I wonder if I chose the right surgery, I've had problems with my band and find it easy to cheat bc of it. If it's something that I really like to eat or want and I'm stressed or depressed I will sabotage myself so I can eat it all

@@change4life you know I also have thought about this a whole lot! So I was banded in 2013. I have watched friends who are banded and even my husband lose almost all their extra weight while I have struggled. I've struggled with many things, health wise and yes I'm sure that is part of it....BUT I want to blame the band. I want to say this was not the surgery for me. I should have done X, Y, Z and that would have been better. I could go do those things still...I could opt to take the band out and have a revision surgery and I might lose the weight faster and I seriously thought about it as my hubby lost pound after pound and I was even starting to gain!!

As I was thinking about it and weighing things out in my mind, I realized that I have not really "worked" on this band since I have been dealing with so many other things I put that on hold and started using food to console me again. I started turning to ice cream and sweets and eating anything I felt like! Of course I was going to start gaining weight again...so I thought about it and I realized that unless I am willing to change my ways and dig deep and find out what is making me give up so easily when I have a tool that can help me reach my goals...why am I not using it?

Why am I looking for something else, there is no magic bullet all the surgeries are going to have their challenges and I have seen first hand people fail at all the other surgeries and gain back their weight and more because they never really changed their habits. So I decided that the band is for me. It's here I am here and we both need to show up and do our jobs!

It's there waiting for me to use it, and I am here and I need to use it and respect it and most of all myself. I need to find other ways to console myself when things are good bad and even ugly. Food has to become what it's always been meant to be. A source of fuel to get this body through life to enjoy all the wonders the world has to offer that are not food related.

I don't get all excited when I drive into the gas station and fuel up my car. The smell of the gas and look of the station aren't a turn on...nope the excitement comes in where that full tank of gas will take me to. The things I will see and experience along the journey. That's how I have to look at food, it's an intake of resources that will get me to the next great thing. It will help me get through my day of work, my interaction with people, energy to read a book and write this post, and that's all it's going to do for me. It's not my friend, it's not my love and making it my life is robbing me of having one.

So that was my dollar's worth of free advice I hope it helps you...we are all on the same journey to live a happy and healthy life...we just have to shift our focus a bit when it comes to food.

What ^^^^ Lisa said.

You have no idea how much you have just helped me! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. You are so right

Lisacaron, you are SOOOO right! That's crossed my mind a time or two as well. I even worry that because I've overeaten several times that I've 'messed' the band up. It's so much more psychological than physical. I will reread your post later--thanks for posting it.