do you ever wonder....

if you chose the wrong surgery? Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with my band and the weight I've lost, but I see all these posts from RNY patients who have lost a lot faster.

It's really not a big deal, but sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice and if I'll really make it to my goal weight.

just as many people who have the BAND have made it to there goal weight....and there are many RNY  people who have not.....so this is how i chose....
i do no twant and will not have plastics....so in order to loose slower and not need plastics i will take the BAND...i will not have all of the complications that "COULD"  happen with RNY . the people who chose RNY ..that is the surgery for them and i mean no disrespect....but it 's not for me and i have never looked back.
lori

I had the lapband on 9/18/09 and I keep having these reoccuring feelings that maybe I shouild have had RNY. I chose lapband for fear I would lose weight too fast with RNY and need reconstructive surgery. I also worried about the invasiveness / rerouting of RNY. Now I feel discouraged at the slowed weight loss, lack of restriction and the thought of having fills my whole life.I work out  3 days a week and walk a30-45 minutes / day, 6 times a week. I have lost and gained  the same 3# for the last 3 weeks. Keeping up with the program, just beiing inpatient. Glad to hear someone elses mind wonders as well.

I'm only like 6 weeks out, but I don't regret it and I don't think I will.  Who knows though?  :)  I have planned for this surgery for a long time and was ready to be banded and so far I am loving it.  The slow loss...well, I knew that was part of the deal.  :) 

Hang in there though.  You will and can get there.  We just gotta keep at it.  :)

Boo

Rachel,

 

Many compare their lost to someone else’s, and get discouraged. The amount of weight lost is affected by many factors. Everyone loses weight at different rates. It has to do with age, gender, one’s weight, exercise, etc.. A 10 pound lost to one person could be as affected as a 40 pound lost to another. Think of it this way: If a 400-pound person loses 40 pounds; a 300-pound person loses 30 pounds, a 200-pound person loses 20 pounds, and a 100-pound person loses 10 pounds – the 400-pound person didn’t necessarily lose more weight than the others. All three lost 10% of their body weight. 

 

And sometimes it is not the number of pounds that someone loses in a specified period of time that is important. Remember, if you are toning up muscle – your weight loss may seem to have slowed (or stopped), when in fact you are replacing fat with muscle. Muscle is heavier then fat. Someone weighing 200 pounds with a body fat percentage of 25 is carrying around 50 pounds of extra fat. That same person weighing 200 pounds with 10 percent body fat would be carrying only 20 pounds of fat. So it’s not the number that is important.

 

Remember there are other “scales" you can use to monitor your success: your constant hunger reduction (eliminated); reduced clothing size; increase energy; re-familiarizing yourself to body-parts unseen for years (errr… toes) ; “common" activity becoming easier (walking, climbing steps), just feeling good about yourself; sleeping better (reduced snoring); the mirror; better medical exam results (lower cholesterol and/or blood pressure); etc.

                    

Finally, we a generation of instantaneous results, however remember we didn’t put all the weight on at once, it took years. So don’t you think losing it would take just as long? This isn't one of those miracle instantaneous weight loss programs. Those types of programs always fail. This is a way of life. Plus in all my years of losing weight I’ve come too realized with instantaneous weight lost comes instantaneous weight gain.

 

Nowhere does any of the literature state you will lose x amount of weight in x days. Think LONG TERM. That’s what I am doing. My new outlook is  “Slow and steady wins the race".  Even if it take me over 5 years to lose all the weight I want to, I know in the long run I will be happy and healthier. My doctor firmly believes the slower you lose weight, the better chance you have of keeping it off. My doctor reminded me that each pound I gained took time to put on, and it’s going to take some time to lose those same pounds. Try to remind yourself that even if I lost only 1 pound per week, in year’s time I’d be 52 pounds lighter.

 

Be proud of your lost. No matter how small or slow it may seem. Remember, it’s better to lose not a pound than to GAIN a single pound.

 

Please know the operation you chose was the right one. Why??? Because YOU chose it!! You know yourself, and you know what will work for you. The one reason I like the band is because the band early on forces us to “reeducates how to eat". No slight to the bypass folks, I give them all the credit for choosing what works for them. However (IMHO) in the beginning bypass folks lose weight no matter what they do and/or how they eat (I am not a dope, and I understand they need to follow rules too and watch what they eat). It’s not until weight stops that they start to “reeducates themselves how to eat". Many have a hard time with this. We as band patients BEGIN with the reeducation – and once our lost stops we’ve already had months of practice on how to eat correctly – hence we have less of a hard time keeping that eating style.

 

And remember, it’s not the operation that makes one successful. I know many Bypass patients who have failed. I know many Band patients who have failed. Remember either operation is only a tool. But it’s the PERSON themselves who decides if they will be successful or not.