Hi All,

I've had an account here for a while, but haven't ever really been active. I was banded in June of '08 and had a serious rollercoaster ride with my band, almost from the start. About six months after surgery, I started having problems finding the proverbial "sweet spot." I either had too little restriction and wouldn't lose weight, or I had too much, and would start upon a horrible cycle of sliming, throwing up, and eventually being so swollen that I couldn't eat or drink. I had difficulty eating meat, and most fruits and vegetables. salad was a total no-go. This was often the case even when I didn't seem to be too tight and had no problem eating other foods. I couldn't eat carrot sticks or chicken, but had no problem scarfing down ice cream or a bag of cheetos. In fact, at one point that's *all* I could get down, and I would eat them just to get SOMETHING in my system and get my blood sugar off the floor. (Oops... yeah, I'll own that I made some bad eating choices!)

I even had trouble sleeping. After three years, I'd lost almost 50 lbs, but I was so miserable that I couldn't take it anymore. My band was too tight, I had constant heartburn, and I could barely get liquids down. I didn't want to give up (especially after financing my surgery out of pocket.) but I just couldn't do it any longer. By the time I was unfilled, I couldn't get down broth, much less any of my daily medications. (Which in my case is BAD.) I had my band completely unfilled, and haven't been back to the clinic since. Every once in a while when I eat the wrong thing or eat too fast, I'll get a stab to the chest and remember that the old girl is still in there, but otherwise it's been pre-surgery eating as usual, with both good and bad choices, and everything in between.

Now, a year and a half of yo-yo-ing later, I've regained most of the weight I'd lost, and I've decided to try it again. I'm hoping for a better result, but I'm afraid I'll end up facing the same issues. I feel like I have to completely re-acquaint myself with proper band eating, and after my history I really don't know what to expect. I'm nervous and uncertain of what's ahead.

Has anybody else been in the same boat?

Hilary, make those pictures a motivation for you. I know I cringe when I see myself at my prior weight and get furious with myself for letting some of the weight creep back on.

We are getting ready to go back out for our walk today. We won't be sure if we will get a chance tomorrow as they are calling for a lot of rain here.

Went to my nephews last night and they had dinner ready for us. They had fried fish and it was really good. I didn't each to much as she has a heavy hand with the seasoned salt. But it was all good.

Now to get back on track after last night. And I was having such a good eating day and then fried food.

Last night I was laying in bed reading different post on this web page. I do a lot of reading with the hopes that I find something that will keep me motivated. I found a post that a girl had done and I didn't bookmark it. But it was to the fact that a lot of people seem to be losing their weight very fast. She was wondering what they were doing right and what she was doing wrong. Then it dawned on her that these people were listening to their bands. That maybe if she would take the effort to just listen to the band when she ate and when it told her that it had had enough food, that she would stop. What a concept, I thought to myself. Why do I push it? Do I really enjoy the uncomfortable feeling? Do I like feeling like I need to slime? Do I really enjoy all of the things my band goes through just because I wanted to get those few last bites in? What is wrong with me?

So my expirement today is to sit and listen to my band at each meal I have today and to see if I can treat it the way I'm supposed to. I need to learn to pay more attention and to quit pushing it. I bet my band just hates me for all I have put it through.

We did our walk this morning and I aske my husband if he had checked the radar before we left. They are calling for 100% chance of rain. We get 4 houses away and it poured down rain. He wanted to turn around and go home and I told him that he had dragged my ass out and that we were going to finish our route. That will teach him.

We did our walk this morning and I aske my husband if he had checked the radar before we left. They are calling for 100% chance of rain. We get 4 houses away and it poured down rain. He wanted to turn around and go home and I told him that he had dragged my ass out and that we were going to finish our route. That will teach him.

Hahaha! Bravo, Suzi!

Suzie,

Listening to my band...I'm not even sure how I feel about that. Sometimes I purposefully eat through my band because the food tastes so good. Other times I feel left out when other people get to have larger portions and I take a smaller one...makes me feel weird and like some sort of food outcast. Sometimes I even wonder if I have a band in there at all or if this is all in my head. So, so much of the band is mental/psychological. I was NOT prepared for that back in 2008 when I got the band. I think that is part of the reason I've had such difficulty over the past few years. I was not ready for the band. I didn't understand what I was up against or the changes I would have to make. I really did just think it would be magic. I guess I was not "mature" enough to deserve a band at that time. Now, almost 5 years later, I'm finally starting to get the committment involved. And I am trying to grapple with the mental games I play with myself, like head hunger, this diet or fill in the blank is going to work this time, I've made a slip on my plan so I should just give in and binge, I feel happy/sad/mad/depressed/anxious so I should eat to celebrate/calm down/feel better, etc, etc. Sadly, the band isn't magic and I still have to deal with my food issues. Last night I was reflecting that I've been on some sort of diet or other since about 1999. That is about right after I graduated high school. I've been battling my weight for my entire adult life. You'd think I'd have it figured out by now!

Your walk made me smile. Not the image of you soaking wet, but just the whole situation. :-) Too funny!

