Hi everyone,

Where to start....?? I was banded on 8 November 2007. I've struggled with my weight and emotional eating most of my life. At my heaviest, which was just prior to starting the pre-op liquid diet I was 125.7kg (277 pounds). Today I weigh 116kg (255.7 pounds). So in 18 weeks I have only lost 9.7kg (21 pounds). I never realised just how much of an emotional eater I was until after the surgery. It's really quite unnerving. I have been feeding my emotional hunger with ice cream & chocolate, both of which go through the band very easily. I'm off to the surgeon tomorrow to have some more fill put in, it's pretty tight at the moment, but I think I need just a smidge more.

Hopefully I'll be able to find some tips here to help me deal with my emotional eating. I saw a shrink about it but he was of absolutely no help at all!

Hi and welcome to LBT! First off, 21 pounds in 18 weeks is right on track. Remember, the band is not like gastric bypass. It is designed for us to lose an average of 1-2 pounds per week. That is a healthy weightloss.

As for eating ice cream, your right, that is definitely not going to help the weight come off because it goes right through the band. Getting more fill really isn't going to help with that.

Are you attending any local support groups? I found that really helps to be able to talk with others and find out how they deal with issues such as head hunger. And of course, you have done something wonderful for yourself by joining LBT as well. You will find lots of people here having the same struggles you are having and offering help and support.

Another thing you may want to try is fitday.com, sparkpeople.com or the dailyplate.com. All of them are free sites for monitoring your daily calorie intake and may help you to get a better hold on what you are eating.

Good luck to you, we look forward to getting to know you better.