Fenton

Good luck, wishin' - you know you can do this! The band isn't some weird, magical thing that guarantees success: the success comes from YOUR hard work, and YOUR will power. We all know how to eat around the band, but you choose not to. It sounds like you have all the motivation you need, what with your gym-going and whatnot. You're just going to have to stick it out, and promise yourself not to go back to where you were. I am a bit of an expert on backsliding - I originally lost about 110 or so pounds, then fell off the wagon, and put back on about 70. I've pulled myself up short, and turned things around, so now I'm back to about 85 down from my original weight - 25 more to go to get back to my max loss, which seems do-able within the next couple of months. The things I find most helpful are charting my intake on livestrong.com's Daily Plate feature, and forcing myself to weigh in regularly. It's harder to cheat when you know you have to face the scales... Check in and let us know how you're doing!

I'm sorry to hear you're still in the wars. I hope the band starts behaving. But the fact is that the band didn't do all the work - you did it. At the end of the day, it's easy to eat around the band and put weight on - I know. It requires focus and effort to go all the way. So even if the band *is* removed, it's up to you whether or not you put weight on. YOu know your situation, you are probably aware of your triggers - it's up to you.

How are you going, Kathy? I hope you've been able to gather momentum on this. Things are going well for me. I'm losing weight rapidly, never hungry, feel good. I'm locked in the zone - just trying to figure out how to sustain this. I had an odd episode this week: the woman who was probably the major trigger in my derailment emailed that she was coming to NYC, and wanted to see me. I declined, and then I'd realized what her real motive was - the initial period of exhilaration was followed by bitter disappointment and sadness, but it didn't trigger a slide, or any indulgence at all, really. So I'm pleased about that. The episode also made me see her in a different light, although I don't want to revisit what we had through more cynical eyes. Anyway, full steam ahead!

Hang in there, Kathy! It sounds like the results from the pouch test are really promising! How are your symptoms - any easing? Things have been going well for me: it's been about 2 weeks and I'm down about 15 pounds, I'd guess, a significant amount of that being that Water weight you lose rapidly when you first drastically reduce your calories. I need to focus more on the satiety thing - right now I'm basically doing calorie counting, and being glad that I don't feel hungry between meals. Every Sunday, I'm going out to dinner at my favourite restaurant and having a three course meal - including desert, and a glass of wine. I don't know if that's the right thing to do, but it restricts any excess I might eat to one night, and I ignore cravings to allow myself that one blowout. And I save half of my entree for lunch the next day. So far it's going well: we'll see if I need to revisit that down the road. One nice thing about being Back on the scale is that I've found I put on less weight than I'd thought. Either that, or I lost more water weight than I estimated! SO, yeah, full steam ahead...

OK, back again. Sick of backsliding - an incredibly stressful year, but so what? I'm not the only person to have had stressful times, and so many of you guys have ridden it out, and clung onto the band and have done well. I'm on Day 2 of the Five Day Pouch Test, and it's going fine. For me - for most people, I think - starting is easy, but sustaining the effort is the killer. I look at people like Scrappy with profound admiration and gratitude: she's brought herself to where she needed to be, and she's stayed there. So now I have to try to be more like her. I think focus is key. I was listening to Tom Arnold on TV last night, and to Dr. Drew Pinsky talking about Amy Winehouse, and they basically said the same thing: with addictive behaviours, getting clean must be the only priority - not family, not love, not career. Pinsky cited Robert Downey Jr as an example of the only way he felt that narcotic addiction could be conquered. Downey left the movie biz for almost two years while he worked on himself, and now, clean and sober, he's at the top of his game. Of course, eating behaviour and straight drug addiction have as many differences as they do have parallels, but I think that's a useful example. I'm going to try some kind of daily affirmation, where I shall think about what I'm going to do to lose weight each day before I get out of bed. The band is a fantastic tool; I have to learn how to use it, to embrace it, and to let nothing get in my way. Weigh-in on Thursday...

You guys are doing great! Very inspirational. Going back into this WoE, I'm doing what you are, Special K - my patented Fenton shake for breakfast, soup for lunch, then I had a dinner of veggie burgers, yogurt and pear sauce. Eventually, I want to get to where Scrappy is, but I've proven myself a bad bandster enough times that I think I'm going to be using girlie2shooz' friend's "Keep filling til you're at Goal" advice. We'll see.

How do you handle dining out? It's something I do/am expected to do a lot?

That's really interesting - Protein is my key concern, as I'm a big (tall AND wide) sonuvagun. Thanks, very helpful! Anyone else who wants to chime in on their eating patterns would be more than welcome!

Girlie2shooz, would you mind talking a bit about exactly WHAT/HOW you eat with your degree of restriction? I'm trying to conceptualize my future eating pattern.

