I have a tremendous fear of regaining the weight that I've lost. I was going through some recent pictures of the 3 family members of mine that have had WLS. Two had Gastric bypass and the (blonde pink shirt) had sleeve surgery 6 months before I did. All have regained weight, they don't look like they even had surgery. None of them ever reached any goal. These are current post (last week). The part that aggravates me is the excuses they come up with and the comments about how I'm just "lucky" that I lost so "easily". I see all the food post. It's not my place to call them out on the food they are eating. Seeing this can be discouraging at times but most of the time it makes me want to do anything possible NOT to end up like that. Maybe I'm wrong for using them as my motivation to succeed but it does scare me. I never know what to say when the remarks come in about how well I've done and all my so called "luck". What do you do?! I keep these pictures as my reminder of what can/will happen if I don't stick with my plan. Which just helped me stop at 6 1/2 Cheetos! Of course I've blocked all identity from the pictures for their privacy. Its not "luck" it's a constant "just say NO!" Attitude I have to food. It's not easy, it's never going to be easy. That's my reality. It's just a tool nothing more and nothing less.

Yes. Please add me to the list of fearing regain. Next month will be 9 years post banded and I love my tool.

Having been unfilled recently led me to the realization that I will forever watch what goes in my mouth.

Old habits do get changed thankfully but hunger is a strong motivator!!

Getting a second fill Monday to address the " I can eat more; I'm hungry syndrome ". I will not go back to size 24..... I adore my size 12 and am determined to keep a healthy weight. My doctor recently wrote"fit and well nourished" in my chart ???? love it .....I should get someone to needlepoint a pillow for me with that slogan!!

Keep up the excellent work you have been doing.

You are not "lucky" it is all due to hard work.

Also, you may want to wash your hands before you handle photographs in the future, there are black smudges all over the pictures.

@@animallover1247 I KNOW! I see it and I pretend like I didn't just see it.

Thank you so much for this post. It really helps me to know there are people going through what I know I am going to go through. I have an aunt that tried to ruin my relationship with my now husband, and was mad at me when she failed, would not talk to me for a year after I had my first kid, and complains about me to my mom whenever I do something that she wants to do but won't get off her duff and do. I know as soon as I start loosing weight she will flip. But I can do this and I am doing not for me and my family not anyone else. But it's awesome to know that other people have family that acts like mine do.

My best friend's sister had GB about thirteen years ago and for a very long time she was really thin. And even for a couple of years she was "too thin" (way below a healthy BMI) and I admired her for her determination, strength, commitment and dedication to a new way of life. She owned a restaurant where she was the main cook, menu planner and she did catering on the side. She was always surrounded by great food, great ingredients, people eating, people needing her to try things, sell her food related items; her whole life was FOOD! FOOD! FOOD! And yet she remained vigilante to her new self.

Until recently. In the last few years, her weight has started to creep back on and her health is on a slow decline. It shocked me to see she was gaining weight and when I asked if everything was alright she was candid with me. She bluntly told me "Ash, your surgery did not cure any food issues you may have had, it will not prevent you from gaining the weight you lost and it most definitely will take a great deal of will power (more than you have ever had) to keep the weight off."

While I knew what she was saying before she needed to say it, it needed to hear it from someone going through it.

I am so sorry that you go through this, all of you! Friends and family are supposed to be supportive and help with hardships, no matter what! They are supposed to be the people we can count on. Instead, we count on those behind the computer screen that we have more in common with, no that I don't love everyone here; it's just not FAIR!

Because I can be spiteful, I would send a pic in your hot a$$ jeans, looking sexy as hell- the next time you get that food pic, I would send that sexy one and say- Oh that looks good but I prefer this. Thanks;)

This thread is amazing and I am so glad you posted it. But I am sorry that you have to use your emotional pain as motivation and now, my motivation.

If we all had food "filters" we wouldn't be here, so your certainly not alone.

Thank you again for sharing!

@@Kspot42 What's wrong with these people? Is it too much to be happy for someone even if you didn't do so well?! Just to be a nice person and support each other? Especially family! I just don't get it. I'm gals you're doing it for yourself!

@@Ashlegal I'm 100% sure she's right!! It's almost like being an alcoholic but our liquor of choice is food. It's an addiction. Same thing....only different.

My aunt is one In the green leggings that likes to send me pictures of food or say " I bet you wish you could eat this". She thinks it's funny.

You should send her a picture of some pants that you just bought and say, "I bet you wish you could wear these". I think that would be pretty funny.

Bahaha haha that was perfect!

That's what I'd do!

It almost seems like it's a kind of bullying to me.

If she sent a pic to me of food and said that - then I'd send the pic back and say something like "wouldn't you like to eat this? Oh wait, you are."

@@Elode you said they never go5 down to their goal weights, out of interest how much did they lose/regain?

I think she thinks she's being funny. I got a fruit pizza picture from her a week after surgery. I don't find it amusing and it's not something I would ever do. It makes me wonder if someone did it to her. She had her surgery a few years ago. She loves me, she's just annoying!

@@perforce My cousin has only lost 30 lbs in 1 1/2 years time. She truly never tried. My other cousin had GB and lost 80 lbs but put 70 back on. My aunt lost the most, she lost 90 lbs but has since put it all back on plus some. My mom said she would go to buffets shorty after surgery and eat until she hurt...literally hurt. Now, I do have another aunt who had GB 10+ years ago and she's thin and has managed to keep it all off all these years. I look to her for my inspiration. She doesn't deny herself anything but if it's sweets she allows herself 2-3 bites and that's it.

@@Terra B You're welcome and I'm glad it could help, or at least get people thinking. I have a really cute picture saved for "just in case".

I've learned to just shut my mouth. I had a friend out of the blue post that she was having gastric bypass on Monday and that she's really excited about the future. I congratulated her and showed her some before and after pictures of two of my friends (married couple) who have done a beautiful job losing weight and look fantastic. I never one time mentioned that I too had WLS. I wanted to sooooo bad but I just didn't. I'm sure she has no clue. We were friends when we were really young and just recently this year reconnected on FB. She has no idea I was over weight. I was small when I was young and I'm small-ish now. It killed me to not inbox her and tell her, reassure her that she can be successful ect....but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I've become more reserved now from the few unfavorable comments I've heard about how "easy" it is ect....

@@perforce My cousin has only lost 30 lbs in 1 1/2 years time. She truly never tried. My other cousin had GB and lost 80 lbs but put 70 back on. My aunt lost the most, she lost 90 lbs but has since put it all back on plus some. My mom said she would go to buffets shorty after surgery and eat until she hurt...literally hurt. Now, I do have another aunt who had GB 10+ years ago and she's thin and has managed to keep it all off all these years. I look to her for my inspiration. She doesn't deny herself anything but if it's sweets she allows herself 2-3 bites and that's it.

Interesting, does your aunt get the same comments from them about lucky/easy it was for her?