Crispaholic

You will gain for a week or two.....but give it a month before you start weighing....plus muscle weights heavier than fat....so watch what exercises you are doing... a marathon runner is so thin but a sprinter is huge and full of muscle....swimming is great for losing weight without bulking up.....

Well 8 lbs down in 10 days since I cleared the house of junk and started tracking again.....definitely tracking .....makes you realize what you are eating....and more importantly forgetting to eat at regular intervals.....by tracking I know to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and light snacks....I have not felt hungry....Thank God back on track

I had that problem....what I did was suck on an flavoured ice cube.....you are to drink 15 minutes prior to eating so you feel fuller when you eat and drink 45 minutes after eating....I forget sometimes and drink and then vomit....so sucking a flavoured ice cube

Well I confessed I am a food addict....but food is not going to win...like you I had surgery...2 years on the 1st of July....God I forgot my anniversary .....just realised it now.....and lost slowly...regained and losing again....I did what Elcee on here told me to remove all the temptation out of my house...if I want some thing sweet now I have to actually go and buy it....its a life struggle ....so I have gone back to the weight watchers tracking and smaller portion sizes....I cannot do the small plate eating...it just does not look right so I fill the other side of my plate with iceberg lettuce so I trick myself to thinking I am eating loads....crazy as it sounds but it works....also drink lots of water prior....I have also started to eat raw carrots ....for me its just a case of having something in my hand to eat not actually what I eat....as the song goes...One day at a time

Getting stuck for me ....is eating and all of a sudden feeling a tight feeling in the centre of my chest between the breast bone....bread for me is one of those foods that gets 'stuck' for me....the bread goes down fast then I get a tight feeling in my chest....pain....if I don't vomit....the pain stays ...then you feel the bread move down slowly and the pain goes......I can physically feel the bread move

Thanks LBT Addict.....I have gotten my planner and have 21 days marked in it....I am going to measure down to that date which is my cousin's wedding...I am approx 185lbs which I am sure most people would love to be ...was approx 214lbs when I had the surgery 2 years ago.....I am really getting motivated again....as I have always put off being truly happy....saying I will do this when I get to this weight.....etc......I have 2 lovely dogs who I walk every day.....and I joined the gym again.....did not like how I looked in my swim suit but when Your words of encouragement have really helped

Thank you all....its tough....in Ireland therapy is not so common.....I did go to a psycho therapist here for 2 years....and basically I was told you are the master of your destiny.....so don't eat the bad things......I was never allowed sweets or crisps as a child...we did not have fast food or Drive Thru's ....so when my mother got sick in my teens we had to eat fast food as my father did not cook.....definitely crave carbs having PCOS.....love anything Italian.....don't eat meat as a vegetarian....missing bread.....pasta.....and pizza...would have eaten lots...I am a size 12 which is good....I think I have to have the will power now....and get back on track....thankfully I have this site as support

I am a Food addict......I am ashamed to admit it that I put myself through an operation to lose weight....and after 2 years has gone up and down and back up.....its all my fault....when I got over restricted I turned to high calorie slider foods..living on chocolate because of the fear of vomiting in public.....I was always a bulk emotional binge eater prior to surgery..would eat normally and then when I felt down...depressed....or just not in control of things I ate and ate....which only brought me back to square one to the sadness and beating yourself up because you did not have the figure of a supermodel....I was not big but always over weight from my teens......now I have battled the band and cheated myself by developing a mad sweet tooth......eating chocolate as the band caused me not to be able to eat bread, salad etc...... I have decided to bin all my slider foods and try tolerate the good foods....I have also decided the things I learnt in weight watchers of tracking still need to be adhered to and followed on a daily basis.....I think in my head I thought the band would be the 'Miracle Cure' to my emotional food addiction.....it is not......it can be bad if not managed properly......Day 2 of my new start......

