Desperate to lose weight...considering Lap Band - advice needed!

[ducklite]

Pay attention that that. ^^

 

I know far FAR too many people that have had these surgeries, and today they weigh more than they did before. It's not an easy out, and you WILL have to develop a new lifestyle and eating behavior. If there's a chance in h*ll that you can do this without surgery, I'd sure take that route.

 

This!!!

 

Most of the people I know who have had a form if barbaric surgery now regret it. Losing weight requires a commitment to a lifestyle change--the same one you'll have to have after surgery. Why take the risks? Just make the change.

[Donoiv11]

This!!!

 

Most of the people I know who have had a form if barbaric surgery now regret it. Losing weight requires a commitment to a lifestyle change--the same one you'll have to have after surgery. Why take the risks? Just make the change.

 

Just to clarify, what is your situation, if you don't mind me asking? I heard that my whole life... Just make a change... Just reduce portions... Have a little will power... Take your 280 lbs for a quick run around the track.

 

Quite demeaning most of the times I heard it. Made me want to belly up to the bakery bar and chow down on a few more cupcakes...

 

Sometimes... Sometimes... People need a little help. That's what it does... The commitment is very much part of it... Take a look around... If it were so easy... And it was all about will power and lifestyle change... Would so many people be in a situation where they were morbidly obese and miserable?

[ducklite]

Looks like this thread kinda died out a while back. I didn't get the lap and, but it did get the gastric sleeve back in February. It's the best decision I ever made... At least the best one since getting married :). Is a very personal decision, but am happy to share my experience if you wish. Dieted my whole life... And noticed a clue of the cliche "just control your portion size" comments... I know the OP knows... And many others know its just not that easy... And it's actually somewhat rude to tell someone that.. Especially when they are a beanpole :) let me know if you have any questions!

 

Eat clean and healthy and as much as you want as long as you also exercise. For breakfast I had a PINT of egg whites with chopped chiles and tomatoes, and a 1/2 cup of oatmeal (dry measure) with mixed berries and protein powder. 800 calories. Oh, plus a cup of yogurt before I began to exercise. I spent an hour lifting weights then four miles of cardio, which about equalled what I ate. If you don't move and increase your metabolism, you will find it very difficult to lose.

[Donoiv11]

Eat clean and healthy and as much as you want as long as you also exercise. For breakfast I had a PINT of egg whites with chopped chiles and tomatoes, and a 1/2 cup of oatmeal (dry measure) with mixed berries and protein powder. 800 calories. Oh, plus a cup of yogurt before I began to exercise. I spent an hour lifting weights then four miles of cardio, which about equalled what I ate. If you don't move and increase your metabolism, you will find it very difficult to lose.

 

What was your lifestyle BEFORE you became Jillian Michaels?

[Donoiv11]

Eat clean and healthy and as much as you want as long as you also exercise. For breakfast I had a PINT of egg whites with chopped chiles and tomatoes, and a 1/2 cup of oatmeal (dry measure) with mixed berries and protein powder. 800 calories. Oh, plus a cup of yogurt before I began to exercise. I spent an hour lifting weights then four miles of cardio, which about equalled what I ate. If you don't move and increase your metabolism, you will find it very difficult to lose.

 

Just read this again... A PINT of egg whites? Seriously? That can't be healthy... Not even if you are convinced of it.

[ducklite]

Just to clarify, what is your situation, if you don't mind me asking? I heard that my whole life... Just make a change... Just reduce portions... Have a little will power... Take your 280 lbs for a quick run around the track.

 

Quite demeaning most of the times I heard it. Made me want to belly up to the bakery bar and chow down on a few more cupcakes...

 

Sometimes... Sometimes... People need a little help. That's what it does... The commitment is very much part of it... Take a look around... If it were so easy... And it was all about will power and lifestyle change... Would so many people be in a situation where they were morbidly obese and miserable?

