Wa Going to Try for Lap-Band, But Decided Against It

arewethereyet

I am friends with at least 5 ppl who have joined the 100+ club

tamtastic
familygirl37167
tri_dad
SatelliteCrush80

Just to name a few. They all did it with good food and exercise. Look up their profiles,or even PM them. I know they are all very eager to help Tamtastic and Familygirl are both around a lot more.

You can DO this girl!!

arewethereyet

As for 100% gaining their weight back, that's actually what happens with diet and exercise.

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not true.

I know you are making a point, and I agree that bariatric sx has it's place. But plz dont replace one incorrect statement with another.

arewethereyet

I have the lapband myself and it was great! i lost 100 lbs with it, but learning to "eat through it" and grieving during my divorce, i gained 80 lbs of it back. Not good! that's why I'm here....im eating better, smaller portions, exercising, and i am getting a fill in my band next week. i figured i have the tool in my body, i might as well use it, but live healthy too. congrats on your decision to get healthy and lose weight....no matter how you choose to do it. it's hard either way.....

This exactly, except I didn't get a divorce ..but my father passed away. I had the lapband also! Since I decided it was time to make it work for me again, I've lost 76 lbs in 3 months. It's your choice! But I agree ..it is hard either way.

way to go skinny britches!!

jha1223

I have to put more faith and belief in my abilities to control what I eat.

Bingo. Keep the faith!

AHaught0715

76 lbs in 3 months? what are you superwoman! how wonderful! I have to ask you exercise routine...i live in a very small town in the country I have to make use of my natural surroundings for exercise. I also have 2 very small, very demanding babies, it's difficult but after the birth of my little girl I feel terrible about how I look and feel like my husband has lost interest in me. I want to do this to make myself feel better and Id like to shock my family when I see them at Christmas...I have 4 months lets see where it goes!

IsMollyReallyHungry

Yesterday, I called to get pre-qualified with insurance for a lap-band. I'm desparate to lose weight and started convincing myself that I needed something besides counting calories/excericse. After I called I got ticked-off at myself. I have everything I need to succeed inside of me. Even with a lap-band it is all about calories/excericse. So I'm re-committing today to log my calories and excericse on MFP every day. When the lap-band place calls back, I'm going to tell them, thanks but no thanks......I'm going to give myself a mental lap-band and stick to MFP. LOL

However you decide to lose your weight is good for you. We all have to make the choices that are the best for us. Reading over many of the replies you recieved I see their are a lot of mis informed people who think they know what they are talking about. I CAREFULLY researched all WLS before I elected to have RNY. Just like MFP, they do work if you work them. Yes some regain their weight back but most NEVER gain back all of their weight.

Even though I gained almost one third of my weight back after WLS, I have never once regretted my decision to have it. I still kept off over 200 pounds and it still dramatically changed my life forever. I still have another 150+ to go but I know there is no way I could have lost 300 pounds in 2 years on my own. That is me. For those few who can lose 300 pounds plus on their own, EXCELLENT. But the average Joe is not. And the proof is in the stats

If you do the reasearch you will find more than 75% keep of more than 50% of there weight. Compared to dieting where 95% gain back ALL of their weight, I say do the math. I am not taking anything away from the very FEW people who have lost hundreds of pounds on their own. These very FEW people are the minority. So again I say do your own research and check the facts.

My wish is for everyone to respect everyones decision on how they want to lose weight. There is no RIGHT OR WRONG here. It is just like a person who has a chronic problem or illness and they are given the choices for treatment. They choose what is the best treatment for them. There is no reason to be negative because you choose your method of treatment and they choose theirs. I am happy for anyone whose loses weight NO matter how they choose to lose it. To bad everyone does not feel this way and shame on them because WLS is NOT the easy way out as many have indicated on your thread here. I could go on and on but no time. I just say do your homework if you should change your mind and make an informed decision, not based on mis information. there is a lot of accurate data and research on WLS. I can tell from many of the posts here many have not did their homework. Their pros and cons to all choices in life, no matter what decisions we make and we all including you should make the decision that you are most comfortable with.

We are all here for you even if we can't agree on this matter.:laugh: You can do it no matter how you decide to do it!! Keep up the good work!!:flowerforyou:

HealthyChanges2010

Becca, your right about docs promoting quick fixes...congrats on your weight loss and willpower to get it done

I work in a small hospital...we recently had 2 women in their 40s and 50s admitted to our hospital because of plastic surgery gone bad, mainly tummy tucks....1 died and I don't know what happened to the other....I have seen nicked bowels, bladders and people go septic...you think it won't happen to you; but, it can.

