I was banded 3 years ago and had great success...started at 246 and got down to 140 at my lowest. Over months of being too tight and throwing up all the time, I developed a large pouch and had to have a complete defill and repositioning surgery back in March. Now they are slowly filling me back up, but in the meantime I have gained back 32 pounds! Although I have more fluid in my band now than ever before, I can eat everything (bread, pasta, rice) and I still get hungry every couple of hours. I wonder if I'll ever find my "sweet spot" again? I've fallen back into all my pre-band bad habits and feel like I have lost all willpower. I need some strict rules or a very defined eating plan to get me back on track. Anyone have any ideas to help me build an action plan?

Go back to basics. Try three measured meals with no snacking in between, eat protein first then veggies then fruit, if you have room... Water, water, water between meals. Once you reach your personal goals, add back in, trial & error. Doc drills it in my head ... Protein first, then some veggies... Lol!

Good luck. :-)

During my Bandster hell phase 2.5 years ago I kept the eating demons at bay by trying to eat very healthy foods and stayed away from processed foods as much as possible.

Here's a link to a thread where we're all trying to use the 5:2 fast diet. Wish I would have known about this before or right after my surgery and I would have tried it. But it's worth checking out.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/318937-starting-52-and-no-scale-this-week/

@@MiltonMommy, thanks for your post. I'm six months post banding and scared of going too tight. Can I ask why you were tight for so long without an unfill? Throwing up all the time? My team stresses all the time that I shouldn't be getting stuck or throwing up if I am eating small bites and chewing and eating slowly. They put the fear of God in me about throwing up and causing my band to slip. So my last two fills were very very small ones as I approach the green zone slowly.

I'm so glad you're giving it another go. There are many people on these boards who are coming back from a difficult time like yours. Good luck.

Thank you so much for your replies.

JustWatchMe - If I'm being completely honest, I hid my reflux, vomitting and coughing from the nurses because I was willing to suffer in order to keep losing weight. I was scared that if I had a defill I would stop losing which was stupid because I ended up in a much worse situation. You are smarter than I was.

2muchfun - Thank you for the info on the 5:2 fast diet. It's funny because I was just at the bookstore yesterday looking at Varady's book The Every Other Day Diet. Are you following the alternate day fasting or the 5:2? I think I might go back tonight and pick up one of the books. That sounds like just the type of kickstart I am looking for to get back on track.

@@MiltonMommy way to go regrouping - I'm trying the 5:2 and this is my first day fasting. Yesterday was harder for me -- a"regular" day but the anticipation or old diet mentality creeping in made me a little anxious and I felt very nibbly last night. Today I just feel clear. And not hungry -- that's the Band at work, giving me that assistance. So much about this is a brain game. Seems to me you've got your head on straight and you're bringing the self-honesty needed. You'll find that sweet spot -- I think this fasting day is a reset button for my head and my band. Then 500 cals later max, early to bed and tomorrow a regular day.

Thank you so much for your replies.

2muchfun - Thank you for the info on the 5:2 fast diet. It's funny because I was just at the bookstore yesterday looking at Varady's book The Every Other Day Diet. Are you following the alternate day fasting or the 5:2? I think I might go back tonight and pick up one of the books. That sounds like just the type of kickstart I am looking for to get back on track.

I've modified Varady's program to fit me. It's a 4:3 diet for me. I fast on Mon, Wed, Fri. I don't eat Breakfast but I do have a shake around 2 pm and a light dinner around 6 pm. Most folks on the 5:2 diet have a small breakfast and a 400-500 cal dinner on Mon and Thurs.

I chose to do it 3 days a week so that I have some conformity for every week. Alternating days would mean that every week there would be a different fasting day and I really don't want to compromise weekends.

Here's the Varady long version of the interview. I understand the book isn't much different unless you want some recipes?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAcY8p-yBxA&feature=youtu.be

@@MiltonMommy, you are not alone. Fear of gaining is real and I've read your experience here before. I think my surgeon's office and hospital support group meetings have just done a good job of scaring me early on! Also, I'm 53 years old with arthritis and other crap going on, and I tend to take after my mother physically. At my age she was hospitalized with an emergency bleeding ulcer that almost killed her. All due to an arthritis NSAID that burned a hole in her gut without her realizing it until she passed out on the bathroom floor. They tried to cauterize it laproscopically but failed, and so she had open gut surgery in the ER. That experience affected me and made me very conscious of stomach care. If my late dad who had dementia hadn't found her and had the presence of mind to phone for help she would have died. Anyway, I didn't enter into WLS lightly (few of us do) for these reasons. So I am real cautious about an overly tight band.