 

First of all, I would NEVER tell someone who weighed that much to run. I would encourage them to walk. While running is great for cardio, it elevates your heart rate too high for elective long term fat burn. Walking is a safe and healthy way to exercise. I also suggest yoga or Pilates, and I'd add in strength training--light lifting of weights in the 5-20 pound range depending in the person and their level if fitness.

 

I think most people (notice I said most) with weight problems have four issues when it comes to food. First, they just don't understand how to eat in a manner that will be filling and satisfying while also being lower calories and healthier. The second is that the chemicals in processed foods do weird things to our brain, making them crave more if those bad foods like an addiction. It takes about two weeks of cleaning that crap out if our bodies and suddenly those cravings go away. The third is that they often substitute food for something missing in their lives. These group should consider seeing a therapist, this is a mental health issue that should be treated by an experienced professional. The last is that they simply don't exercise.

 

With the combination of clean eating, exercise, and as appropriate, counseling, I do believe that over 90% of obese people would lose the weight without resorting to a surgical procedure with the possibility of serious complications.

[Donoiv11]

First of all, I would NEVER tell someone who weighed that much to run. I would encourage them to walk. While running is great for cardio, it elevates your heart rate too high for elective long term fat burn. Walking is a safe and healthy way to exercise. I also suggest yoga or Pilates, and I'd add in strength training--light lifting of weights in the 5-20 pound range depending in the person and their level if fitness.

 

I think most people (notice I said most) with weight problems have four issues when it comes to food. First, they just don't understand how to eat in a manner that will be filling and satisfying while also being lower calories and healthier. The second is that the chemicals in processed foods do weird things to our brain, making them crave more if those bad foods like an addiction. It takes about two weeks of cleaning that crap out if our bodies and suddenly those cravings go away. The third is that they often substitute food for something missing in their lives. These group should consider seeing a therapist, this is a mental health issue that should be treated by an experienced professional. The last is that they simply don't exercise.

 

With the combination of clean eating, exercise, and as appropriate, counseling, I do believe that over 90% of obese people would lose the weight without resorting to a surgical procedure with the possibility of serious complications.

You believe or you know? Through experience? As I have asked, lets here how you got here from your obese place in life.

[ducklite]

Just read this again... A PINT of egg whites? Seriously? That can't be healthy... Not even if you are convinced of it.

 

Very healthy, actually. Organic egg whites, pure protein. I balanced it with the fruits and carbs.

[ducklite]

What was your lifestyle BEFORE you became Jillian Michaels?

 

You don't have to be nasty. I'm trying to offer advice and have said nothing negative or critical towards you . Like many Americans I got too little exercise and was in the high end of the "healthy" weight charts. I didn't eat as well as I should, and definitely ate to much of the wrong stuff.

[ducklite]

You believe or you know? Through experience? As I have asked, lets here how you got here from your obese place in life.

 

I've never been obese. I have however, lost 30 pounds in the past six months since I changed my lifestyle and I never went hungry in the process.

[Donoiv11]

You don't have to be nasty. I'm trying to offer advice and have said nothing negative or critical towards you . Like many Americans I got too little exercise and was in the high end of the "healthy" weight charts. I didn't eat as well as I should, and definitely ate to much of the wrong stuff.

 

Not getting nasty... You know what I am asking. You have mentioned the way you currently eat. Everyone has overeaten in their life... I am asking what's the worst off that YOU have been? 5 overweight? 10? 20? 50? 100?

 

I always hear opinions on how people should lose weight... Most of those opinions come from those who are not currently overweight... And have NEVER been severely overweight. They make it seem som simple... Just have the right mix... Cut out sugar... Or cut carbs... Or walk... Or run... Or (substitute your idea here). They just don't get it. They don't understand the struggle. I am trying to understand if you have been there... Then you have more credibility.

 

As I mentioned before, I have been there.. As there my whole life... I am still working on it... And will forever... I was always the fat guy... Now I have done something about it... And I have never been happier.... And never would have got here from101.5 lbs ago... By cold turkey cutting sugar and walking.. Yada yada yada on my own... I tried that my whole life.

