I think I'm heading for that bandster bugaboo, soft-food syndrome. Winter has something to do with it, and also the fact that I have not yet completely separated the fact of food from the feeling of comfort.

Eating the bandster way is easy during the day. I have a Protein bar for Breakfast and my guts-of-a-deli-sandwich lunch every day. But when I get home I find myself hoping that DH will have made something yummy, and soft, for dinner. Like tonight's stew, or the other night's lasagna. These are foods I can eat a "normal" portion of and feel just fine, as opposed to nibbling half a salad-plate-full and having to leave the table to keep from feeling deprived.

Of course, a "normal" portion for me is way more than I need and what keeps me from losing weight. It's time to get back to accepting that a half of a chicken breast filet IS normal for me, and will be that way for the long, long haul. I'm forgetting how to nibble, and chew, and eat slowly enough that this tiny amount will get me through a meal.

Anyone holding a bandster-refresher course 'round here?

I'm right there with ya Alex. Ever since my un-fill in June, I'm having a time with just this type of thing. My head tells me one thing, my actions do another. I think I need to detox from those foods that are NOT my friend.

Hey Alex,

Right there with ya. And I actually got a fill on Friday last week. Hard to believe cause I feel like I have less restriction than when I went in. Lets blame it on the achalasia! LOL

Babs in TX

334/188/170

-146

6/23/03

I'm feeling you Alex.. I agree 100% with your analogy that Winter has something to do with it. Potatoes, stews, pastas are comfort foods this time of year. Summer time comes and it's salads. fresh fruits, chicken, fish etc..I also think Holidays affect this also...seems since my esophagitis I tend to lean towards softer foods except last night with my Pb on a bite of Prime Rib

Wow Alexandra. I can't believe how similar things are for me right now. I've been having the most difficult time for the last several months - and have been pretty much on a plateau because of it. The daytime is generally OK (though the last week or so, with all the holiday Cookies around, has been extremely difficult), but by night, I'm feeling very deprived with not bbeing able to eat very much, and then I go for all the soft, comforting things. I've actually been having some real problems lately - checking out possible beginning of a slipped band. There are times when I have a bite or two and can't tolerate another thing... and then I get that very deprived feeling. Today was a pretty discouraging day. I couldn't tolerate much real food/protein, but I sure could tolerate those chocolate chip cookies!

I have to keep looking in perspective. It's been 16 months. I've lost 125 pounds. And I just have to get over this plateau and move on! But it's hard!

My thoughts are with you.

Mary

Mary, I think we do have a lot in common. Except I sure haven't lost 125 lbs!! Holy cow, lady, that's fantastic!!

What's up with your band? I'm going to find out next Thursday if I have any problems that need correcting, or if I can get another fill or what. What you describe is a little concerning. Have you had it checked? What's the story?

I think this is a head thing, though, too. We all have longstanding unhealthy relationships with food and every single diet in the past has been one that had ended at some point. This isn't a diet, we know that, and it isn't going to end. Eating around the band IS going to destroy what we have done, because it's not the band that is getting us there by itself and it can't keep us honest all by itself either.

Sigh...

Alex-

Like everyone else, I'm totally there too! The only thing that helps me at night is to have a glass of milk. I don't know if it's the fat or the Protein or the carbs in it, but it is my first step in the "stop the maddness" nightly routine. Usually it works, sometimes it doesn't. The other night I left a meeting and had such a craving for a cheeseburger I stopped and got one. And ate the whole thing. It's like my band opens WIDE after 9 p.m. NOT GOOD!!!

If you come up with a miracle cure, please let me know ASAP!

Megan

I think this is a head thing, though, too. We all have longstanding unhealthy relationships with food and every single diet in the past has been one that had ended at some point. This isn't a diet, we know that, and it isn't going to end. Eating around the band IS going to destroy what we have done, because it's not the band that is getting us there by itself and it can't keep us honest all by itself either.

Alexandra - Oh, how right you are! I KNOW that the band has only been a "tool" - but a very necessary one. I have done as well as I have until now, because I worked WITH the tool. I chose the right foods (generally), followed the "bandster rules", and exercised. However, the band has also been there to remind me, very clearly, that I have this tool - for all those times when my head didn't always want to follow the rules.

It is easy to eat around the band. And I sure don't want to do that. I worked very, very hard for the last year+ and don't want to throw away all that I have "gained"!

But... that soft food thing, and the feeling of deprivation, and the head hunger thing - still lingers on.

