All these "I'm discouraged" threads are even discouraging me! Let's hear from people who are now doing well with their bands but who may have had a hard time of it at some point. Did you have a really hard time sticking to liquids? Did you think you could out-eat a football player when your appetite returned? Did you feel like a total failure when you had one, two, three fills and still couldn't feel a difference?

Let's hear from you if any of the above scenarios sounds familiar but NOW you're rockin' and rollin' along with decent restriction and good weight loss. Let's hear how temporary the "problems" are and how you look back on them now.

For me, I can't really say I ever had any of those "I'm a failure" moments. I mean, I experienced all of the above phenomena--I'm human and a normal bandster--but my mind-set simply didn't see any of those as failures. I ALWAYS looked at the band as a long-term process rather than an event after which everything would be peaches and cream, so having things happen in slow motion is exactly what I expected. It's what I wanted, why I chose the band in the first place.

But I know a lot of people have different expectations, so I thought it would be helpful to hear from folks who have come through those short-term disappointments and frustrations and seen the light on the other side.

So, share!

I cannot say that I have been to the point that I felt discouraged but I have had set backs since last Nov. My problems stemmed from over fill then to unfilled and it all boiled down to Sinus Infections causing havoc with my Stoma. I feel that my band is working for me I just need to keep working with it. Right now I am at .08 cc's and somedays it feels like it is not enough of a fill but then again I have days where it feels just right. For me it's all about listening to my band when I am eating. Hopefully there will be no other set backs or bumps in the road.

I think after a few months we all get a little discouraged in ourselves. I've been fighting the scales now for three weeks, up 1.5, down 1, up 1, down .5, ERRRR! BUT, am I sorry, heck no, if I never lose another lb, I'm so much happier with myself than I was before my friend, the band. I just wish it would let me know I'm full before I'm over full.

Hi Alex,

I have had lots of highs and lows, but then again, I am a melodramatic person and tend to overdramatize things. I have had tons of plateaus and weigh fluctuations that range from a couple of pounds up to 10 pounds. If I deviate from a bandster food plan, I gain weight. If I dont exercise, I gain weight or cant lose. So this is for the long haul and it is a lifestyle change.

THe liquid phase for me was torture. I was always hungry, even at the hospital!!

I did not start mushies til week three. I was hungry often and very discouraged. Now as I come close to my 2 year bandiversary, I can look back and read my diary and laugh at some of the things I thought were earth shattering events when they were happening to me!

As we have all heard before, the band is just a tool. You get what you put into it and you have to continually work at improving and changing and working with the band to maximize the result.

Babs in TX

I can honestly say I am very pleased with my band. I know there is no way in hell I could have lost 36 pounds in less than 3 months. The only thing I have problems with is when I hit a plateu( I am on my second) I fear that I will never get below that weight. So yesterday I did a search on pleateus and found this cool pleateu busting diet and am going so if it works!

I really was discouraged at the beginning!!! My mother in law and I were banded at the same time. SHe did absoulutely nothing and the weight was falling off- I did the pre op diet for 14 days (little loss) I lost only 20 lbs from surgery till first fill she was loosing tons- but to top it all off she never exercised, ate everything you shouldn't had two to three glasses of wine a day and still drinks juice a lot after banding. Ice cream and popcorn every nighjt and more salad dressing than I can count (almost 4 table spoons)

I cried and cried- ash she was down thirty five an I was closer to 20- well somewhere around novemebr last year I was steadily loosing- she stopped. Now if she looses 3 pounds a month - it is great but usually 2. I still am close to 8.

I know you are not supposed to compare- but we live in the same house- so we are horrible. I wa sso afraid I wasted our money and Eric would be mad if it didn't work and it was just more wasted time and money- and so depressed (I think I need more light in the winter!)

Well now it is just the opposite as my centure mary is looming ever closer (ok not till the oms thing comes and goes this week)- I keep thinking of the slow and steady turtle- I will get there- eventually- I have a lot of hangin empty skin and mor muscle in my legs and arms than ever- I can run and walk without getting winded and I love to cook and don't feel bad when I do!

I can acutally eat part of apice of cheese cake no the whole thing and I am enjoying clothes shopping!. All kind of other things are better and lots of things haven't changed. My kids still think I am the world and the sun shines out of my &&&&, DH is still the greatest and we still fight about the car and money- but making up is a lot more fun, and I do love it when he compliments an outfit!

I think after a few months we all get a little discouraged in ourselves. I've been fighting the scales now for three weeks, up 1.5, down 1, up 1, down .5, ERRRR! BUT, am I sorry, heck no, if I never lose another lb, I'm so much happier with myself than I was before my friend, the band. I just wish it would let me know I'm full before I'm over full.

Now that sounds like me! I have no soft stop, and it hits me all at once, when I am too full.

I hit a plateau that lasted a couple of months, and I was getting pretty discouraged. I just kept doing what I was doing and one week lost 4 pounds! I seem to lose right after a fill, then nothing for a long time. I get discouraged because I have had 5 fills and I still don't have the great restriction everyone talks about. At the same time, I can eat anything I want and not pb. I have never had a PB, and I hope I never do! I am not sure if I even want another fill right now, I want to lose this weight slowly so that my body has time to adjust to it. In fact I am going to have this conversation with my doctor when I go in next week.

I am very happy with the weight loss I have had, and wouldn't trade my band for anything. I have to remind myself that even if the scale isn't going down, I still lose inches. I think we let that scale rule our lives sometimes, and we need to look at how we feel, what we can do now that we couldn't do before, how our clothes are fitting etc. I can't tell you how much better I feel since I had the surgery. I also have a lot more confidence than before.

