Somehow i thought that i would never have to diet again after lap band surgery. I am 3 and a half weeks post op, i lost 11 pounds and gained back 3 pounds. I did not follow the mushy diet because i was so hungry at 2 weeks that i ate and tolerated a regular diet. I am a bad carb addict, and find myself regressing back to old bad habits. Today i went for my second fill, i now have 7 ccs in my lapband, and still i do not have good restriction like immediately post op. I am getting so discouraged because i am not complying to diet recommendations from my doc. Why am i self sabotaging? Especially after i paid good money for the surgery. Has anyone gone through this, and how did you overcome???? I need help!

I think you need to get additional help. A psychologist specalising in eating issues would be a good idea.

For some reason you seem to have had the mistaken impression that the band was a magic wand and that after banding the weight would just fall off. I don't know if you had this impression because of lack of research, poor info from surgeon, lack of support group or whatever.

The fact is that you have now discovered that the band is not a magical wand. It is a tool and it is a tool that you have to utilise properly to get results. It is a fantastic tool as it helps by curbing hunger so that we can follow our Dr's recommendations which are there to help us lose weight and get healthy.

But if you don't use it properly it won't work. The same as a chainsaw won't work if you don't turn the power on.

Just be very careful. It is not possible to have the band adjusted so that you cannot eat junk food. In fact no matter how tight your band is you will find that the junk will still go down. Cookies,chocolate,icecream,milkshakes all just slide right past the band. They are full of calories and don't satisfy you so you will end up in a situation where you gain weight. Being too tight causes all sorts of problems including the need for further surgery.

As I said at the start you need to see a professional.

In the meantime i would start looking at and making a list of the reasons you are self sabotaging.

Are you scared of being a normal weight? Will being a normal weight mean that you will have to address other issues in your life?

Are you hiding behind your weight - using it as some form of protection?

Maybe your issues are simpler. You may be eating because you are bored,lonely whatever. If this is the case find strategies to deal with them.

Take up a hobby. It is hard to eat if your hands are busy knitting,scrapbooking,painting etc.

Find a form of exercise that you like. You do not have to go to the gym. You could walk,cycle,dance,swim ,play tennis etc etc. There are lots of options and you should be able to find something you enjoy.

Hope some of this helps.

All the best.

Hi gloglo - I too thought that the band was an easy fix and that I would not have to diet ever again. Boy, was I wrong. When I wasn't seeing the results that I wanted right away my nurse asked if I was eating right and exercising. "Eating right and exercising?", I thought, "Isn't the band just supposed to work so that I can lose weight??". Then, my nurse explained to me that it is a tool and once it is adjusted correctly than it will alleviate my hunger. And, she was right. I am at 8.1cc (in a 10 cc band) and I am really not that hungry anymore. Plus, as I lose more weight, I am motivated to exercise. So, I don't think you need to see a phychologist. Just follow your doctor/nurse's recommendations, get your fills, and eventually the hunger will go away. I paid out of pocket for my surgery too, so I have to make sure that this works.

Somehow i thought that i would never have to diet again after LAP-BAND® surgery. I am 3 and a half weeks post op, i lost 11 pounds and gained back 3 pounds. I did not follow the mushy diet because i was so hungry at 2 weeks that i ate and tolerated a regular diet. I am a bad carb addict, and find myself regressing back to old bad habits. Today i went for my second fill, i now have 7 ccs in my LAP-BAND®, and still i do not have good restriction like immediately post op. I am getting so discouraged because i am not complying to diet recommendations from my doc. Why am i self sabotaging? Especially after i paid good money for the surgery. Has anyone gone through this, and how did you overcome???? I need help!

Be careful with your diet. After surgery your stomach should be treated like a new borns stomach. You wouldn't give them mushies right away or a regular diet would you? No of course not that means treat your stomach the same.

Just because you can eat normal food doesn't mean you should. You can cause damage to your stomach only hurting yourself meaning you could possibly lose the band if you hurt your stomach enough. It might not happen now but can happen later.

This is just as much mental work as it is as physical. Ask yourself whether your hungry because your head says so or your stomach etc.

Sometimes it takes longer for your head to click into the right mind set.

Talk to a nutriionalist etc maybe that can help.

Best of luck if you need help with recipes etc let me know. I have tons :thumbup:

I know what you mean. In July I went through a "I can eat whatever I want" phase. Ha. I only lost 4 pounds that month.

Have you heard of the Bodybugg? BODYBUGG :: THE SCIENCE BEHIND BODYBUGG

I have one, and I love it! I know it's a bit pricey, but it is worth it in the long run. It has helped me so much. I suggest you look into it. Within these past 2 weeks, I lost 7 pounds. Seriously... look into it!

I ditto the recommendation for the BodyBugg--I love mine.

That said, you really simply have to put aside the notion that the band is going to create weight loss for you.

It's a tool. When you do achieve good restriction, it will make it impossible for you to eat more than a certain amount.

It will never--NEVER!--help you make good food choices. That's all on you. If you're a carb addict, you will have to learn to modify your behavior so that it supports weight loss. Because the band? Well, it's going to let foods that sabotage loss through.

What is your doctor's recommended eating plan? Mine recommends a low-carb regimen, adding back grains and starches only after a certain percentage of excess body weight is lost. It seems very restrictive, but it works. And when stomach space is at a premium (once restriction is achieved), it helps ensure that food choices provide what the body needs---not just what the mind craves.

The thing I've found is that, when I am compliant, my desire for the carby, junky stuff vanishes. If you give your body a chance, you may find that your cravings vanish, too.

I think that therapy can be a really good way to help you get to the roots of the reliance on food.

Truly, when it gives up its grip (or, really, you give up YOUR grip on it!), it's tremendously liberating.

Thanks everyone for your help. I need to re-group and concentrate on low carb high protien diet.

The Lapband cannot be sucessful all alone. Ask any bandster you need to be fully committed and work and work and work at it some more. There is no magic cure to obesity............but the lapband can work if you just gohead and marry it...................seriously