[Donoiv11]

I've never been obese. I have however, lost 30 pounds in the past six months since I changed my lifestyle and I never went hungry in the process.

 

Thanks for the honesty... Appreciate it. That helps me understand and put your thoughts into context.. Most people who consider Lapland or sleeve or anything like that aren't worried about 30 lbs... They are people who will lose 3 lbs and STILL BE drastically overweight. Walk a mile in the shoes first.

[ducklite]

Not getting nasty... You know what I am asking. You have mentioned the way you currently eat. Everyone has overeaten in their life... I am asking what's the worst off that YOU have been? 5 overweight? 10? 20? 50? 100?

 

I always hear opinions on how people should lose weight... Most of those opinions come from those who are not currently overweight... And have NEVER been severely overweight. They make it seem som simple... Just have the right mix... Cut out sugar... Or cut carbs... Or walk... Or run... Or (substitute your idea here). They just don't get it. They don't understand the struggle. I am trying to understand if you have been there... Then you have more credibility.

 

As I mentioned before, I have been there.. As there my whole life... I am still working on it... And will forever... I was always the fat guy... Now I have done something about it... And I have never been happier.... And never would have got here from101.5 lbs ago... By cold turkey cutting sugar and walking.. Yada yada yada on my own... I tried that my whole life.

 

Calling names is most certainly getting nasty.

 

Since I made a lifestyle change I have lost 30 pounds and gone from 33% body fat to 26% body fat, and am still working on a goal of 22% body fat. I became aware of what processed food does to your brain, how it controls it. Once I got past the first two weeks of eating clean it became easier. I realized that I don't need to starve to lose weight, only to eat the right combination of unprocessed foods--and as much if those as I wanted--in combination with exercise.

 

I understand the struggle. Needing to become healthy is a struggle whether you are 10 or 100 pounds overweight. It just takes longer if you have more to lose.

[Donoiv11]

I've never been obese. I have however, lost 30 pounds in the past six months since I changed my lifestyle and I never went hungry in the process.

 

Again, not trying to be nasty... But think about this... In the same 6 months... I am, down over 100 lbs... After changing my lifestyle again and again and again and again and again and again.... And never getting close to this weight.. I am a 5'9" guy... And am now 161 lbs... I would have laughed if you told me I could get below 200.... Was tired of the yo yo... Tired of the lifestyle change of the moment... And took control. After getting to a point where I had taken enough off, I transitioned from walking to a run... And now run quite a bit... And eat really well... And love life... NEVER would have happened without a little help,by getting the sleeve... Just wasn't going to happen. For someone who gets that much overwirhgt.. Not that easy

[ducklite]

By the way, my BFF has 60 more to lose. She's never going to be skinny, but that would put her into the healthy range. I support her 100%--even pay for her yoga classes because she can't afford them on her own. She cheats now and then--we all do, and that's OK. But after that first two weeks of clean eating she began to believe me about the control that processed foods have on our brains.

[ducklite]

Again, not trying to be nasty... But think about this... In the same 6 months... I am, down over 100 lbs... After changing my lifestyle again and again and again and again and again and again.... And never getting close to this weight.. I am a 5'9" guy... And am now 161 lbs... I would have laughed if you told me I could get below 200.... Was tired of the yo yo... Tired of the lifestyle change of the moment... And took control. After getting to a point where I had taken enough off, I transitioned from walking to a run... And now run quite a bit... And eat really well... And love life... NEVER would have happened without a little help,by getting the sleeve... Just wasn't going to happen. For someone who gets that much overwirhgt.. Not that easy

 

Why does it matter now long it takes as long as the scale keeps moving downward? In my case it hasn't moved in a month, because I am building lean muscle. I'm still losing inches where I should (and gaining them in the right places as well). Point being it's not just about the scale.

 

It's not a contest, and I don't need to worry about complications. The worst thing I've needed to deal with was a pulled muscle.

