Is it impossible to loose weight without the lap band?

Brooke200

I have read many different member's profiles and it seems a lot of you have had the the lap band surgery. I have 87 lbs to loose by October 1st 2011. Is that impossible to do without the lapband?

TheKitsune6

Of course it's not impossible. You'll just have to work hard. Work out - watch what you eat. You could definitely pull that off in a year.

ambercole

I lost 120 lbs without the lapband and i did it in under a year. It did take alot of hard work and determination though. I went fron a size 18/20 and 250lbs to a size 5 and 130lbs. That was 2 years ago. I did gain 50lbs back but that was just from being lazy and inconsistent. I am working on that though. 9lbs down, 41lbs to go. You can do it.

erikazj

There are many members here, who have achieved healthy, and significant weight loss without having surgery. You have to be disciplined and you have to be willing to commit to what you are doing, but it is entirely possible.

Good luck,

Erika

candacepainter

I have lost 100 lbs with out lap band! You just have to exercise and watch what you eat.

TheKitsune6

I lost 120 lbs without the lapband and i did it in under a year. It did take alot of hard work and determination though. I went fron a size 18/20 and 250lbs to a size 5 and 130lbs. That was 2 years ago. I did gain 50lbs back but that was just from being lazy and inconsistent. I am working on that though. 9lbs down, 41lbs to go. You can do it.

You are AMAZING!

Sarandipity

I have lost over 100 in a year and a half without surgery, just watching how much I eat, what I eat and exercise. You have to make the decision to do it and stick to it :flowerforyou:

jrich1

My wife and I (Lildebbie) have lost a total of 130lbs combined without lapband, you just have to work at it, make heathly choices for food and exercise

kendra1976

I have a friend that has lost 165 pounds since January of last year all by diet and exercise. She looks amazing. Yes it can be done. Focus and you will succeed!

JUSTFORME2010

Brooke

I use to think that a fat person could never be thin without surgery especially at 346 pounds like me. I have lost 32 pounds since May on here without a lot of exercise (which I am starting to walk now). It is possible absolutely. You can do it I promise. Get friends on here and keep up with the food and you will do great

debbie

CeleryStalker

Of course it's not impossible, silly, but I bet the doctor wouldn't want to let you in on that secret. I know 89# sounds like a giant number, but look at it this way. You have until Oct 1 of NEXT year to get it gone? That's not even a 2# a week average, and there will be weeks, especially when you are first starting and have more weight to lose, that you will drop way more than 2#.

Start off with a healthy eating plan. Pick an eating style that sounds good (I myself prefer to stay clear of low-anything diets in favor of eating natural, healthy, unprocessed foods....the less refined the food is, the better it is for you, the less calories it has, and the more it fills you up), plan your attack based on that eating regimen, and after a couple of weeks, start out with an exercise routine. Set yourself a goal. Can you run? If not, maybe the C25K program will be good. It takes out of shape people from where they are to running 5k over the course of, I believe, 9 weeks. It's an interval program, which means you run, then walk, then run, then walk...you start out doing more walking of course, and by the end, you're running the whole time. Interval training burns calories most efficiently, and conditions your cardio vascular system to recover quickly from exertion. If running isn't your thing, think of something else. I hated running a long time ago because it hurt my legs. I preferred low/no impact sports because of this so I chose elliptical at the gym and road biking when not in the gym. I'm going to a Hot Yoga class twice this weekend. I've never done yoga in my life, lol, and now I'm going to do it, in a 105 degree room full of people who a) have been doing this for various lengths of time and b) are probably in much better shape than I am.

So to recap:

Pick an eating style that sounds like it'd be acceptable and plan your meals around it
Find an exercise or sport you'd like to try and have at it.
Stay here, log your meals, chat plenty...the support you'll receive online will blow you away and keep you motivated!

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

AmenoKaji

Completely possible, I have lost to date 180lbs that are still gone. Problem with surgeries like that is its just a quick fix, a crutch to the problem so to speak. If you don't learn nutrition and learn how to eat for your health, ultimately, you will gain the weight back because your habits didn't change. Even if someone was to suddenly be 100lbs, if they kept eating horribly, its only a matter of time before they're bak to where they were at the begining because nothing changed.

