I had the lap band surgery in June 2010. I lost 50 pounds in the first year. Well the last 6 months I have gained 15 and have been like a runaway train. I have learned to eat around the band. I really dont even know when or how this happened. I guess I just slowly picked up the bad habits again and the emotional eating seems to have taken over. I have been eating like crazy and selecting the foods I know will slde thru. I feel like such a failure. Everyone went from commenting me on weight lose to avoiding the whole subject. I am trying to figure out what my next move is. I didnt have this done not to succeed. Any advice will be taken.

I was banded in September 2009 and was doing great until I got sick and had to have my band completely unfilled. I had 2 fills and was back on track then it seems like the last few months I have been gaining. I will admit that this Christmas I ate more crap than normal as we were vacationing at Disney. I too was ashamed to go back to the doctor after having gained 20 pounds in the last 5 months. I saw the number going up on the scale but my clothes never got tighter or too small. I went to the doctor last week and was denied a fill. He said that my band was already tight. I am still trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I will admit that I am extremely tight in the morning but not tight at all in the afternoon. Last Monday I started with the protein shakes again and eating high protein low carb foods. I'm gonna get this extra weight off no matter what it takes. I go back in 3 weeks and I'm gonna try my best to lose at least 5 pounds before I go back.(I'm not gonna get on the scale but once every two weeks) I will tell you however I am going to make an afternoon appointment when I am no where as tight as I am in the mornings.

Here's mine: I got the band in May of 2008. I did extremely well, losing about 35lbs in the first month alone. Then in 2009I relocated and lost my insurance, and didn't see the doctor again until 3 months ago. I got a fill of 1cc and an immediate unfill if 1/2cc that puts me at 7.5ccs in a 10cc band. I still get really hungry and can still eat around my band. My lowest weight was 213, and i have gained back 30lbs. Yes, I'm ashamed that I gained back that amount of weight and just can't find the motivation to get back on the band wagon. I realize that I am the one who controlls the outcome of this journey and need to kick myself in the butt to get going again.

I think this weekend I will try to get back on track by doing the 5 day pouch test. My family will be going away and I will have no one to "take care of" until Sunday night. This could my chance to make this right again...cross your fingers for me, I will be crossing them for myself.

The other thing is that this site is wonderful. When you put things out here like this it makes you accountable for your actions. It could be easy for some people to lie about their accomplishments, but I find that the amount of testimonies here lead me to believe that most people are being honest about their ups and downs...thanks all for your stories; they are motivational in and of themselves!

I'm so looking forward to my band taking my appetite away. My biggest problem is that I'm always starving. I eat high Protein foods and I eat 6 times a day, but I still get hungry between meals. It also makes it difficult to eat slow and chew because by the time I can eat, I'm so starved, I want to shovel it in and then I get stuck. I have had 3 fills and the only thing I notice is that food gets stuck if I eat too fast or don't chew. It has no affect on my hunger pains and how long I can go between meals. Here is a sample of my diet:

Bfast: Atkins Protein Shake (15g)

Mid morning snack: Cottage cheese (14g)

Lunch: Campbells chunky chicken Soup (16g)

Afternoon snack: Atkins Protein Bar (19g)

Dinner: Chicken, brocolli, Beans (30g)

Evening snack: Atkins protein bar (10g)

That's 104g of protein a day, low calorie, low fat diet, but in between those meals, my stomach is making such loud rumbling noises, I swear other people can hear it.

When I get to my sweet spot, will this hunger stop. That is the hardest part for me right now.

That's 104g of Protein a day, low calorie, low fat diet, but in between those meals, my stomach is making such loud rumbling noises, I swear other people can hear it.

When I get to my sweet spot, will this hunger stop. That is the hardest part for me right now.

The band definitely helps me with hunger. I hope that it will do the same for you. Part of that was figuring out what was real hunger and what wasn't. For example, my stomach is sometimes VERY noisy to the point other people can hear it (and have joked about it), but the sounds are digestion sounds, not hunger-- and with all of that protein, I bet your stomach is noisy!

But yes, to me, part of the job of the band is to reduce hunger and promote feelings of satiation after smaller quantities of food.

I'm trying to take this journey one day at a time. I was banded on 12/30 and I've lost 17 lbs, but I just started on (kind of) solid food and I'm starving! I overate last night and I knew at the time what I was doing, but I was just so hungry (better low-fat cottage cheese, though, than ice cream!). So today was a new day: in AA they preach that yesterday is gone and tomorrow isn't here yet, so you have to concentrate on today. Don't feel guilty (guilt is a wasted emotion - it doesn't make anyone feel bad but you), just do the things you know you need to do to get back on track

1. Start measuring your food and keep track of what you're eating. 2. Call you dr for a fill appointment. 3. Take a walk - plug in your earphones and just go (if the weather is too bad where you live, walk at the mall). You can do this! You didn't go through the surgery and everything that went with it to give up now!

And if you need support, just holler. There are lots of people here rooting for you!