AbbieL

Wow 39lbs is great, congratulations!
We should start an nyu group on here.

Dani, how are you doing now? Have you had a fill yet?
I live in Oakwood, where are you?

Good luck!

Last Saturday. I feel great! When are you having surgery?

I recently had surgery at Nyu, Dr Kurian was great! I live in Staten island, I would be up for meet ups!

So much understanding and words of encouragement are greatly appreciated.
The suggestion to see a therapist is an excellent one. I think for many banders, a behavior therapist is just as important as a nutritionist, if not more so. I see my pcp and a new bariatric surgeon for follow up care this week. I'm going to ask them both for a recommendation for an eating disorder therapist. I really need to get my head on straight so my band will stay that way.
I think those of us who struggle with eating disorders soon learn that they don't go away with band surgery. Please don't let this post close this conversation. I want to hear from you.

I love this thread, I am also struggling with my head hunger big time. I'm seeing my pcp next week and will ask him if he can recommend a counselor who specializes in eating disorders. My pcp is also a bandster so he will understand. My problem is I want to binge on sugar, candy, chocolate etc... I stand in front of the fridge and kitchen cabinets, my empty cookie jar and I don't understand these feelings of wanting to eat but being physically unable to is so hard. It's very confusing. I'm not always able to leave the house for a walk or easily distract myself, but I am trying so hard....

I love this thread, I am also struggling with my head hunger big time. I'm seeing my pcp next week and will ask him if he can recommend a counselor who specializes in eating disorders. My pcp is also a bandster so he will understand. My problem is I want to binge on sugar, candy, chocolate etc... I stand in front of the fridge and kitchen cabinets, my empty cookie jar and I don't understand these feelings of wanting to eat but being physically unable to is so hard. It's very confusing. I'm not always able to leave the house for a walk or easily distract myself, but I am trying so hard....

I love this thread, I am also struggling with my head hunger big time. I'm seeing my pcp next week and will ask him if he can recommend a counselor who specializes in eating disorders. My pcp is also a bandster so he will understand. My problem is I want to binge on sugar, candy, chocolate etc... I stand in front of the fridge and kitchen cabinets, my empty cookie jar and I don't understand these feelings of wanting to eat but being physically unable to is so hard. It's very confusing. I'm not always able to leave the house for a walk or easily distract myself, but I am trying so hard....

i was a binger (especially during tough times)..struggling with that right now (although i am not doing it, its never far from my mind).....
i was also bulemic in high school......i binged big time and then purged and also abused exlax for a long time....therapy def helped but what helped me most was realizing what i was doing to myself and then seeking help.
id never lecture you as i know what you are feeling.
but like TMF said, you stand at fridge and you make the decision to eat or not.
i do that every day.....i am stronger than that bag of lays bbq chips and a case of coors light...sure it would taste awesome......but afterwards i'd feel like SH*T
if you feel a binge, what i do is, walk, read or take a bath or give myself a time out or post on this forum
i am not sure if my answer is what you were looking for but its the one i wanted to post just the same...please take care of yourself and your band as you are the only one who can do that.

I feel incredibly vulnerable posting this. Please don't hate.
Binge eating was officially defined in 2010 as an eating disorder. To use a broad paint brush, isn't that how most of us got to be overweight? Binge eating?
When our bands are working properly, they help to prevent us from eating too much. What they don't do is make the mental feeling of needing to eat/binge go away.
It's been over three years for me since band surgery. I bounce around a weight loss of 40-50 lbs for which I'm grateful. But there are still times when I feel the need to binge. Sometimes I win the battle, sometimes I don't. Please don't lecture me on how dangerous binging is for banders, I know.
Does anybody else with a band suffer from eating disorders? Can we talk?

Hi Everyone Banded on March 21st and starting to feel a lot better. I'm starting the mushies stage, finally ditching the Soup broth! Any good ideas/recipes for this stage?
Also, one other question. When does this port pain subside a bit? I have post-op in about two weeks and a little scared that if it is still this tender, how can I get a fill?

