Guys - haven't been around on the board for a couple months and it shows. I have gained 6 lbs back and have come to the conclusion that I cannot do this without a support group. Man I feel like such a pussy for even saying that. Anyway - today is a new day and I am looking to get back on track. Anyone have any suggestions or comments on how they have stayed on track or kept the motivation going. Please advise as I need help.

scott:help:

WB BRO ! Have you been sticking to an exercise routine ? If not jump back in and get addicted to it ! Head to the Dr's office and get a fill and hopefully it will help jump start you again. Either way its good to see your back and wanting to get motivated again.

Thanks Chris - no I think that is the biggest thing - I have not been exercising at all. period. I am also falling into old habits of eating crap. I plan on going to the gym tonight so hopefully i will keep that plan.

i got my second fill a couple weeks back and i feel restriction - sometimes things get stuck which sucks terribly. However it is really strange - i will feel full after a couple bites and then i can actually feel all the food pass through the band and i can eat more. so inevitably i do. I can still eat pretty much anything except on some occasions i cannot tollerate bread, and since my second fill cannot eat a tortilla wrap. The dr wont give me another fill till after thanksgiving so i suppose i am on my own till then.

thanks for the words of encouragement.

Welcome back!

You can do it. We're all in this together. Get the crap out of the house and stock up on good foods.

Bruce

Hey big guy that what we are all here for .I Do the same eat a little wait then eat more . I have a 10 cc .band and it was my4th fill before no more totillas.I do not exsersice like I should so maybe we can get on each others case for accountablity. Good luck . Paul

Guys - well i got off my ass and went to the gym last night. did 30 min on the treadmill (normally do 45 but was pressed for time and wanted to get weights in too). After the tread I worked out my chest and triceps. I did 5 sets of 8 of the following exercises

bench

incline bench

decline bench

standing tricep press (pushing downward)

overhead dumbell press

butterfly press

i felt really good afterwards -muscles didnt have any lactic acid build up just fatigue today

Tonight i am going to go do cardio again and work back and biceps.

Great Job ! I am on my way to the gym in a few minutes ! :whoo:

Hi Bigsexy, I have the same thing happen that you do. I eat, then wait and I feel it pass through then I eat some more. Does this mean that we do not have enough restriction? Anyone?

Dave, the trick is to STOP the first time you're full.

The restriction is probably fine, but we can all 'beat' the band by grazing all day, or eating soft foods, or liquid calories, or really crunchy stuff. I'm guilty of all that at some time or another.

What's helped me recently is setting up one of those online food-tracking accounts and being brutally honest with myself. Turns out the band is fine, but I me myself am sabotaging my progress with crap eating and too many calories.

Hi Jack, I do not feel this way at all, I actually really appreciate your time and experience. You have been doing this for a long time now and have lost a lot of weight with the band. You are a good example of what can be achieved.

The fact is that I am coming to the realization that this is still a "diet". Yes we have different tools to help us control what and how much we eat but we also need to eat the right things, not just less things. Your tips on training myself to understand the difference between hunger and being satisfied are good.

I guess I just thought that I would have the band installed, find the correct restriction so eat less and the weight would come off, wrong!

-I need to plan meals and sizes (lay out a diet)

-I need to track what I eat and when I eat it

-I need to stop whenever I can and only eat when I am hungry.

-I need to exersice

Agreed?

re: 'I feel it pass through then I eat some more. Does this mean that we do not have enough restriction? Anyone?"

daveintoronto: I'm not stalking you or trying to persecute you...you have great questions that show the need for some answers.

Jack: I've just started (1 week post-op appt today) and can "reallY" appreciated your well thought out and informative responses...I seriously hope you will stay around for a while, for all us newbies sake.

Great work!

John

Oh, and BTW...do you have any information/opinion on the newer style "low-profile" port and the newer style band that is a tad bit wider and has no gaps on the inside ?

re: 'I feel it pass through then I eat some more. Does this mean that we do not have enough restriction? Anyone?"

daveintoronto: I'm not stalking you or trying to persecute you...you have great questions that show the need for some answers.

Your quote above shows the good & the not so good regarding your awareness of altered digestive process....

Since you are aware of the passage of the bolus (what you ate) then you can train yourself to be aware of WHY you eat and WHEN you eat.

The only legitimate reason to eat, regardless of the jillion excuses we've all used for years and years....is to produce satiety by eating a Normo amount of food. Anything more that that, is overeating and will produce the undesirable results of Morbid Obesity, since we are all obsessive/compulsive about over eating. regardless of our true physiological state regarding 'hunger'.

If we continue to do what we've always done, we'll continue to get what we've always gotten. To expect a change in results without changing behavior, is CRAZY....

So unless we want to add the descriptors of a psychological disorder to our state of Morbid Obesity, we have to change something.

Either our goals, desires, wishes, dreams, fantasies of being NOT Morbidly Obese has to change, or the behavior that produces it has to change. Our call individually.

To simplify and symbolize all those complex issues that culminate in my life-long eating disorder, I labeled it as 'the Dragons of the Belly' etc....

Either the Dragons are in control, or -I- am in control.

When the Dragons surge in attempt to make me overeat, I have erected tools to fight their influence. When I overeat from the Dragon menu, I feel like crap.

It's getting easier each day to defeat the Dragons, yet they will return with unexpected power. They are tricky and resilient....

....So am ~I~.....and I have a host of friends....