That seems like the impossible dream!

Shelli,

How did you lose 102 lbs so fast?? I would love to be able to lose that much by my trip to China in September - would love to hear your story.

Danna

Hi Danna,

Wow China in September - you can definitely do it and what an awesome goal. There is really no secret to my success. I will list some of the things that helped me and I hope they will help you too!

1) I kept a Food Diary Journal since Day 1 of being banded. Not only did I record what I ate and the calories but I recorded my starting weight, current weight, and goal weight. I made my goal weights in 10 lb. increments so I wouldn't get too depressed. Like right now I weigh 293 so my goal weight is 290. When I reach 290 my goal weight will be 280, etc.

2) I followed the Food Phases pretty much to 100% - I tried to do the best I could each day to follow the different stages and I think that gave me the boost I needed in the beginning.

3) I try to stick to about 900 calories per day and I never go over 1200 calories even if I am having a real hungry day.

4) Before Winter set in I tried to walk 20 or 30 minutes per day. Now I think I have to join a gym or something because it is hard for me to get out and walk with cold temps and icy roads.

5) It is very important to me to attend our monthly lap band support meetings. It keeps me focused at the task at hand. My surgeon and his staff are awesome and the 5 week weigh-ins at his office really help too. I recently had a fill and it has helped me so much with the hunger. I have 5cc's in a 10 cc band.

I hope this helps you. If you have any more questions or concerns I will be glad to help you. I hope you have a good weight loss journey so please keep me posted to how you are doing.
Take care,
shelli

Hello all,
I also have 200 to lose and with all the support here we will make it. sewenup1 < my name is also Danna, it is so rare to find another. Lets all stick together and get thin together.
See ya Lighter,
Danna

Hi Danna

How great, I've seen lots of Dana (with just the one 'n') but never the same as ours. It will be great to keep track of each others successes!!!

Danna

Wow, I'm very encouraged by all the success that has already been posted here. Keep up the good work, guys!

Add me to the 200+ club as well. The first 100 lbs dropped off in 8 months for me with very little effort or so it seemed. This last 50 is a bitch though to lose. More exercise and more focus on just protein and veggies and lots of water just like I did to lose the first 100 and I should be back on track.

My doc told me to aim for 200 lbs as my goal weight but I want to have a 1 in front of my weight. I picked 167 out of a hat since I'm not a huge BMI believer.

Good luck to all.

I'm also in the 200+ category.

My high was 371, with a goal weight of 165ish. So barely over 200#, but still a challenge.

I'm sitting (since September) at about 300! But doggone it, I'm getting back in the groove!

I would LOVE to be at about 251 by my Bandiversary which is June 21st. That would mean I'd have lost 76lbs in the first year, but 120lbs from my start. Not impressive, but it would be nice in my mind.

WHO SAYS not impressive??? that is damn impressive!!

Wow. I'm in awe of you all. I am at the beginning stages of getting things set up for surgery. You are inspiring and give me hope. Thanks!

hello all - WOW some great progress on those tickers!!!

It is SO nice to know I'm not the only 300# +!

I weighed 354.6 in 12/07 and lost to 332.1 by band-day. :)

Just curious - how long post surgery before you tackled a bicycle or treadmill? Now after saying that I've not been on either in several months due to a knee surgery - but have been trying to build back up to it.

Also - I started a food diary on the 1st day of my pre-op diet and am continuing. I mean I am documenting everything - even potty times. Have I become way to obsessive? LOL

I was banded on a Tuesday and drove home 6 hours on Wednesday then was back on the treadmill on Thursday. I had a knee injury as well but I started walking on the treadmill even before surgery to strengthen my knee so I just kept it up right after surgery. I went at a slower speed for the first few days after surgery then was back to my normal speed and length of time by the end of the first week. Everyone is different though so I say just start out slow and easy and you'll know how much you can tolerate.

As for the food diary, I still document my food intake daily. I don't think it's obsessive at all, it's just another way to be accountable to ourselves. It's easy to think we are within a certain amount of calories each day and we usually undershoot it so by recording every single thing that passes our lips, we have a better idea of what we are consuming. I use an online tracker and it takes a few mins every day to update it. When I stop losing, I look over my food intake and I usually can see why I'm not losing anymore.

Well here I am. I was banded 12-19-7 my highest was 376 and I have had one fill. ack. I am still hungry. BUT the books say I am suposed to be at 124 ROFLMAO 124 I think I weighed that in 5th grade. lol yeah right. My goal is 150...I am going to party at 199. Well ok honestly I party a little with every loss.

I need to join your club. I weighed 333lbs. at my starting point,303lbs. on surgery day and 283lbs. today. I lost 30lbs. on pre-surgery diet, 20lbs. in the last month. The weight loss center set my goal weight at 170lbs. so I still have a way to go. I was in a area on this site where people were giving each other hints on how to make sure that their weight and or BMI were high enough to get surgery! My gosh! My surgeon wanted to do RNY, but the weight loss center thought that Lap Band was better for me due to the meds. I take. That was fine with me, the RNY etc. scare me. I am going to have my first fill on Feb. 4th. I can eat 1 and 1/2 cups of food at a time. I think that is to much. I am glad that I found you folks this is where I need to be. Oh 1 other thing... where do you girls get your clothes? I used to shop at the Avenue, but they just closed the one in my town.

Hi Jasmona,
Welcome to our club. You are doing fantastic on your weight loss!
You can still shop at Avenue as they have a website at avenue.com. They have a lot of coupon specials so this defrays the cost of the shipping. Good luck to you and have a wonderful journey.
shelli

Welcome! I haven't talked to the doctor about a goal yet, but after starting at nearly 350, I'd be happy to be under 200! Well, actually, I'm happier with every few pounds dropped - I'm down about 10% from my highest weight and it's made a huge difference in my mobility level. I'm imagining I'll get perkier and perkier with every 10% lost :-)

I didn't think I had much restriction after my first fill, but the weight is coming off again and my portions are usually smaller (I was up to ~1 cup and now 1/2-3/4 c is more typical, so I guess I do! I'm scheduled for another fill in about 10 days.

I buy most of my clothes online, at www.junonia.com and Quality Plus Size Clothing for Women of Style, 2X - 8X, 22W - 46W Making It Big, MIB Plus Size Natural Fiber Clothing for Women of Style Though with the cost of them, I think I'll be trying to take some pants in as I go down in size.

Good luck!