The liquid phase for me wasn't that bad, but I didn't have to limit anything to a certain amount. I could sip all the liquid I wanted, if I got hungry I used popcicles, broth, Jello, juice, Water, Protein drinks. I didn't let myself go hungry.

I can say that the first solid foods I ate tasted like heaven!

I have never felt like this journey has been a failure for me. If I never lose another pound, I would be happy that I had the surgery. (Don't get me wrong, I do want to lose more) The band have given me back my life, and I would do it again!

I think one thing that we all have to remember is that this band is a tool to help us, it won't do all the work for us. If we don't follow the rules, then we aren't hurting anyone but ourselves.

Oh man! After the inial weight came off (mostly Water weight but I'll take that) I stopped loosing. I would weigh myself every week and I didn't see any progress. None. Not after the first few weeks. However, I was still loosing inches, so I took that.

Because I went so long before I got a fill, I could eat everything, like entire happy meals from McDonalds, so it was just as if I didn't get a band. I even gained 5 pounds back. Double cheeseburgers, entire small pizzas, you name it, I could eat it. Talk about depressing. (yeah, yeah, I know, I know, band's a tool, won't work if you don't work it, bla, bla bla. )

So. Stopped getting on the scale. I know even though I gained back some weight, I didn't gain inches. (I've decided the tape measure doesn't lie to me, unlike that lier scale.)

I got my first fill a week ago.

Got my first unfill a week ago.

Got even more fill removed yesterday.

Doing much better last night and today. I lost 5 pounds last week, but I couldn't eat more than 1/4 cup at a time, and only soft foods. Even water hurt.

The band is a process. It will take a long time to loose the weight I'm put on over a lifetime. I am an American, so I want everything NOW! GIMME! But I just stay off the scales.

Every time I hit a plateau I get discouraged and start that negative self talk. I think I'll never break through it, that the band just isn't going to work that well for me. Then I break through my plateau, and my plateaus are usually b/c of not following the rules, and I am so happy with my band again. That's why everyone says it's a journey, you have to take the good with the bad and keep challenging yourself to step up and do what you must. I've never been a bigger loser, I typically lose about 4 pounds a month, not a lot but consistent. I've lost about 55 lbs in 10 months, I went from a size 18/20 to a 14, and I'm close to a 12. I hoped it would go faster but it hasn't so that's okay too. As long as we keep trying to stick to the rules the weight will come off, even if it's slow, that's better than gaining!

I'm sooooo excited that I can't hide it..... I think that is what the song says... Anyways, I have gotten a new job offer and looking forward to new things. I have lost about 6 pounds in the last week. Hopefully, this is where I really get back on track and out of the rut. I need to still lose another 100 lbs but I have been stuck for over a year. I think the new job is a lightening of the load of depression I have had. I don't start the new job until July 5th, but I get a week off to be with my wife and kids. I am so ready to get this going in the positive direction again!

Thanks,

Wade Beasley

I wish I could relate to this thread. I need to move into a Band Compound, where we all live together and coach each other through rough parts. I have night time eating disorder, and the coinky dink thing is my friend did a search and actually found reports that recognize my nighttime bingeing as a separate disorder.

But I'm not completely discouraged - not yet. As long as other people crash and burn, then pick themselves up and move forward, then I guess there's hope for me.

I don't have a fill yet, but I do have some restriction. Yesterday my daughter had a sleepover and we ordered pizza...I ate 2 pieces and felt really full....before I would have eaten the whole pizza...I already love my band...I can't wait for a fill

Like Crystal....there have been times when the scale has not budged (or even got up a few) and I got discouraged. Usually if I stay off the scales for awhile, then when I get back on there I get a nice surprise.

I do sometimes get a bit discouraged especially if I get emotional and can't eat like prebanded to drown my sorrows, but then I am SO THANKFUL for my band to get me through times like that. I could never have lost 50 pounds in 6 month and keep it off without the help of my little band.

I've had some really long plateaus. The first one was 3 months, and that was my fault because I didn't get a fill when I should have. I hadn't found these boards, and didn't really know the rules about it taking more than one fill for the right restriction.

This last plateau was about 5 months long, but I couldn't get another fill because then I'd be too tight. I lost a few pounds a couple of weeks ago, but nothing since then. I'm actually going on Saturday for a slight unfill, because I've been so tight lately I can't eat much solid food. I think it's stress, but we'll see. It'll be good to have it checked out.

I will say that despite all the frustrations I've felt, that if I hadn't been banded, I'd be going up, so going down slowly, or at least staying the same is worth having this done for me. If I lose the same amount in the next year that I've lost in the last, while I'll probably wish it would have been more, I will definately be thankful for it.

I am learning to think completely differently about weight and weightloss and myself in all this.I have been a very successful yo-yo dieter.My weight have never stood at any number for longer than,well the plateau I had before my first fill......

I am either gaining or losing but never just at one weight.When I hit a plateau,while being on 1000calories,I got very depressed and because I have problems that havent been sorted out yet I thought I'd made a huge mistake getting this band.

This week I am at my lowest weight in 3 years and I have hope again.....

I know what I should do to lose weight.....to get your own will to work with what you know is sometimes so hard..but possible...

Hi..

I think we see so many discouraging post here because a lot of us are just starting our journey with our bands...and the first few months can be the toughest.. I guess a lot of us expected it to be a little different.. I really didn't expect to have to wait months before I saw some kind of restriction and some real weight loss.. I am on fill #4 and still waiting for some real restriction.. it does get a bit frustrating..

TTFN