Well I just wanted to get some feedback from people that are having a rough year. I know this might not be a good excuse for gaining weight but I've had a heck of a year when it comes to taking care of me. I did great the first year losing 85 lbs. I went to the gym regularly and was toned and looking good. Well my 5 year old granddaughter had a simple outpatient surgery that went wrong and spend 2 months in the hospital fighting for her life. Her being the light of our lives almost did me and my husband in. During this time I was gaining weight like crazy. I also didn't go to the gym anymore my days were spent watching other grandchildren so my son and his wife could be at the hospital or us at the hospital. To make a long story short my granddaughter is getting better each day and Ive tried to get back on track to lose the 22 lbs I gained. I got a fill so I now have 8 cc's in my band, which I think is a lot, but I am constantly hungry and can eat like I don't have a band. Yesterday I get the new from my sister she has breast cancer and it is not good. I will be going thru a lot to be with her during this stage of her life. My questions is HELP!! Someone please give me some advise on how I'm going to keep my weight off and take care of me during this time of my life.

Sorry your having such a rough year, perhaps another fill? even when we are facing hard times we need to take care of ourselves

So really sorry you are having a rough time. while i was reading your letter i was ready for you to say you gained all your weight back. you gained 22 lbs. it would be very hard to plan and execute that plan while dealing with all you are. the only advice i can give you is that you being unhealthy will not help anyone. they all need you to be healthy have energy and be strong. a tough order i know. perhaps dealing properly with your band will help you be strong because you will be feeling good about yourself. choose food wisely and when you can't, eat in moderation. God Bless you and your family.

I'm sorry you're having such an awful time. I don't know what will work for you, but I can share what worked for me.

Between April 1st and June 1st this year, so just a couple months time span, I had my life crash down around me. First my gallbladder had to be removed, then my grandma died, then I had a tummy tuck/hernia repair, then my uncle died, and then I almost died from life threatening blood clots in both legs. All this also triggered a major Multiple Sclerosis exacerbation for me, too. (yes I have MS) My stress level couldn't have been higher.

Yet despite two deaths, two surgeries, and almost dying I still managed to lose weight during all this hell.

The way I did it is by remembering that someday, all this would be over and I'd still have to live my life. I knew if I allowed myself to gain weight I'd be that much more miserable and feel even worse. I also thought about things like how proud my grandma was of me for losing weight before died, and if she looked down and saw me gaining out of grief for her, she would be devastated. I focused on my kids and not wanting to make things even harder on them. I thought about the fact I'm healthier when I weigh less, and the last thing my family needed on top of all the crap we were already dealing with was to worry more about my health if my weight climbed.

So, I stayed on track and lost. I kept Protein bars in my purse so I could eat when at wakes. When I was in the ICU, I actually made them bring me an Ensure Protein shake with every meal so if the meal they served me wasn't healthy I'd have a good alternative. I made sure at home all the "comfort foods" I'd normally binge on were out of the house so my only food options were healthy ones. It wasn't easy but it worked.

You have to find the inspiration and the motive that works for you.

Best wishes.

Well I just wanted to get some feedback from people that are having a rough year. I know this might not be a good excuse for gaining weight but I've had a heck of a year when it comes to taking care of me. I did great the first year losing 85 lbs. I went to the gym regularly and was toned and looking good. Well my 5 year old granddaughter had a simple outpatient surgery that went wrong and spend 2 months in the hospital fighting for her life. Her being the light of our lives almost did me and my husband in. During this time I was gaining weight like crazy. I also didn't go to the gym anymore my days were spent watching other grandchildren so my son and his wife could be at the hospital or us at the hospital. To make a long story short my granddaughter is getting better each day and Ive tried to get back on track to lose the 22 lbs I gained. I got a fill so I now have 8 cc's in my band, which I think is a lot, but I am constantly hungry and can eat like I don't have a band. Yesterday I get the new from my sister she has breast cancer and it is not good. I will be going thru a lot to be with her during this stage of her life. My questions is HELP!! Someone please give me some advise on how I'm going to keep my weight off and take care of me during this time of my life.

i have no words except i am sorry to read of your struggles...the others offered great advice/hope and encouragement..i will merely offer you a song..please listen and let it sink in....let yourself shine Gf

Just try to remember why YOU started this journey and where YOU want to be later My suggestion is just a suggestion is just try to jump back on the band wagon and start with the pre op diet then gradually go back to normal maybe this will help also while u are being upset and worrying remember ur band may get a bit tight , so while your taking care of everbody , remember to take time and care for your self , we do tend to forget to take care of us , but we are no good to any one if we don't , so try repeating that silently to your self and I hope things get better for your life , like I said just a suggestion good luck.

