It's been one week since I got my band partially unfilled (due to a reaction to anti-inflammatories). Although I still have 3ccs in my lapband, it is almost like I'm not a WLS patient. I say almost, because thankfully those 3 ccs can be felt and I don't eat as much as I could if I were completely unfilled. I definitely eat more than when my band is at optimal fill-level; I'm eating around 1500 calories a day when to lose weight I can't exceed 1200 day in-day out. I do get full a smidge earlier than prior to being banded, so that's a small ray of hope that I'm not going to gain all my weight back while I wait out the three months until I can get re-filled.
I weight myself every single morning. It's not because I'm obsessive, but I know that I can turn around a small gain much easier than not weighing myself until I've put on a load of weight. Right now my weight is up 1 pound (500 grams) from March 25th, the day I got my unfill. That's more than I gained when I went to the States for one month last year (I gained 1/2 pound on that trip) but at the same time, I'm still extremely inactive (my tendonitus is back and I can barely walk again) so I'm not burning any of those 1200 calories I eat by any form of dedicated exercise. Whereas last summer, I probably ate 1700 cal/day of American food, but swam, hiked and stayed active each day of my vacation.
I just read a post from another bandster who got an entire unfill and gained back 48 pounds in 8 months. This scenario is very scary to me, and I am very mindful to eat as if I still have good restriction. It won't be easy, but it will be possible to maintain my weight loss if I stay at or under 1500 cal/day, front-loading my Protein and never touching any bread, Pasta, rice or other white carbs. (They spark up my appetite.)
The most striking difference right now is how my mind has reverted back to my pre-band diet mentality. It's really amazing, and so wonderful, how a well-adjusted lapband changes both my mental and physical approach to foods. Since the day of my surgery, my brain just flipped a switch and I was never starving hungry, never feeling deprived because I couldn't have this or that, and I just ate my band-size portions in a very peaceful way. I liked my food, but it wasn't a central part of my day. There was nothing I missed eating, even though there were certain foods my band could not tolerate, notably the white carbs mentioned above, and shrimp.
Now I'm back to being constantly hungry (even after I eat) and thinking about food a lot. I know exactly what is in my cupboards. I'm keeping my stomach full with lots of Water, Hot drinks and diet juices (I can't have carbonation)...and I'm counting the hours until I can eat again.
This was exactly how I used to live when I would go on Weight Watchers, and the release from this dieter's mindset was, to me, the greatest benefit to having WLS, aside from the weight loss which just happened so naturally and calmly.
The three months until I can get back to my optimal fill level are not going to be a cakewalk for me (OMG I SAID CAKE) but I'm focusing on how I can use this time to remember a couple of things: 1)Never take my lapband for granted as it, and only it, allows me to eat like a naturally-thin person. 2) Thank myself for being courageous and going through with the surgery, because this unbanded period truly shows me that without that tool, there is no way I would have ever been successful with losing weight, and keeping it off, had I tried traditional dieting "just one more time."