I think I've finally gotten the low-carb diet my dr wanted me on figured out. So far this month I've dropped about 7 lbs - 4 of them since Monday morning. I hope it continues to work. Part of me is afraid that saying it out loud will jinx it and it will quit working. Getting off sugar/starch was a BIG deal for me. I am such a sugar addict! Seriously, I feel like this eating plan is like sugar rehab, exactly what I need. Have you ever taken a sweet food like icecream or Cereal and poured sugar all over it? I have...a lot. That is how bad I can get.

Well, that is all for now.

Big hugs to all the ladies in this thread. Being able to come here and post and let it all hang out is so important and beneficial to me. And everyone is so supportive. I love, love, love this thread and thank you all for being here with me!

-Hilary

Hilary, I agree with you. Maybe I wasn't as ready for the band as I thought I was going to be. Even though I made some major strides in my weight loss. I honestly thought it was going to be a walk in the park. That the band did all of the work for me. But I have learned through all of it that it takes two. It takes the band to tell me that it has had enough and it takes me to make sure that I put the right foods in my mouth and follow the doctors orders of chewing right and to wait to drink.

I actually would have prefered that they had put the band around my lips.

So proud of you and your weight loss. What an uplift feeling that is. My doctor doesn't have me on any thing real specific as far as a diet. But she does not want me to eat pasta. Some of the reason for that is that pasta has a lot of water in it which makes it a slider food. Plus pasta usually has a sauce on it that is also a slider food. Other then that she didn't say anything about lowering my carbs. I do eat poatoes but I find with them is that they seem to cause a back up in my band. So I have to eat my proteins before I can do potatoes.

I got myself seriously and painfully stuck tonight, eating a few bites of something I had no business eating: a few tiny corners of pan fried tortillas that my roomies had whipped up, chilaquiles style, and left sitting out on the stove. I nibbled a little bit while I was cooking up my own dinner. I tossed the leftovers to keep myself from eating them, but the damage was already done. I was stuck really hard for a good ten minutes or more before it went down. I'm going to take it as a reminder, but man oh man, that hurt!!!

This is me... I need to start over! Such a struggle.

Ugh, starting over. It is something I do ever day. EVERY day. I need to get back to it. I have the stuff, I just need to wrap my brain around it. I find that I cook for my family, what it is that I "can't" or shouldn't have. I just wish I could get back into the mindset of it all.......I am a total emotional eater.

Susiecat,

I actually have a "hard time" with pasta. And rice, and bread...but I have 7.4 (or did) in my band. Mashed potatoes were a staple for me back in the beginning, but yes, I realized fast what sliders worked for me. I know several people who have the band and we all have accommodated our bands and learned certain ways to "eat around" it. Shameful yes.

What a great thread. I feel like I could have written your posts word for word

Hubby and I got out to do our walk today and it misted on us but no pour down rains. But we made a huge stride. We changed directions and took on a hill. I had to stop twice to get up it. But I made it. I'll keep doing that for a few more days and then I will try to go down a little on the otherside. It felt good.

Came home and made a pot of chili and then got ready to go to the dentist. It's cold here today so I thought some chili would be good. Well, we didn't get home from the dentist til almost 4pm and hubby had not eaten anything and Iall I had had was my protein shake this morning. So I heated the pot up and we ate. 1 bowl, I had 1 bowl. Awesome. I usually have several bowls and then another while I'm cleaning things up. Pretty proud of myself.

Dee, welcome and feel free to offer anything you please.

Thank you Suzie :-)

Hi ladies! I need to come more often there are many more things I SHOULD do. I started the 5day pouch test today. I am. Horrible with sticking to things.......but alas, I WILL do this. I started at 187 this morning. We shall see. My husband comes home Friday, and I will then be on solid protein, that is day 5. I made an awesome broccoli cheese soup in my vitamix a few minutes ago. I swear nothing but junk food shrouds every show you may be watching. It is rather disgusting. We shall see how this test transpires the rest of the week. Good day y'all!

OMG! DO NOT PLAN ON LEAVING THE HOUSE FOR AT LEAST DAY ONE of the 5DPT. Ugh!

Ugh... I totally blew it this weekend with a series of out of town guests and special occasions. A dinner out with family members at a Chinese restaurant on Thursday, my BFF's birthday dinner at a fancy steakhouse on Friday with all the trimmings, cocktails and deserts, then dinner out for pizza with out of town guests last night. I tracked about 1500 calories Thursday, 2300 calories on Friday. I behaved on Saturday at about 1300, then about 2600 calories last night. The ONLY thing I'll give myself credit for is tracking everything, even though I knew how far over my calorie goal I was.

I've been bouncing up and down, stalled between 260-262 for two weeks, and I really want to bust through my plateau. I did SO WELL all through the week until Thursday. I'm kicking myself for getting out of hand. I need to figure out a better way to handle meals out.

I'm climbing back on the wagon today, and trying to do better. I need to get back to my good habits of weighing my food and staying away from junk.