Does (or did) your expectations meet reality?

[missymoopooau]

Hey beautiful people,
I find I am reading a lot throughout the posts of dissapointment and frustration with the amount of weight lost or the time it has taken to reach a certain weight loss after surgery. Is this something I maybe need to prepare myself for.( Surgery on May 31st). I am so excited for what I am describing as not a lap band but a "hope" band. Kinda like waiting for santa-with a knife! lol. I afraid that maybe my expectations for the "life-changing" experience, or " to finally be free of the burden of obesity,are unrealistic and that I will feel deflated and dissapointed. Did you have to adjust your expectation? Did you find that you are experiencing things the way you expected? How have you had to adjust your mind-set post surgery and is there some realities that may assist those of us that are preparing mentally to take this path
I would appreciate your feedback and expertise.
.....Missy

[RubyDoo]

Hi Missy,

everyone is different and although we all have the same goal (to loose weight) we are all going to reach that goal and different paces.

I have been banded 6 months and have lost 17kg, I am excited by that but will admit I thought it would be faster, but then again I also have PCOS which effects weight loss. The hardest thing for me personally is when having the op my surgeon said I would be able to eat pretty much 90% of different foods, just things like bread are to be avoided - I can actually only eat about 20% of foods out there or so it feels sometimes lol. Some days are better then others for me but one thing I will say for certain is I have no regrets about getting the lap band, I know I am going to have good and bad days but I am seeing the weight come off even if it is a little slower then the pressure I put on myself!! It has taken me this 6 months to be happy with it and with myself and realize it is working and I am feeling better because of it!!! The band differently is not a quick fix and it does take a lot of discipline with exercise and diet but for me 2 thumbs up!!

I have prattled on but I hope it gives you some answers!

[suzie]

I was hoping my weight loss would have been quicker too, only 13.5kg in 1 year... BUT I didn't get big over night and this is a long term thing. Loosing weight slower although it is frustrating gives my mind a chance to keep up, which has been great.

Suzie

[chelezilla]

my thoughts are that a lap band is 'life changing' but not instant, it's no quick fix and even with it, if you don't conform to the rules you can fail. i'm not trying to be pessimistic, actually i consider myself a realist. i do have one expectation, that my lapband will help me, help myself, and so far we're great mates! lol. i've had my little helper for 10days and i already think it's the best decision i've ever made for my health and therefore my life. i haven't felt hungry once in 10days, that's a first! but this doesn't occur for everyone.

i was 126kg at the time of starting my pre-op diet. the diet i was put on was very strict compared to some i've read about here- 3 x optifast per day + 2cups non carb veg. no cereal, no dairy, no meat, no sugar, no carbs, no fats! i was a non-carb vegan! lol! but i stuck to, first diet i've ever stuck to for that long.

at the time of the operation (26 feb), i was 114kg. i've lost 2kg in the last 10 days on the post-op liquid diet and am now 112kg, that's -14kg already, so wow! lol!

i wud love to lose 5kg a month, which is ALOT i know but it is also do-able with exercise, lots of exercise! as i'm usually anti-exercise, and to be honest quite lazy, i don't know how long my current exercise kick will last. when/if it waivers then obviously my weight loss will slow, and that's ok. this initial big loss of weight has really given me a boost. so much so i got up for a walk in the rain at 6am this morning, and enjoyed every step of it!

as for what foods i can and can't eat... i'll let you know when i get there

[Marion]

BUT I didn't get big over night and this is a long term thing.

This is the exact thing I said to hubby ..so far I have lost a Kilo a week (pre and Post Op.) My banding was on 24th Feb. so not long ago...9 kilos I feel better and feel possitive , even if its slow as long as it keeps coming off....

[missymoopooau]

Thanks all for your replies. There seems to be a real consensus that being banded was the best thing and no one has regrets. I guess deep down that was what I reallly needed to hear. I'm a big eater and a fast eater and I am soooo afraid that I will grieve so sadly for the loss of food as I have always known it. I am so happy to hear that some of you haven't felt hungry! Is that really possible? That would be my main goal in being banded. The weight loss is an added bonus but for me the most important thing is that food gets to take it's rightfull place in my life and not to rule my life.You know what I mean? I want to be free from the constant eating and planning what to eat.I'm realy so excited.
...Missy

[suzie]

You do grieve for the food you can no longer eat, or the meal you can't finish. I am lucky, I give it to my chooks who reward me with eggs. I still get hungry, but I am now more in 'tune' with my body and understand the messages it sends me...

[Linny51]

I agree with everyone else! we all wish it would happen quickly but it wont,

I grew up being made to eat everything put on my plate or I would get punished,
I am finding 58 yrs of this is a very hard habit to break, I cant even give it to the chooks like suzie because I don't have any, LOL and my dog doesn't need to get any fatter either .
The one thing I am 100% sure of is that I don't regret one second of having it done and from the outset my goal is to reach 65kg by my 60th birthday which even slowly is VERY doable

Linny

[Princess]

hi missy and everyone

i have not regretted my band so far and it has been the best choice i have ever made for myself. my weight loss has been faster than expected by my surgeon and is in no way typical of a bander. fortunalty for me i have a very physical job and being self employed i never have set daily hours so sometimes have to have very long days and 7 days sometimes. if i didnt do this then my weight would drop slower but unless you are doin cardio 7 to 10 hours a day like my job entails then its just unrealistic. i do have issues with lossing over 43kg in 9 montsh though, only just last week i was dyhdrated and have to now take a suplement to stop this from happening.i also have to have a vegie popper and also a friut popper everyday and also increase my vitamin intake so maybe slower is better. i dont think it really matters about how much weight we all lose each day, week, month or year because i now look at the band as a tool to taking back control my life. for so long i hated myself and felt out of control but because of my wee little band i have to look after myself whether its through supplements, food or exercise. just the fact that we have all had the balls to have the surgery in the first place is an active achievement towards a better self. we will all get down the path on our journey to a better self but sometimes some will run it while others stop to smell the roses. i think the biggest problem is that we need to stop comparing the journey to each others, we are all different and the results will vary. i think that the rate our body drops the weight is the right choice and as long as we look after ourselves then all is okay.

denise

[chelezilla]

we're getting advertisments on our chat threads!!!! good grief!

[Surly]

I have lost 21kg since 25 May 2009, starting at 130kg.

I had expected to be doing better than I am and I have only just started moving again after a long plateau over christmas.

Of course I am aware from past failures that without the band any weight I had lost via some other method would of been replaced and brought friends.

It is definitely a love/hate relationship and watching someone eating a well made steak burger has me drooling and envious. Sometimes I eat what I can eat knowing it is wrong rather than what I should eat.

The flip side is I am no longer morbidly obese and am approaching simply overweight. I have probably set back diabetes etc by years and while still not happy I no longer feel disgusted looking at my self in a mirror.

Just for reference I am a 40 year old guy so the head game really isnt a lot different.

I certainly wouldn't tell a friend to go get a lap band without some really serious thought and going through the complete change it will make to your life both good and bad.

cheers
Surly

[bellaamore]

In the first few week I would think what have I done to my self?? But now I am learning a new way of life- and it's not easy! Like others have said- not finishing your meal can be hard and the small mouthfuls slowly is a new habbit to learn. I to had hoped to be avout 5kg ahead of where I am but the doctors have pointed out I am close to what they expect at 6months not 4 months so I should be happy- 32% off my excess weight lost!
I have been a little slack over the ast few weeks with excersise and eating- but you need to rember it's a 2 way street- the band isn't a miricle worker alone!
B xoxo