I was banded July 2006 and have lost right around 100 pounds gaining and losing those same few pounds over and over again. I can't tolerate large fills currently I am 1.3 in the small band and I feel restriction as long as I eat the type of food that I am supposed to eat. My problem is I am eating junk junk junk it slides right down with no problem at all. I know I have to work with the band to make it work I need to get that back into my head but I think I am getting tired now after 2 years of constantly watching what I eat. I know it is to be for a lifetime but I think Im getting burned out. Does anyone else have a problem like this and if so tell me how your handling it. Please, Ive worked so hard and I so afraid of gaining the weight back.

Sure! I think it's natural to feel this way! I'm sure diabetics have the same issue, too. I'm coming up on a year and having that problem as well. I'm pretty darn tight right now so many, many foods get stuck. So I have to ask myself what do I need to do to make it work for me again? I've analyzed what seems to work and what doesn't work and have simply tried to 'get back on the horse' every morning when I wake up. Some days I'm good, some days I'm not. Oh well. I still feel like I'm making progress over a year ago!

I often choose mushy foods because they're easy. But I am trying to get back to lean Protein (read: dry!) and veggies. I know I CAN eat those things...it just takes more effort! I have to take tiny tiny bites, chew chew chew, and wait a good while between bites. (Sound familiar??) We have to make good choices because the nutrition is so important.

I guess I don't have any words of wisdom for you except to try to adjust your mindset. Try to pay attention to the negative talk in your head and reverse that thinking. Instead of: "This grilled chicken and asparagus is going to get stuck. I'll have the cheese enchiladas instead", think "Grilled chicken and asparagus is great for my health and will keep me fuller, longer... I love myself and choose to be healthy...I will make the effort to eat slowly and deliberately...I will savor the subtle flavors of healthy food."

Those negative tape loops are a killer. Pay attention.

I hope this helps in some way. I understand your struggle. Stay strong!

I'm with you on trying to reinvigorate yourself.

I took a break, I'm trying to get back on the stick. My personal goal is three days. Three days of following all the rules. Taking my Vitamins, drinking my Water, tracking my food.

I can do anything for three days!!!

But I needed my break. Perhaps you need one too. Just before you go all out of control pick an end time. Like I'll relax with the bandster way of life until April first. Then pick it back up again at that point.

You are not alone. Good luck.

You can't tolerate large fills but when was the last time your fill was checked. Perhaps some fill has evaporated over time?

If you're not eating the "easy" foods becasue you're too tight, then you are able to tolerate the right foods but are choosing the wrong ones. Sounds like you're just back to craving carbs. Detox from the carbs by doing two days of Protein drinks of high protein full liquids. Follow that by three days of high protein solid food. That will help rid you of the carb cravings and you should be able to get back on track.

Every morning during this five days, ask yourself if you want to go back to the old days when you weighed 100 pounds more.

To make this work, plan the best time to start this detox and be sure to get everything you need ahead of time. shakes, broth, sugar free popsicles and sugar free Jello ( just like after surgery). Have the solid protein ready for days three to five. chicken, salad, veggies, tuna, cheese, fresh fruit.

And very important, get rid of the junk in your house. We are addicts, we cannot control ourselves when these foods are in abundance in our environment. An ex-smoker should not keep an open pack of cigs. next to them and we cannot keep our addiction readily available either.

Pack it up and give it away or throw it away (and pour something nasty on top of it, like your coffee grounds)

Everytime your scale goes up more than seven pounds just repeat this process and keep that junk out of the house!

Good Luck and you might want to start a new thread when you start your detox and see if anyone wants to join you. There is almost always someone else on the forum with the same problem.

Shortgal, this is seriously not meant to offend you in any way!! .... but most veteran bandsters know what we need to do (like detox from carbs) but it's the mind games that we have to conquer. What are the little mind tricks that you play with yourself to stay on track? How do you refresh your motivation? How do you get back to the gym? How do you form new, better habits?

After the honeymoon phase, things get a tad bit harder...in more ways than one!

That being said....those ARE great tips you gave! Keep up the good work and thanks for supporting your fellow bandsters here at LBT!!!

No offense taken. Even if we're not all veteran bandsters we are all veterans of excess weight for a long time ( especially at my age).

No doubt our head plays a huge part and I'm sure the OP looking for help will get more solutions from all different perspectives. I just offer what works for me as my issues might resonate with someone. I do the same from the forum, some suggestions won't work for me and others do.

I was hoping to offer some motivation as well as a plan and how to implement it.

How do you stay motivated? I see you're almost to the one year mark. When do you find it the hardest to stay on plan?

