I was on vacation last week and found myself less than compliant. I didn't want to struggle like that but I found myself challenged to eat healthily as I was able to when I went on a cruise earlier this year. I was with my adult children and a grandchild and found myself no where near 'healthy' food options so I did as best I could. I had Cereal and fruit every morning instead of the egg/bacon/cheese sandwiches everyone else was eating. I tried to stay away from the 'snack' foods that were in the house...chips, candy, etc. I bought healthier Snacks like 100 calorie Cookies and pretzels to go along with the fruit. I figured I could minimize the damage that way. I chose a grilled lobster instead of salmon one night but didn't dunk the meat into the melted butter. I had 1/4 of a baked potato..no sour cream.

I gained two lbs. over the course of five days but as my son said, 'it was a vacation.' I had hummus and pretzel flats for lunch yesterday...not a sandwich, and ate a typical band friendly meal last night. I'm trying to live a normal life by indulging once in a while but getting right back to my regular food schedule as soon as I can. I hope this becomes second nature at some point, or at least something I can control as thin people do and not find myself going off the rails as I often did prior to being banded.

Just finished my salad with tuna and am so glad to be back to eating normally again. I don't like when I'm not in control of my intake.

Just goes to show that it's still a journey even though I've been and exceeded goal for several months already.

Gowalking, you are home on familiar turf and you've got this. No regrets. Vacation is just that. You know how I ate in Italy. The small gain came right off and no I did not continue eating bread each day. Back to basics and no harsh self words Missy! I'm so proud of you!

Congrats on your weight loss! Try and not be so hard on yourself. You sound very aware of your actions and determination to stay on course. I hope I can say the same once I reach goal!

You know I think we are so "conditioned" to beat ourselves up about your weight and blame ourselves for it because of the way we eat and the way we live. Our life style and our choices etc. It's really hard to put that stick down and stop beating ourselves with it.

This weekend I did the same thing. We went away and we were on "vacation". I didn't think about food until I was hungry and that was a good thing. The bad thing was I was HUNGRY!! We did a bunch of walking, but still I can tell you with some humility that when it came time for lunch I was starving. Having had all the Fluid out of my band I am struggling a bit with that feeling. The positive is that I know when I am truly hungry and not just hungry for the sake of eating this or that.

So we stopped for lunch but of course the places were packed and we waited too long and I was about ready to chew into the wooden seats! We ordered onion rings and truth be told I think I was good with that...but when the burger came out I decided I was not good with just some onion rings. Fat and calories behind them be dammed I needed some protein! I took the burger off the bun, kept the lettuce tomato and raw onion (yes my breath was lovely that afternoon!) Ate my burger and then I was "was" satisfied and full perhaps a ring or two over full.

So we walked some more, and then went back to our suite...we thought about going out for dinner...but we were so tired from the day we stayed in. Ken had some Soup, (this girl scout is always prepared for everything!) I had some nuts and cheese and we enjoyed the night in.

I guess not so "bad" but not so "good" either. We both looked at leach other with a bit o' guilt and I was about to get the bat out and start swinging...but WHY? Is that going to un-eat the food for me or him? Nah..it's just going to make me feel worse. So put the bat down and decided it was vacation and if I gained weight...so be it I had a great weekend! I haven't stopped going to the gym, I haven't stopped eating right 97.5% of the time..I have learned so much along the way including sometimes you just gotta eat the onion rings and the box of nerds so you can stay awake for 5 hours on the GB bridge heading home!!

You said it, Lisa!

I hear you all. Thanks. I just get afraid that I'll undo all the hard won gains I've made since getting the band. I know how easy it is to sabotage the work we've put in and that's what scares me most of all.

I suspect strongly that I will always have to be vigilant. I just don't think this will ever be second nature. I should ask folks online who are banded for a number of years if this ever gets more instinctive. I really do feel like someone with an addiction who's in recovery. Not that I've experienced it, but I've heard and read enough to know that those folks always consider themselves addicts....so why shouldn't I, right?

I agree. Any of us who have lost weight before only to regain it all over time has that fear. I never doubted I'd lose the weight this time. I'm still scared to death of regaining again.

For me, I have found the band to be a constant, no matter where I am....

We usually cruise at least once a year, and every time I throw caution to the wind and let the band take over, put it to the test.....

Last cruise I lost weight....

