Media_Girl

I had my surgery in August of 2010, and weighed 262 prior to the surgery. Within six months, I was down to 215 and was feeling great and hadn't had any problems. Went from a size 20 to a size 14, was happy with that. I'm a tall, larger boned girl, so I look pretty good at a size 14. Then, all hell broke loose in my personal life. Found out my husband was cheating, divorced his lying and cheating ass, was laid off from my job, lost my medical insurance, had my first post-divorce relationship blow up in a very hurtful and spectactular fashion, am dealing with being a single parent of a special needs child.. And, I'm sure many of you understand, emotional eating is what got me to the overweight point I was at in the first place. When things were going fairly well in my life, with the help of my band, I was able to eat carefully and stay on task with walking. I've been so overwhelmed with various life stressors that having to manage eating just got away from me. I'm scared to death to get on the scale, because I think seeing that number would totally cause me to lose it. I would guess from the way my clothes fit that I'm somewhere in the 240's and a size 16 again. Going to my doctor isn't an option right now, since I am unemployed and do not have insurance. My restriction has been all over the place. There are days I can't get much down, which is why I'm sure I haven't gained ALL my weight back. There are other days that I can eat like crazy. I do truly believe that for me, stress and hormones have a lot to do with how my band works. And, ice cream ALWAYS goes down well. I really want to gain control of my situation back. I would really appreciate no one slamming me for losing control of my situation... I've dealt with enough as of late, thank you. If there's anyone out there who was able to make their band work for them again after a period of falling off the wagon, I would like to hear from you. I just need some inspiration! Thanks!

Hello fellow Bandsters.... I had my surgery exactly a year ago, on August 19, 2010. I lost 45 pounds immediately, went from a size 20/22 to a 14/16, and from 262 lbs to 215 lbs. Then... life happened. I filed for divorce and later lost my job. As I know many of you will understand... stress is an eating-inducer. We've all heard, the band doesn't solve the problem, its a tool that you have to work. My ability to work it pretty much went out the window during this extremely stressful and life-changing time. I had several fills and feel fairly certain that I shouldn't have any more. I'm at about 8.0 in a 14.0 band. Restriction varies from day to day, but I've definitely learned that my stress level so impacts what I can and cannot eat. There are days I can't eat much, and there are days that I can eat way more than I think I should be able to. Since I don't have medical insurance at the moment, I'm not getting fills at the present. I do PB once in a while, usually because I've failed to chew properly. My life is slowly getting back to normal, and I've gained back some weight. I can still wear my 14/16's, but they are snug. I would guess that I'm somewhere between 230-235 (I'm too chicken to get back on the scale.) The reason I am posting is because I could really use some inspiration from other Bandsters who maybe found themselves in a similiar situation. My main question is, can I get back on the wagon and begin working the "tool" I have been given in order to lose the rest of the weight that I want, or have I ruined it? Any hints about how to accomplish this? I'm not fixated on being a size six. I'm a taller, larger boned gal. I'm told all the time that I look good where I'm at right now, and I was able to go off my diabetes meds after the first 20 pounds. For my own personal satisfaction, I would like the first number of my weight to be a "one", which would probably put me at a size 10 or 12, and I'm more than okay with that. So, that's really only another 30 lbs. or so I would need to lose to get to my goal. I have met a wonderfully handsome new man, who thinks that I look fine at my current weight. (There REALLY are men out there who prefer women with curves. Who knew?) Any advice from someone who has been there would be appreciated. Thanks!