Thats right....

i was banded on may 21st 2008 and i have no fill... and i cant keep myself from over eating. And sometimes im even eating bad foods. I dont wanna keep going this way but i dont know what to do. I still take my walks at lest 5 days a week... but i just dont know when to stop eating until its too late.

Will this change once i get my fill on july 3rd? anyone else ever been here before? Im worried im streaching my new stomach too much. help!

~~jessica :tt2:

You are not failing! I was going down on the scale and got sick and now I amup 5 lbs again....but...we have no resriction yet...right...and our bodies are healing...so that is why this is called "Bandster Hell".

Start now and decide to do your best each day to make good food choices...I know I am startng over tomarrow...today was fair and yesterday was bad...tomarrow will be great!

Ty for the support. But i feel like im failing b/c i ate taco bell 2 times this week, and some other crap. I dont know what has gotten into me at all. I sometimes wonder if im acting like this to eat all the bad food before i get my 1st fill... but that sounds lame. I just need to kick my own butt somehow.

I felt a bit like that at about 3 weeks out...I had worked hard to "get" to surgery and then BOOM and then it was like a let down....I was so focused from December 2007 until my 5/28/08 date...

So, try and imagine and visualize yourself in control...be it in the car and NOT driving into Taco Bell or what ever your triggers are....

I am sipping hot herbal tea right now and typing this to you because my head is saying..go eat something right now...so believe me, it isn't easy right now.

Good Luck and keep writing and reading!

:thumbup:oh i would go back to my doctor and tell him get it sorted out real quick but sometimes it is all the mind to

susie take care

Thats right....

i was banded on may 21st 2008 and i have no fill... and i cant keep myself from over eating. And sometimes im even eating bad foods. I dont wanna keep going this way but i dont know what to do. I still take my walks at lest 5 days a week... but i just dont know when to stop eating until its too late.

Will this change once i get my fill on july 3rd? anyone else ever been here before? Im worried im streaching my new stomach too much. help!

~~jessica :tt2:

My name is Mary and I got my lap band June 2nd, I did really well at first but the last week due to an incredible amount of stress in my life I started picking up the food again. At first it was not much but I dont fill the fullness like I use to Probable because the swelling is down. But I have eaten some inappropriate things also and feel like I have failed also. But I have read on these websites that it takes a couple of fills after surgery before you really feel the restriction. But its a bitch isnt it?

I understand how you feel. I had my surgery on 6/10. I am getting through this by reminding myself that I had to resort to SURGERY to conquer this weight problem. In the whole scheme of things, this is a drastic solution. Now that I have the tool, I must use it and not make this all be another failed attempt. (And, yes, I know we don't have full restriction at this point, but building good habits now will help when the band is at optimal fill).

I do understand but luckily I had learned to listen to my body and seperate head hunger from real hunger. I also learned to eat better and differnt by watch other people (normal size) eat and mimic them. I really believe journaling helps you take an honest look at what you are eating and why. It's im,portant to write down how you feel when you overindulge or feel you really need to eat. Tracking the food helps you realize what you really are doing. You must be brutally honest with yourself if you really want to overcome this. A good support group or therapist would be helpful as well or a buddy you can call anytime. Make sure it is someone who will be honest and not tell you what you want to hear.

I know it can be done and I know every one is different but I was banded 4/11 & have no fill due to complications with the port.

there are times I feel I could eat a whole meal but I don't. I pick out what I can eat and if I want more I walk away from the table and wait 10 minutes, If I'm still hungry I can eat a little more but I haven't needed to because my brain caught up with my stomach.

If I want something I have it don't deny and no food is bad just the an=mount you eat of it.

choc my great stress reliever!!! So now I have 1 dark

choc kiss and slowly let it melt and savor every swallow. Chips measure out 1 oz and put the rest out of site or better yet buy the tiny bags.

I know you can do this but it will not be easy. You have to want to make the changes in your lifestyle. This is not another diet or a miracle cure it is just a tool for you to use. The band won't control what you choose to put in your mouth.

Good luck to all of you.

I really like what losing it in me said, I took an on-line course called Bodyway, the Aliveness Experience and it is tought by Jane Latinier. The course teaches you alot about journaling and getting centered with your inner self, real holistic stuff. My problem then and now is I am a nuse and have 3 kids one with Aspergers and my timeis so limited. By the night when they are all asleep I am so tired Ican not do anything but watch TV.The food is my drug I reach for it when I am tired and stressed, to get numb. But I know if this is to work I HAVE to do things like journaling and go back to OA meetings to get support.My body is changed it is just my mind has to now catch up.

I did the same thing Trishadish said.... I reminded myself that I had surgery to help me get healthy! I spent $17,000 of my own money and will be making monthly payments for the next five years. In more ways than one, this is an investment in myself and I need to be true to that. I think of this surgery as my last chance out of misery, and if I blow this, then I truly am lost. The real me that is hiding under the fat, will never emerge.