Gbb. I just realized you said a sentence that scares me. When I reach goal. I have never thought about reaching a final goal. So far goal is getting off the next 5 lbs. imagine loosing a large amount like 100, this seems in my dreams. Sure hope my dreams become reality

Don't be so hard on yourself. I think you did great and some of that "weight gain" is probably Water weight and will probably fall right back off now that you're back to eating like you normally do. I did the same thing back in the summer only I really ate some garbage along the way. I made pretty good choices most of the time but I did have a couple of days where I really made some bad choices. I don't remember now exactly how much but I do remember that I gained several pound(maybe 5 or 6?) and was really upset with myself over it. Fortunately, most of it was apparently Fluid retention because it was gone in under a week plus I even lost another pound or two that week. I talked to my surgeon about it too because, even though I knew that it was fluid retention, I was upset with myself for falling of the wagon and making such poor choices. His response surprised me. He said "Don't beat yourself up. You were on vacation. You should relax and enjoy the things you love when you're on vacation. That's why we have surgery-so we can still enjoy the foods we love, only in smaller amounts.You have no enjoyed your vacation and you've already managed to get right back on track so it's all good." He went on to say that he thinks we should break over and enjoy food more when we're on vacation so that we don't feel deprived when everyone else is indulging. The important thing is that we get back on track when vacation is over. Looking back, it was probably one of the most important lessons I've learned along the way...On one of those days that I spent indulging myself, I literally made myself sick because I ate so many sweets. I don't even WANT to overdo it on things like that now because every time the urge hits, I remember how I felt that day and realize, I don't want to feel like that again. There's nothing that tastes good enough to feel that miserable after eating it. Anyway, my surgeon always tells me that "No one is perfect. No one makes the right choices all of the time. The important thing is that you make the right choices MOST of the time. And if you make a bad choice, don't wait until the next day to start over. You start over as soon as you realize your last choice was a bad one."

I hear you all. Thanks. I just get afraid that I'll undo all the hard won gains I've made since getting the band. I know how easy it is to sabotage the work we've put in and that's what scares me most of all.

I suspect strongly that I will always have to be vigilant. I just don't think this will ever be second nature. I should ask folks online who are banded for a number of years if this ever gets more instinctive. I really do feel like someone with an addiction who's in recovery. Not that I've experienced it, but I've heard and read enough to know that those folks always consider themselves addicts....so why shouldn't I, right?

I think we all live with that fear of regaining. To be honest though, I think it's probably a healthy fear because it's one that keeps us focused and on the right track and helps us refocus and get back on track when we have veered off in the wrong direction for some reason.

I usually loose weight during vacation, I eat when I am hungry and if I going to eat lobster I eat it the right way...with butter. In my case the quantity is were it has change, I usually order from the kids menu, sometimes they charge you an extra fee but is worthy because you get a small plate, some restaurants have that option too. Vacation is a drink a lot of water time, I think that is why I loose weight.

I think we all live with that fear of regaining. To be honest though, I think it's probably a healthy fear because it's one that keeps us focused and on the right track and helps us refocus and get back on track when we have veered off in the wrong direction for some reason.

I never saw it that way before. I like that you put a positive spin on it. I'll try looking at it that way instead of so negatively. Oh...and you were all correct...I got on the scale this morning and the two pounds are gone along with about another half pound. It's not even the fact that the number is back to where I was prior to going away...it's the feeling of not being in control while away.

That's really what my issue is about at its core. Either I'm in complete control, or I'm totally out of control. The massive weight gain was me very much out of control and now it seems that I'm only comfortable when I feel back in control...like when I'm home and eating 'normally' again. Funny how I don't worry about eating out. Maybe because it's one meal rather than several days of eating out. Something to discuss with the therapist tonight...lol.

That's really what my issue is about at its core. Either I'm in complete control, or I'm totally out of control. The massive weight gain was me very much out of control and now it seems that I'm only comfortable when I feel back in control...like when I'm home and eating 'normally' again. Funny how I don't worry about eating out. Maybe because it's one meal rather than several days of eating out. Something to discuss with the therapist tonight...lol.

You sound so much like ME! I could have written this post myself! I'm even struggling right now because I'm off work for 6 weeks because of another surgery(not related to my band in any way). This isn't my "normal" routine and it's driving me nuts! Now you would think that, as far as food, I would be quite comfortable because I'm at home so it should be easy, right? Uhhh, not so fast....I'm good except for one thing. Until today, I was not allowed to do anything except rest so everyone else has been doing the cooking. That's where the problem comes in. <Sigh> Fortunately, I'm a couple of weeks out now so, as of today, the surgeon says I can start doing a few things. I'm still not allowed to do anything strenuous. No heavy lifting. No being on my feet for long periods of time, etc.But this does mean that I can start cooking simple meals and doing more for myself than I have been. This affords me more control over what I eat than what I have had the last few weeks so I will feel a bit better after a few days of preparing my own meals, I'm sure. I do miss my usual routine though because there's really not any question as to what I will eat in a "normal" day then. I always have greek yogurt with Nature Valley Protein Granola OR a Quest bar for Breakfast. And usually it's the yogurt and I save the Quest bar for when I want a snack. I have some sort of protein and some raw veggies for lunch. dinner is always protein and some sort of cooked veggies. For Snacks I choose quest bars, nuts, cheese, raw veggies, fruit, greek yogurt, or sugar free Jello. My life and my diet are very routine. I do choose from a wide variety of protein and veggies but those are my main sources of nutrition. And I get uncomfortable when I don't have the control to pick and choose the way I'm used to. So yes, I am a bit of a control freak