I am coming up on a year banded. The last few months have been a road block. No real weight loss. And then a 2/3 lb gain over the holiday (which is now gone, yay!) I am not in the green zone yet, but feel very close. and go for a fill Monday. So here I was thinking I am at a standstill, but I had a realization. I know the band is physical. But I had a mental breakthrough without even knowing it; til now. I used to go to bed at night thinking of what I was going to eat the next day for Breakfast. Would I give in to the fast food breakfast (my fav) or eat XY or Z? lunch...hmmm...what WOULD I have for lunch. Usually the plan was to eat healthier the following day and I was trying to psych myself up for it, usually to fail. Well, I no longer go to bed thinking 'what will I eat tomorrow.' I still have bad days here and there. But something has changed. What? How? I am really not sure; it snuck up on me. Yes, I still meal plan. But it is a whole new ballgame. So very glad I joined the team!!!!!

Few things have happened to me since being banded.....one, I have very little interest in food, and eating for that matter...it's not physical, but mental...it is as though my brain is saying I am full, satisfied, whatever, even though I have not eaten anything...and food is just not important anymore...

Some people only experience it after eating, and then only for a few hours...I have this all day long.

2nd...my "Taste Buds" have changed...a lot of foods just don't taste that great anymore...I'll order a meal, take a bite or two and just don't feel like continuing...does not appeal to me, and has little or no taste....a do-nut can taste like a piece of cardboard..in other words, no taste.

I'm like the 7 year old boy that sits there and plays with his food....it's weird, but definitely has to do with the band....before surgery I could eat anything, anytime...could not stop, and LOVED IT.....that was my problem...out of control eating.

Edited January 12, 201412 yr by B-52

Isn't it great to be free from thinking about food all the time?! So happy for you. I am noticing more and more that I am not hungry or that I'm disinterested in the food I thought I was going to eat. Not that I still don't love food -- i do. But I'm not living for it and more and more often I can leave it instead of take it.

sherlock1969, you are doing great, don't be hard on yourself. This is a way of life, and you are now discovering that we should eat to live, not live to eat! You have hit a great milestone if you can get past the thoughts of what your next meal will be. You are coming along fine! congrats and best wishes for future "recovery"; truly we are like alcoholics that have to learn to survive in a strange new world. Karen..aka.kll724

B-52 I strive and pray every day to get to where you are.

Bandista, yes, it really is freeing.

And Karen, YES! I absolutely agree we are like alcoholics. I do come from a family of dependent of something people. It is a struggle most days. Thank you so much for the encouragement! People like you and others on this site are a true God send. Thank you.

congrats on coming up to a year

and can i ask if you have lost inches (had to buy smaller clothes as the ones you were before surgery are too big)?

if so, then you have lost real weight...just do the best you can (as dr advised for best results) and hang in there....to lose weight, you must not eat more calories than you can burn off via exercise....you CAN do this...please believe in YOU

I am coming up on a year banded. The last few months have been a road block. No real weight loss. And then a 2/3 lb gain over the holiday (which is now gone, yay!) I am not in the green zone yet, but feel very close. and go for a fill Monday. So here I was thinking I am at a standstill, but I had a realization. I know the band is physical. But I had a mental breakthrough without even knowing it; til now. I used to go to bed at night thinking of what I was going to eat the next day for breakfast. Would I give in to the fast food breakfast (my fav) or eat XY or Z? lunch...hmmm...what WOULD I have for lunch. Usually the plan was to eat healthier the following day and I was trying to psych myself up for it, usually to fail. Well, I no longer go to bed thinking 'what will I eat tomorrow.' I still have bad days here and there. But something has changed. What? How? I am really not sure; it snuck up on me. Yes, I still meal plan. But it is a whole new ballgame. So very glad I joined the team!!!!!

I use my fitness pal to keep track of calories... and I exercise every day....some days are better than others food wise...hoping for the as yet elusive green zone after tomorrow's fill. I have indeed lost inches...though I am not sure how many since the beginning. I will have to ask my doctor tomorrow what my inches were (they took them in the beginning)....I have only been taking them the last few months. I have gone from a size 20 jeans to a size 14/16...well 16's are too big but 14's a bit tight. I am happy overall, just waiting to get over this hump. Again, fingers crossed for the green zone!!!