A lot of people will react that way.....but its those closest to you that can be the most hurtful....it is your journey and not his so people can become a bit tired of it all being about you.....I like Eleanor Roosevelt's quote.....no one can make you feel inferior without your permission......you don't need reassurance you have done the right thing....just self belief.....that's all that matters....otherwise you could become 'put down' by other people's negative thoughts....which do impact on your self esteem....chin up!!!!

Thank you Jean for such article.....I have been getting down with not losing weight.....as I read your article....the light bulb went off above my head....everything you wrote about applied to me....feeling much happier now after reading your article....and will get back on the wagon

I definitely have anxiety eating out now....I think its the fear of the uncontrolled vomiting if I eat something harsh....plus I panic when food sticks....I am trying to eat out rather than avoid it....luckily my sister comes with me....she had by pass surgery so she can empathize and reassure me.....I have realized I still need to watch what I eat ....luckily I have not put on weight in 2 years....and I am not big like my mother and her 5 sisters....so the band is keeping me from getting big like them.....I just need to work with it now and stop fighting it....I am now 189lbs so I am looking good....more positive thinking....thank you so much for your advice....it really helps me

Thanks Geology rocks.....but I actually got .5ml put in yesterday as I could eat loads.....I know I have been trying to eat the same amount of food I had prior to the operation....just over a longer period of time....I just get stressed eating in public....I just feel more comfortable at home....so I just have developed an irrational fear of eating in public.....I think I went from being a savour comfort eater prior to the operation to a sweet tooth eater after the operation....trying to get back on the programme again...thanks for the advice

I have hit a brick wall...after nearly 2 years since my operation....I have changed all my eating habits...but I have started eating all the easy high calorie foods....I started getting anxiety when out...as I kept getting anxious when food would not go down and waitresses would keep asking if everything was okay..I also needed to know where the bathroom was in case I wanted to throw up...I just feel annoyed with myself ..can anyone help with some tips on what foods will make you feel satisfied without making you feed like you have the massive pain in your chest....I have put on 16lbs as I avoided the harsh foods.....I have started all over again as I am not happy with this blimp.....Tough times don't last but tough people do

Was just talking to my sister she had gastric by pass surgery and after that they found out she has an under active thyroid....she has to take medication....however the doctor did say it is much harder to lose weight.....so the medication should help.....my one was fine got bloods done and it was under active....they put me on medication and it set my heart racing...took me off the medication, repeated the bloods and then it was fine.... My mother, sister and four of my aunts have thyroid problems....seems to be genetic.....saying that all of them are over weight ( except my sister due to her by pass) ....plus all of them and myself and my grandmothers all had their gall bladder out which can be genetic....seems we need to eat little and often......prior to the band I was eating a lot....but now try to stick to slow releasing foods' low GI foods which seem to work

That is excellent news....you must be feeling delighted with yourself.....I have lost 3lbs in a week after not losing anything through to over restriction....so I know how happy you must be feeling

I have heard nothing but thyroid whether under active or over active has a lot of impact on weight....and also your energy levels.....hope all goes well for you

I did not have a pre op diet either.....some surgeons ask you to do one so you lose weight around your liver.....they just want to ensure there is no damage caused to the liver when they are going in to fit the bad...that's what my doctor told me....so they ask some people to go on a diet ......I had my last super too....crisps...pizza and chocolate...the funny think is we think prior to the band we will never be able to eat these foods again....but we can....just not in the larger portion sizes we once ate them

Merle.....do not give up...Elcee gave me some good advice regarding slider foods....I think you did not get the correct fill....your story sounds like mine....I would get a fill and could not keep anything down...get a defil and then be able to eat anything....I am in the process of finding the sweet spot....my clinic were not happy about the vomiting as you can cause your band to slip and other damage to your throat....you need to clear your house of the slider foods....the chocolate...ice cream and start eating foods with a crunchy texture....if you eat salad before a burger it stops you from being able to eat all the high calorie food as the cruchy stuff is harder for the band and hence you feel full.....thirst can also be confused with hunger so drink a glass of juice before you eat.....I am an emotional eater and I eat when it is my time of the month....I also have PCOS so I crave carbs.....I have given up chocolate in the past week and I have lost 3lbs and feeling a lot better already.....I have gone to therapy to understand the issues around weight....mine I have traced back to my childhood when my mother had a drunk driver crash into her and she was two years in hospital...my dad could not cook so hence my unhealthy eating habit began....no longer was my mother cooking but we ate junk .....when things are bad I turn to junk....but it is a short lived pleasure....long term it only makes you miserable...and makes you feel a failure....stop sabotaging yourself and get therapy....it is really helping me get back on the band wagon as MCCLB has said a few of us have fallen off...Listen to Elcee she has many words of wisdom and her weight loss is proof it can work!