The scale moved!! The scale moved!! Hmmm....once again reaffirms that I need to only WEIGH ONCE A WEEK...which is impossible for me to do but still. Had I just weighed today instead of every day this week multiple times I wouldn't have gotten so frustrated.
Hand in there everyone...good things are coming your way!

My first word of advice for newbies: HAVE PATIENCE. Restriction doesn't happen overnight. for me, it was the 3rd fill, 4 mths post op. I didn't lose a lb those first 4 mths (probly cuz I was eating just as I had pre op - felt this was yet another failure of mine).
Like a dummy, I didn't heed my drs recomendations of sticking to liquids for 24 hrs post fill. Had my first meal the the hotel coffee shop about 6 hrs post fill. I was able to eat about 4 bites of chicken, 3 bites of a baked potato, and a couple bites of green Beans. Didn't even attempt the dinner roll. That dinner was my "magic dinner". I felt restriction immediately, didn't have to wait a week. It also provided me with about 4 more meals!
Since then (about 3 1/2 yrs post op), I've had many fills/unfills/slips/tweaks with my band. I don't have the greatest restriction I once had, but there's no way I could eat like I did pre op. I've never been able to eat more than 1 egg and 1 pc of bacon for Breakfast, 1/2 sandwich for lunch, or 1/3 of a chicken breast for dinner. When we go out, I always bring home enuf for at least 2-3 more meals (I get sick of them by the next day tho and they usually get trashed).
Like I said, it wasn't till my 3rd fill where I felt I was in control of my portions (actually, my band is in control, because my eyes are ALWAYS bigger than my tummy, still!). I don't think there's been a meal in the last 3 yrs that I've finished 100% - and that feels great!
Have patience! It WILL happen for you! Good luck!
Marci

For those who are struggling with weight loss but eating/consuming very little...it's something to talk to your doctor about. You might not be eating enough to feed your body and then it goes into starvation mode and hangs on to the calories and fat.
Also, exercise might kickstart loss. I have SO not been in the mood to walk or exercise but when I do, I see a difference.
Heading in tomorrow for my first post-op appt. It's been almost 3 weeks so I'm anxious to talk to my doc.

Just checking back in. I was out of commission so long with my complications & did not really want to discuss them here out of respect for those who are yet to be banded. Still not much hunger & doing great!

I completely understand the mental hunger. I want to eat something so bad but my stomach says no way. I find as I am eating that i get to a point where the food feels like it doesnt want to go down (like it is stuck or going down the wrong way) I had the iband (so stomach is smaller) no fill yet. I am really looking forward to getting my first fill though so that I can start seeing more weight loss. I havent gained since the surgery on the 12th but havent really lost much either. I lost 10 before surgery and I have lost 8 since. Not too bad. I wish the hunger would subside though. When my stomach growls it actually hurts. Got to start mushies yesterday my doc is also letting me have canned tuna or chicken, soft cheese and soft eggs. I had an egg over easy yesterday it was amazing. Tuna salad today with fat free mayo was not bad either but tasted so salty. Anyone else have mushies that they are enjoying?

My wife did the same thing as I am too.. Lol

My surgery is tomorrow. I'm nervous but ready!

fruit. Anything sweet and low glycemic is better than high glycemic simple carbs. Cantaloupe, watermelon, apples, pears, blueberries, blackberries and I sometimes munch on Famous Dave's spicy pickle chips. I allow myself one Hershey's or Dove Bliss type dark chocolates in the evening.
tmf

​SF Popsicles are good. I buy Edy's fruit ones and they are sweet and great. Also, are your Protein Shakes sweet? I once tried freezing mine, it wasn't the best but it was frozen like ice cream.

Wow 39lbs is great, congratulations!
We should start an nyu group on here.