As i'm sitting here reading everyone's post I can't help myself from being a little bit jealious not that I am not so very happy for every one. I was banded Sept 10 2010 and was doing amazing untill Feb 5th ish i was down to 198 but my doctor decided to completely unfill to recover from an excruciating 5 days of no water from the last fill that made me way to tight. Now 2 months later i'm 205 and have been refilled 4 times and feel absolutely no restriction at all, i honestly don't even feel like i even have the band. I feel like if i was never unfilled i would have at least been down to my mini goal of 180 and i am completely dissapointed in the fact that i can't do it on my own that i didn't have enough self control

You said it yourself... You were in excruciating pain. That could not have gone on. An unfill was necessary.

A seven pound gain is frustrating but you have been doing it without restriction for two months. If you have been eating poorly, change it right now. If you haven't been eating poorly, maybe start or bump up your exercising.

You can do this. You are still very close to your minigoal. Refresh yourself and recommit to your eating plan whether you have restriction or not. Stay strong!

Keep in mind that the whole point of most of us being banded is that we have not been able to do it by ourselves! Don't get down on yourself or than will make it even harder to get back on track. Just take this as an eye opener. It's not an over night fix and is a lengthy process. Pick yourself back up and rejoin the race. I have not been banded yet and am sure I'll go through a lot of different emotions, too. Just be thankful you have already started. You don't have to wait till surgery next week. You have been banded and it's in your hands now. So don't wait! Congrats on your loss so far! I can't wait to be there, too!!! Maybe if you take some pics this will help you stay on a better track!