I got my band done through The Hospital Group in Bromsgrove just outside of Birmingham in July 2010. I did have problems with certain foods....still cannot eat bread and crackers because they are dry get stuck....vegetable and certain hard fruits were hard to tolerate....I have not heard of a sting sensation but the getting stuck feeling or foods not going down easily is a sensation that is common....best of luck

RNmomtothree glad to hear you went to the doctor and got yourself sorted....take it easy now and give yourself a few days to adjust before eating harder foods.....the relief you feel is fantastic....I have also gone back on the advice of my nurse of tracking what I eat and drink...the band is a tool but not the complete solution so you need to ensure you are not asking it to do all the work for you

Thank you so much for taking time to respond....I think I was expecting to be like my sister who got by pass surgery...she lost 7st in a year and is now very petite....she threw up or 'dumped' when she over did it on sugar etc....I on the otherhand was about 5st overweight I am down 2st 7lbs since July 2010 however I was hoping to be more....as a comfort eater I tend to eat when I am busy at work or at certain times of the month....I think I have confused the band and what it is support to do....I equate pain / tightenness with the band working instead of seeing it as a tool....to aid me in making the right food choices....thank you

MCCLB so glad that you see you are not the only one out there If it was not for this site I would be lost....the people on this are very kind....we are not in the minority....when I tell people I got banded they are why did you do that? You were not big....okay I was not too big....but I was always 3 to 5 stone heavier ....and knew I could not do a life time of diets....and punishment....I was most miserable at my lightest at 140lbs as I was starving myself...therapy has really helped me....I take one day at a time....do not beat yourself up...you are a good human being....I watched the biggest loser USA on tv the other day and saw this guy called Corey nearly give himself a heart attack try and run....he hit the ground....and I wanted to do was scream at the tv get the band....yes exercise but do not kill yourself in the process....as Mohammed Ali said to a reporter when he was knocked out by Henry Cooper....' the floor is no place for a champion ' ....pick yourself up and keep the fighting spirit

You need to get an aspiration ( de fill ) even if just a little....I got one the other day as I got too much fill....like you it just sat there....I was throwing up all the time....my clinic were not happy as your band can slip or you can damage your throat from throwing up withe the acid....plus you will put on weight as only the slider foods (elcee another member told me this ) will go down easily.....which are high calories.....you need to go back sooner rather than later you do not want to do damage to your band

Well I got 1 ml taken out as I was told I was severely restricted having 7ml in a 10ml band.....I have gone from throwing up and taking 2 hours to eat my dinner....to being able to clear my plate within 10 minutes ....I do not feel sick or full but just content and happy I can eat....is this the way I should feel ....or should I feel a little restriction and tightness in my chest to signal stop eating....little confused as now I feel like I have no band fitted.....oh will I ever get it right with this band!!!!

Well I drove all the way from Dublin to Belfast....as there were no appointments for the next three weeks to get an aspiration....so I met the lovely nurse there and she took out a mil as she said I was way too over restricted and she was concerned the vomiting was damaging my band....hopefully I have not damaged my band.....my lovely sister drove up with me....and told the nurse all the issues I was having and she agreed that I would be eating high calorie foods as a result of the over restriction.....I had put on 2 kgs.....from having my fill too tight......so lesson learnt....I went and had a child portion of spaghetti bolognase and it was the nicest dinner I have had oh I felt so good being able to eat a normal dinner in public and not throw up