Jack

It is VERY tough for me to lose weight. Insulin was proven necessary for control of my A1c level, a more solid measure than blood sugar. My overall 'diabetic management' has improved with 2 additions: 1) the Lap Band installed 2004; 2) using a cooperative medical internist as my Primary Care doc, as the Gen Practitioners didn't have enough experience with the kind of complex case I present. Don't give up, just dig in and continue to search until you find whatever it takes to CONTROL the diabetic process. A big help along the way was visiting the nutritionist now & again. Cheers on y our journey.

Part of our fascination with daily weight numbers ignores the recalibration our bowel must make in adapting to new circumstances. You probably flushed 6-15# of colon contents along with certain Fluid volume and tallied that as 'weight loss'. Then your colon become repopulated with the return of food intake. Not to worry. Life is not a straight line, and obsession with wish fulfillment occupies many of us. Absent the turmoil of emotional roller coaster, I believe agitation helps burn a few extra calories, if we can avoid going crazy over anxiety & self induced depression. Cheers on your journey.

Insoluable fiber is essential as part of WLS daily routing IMHO. The Holy Shredded Wheat most necessary for my own Bowel Regularity. Unfiltered apple cider works more wonders, if a raw apple a day isn't available. Prune juice is a delightful addition if needed, although it's easy to 'over do' if you catch my meaning......recall the old California Prune Board poster "Start a Movement....eat Prunes".....there was reason for that..... I've never had problem with complex fibers part of diet.

For myself I was surprised to learn the 'binge eating' most ofter was reaction to some form of anxiety or imagined distress. You call it 'panic eating' which is pretty accurate IMHO. My own fear was most basic at the level of not BEING hungry but the fear of BECOMING hungry. Hard one to shake, but aren't they all? You'll do fine. We of the Tribe of the Morbidly Obese don't need to invent reasons to overeat regardless of how we try. The Big Thrill postOp I had was to learn the actual pleasure I'd missed all those years, of the enjoyment of 'becoming hungry' as a distant summer storm approaches, the dank heat overwhelming and the furtive attempts to bolster myself against the thunder/lightning/most welcome precipitation that eating when HUNGRY suddenly provided. We often have false notions on food and eating, perhaps trained into us from early parenting tricks and perhaps from our own emotional script. Fear of being unable to become satiated on demand produced a LOT of my own over eating behavior. The joy of finding 'eating' and 'food' are not the goal, that the tickle of hunger aptly satisfied are far more sublime. The illusion of 'comfort food' has long been a code word for 'sport eating' and 'overeating'. PostOp I was delighted to find that powerful and errant notion has departed me. Cheers in your journey.

Back pain has many possible causes. As a retired chiropractic physician, in 32 years practice I saw many complaints with a wide variety of causes. The details you provide are too general to make any responsible professional comments with any hope of accuracy. There are a host of practitioners of many disciplines and approaches to finding the cause and determining a remedy for your complaints. Face to face examination is a good place to begin to find some answers. Typically the components of such successful process begins with history, physical exam, possible lab or imaging studies, diagnosis, and options for treatment. Whether musculoskeletal in origin or some referred internal cause, there is a host of treatment options. Cheers in your journey.

Personally I've never seen a direct link unequivocally established by actual medical research, although Lord knows there are plenty of reports overlooked, outdated or in error. I for one had pancreatitis about 15 years prior to Banding which seems related to the diabetes that developed soon thereafter........; had stones then; have stones now. Lots of potential venues affecting stones/pancreas.

thanks CG, welcome back, I missed your comments lately.... and don't take your eye off them burritos.....

"Mid clavicular line" as B52 lists, about mid-way between xiphoid process & navel. Seems pretty well protected, and as the fat melted away like an ice sheet, become more prominent. When asked by those observant/rude enough to ask, I respond "That's my alien implant".....

I grew rather fond of a couple oz. yogurt with just a bit of peanut butter stirred in, as a little protein upgrade, as I was not getting my protein load at the time.

the Holy Shredded Wheat works well for me

re: "Has anyone else struggled with derailing their own efforts and how do I stop this? Is there some careful planning that I can do to overcome this?" Yes. Yes. But other than actual action, planning is for naught. I find simple raw veggies work wonders for those binge times. Beside tasting wonderful, they are healthy and don't have all the crap that cranks up the 'food lust' mode in my appetite center. Don't have that binge stuff around will help a lot. Don't buy it, and don't go to where it is easily at hand. And don't stick it in your mouth. Do empower yourself by doing what you want to do rather than fretting over what eating error you have made. Head for your GOAL rather than being stymied by the tiny efforts to remain on the path. You can do it.

not like you describe could you identify exactly 'what' that essential difference is that 'no restriction' equals overeating? I'm in the hopes that the real restriction is in my brain-controlled eating behavior which I'm striving to train to voice command. The leash/training collar of my Band continues to remind me of 'good eating behavior' even when partially unfilled....but that may be artifact from having an antique 4cc band, where every .1cc makes huge difference. I'm just trying to identify whether it would be my own 'anxiety' about overeating, or whether a really loose band would somehow propel me into overeating. I hope by now I've picked up at least a few good habits.