[Donoiv11]

By the way, my BFF has 60 more to lose. She's never going to be skinny, but that would put her into the healthy range. I support her 100%--even pay for her yoga classes because she can't afford them on her own. She cheats now and then--we all do, and that's OK. But after that first two weeks of clean eating she began to believe me about the control that processed foods have on our brains.

 

Check in a year from now and let me know how it's going....

[ducklite]

Check in a year from now and let me know how it's going....

 

It will be going great, because we are doing this together and have the other to hold us accountable. We've been friends long enough to be honest with each other, and both of us have no problem calling the other out when we're screwing up.

[Donoiv11]

It will be going great, because we are doing this together and have the other to hold us accountable. We've been friends long enough to be honest with each other, and both of us have no problem calling the other out when we're screwing up.

 

Been there and done that. My friends always held me accountable...then it got old. We had or regular lives... Things creep in... And presto... Back to where we started.

[ducklite]

Been there and done that. My friends always held me accountable...then it got old. We had or regular lives... Things creep in... And presto... Back to where we started.

 

That's unfortunate. I have another friend who has been on a journey towards optimum health for several years who keeps tabs on me, and of course my personal trainer and yoga instructor give me a lot of support and motivation--as well as constantly coming up with new exercises and asanas to torture me with.

[jackiedanny]

Hi

I am about 85-90lbs overweight and I can't stand it.

Being overweight makes dating very difficult, and I refuse

to let it stand in the way of my meeting a guy and having a

happy life.

 

I am considering Lap Band surgery, but I am terrified of the risks.

 

Can anyone here share their experiences with Lap Band?

 

Also, I'm open to recommendations for a healthy plan of eating.

 

I prefer not to do Atkins, but I'm willing to do almost anything else.

 

I so appreciate any help you could give me.Thanks. :-)

 

I had a lap band 8 years ago no problems at the time but am now experiencing severe reflux I am about to talk to my surgeon about getting it out I did lose 120 ponds but have put a lot back on due to not understanding how and why the body puts on fat I found a pod cast called " the simple science of slim"

on I-tunes free to download, it changed the way I think about food and food choices it is a low carb, mod protein, mod good fat diet not as severe as atkins and very easy to follow you do not have to go hungry to lose weight you have to change how your body uses and stores fat through better food choices

lap band is easy as it forces you to eat less and if you don't you vomit pretty much immediately or suffer quite bad tummy pain so you make yourself vomit to bring up the food that is blocking, you will not be able to eat much at all on the cruise I couldn't eat any meat that wasn't minced couldn't eat salad or fruit or fizzy drink or bread,but if you change your eating habits you will be able to make healthy choices, at least listen to the pod casts before going to the extreme of surgery'

[kakalina]

Here is my story, I have lost 108 pounds in 14 months:

 

On 4-1-12 I sat down and broke the toilet seat. Really! I had avoided being weighed in at the Dr.’s and all the other ploys we “fluffy” folks use. I really had no idea what I weighed.

 

I went out and bought a weight watchers scale. I thought I would curl up and die when I discovered I weighed 269 pounds! I said to myself this is changing and right now.

 

I went on line to research. Several places recommended a site called myfitnesspal.com. It changed my life. I don’t use the forum part much but the calorie and exercise journals are amazing.

 

You tell it how much weight you want to lose per month or week. It tells you how many calories you can eat per day to do that. I started out with 1200 calories. It is more than it sounds.

 

A typical days meal: Breakfast: instant oatmeal, with added walnuts and Craisins. A touch of milk and Mrs. Butterworth’s sugar free syrup for sweetening,.

Mid morning snack: A peach or banana or popsicle. Lunch: Any lean cuisine meal Dinner: A lean cuisine meal – or if my DH is cooking whatever he makes without the bread and small portions. Dessert: two squares of Lindt Intense Orange Dark chocolate. Sometimes I will have a handful of chips late afternoon.

 

The program breaks your food down into calories, fat, carbs, protein etc. It is a wonderful tool. After losing 50 pounds I joined a gym. I started out slowly and worked up. I now do 30 minutes on the hill workout of the treadmill and another 30 minutes with weights and machines. I added swimming 3x week in June but will drop that when the weather gets cooler.