Thank you! It continues to change my life every single day.:drinker:

weaklink109

I like your (OP's) concept of a "mental lap band." I guess it is kinda what I did when I made the decision to get rid of the weight problem I have had for most of my life. That was April of 2009, and my only regret is that I didn't learn some of what I know now many years EARLIER.

I think you have made a good analysis of what was causing you to overeat and what you can do about it. Maybe lap band would make this easier, but since it would STILL require the mental focus to eat right, there is certainly nothing wrong with trying to go it alone. On the other hand, in a situation where there is some physical reason behind the weight, taking a serious look at WLS only makes good sense.

The biggest problem I have with WLS is that it seems there are too many practitioners who are too eager to perform it on patients who are really NOT prepared to follow the eating restrictions and be responsible for their future health. I can't help but wonder how good the screening really is, due to my experience as described below.

I worked with two people who had lap band surgery. During the time I worked with them, I lost more weight than either of them through controlling what I ate and exercise. They both had ATROCIOUS eating habits. One of them was my supervisor, who had a habit of bringing bagels or donuts to team meetings and getting unhappy when everyone (meaning me) wouldn't partake.

We had potlucks every month or so, and I have listened to both of these people (one male, one female) make comments about how they were glad the potluck was THIS week because they could eat more, as they were both due to go in for band adjustments in the following week.

The nature of our work was such that it was easy to see what other people ate for lunch, and their poor nutritional choices never ceased to amaze me. IE A full fat can of chili, with Fritos.

It looked to me like neither one of them "got it." When the supervisor, who had not worked in the department as long as I had, discovered that I had NOT had surgery, her attitude toward me became very negative. It directly contributed to the fact that I no longer work for that company.

I think WLS is a tool, that works for the right person with the right motivation, but it is not a decision to make lightly. There is always the chance if your metabolism is REALLY messed up, that you will do everything "right" and still not lose. That is what happened to an acquaintance of mine. She lost 150 lbs. on Jennie Craig, and was down to about 150. She had been heavy all her life, and lost the weight in her early 30's, so was not very socially adept at dealing with men. She had a bad experience in a relationship and gained back all that she had lost plus at least 50-100 lbs. more. So very sad.

She had bariatric surgery and lost less than 50 lbs. the first year, and only about 20 in the following year. The last time I saw her, it didn't appear she had lost any more. I have been with her on more than one occasion, and she doesn't eat excessively. Another mutual friend told me the doctor said her metabolism is just shot and she will probably never lose.

Good luck with your progress. I recall seeing one post on here where the person was told to eat like they had already had the surgery and come back for a follow up evaluation. She lost 20 lbs. in 6 weeks, and when she returned to the doctor, they mutually decided she didn't need the surgery.

MacMadame

As for 100% gaining their weight back, that's actually what happens with diet and exercise.

<

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not true.

I know you are making a point, and I agree that bariatric sx has it's place. But plz dont replace one incorrect statement with another.

This is according to clinical studies. If you have 50 pounds or more to lose every study shows that somewhere between 90 and 99% of the people will either not lose all the weight and/or will gain it all back in a 2 to 5 year timeframe.

I was actually once one of those 1-10% who supposedly didn't gain back all their weight. I had lost 70 pounds (so I was still overweight by BMI standards but was close to a normal weight) and was able to keep off 40% in two years and 50% in 5 years. But by 8 years it was all back plus about 10 pounds extra.

I bought into the myth that diet and exercise alone would be enough for 35 years. I have tremendous willpower so I always was able to lose the weight. That just reinforced my belief that it was all my fault that I couldn't keep it off. It was only when I finally lost my faith in my ability to diet (as I put it to my surgeon, I just don't think I have one more diet in me), that I was able to see all the scientific evidence that we've known about for decades but that never seems to get acted on.

It really makes me sad when I see all the people on MFP who are constantly beating themselves up because they can't lose all their weight or they are regaining or they can't stay on their plan 100% of the time. They have totally bought into the Big Lie that obesity is a character flaw. I hope they get freedom from that some day however that happens.

I think, if you haven't had WLS, you really can't understand the difference. Your brain really does change because the hormones involved in hunger change. The obsession with food lessens for most of us. The fighting with our body goes away or is much less. Suddenly eating 1200 calories a day is completely possible because you aren't ravenously hungry. WLS makes weight loss and maintenance *possible* when it wasn't before. It's what is called a "necessary" condition. It's not "sufficient". You still have make changes and you still have to watch what you eat. But it's the lever that makes the rest of those behaviors possible for the long term.

As for people "pushing" weight loss surgery, everyone has the story of people they know who it didn't work for and seems to think that their doctors must have pushed them to get it, but again when you look at hard data, only 1% of people who are eligible for weight loss surgery actually get it. That's hardly the sign of a lot of people being pushed into it.

