so i will try to make a long story short. the begining of august i got sick and had to get a complete unfill. was suppose to remain that way for 30 days to heal. then i was to have a hysterectomy like 2 weeks after i was able to get filled. my surgeon wanted me empty for that surgery so i decided to just stay empty instead of paying for a fill for 2 weeks, then pay for an unfill. now i have had to reschedule my surgery to next month. money dictates that i will have to stay empty until then. so that is another month away. then i dont know how long i will be empty after the surgery.

i have maintained the weight i was at before i got sick and the unfill. for that i am happy. but i am also feeling discouraged. my one year anniversay is coming up and i will not be to goal. i am close, 25 lbs, but still not there.

and i am feeling discouraged because i am not losing anymore right now. i am falling into past habits and not doing a good job. i have the mentality that is this: i couldnt do this before the band and right now my band isnt working, so i cant do it now. i need a good swift kick to get outta this rut. someone please help!

I am in the same boat. I just got an emergency unfill on Thursday. I can feel the capacity and desire to overeat coming back strong . . . I feel scared and a little lost without my band helping me.

I decided I am going to buy plenty of fresh vegetables and make them the primary staple of my diet for now. I am also going to eat them first by 1/2 cup and then go to lean Proteins and finally back to the vegetables. I have also decided to increase my daily Water intake. I will be avoiding all carbs for now and increasing my exercise daily. I will now go back to charting everything on fitday.com.

I think I just needed to work out a strong plan after a trying weekend. Bandster rules wont work as well when my band isn't working for me. I have too much capacity and hunger right now and I had to find an alternative way of handling it.

Perhaps developing a strong plan for being unfilled might help you as well. We can get through this together :0).

Ok sweetie, I had this same situation. You just have to get that mind set straightened out. You can do it, you are sooooo close. Just jump back into your routine. I know its really hard but you can do it. You have worked soo hard to get where you are and there is no reason to turn around now. Don't let this be a reason to start eating a bunch of junk. As long as you are eating healthy and you exercise, you will be ok. This happened to me around my 18th birthday and I used it as an excuse to eat junk. i gained 10 pounds and was in a slump for about a month. don't let this happen to you because than you just get into the why even bother stage.

Just remember you have worked your tail off. Try to keep yourself full of Water during the healing process. Water can give you a little bit of a false full feeling. I know liquids and mushies suck with no restriction. As long as you have something running through you, it should help. Go through all of your old photos as well. i found that helped me say no to temptation. I even put a picture of me on the day of surgery on the fridge in my kitchen. it really helped me not snack.

Good luck ladies. Let me know how it goes.

hi all well i went to my dr today,to see if i have my 6 months,here is what happen she wrote me a note saying she saw me for 6 months for a diet i needed for bcbs michigan.all my stuff was sent off to insuance co after 2 months they said i was mising a month feb,ok,so i went jan march april,may,.june,julyi went in as weigh in ,so now i have to see if they will approve me because july i wrnt in as weigh in, i went also in aug and sept to.ive paed 100 each of these visits only feb i didnt and july was just a weigh i came in and they weighedme,. also the lap band dr costed me 200.so now im waiting for lap band dr to get charts from my dr for insuarrance im hoping they will approve me,ive spent alot money so far.my dr says if any problem she will help,if turned down she will appeal im at 350 pds and that sint good,what does everything will happen?i feel ive been over weight 20 yrs now,i feel ive seen the dr enough this yr na dpayed alot,needd help here me,i feel i should be approved

Never give up this is just a minor set back...you only have 25lbs to go just think of some of the people on this site that had the band for years and have not lost any weight. You can trick your mind to believe that your band is full..I learned that its a mental thinking. Just remember the devil is busy!!!you can do thisyou came to far to give up!!!!

Just remember that you deserve to be happy and healthy. So whay deny yourself what you deserve. The only way to get there is by eating right and exercising. Try switching your meals. I read in my magazine that this woman lost 100 pounds in one year by eating dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. Don't eat past 6pm. Try keeping your daily calories to 1200-2000. I like to get the lean cuisine meals, because they average 250-300 calories and are low in sodium. You can have little healthy snacks in between. Don't buy junk food, keep it out of the house. Eat more protein, whole grains and yogurt...they keep you full. You can do it!

Edited September 17, 200817 yr by CG1

thank you to everyone who responded. its nice to hear encouraging words.

i am tracking what i eat on dailyfit and am trying to stay around 1300 calories a day. according to them, that will put me at losing around 2 lbs a week. maybe that is too lofty a goal for being unfilled? i dont want to just set myself up for disappointment. i dont know. maybe i should try for 1.5 a week. anyway, that is something i am considering.

i also decided to get back into my filled banded mindset. no more eating things that will now go down just fine that would have/did get stuck w/ my fills. that i think has been my biggest downfall.

i just have to do this. i've come too far to screw things up now!

Its good to hear you are now encouraged instead of down :]

Keep up the good work CHica! You can do it. We are all here cheering you on!

Tracking is good. Trying to lose 2 pounds a week with out the band being filled AND being closer to goal is asking for a lot out of yourself.

You might want to take this opportunity to eat things that haven't gone down when you were filled. Like if I could I'd be eating all the fruit and veggies that are too fiberous to go down easily. Like big bites of apples....

Just a thought. Hang in there. I know it's a struggle.

i have started to realize that you are right julie...trying to lose that much is just not gonna work and i am getting upset with myself. its just not worth the cycle i am putting myself thru. so i have decided to maintain my weight, and maybe try for more like .5 to 1 pound a week. i think that is more realistic for me right now.

and julie, i have been eating those things that i couldnt with my fill...tuna fish, cottage cheese, grapes, carrots...and of course the bad things too! thats my downfall.

but thank you for the encouraging words. i keep telling myself soon enough i will get refilled and back on the right track.