hello,

i was banded March 19, 2008 and am feeling great, have lost roughly 30 lbs and had 3 fills, the most recent one finally resulting in some restriction (although I may have a tiny leak, as I feel less restriction every day). i am thrilled with my weight loss and emotional outlook every day, but the past week or two has presented a unique issue. i miss large meals...i miss gulping Water when i'm thirsty and being able to take a big bite of something and not have to chew it to pulp. there are just certain times where i miss chowing down! i know that huge bites and big meals are what got me into this mess to begin with, i just thought i'd take a poll and see how others felt? this site has been incredibly helpful and supportive, and sometimes it's true that it makes me feel better just to know others have felt that same way....

i'd love to hear your stories or experiences or words of wisdom.

i haven't had my first fill yet and so there is no restriction. I can't get my head from thinking about food--all the time. Its become an obsession. i don't know if its because a "diet" is imminent in my near future or what. I just wish it would go away!

EJ..hi there. I am like you. I miss gulping Water. especially when I am hot! I don't drink as much water as I did before LB. I miss taking a big bite of a chilli cheese dog or a burger that I make at home and is so big....you get my drift. I know this is a problem place and when I can start eating real food again I know I will never have those things again.:biggrin: In a way it is almost like a loss of a loved one. I feel I have to greive over what I can't have and then maybe I will be allright. does that make any sence? anyway I understand you...your not alone.

Gone 3 ever

I am right there with you...I am in mourning over what I won't be able to do anymore. Gulping and stuffing won't work anymore and even tho I know they were wrong I miss them. I think it's healthier just to admit the feeling than to deny it, even tho it seems ridiculous. These eating habits were our "friends" and comfort for years so to be in mourning over the loss seems reasonable to me!

Today I miss chomping down a big Chicago hot dog the most. But I want to be healthy and fit more than I want that experience. :-)

Funny I saw this thread. I ran, ran, ran this morning....(not literally, but busy bee with kids out for Summer...) Anyways, bought some decaff mint tea, couldn't wait to make it. Once done, I gulped and gulped because i was so parched. OOPS! Forgot about my band. Try bringing mint flavor back up! It really caught my attention! Not to mention the short period of nausea that came with it.

I am almost 4 weeks out and feel the same way. It's so sad that I miss such unhealthy habits! Well, the chowing down on large bites and large amounts of food part, anyway.

I live in VA and we had 100+ temperatures over the weekend - I was so jealous watching my husband gulp down half a bottle of ice cold Water in 10 seconds! I don't have to SIP, necessarily, but I do have to go much slower than I did in the past.

And watching my normal-weight husband chowing on a big plate of delicious food makes me feel sad that I can't load up that way anymore.

It's really ridiculous and embarrassing to admit, but it depresses me that I'll never be able to overeat that way again. For whatever reason, there's something satisfying to me about piling up a big plate of yummy food and shoveling it in.

Obviously, that's why I weighed 271 pounds on the day of my surgery. I would bet any amount of money that if I asked that question of any of my naturally "skinny" friends, not one would agree.

My naturally skinny mother has the constant mindset of not wanting to put too much food on her plate (or in her body). When she looks at food, she thinks, I'll never be able to eat all of that, I should cut that in half, I should take a smaller serving. Whereas, all of my life, I've had a compulsion to pile up a lot of food, worrying to myself that whatever it is will never be enough to fill me up. I would say it's almost an obsession.

I've often wondered over the the years if this is a genetic or brain chemical issue. Certainly my mother always tried to help me and teach me to think like her, but my compulsion to eat overrode everything. I'm still amazed that this band is helping me to get into that frame of mind - the-I'll-never-be-able-to-eat-all-of-that mindset. I'm so grateful for that, and so hopeful, here at the beginning of my journey, that this will be life-changing for me.

I think it's ok to mourn, but don't let that blind you to the new way of thinking.

I was so totally ready to give it all up because it was killing me. I stepped away from it and haven't looked back.

Don't think of overeating or gulping as a friend. If it was, it was a friend that was killing you. Sometimes I think that people sound like abused spouses who make excuses for their abuser.

You have escaped now put your feet on the road to wellness and race like the wind!

If it's any consolation, I am on clear liquids now, 6 days post-op, and my husband wouldn't let me lick his cheeseburger from In and Out Burger last night. I thought that was terribly RUDE of him, LOL! But, in all seriousness, I think it was the chewing that I missed the most. I really just wanted to take a bite of it and spit it out. I don't need to EAT the burger, but I do enjoy sitting down to meals. Right now, liquid "meals" of broth and water are just killing me.

thanks to one and all who replied to me in my hour of need. i'm doing a little bit better today, i have been exercising portion control and not testing the limits of the band because i am a big believer that the band is a tool, not a magic wand. i want to feel, even in a very small way, that i am being proactive and dedicated to this.

it made me feel infinitely better just to know that others were in the same boat. like any addict, there was a co-dependancy on food and how it made me feel, so i think it's ok to mourn that a little bit, as long as i don't dwell on it or let it consume me.

it's not food so much as liquids, i have dry mouth often and crave a big gulp of tea or Water...but oh well! i'm down 30 lbs and that is a HUGE thing for me. if i lose 10 more pounds, i will officially be more successful than any other diets before this.

keeping the faith here in Denver,

Diva

good work, can't wait to get there, I was banded on 6.10