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I write about this stuff on my blog. The band does not EVER help me make good choices, I have to do that. But I have mine tight enough so that eating requires thought and patience, and once thought and patience is added to the mix, I tend to make better choices. My theory has always been that the challenge (for success) is to see HOW LITTLE you can consume, not HOW MUCH. Making this mental shift is critical. When someone says I can eat anything, I think, but why are you? The challenge is not to see what you can still eat. The challenge is to diet until you get great restriction, which can take some time.

Carol, Step 1 - Hang in there Step 2 - stay as close to the plan as you can Step 3 - keep hanging in there The band *will* work. Prior to this past Monday (10/10) I was quite disgusted with this whole band thing. Just last week, I could eat what I wanted, when I wanted, then be hungry again in an hour. Pizza, fried chicken, Pasta, BBQ, nothing phased me. I had my 5th fill this past Monday, and I can tell this one is the "magic" fill. I am hitting the wall after about a cup of Cream of Chicken Soup. I've never experienced this full feeling so quickly. It's taken me 5 1/2 months to get to the 'green zone'. Please, please, hang in there.

I posted that exact same post one week ago today. You will see it " I need help, fell off the wagon" I got all the same advice you have gotten. I took a really hard look at my life and my decisions. What I discovered about myself, is that I am a self sabotager. I know I am not supposed to have soda, but I do it anyway. I know I am not supposed to have an apple fritter, but if no one is looking what is the harm. The problem was, that I was not looking either. I started the 5 day pouch test on Monday. Monday was HELL, but Tuesday a little better, today, much better. You have to make a decision. Do you want to be fat or not. If you do, give up. Eat what you want, don't excercise, become complacent. If you do not want to be fat, do the 5 day pouch test, get a fill, see a therapist. I spoke with my pastor at church. I know it sounds weird, but he does not judge me. No one judges me like I judge myself, which I suspect is your problem too. You can do this, IF YOU WANT TO. Its up to you.

Sure you are cheating. You are cheating early death. You are cheating diabetes. You are cheating high blood pressure. You are cheating the people who think because our clothes are twice as large we should pay 5 times as much for them. You are cheating back pain, breathlessness, and feeling bad about your self image. You know what - none of those things play fair - so you darn well ought to cheat them. The surgery isn't cheating. You made a choice to change your life. You overcame fear. You paid for the band or jumped through your insurance hoops. You took steps necessary to deal with this problem. You did what you needed to do, to make yourself healthy - and who is anyone to judge that. We all tried willpower alone. We denied ourselves. It didn't work. So now you are dealing with the problem rather than accepting it. Anyone who loves you will see you as smart and brave and be so glad that you are taking steps to be in their lives longer.

First, congratulations on losing 70lbs. :clap: You have a right to be hurt. Her response was catty. My read on it is that she has things, perhaps her own weight, that she has issues with. That said, I have learned when it comes to FB and family and friends, it is often best to ignore comments like that. She obviously has no clue how hard it really is to lose the weight, even with the band. My suggestion is, the next time you post a weight loss victory on FB, preface it by including "all this hard work - calorie counting and 6 days a week at the gym are really paying off - I've lost ##lbs!

I've been losing inches waaaay faster than pounds. It's strange! I'm down 3 pants sizes but only 20-22 lbs since surgery. Yes, it's frustrating to not see the numbers on the scale move... But at least the numbers on your tags are going down! Here's my logic- I don't walk around with a big 263 on my forehead telling the world how much I weigh. But they do see my ass in my jeans and they can tell that it's 3 sizes smaller! I'll take what I can get. Just stick to what you're doing. It will show :-)