Hello all;

It's been a long time since I have posted here. I got a band three years ago and had a lot of restriction. However, I had most of the fill removed early this year so I could eat almost normally again. Still can't eat too much bread. I can eat a full meal now however.

Why? you might ask. I realized that I was still addicted to food. I was eating the wrong foods- sliders- and my diet was worse than it has ever been. Eating good food was very difficult for me. I realized what a severe problem I had with addiction and the band could not help me there.

I still was using food for comfort- I still had constant cravings and I still was constantly thinking about what i was going to eat, when I was going to eat, why was I eating so badly.... etc.

So I had 80% of my fill taken out to see how I would do with eating after 3 years of being restricted. And actually I did pretty well- I think the band made me realize how disordered my eating was and made me face some hard truths about myself.

Also fortunately I read "Eating Less" by Gillian Riley (on Amazon) and it all hit home for me. I have been practicing her techniques and I am much better. I am on a regular diet now and losing weight slowly but still losing- I have 40- 50 pounds to go.

I am writing this in case anyone else needs to hear about my journey.

I sincerely believe that I would not have come to this place without having had the band surgery- it was necessary for me to face myself. a bit extreme but it worked.

I feel comfortable with food for the first time in my life and have lost 95% of the anxiety I had about it. I do not have cravings (yet anyway!) and eat like a regular person. I am still in shock about it but happy.

My point is that you can get to a comfortable place many ways and if you are struggling with the band like I was maybe it will be just a step in the journey. it's been 5 months and I am feeling more confident that this change is permanent.

"Eating Less" is all about changing your brain and it's automatic reaction to food stimuli. It may help some of you. I think it has been revoluntionary for me.

Best of luck to all of you- I know how hard it is....

Sadie

This is just what I needed to read today. While I'm not ready to remove the Fluid from my band, you have given me a fresh idea and a new perspective.

I needed this. Right here. Right now. Today.

Thank you.

Oops- it was 2 years ago - I guess it felt like 3! lol

People are reading this post but not commenting-- hmmm interesting

good luck to all!

Sadie

This is just what I needed to read today. While I'm not ready to remove the Fluid from my band, you have given me a fresh idea and a new perspective.

I needed this. Right here. Right now. Today.

Thank you.

Yay! :thumbup:Glad I helped you- the band will help you but some of us need to get to the basic issue too. I belisve my basic issue is food addiction- not just too large portions or eating too frequently-- real addiction.

Riley's book gives you easy strategies to change your brain's response to food. She is better than Geneen Roth's strategy- Oprah should read this book.

It has worked like a charm for me and my partner (also banded at the same time as me) - we are both much better with food and can use the band more effectively now. And I have been dieting for 50 years!! First time that I am comfortable with food and eating- a miracle!

Good luck- let me know how it goes.

Sadie

I'm glad you posted this. I am a firm believer that each of us has our own journey and what is right for one may not be right for another. Plus what is right for you this year may not be what is right for you in years to come. Congratulations on finding something that works for you. And for those who are still searching...keep looking your answer is out there.

Sadie, Thanks for posting this. I've read all of Geneen Roth's books (except her new one) and would have to say that she was instrumental in helping me realize the twisted role food has had in my life. I'm so thankful she shared her story with the world, but I never could get her strategy to work for me (the food savoring and the "permission" to eat as much of a "forbidden" food as your body/psyche wanted until you were full all sounded wonderful, but while I grew away from being a "good/bad" person based on what I ate, I was also growing in size!). I tried another author's approach called Intuitive Eating. Same thing. I think I made some sort of peace with food and really got in touch with my body's physical response to hunger and satiety, but I just kept gaining weight. I'm very interested in reading Eating Less. I've also been considering getting a bit of an unfill. I've been having problems eating healthy foods--blueberries, nectarines, tuna, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, etc!--and can't believe that having the band means I have to be limited to a small collection of foods that don't cause me to pb. Thanks again for posting. Looking forward to new insight and strategies! :frown:

Sadie, Thanks for posting this. I've read all of Geneen Roth's books (except her new one) and would have to say that she was instrumental in helping me realize the twisted role food has had in my life. I'm so thankful she shared her story with the world, but I never could get her strategy to work for me (the food savoring and the "permission" to eat as much of a "forbidden" food as your body/psyche wanted until you were full all sounded wonderful, but while I grew away from being a "good/bad" person based on what I ate, I was also growing in size!). I tried another author's approach called Intuitive Eating. Same thing. I think I made some sort of peace with food and really got in touch with my body's physical response to hunger and satiety, but I just kept gaining weight. I'm very interested in reading Eating Less. I've also been considering getting a bit of an unfill. I've been having problems eating healthy foods--blueberries, nectarines, tuna, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, etc!--and can't believe that having the band means I have to be limited to a small collection of foods that don't cause me to pb. Thanks again for posting. Looking forward to new insight and strategies! :frown:

Geenen Roth never worked for me either- I read her years ago and it was a radical idea back then.

Gillian Riley teachs you to re-train your brain to not automatically respond food cues. Stimulus -response to food is really strong with me and she helped me decrease that response and consider my goals first and then whether I wanted that food. Radical!

