Occassionally, I run across a few posts from people like me who have failed their bands. But these posts are usually just a venting opportunity. I have failed my band - I acknowledge it - and it would be great if we could have a group of other "failures" who want to work together to become success stories.

MY STORY

I was banded in March of 2007. At the time I was 299 lbs. I am a 6ft tall lady. Today, I weigh 255, and basically just as big as I was when I got my band. I have got numerous fills and I usually eat through my fiils. I can eat whatever I want. I overeat and I am confident that I have caused my stomach to expand. I snack on candy, I eat the wrong foods - I eat until I am STUFFED. Sometimes when I overeat, I feel sick and gag to relieve the pressure.

I moved to Houston 4 months ago, and last week, I went in for a port-readjustment with Dr Alanis. It went well and I now have a new resolve to make it work. My doctor mentioned to me that about 40% of all bandsters fail. I do not want to be a failure. I have paid too much money to go through this.

MY GOAL FOR DECEMBER

• To write everything I eat down, including calories
  
• To stay within 1500 Calories.
  

What's your story? What's your goal? How can I support you? How can we support each other?

Misery loves company, and company can help us move from failure to success. Please join me by telling me your story, and your GOAL for December. Let's vent - but more importantly, let's talk about strategies to make this work - let's share and support each other - Let's turn this from failure to success.

I REFUSE TO BE A FAILURE

My biggest struggle is not being faithful to the gym 3 x per week, I got sick 3 or 4 weeks ago and never went back after I got better and have been slipping in chocolate and junk foods again, icecream and candy bars....

I feel like such an idiot because I need and want to lose about 80 more pounds and KNOW what to do... just been so long on a plateau and gained 8 pounds in this time away from the gym....I feel like I am swimming too far from shore and cannot get back on track!

I hit a plateau for a month also, but realized it was because I was eating Special K. My body does not like Cereal. I stay hungry when I eat it and I can't lose weight. I stopped eating it an I started losing again. I can not go to the gym right now, because I was in an automobile accident last week. Instead, I am watching my calories closely.

It is never to late to get back your good habits you have established. You seem like you talked yourself into believing you were bad for not going to the gym, so you added more sabotage by eating incorrectly also. You need to learn to stop beating yourself up every time you have a slip. It only makes the problem worse. Stop eating the junk. Throw it away and if you don't have any now, don't buy it. Eating correctly again will make you feel better about what you are doing. Then slowly go back to the gym if you are ready. If not, the eating correctly in itself will start your weightloss again.

Remember, we are human and will make mistakes. Don't beat yourself up over a mistake. Learn from it and move on!!! Good luck!

It is never to late to get back your good habits *this is true you have established. You seem like you talked yourself into believing you were bad for not going to the gym, so you added more sabotage by eating incorrectly also.(How'd you get inside my head? This is true) You need to learn to stop beating yourself up every time you have a slip. It only makes the problem worse. Stop eating the junk. Throw it away (DONE) and if you don't have any now, don't buy it. Eating correctly again will make you feel better about what you are doing. Then slowly go back to the gym if you are ready. If not, the eating correctly in itself will start your weightloss again.

Thanks for the support, refocus, I needed that....I am horrible at beating myself up....got the bad mentatility with "what the heck, I am stuck and will be forever...so why try??" But now if I can stay on this board I can get remotivated....Already planning on going to Curves gym starting tomorrow, got my low cal, low carb Soup stewing right now, smells yummy and boiled me up some eggs, I do best on low carb diets....so thus the eggs. I don't get nearly as hungry either on low carb.

So now, I am refocusing and gonna take ONE DAY AT A TIME. They will reweigh me tomorrow at curves and I go for my yearly follow up with my lapband surgreon March 24th so there is me a date goal to work towards....

Thanks again

Good luck on your journey as well, I can't eat cereals either, I starve to death! Hang in there. See ya:thumbup:

It is never to late to get back your good habits *this is true you have established. You seem like you talked yourself into believing you were bad for not going to the gym, so you added more sabotage by eating incorrectly also.(How'd you get inside my head? This is true) You need to learn to stop beating yourself up every time you have a slip. It only makes the problem worse. Stop eating the junk. Throw it away (DONE) and if you don't have any now, don't buy it. Eating correctly again will make you feel better about what you are doing. Then slowly go back to the gym if you are ready. If not, the eating correctly in itself will start your weightloss again.

Thanks for the support, refocus, I needed that....I am horrible at beating myself up....got the bad mentatility with "what the heck, I am stuck and will be forever...so why try??" But now if I can stay on this board I can get remotivated....Already planning on going to Curves gym starting tomorrow, got my low cal, low carb soup stewing right now, smells yummy and boiled me up some eggs, I do best on low carb diets....so thus the eggs. I don't get nearly as hungry either on low carb.

So now, I am refocusing and gonna take ONE DAY AT A TIME. They will reweigh me tomorrow at curves and I go for my yearly follow up with my lapband surgreon March 24th so there is me a date goal to work towards....

Thanks again

Good luck on your journey as well, I can't eat cereals either, I starve to death! Hang in there. See ya:thumbup:

Hey Ibbanded,

Wow, I could completely relate to your psot and also to your renewed commitment to getting back on track. I haven't been banded yet, I go in on March 30th, but I have noticed myself slipping back into some old patterns recently.

I wish you the best of luck and hope that by talking to us you feel more encouraged and strengthened (as I do from reading all of the posts).

