I have really been thinking alot lately due to a very good friend of mine having her fill all removed due to slippage. She now has to have her band removed. In the time since the fill was removed she has put on around 30lbs in about 2 months.

I see alot of people struggle with the same problem. What scares me is that we get the band, get to goal or are working on it and then something happens and we lose our band or fill. Is it just inevitable that we are going to put all our weight back on because we cant continue to eat the small amounts we did banded on our own. I know there is no way I could live on the amount I do without my band. I know I am worrying about something that hasnt even happened and may not ever happen, but I like to think through the "what ifs".

"What if" you lost your band...I think I would be back up to nearly 300lbs in 6 mths....*sigh* but outloud I say "I will never allow myself to get that big again, I cant"...I just cant go back to that...the thought scares the crap out of me enough to really put a dampener on my day.

This post really doesnt require an answer, I am just thinking outloud and sharing my paranoid thoughts. I really think I have come to the conclusion in my mind that i will slip, its just a matter of when. I cant get a grip on the fact that my life will not be led fat and depressed. I have a right to be happy like I am now...I really do, why cant I just accept that?

This university course really has me doing some major thinking. :eek:

well reality and my dream world are two different things. I would LIKE to think that IF i lost my band, that i would have the willpower to exercise everyday, and have learned enough dieting skills that i wouldn't gain 100lbs. I would LIKE to think that i'm going to be so busy rock climning and other hobbies that i never thought of doing that i would be WAAY to busy with my diva social life to gain all the weight back.

In reality...i just don't know:(

My fear is not that I won't be able to keep eating small portions, but that the torture of such little food will be so depressing. I got the band because when I dieted, I couldn't do it for more than a day because I was constantly hungry. I would go to bed depressed and wake up starving. I'm not really worried that I won't be able to stay thin, I'm just convinced that my life would be miserable maintaining that weight without the restriction of the band.

I dont eat any less food now than I used to when I weighed 75kg. I refuse to fill myself tightly and rely solely on my band for precisely that reason - I need to teach myself to say no, to eat reasonably, to make good food choices.

If I were just filled tight so I couldnt eat much and lost weight automatically, then I dont think that'd teach me an awful lot. I prefer to use my band to just take enough edge off my hunger to help me to cement good behaviours as daily habits. I find myself five months down the track responding differently now to the ways I used to in certain situations. I no longer use food to relieve boredom and I've worked out ways to keep my fridge/mealplans ordered and predictable, something I always struggled with before. I no longer just dont think about dinner all day and then suddenly have to order a pizza at 7pm.

I'm well used to an hour or so of exercise per day now and have arrived at a routine that fits in with my lifestyle.

So no, I really dont think I'd pile the weight back on - IF I lose the band a year or so down the track. I think new behaviours will have stuck with me.

I have never been a binge eater or had an eating disorder and I've never been morbidly obese though. I think my weight problem arose from responding poorly to life situations, not as an inherent appetite or eating disorder that came from within me - and I think that makes a huge difference.

I am haunted by the same fear. Everyone I know who has had to have their band unfilled has gained weight, including myself, and I only had a partial unfill.

I am about 15 pounds from an "ideal" BMI, so I don't think I could get a revision to another type of surgery, even if I had to give up the band.

It's scary!

I like to believe that if I got to goal, and then lost my band, I'd be able to maintain. I've always believed that maintaining is easier than losing, and that's why I never go to goal before deciding on surgery; it was just too overwhelming to try and do it by myself.

But the reality is, I'm pretty sure that if I lost my band, while I've learned alot and probably would not eat alot of the crap I used to eat preband, I would probably go up and up on my amounts and end up gaining. I suppose if I was at goal, and had been there for a little bit I MIGHT be able to hang on to it...

I think there are people who are strong enough to keep going with the 'head start' that the band gives them, even if they lost it, but I'm probably not one of them. I did not consider other surgery types before being banded, but I think if I lost my band and was told I couldn't be rebanded for whatever reason, I would probably revise to something else. I just can't do it alone.

I'm a binger and an unconscious eater. I walk through the kitchen and pick at something (bag of chips for instance) and don't even realize I've eaten it. I like to think that I'm spending enough time doing other things when I get the urge to binge.... because I physically can't now and am forced to do this. I still find myself stopping through the kitchen frequently - ugh. I am exercising - which I didn't do before, and I LOVE the clothes I'm SO CLOSE to being able to wear now. Hopefully when I've lost enough weight to know what it's like to be THIN, I'll think it's not worth it to graze and binge and be more conscious of it. I haven't been in "normal" size clothes since I had my 2nd kid - 14 years ago. I can't even remember what it felt like and am looking forward to experiencing it again. In reality, I have a sinking feeling that I would be up a creek without a paddle. Hope not though!

