Question for all the sucessful bansters!

7.)  I do some kind of activity every day.  Take a walk, go to the pool or gym or ride my bike.  Every day 7 days a week.

I love that one. I know it sounds basic and obvious, but for me sometimes I get so bogged down with thinking that if I don't get to the gym, do my entire workout and burn a million calories, then I've failed.  I really do need to think of it as activity, rather then going to the gym.  I can take a walk on our beautiful Walkway bridge that I have not done yet, even though it is rather famous!! I can just get outside and do some gardening, clean the yard, take the dog for a walk.

Yeah, I needed that :)

I'm not any where close to being finished with my band or my weightloss but I consider myself successful.

All I can say is don't depend on the band, while it's amazing and does help tame your hunger a lot of it ...is will power. You mentally have to fight the head hunger, the stress eating..etc.

I deal with it every day. It's hard and sometimes I'll slip and when I get on the scale that morning and see it go up... I'm like UGH!

My tips would be...

Exercise 5-6 times or 7 if possible a week. I do it 7 days weekly. 30 minutes every morning regardless of what time I have to get up, be it 3am or 7am...

When I was heavier (I started at 327) I eat 1400 calories daily...with working out every day. I didn't worry about subtracting my burned calories out. I just ate that 1400 regardless of work out or not. I lost very successfully on this.  I also made myself drink two liters...I bought a liter water bottle and if it wasn't in that bottle then I didn't count it as my water. lol. I also had protein shakes..I tried to get around 80 grams daily.

Now that I'm in the 230s.. I've had to decrease my calories. I now eat around 1200 with the same work out routine as always. (Though I have to work a lot harder to get my heart rate up.) I've upped my protein to 100grams daily or more and I aim for 3 liters of water in my special water bottle.

I set mini goals along the way as previously stated in another post...it makes you feel good. I got a dry eraseboard and hung it in the wall of my bedroom and every morning I write down my weight and then subtract it from my goal. For example my last fill was 9/8/11 and my doctor said "I bet you can't loose 15 pounds by the time you come back" as a teasing challenge...So I set my goal to be 235 by the time I came back. 10/20/11...6 weeks. Right now I'm 1.5 pounds from meeting it!!!! It's so exciting when you can go in and prove your doctor wrong lol.

Just try to make it fun is all I can say. At first I felt like it was so stressful and there was no fun in life anymore because food was my only fun before...but now I just concentrate on other things like new clothes and how much better I feel and look! :)

You can do it!

The band restricts the amount of food you can eat but you still have to be careful to eat healthy foods. My insurance covers my dietician. I meet with her every ohter week. If I am having trouble or my weight loss slows we review my food logs to see what I need to change. Sometimes it's something as small as not getting enough water. Keeping a food log is a huge help for me. It helps me plan my meals for the day to make sure I get enough protein and not too much calories & fat.

This is a great thread.... WOW, thank you all for posting your success secrets to us!!! All great insight and information!!!! Keep them coming....

I didn't depend on my band and I don't like using the word restriction ... I depend on myself.

I can eat for no simple reason but because I want too ... I measure my food and I eat 1 serving and I know it's enough. When I want more it's because I just want to snack there is nothing in my brain telling me to stop. Some people say hey it's dieting .. whats the point of the band but I just don't see it that way. 

I didn't get to my size over eating chicken and veggies... I over consumed in huge amounts of delish food and I abused my body. It's hard for me to see 1 serving of anything and be like that's enough.. but it is.. I have/had to retrain myself to accept and learn and be like I AM content with that. For me it's all mental .. I wi**** wasn't but it is... because as I mentioned I don't need to be hungry to eat.. I can eat a whole bag of cheetos because I feel like it no other reason needed or required.

I have the dedication to really want to make better choices and stick with it.. I'm lost 95 pounds but the best part of that is keeping it off .. I have never lost that amount of weight and keep it off.. I'm still working on the last 40 but I'm very happy .. I'm happy to know that I have real issues with food and I'm working on being a person mentally. Maybe this is just me and me alone and it's not easy sometimes very frustrating but to be it's worth being stronger.

I followed my doctors plan but still partook in some treats and happy hours and I do a fair amount of exercise and lost ... eating clean I would say what worked best for me protein, veggies, fruits, some complex carbs no drinking calories besides my wine tons of water..

Good Luck.

You are getting some great responses to your question.  This is how this support forum should be like  - Wish they had a  Like button icon
 
For me:
I went into this surgery looking for a tool to help me diet.  That is all I have ever wanted.  I did not want a magic bullet because I new it does not exist.  I still eat basically the same food as pre band but only about 25% of it.  The only food that I really miss because it would kill me now is hot french bread - 4pm at the supermarket checkout   Yum    and French Fries.   I love the negative reinforcement my band gives me with these foods.

I contribute my success with the band

1.  My own hard work.  The band never made me get on the treadmill at 5 am and walk 30 minutes before getting ready for work.  The band does not make me choose to put a piece of protein on my fork and then into my gob.  That is all me.!!

2. Great after care.  I had my surgery at Ceder Sinai Hospital in LA and had a huge aftercare  department to call if I needed any help.  My Doctor has now gone into private practice and his office has wonderful staff that are only a email away.

3.  OH, and a local support group.  A doctor can give you the technical side of the surgery but it is nice to talk to people in the flesh that have had all sorts of WLS and gather information on how to live life after WLS.  For the longest time I was the only one in our group that had had the Lap Band,  all the others had had RNY.  I always left the meeting with some knowledge to help me get to goal.  Now I am glad to say that the Lap Banders are growing in numbers in our group and we are all doing fantastic.

I had been on a new "Diet" every Monday morning for so many years.  I would do great for a while then throw in the towel and gain more weight then I started.  I like to say that I dieted my way up to 280lbs.  I would aways start the morning with obsessing about the foods that I could not have  and that only made me what them more.  

When I met with the dietitian pre surgery she said that I would only be able to eat "this amout of food and one sitting - while she held up an empty yogurt container"  I remember rolling my eyes and thinking  " Yeah Right Lady'   She also said to keep my protein at 90grams per day and my sugar at 5 grams per serving.  I looked at her and said " is that it"  That is what I did and I managed to loose 100lbs at my year mark.  I lost a total of 116 in 18 months but have let the sugar monster back in my life .  If I want to get to my goal I have to stay on track and get the sugar out of my life. 

I have every belief that I can do this because as Kath said "  I WANT IT"