Well I just wanted to get some feedback from people that are having a rough year. I know this might not be a good excuse for gaining weight but I've had a heck of a year when it comes to taking care of me. I did great the first year losing 85 lbs. I went to the gym regularly and was toned and looking good. Well my 5 year old granddaughter had a simple outpatient surgery that went wrong and spend 2 months in the hospital fighting for her life. Her being the light of our lives almost did me and my husband in. During this time I was gaining weight like crazy. I also didn't go to the gym anymore my days were spent watching other grandchildren so my son and his wife could be at the hospital or us at the hospital. To make a long story short my granddaughter is getting better each day and Ive tried to get back on track to lose the 22 lbs I gained. I got a fill so I now have 8 cc's in my band, which I think is a lot, but I am constantly hungry and can eat like I don't have a band. Yesterday I get the new from my sister she has breast cancer and it is not good. I will be going thru a lot to be with her during this stage of her life. My questions is HELP!! Someone please give me some advise on how I'm going to keep my weight off and take care of me during this time of my life.

I also am sorry you are having a challenging year. It seems to pour instead of rain, but the important thing to remember is that even the "caretaker" needs care. And there is no one better qualified for this is you.

In order to stay emotionally healthy during emotional challenges in life, we must care for our well being. We need some "me" time, and that is not selfish, that is survival.

We also enhance emotional well being by exercise and the endorphins that are created when we are active. Even 15 minutes a day can help. Try to get some sunshine, there are benefits from only 15 minutes a day.

Planning ahead is also an effective strategy. When I am away from home for Breakfast or lunch, and sometimes also dinner, I always have my band friendly meal with me. I even have a small cooler to keep a shake in when I know I will not have any healthy band friendly alternatives.

Believe in yourself, despite all of the challenges you are facing. It can be helpful to have the distraction of working towards your goals as you face difficult times.

I hope that you will inspire yourself to get back on track. Remember, what you have done before you have proven you can do.

Best wishes...

Wow, some great ideas and encouragements plus a great song! I am going to do all three. Missy God Bless you! I do need to think of me. For some reason I grew up thinking everyone was more important then me. We were taught to look out for others and do for others. I need to learn all over again that no one in my family can take care of me but me. Thanks for all the inspiration!

OK I'm going to come from a totally different angle and it comes from my life experience with dealing w/ health, stress, obstacles and the band.

Prior to being banded, I was a classic emotional eater. Stressful day? Eat a brownie..or maybe this cheesy lump or lard will do the trick. And it was never just one bite, no way. It was one sweet or fatty thing after another to submerge the stress coarsing through my body. To this day, I am a stress eater.

After getting banded I got pregnant. No big deal, I was just concerned about our health and not gaining like I did w/ my first two. I gained a mere 20 lbs and was elated. I readily lost that weight postpartum. So in this scenario, it's not stress..it's just a life event I didn't plan for. I bring this event up first because not all life events are bad or stressful but will certainly put our wl efforts on a temporary hold. My and the babies health was the primary concern and I focused on healthy choices not the numbers. We have to learn to let go and reprioritize in these situations and embrace the added pressure of meeting wl goals by certain dates will only sabotage us because life is never so accomodating.

But my second life event is more in line with your experience and was an excellent example of how stress and diet just never go together for me. I have DDD Disc Degeneration Disease in my lumbar spine. I've dealt with chronic pain from this for well over 15 yrs. Weakened vertebrae resulted in disc protrusions and intermittent acute pain when there was inflammation. Than in the summer of 2012 I was in a major car accident which broke my left foot, contusions galore and... 3 disc herniations. One so severe it occluded my spinal nerve and rendered me immobile. I couldn't stand, I couldn't turn side to side in bed. I developed severe sciatica, was urinating blood, developed hip bursitis. I was in the worse pain of my life and nothing helped. 8 months later my symptoms began to lessen for no reason (welcome to neural injury/recovery). Suddenly I was upright again, guarded sure, but mobile. During this 8 month period there was NO way I was dieting. It was too intense to juggle both. However, the difference between pre and post band is that I was in the green zone. Before I could put away a whole bag of Cookies, whereas in the green, I would eat 2 or 3. Or before I could eat 4-5 pieces of pizza and now I can't even get 1/2 of one piece down. The result, I gained ZERO pounds and this was with zero dieting effort on my behalf.

Stress eating is a hard habit to kick. Stress reaks havoc on your body on so many levels. Cortisol is produced and is the very culprit that makes you store fat, resist fat loss and crave fat rich foods. Hell of cycle indeed. The reason we eat poorly is because, as studies show, sugar and high fat caloric foods produce an endorphin rush which gives us a feeling that all is well. It's a temporary peacemaker. And sometimes it feels that's the only release from stress we can get at the time.

