I'm just curious. For those at goal, what was your endgame plan? Did you unfill so that you can eat like a normal person, or do you still have the restriction in place? I'd like to think that by then I would have learned enough to eat rationally.

Thoughts?

I would never want to be unfilled. When I have any less in there than I have now, I want to eat pizza, and other stuff the band won't let me eat now. I like having the forced willpower. I don't think I will ever learn to eat rationally. I have too many years of yo yo dieting behind me.

I am having trouble getting this last 10 lbs off. It's so easy now to think that I have lost enough, even though I would actually like to lose more than 10.

my answer would be .......NO.......That's what got you here in the first place.

Not for me. I need this restriction because I have no control when it comes to food.

That's really a hard question to answer. I have gotten used to the idea that certain foods are just to hard to eat. So I don't think about those foods anymore. Sometimes I think that eating is just too much trouble.

I don't think you would call that normal, but I do think about food way less than I used to. I don't think about my next meal, or running to a convenience store to buy junk food anymore.

I think the realtionship with food does change but not in the way that you would think that it would.

Define "normal" because 3 years ago, what was normal to me then got me close to 300lbs.

After 18 months at goal weight, I am totally unfilled, and eat the same types of food as when I was losing, but just a little more of them. If that is the definition of normal, then, yes, I do eat normally.

Yes. Your term was resume...which means at one point it was 'normal' or optimum...in my case infancy... hahahah

Now, I love food. I use it to nourish my body, have a treat, but not to medicate myself anymore.

Oops, forgot to add:

After you reach goal ...go 2 weeks with 'normal' eating...remember, your new normal not your former bad habits.

If you are still losing weight...call the doc for a slight unfill...anywhere between .2 and .5cc.

After that unfill, continue to eat your new normal....if you maintain (can go up a pound or two but that comes right back off) then you are DONE!

If you continue to lose.... get another unfill.

IF; however, you gain...and gain and it's not hormonal, medicines, etc....go back for a fill to get restriction back. You have not mastered a new way of eating!

Where do these numbers come from Grace? There is no correct unfill for anyone who is at goal, and still losing.

To give a definitive number ("between .2 and .5") is a bit misleading.

Everyone is different, and every band is different.

Inamed, makers of the lapband, train docs in maintenance and unfills just the same as they do adjustments/fills.

The rule of thumb for someone who has hit their goal AND still losing AND want to stop losing.... to do an adjustment of .2cc to .5cc unfill.

Forgot to add that those are numbers for the 9.75 band.

But "rule of thumb" is not an exact science, and can't be applied to all circumstances. Everyone is different!

Inamed, makers of the lapband, train docs in maintenance and unfills just the same as they do adjustments/fills.

The rule of thumb for someone who has hit their goal AND still losing AND want to stop losing.... to do an adjustment of .2cc to .5cc unfill.

Forgot to add that those are numbers for the 9.75 band.

Unfiilling to find the perfect restriction to maintain is JUST like filling to find the perfect restriction to lose.

Not everyone is going to lose or maintain at the same level of restriction.

It took a total unfill for me to stop losing. And even then if I am not very, very careful, I will lose a couple of pounds. No .2cc unfill to stop me losing I am afraid.

I do believe that I've changed a lot. I'm a dedicated exerciser now for starters, losing weight is the tiniest reason why I exercise regularly. I love it and I do it for how it makes me feel. That in turn affects my appetite, it regulates it and makes me want healthier foods. So I do believe my behaviours have changed to a large degree and I do not believe that I would regain to my former weight.

But - I am now at a stable weight with 3ml in my band. Its loosened off a lot since my last fill 9 months ago and I can eat bread and really anythign I like and in reasonable quanity, not tiny ones. So I see no reason to mess with it, dont fix what aint broke.

I find I can overdo it a bit at times, like those times you have dinner out 4 nights in a row, yep, up I go a pound or two and sometimes I do have to be very strict for a week to make sure I dont retain that 1 or 2 lb, so I do suspect that without my band, my appetite would increase again and I would gain weight. But I dont have the horrid habits I did have, so it stands to reason that whilst my body alwasy seemed to like a weight of about 84kg, which puts me at a BMI of about 28 and may return there, I doubt I'd hit 113kg again.

I still have a problem with sugar. I wish it got stuck and made me sick.

There is nothing like trying a food and having it get stuck and causing

a miserable time until it goes down or comes up to make me never want

to try to eat that food again.

So no, I would still say that I will never have a normal relationship with certain foods. If I could eat Cookies all day long and be healthy, I could see myself doing that. I am good about keeping track on my protien

and trying to eat a balanced diet since my portions are so much smaller.

I can't even imagine that if I do get this last 10 lbs off, that I would want

any amount of an unfill. That would just be opening the door for more junky foods (like pizza I mentioned before) that I would try to eat. I am absolutely sure I would gain weight with any unfill.

I found out by taking a resting metabolic test a the doctor's office that I have a very slow metabolism. If it weren't for the fact that I spend so much time at the gym, I probably would not even have any chance at getting to my goal. Now, I can think about spending 2 hours at the gym, and undoing all that work by eating a bunch of cookies which unfortunately, go through the band easier than any good food.

Ah Cookies. Me too Denise. I will never have a normal relationship with sugary carbs. I could live on them, quite happily. Unfortunately, they go down really easily.

What I find helps me (and is this normal? Probably not!) is that every morning, I set out on the bench the 2 pieces of fruit, the carton of yogurt, the 4 bottles of Water, and the five different vegetables I am going to get through that day. The veges I can put aside in the fridge -- usually have some in a sandwich for lunch and several steamed for dinner. I make a pact with myself that the fruit, yogurt and water is to be eaten FIRST whenever I get picky. I usually find if I do that, I can control the cravings for cookies that strikes at 11 am.

And contrary to my previous beliefs about water, I do indeed find chugging down half a litre of water if I feel like eating something really DOES quell the urge a lot of the time.

If I have to play mind games like this with myself I doubt I could be called normal, but oh well, if it keeps me healthy I'm happy enough with it.

That is really a good idea, Jacqui! I too could live happily on sugary carbs easily. It really stinks that they go down so much easier than chicken.

Do you eat your veggies raw? I have a problem with veggies unless they are coooked to mush. I don't like that, and it bothers me that I am not getting as many veggies in as I think I should. I am not quite sure what to do about that.

Sometimes I just think that eating is too much trouble. I will sometimes do Protein bars or Protein shakes just because it's easier. I like the fact that the label on the Protein Bars has all the Vitamins in them and I try to convince myself that it's just as good as eating veggies.