UniqueZeke - I think those of us who've put weight back on all did it for the same reason: too much eating. And that eating was always driven by emotional stuff: you can't put a band around your emotions. Or can you? Certainly, greater restriction means it's harder to sneak around the band. I think one of my problems was that I always thought in terms of portions, never in terms of satiety. I have to focus more on that, this time around. On satiety, and on what will happen if I DON'T get it right.

And an excellent story it is, too!

(Mustangchik! You've probably realized this by now, but you'll have your own group in the March 2008 Bandsters! You're welcome here, but this focuses on March 2008 Bandsters...) How did it go, Mom007? Well, I hope. I don't think you lost to goal just because of the band - it's a support, not the reason you lose. Whatever the result of the test, I believe that with Willpower like yours, you're going to be fine. I had a bit of a scare yesterday - I had a trivial symptom, but I'm a bit of a neurotic, and made a big deal of it, so now I'm freaking out and back onboard *hard*. I'm going for a fill next week. NOW I have to go back and find out how people eat in this WoL all over again...

Hey, all. It is pretty hard to regain your momentum once you stray from the path, isn't it? I'm back in the fold again, trying to be good. But I could be better.

Hi, guys! Kathy (aka Special K) has nudged me back on here, but I SWEAR I was coming back anyway. I've done pretty badly - I went a long time without a fill at the beginning, and was a hardcore bandster, and did really well. Then I got into a brief and damaging relationship, and fell off the ladder. Well, it was more like falling down a staircase - a sequence of disastrous tumbles and plateaus. I've gained quite a bit, always meaning to "get back on the wagon real soon"... And then, finally, last week I learned I have high blood pressure. It's kind of a mystery to me why I haven't had it until now, but, whatever: it's an important medical issue, and jeez, I know how to fix it. So I'm taking my meds, and I'm back down to 1250 - 1500 cals a day. I'm now feeling pretty good, between the rapid initial weight loss and the medication. I'd like to say I'm going to be on a lot, but I only really come here for you guys, and if there are no wildebeest gathering at the watering hole, the lion will prowl the wide savannahs of the internet... I hope everyone's doing well, and to those that have slipped a bit, no time like right now to get back on board... xFenton

Any word back from the recruiter, Special K? Hang in there! Things *are* getting better... It sounds like you had quite a lot of restriction there - have you settled into it? I had a bad week. A series of Special Events half-morphed into a week long binge. It was a low grade binge (I think I have enough restriction now that I limit myself, and things seem less appealing to me), and I think I went up a pound or two, which will rapidly go now that I'm back on the wagon. I'm just going to have to try to remember during times of temptation that I don't love my Sinful Choice Foods all that much while I'm overeating them.

I'm afraid I'm beyond the "three healthy oranges" approach, SpecialK! But yes, I cheat on this - in fact, I looked up the calorie content, and it wasn't quite tht bad, but then again, those "1/4 cup" servings I'm grabbing? They're not really quarter cups. I shall just have to avoid that particular temptation...

I've been a little slippy of late - there have been several Major Dinners, at which I've not restrained myself. But I've continued losing, which is nice, but kind of a double-edged sword. If I'm eating too much, and still going down, that doesn't help to reinforce the calorie-controlling thing. I'm rarely hungry, though, which is helpful. At the moment, my nemesis is the various dried fruit and nut trail mixes that various people in my office keep around - no matter where I am in the building, I can hear the Trader Joe's Macadamia Delight Trail Mix (macadamias, cashews, dried pineapple, almonds, dried cranberries) calling out my name... Thank God for Hale & Hearty, though! It's an easy way for me to keep my meals varied while controlling my calorie intake and monitoring my Protein. I hope you all have a fun, healthy weekend!

Thanks, Christine - yes, it does come off pretty easily when I try. Unfortunately, I had a couple of high calorie days last week because of various special events, so it was a (insert sad face emoticon) weight-stable week for me. Nice work on the roller coasters, Special K! Those are one of my primary goals, too - I can't believe they were in sight, and then I threw it all away... Argh!!! Chica, if your surgeon's encouraging you not to get more surgery, listen to him. I think we're all aware of the problem of eating when bored - an Achilles heel for every over-eater, I think; your maintenance shows you can do it, and implies that if you really try, you can pound away at the rest of your loss target. And Special K, on the subject of eating while bored - can you get out of the house more? Go to the library or something? It's either that, or find something to do that occupies you while at home, or stop storing treats at home. Or, of course, find that job! I hope you find something even better than your last position very soon...