I am a retired psychologist and always thought all the diets were missing some criticall element --otherwise everyone would be successful right?

The element is re-training your brain. and it works for me.

Good luck to all- I hope this helps you a bit.

And I got tired of not being able to eat oranges and fruits too!

Sadie

Thank you!! I am getting that book. I just was banded 5/27 and I am facing my food demons

it is so mental and that is my biggest challenge. This post helped me understand I am not alone

I need a psychological shift in my feeling about food. I lived to eat now I must learn to eat to live. God bless you darlin

Thanks. I've just ordered the book from Amazon.

After my initial loss of35lbs, I have gained and lost the same 5lbs for about 6 months. I have avoided another fill because, although I can eat more than I should be able to, there are still many many occasions where my band clamps shut, making it difficult even for liquids to pass.

I have developed the habit of eating high fat/high sugar junk and it is shameful. cheese, chocolate and nuts/seeds. Ridiculous. But those things pass through - even bread is ok with me, though I slather it in butter to make it "go down easier"!!!

I am hoping that this little confession will serve as the line I draw under the past few months of nonsense. :smile:

Hi Sadie,

I have been reading these boards for several months and am partway through the pre-op process with lots of questions and trepidation. I saw your thread, ordered the book and found it really, really incredible. I have spent many (mostly good) years in Overeaters Anonymous, and was suspicious - perhaps another "eat all the foods you love just in moderation" approach that has *never* worked for me, but instead it just clicked for me and the way I see my overeating. Thank you.

I just ordered the book! Can't wait to read it! Thank you for this post!!

It's weird. The band was exactly the tool I needed to put food in its proper perspective in my life. People say, "It's surgery on your stomach, not your head," but it was as if I got a brain transplant at the same time.

I enjoy food still--but it simply is not the centerpiece of my life. Something was switched off when I was in that operating room. Maybe I wasn't as disordered as I'd been told--maybe I really was just HUNGRY, like I thought! (I have a ridiculously slow metabolism and need to eat very few calories; being satisfied doing so is MIRACULOUS to me.)

Everyone is different--I'm glad you found what clicked for you. It's always wonderful when we find our ways to success :thumbup:

Betsy I always love your posts. My question is: Did you have that hunger turn off from day one?? Or did finding the sweet spot do the trick? At two mos out I am in bandster Hell. I am not gaining but not losing and my portions are not small anymore. My first fill is later today and I hope it handles this hunger. Did this happen to you? Or were you just able to be ontrack no matter what? Thanks as always!!

I've just been banded since early April but already I can see thatthe band has helped me get a different perspective on food. Counting calories works well for me since I have control of what I eat, as opposed to a high protein or low carb, no whatever type of diet where some foods are always forbidden. But the band makes it necessary to see that I eat enough nutrients...protein first...to keep healthy and by thinking of food as actual nutrition (a revolutionary concept personally though I had no trouble with feeding kids on that basis) I find that I am seeing that extra bite of goodies as sacrificing good health. I keep some sugars in my diet but have cut down drastically...just a tsp in tea in the AM and IF I have extra calories left in the evening. No more "Eat dessert first"!

I'm really glad you posted this. It's certainly an idea to keep in mind if I can't struggle through my own food issues with a filled band.

I didn't realize that the band could cause many problems with eating the way you're supposed to. Trust me, after a half hour stuggling to get meat down, then coughing it back up, just to relieve the pain.. I have hit the ice cream in the freezer just because it goes down, doesn't hurt, and tastes good. I've lost about 70lbs thus far with the band, and I KNOW I could not have gotten this far without it. I just... need to figure out how to get the rest of the way...without a ton of pain.

I don't regret my band, but there are times, when I'm in a restaurant with friends or family, and I have to shift around, or I'm visibly uncomfortable (despite me trying to hide it) or that I have to excuse myself and run to the bathroom, where I think "I miss eating like a normal person." I actually have avoided a fill the past few months because of a small weight gain, and also, I'm still having problems getting meat down from time to time.

I'm actually in North Carolina now, visiting my boyfriend for a month. I figured I always behave on my diet here, so I'll go back once I get home... Hopefully I can lose what was gained and the doctor won't have to scold me too harshly. :thumbup:

Sadie, thank you so much for sharing this with all of us. I definitely know where you are coming from! The more you, me and everyone else who has realized this problem the more can benefit from it and get the situation handled without haste.

It's a hard lesson that a band that is too tight is just as detrimental to us as not having a band at all.

You should always be able to eat healthy well balanced meals - always! If you are finding yourself not being able to eat solid foods that are good for your body then you are too tight. I don't know how many times I've said this on this website or anywhere.

I know first hand. If you are eating all sugary soft foods to avoid eating real solid foods, do not hesitate and get yourself a small unfill right away.

The weight WILL come back faster than you think, then you will have to struggle to beat the sugar demon at the same time. It's better to get a handle on it as soon as you are aware of the situation.

Together we will see success while we hold the hands of our banded brothers and sisters. Cheers!!