In fact, many doctors are very negative about WLS because they were taught in medical school that this is a behavioral issue or because they share many of society's prejudices against it. Very few push it at all. Many tell their patients who are more than 100 pounds overweigh that they aren't eligible for it, which isn't true, and that they should "just push away from the table" when they should know better.

Lauris83

good for you for trying without surgery there's def. nothing wrong with weight loss surgery if you are morbidly obese and have tried everything or have some kind of medical problem keeping you from losing weight. Clinical studies aside, I've known plenty of people who had gb and only 2 of them who actually look healthy and have lost all the weight and kept it off. That's ALL the proof I'll ever need to keep at it the natural way (and of course all the great success stories on here!). There are pros and cons to everything, your decision should be YOURS only OH and do trust that not all posts get this negative on the site, I've read tons of great, motivational POSITIVE posts that have helped keep me on track. The before and after pic posts are the best!

hkystar

I am sorry but MacMadame your posts dont really give much hope for my future. I am not heavy enough for WLS to be an option but for reading your posts you honestly make me feel like why should i even bother trying to lose the weight? Whats the point if I am just going to gain it all back and then some in 2-5 years.

Now I have to go into my statistian brain. I think I need to see a little more information on the sample sizes/populations to figure out who this applies to. Stats can be twisted to suit any purpose and prove any case. Do I think I am fighting an uphill battle? YES! Do I think I am going to fight this fight for the REST of my life? YES! Do I think I can lose the weight and keep it off? YES!

I am working my butt off to be a better me. I feel better (in general, about myself, and about my body). I am 100% sure I will have to record everything I eat everyday for the rest of my life (in order to be in control of my food and portions) but I actually feel bad that I even read any of the responses at this point.

To the OP, You have to do whats best for you, good luck with losing weight!

jenniflower75

well about a year and a half ago I was approved for lap band surgery, did the whole seminar pre surgery thing, and was all ready just waiting for a date. during that time i decided to give it one last try but that was it i was sick of being fat and i was at my top weight ever. I cut my calories and started loosing weight.. over about a nine month period i lost about 60 lbs I was exstatic but then i had my first real challenge.. the holidays. UGH that was awful for me.. an entire month and a half of every night mare food you could want and i was in charge of making it all including all the cookies, fudge and every other kind of desert you could want. THankfully i only gained ten pounds in that time but after that could NOT get back on track.. I couldnt cut my calories again. I was always hungry and felt like i was starving. I wasnt gaiing any more weight, maintaining the ten pound gain but i started getting very depressed and frustrated.. i went the dangerous route and started vomitting and going on four and five day fasts with nothing but water. SUre i lost weight.. alot of it, something like 20 lbs.. but of course i gained it all back. When i came here i was at my wits end. Ive been here i think like a month and a half and have lost ten pounds, but that ten pounds wasnt easy havingboth lost and gained while here.. Im still frustrated but still trying. I know now that my choice to not do lap band was the best choice i could have made but dont regret your decision if and when you hit some road blocks.. i GUARANTEE you they will come but you will also get over them anothr guarantee!!! Congrats on your decision and keep on keepin on.. it will come off quicker than you realize and a year from now you are gonna look back and say i dont believe i lost all of this.. also one thing i found very very helpful is taking before and after photos... sometimes when i look at them i cry but they are a reminder not only of how bad i was but of how good im doing.. good luck

MacMadame

I am sorry but MacMadame your posts dont really give much hope for my future. I am not heavy enough for WLS to be an option but for reading your posts you honestly make me feel like why should i even bother trying to lose the weight? Whats the point if I am just going to gain it all back and then some in 2-5 years.

Well, (a) you have less than 50 pounds to lose so all the studies about people with 50 pounds or more to lose don't necessarily apply to you and (b) statistics are not predicative to the individual.

There are people on MFP who are in all situations. Some people want to lose a few pounds that they put on as they got older or had a baby and never really were overweight before that. Some people are essentially thin people who occasionally get sloppy and put on 10-20 pounds and need/want the discipline of logging their food to take it off. Those aren't really the people in the studies. Things like MFP and eating healthy and getting back to exercise works great for them. Sounds like that could be you too.

One thing that gives me hope for my kids though -- and should for you too -- is that even though there seems to be a large genetic component to this -- that exercise seems to be able to overcome it. A recent study of twins where one was overweight and one was thinner found that the difference is that the thinner twin exercised. Exercise ran raise our metabolism and it seems like it can change our set point too. (It does all sorts of other cool things as well. :happy:)

I've come to realize that exercise just isn't a way to burn more calories so we can eat more and/or get to goal faster. It's the key to life, the universe, and everything! :laugh: