losingleslie
My tips to being successful ...
Mar 25, 2008
People that are out a year or more tend to get questions from those just starting the journey, asking what their tips for success are. We give them, but never know if the person asking is really taking it to heart or immediately telling themselves that they can't/won't comply. So I'm going to write down what worked for me and helped me lose over the past year and refer people to this.
1) Understand that the band rules are RULES, not guidelines to go by.
You have to take little bites, take your time, not drink with your meal, etc to be successful. These are the most difficult to understand fully as a newly pre-op person because our ways of eating are ingrained in us for so many years. I was always the first one done at the table. Now, of course I am always the last person picking at the meal, sitting at the table. That's hard to change. Some of us, me included, have to learn the rules the hard way. What that means, is that if you overeat, wolf down food, don't chew it enough - you will pay for it. It could be food getting stuck, which hurts, or reguritating it. I swear to heavens that before being banded I have thrown up maybe 2 dozen times in my whole life. Every time was an ordeal and I would wind up in tears. A PB (for me) is not like that. I don't have to do anything but lean over the toilet and cough - and up it comes. (Think of mother bird feeding her babies). However, it is gross and bad for our bands. Those hard lessons help us comply with the band rules because we 1) hate food coming back out cause of the grossness factor 2) don't like the heart-attack feeling of food being stuck and 3) are paranoid that we are going to damage our bands and screw this up.
2) I credit a lot of my success to my Doc's follow-up plan. So my second tip is to make sure you follow your Doc's orders to the T and if your Doctor is not providing you with information like foods to eat during stages, etc tor booking regluar follow-up appts for the first year after banding, please shop around and get a Doc that is very committed to the follow-up.
It is seriously important. I did 2 weeks of Optifast prior to surgery and lost about 14 lbs. Post surgery, my Doc makes you wait 6 weeks before your first fill. 2 weeks clears, 2 weeks full liquids, and 2 weeks soft foods. I lost a lot there too. I did something to help me have control and not stray, and that will be tip 3. My surgery was March 6 and I found a blog of mine that is dated May 23, 2007 that said I had lost 47 lbs at that point. So in 3 months, that's how much I lost. Now from June - March 08 (10 months) I lost 61 more pounds which averages roughly 6.1 lbs loss per month. My Doc's office wants to see between 4 - 8 lbs loss per month. In actuality, I had several months losing 10 lbs, and then a real slow down the closer I got to goal. But I'm ok with that because it's normal and I'm close and I'm happy with what I weigh.
I had regular monthly appts and I didn't miss them, ever.
3) Calorie count. Look, I'm not a write it all down kinda person. Heck, if I had time for that or was inclined to do that then maybe I would have succeeded on my own without surgery. However, I knew I was to range between 1000 - 1300 (1200 - 1400) calories per day so I did calorie count in my head every day. If I had a big lunch, then a light supper. If I went slightly over, then I compensated the next day. You have to keep track of how much is going in your body.
That being said, you can be flexible and still have treats and I encourage you to do so. If you don't you will feel deprived and eat around your band when the chance occurrs.
4) Learn the foods you can tolerate and the ones you can't. Try to pick healthy but tasty food. If in doubt at a restaurant, I'd choose soup.
5) I'd recommend it, but I haven't been committed - to exercise. I started off exercising those first 3 months, but as the summer came and I was swimming and doing other activities, I slacked off from the treadmill. I still lost weight. That is a future goal for me.
6) Drink your water. You have to, it helps so much.
I'll try to think of a few more things.....and post them later.
1) Understand that the band rules are RULES, not guidelines to go by.
You have to take little bites, take your time, not drink with your meal, etc to be successful. These are the most difficult to understand fully as a newly pre-op person because our ways of eating are ingrained in us for so many years. I was always the first one done at the table. Now, of course I am always the last person picking at the meal, sitting at the table. That's hard to change. Some of us, me included, have to learn the rules the hard way. What that means, is that if you overeat, wolf down food, don't chew it enough - you will pay for it. It could be food getting stuck, which hurts, or reguritating it. I swear to heavens that before being banded I have thrown up maybe 2 dozen times in my whole life. Every time was an ordeal and I would wind up in tears. A PB (for me) is not like that. I don't have to do anything but lean over the toilet and cough - and up it comes. (Think of mother bird feeding her babies). However, it is gross and bad for our bands. Those hard lessons help us comply with the band rules because we 1) hate food coming back out cause of the grossness factor 2) don't like the heart-attack feeling of food being stuck and 3) are paranoid that we are going to damage our bands and screw this up.
2) I credit a lot of my success to my Doc's follow-up plan. So my second tip is to make sure you follow your Doc's orders to the T and if your Doctor is not providing you with information like foods to eat during stages, etc tor booking regluar follow-up appts for the first year after banding, please shop around and get a Doc that is very committed to the follow-up.
It is seriously important. I did 2 weeks of Optifast prior to surgery and lost about 14 lbs. Post surgery, my Doc makes you wait 6 weeks before your first fill. 2 weeks clears, 2 weeks full liquids, and 2 weeks soft foods. I lost a lot there too. I did something to help me have control and not stray, and that will be tip 3. My surgery was March 6 and I found a blog of mine that is dated May 23, 2007 that said I had lost 47 lbs at that point. So in 3 months, that's how much I lost. Now from June - March 08 (10 months) I lost 61 more pounds which averages roughly 6.1 lbs loss per month. My Doc's office wants to see between 4 - 8 lbs loss per month. In actuality, I had several months losing 10 lbs, and then a real slow down the closer I got to goal. But I'm ok with that because it's normal and I'm close and I'm happy with what I weigh.
I had regular monthly appts and I didn't miss them, ever.
3) Calorie count. Look, I'm not a write it all down kinda person. Heck, if I had time for that or was inclined to do that then maybe I would have succeeded on my own without surgery. However, I knew I was to range between 1000 - 1300 (1200 - 1400) calories per day so I did calorie count in my head every day. If I had a big lunch, then a light supper. If I went slightly over, then I compensated the next day. You have to keep track of how much is going in your body.
That being said, you can be flexible and still have treats and I encourage you to do so. If you don't you will feel deprived and eat around your band when the chance occurrs.
4) Learn the foods you can tolerate and the ones you can't. Try to pick healthy but tasty food. If in doubt at a restaurant, I'd choose soup.
5) I'd recommend it, but I haven't been committed - to exercise. I started off exercising those first 3 months, but as the summer came and I was swimming and doing other activities, I slacked off from the treadmill. I still lost weight. That is a future goal for me.
6) Drink your water. You have to, it helps so much.
I'll try to think of a few more things.....and post them later.
It's about time!
Mar 18, 2008
OK, so I have just surpassed my one year surgery date with a total loss of 108 lbs. I've added pics all over my weight loss (amazing how hard it is to find "fat" pics - I avoided the camera at all costs) to my profile.
I was 262 lbs starting my journey. My highest weight was in the 290's while pregnant. I've been overweight for about 15 years. I'm 35 and was starting to get sick of diet after diet and never being able to stick to them. Knowing I had to lose 100 lbs was an unsurmountable task to do it all on my own. I have PCOS and have really struggled with weight loss over the years.
A friend had the lapband done in Nov 2006 in Mexico. She inspired me to look into this "less invasive" procedure. I did my research, big time into all of the procedures and even came to OH and lurked.
By January 2007 I was convinced that the lapband was for me.
My insurance had a complete exclusion and did not cover it, period.
I was pretty down. Decided to look into other options and hubby and I decided to do an equity mortgage on our house. Thankfully, it was done right before the market took a MAJOR plunge. The equity loan was a lifesaver and after paying off some other debts (car loans) we actually have more disposable income now than before it!
So then it was a matter of choosing my surgeon. I wanted the best, but also affordable. My entire family were opposed to me going to Mexico. When I started researching Docs in FL, I found several that were close to me. However, I decided that I wanted Dr Lee Grossbard because he HAD the band, had worked with a leading surgeon in Mexico on bands, and he's considered an "expert".
After getting all of the preliminary tests done, attending a seminar, and paying the consult fee, I was booked for a surgery date of March 6, 2007.
My total cost was about $15, 900 when it was all said and done. Appts monthly for a year afterwards were included with free fills.
Going to post my "tips" next......
I was 262 lbs starting my journey. My highest weight was in the 290's while pregnant. I've been overweight for about 15 years. I'm 35 and was starting to get sick of diet after diet and never being able to stick to them. Knowing I had to lose 100 lbs was an unsurmountable task to do it all on my own. I have PCOS and have really struggled with weight loss over the years.
A friend had the lapband done in Nov 2006 in Mexico. She inspired me to look into this "less invasive" procedure. I did my research, big time into all of the procedures and even came to OH and lurked.
By January 2007 I was convinced that the lapband was for me.
My insurance had a complete exclusion and did not cover it, period.
I was pretty down. Decided to look into other options and hubby and I decided to do an equity mortgage on our house. Thankfully, it was done right before the market took a MAJOR plunge. The equity loan was a lifesaver and after paying off some other debts (car loans) we actually have more disposable income now than before it!
So then it was a matter of choosing my surgeon. I wanted the best, but also affordable. My entire family were opposed to me going to Mexico. When I started researching Docs in FL, I found several that were close to me. However, I decided that I wanted Dr Lee Grossbard because he HAD the band, had worked with a leading surgeon in Mexico on bands, and he's considered an "expert".
After getting all of the preliminary tests done, attending a seminar, and paying the consult fee, I was booked for a surgery date of March 6, 2007.
My total cost was about $15, 900 when it was all said and done. Appts monthly for a year afterwards were included with free fills.
Going to post my "tips" next......