Iam bandless and have been for 5 months now, it is a struggle, but I am winning the battle. I have not put on any weight yet...I feel I am in control for the first in my life without the aid of a tool such as my band was to me. I do obsess about what Iam eating it is in the forfront of my mind every waking moment. I do not want to go back to where I was pre band...I sitll try to follow the bandster rules...for me it is a matter of " am I hungry or do I just think I am hungry" I ask my self this question everytime I got to put food in my mouth and honestly there are times I start to eat becasue of boredom then I stop myself..I go to pick at something then I stop myself , asking the question before I begin to eat really helps me..I enjoy wearing my size 10 -12 jeans way to much to gain back this weight :eek: I got some wicked cute clothes these days and Iam loving all the attention I get which is another motivating factor to me and of course my OCD.

Iam bandless and have been for 5 months now, it is a struggle, but I am winning the battle. I have not put on any weight yet...I feel I am in control for the first in my life without the aid of a tool such as my band was to me. I do obsess about what Iam eating it is in the forfront of my mind every waking moment. I do not want to go back to where I was pre band...I sitll try to follow the bandster rules...for me it is a matter of " am I hungry or do I just think I am hungry" I ask my self this question everytime I got to put food in my mouth and honestly there are times I start to eat becasue of boredom then I stop myself..I go to pick at something then I stop myself , asking the question before I begin to eat really helps me..I enjoy wearing my size 10 -12 jeans way to much to gain back this weight :eek: I got some wicked cute clothes these days and Iam loving all the attention I get which is another motivating factor to me and of course my OCD.

Wow! La_Madam - Impressive... I was so glad to read that you've made it 5 months without putting on any weight. Congrats!

I've thought this through and I've varied in my opinion. I'd like to say that I'm like Jachut and confidant that I've learned something from all of this. I am on the same path to some extent. I don't believe in keeping myself so tight that the band won't let me eat much. I actually can eat normal sized portions. Not oversized portions, but healthy, ADA recommended portions. I'm happy with that. I don't feel real hunger unless I go for hours and hours without eating (we're talking at least 4 or 5). However, deep down I have a feeling that if I were to lose my band I would revert back to my pre-banded portions and over time gain most, if not all of my weight back.

So, that being said.......I'm the kind of person who likes to have a "plan B". If (God Forbid) something happened and I were forced to give up my precious band, I fully intend on having another surgery. Now, whether that's to be re-banded or to convert to another type I'm not sure yet. I'd have to weigh out my options. I prefer the band, obviously. But, if for some reason that wasn't possible I'd probably go for DS. From what I know of it, I could live with it's side effects if I HAD to.

Good Question.....thanks for asking it.

My theory is that it depends on why you were obese in the first place and also how long you had the band before you lost it. A person who gets banded because she's hungry all the time or just plain likes to eats different from a person who gets banded because she is an emotional eater or a binger. The former group will have a tougher time than the latter group if the band has to be removed. It also seems logical to me that the longer someone has been banded, the less likely it would be that that the weight would come back because they've had to learn new habits and develop a new lifestyle.

Great Post Kellie! I too think about this constantly. My success has scared me quite often... I am so worried that if I were to go to the store and put on a size 26 jeans (even though I am in a 16) that they wouldn't even zip up!!! Isn't that crazy?

I know I will get jumped for saying this... but I REFUSE to be anywhere near where I was weight wise, mentality wise...

I would rather starve to death than be that unhappy again. I would rather die than go back to that place. I know that sounds extreme, but when you are so overweight that your life has no meaning, you will understand.

IF I ever lose my band, I will have it put back if possible and if not.... I will throw away all of my food :grouphug: and eat like a bird whether my stomach is growling or not!

I know some of you can relate even though you may not like the way it sounds.

Heather, I am the same...I have the same thoughts. If i was to lose my band and couldnt have it replaced I would work my hardest to not put the weight back on...but if it did start coming back on I think I would revert to something...anything else. I cannot and REFUSE to go back to that depressed, anti social, self hating and lazy person I once was.