Now, I have been banded for 4 years now. I have reached my goal. I have made huge changes in my food choices and overall lifestyle. I am fully in tune w/ my weaknesses and I make gallant efforts to address and improve on them constantly. However, one of the #1 gifts I've given myself is the acceptance that life is never constant and as long as that variable can change so can our goals or our deadlines. This awareness has taken so much stress off my shoulders. No longer do I feel defeated when I need to embrace my cookies (knowing I can only have 2). Moderation is my new motto and not only does it help me w/ my maintenance but gives me a huge buffer in times like these where others and life's circumstances top the priority list.

I am sorry you are struggling. I know how difficult it is to juggle you and family. My only real recommendations are as follows: a) get yourself to green. Even if you can't control what you are eating at least the volume will be greatly reduced. Naturally, follow your rules otherwise. When you practice moderation it's a balancing game. I look at my caloric intake over the course of a full day or over a full week. Example, I know I'm going to a lunch party and expect to indulge. I will intentionally eat a smaller breakfast and dinner to counter the extra cals at lunchtime. I may even go light next day for an added flush. Another example, the holidays where you invited someone's house every other day of the week. 3 days are going to be off, which means your other 4 need to be clean. Don't simply throw your hands up and say "well I blew 3, what's 4 more?" That's the old brain talking. These small efforts to balance results in no gain. Just being mindful of what day or days are bad and estimating the impact and countering it another day may help you along these stressful periods to at least keep weight at a stasis to avoid further gains. c) You sound like the ideal mom/grandma. The one who will sacrifice for her family, looks out for the emotional and physical health of her family. Don't ever question that your family won't do the same for you. And it's ok to ask for that support. Be it 2 days a week to yourself where you can exercise, do some destressing (yoga, meditation, heck a movie whatever), or just get that breather.

Big hugs. It's encouraging to see that at least you are focused on your weight. You really have not gained that much (and yes that's important because preband I'm sure that number would have flew off the scales, at least for me it would have). Stay strong, visit us often. And most of all, be patient and give it time. Silly things like numbers and deadlines are so secondary even when we want it to be our primary priority.

Well I just wanted to get some feedback from people that are having a rough year. I know this might not be a good excuse for gaining weight but I've had a heck of a year when it comes to taking care of me. I did great the first year losing 85 lbs. I went to the gym regularly and was toned and looking good. Well my 5 year old granddaughter had a simple outpatient surgery that went wrong and spend 2 months in the hospital fighting for her life. Her being the light of our lives almost did me and my husband in. During this time I was gaining weight like crazy. I also didn't go to the gym anymore my days were spent watching other grandchildren so my son and his wife could be at the hospital or us at the hospital. To make a long story short my granddaughter is getting better each day and Ive tried to get back on track to lose the 22 lbs I gained. I got a fill so I now have 8 cc's in my band, which I think is a lot, but I am constantly hungry and can eat like I don't have a band. Yesterday I get the new from my sister she has breast cancer and it is not good. I will be going thru a lot to be with her during this stage of her life. My questions is HELP!! Someone please give me some advise on how I'm going to keep my weight off and take care of me during this time of my life.

I am so sorry that you are having such a rough year. sometimes life can really smack us upside the head but hard! ((())) I'm glad that your granddaughter is doing better. That is wonderful news. it sounds as if she is going to be just fine.

I'm so, so sorry about your sister's diagnosis. A bad cancer diagnosis hits loved ones really hard. When my mother was diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer, the news hit me so hard I thought that I was going to stop breathing. Her prognosis, at the outset sucked. But she has been having treatments, keeping up a great attitude, praying hard, doing everything she can and, while she is not cured or even really out of the woods, she is hanging in there, She is doing better. Her most recent round of blood tests showed her tumor markers had dropped from almost 600 to the mid 250's. She has time, she feels pretty good and we are grateful for every bit of time with her. My mother will more than likely not be "cured" but for now, she is living with her cancer. And she is living far longer and better than she had been told she would or could.

What I am trying to convey here is that as long as there is breath, as long as there is life, there is hope. Miracles can come in the form of a cure or in the form of time, blessings are many, we need to be open to them. My heart aches for your sister and for what she must face. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family in this difficult time.

I don't really have many words of wisdom about your band, maybe go in and talk to your doctor and see if perhaps you have a situation that needs attention paid? It sounds as if you need to practice some much needed self care. Remember, if you don't take care of yourself, you are not going to be in good shape to take care of the ones you love when they need you. Don't neglect your health. You need to take some time, be a little selfish and be good to yourself, too.