I totally expect to have setbacks along the way and especially once I'm at goal. I know those mind games that start once we believe we've reached the "goal" so now we can eat again.

I also like to read a new book that motivates me to get back on track.

But I believe starting back at step one with basic banding rules is the first step I will have to use over and over. Solid Protein, veggies, chew slow, small bites, no drinking for one hour etc.

Now exercise, that is my one big issue to work on!

To get my motivation back I have a serious heart to heart with myself.

I read motivational quotes as dorky as that seems sometimes they really work. Best recent one: "Knowing what to do and not doing it doesn't get you very far." J. Pfeffer.

Also, I review what behaviors I was doing when I was seeing success. I look at old food journals to see what I was eating and I start eating those foods again.

I appreciate shortgal's advice about detoxing from carbs. I do that too, albeit in a different way, but I do get the junk out of my system.

My fill was just checked out 2 weeks ago. My doc actually added .3 I was just at 1. It seems if I go higher than the 1.3 I start to have major problems of reflux and PBing. I know in my head what I am supposed to do and have done it but my goodness now I am struggling I think mire than ever. Today is a new day Im trying very hard to stay on track. Thanks everyone I actually feel better just talking about it and that someone else understands what I am going thru.

You've had a major success, losing 100 pounds!

I guess we all get complacent now and then, even my "thin, normal" friends gain 10 pounds ocassionally. You know I never thought to ask them for advice on what they do, as I guess it was hard to relate to someone that needs to lose ten pounds when I needed to lose 75-80 pounds.

I know for me, the "war" with my weight will never be over. I might win a few battles along the way, but the war will continue.

I guess if I really think about it, there are worse battles I might have to fight. Severe illness, cancer, sudden loss of employment etc. so I guess we need to see the glass half full more often. But no doubt it IS hard!

Reading the forum helps me to stay on track as well! Let us know how you make out and what works for you to get back on track. I'm sure it will help somebody else, too.

Since two of you have said you like to read motivational books/articles, I'd like to suggest one that I REALLY like! [ame=http://www.amazon.com/This-Year-Will-Finally-Resolution/dp/0767920082/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205937250&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: This Year I Will...: How to Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution, or Make a Dream Come True: M. J. Ryan: Books[/ame]

Since two of you have said you like to read motivational books/articles, I'd like to suggest one that I REALLY like! Amazon.com: This Year I Will...: How to Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution, or Make a Dream Come True: M. J. Ryan: books

Thanks for the link and suggestion. I plan to order the Beck Solution that someone mentioned on the forum and I'll get this one too!

I'm one of the ones who recommended The Beck Diet Solution. It's an awesome book. Not a diet book at all, but it's written for overweight people to help them re-train their thinking about themselves and food.

It sounds like this is what you need, I'm so glad you're ordering it!

To get my motivation back I have a serious heart to heart with myself.

I read motivational quotes as dorky as that seems sometimes they really work. Best recent one: "Knowing what to do and not doing it doesn't get you very far." J. Pfeffer.

Also, I review what behaviors I was doing when I was seeing success. I look at old food journals to see what I was eating and I start eating those foods again.

I appreciate shortgal's advice about detoxing from carbs. I do that too, albeit in a different way, but I do get the junk out of my system.

Juli, this is not dorky at all! I have just started this up myself. I even made it into a lovely printout, and I have decided to find an inspirational quote at least once a week to print out. So, every time I walk into my cubie at work, I see it posted there and I read it to myself.

Right now mine is:

"Some succeed because they are destined to; most succeed because they are determined to." -by Anatole France. I never thought this would actually make a difference, but every time I read it to myself, I feel a new energy to continue for even that very moment.

Well since you opened the door, the few I have on my wall behind my computer screen are:

Winning is never accidental. To win consistenetly you must have a clear plan and intense motivation. Lou Holtz

Obstacle are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. Henry Ford

The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth. Anon

I am not interested in the past. I am interested in the future, for that is where I expect to spend the rest of my life. CF Kettering

Give me a few more of yours.

Oh, shoot I'm going to start a new thread with this...

i know this sounds lame, but i swear sometimes i just say that old mantra "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" often when that doesnt work and i am about to pull up to the taco bell drive through i just ask myself "really, do you REALLY want to do this?" it works about 50% of the time. maybe doing something nice for yourself like a massage or nails will make you get back in the state of mind that you are a goddess and you should treat yourself right.

p.s. how does saline evaporate from a closed circuit?

it was my understanding that with the band and the right restriction, we could eat whatever we want but in small amounts which results in less calories which in turn results in wt. loss