Depending on what you're doing and or eating and how consistent you are with it depends on what your weight loss would be like in a year's time. My largest weight loss over a 3 month period, during the use of Power 90, while falling off my eating and platuaeing from not knowing what to do netted me over 60lbs lost. Of course because of my size and inactivity, I lost alot of weight faster (17lbs in the first week alone) I use to be at 440lbs, check out the video in my sig

LittleSpy

No surgery here.
Try not to put a strict timeline on yourself though. Crazy unrealistic me expected to have lost 100-120 pounds by now when I first started. :noway:

I never expected it to take 7 months to lose the most recent 20-25 pounds when it only took me 4-5 months to lose the first 55. But you know, for me it did. Now I know to expect it to take at least another year to lose 40-50 more pounds (and I actually expect it to take longer than that). I've settled in on being ecstatic about seeing my weight decrease while I live a comfortable healthy lifestyle. It's a good place to be.

KellyBurton1

No surgury here with 94 lbs gone.

Edestiny7

This site alone educated me to make better food choices and the weight just came off. Going to the gym alone didn't do it. Exercise is important, but what we eat is SO much more important in dropping the excess weight. You can do it. :flowerforyou:

Brooke200

Thanks so much! Very motivational!

miqisha

It certainly isn't impossible. Many people on this site have lost a significant amount of weight just by being honest with their entries and working out.

For only 80 pounds, I wouldn't recommend you doing surgery, alot of people have lost the weight just by eating right, it does take alot of discipline and hard work.

You can do this.....Just stick it out and keep going strong

Goodluck

MMarcordes

Absolutely it can be done. I wish there was some secret trick, though, that motivates people. But it is just a simple formula - calories in, calories out. The more I work out, the more I can eat. But you have to remember to calculate the calories for EVERY bite that goes in your mouth. You can do it!! BTW - I'm 55 pounds down... 15 to go

guidosgal

I did it thru determination and work and logging and more work ( the key to success is to keep at it even when you faulter or get stuck) You can do it but remember it a day at a time and a pound at a time. and you have to make the changes so it fits you because if you enjoy what you are doing you will have great success if you hate what you are doing you are more likely to quit. :flowerforyou:

caribear

I had gastric bypass 10 years ago and i have put 60 lbs back on. I know i know where did i go wrong but what i have learned is gastric bypass was to help me with a new start to healthy living. So that is why 10 years have gone by and now i am here to get my life back.

Behavior_Modification

YES! I have lost 43lbs so far and I know you can do it too! The lap band would not have worked for me anyhow because it doesn't change bad habits and I had a lot of those.

The 4 components to my success so far are:
1. Strength training
2. Cardiovascular exercise
3. Proper Nutrition
4. Constant Coaching (which is why I love this site!)

Good luck!

Buccinator

Girl, puh-lease don't have surgery for 87 pounds. I just got back from Mayo Clinic, basically the best hospital in the country, for my two previously undiagnosed autoimmune diseases, and they wanted me to have weight loss surgery. I said NO. I want to do it by eating right and exercising. You know how much I need to lose? Two hundred. Two hundred monkeys? No. Two hundred pounds. Is that gonna be hard? Oh yeah. But they wanted to slice off more than half my stomach. They said "This one is brand new. It's less invasive than the others." Brand new means they have no idea what the side effects are! Heck no, crazy Mayo lady! I'm gonna watch my calories and dance like a nut until I lose a few pounds! You can keep your knife in that drawer!

It can be done. I don't know if I can do it, but I'm going to try. And it's certainly my OPINION that you don't need to have surgery for what seems like such a small amount of weight to lose.

You go! :happy:

owengem

You can totally do it without surgery. I have the same amount to loose and I'm aiming on loosing 2lb/wk. That allows for some wks where I will loose more and some weeks when I won't loose any!!! I'm expecting it to get a lot harder as a near my target but so far I've been doing this under 6 wks and have lost 22lb.

