretty much kept my band in the "green zone".  Which allowed me to eat about 1/2 cup of solid foods.  I couldn't eat bread, pasta or rice, which is good. 

I think my body didn't like the band.  I tend to swell and bloat VERY EASILY.  Before surgery, I never even stopped to think that if my fingers were swollen, then all of my insides are swollen, as well.  Let me tell you, if you are bloated,  your band will fit tighter around your stoma.  It's true, the first surgeon I had was a quack.  He never positioned my band correctly.  I got a new surgeon and he had to go in surgically put the band in a good place.  I had a better experience with my band, by him doing that, but I still had too many days where my band was too tight from bloat my body decided to have that day. 

So, FOR ME, it was better to take the band out and revise to a different surgery.  I have been on this board since 2007.  I have seen a lot of success stories and I have also seen a lot of people that have suffered really serious health problems from being banded. 

Since the LapBand is the only surgery you can get, I want you to go in to this being as prepared as possible.  Please do whatever you need to do to get your mind in the right place.  Most of us will tell you that WLS is only 10% surgical procedure....success mainly is up to YOU and how willing you are to really adopt a healthier lifestyle.  Unfortunately, crappy foods are HIGHLY tolerated with the band and VSG.  RNY'rs have a bit of an advantage because a lot of them can't eat sweets and such without feeling sick. 

There are a lot successful bandsters that hang out here.  Yes, you will hear all of the negative stories as well, but remember most of those people really have gone through a band banding experience and want to save others from their fate.  Not everyone has the same fate.  Good luck!!

Carol,

 

 

 

I have the type of body that if I dont eat healthy and exercise and I mean exercise no fluffy stuff  that is the only way I can lose weight . 

It dont matter how little I eat, how healthy I eat if I dont exercise I wont lose end of story .  I just cant eat healthy or the little amounts and the weight just falls off . Never been like that and even after WLS its not like that.  I still have to work just as hard .

 

The longer we get away from our surgery date the easier it is to slip back into bad habits been there done that .  Speaking from experience here just this week I had to come clean with some friends on here about things  ( no band problems ) and once I went back and read my post I can see where I have been struggling.

Like they told me you just have to get up and start doing it , thinking about it isnt going to get you no where.  I went back to my first Zumba class after missing it for months on Monday and then I went back last night again .   Once I got there omg did it feel good to get my butt and exercise again.  I forgot how much I enjoyed it .  I was going to go  night but monthly  female problems is keeping me away tonight , but I will be there again on Monday night.

Like another poster said if you cant get at least 4 -5 oz of protein in a meal then you are way to tight and that can be more dangerous then you know .   My doc always told me if I cant sit down and eat a healthy reasonable meal then I have to much fluid in our bands.  Reasonable to him is protein, veggie and yes even a carb .  That is my doc though.

 

I just started fresh again this past Monday after getting my head together and the support from caring friends on here .  Start exercising again, no excuses just do it ,  start tracking your food . I use Fitness pal on my phone and scan everything I eat ,  have fruit, or veggies around if you get hungry its better to eat that stuff then picking up a bag of chips ( I am very bad about that ).  

Its so easy to slip back into bad habits, its easy to eat around the band ( been doing that for a yr now  *sigh* ),   just start doing it , the motivation will come when you see the numbers on the scale go down.

 

Also speaking of scales.  Im sure everybody has noticed when they are no****ching their weight they could care less about the scales I am so damn guilty of this its not funny  !!  , But when we are watching what we eat, exercising , we come obessed with the scales !! Dont let the scales run you .   I think that is alot of problems to.   I am a slow losser and I get very upset when I get on the scales and dont see numbers go down.  I get mad, I get discouraged, I get to where I will eat things .

I am doing it another approach this time around .  As long as I know I am eating healthy , exercising the weight has to come off.  This time around not going to let the scales ruin me .

Good luck its hard to get back on track after you have been off track for a long time, but you will never get back on track if you dont start making them first moves .

 

The one biggest factor that I found that made the difference in success and failure was, JOURNALING.  I know I had it preached at me over and over but, after the first few months, I KNEW what and how much I was eating.  WRONG.

Three year out, with the consistent unfilling of the band to keep it lose enough to get in my dense protein and the journaling of every bite, I was able to get 50 of the 60 regain back off.

I can't say enough good about journaling.

thanks for the advice, i'm going to start writing down everything I eat.  i'm going to start walking again.  any more advice will be appreciated....thanks :)

 

The key thing for me was exercise.  Until I started to get serious about exercise then I didn't lose much of anything.  Once I began my routine the pounds melted off.  It didn't take me long to work my way up to 60 minutes on the treadmill and then I was doing 20 minutes of strength training and 10 minutes of stretching.  I still pretty much do the same thing...except I do 50 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes of strength training.  I do this 6 days a week.  

I lost 175 lbs doing this.  Nothing motivates you more than that!!!  

I am also filled to 9.8 ccs in my 11 cc band.  I watch my diet very closely.  I eat only lean protein and complex carbs.  I stay away from simple carbs (white carbs).  I also stay away from processed and manufactured foods.  If it's frozen, pre-packaged I don't eat it.  I now eat organic, whole foods.  I make my foods at home and limit eating out to special occasions.  I never go to fast food places any more...ever.  If I snack on something it's healthy snacks...like fruit, nuts, yogurt...I might indulge and have my favorite snack..it's so yummy...

it's  a sliced banana, with a little organic peanut butter, and then top it with one dark chocolate chip....then I freeze it.  It's so super yummy...and not really bad for you like cookies, ice cream, chips and other crap.  You can do the same thing with an apple.!!!  

I agree with journaling and exercise. My NUT challenged me to not journal and I have complied for two weeks now. No gain, but no loss either! I feel better journaling as it really holds you accountable. I will go back to it although I feel successful in living without it.

I am one year out, almost to goal and only one fill. Everyone is different. You must experiment and find what works for you!

 

Really echoing the others, especially Melly.

we all have to find what works for us. For me journalling is a total no-no! If I start to measure and count, I start to think of food all the time and so want it! So I lost all my excess weight without any counting. I did actually do a check every month or so just to make sure my calories weren't way out of line. And I am afraid I don't do any regular exercise! I should! And I am not a sedentary person. But nothing regular, no gym or anything like that.

We are all very different.