foxychick04

Hiya, please don't be discouraged. Everyone's experience with the band is different some people lose everything they want in months. I've lost 75lbs in nearly 3 years and that is really slow loss compared to people on here but for my own personal view I feel great! Since having the band I've, on the whole, lost weight. I've stayed the same a long time but not put on more than 2-3 lbs max and that is for the first time in my life that I can remember. I used to sniff food and put on weight lol. I didn't exercise for a long time because I wasn't ready but now I go regularly and enjoy it. Don't put yourself under any pressure, it is a hard adjustment for you mentally and physically. Give yourself a chance - reading on this site can help too. Think of it as a long term investment and just focus on small goals at first. You've lost 16lb since May - in your pre-band life how long would it take you to lose that? I know for me it would take ages and then 3 months later I would have put 8lbs back on. You're doing fine. Good luck!

Hi Roxy, I'm exactly the same - each fill is different but it takes weeks, sometime a couple of months to settle. At the moment it's changed again since I've come back from holiday so I'm having to learn all over again what the band is happy with. I do think some of it is in my head because I now never have problems when I go out with friends - I can eat most things although a bit slow. However when I'm at home, I can PB on Water sometimes!

Hi smilin, Your story is so similar to mine with regards to throwing up and eating late in the day. I've been throwing up way too much ever since my last fill but if I'm really honest with myself the problem is I choose the wrong foods. When 'real life' gets in the way then I just want to eat and not think about what I should be eating (emotional eating) which is why I'm throwing up so much. I was relying on my band to do all the work for me thinking I didn't have to make any choices because I would just throw up if I ate too much (I know but I'm trying to be honest). I've learnt that I needed to listen to myself more and now I'm making more of an effort to listen to my body because I know when I am too tight and it's not because I'm overfilled but my emotional status and also when I'm in certain weeks of my monthly cycle. So my advice to you is - think about the fact that you will be on ship with no expert help available if you get really stuck will you be able to cope? If not, get an unfill - you will not enjoy your holiday if you spend days unable to eat because of one bad episode. I'm not suggesting you unfill and binge but you should have peace off mind on your holiday. Be honest with yourself. Have a good time :thumbup:

Just wanted to say thanks guys - the Papaya pills worked for me. I still learning how to eat with the band (yes even after 1 1/2 years!) and often get stuck because I've eaten when I'm starving and I'm ignorning the 'I'm full' or 'slow down' signals, these tablets made it feel less painful but still full. I'm writing from the UK - you can get these tablets in Holland and Barrett for the UK Bandsters.

Wow - my port is so noticable! I feel it all the time! If I hold my stomach in you can see it but only if you know what you're looking for.

Hi - I haven't read all the replies so I apologise if I'm repeating what has already been said. Am I happier? Yes but not just because of the band. I had to deal with other things in my life that was making me miserable as well. I was banded in OCT 07 and for the 1st 10 months I lost about 14 pounds which I was disappointed in but during that time I had to adjust to the band - it's not as simple as eating less and it took me a while to adjust to that concept. Every fill I have feels like I'm back to the beginning again but I haven't given up on it although sometimes I do have breaks (eat chocolate, ice cream and mash potatoes!) Try not to put too much pressure on yourself, it is great to read other stories but everyone has to build their own story and what works for one may not work for another, its your journey. It's very important to be honest with yourself and really look at why you are not losing weight. The truth is if you put in less food you will lose weight eventually so there must be something that is not working for you. For me I realised that when I found it hard to eat I would switch to the slimey (high caloried) foods which although I didn't put weight on with because I had some restriction, it took me ages to lose weight. I realised I had to embrace chewing slowly, small portions and listening to my body and not my head. Like I said I still struggle but now I've lost a total of 43 pounds and I'm very happy about it - I look in the mirror a lot more now! The answer is there you've just got to find it.

It depends how restricted you are. After fills it takes me a while to readjust my eating habits and figure out what I can eat and what is going to get stuck. I told everyone that I had changed my habits and if I'm out I will either drink (alcohol) or eat, not both and that way I get away with just having a few fries. Also I try and eat before I go out there is nothing worse than being in a toilet trying to bring back the item that is stuck. All my friends are always on a diet so they don't think twice and my weight loss is so slow that they don't think 'ooh she's had weight loss surgery'. Also the major factor is I live on my own so it's easier....

Me too!! It comes and goes I'm sure it's tied in with my emotions but now I'm at the point when I know before I eat if I'm going to struggle or be able to eat a buffalo as someone said before LOL! Sometimes I can't eat until the evening sometimes the restriction is in the evening. My band has PMS LOL!!

Don't give up!! I felt the same, I was banded 1 year ago and for the 1st 6 months not a lot happened (about 10 pounds) but I have to admit I wasn't trying very hard. I then got a fill and for the 1st time I felt restriction and while the restriction lasted I started to lose weight. I took me the 6 months to acknowledge that this is really a life change not just a 'get to goal' thing. Every time I get a fill I have to spend weeks re - adjusting to my new eating habits and it is hard everytime. Some days I'm not hungry so I can eat sensibly but other days I'm starving (mostly head hunger) and I might eat chocolate, ice cream and all other easy to go down foods just because I want to feel like I'm actually eating food. The foods I should be eating can take too long and is sometimes frustrating! However you have to work out what foods work for you and what don't. I think people fail to realise that it is still really easy to cheat on this and for me if I'm emotionally upset then I still want the comfort foods. Give youself time to accept this and then take it one day at a time. What keeps me going is no matter how slow the weight is coming off I have not put on weight since I've had the op. I remember standing in front of the mirror at my heaviest saying to myself 'If I could just lose weight no matter how slow I would be happy'. Good luck.

I went to Belguim and I live in London. I went on my own and had no problems - you just have to plan well. I took the Eurostar, stayed 3 nights (1 night before the op,, 1 night in hospital and 1 night after at the hotel) because I wasn't sure how I would feel - at a push I could have gone straight from the hospital back home. The hospital and hotel staff were amazing and I didn't feel alone because there were other people going for the op too. Here is the company I used Cost Of The Procedure - Surgical Obesity Solutions You just have to do your research. Also not having christmas dinner is a pretty hard thing to do are you sure you don't want to wait until after? Good luck.

hello - I'm a slow loser too. Although I don't feel like one - as far as I'm concerned a year ago I weighed a whole lot more so it's all good!!! Keep up the good work fellow bansters!!

Hello! You are not alone. I had exactly the same problem. I ended up banning the foods that were causing me problems from my house in the end - I was just too weak and I couldn't resist it if it was in my cupboards, also the main reason I ate these food is because it went down easily. You have to find a balance - I now make sure I have foods that take me forever to eat because they require proper chewing - these foods fill me up and when I think of the effort of eating it helps to stop me from over eating. I do allow myself some foods like cheese and ice cream but only when I'm really craving it. Also in my case I was taking the contraceptive pill and I found that I would turn me into a nut case over food so I've now stopped taking it and I feel like I have better control. It's taken me about 6 months to adjust to this new way of life so don't beat yourself up! I still find myself throwing away perfectly good food because I've had a moment of weakness and filled my fridge with the wrong food. It all takes time. Since I had the op nearly a year ago I've managed to keep the scales going downwards (sometimes very slowly but still down) so I'm happy.