I seem to have a love hate relationship with my band....I am 3 years post op and I am now at 5.5 mls in my band.....I am staying around 13st 12lbs ( 194 lbs ) at 5ft 6 ....I was 173lbs at my lowest.....now my cholestreol has gone up to 6 and i suffer social anxiety when I eat out....I am afraid I will get sick when I am out.....does anyone have any advice....

Go back to basics. Imagine that you have just been banded when the motivation is really high. Set lots of little mini goals and rewards9non food)

Then:-

Check in with your Dr to make sure everything is as it should be.

Keep an honest food diary for a while to see what you are really eating, it is so easy to sneak in extra kilojoules/calories without even realising.

Then start planning what you should be eating to lose weight.

Make sure you are doing exercise - find something you enjoy doing as then you are more likely to stick to it.

Find a friend or support group to help you achieve your goals.

None of it is rocket science but it is really easy after a while to lose sight of the goal and slip back into bad habits. Remember weight loss is not something that can be won , constant battles are required to keep the enemy under control!

Couldn't have said it any better than Elcee.

Thats whats so great about the band, you can start over.

Thanks Elcee.....you helped me before and it seems you are helping me again....I just panic so I think I avoided the harsh foods....and sat over and fought with my food....I used to love to go out to eat now I nearly need a Xanax to stop myself from worrying and getting anxious....my cholesterol has also jumped from 4.3 to 6!

Hope you dont mind me joining in the forum, after I read your post I know exactly how you feel. Starting over is my goal. 3 years ago yesterday I weighed 318. Today I weigh 237. Had to change surgeons recently,not happy about that, but it maybe what I need for the push to start over. He says I should weigh 150. Im 5'2 and my bone structure is large. I am afraid I will look sick if I get down to that. I am scared of being too thin.

I am considered to be heavy boned and I am 5'4" and I weigh around 140lbs now. I couldn't imagine it myself when I was over 200lbs but it's actually a BMI of about 24 for me and no, it's not so thin that you look sick. I got down to a BMI of 21 and imo that was too skinny.

So don't frighten yourself to the point of talking yourself out of losing. Just concentrate on getting healthy and see where you end up and are happy with yourself. The rest are just numbers.

Thanks lellow.......I think I have become obsessed now with my band....I was letting it get in the way of my weight loss.....I was afraid of being afraid of being sick....if that makes sense.....my natural reaction is to throw up instead of letting the food work through the band....so I have actually become an unhealthy eater....I used to have more healthy balanced meals in variety prior to my bad but well ate massive portions.....its coping with getting my head around the temporary pain / or waiting for the food to pass that I need to address

Thanks for all the support....I had not been on for a while ...but returned again like the 'prodicial bandster' to be embraced by you all

I think a side effect of the band is that people end up with the mentality that getting no food through is the way they're going to lose weight. The band actually works best when you are at the point where you can eat a small amount of solid food and it keeps you satisfied for 3 - 4 hours. I honestly think at the right restriction level the band assists in controlling your physical hunger to such a point that you will not be obsessed about food and will be able to live with it in a more natural way. Too tight and your body starves and you're miserable and angry because you're not losing (and potentially causing problems with your band too!). Too loose and you fight with hunger all the time.

Finding that 'green zone' is so important in my opinion and what makes it harder is finding it can be difficult. Many people drive towards tighter and tighter bands thinking that will get them there and then they push past it, they're in the red zone and it's not better, it's worse.

Don't look for it to hurt when you eat. Look for the point where you can eat and it keeps you from being hungry again for 3 - 4 hours. That's the green zone.

I still eat out with the band but it's always in the back of my mind take tiny bites and MAKE SURE I finish what I have in mouth before I take my second or third bite.

I've had no issues.

Do you have access to a support group? You might find it helpful. I still host and attend monthly support groups... keeps me motivated and on track.

Tom, Toronto

Banded July 6 06

Wt. Loss: 160 lbs

I am considered to be heavy boned and I am 5'4" and I weigh around 140lbs now. I couldn't imagine it myself when I was over 200lbs but it's actually a BMI of about 24 for me and no' date=' it's not so thin that you look sick. I got down to a BMI of 21 and imo that was too skinny.

So don't frighten yourself to the point of talking yourself out of losing. Just concentrate on getting healthy and see where you end up and are happy with yourself. The rest are just numbers.[/quote']

Thanks for the info. I am going to give it my all !!