As for my physical stuff and the band... for the past month or so, I've really had a severe change in how I'm tolerating food. I really believe it's not all a head thing - or a soft food thing, etc. So, I've had several tests - an upper GI to check for problems and slippage, and an endoscopy to check for erosion. Erosion has been ruled out. My doctor thinks I'm beginning to show signs of the slippage, but there's nothing to do at the moment. I am going on a cruise on the 28th and my doctor feels whatever it is can wait until I come back. He said that if things are really bad (i.e. too much reflux or vomiting), then he would take out all the fill before my cruise. However, I realy don't want to do that. As much as I have good intentions, I KNOW that the band does work as a strong tool - at those times when my head is not ready to work with it!

So. for now, I have to keep pushing to get my head back into a good place. And I really have to stop eating those things that always go down so easily!

It's nice to "talk" to you! I do read the boards regularly, but haven't posted in quite a while.

Good luck getting through the holidays!

Mary

hey guys! i am right there with ya'll! since i am not doing the low carb thing anymore i have been enjoying the hell out of my favorite foods i had been avoiding!

i have had chili with cornbread, lentils, last night i made white Beans with ham, i almost feel like saying the heck with meat cause i have missed my beans so much!!! (i was a vegit. for a year about 6 years ago) lastnight i went shopping and bought MORE BEANS!!! i bought chickpeas and made me some YUMMY hummus lastnight and bought some pinto beans for this weekend and oats to make for breakfast.

beans and green beans. i have been on a major green bean kick too. i am not feeling bad about my choices though. for some strange reason i am having restriction again so while i can eat a little more of the beans and veggies its not a huge amount.

yesterday for lunch i had 1/2 cup lentils, 1/2 cup green beans and 1/2 cup of meat...ribs to be exact. for dinner i had 11 chips and 1/2 cup of hummas and a 'cup of soup' packet.

i too seem to 'open up at night' so i get busy for the last 2 hours i am awake so i dont have time to snack!

michelle

I'm waving the white flag. It's all baffling. Cunning, baffling, powerful (from the Big Book of AA.) My 3 small meals a day have gone by the wayside. There's no time like the present, so I'll attempt to eat band-like tonight. Every time I lose a couple pounds, it comes right back and I fight and fight and fight!

There must be something in the water! I started off great but have been grazing all day long..I too will try to eat like a bandster tonight. It might be fill time for me. Ever since this esophagitis thing and I have been able to eat solids..I am able to eat more!

oh Alex, I could have written that post! thanks for sharing it!

It can be so hard !

wonder if it's because of the time we are out? we're not as "focussed" on it and are WELL passed the time when we would have chucked in the towel & eaten ourelves back to start weight with a lot more pounds on for good measure...

I suppose it may be the sustaining now - "can't gain - need to lose more" pressure that we put on ourselves? ah dunno... I DO know that i'm right there with you!

THinking of you mate

Aud x

We all feel the same way, so now what can we do about it? It's so hard now that I've discovered ways to recreate that stuffed-tummy feeling I used to love so much (with things like stew, chili, corn chowder), to tell myself that I can't do that anymore--tell myself again, I mean.

Drinking more is one thing I know I can do and MUST do. liquid helps me feel full but ever since that one tiny reflux episode two months ago I've been shying away from drinking large amounts of Water at a time. And that's bad on several fronts, so I know I have to try harder to get that water in.

New Year's resolution time is just around the corner, gang. Let's resolve to make our bands start working for us all over again. They haven't given up, right, so let's not do it either! Who's with me???

Let's hear it!!! Bandster rules RULE!!! :) :D

Iam with you Alex 100%

Im in a slump and need to get out of it big time!

Me too. I've resorted to canned chicken breast this evening and a few wheat thins. Something has got to give, cause I am NOT willing to go backwards!!!

And, you know, the world we live in is not a safe place, by any means. Tomorrow, we're all supposed to bring a dessert for Christmas! Argghhhhh..

I'm baking a pecan pie, that way I can't sneak into it without the others noticing. lol. I came SOOO close to baking Cookies and had to talk myself into reality, like a frickin junkie... :think

I've been fighting the coughing croup the last three weeks. Haven't cared what I ate, zero exercise, and just plain crummy all around. So I went to the dr. today, got some meds and bloodwork done. I have to get back on my asthma inhaler regularly. I'd gained 3 pounds. I really can't believe it wasn't more! So what do I do? Buy a frozen blackberry cobbler, bake it, and eat some too easily. Yipes! Between the unfill and being sick, I've been a very, very bad bandster. And I still have to go w/o a fill until February! Hopefully, tonight I'll be able to get a real night's rest so I can think about eating and exercising properly! I hope Santa doesn't read this!