If you feel that you have a true food addiction, I highly recommend seeing a psychologist or counselor. It was a pre-op requirement for me, and I ended up seeing a counselor for a few more visits after my initial consult. My overeating was directly related to how I was (or actually, wasn't) dealing with a childhood trauma. I always felt like I had to be busy, so if I wasn't fidgiting with something I was eating. Really, I was just super stressed 24/7 and had to learn how to relax.

Since you still have the band, if you want to lose weight I would start over. See a psychologist, get back in touch with your surgeon and nutritionist, and try again.

Sorry to hear that you haven't been able to be successful with the band. As the poster above suggests, perhaps you could pursue other help for your eating issues and then address your weight with the band, remembering to follow all the rules.

we all have reasons why we gained weight and need to address them.

Agreed. We all gained weight because of our issues. I'm sure there are few that breeze on through without struggles. We have to look at the banding as a tool and if we aren't ready to face the issues that got us there in the first place, it's going to be fruitless. As foodies, we are so used to failure. This to me is HUGE. I told myself a long time ago that if I ever got the opportunity to be covered through insurance that I would give it my all. I'm not saying that I am going to be a success story, I just know that this is my last ditch effort...I hope that you are able to get some help. I will keep you in my prayers! Much love and hugs!

I would suggest Overeaters Anonymous. They really understand and can help you work through a lot. It really helped me.

You need to be willing to confront the deamons inside you. The band is a tool, nothing more. It is functioning as it should. You need a mental health professional to assist you and I encourage you to seek one out. Until you do get help the band is just a waste of time for you.

Agree with posts, and actually we all have a food addiction. Addiction is something hard for any person to face no matter what the drug of chose and all of our drug happened to be food. You are correct in saying that bariatric surgery will not fix the addiction thinking of any of us, only we have the power to change our behavior and we need help to do that. You do need to seek professional help with your addiction, the band will work but you have to make it work, it is just a tool and it will allow you to eat what ever you chose to put in your body. The only person who can help you develop positive coping skills is a professional and shame on your doctor for not suggesting this unless he already has. I am sorry there is no magic answer or pill we can take for our addiction because if there was I am sure all of us would be taking it. Good luck to you, I know it took courage to ask for help, this is a positive step in the right direction.