 

That’s about it. I had my moments. Some days DH would bring home an entire grocery bag of stuff I shouldn’t eat. Cookies and breads and stuff. Mostly I resisted, sometimes I gave in and just went back on course the next day.

 

I figure if I can do it at my age – anyone can.

[Donoiv11]

Here is my story, I have lost 108 pounds in 14 months:

 

On 4-1-12 I sat down and broke the toilet seat. Really! I had avoided being weighed in at the Dr.’s and all the other ploys we “fluffy” folks use. I really had no idea what I weighed.

 

I went out and bought a weight watchers scale. I thought I would curl up and die when I discovered I weighed 269 pounds! I said to myself this is changing and right now.

 

I went on line to research. Several places recommended a site called myfitnesspal.com. It changed my life. I don’t use the forum part much but the calorie and exercise journals are amazing.

 

You tell it how much weight you want to lose per month or week. It tells you how many calories you can eat per day to do that. I started out with 1200 calories. It is more than it sounds.

 

A typical days meal: Breakfast: instant oatmeal, with added walnuts and Craisins. A touch of milk and Mrs. Butterworth’s sugar free syrup for sweetening,.

Mid morning snack: A peach or banana or popsicle. Lunch: Any lean cuisine meal Dinner: A lean cuisine meal – or if my DH is cooking whatever he makes without the bread and small portions. Dessert: two squares of Lindt Intense Orange Dark chocolate. Sometimes I will have a handful of chips late afternoon.

 

The program breaks your food down into calories, fat, carbs, protein etc. It is a wonderful tool. After losing 50 pounds I joined a gym. I started out slowly and worked up. I now do 30 minutes on the hill workout of the treadmill and another 30 minutes with weights and machines. I added swimming 3x week in June but will drop that when the weather gets cooler.

 

That’s about it. I had my moments. Some days DH would bring home an entire grocery bag of stuff I shouldn’t eat. Cookies and breads and stuff. Mostly I resisted, sometimes I gave in and just went back on course the next day.

 

I figure if I can do it at my age – anyone can.

 

Congrats!

[cruisinggaga]

Hi

I am about 85-90lbs overweight and I can't stand it.

Being overweight makes dating very difficult, and I refuse

to let it stand in the way of my meeting a guy and having a

happy life.

 

I am considering Lap Band surgery, but I am terrified of the risks.

 

Can anyone here share their experiences with Lap Band?

 

Also, I'm open to recommendations for a healthy plan of eating.

 

I prefer not to do Atkins, but I'm willing to do almost anything else.

 

I so appreciate any help you could give me.

 

Thanks. :-)

 

Hi Tristan, I have had the lap band for 2 years and have only lost 30lbs. I am being revised to the bypass in November. I HATE MY BAND!!!! They are just finding out now that the band isn't as successful as they had hoped. Although many have been successfull not everyone is. As a matter of fact 30 to 60% have revisions done. Check out these sites for more information. Lapbandtalk.com / RNYtalk.com and or gastric sleeve talk.com. these sites will give you all the info you need. Plus what you have to go through to get approved by your insurance. In the RNY and sleeve sites you will see a band to sleeve or band to bypass forum. Let me know how you make out. If you want to talk more email me at dviveiros56@gmail.com

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

[SarahQ]

Tristan, you've had lots of advice, and at this point I'm not sure my $0.02 would be that helpful.

 

I was morbidly obese (my goal is to lose 270 lbs from my highest weight) and I had the vertical sleeve gastrectomy in Nov 2012 and have lost 215 lbs. What I've learned in talking to people with all sorts of surgeries and in my own journey is that while losing the weight is a result of the physical restrictions etc., keeping it off will be almost 100% mental. If you feel you are mentally ready, you can absolutely do this.

 

I would suggest checking out the Obesity Help website and forums for lots of info, and also if you like videos, You Tube is great, with a big and very active WLS community (including me!).

 

Best of luck :)