re: "A life long habit of eating until I am full or just because it is there." many comments here really describe what I was for most of my preOp life. With temporary changes in the 6 weeks postOp I was able to finally learn something VERY IMPORTANT that I did not know. I'm not being flippant, and I'm somewhat abashed in how simple it really was. I spent thousands of $ and years of frustration without realizing how important this was. Given there is 'sport eating' and 'social eating' and 'mad/sad/glad/exploratory/before/aftersex/anyactivityeating' the realization was this: I could FINALLY discern the difference between 'hunger' and 'not hunger'. Much of my preOp sport eating was based on then entire host of Bad Eating Habits we all accumulated over the decades. Suddenly, IF eating were based on 'hunger' all else began falling into line. If I couldn't decide whether I was 'hungry' or not, then the obvious reality was ---No, I wasn't 'hungry'. That insight led to the realization that often ONE bite would take me from 'hunger' to 'not hunger'. Etc. Hope this helps. Cheers on your journey.

I came to favor herbal huckleberry tea in my 'pre-coffee' postOp phase..... and when my desire for caffeine finally returned, I was doubly impressed with the realization that 'coffee' is NOT a confection regardless of marketeers and candy makers attempts. The joy and delight of 'coffee' can not be improved by adding stuff to it. IMHO of course. My own surgeon had no particular warnings against caffeine, other than to say there likely would be a period where I wasn't interested in it. He was right.....but after a few weeks I worked back up to a couple cups in the morning. Once in a rare while I might take a decaf after noonish, as I like 'coffee taste'.

dice it up into tiny littleLittleLITTLE cubes and only put a couple at a time in your mouth....and chewChewCHEW to total mush.

I had been a member of the 'nose hose patrol' for 10 long years preOp due to sleep Apnea. Within 10 months postOp and loss of about 40# I was off CPAP as well as insulin. As well as my anxiety being considerably lower and my episodes of Panic ceasing totally. In fact, I learned much of my own overeating was directly related to my 'panic & anxiety' disorder. Good luck on resolving your issues, you're on the way!!!!

I'll be interested in seeing your follow up reports. Good luck.

"Being morbidly obese is just an outward manifestation of behavior and beliefs that are unloving to us." Spot on Ms. Keenan! IMHO of course.....

great link!

.....the sensation of being NOT hungry and NOT eating The sensation of being NOT controlled by food anxiety, anticipation or fear of growing hungry. Yes, fitting sizes I outgrew in 1964 also is pleasing.

Sounds like you are firmly on the path headed to your goal. "Just" 25# is a monumental achievement, and 1.4#/week is very impressive! Congratulations and keep up the great pace!!!!.

Thanks a TON for posting this kind of article. It strikes squarely at a point rarely discussed. "Sometimes they are uncomfortable being the object of sexual desire for the first time in their adult lives." Once in my pre-Op life circa 1972 or so I had undergone at considerable effort and a large outlay in therapy/pills/various quackery of the era, sufficient toning/fat loss to generate a noticeable wake of something resembling pheromones attractive to a far wider range of females than I had previously been aware. It had considerable effect on my fledgling confidence and I felt on-the-spot as an object of former-cold-contempt by having opportunity to make something of my own appearance. Without being able to verbalize such I felt drawn back to the safety of the Old Fat Habits and in short order managed to once again reside in the Zone of Morbid Obesity. I've managed to recover from that unwelcome shock, and fortunately along the way had the burden of any desire for alcohol lifted from me, by nothing less than what I can attribute to Divine Grace. Thanks again for your bravery in broach a complex subject. Cheers in your Journey

daily efforts become daily successes

One of the best 'come to realize THAT your size has changed tools I found, was to keep the same old fat-clothes I wore the day of surgery. They were elastic banded hiking shorts, size 56-58. Every once in awhile hold them up to yourself, or slip the old duds on, just to help reinforce where we were and how far we've come. It helps reinforce the vague realization that 'No, you AREN'T the largest person in the room anymore. Odd thing, as I lost nearly 100#, I no longer was invisible to store clerks.....unsure how that works... Many Bandsters seem to have some form of 'bodily dysmorphia'. What we make of ourselves requires becoming health on multiple aspects of ourselves. I don't believe denying were are/were morbidly obese, is much different than denying were are/will become 'normo size' .....and that such is due to our own exertions and personal attention to detail.

For my own 'Danse LaBand Magnifique' I've had trace touch up both in AND out over the last 3 or 4 years. With my antique 4cc Band, I've never been able to go over 1.7 and that proved to usually be TOO MUCH, producing the various symptoms of 'too tight'. I'll have .1 or .2 taken out for a year or so, then .1 back in if possible. It's way too easy for me to fall out of what seems to work best over time. Congratulations on your success!!!