I was banded in 2011, I too had great success, started out at 321 and got down to 144 at my lowest and i am 6 feet tall. Over the past several months I started cheating my band (I have always been a stress eater) and the stress has been out of control. Now I add even more stress because I am so unhappy with my weight gain (41 pounds) that I eat even more due to stress. I now have out of control acid reflux (I feel like the girl from the excercist - it just pertrudes) on top of that I will eat too much and I will intentionally get rid of it and I just tell people that I was stuck. Even though I know I wasnt. I am having such a hard time getting back on track. How do you know if your band has slipped due to too much vomiting? I too can eat anything french fries, white bread, pasta etc. I am so embarresed to go back to the doctor and I have even refused to see my primary doctor because I dont want to get weighed by anyone else. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

dlucia,

No way you can know for sure. Only your doctor with the aid of a barium swallow can tell where your band is?

I don't want to appear to be mean spirited but you should get over offending your doctor. They've seen this hundreds of times. You're not the first or last to fall off the wagon and you probably won't get back on without an honest consult with your doctor.

And I don't know of anyone on an internet forum who would have enough wise words that would make you recommit to your journey. For me, it's not having the temptations(crappy food) in the house. Don't buy them. PERIOD!

But make that Dr appointment tomorrow.

tmf

dlucia - I totally know where you are coming from. I chewed Tums constantly for at least a year, even in the middle of the night because the heartburn was so bad. I then started waking up choking and coughing up tiny bits of food that I later found out were sitting undigested in my pouch. That's when I finally told the nurses what was going on and they sent me for a barium swallow where the slip was discovered.

I was basically bulimic for a long time. I would eat whatever I wanted knowing that I would throw it all up. I became a pro at vomiting and did it daily. I didn't care as long as I was skinny.

I know it is mortifying when your friends, family and colleagues start noticing that you are gaining weight again. I get that. But don't feel embarrassed to go see your doctor. He/she has seen it all before. You have worked damn hard to get where you are and they are there to help you. Just bite the bullet and force yourself to go. Don't wait until it's too late and you lose your band completely. You can still get back on track...you have done amazing and are a long way from where you started from!

I have taken 2muchfun's advice and started an alternate fasting regimen today. I watched a bunch of videos, read some books and watched the documentary Eat, Fast and Live Longer and I'm feeling a renewed sense of hope. I truly believe that this makes sense and feel that it may be the answer I was searching for - thanks guys!

So needed to read this today. I had a hernia repair in April and my had to be repositioned. When I had my original surgery I had no appetite and lost weight quickly. The most Fluid in my band was 5.5 cc. Now I have 4.5 cc's and can eat anything. My appetite is as big as it was before I had surgery the first time. I have gain 30 lbs. since April. A lot of this is due to steriods for bulging disk in neck. My doctor is filling me very slowly. I am really struggling. I try to eat right but it is just to easy to fall off the wagon. I loved when I knew bread would make me sick. Hate to throw up so just didn't eat it.

I am new to this website, I really don't know how to keep track of the conversation...I have only being banded for a little bit over one month, I haven't had a fill and I'm eating out of control...I can too eat anything, rice, Pasta, French fries, regular subs....anyway just want to vent how frustrate I feel. I will hopefully get better after my first fill on 10/2/14.

wish me luck.

thank you,

Ii am 6 weeks banded and it will be I to ER before I get a fill. You have to be very careful to follow portion size now. The band is a Tool, we still need to do work. I have used my walking. Make sure to drink my water and take the stairs when I can. My core body feels much stronger and I have lost 2 sizes in clothes. I have not had a huge weight loss but I feel this is a change of life journey and a work in progress

I am new to this website, I really don't know how to keep track of the conversation...I have only being banded for a little bit over one month, I haven't had a fill and I'm eating out of control...I can too eat anything, rice, Pasta, French fries, regular subs....anyway just want to vent how frustrate I feel. I will hopefully get better after my first fill on 10/2/14.

wish me luck.

thank you,

Go back to the beginning of this topic. What you're experiencing is normal and most of us went through Bandster hell. It won't get better till you get enough fills to give you satiety or restriction to avoid hunger. Till then, it's just another diet.