Hi all:scared2:

It has been a while since I posted or came on this forum. I had many changes in my life since I the last time I was here. I got re-married, both my parents past away months of each other; I have had lots of stress. On March 3 2009 I had a fill and un-fill within 2 days leaving 8.5cc in my 10cc. Band.

For the past 5 months I‘ve been plague with very bad acid reflux (throwing-up in my sleep even 3 to 4 hours after eating) and no restriction. As a result my diet consists of soup, and any mushy food. Today I went for a fill, instead I had barium and esophagus x-ray to find out I am to restricted which cause the acid reflux, and the diet of mushy food caused the weight gain (21lbs) and I had to have my band un-fill. They took out 5cc leaving only 3cc. I feel horrible, like I have to start all over. How will I prevent myself from gaining more weight? 3cc. Is nothing! Help me please, I need help:scared2::biggrin:

Thank you

Marie,

First, congratulations on your marriage. I'm sorry about the stress you've been going through and the problems with your band.

I have been living without my band for 1.5 years now and I know how hard it is, but it is possible to at least maintain your weight without gaining more and I would probably start there. Some of the changes I have made living without my band is to substitute one food for a lower calorie option.

Check out the book, " Eat this, Not that" for ideas.

I substitute lower calorie Cereal and look for ones that have the most Fiber. Use non fat milk ( which I measure) and I always measure out the serving of cereal.

Lunch: Cafe Steamers by Healthy Choice followed by a piece of fruit. or Tuna (packed in Water, not oil, but drained) and always use Whole Wheat bread or whole wheat pita pockets. I use a limited amount of mayo as I prefer my tuna on the dry side anyway.

Snacks are often low calorie rice cakes with sugar free jelly and in the winter have the snack with a cup of hot coffee or tea which helps fill me up. I also have canned peaches or pears ( the lite sugar type) on hand for a snack.

Anything that is a "trigger" food must be kept out of the house completely.

Cravings: Get the donut, but share it with someone or get two munchkins. Always buy the smallest size of any "bad" food you eat. Example: at the movies, I like Twizzlers but the package is too big at the movies, so I buy the small pack at the drug store and bring it in my purse. If I want popcorn, I pop a 100 calorie snack bag and carry a bigger purse!

I no longer keep bags of pretzels or boxes of crackers etc in the house but always have apples, pears or oranges available.

Steam a few small (like fingerling size or the small red ones) potatoes with dinner instead of having a whole potato. Make only what you need to eat at that meal, avoid having leftovers b/c you will go back for seconds. Always have one or two vegetables with dinner prepared in a healthy way.

My last piece of advice is to walk, if you can or whenever you can. Park farther away at the mall or work. TAke the stairs when you can or invest in a pedometer ( they are not expensive) to keep track of how many steps you take in one day. Make it a game to walk more steps each day until you get as close to 10,000 steps a day as you can.

I would concentrate on maintaining first b/c trying to lose is hard and will add more stress and that can add to weight gain which will only stress you even more!

I make plenty of mistakes and eat things I shouldn't but I try really hard to get right back on track and not let that day turn into a week.

I wish you well and I hope some of my suggestions work for you. Perhaps they will help you until you can get more fill back in your band.

hi, I was just wondering why you had your band removed?

the Dr. said it eroded. I say HE screwed up. I never had restriction and the band was filled a lot. He never did an x-ray or flouroscopy until I had issues.

Doesn;t matter. I read my answer to the original poster and since my response in Feb. I realize I am still eating the way I advised her to and still maintaining my weight.

Actually, I think i eat more now than ever. At least I don;t feel deprived very often. I walk as often as the weather allows.

With or without your band, you'lll do much better overall if you start doing something for exercise. For me that is walking. I like it ( most times) and even when I don;t want to go, I know I feel better after I do.

Good luck with your journey on losing weight.