Hi everyone, I am about 15 months out of surgery, and feel very discouraged. I have lost 13 lbs. in all and have about 120 left to go. I don't feel the band helps me because I don't eat out of hunger, I am an emotional eater and the band doesn't do anything for your emotions. I recently met with my doctor and am trying to willpower my way through. But it makes me so sad and I really feel like a failure. I mean, who but me has bariatric surgery and then doesn't lose weight? If I could tell you how people who know about my surgery look at me...mix of disgust, pity and amazement.

I am seeing a therapist, and I am spending time on eating disorders recovery websites (something fishy is really good). I feel sure now that I have an eating disorder. I had it before I was banded but didn't know it until I realized that my hunger level has nothing to do with how much I want to eat. So now I'm like, Oh, I have an eating disorder, not a hunger problem, and thinking that the whole band thing was a big mistake for me. I vomit a lot, but keep eating. I just throw up, eat more, throw up, eat more, and so on. It really sucks.

I just feel really bad about myself right now. Like a total failure. And ashamed, and embarrassed, and alone. I even feel alone in regretting getting the band. I don't know what I'm looking for here, just thought I'd put myself out there and hope that the universe comes together to support me.

Yep, track four sounds blank. I have to stop it sometimes just to see it go back "on". Will let you know if my eating habits change any further. I just notice that I want to listen to it now before bed. I totally relax and have had great rest.

They have a million more topics, so maybe there is one more in line with addictions. They do have a food addiction one. I know I am addicted to carbs. Hoping this helps me, and maybe some of you too.

Emotional eating, what is that? Monica S. we all that problem. That is why we needed a tool to assist us. I too had to come to the realization that food was my solace. I hate to admit it, but I found more pleasure in food than in some intimate relationships that I have been in. I am not losing weight either, but I am gaining a lot of insight into me. I would eat and spit up and repeat the cycle. I have children and it became a game for them to see who could race to the restroom first to see mommy through up. I had to stop the madness. I started to backslide into soft drinks and 'bad' snack foods. My youngest had started giving me a lecture before we ate. It went, "Now mom, I want you to slow down and eat your food so that you dont' have to through up." That got to be embarrasing for me, especially when we were around others. I began to take notice of the foods that I had the most success with. Like steamed vegetables, stir fried vegetable, meatless dishes, etc. I know that I can eat a cake and pies but I don't. I don't allow my kids to eat that stuff, so I have to stay away from it also. I have also been praying before I eat anything. Not just a blessing for the food I am about to eat, but a prayer. This puts my mind in the place where it needs to be and some what reduces the stress that is causing me to binge. Try it, it might work.

Monica: I sent you a message and it vanished it was warm and fuzzy but now it's out in the universe some where! :rolleyes Maybe it's not posted yet? I just wanted to ask you as I forget in my last write, but do you exercise daily? I know when I walked with a combination of sprinting even not being banded my appetite for sweets/carbs went right down as soon as I stopped the ice cream cravings came back.

Thanks for the warm fuzzy cyber hugs!!! To answer your question, I work out pretty hard 3-4 times a week. It helps a lot. Maybe I'll bump it up to 5-6 times a week. I had a decent week, and ate my band diet Monday through Thursday last week. I ended up bingeing on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday though. There's just something about the weekends. This week I'm going to try and keep all chocolate to one day instead of three. Baby steps, right? I also bought "Overcoming Overeating" and it seems very interesting. A much different perspective than I've ever thought about. It also doesn't help that it's still snowing here in Western New York, and freezing! The gloomy weather makes me want to binge on chocolate, watch tv, and sleep all the time. If I didn't have work and the gym I probably would never leave the house.Thanks for all the support, I can't tell you all how much it means to have a place I can vent.Monica

This scares me alot.... I am due to be banded early June. I haven't lost much this past 6 months (on the insurance mandated 6 months of doc supervised dieting)... but I have been trying to eat sensibly... But lately.. I find that I have this uncontrollable urge to shove things in my mouth. I tell myself I just want to 'taste' them... Well, Sunday at the grocery store, I saw these new mint oreos, and I just had to "taste" them.. so I bought, and ate, a whole package in one sitting... (I think I probably could have determined the taste in the first bite :-)

I did go on the elliptical for an extra 20 minutes that night, and ate sparingly the rest of the day... but the thing that I"m afraid of.. is... the things I binge on, are the things that will flow right through a band.. no?

Honestly.. have any of you bandsters out there binged.. even AFTER the surgery???

the things I binge on, are the things that will flow right through a band.. no?

Honestly.. have any of you bandsters out there binged.. even AFTER the surgery???

This might be redundant because I'm the one who started this thread, but YES, you can binge with the lap band, and YES, the things I binge on flow right through the band. Something to think about.