Iryshgreene

We all do things we aren't proud of. No judgment from me!
I found it terribly hard to behave for my first 4 weeks. I cried for about 2 days straight shortly after my surgery because I couldn't eat. I am an emotional eater, so when I had an issue at work, I wanted to dive into the food. I obviously couldn't at that point (only 4 days post-op). I tried to go back to some of the things that I was working on before surgery: going for a walk, knitting, reading a book that isn't a textbook (I am in academia, so this is a real treat for me!), etc. It was SO HARD, but I survived it. You can too! I am 5 weeks post-op right now and have found a peace with the band. I still have "head hunger" on a regular basis, but I am working with a therapist who specialized in bariatric patients to redirect that impulse.
I did a little cheating during my 2 weeks of liquids and 2 weeks of mushies. I didn't have a fill at the time of surgery, either. What I did to resist most of the times I wanted to cheat was to close my eyes and think of the real reason I did this: to see my kids grow up, to feel good about myself, to fit in the seat of an airplane comfortably, etc. Then I open my eyes, look at myself in the mirror and tell myself I am worth all that. If I am hungry, I have a Protein shake and go for a walk, play with my kids, really anything to get my mind off of my stomach.
Just a thought, could some of that "grumbling" be gas releasing from the surgery? I know it made my stomach roll for the first few weeks and I had a hard time distinguishing the gas release from stomach hunger pains.
Chin up! The long-term results will outweigh the short-term pain.

35 lbs is NOT FAILURE! That is a lot of hard work to get that far. Maybe after 2 years, you should explore with your doctor the possibility of a "refresher" on the do's and don'ts of the band. A lot of people on here indicate that restarting the plan from the beginning is a great way to kick your weight loss back into gear.

Just found out that my preop is schd for 2/16 and surgery schd 2/29...oh yeah!