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Hi Alicia, Here's my experience after my fill: ( I have a 9cc band and was filled 5 cc) - Major pain if I don't chew well and then PB - Even Water if swallowed fast and often will come back - Feel hungry about every 3-4 hours What helps: - Chew Chew Chew and then Chew some more (the 20x regimen is good) - Drink warm water before you start your meal ( at the begining when I had just gotten the fill Sept 20- I would drink warm water with my food. I know they say not to drink with the meal but that was the only way the food would go down. Now that some time has passed, I can eat my food without any water. So you have to gage your body and see what works for you. - The slower you eat the less pain - I found that I have more pain when I am hungry and eat in a hurry. So don't wait until you are starving to eat. I start to heat my food at the first feeling of hunger. Sounds like you are at your sweet spot. I understand what you mean about eating eventhough you are not hungry. That's a habit that caused my weight gain and I struggle to kick it every day. You just have to be aware of it. I trick myself and say I will have it in 2 hours. This seems to work sometimes. Good Luck. You should start to notice some good loss now. Mary;)

Damn that Ninja Turtle theme song........I'm terrible about if someone mentions a song or sings one around me it gets all in my head for the rest of the day.........thanks alot kimaliciosu!!!!! Now here's one for you....PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON.....LIVED BY THE SEA......... I honestly can't say if my slow losing is because of adequate restriction - maybe I don't know what adequate restriction is??? I eat waaaaaaaaayyyyyyy less than pre-banding - which has me confused why I haven't lost more weight. I now eat 1/3 of what I did pre-band yet still only small weight loss. I think I've come to the conclusion that it isn't what I eat, but how I don't move much anymore. I need to get me a pedometer to motivate me just to move more. I look back and notice when I had a significant amount of weight gain was shortly after high school - that's because I was constantly on the move in high school and once I graduated I got a desk job - hellllloooooooooo fat assssss!!!!!! I'm only 6 years out of high school and weighed 230 and muscular/athletic in high school - before surgery I weighed 293 - so I gained 63lbs in six years........wow just had an epiphany here with you all.......damn I've gained 63lbs since high school only 6 short years ago and was gaining steadily and have no doubt I'd be in the 300lb club if it weren't for Bambi (my band). Somebody buy me a pedometer for Christmas!!!!!!! I can't find any around this area in stores. Waaaahhhh - actually I think I'm going to go ebay it.........do they make a pedometer in a wrist thing? I don't like wearing things on my waist. Mainly because when I sit my fat roll folds over my waist......gross....I'm so grossss..........LOL - BUT NOT FOREVER!!!!!

One of the scariest or infuriating things I encounter is when I've made a new low on the scale and then gain back 3 or 5 pounds in the next few days. And then it takes a week to get back where I was. I know it's just my body getting adjusted to my new lifestyle, but it is infuriating to see it happen. After reading so many success stories about losing 20 plus pounds per month in the 1st 6 months, I WANT IT TOO! Not 10, not 15, I want my 20+ pound loss, just like clockwork - gimme, gimme, gimme! But that isn't the way my body wants to do it. So I'll just have to get used to the way it works. In fact, the gains are my fault. I allow myself a "cheat" meal on Saturday nights and one more on Sundays when I visit my parents (twice a month). It's not that I eat more food, it's just less healthy. For example: Friday morning weight in: 296.8 Saturday night was Golden Corral buffet night. Over the hour I was there, I had about 4oz of meatloaf, 1 fried chicken strip, 1 big cauliflower floret w/cheese, about 2 tablespoons of Shepard's pie and about 1/2 of some kind of pecan gooey thing. I didn't stuff myself, just ate until I was full, waited while my friend hit the buffet again, and I ate a little here and there as my stomach emptied. The following Sunday happened to be one of the 2 days a month I visit my parents. At lunch we had Churches fried chicken. I had 1 fried breast, 1 single serving of mashed potatoes, and 1 biscuit. This is not the normal fare, usually mom cooks meat and vegetables. I wasn't able to eat the whole thing in one sitting. I broke it into 2 meals, one at 11am, the 2nd at 2pm. The rest of my meals for the weekend were my normal fare: turkey hamburger w/cheese and spaghetti sauce or turkey hamburger w/gravy and chopped cauliflower. In a 4oz bowl. Monday morning weigh in: 302.4 - almost a 6 pound gain! I can only assume that all the salt and sodium caused quite a bit of water retention. I don't believe I really over did it too much on the calories. Now it's Thursday - 4 days later - and I'm back down to 298.4 - 4 pounds. Not surprising really, it's happened more than once. That doesn't mean I have to like it! I think it might be a good thing to switch up foods this way, my body won't get accustomed to a certain calorie count/protein/carb/fat intake. I just won't go overboard on the bad stuff and eat it more than 6 meals a month. Now if only I can get over my fear of seeing the scale move up instead of down! And I'll watch and see how my body reacts long term. If turns out that it's causing stalls or long term weight gain, I'll have to go back to the basic diet and cut out the bad stuff. NSV! Now, where's my light saber? I have to punch a new hole in my belt.

