I am a Food addict......I am ashamed to admit it that I put myself through an operation to lose weight....and after 2 years has gone up and down and back up.....its all my fault....when I got over restricted I turned to high calorie slider foods..living on chocolate because of the fear of vomiting in public.....I was always a bulk emotional binge eater prior to surgery..would eat normally and then when I felt down...depressed....or just not in control of things I ate and ate....which only brought me back to square one to the sadness and beating yourself up because you did not have the figure of a supermodel....I was not big but always over weight from my teens......now I have battled the band and cheated myself by developing a mad sweet tooth......eating chocolate as the band caused me not to be able to eat bread, salad etc......

I have decided to bin all my slider foods and try tolerate the good foods....I have also decided the things I learnt in weight watchers of tracking still need to be adhered to and followed on a daily basis.....I think in my head I thought the band would be the 'Miracle Cure' to my emotional food addiction.....it is not......it can be bad if not managed properly......Day 2 of my new start......

That's one thing I love about the band, you can ditch your bad habits and start over. Try a really low carb diet to cut the sweet tooth. I'm not a fan of low carb, but when I was doing Atkins it was the only time in my life I really didn't crave sweets at all!!

And MyFitnessPal has a great tracker!!

Find you a good therapist who can help you. You do not have to suffer. If you had a drug or drinking problem you would get help. This is no different! Good lucK starting over. Talking it out is great, you should try it!!

Cheri

I agree with both of the above. First...i would definitly talk to someone about this. It's alot harder going it alone. I have cut out carbs, cold turkey! It was the only way I could break my habit. It has worked amazingly well. Now, one day a week I allow them, since my cravings are gone. I have noticed 6 days a week I am not hardly hungry anymore but, the 1 day I wake up eating carbs in the morning I end up hungry all day. Cut the carbs but don't deprive yourself, there are plenty of delicious foods & drinks out there. Flavored waters are sweet and best of all guilt-free.

Thank you all....its tough....in Ireland therapy is not so common.....I did go to a psycho therapist here for 2 years....and basically I was told you are the master of your destiny.....so don't eat the bad things......I was never allowed sweets or crisps as a child...we did not have fast food or Drive Thru's ....so when my mother got sick in my teens we had to eat fast food as my father did not cook.....definitely crave carbs having PCOS.....love anything Italian.....don't eat meat as a vegetarian....missing bread.....pasta.....and pizza...would have eaten lots...I am a size 12 which is good....I think I have to have the will power now....and get back on track....thankfully I have this site as support

Getting your brain wrapped around the band is harder, in my opinion, than the band itself. None of us are perfect. Its not easy. But, it is definitely do-able. You CAN do this. One thing I do is stick to the basics. Start your day with Protein. There are many great Protein drinks. Make exercise a regular part of your life. You don't have to do an extreme workout, try 30 minutes a day. (10 min. cardio/ 10 min weights/ 10 minutes stretching....very do-able. Focus on what you do need to eat. Remember to eat slowly and chew, chew, chew. That way you will rarely get stuck or throw up. Water...drink a lot of it, at least two liters a day. The flavored waters are great, just read the label and pick one with little or no sugar.

It takes about three weeks to develop a good habit. The longer you practice the good habits, the more likely you are to stick with it. Weigh yourself at least once a week. At first you may hate it. But, when the scale begins to go down, and it WILL, you will get the momentum to continue. I'm sure it was a big decision to have lap band. You deserve to be happy. Don't beat yourself up, it makes things worse. Remember, its not how you fall down, but how you get up.

Good Luck!

Thanks LBT Addict.....I have gotten my planner and have 21 days marked in it....I am going to measure down to that date which is my cousin's wedding...I am approx 185lbs which I am sure most people would love to be ...was approx 214lbs when I had the surgery 2 years ago.....I am really getting motivated again....as I have always put off being truly happy....saying I will do this when I get to this weight.....etc......I have 2 lovely dogs who I walk every day.....and I joined the gym again.....did not like how I looked in my swim suit but when

Your words of encouragement have really helped