SteveD

Banded 2/19/10. Dropped 35 lbs within 3.5 months and plateaued. Currently maintaining at 240lbs. Most of the dieting is mental at this point. The band just really serves as motivation to eat healthy. Unfortunately, I've reached this weight before thru Atkins, so I'm really hoping the band would help me get to a point that past diets failed to do.

So...have I done myself a misjustice by not getting the first fill sooner?

I'm getting the fill on 11/19 and was curious if I should have high hopes for a few more pounds of weight loss?

Will delaying the first fill by 9 months cause any complications?

Look forward to hearing from every one and good luck achieving your weight loss goals!

I had my surgery at OCC and would like to know the cost of getting round-trip transportation for me and my wife to the OCC, from Mexicoach, and having my first fill performed.

Will it cost extra for transportation if I bring my wife?

Thanks!

Post some pics!!! just kidding:)

No fills and I have lost ~ 30 pounds since I was banded on 2/19. Feel great. I have noticed that I am very dis-oriented and clumsy. I think the quick weight loss has caused my muscle memory to get worse. In other words, I am using the same strength to move that I used when I was 30lbs heavier. Hope this doesn't sound odd. Just curious if anyone has experienced this? Not sure if I feel dizzy because I am moving quicker or not eating enough. My mood is great and I am able to run much easier.

Well said Steve!! My metabolism and thyroid have tested "normal" more then three times. As far as aactivity ... 30 minutes per day is my max. Why? I find that when I workout for more then that I get extremely hungry and cannot control my appitite. Excercise makes me hungry what can I say? I try to work out close to bed time for the same reason as well. It is 10:30 my time now and I am jumping on the elliptical in 30 minutes.

I have been running on will power for 4 months & 3 fills...welcome to my world.

Hang in their bogie! U need to make a hard choice....do more or eat less. If u r leaning on the band as your gaurdian angel, then you would need to sleep 24/7. Do an honest and accurate assessment of the calories u expend daily and compare them to your daily calories consumed. Get someone else to record these values for u if necessary. Even if u r burning more calories then u r consuming, your weight loss will be very slow if u r only burning 200 more calories a day then u r consuming.

Wish u the best!

*waves at Steve the lurker who got banded same day as she did*

Steve, you were a lurker at the surgery center too! That is, until you skipped out early!

Hi kim! Sounds like your doing ok after reading some of your posts. I lurk a lot, lol. I read emails and blogs, but don't say much. My mom hates it. I'm a classic nerd....I'm the guy who could design an email program like Outlook but I would never take the time to respond to my emails. Enjoying white wine now:)

I'm what you'd call a 'lurker' on the web....I read the boards often but don't contribute much. Anyway, I was banded 2/19. I lost 20 pounds so far. I am trying to stick to liquids except for the evenings. I run/walk 4.5 miles 4 days a week. I drink a bottle of wine every night (my only vice, lol, please don't try and stop me).

I have not had a fill yet. My loss so far is due to my will power. I only had a few issues where I was stupid and ate string cheese sticks, and they caused me to get 'stuck'. Holy shi%, that hurt!

I have noticed here that some people religiously track what they eat, but not their activities. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that most people do not have a thyroid or metabolic disorder. That being said, if u are not losing weight and u r counting calories, then I suspect u r not active enough.

I read somewhere that obese people trying to lose weight often expend more calories then the skinny people. Why still obese?because their appetites increased also. On the flip side, your mind will trick u into being more sedentary as u consume less. If u r walking 30 minutes and vegging out on facebook all day, your 1200 calorie diet ain't gona cut it.

Anyway, apologies to anyone offended by this. I have my own issues too.

I have to remind my wife not to follow my diet. I also have an overweight teen, not living with me, whom I don't know how to help with his weight. I am now eating healthy around him, which is only 2 days with me every other month. I don't wanna BS him and lie saying my weight loss is due solely to dieting. On the other hand, I really don't wanna share my banding with him because he will think that is the more 'convenient' fix over a healthy lifestyle.

Ok, enough rambling. Good luck to all.

I was banded the same day as BrownEyedGirl. I couldn't believe how fast and painless the whole experience is. Out of surgery 2.5 hours ago, back in my room now and leaving back to Los Angeles tomorrow am. I could've left tonite but we're playing it safe. Look forward to discussing my post op experience with everyone.

