You said it girl! I think I lost 40 lbs or so and gained them back.... I am wondering if anyone here knows how to start a new thread... I am looking for a lot of support from other bandsters since I am reclaiming my band which I had been ignoring for a couple of years now, after much thinking, and even thinking about removing it, I am going to give the band and myself another chance, today I am going for my first fill after three years, please wish me luck and if anyone wants to befriend me I am here, I need all the help I can get from you guys, I think most of you know, it is from strangers you get the support and kindness, and the understanding since we are going through the same thing, I feel sometimes among family and friends our efforts get sabotaged....

Im sorry but I have seen overweight organic eating persons. lol My half sister is one and has been for several years. Organic food can still make one over weight. Check out this article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1375469/Health-warning-Organic-food-make-fat-warn-experts-people-assume-contain-fewer-calories-conventional-products.html

I think there is some real truth in here that when we hold up a mirror to ourselves, if we're getting WLS we make poor food choices. I agree with Cassandra tho, organic food and healthful options (vegetarians, vegans, etc) can still lead people to being overweight if portions are out of control. Maybe you're including that within the poor choices - because chronic overeating is for sure a poor choice - but I don't think it's absolutely always the case that McDonald's is at the root of the problem - portion control can be the root issue as well.

(all that said, i don't mean to misrepresent myself. i love fries. i've just decided i love me and the idea of being around for a long time a lot more.)

you guys are wonderful... i truly appreciate each and ever one....

My meaning is .. and cassy is right (hope i can call u Cassy) I have a cuz named Cassandra... love her.... anyway. I think to me.. its more of wanting people, like me... , to look deep inside and evaluate what they really are doing. and you all are right... i guess if one over eats anything it could be a bad thing.. my experiences with my son's GF's and friends that are "vegetarians" and "healthy" eaters are that they are all very aware of everything they eat. I have never met an over weight one... but that's just me.

some people .... I think.... this is just me talking here.... and lying to them selves about what they truly are doing to their bodies that's .... Really making them fat. dose that make since...?

sometimes i know what i want to say... but my words don't come out like i want them too.... lol

I agree with what you wrote here. It's not that we are not trying to make "healthy" choices it's that we make more non healthy choices then we do healthy ones. We are all here for a reason, and we didn't get here just by eating lettuce and carrots.

I am banded about 6 weeks now and I have not had a fill yet, and I find myself thinking about all of these issues. I know it's the only way I am going to be able to clear them up. To think about them and become more conscious of the choices I am making. It's great that I can no longer eat an entire pizza pie, but is that really the best choice for me to make to begin with? It's easy, and it's fairly quick, and that is yet another issue of mine, at work I'm great with my time management. I get it all done, efficiently and I spend the time making sure things are done correctly the first time and leave myself enough time to double check my work when I'm done. When it comes to myself and my own habits, I try to square root everything and make the easy and fast choice and I don't even take a second look at them after. I really need to work on that a lot more, and not just rely on the band to stop me from eating in excess but to be aware of how much I am eating, and when I am doing the eating and what exactly I am putting into my body.

Thanks for calling me out on this, it's something I needed to read. I think that's a good thing about this forum. If we can't be honest here with ourselves then there is no place we can be.

I think if you eat too much of anything you can get fat - except maybe celery, it would be pretty hard to get fat off celery - but it is a lot easier to get fat eating a smaller amount of bad food than it is to get fat eating huge amounts of good food.

There are loads of things that I love that arent necessarily bad when taken individually but when you add a cream sauce they become calorific, steak au poivre with asparagus, sweet potatoes and sauted baby carrots springs to mind.......

I have to say as well that my step sister is a vegetarian and her love of cheese definitly, as she will admit, is reflected in her butt size

My brother is a vegan and I know several vegetarians, and that is not a ticket to thinness. But, they are more aware of what they put in their mouths than others. I think it is a commitment to making the right choices just like getting the LB is a commitment to a different, healthier lifestyle. We are at a point of surgery to make this choice stick, I'd say that's a big commitment and requires some soul searching and being honest with ourselves. I love all those fast food places, but like someone said, I like the idea of a long, healthy life more. Or something like that. Good thoughts!!

I have to disagree with you. All you have to do to get fat is eat more than you need, it can be done as easily on healthy food as unhealthy food. What a lot of people don't relaise though is how much their little treats add up, so although their diet is 90% healthy they forget that the cookies etc they eat in between all add up. Plus things like cheese are healthy but only in moderation. Then there are all the foods that we have been fooled into thinking they are healthy e.g low fat foods not realising that they are actually high calorie and full of sugar.

Being a short (153cm) person who is now at a healthy BMI I can see how easy it is to inadvertently eat too much and gain weight. My BMR is ridiculously low and the older and slimmer you get the lower your BMR gets. So effectively if you eat the same at 50 as you did at 30 you will gain weight. Sometimes all it takes is 1 extra cookie each day......................

Yeah.....I'm with elcee on this one. My weight didn't come on from the drive thru. For the most part, I ate healthy. But the snacking in between meals; especially after dinner, coupled with the lack of exercise = weight gain.

I love fries, but only ate them on occasion. When restaurants starting putting the calorie content on the menu, it was a VERY rude awakening! That salad I love is 800 calories. Add the bread & butter, and a few cookies after dinner, I'm already calorically into the next hemisphere! That doesn't take into account the other two meals of the day.

Yep, not everyone eats fast food and bags of chips. But Bayougirl, I totally agree that SO many people who post, are in complete and utter denial!!

I think there is confusion about 'healthy'. Whole foods are healthy, but eat too much of it and it's not healthy anymore. Vegetables are healthy, but eat your potatoes smothered in cheese sauce and I'm pretty sure you're on the road to high cholesterol.

I agree that not allvegans/vegetarians eat healthy but you have to admire their ability to control what goes into their mouths - my boyfriend is vegetarian and his restraint amazes me. I think that is something I definitely aspire to.

I think eating healthy emcompasses eating quality whole foods in moderate quantaties and doesn't just cover the type of food a person eats. And I agree with bayou's point that more people should take a good long look at what goes into their mouths, and b***h less about how the band didn't make them thin. My band is an amazing tool, but as I always say, it doesn't choose what I put in my mouth.