Another thing that really helped me, it might not work for everyone.... but during my research before surgery, I watched the surgery being performed on You Tube. I was shocked when I saw that our body fat doesn't just rest neatly under our ever-expanding skin. It crawls all over our internal organs and clings to them like moss. To me it seemed like all my fat was smothering my stomach, my liver, my heart. I couldn't get that image out of my mind when I would think about eating fatty things.

After I'd been back on "normal" foods for about a week, I decided I wanted to do some baby back ribs on the grill. One of my favorite foods. So I grilled them up and sat down at the table and when I looked down at those ribs, all I saw was how full of fat they were. I'd never noticed that before. And I just couldn't eat them. I thought.... I just had surgery to help me get rid of fat. I can't sit here and deliberately put more fat in my mouth.

It's totally a head game, not a hunger game. I've been losing very slowly since surgery... I've had 2 fills and still have very little restriction. But I made up my mind before surgery that I want this, I'm ready for it, and I don't have time to wait for full restriction.

I know it's very very hard. But this is a journey we chose and we need to do our best to stay on the path that takes us where we want to go.... and we're all going to detour at times, cuz we're human. Just try to pause and think before choosing what you eat.... we're all so used to blindly eating whatever we want, it takes some time to change that automatic behavior! I wish you all the best, I know you can do it!

Yes, it truly is a head game. Don't feel like a failure. It's just the beginning for you. Remember, you control the food, it does not control YOU. If you like Taco Bell, try eating their chicken salad bowls, take out the tortilla strips and don't add the dressing. This is a healthy alternative. And don't beat yourself up about it. Every day is a fresh one. You can start over again.

It really helps to talk on this board, I dont feel alone. But the point that this is a Head game more then a Hunger game is an understatement.but it helps to talk about it

You are not failing, I was banded on November 15, 2007 and I am loosing weight slow, but loosing - I have lost 50 lbs and have 50 more to go. I really started to loose once I got to my 3rd fill, just try to make the correct decisions until then because once you feel the restriction after your 2nd and 3rd fill, you will still be able to eat taco bell, just not as much.

try to remember, you are not a failure if you don't loose as fast as others - this isn't a race to see who can get there first, just a journey to get to the goal in the end. I am on track to take a little over a year to loose 100 lbs and get to my goal. I am not concerned, I will get there and I am able to eat the foods (in moderation) that I enjoy so I know I will be succesful.

hang in there, be patient.

Don't give up! Take a deep breath! It's going to be okay. I could have written that post right after my surgery - I went through the exact same thing. But you are NOT a failure. As you said, you haven't had a fill yet. You are exactly the same person you were before your surgery, except for this bizarre piece of hardware that was installed. It isn't working yet! So don't worry. Yes, you can eat a lot, just like you could before surgery. Why would you expect to be miraculously healed from overeating when you don't have restriction yet???!!! This takes time. There is a learning curve. Do what the doctor tells you to do and schedule your fills as often as you can get them. I assure you, when you get the proper restriction you will eat a lot less. Hang in there!!

I do understand but luckily I had learned to listen to my body and seperate head hunger from real hunger. I also learned to eat better and differnt by watch other people (normal size) eat and mimic them. I really believe journaling helps you take an honest look at what you are eating and why. It's im,portant to write down how you feel when you overindulge or feel you really need to eat. Tracking the food helps you realize what you really are doing. You must be brutally honest with yourself if you really want to overcome this. A good support group or therapist would be helpful as well or a buddy you can call anytime. Make sure it is someone who will be honest and not tell you what you want to hear.

I know it can be done and I know every one is different but I was banded 4/11 & have no fill due to complications with the port.

there are times I feel I could eat a whole meal but I don't. I pick out what I can eat and if I want more I walk away from the table and wait 10 minutes, If I'm still hungry I can eat a little more but I haven't needed to because my brain caught up with my stomach.

If I want something I have it don't deny and no food is bad just the an=mount you eat of it.

choc my great stress reliever!!! So now I have 1 dark

choc kiss and slowly let it melt and savor every swallow. chips measure out 1 oz and put the rest out of site or better yet buy the tiny bags.

I know you can do this but it will not be easy. You have to want to make the changes in your lifestyle. This is not another diet or a miracle cure it is just a tool for you to use. The band won't control what you choose to put in your mouth.

Good luck to all of you.

This is exactly what I am talking about..... i couldn't have said it better.... :thumbup:... This is key... If u follow this u can't loose.....

Learning to eat while being banded is hard. When I was first banded I refused o eat out because I just did not know how my body would react. What really helped me learn how to eat was using bowls, baby plates and baby spoons to eat my meals. It got me used to eating slower and taking smaller bites.

When i began eating out I would always order a full menu and tell them to bring me the carryout box with my meal. Didn't really work because I wanted to eat everything there..lol. However, eating appetizers and ordering off the dollar menu made me have more enjoyable meals.

You have to "fail" to reach success! Stay positive and don't give up.