To anyone considering the surgery, I too was hesitant but the staff was very comfortable to work with and the pain was almonst non-existent for me. My wife is more worried than I am , lol. I am totally mobile with no pain at times what so ever.

Hi Kim! Congrats. Steve here with my wife Eriko. I opted to leave the center at 4pm and I am currently in the hotel room now. Had some chicken broth. I am amazed at the lack of pain and how fast the whole experience was. Good luck and keep us posted.

Steve!

You did address issues that we do have with ourselves. I decided to do this for me AND my family. I have dieted ALL of my teenage and adult like, yoyo dieting which can be very harmful. I am 33 years old and the only regret that I have in getting the band a year and 3 months ago is that I did not do it 10 years ago! I have currently lost 83 pounds. I will be honest, I have NEVER been a thin person so this is the first time that I can EVER honstly remember wearing a size 10 in jeans. I honestly thought I would "feel" in my mind skinny, I dont know why but I did. I still "feel" in my mind the same as I did 83 pounds ago. I know that I am smaller and that I have lost weight and yes I can see it, but I just see smaller version of the overweight me, does that make since? I dont take compliments well, expecially fromthe ones that I am closet too, I guess I think they are just being nice, so very weird. Im grateful but I just need to learn to accept in a better way. My husband has always told me that I was beautiful and loves me just the same. I would really like to become more of the "sexy" wife and not be so dang insecure and just let loose but I still find myself hiding. I think that we all would love to change something about ourselves and I think for myself if I would just accept what I have that I would be more confident with myself, hmm not sure. I think I will ALWAYS have the "fluffy girl" mind and always struggle with these issues. Maybe in time these issues will change.

I think this will be a great decision for you. You seemed to have given a true shot and sometimes we all just need help. This is FAR from an easy Road! It has been one of the HARDEST things that I have ever went through. You will get so frustrated and so angry with the scales but everyone told me to just keep on keeping on and trust me, it does work. If you work with this tool, it will work!!! I think once you get this weight off, your body will physically be able to workout and exercise will be easier for you to do! I will say I am at my most healthiest points in my life than I have ever been. I exercise, I eat healthy, I am happier, which in turn has made my marriage and my family life alot better. You really have to learn to love yourself, I was always wanting someone else (my husband) to make me happy. That took me a long time to figure out, If I dont love myself, how can I let someone else in to love me?

Good Luck to you!

Carrie

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I too am doing this for the hope it will give me to live a more positive life. Thanks again.

Just musing about this...I have ready many accounts of individuals who struggled to lose weight but then finally made peace with themselves and accepted themselves for who they are (Oprah is one example). Oprah lost a lot of weight, gained a lot back and finally reconciled that she is ok with who she is. I think this question is probably more applicable to those with lower BMI's (< 40).

I, myself, am living proof that exercise alone won't cut it. I blame no one but myself. I walk/jog 4.5 miles a day on my days off and as much as 9 miles when the scale depresses me. My ankles are sore. I've thrown my back out several times. I am happily married. Successful job. Maybe I just need to accept my image and everything will be ok?

Mentally, I don't think I will ever realize my true potential if I don't ever accept my self image. I hope that after the banding and weight loss, that the psychological issues with my image will be resolved.

I dieted at Lindora once, lost some weight but was cautioned by the nurses there that most overweight people will always see themselves as obese regardless of how much weight they lose. If the patients weight doesn't exactly match the insurance companies recommendations, depression and obsession with weight loss occurs.

I.e., 'Darn, I just gained 5 lbs?!', damn! I better walk it off!

I'm sure this sounds familiar to most.

I think my sub-conscious mind believes that exercise will allow me to eat anything, but in reality, it is more of a weight maintenance tool. Unfortunately, with bad weather and trips, daily exercise is not always available. As a result, I have slowly seen my weight increase (considering garage gym and gym memberships at this time btw).

Anyway, I am going forward with this on 2/19 and look forward to sharing my experiences with everyone here.

Thanks for your response:) It is definitely one option I consider. We are fortunate to live close to the border!

Hello everyone! I appreciate everybody's responses, thank you.

oops, I meant to post on the other board, sorry!

Hello everyone! I'm taking my wife with me to TJ on 2/18 to get banded 2/19. Hope to return home 2/20. We are driving from LA and parking at the border.