If you loose 2lb/wk from now you will have lost 88lb by June 29th 2011. With an October deadline you have plenty of leeway for those tricky no loss wks as you near your target.
We have the same amount to loose...let's do it together!

katya143

ABSOLUTELY YOU CAN DO IT!!! I had lap band, BUT IT IS ONLY A TOOL THAT HELPED ME OUT!!! THERE ARE DAYS WHERE I STILL PIG OUT AS IF I NEVER HAD THE SURGERY, but i just regroup and refocus and DONT GIVE UP! (why I chose the band, because i always give up when it comes to dieting) I know people who had the surgery and never lost weight, becasue they didnt excersize or watch their portions (It is easy to overeat the band) !! I KNOW THAT IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE and I ALSO KNOW THAT WITH DETERMINATION, calorie tracking, excersize and support ...IT IS POSSIBLE TO LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT THE BAND!!! we are here for you...XOXO!!!

jasonweinberg

i did get the band two weeks ago, but had lost 56 lbs. prior to my procedure and many many people were trying to convince me to back out of it because i was doing so well. i have no doubt that i could have lost the weight without the procedure. i personally went a head with the procedure because i have a long life ahead of me, have lost and regained my excess weight (and then some) once before, and i felt the lap band would be a tool to help me maintain the changes i have made in my diet and lifestyle. i have no doubt i could have achieved my goal without the surgery. i just chose the surgery as a tool to assist me.

vencellia

Nope I don't take any pills and have not had any surgeries. And I have lost over 150 pounds! Diet and exercise alone! Dedication and Determination has got me here!

kintegra

I set my goal the beginning of May to lose 90 lbs by 10-21-2011 for my 40th birthday. Here it is 4 months later & I've lost 35 lbs already! No surgery, no lap band - just plain old working out & eating healthy. I set my goal at losing 30 lbs every 6 months. Well so far 35 in four months is really saying something! It WORKS! Don't have surgery. Just utilize this website for all the support, encouragement, suggestions, etc that you need! You CAN do it! :bigsmile:

Also - in April my doctor told me I was eligible to have gastric bypass & insurance would pay, but he wouldn't recommend it because it is so dangerous & long term effects can be bad. Then he said there is lap band surgery too, but he wouldn't recommend it either because it is too new to know any long term effects it may have. He recommended the good old fashioned way. Its not easy getting fat & its definitely not gonna be easy losing it. However with determination you can do it! :flowerforyou:

chelekaz

I would strongly advise against it. My aunt had it done and she looks, in my opinion, horrible. She lost the weight but now needs plastic surgery for all of the excess skin.

My doc said that I was eligible but as a prior responder said; he did not recommend it due to possible side effects. The best hold and true method is watching what you eat and exercise. I ultimately have over 100 pounds to lose. Right now I am just trying to lose 89 pounds which will put me at what I weighed when i got married. Then I will re-evaluate and see where I am.

It's going to take a lot of hard work, dedication and motivation. But, personally, I feel that by taking the weight off slowly and exercising it is easier to lose and tone than to do a quick fix that fixes the body.... but not the mind.

Good Luck in what ever you decide.

SugaNess

I have been loosing, and also my daughter and neither one of us has had the lap band. We believe in doing it the natural way and it is working, Eating better and adding exercise to our daily routines. You can do it also. I will be more than happy to accept you as a friend so we can do it together. Good luck on your journey...

somigliana

It absolutely is possible, although I'd suggest not setting too strict a goal deadline for yourself. Take your time to make the physical as well as mental journey into a new lifestyle. Don't view tasty food as being "not allowed". Learn to enjoy moving. Do some strength training. Make the way you eat while losing weight a sustainable eating plan that you can carry forward into maintenance of your goal. My journey went more slowly because I took a breather halfway to get my bearings and settle myself and learn to live in my changing body. I lost around 60lbs in the first ten months, took a 6 months maintenance period, then lost the last 28lbs in 6 months.

Good luck on your journey!

jasonweinberg

just a quick response to the comment regarding the lap band being too new to know the long-term effects. while that might be true to some extent, i do want to point out that if there are complications, the band can be removed. also, my dr., who i consider a very good and intelligent dr., recommended it wholeheartedly to me and spoke highlly of the program that is an integral part of having the procedure done. clearly, so far so good for me...in the end its a matter of personal choice.and medical necessity. for example, some can beat diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes simply through changes in diet and lifestyle. others need medical treatment. there is no shame in needing/choosing medical treatment. in many cases it is the wise and/or only choice.