I was banded in Sept 07. I wasn't losing weight fast, but that was ok. I didn't tell people that I had the surgery, so it was ok that the weight was slowly coming off, but coming off. So I would say since Feb I haven't lost really anything. I know it is my fault and not the bands. My last fill was in March and it didn't do a thing for me. I actually feel like I could eat more now than I could before that last fill. I kept telling myself give it some time because I have read on here were people say their fill kicked in a few weeks later. Well mine hasn't. I have scheduled another fill and I pray that it will help me and get me back to being motivated.

What really gets me down is I feel like if I eat 1 bad carb I gain a pound. So does this mean I am no longer allowed to eat a bad carb for the rest of my life? Is this normal?

I use to be on this site all day long every day. Then I stopped coming around and I think that is one reason I am not motivated. I need you people!

I can't fail at this too!

First off.. congrats on losing almost 40 lbs .which is almost 10 lbs a month. . i think the carb issue is what type of carbs are you eating. change everything to wheat flour, not white flour.. and every now and then switch back to liquid Protein. Are you exercising as much. Now that the summer is here , you may want to get into swimming and Water aerobics. I think ( and this is just me) that our bodies have gotten used to the weight and get to a slow point. we have to do everything to keep our metabolism tricked. so for each bad carb , we may need to counteract and do a few extra reps at the gym. Do not beat yourself up, it defeats the purpose! just know that we have to work a little harder to reach our goals. I have switched to everything sugar free. the other night i at three regular chocolate chip Cookies and thought i was going to die! i cannot believe that i - the original cookie monster - have turned away from the sweet treats.. it does not bother me to go to dunkin donuts and just get a fat free muffin and eat half.

keep me posted and good luck.... Mona

40lbs lost is a great achievement but I know how you feel about not losing quickly enough. I'm in the same boat and I know it's my fault as well because I still eat things I shouldn't. I haven't arrived at my sweet spot yet but I'm getting there. My family keep putting pressure on me because they think I should have lost heaps more by now. I know they're right but sometimes it's hard to deal with it. Hang in there because it will come. I am giving myself the next 3-4 months to get to my next goal which is another 10kgs (22 lbs) down. Of course if I lose more then it will be a bonus.

NOTHING is wrong with you! I think many of us who have gotten so heavy feel that something must be wrong with us but actually it is not us it is some of the choices we make day by day. We must find what motivation tool will work and then work with that tool. Losing slow is a good way to lose especially health wise. Hang in there and keep us posted.

I am having the same problem I had my first band 12/31/06 then in 07 lost 70 pds quickly only to find out the band was too tight and I could never get a fill and was vomiting constantly. Then I had it replaced in Nov. 07 and gained back ten pounds and now I am having trouble. I don't feel motivated I was believe me but it has all gone downhill since Jan.. I feel like a failure. I don't have any motivation to go to the gym even. I wish I had someone who was going through this so we could push each other to stay on track.

If anyone has some suggestions to help please send some.

70lbs is a fantastic achievement and you only have 50lbs left to go... I'd say you've done very well so far. Is there a support group near where you live? I started going to a support group in the last 2 months and I must say it has really helped me get a better perspective of where I am. Join one of the challenges going on this board, see if that helps. I feel what has happened with me is the weight I've lost so far has brought me to a place where I feel pretty good with myself so the urgency to lose more is not there at the moment. It's my comfortable weight, any less and I might have to deal with my emotional issues. Maybe that's something you need to look at as well. Keep reading this board, you are bound to find some inspiration which can help get you there again. Good luck and keep us posted.

We all go through periods where we are not motivated anymore.

I always have to go back to the basics and watch everything I eat. If I don't a few lbs. will creep up on me in no time. If I stick with Protein

veggies and fruit, I do fine. I always gain from the bad carbs too. If I eat them for a few days, I have to force myself to only eat protein for a couple of days to get the carb cravings out of my system.

It helps to make a list of every reason you wanted to lose weight. Look at the list frequently. Remind yourself how happy you were when you went down a size in the clothes. Those things get me through the couple of days on protein only and get the carb cravings out of my head.

Regarding the carbs, the answer must might be that whenever you eat a carb, you retain Water rather than actually gain fat. Carbs - even good carbs - make your body retain water. I assume with this that you're not making whole meals out of carbs, because if you are, it could actually be fat gain.

I know that whenever I've gone on low carb diets, all it took was a little bit of bread to make the scale jump, but it was never a long term gain if I just ate reasonably. So don't worry - it's probably just water. Just eat carbs in very small portions and you should be fine!

I not a good example in a lot of ways because I put back the weight I lost on the pre-op liquid diet which was around 25 lbs, 10% of my body weight at the start. Actually I was around 253lbs when I started. Today I got on the scale and it was 245. something, no shoes though!