Yes, *Amanda* - how ARE you doing? I think your doc's right - always best to have a procedure done at the place that specializes in them - go for the Center of Excellence! Although Chica, you've lost so much weight that your chance of complications is MUCH much smaller than with your band op, I suspect. Glad to hear that both of you are doing well, and have clear plans for moving forward. Things are going well for me. I remain in the Zone. Friday was kind of a blowout day for me - conference, so lunch and dinner out with old friends. I find dining out hard because I don't know the calorie count - on Friday I had a great burger (ended up not eating most of the bun), a few fries, a diet Coke for lunch, and then even more of a blowout at dinner - soft shell crab appetizer, then foie gras, AND dessert! I was OK the weekend, and was amused to weigh in today and find I'd lost 3 pounds since my last weigh-in on Thursday. I'm coming up on a month back on the wagon, and have that satisfying first month weight loss - I'm down about 24 pounds so far. SO things are going in the right direction for me, too. I'm glad you're here to talk to!

Hi Teri - nice to see you! You're doing fantastically! Goal almost in reach... And thanks, Chica - let's hope I can continue to make the right choices. Let us know when you get your surgery date; we'll boosterize you through the liquid diet thing. But really, it's not so bad - you must learn the ways of the Official Fenton Shake: 1 can Slipfast Optima French vanilla 1 frozen banana - a little less ripe makes it less sweet, more banana-y 1 large pinch salt 1 scoop Protein powder 2 Tablespoons of PB2 freeze-dried powdered Peanut Butter (http://www.bellplantation.com/) This is my Breakfast most days. About 400 calories, but delicious, and it holds me most of the day, plus pretty nutritious.

Oh, you'll be fine! Did you do a liquid diet before your band surgery? I think that was my fastest weight loss time ever. Things continue pretty well for me. Last night was a bit of a blow-out, but it was demarcated, Dinner-only. I didn't give into the temptation to get some ice cream after my feast, so I felt good about that. And today, though I probably could've fit it in my calorie goal, I skipped the cupcake beckoning me from the platter in the office next door. I wonder how long this willpower/ambivalence about regime-corrupting treats will last - it would be cool if it were permanent.

Special K, it sounds like you've really got it together. When I see your ticker, I think "Wow! This woman has *drive*, and a svelte new figure - both very useful qualities on the job hunt." I hope you land something great soon. Chica, I think the band gives me enough support - I mean, I'm vast, and yet I'm eating like a ballerina, and I very rarely feel hungry. I know that if I get more of a fill, it'll very much shape what I can and can't eat. I don't want to feel so limited in that way - I like eating lobster, and chicken. I'm going to go forward, watching my intake, journaling, trying to learn to embrace satiety rather than looking for fullness. The thing is, I'm still very aware of the calorie content of my meal, and if I go in to my 220 calorie Soup, I'll eat every last drop of that soup, since I've already budgeted the calories. I have to get better about just stopping when I"m sated. What I am pleased about is that this time I seem to be able to eat badly, and not go off into a week then a month then months of bingeing. And it's going well, Christine. I'm doing a good job of staying at around 1500. My goal calorie intake is 1250, but I'm losing quite rapidly on 1500, plus I haven't had any hair loss so far. I think those extra 200 - 250 cals may make a difference. But I feel good.

I don't know how exercise fits into your plan, Llyra, but maybe what you could do is, when you reach one of your chosen plateau weights, use that time to beef up your exercise pattern. That might make it easier to slip down to the next weight stage.

Thanks, Llyra - it does feel like a significant step forward. I don't know if it is, though - when I'm in the zone, I'm in the zone, and it's hard to disrupt that process. The problem is when I reach a certain point in the process, and lose momentum; I'm sick of eating without restriction, I'm tired of the constant mindfulness etc. And THAT is when I throw the baby out with the bathwater, and then throw the bath after the baby. I slip a bit, and I find I don't seem to care, and I continue to slip. And soon I'm not weighing myself, just telling myself - oh, I'll get back to it on Monday. And before you know it, I've abandoned the path, and plunged wholeheartedly into excess. Your controlled descent plan sounds interesting, Llyra. I wonder if that's something I should try. In other news, I was motivating myself last night by going through the Sartorialist website, looking for styles I thought might work for me when I get close to goal. Overweight men have the *worst* clothing options - it's like they thing everyone wants to dress as if they're at a tailgate party, or are happy walking around in jewel tones. I'm a man, not a kindergartener! I like somber colours, not vulgar ones. Bah!

Haha, Harley! Living well is the best revenge... Uh, if that's how you meant it. Things are going well for me. I'm back in the zone, losing well, feeling good. Although last night was a bit of an epic fall for me - dinner with an old friend, a good restaurant, and a big caloric splurge. Bad, bad. But then today I woke up and carried on as if it hadn't happened...