-music

Music, thanks for your response and encouragement. Good luck on YOUR new journey about to start.... I have never regretted the lapband and feel that it probably saved my life....while I had no health problems whatsover at my highest weight of close to 370....It was just amatter of time... my family history is covered with diabetes, cancer, heart problems, etc, etc. I wanted to prevent me from going there hopefully with the 140 pound wt loss.

I still have a ways to go (80 pounds more is my goal) and you are right, staying here on the boards will help a bunch, you don't feel like you are "going at it alone".

Thanks again and do keep us posted on your surgery day. God bless!

ibbanded

Hi all. I found you all last week and made a recommittment to sucess then. Of course, life gets in the way: I got sick and then both of my kids got horribly sick so I couldn't work out away from home as I promised...BUT...I did watch the calories AND I lost 4 pounds last week! I just have to eat right. I'm giving up Starbucks for Lent, but mostly to see how much a Mocha a day makes a difference! I'll bet it does. No candy, no slider foods, eating slowly and stopping when I'm full have been my focuses this week. I also need to exercise this week now that we're all in the land of the living. Thanks for being here everyone. I feel like a new girl- and I'm looking forward to getting back into my smaller pants!:hurray:

To ibbanded: It is so cool that you are here BEFORE you get banded. Stay with us and you WON'T fail your band. Like my friends who had a bypass, I thought this would be easier...but we can do it if we stick together!!!

:hurray:

WTG lori! I haven't given up my mochas yet, but I reduce it down until my ventis only have 220 calories. If I DID give them up, it would save me money, though. I hope everyone gets to feeling better and continue the good work!

WooHoo! I am hopefully back on track. I went to Curves Gym for women yesterday after being MIA from there for 3 weeks. I was working out huffing and puffing thinking it is just NOT worth the hard work starting over to be away from exercise that long again!

I so enjoy the Curves Gym the workers there are so encouarging and helpful. I hope to go back again today and be there at least 3 x per week from now on.

I am also going tonight to join a group at a church for First Place weight loss bible study. I am so looking forward to that. It will be another means of weekly accountability for me.

GOALS FOR TODAY/WEEK:

• Drink at least 80 oz Water daily
  
• Exercise at Curves Gym 30 minutes x3 per week
  
• Walk on treadmill 20 minutes daily
  
• Keep a food diary daily on Fitday.com
  
• Keep my eyes on the goal of 80 more pounds of weight loss
  
• Post a photo of my before/after pics so far on the fridge showing my 140 pound weight loss so far :w00t: for encouargement. LOOK at it often when tempted to eat between meals.
  

You lost 140 before you got banded??? You go girl! Let's stick together! Good luck today, everyone! Make good choices!

No sweetie, that 140 loss was with the band, I have been banded for five years now. God is good!

I havent been on here in a very LONG time. Be sure if Im not on here Im being bad. Its almost like you people can see into my house, and see Im being BAd...lol

I have gained 5 of the 11 pounds I lost but I am hoping to get my mind straight again. Tomorrow night I have my quarterly lapband support group meeting and am hoping to get some refocus with that. This is so hard. Why can I support everyone but myself????? Why do I LOVE sugar so much? I know its all in my head but so far I havent learned the whole lesson. Ive got to talk myself into staying on this site so I am made to be accountable...I am my own worst enemy.

Hope everyones doing well, I have really missed you all!!!

Welcome back! You know, they say admitting the problem is the first step. You are back on track. Is sugar a problem all of the time? Everyday, all day, or only certain times? Try to figure out what is triggering the craving. If you like it, sugar free pudding is a good alternative. I looooove the dark chocolate flavor. I eat one, sometimes two, almost every night before bed. It keeps me from feeling like I need to eat more food and takes the edge off any hunger pangs before bed. Oh, it also tastes delicious.:thumbup:

Good luck at the support group and let us know how it goes.

Why do I LOVE sugar so much? I know its all in my head but so far I havent learned the whole lesson.

It's not totally in your head! Sugar can be as addicting as traditional drugs and the more you eat, the more you want. Believe me, I can relate.

Hey girls, went on the low carb diet last week, down 4 pounds then over the weekend ate some carbs, within moderation and gained them back. I went last week also to a meeting at a local church who were supposedly doing the First Place program (bible study for weight loss) we weighed in, sat around talking and left, no Bible study. Which is what I went for....I asked the "leader" and she said they had been doing the bible study with the book and they just decided thatmeeting to let everyone do that part "

on their own" and just meet and weigh and talk once a week. while everyone ws friendly and all, I need SUPPORT!

The next meeting is supposed to be tonight, but I am not going but instead am gonna REJOIN weight watchers. at least there you have the accountability and support, not just a roomful of women talking for an hour and focus being on goals, food and weight loss. I hate to pay to go get weighed once a week but have done WW before and the program works if you work the program and I truly just need a weekly accountability.

Hope you all are doing well on your goals. I am disgusted with myself been on this plateau forever now and I am way over it...

Hi all. I'm up two pounds and Ijust don't understand how that can be! I am now weigh 218 and I was 217 two weeks after being banded in 2007. If I can only eat 1 cup of food, I just don't get it. Am going back to the doc on Monday. Since I found you I have totally cut out Starbucks, and have started working out (Jazzercise!). HOW CAN I BE GAINING???? I was 198 a year ago. I am just so pissed!

I have to eat like a bird AND I'm gaining??? I might as well have the damn thing out. Then at least I could have fun eating too. Has anyone had this terrible of an experience? I feel like SUCH a failure. On top of it, I have nothing to wear because I gave away all of my fat clothes...aarrgghh...

Thoughts? And thanks for reading!