Anyway a lot of my issues have been "head" related and not everyone has that easy of a time. But I refused to give up, jeese, after $30,000 for a little band I'm not going to revision because I haven't worked out all the "kinks", that's figuratively not literally. As many know I've had a few "fill" issues and are probably different for everyone. There have been some mistakes made in my fills which cost me some of my motivation. I'm also on some meds which tend to slow down my metabolism. I'm also almost 50, enough said.

I have to move past this and even if I don't get down to what most bansters want as their goal weight, I'm looking at 200 lbs and am 5'6", I still am going to give it a try! Now if brandyII can get the GD scale moving on the down side instead of the wrong direction for a change then you guys can too.

That hunger thing, is it around PMS time? I know it's my hardest time and I also have PCOS. It's the worse and when I want sweets which we all know miraculously go through the band like water!!!!! Or are you hungry all the time. I still get hungry and I think it's good to know what hunger feels like and if you have a band and eat food the hunger should go away. If this isn't happening I'd discuss it with your doctor and none of that I'm too embarrassed to see my doctor crap because I'm a failure. He gave you that band and he should seeing this thing through with you not against you! He's not the one that has to live in your body though so it's up to you to be proactive and get whatever help you need from your doctor.

Fills are tricky things, believe me I know, getting one doesn't always help, it can work against you. Those that have hit the perpetual "sweet spot" are very lucky people because I myself don't necessarily know if it's possible, I believe they can change for many reasons anyway especially with weight loss it's going to change.

Anyway we're here to support you, don't want you giving up by all means and if you need to talk and open up more about what you think is going on this is the place to do it. But don't forget your doctors are there to help you and I don't want anyone afraid to go discuss the weight gain/no loss issues with them because you don't want to face them. If they do have really, really bad bedside manners then I'd say get a new doctor but otherwise take control and tell him what you expect from your banding, you didn't go through this for nothing, brandyII.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I have started coming back on to this site every day again. It helps to see other people doing so well. It really motivates me.

I am not going to give up. I am going to lose this weight! I am going to start tracking my food again and exercise like a mad woman again!

Thank you again for the support! Let's get SKINNY!

Brandy you are right about the sweet spot. You don't get to keep it until after the fat is gone around your stomach. As we lose weight, we lose fat around our stomach and the band loosens.

I am at my sweet spot and have been since my last fill in Dec.

Before that, I was really discouraged because fills didn't seem to last.

My first thought is how much are you exercising? There's only so much weight you will lose without decent exercise - a good hour of cardio most days kind of exercise.

Also with the carbs - well I eat carbs, always have and always will. When you virtually eliminate a food group, then yes, your body will react if you reintroduce it at first. And yes, if you eat something like that you'll probably start to crave it even more becuase you are not used to having it. I bet if you ate wholegrain low GI carbs in small quantities, you could eat a bad carb every now and then and not gain weight.

Brandy you are right about the sweet spot. You don't get to keep it until after the fat is gone around your stomach. As we lose weight, we lose fat around our stomach and the band loosens.

I am at my sweet spot and have been since my last fill in Dec.

Before that, I was really discouraged because fills didn't seem to last.

That sweet spot thing has now confused me even more. I actually was a bit stressed and broke down today and bought ice cream on the way home from the hospital after my daughter's surgery, which so far so good with the RNY! But today is only her first day actually she had surgery at 12:30 and didn't make it up to her room until 7:00. Anyway typical me stress, and tired I went for the ice cream and one portion filled me up. Is it a miracle, I don't know? But it is a first! And no smart arses, one portion was not a gallon:sneaky: brandyII.

Don't feel bad. I had ice cream today too. Baskin and Robbins as $1.00 cones on Tuesdays. I will probable have a Protein shake later. I'd rather get one ice cream cone that buy ice cream at the store and end up eating a much bigger portion.

My daughter had RNY too. That's how I found out about banding.

What are you confused about, Brandy?

Just the sweet spot in general, I don't know if I'll ever have one. I have a feeling that everyone has a different opinion as to what one actually is, or am I thinking too much! I can't help but be a bit too emotional about my daughter's surgery it really does break my heart and I let her do it anyway. I guess I feel like I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. I guess in a way I think she might have harmed herself if she didn't. I know that's bad but it's true!

I can relate Brandy. I really didn't want my daughter to have gastric bypass. I was very against it. I have heard of people with big problems from not being able to absorb nutrients from their food. She has done very well though. She had her surgery 2 1/2 years ago, and just had a baby. If your daughter is good about taking all the Vitamins she needs, she should be fine. How old is she?

If you have one of the larger bands, it is more difficult to find the sweet spot. There are a lot of people that just have trouble with the band. They are either too tight or too loose. Or too tight in the morning and too lose in the evening. Unfortunately, the band does make us diet, where as gastric bypass patients can just sit on the couch and lose weight. After the first year, that is not as true though.

If I can help you in any way, please let me know!