I found myself sabotaging myself also. But then, I was having trouble seeing a thinner me. The weight gain in part, was to be invisible , and I just was not ready for all the attention that loosing weight was creating. Crazy huh? I'm a bit of an introvert, it's sort of like learning to swim, take a big gasping breath of air, then plunge head first back in the water!

No Matter what!! Dont beat yourself up for the mistakes made yesterday and the weight gain and the disappointments. Time Takes Care of Itself!!

I'm very sorry he is so cruel to you with his words. As for the weight gain, you got this! You know what needs to be done and don't let his lack of support effect you.

I don't know, but a lot of people say they affect them that way. My daughter was on Paxil and didn't tolerate it very well. I think at one time I myself was on it. There's been a lot of tries and mistries over the past 17+ years. I think there's something about some of these drugs that can make certain things addictive or compulsive. Like I've heard people on certain drugs could spend money out of control so it wouldn't surprise me if the drug had that same effect with food etc... I know a lot of them tend to slow down your metabolism and that in itself makes it difficult. But it's much better to be on than off even if it does slow down your wt loss in some way. Plus they put out statements saying that this drug doesn't seem to affect your weight gain or may make you lose and my docs always would put me on those types and it never made a difference in me. I don't know who those people are that lose weight on anti-depressants but it's definitely not moi!:confused2:

I was on antidepresants for over 20 years. They took mine off the market because it causes liver failure. I tried just about every other one and just couldn't handle the side effects. About the same time, I decided to try to lose weight and started exercising like crazy. I didn't lose any weight but I noticed pretty quickly how much better I felt when I exercised daily. I haven't had to take anitdepressants for about 3 years now. I never lost any weight with all this exercise, but getting off those meds was worth it. That's why I ended up getting banded. I realize now that I started gaining weight all those years ago, when I started on anti depressants. Two of my best friends are shrinks and they tell me all the time that weight gain is a side effect of almost any antidepressants. The anti anxiety med you are taking is a central nervous system depressant and a side effect can be depression. So yes, all of your medication can be related to weight gain. One of the many antidepressants I took caused huge sugar cravings. They tried to give it to me again for insomnia, in smaller doses and I notice immediately when I take the tiniest dose that the next day I crave sugar like crazy. Have you googled your meds and read all about the possible side effects? I always have every single one possible for every med I have tried. My daughter always tells me that I get the side effects after reading they are possible. It's the other way around. I get the side effect so I go online and try to find out what could be causing it. Anyway, I am really happy to be off all meds since I exercise every day. I wish you the best. This is not an easy problem to deal with, I know very well.

I do remember my daughter being on ambilfy and have a bad reaction. I may say something to my nurse practitioner about xanax because I think the clonapin maybe slowing my metab down a bit and I've reduced to once a day prior to bed. I posted about a depression program I watched and a drug to counteract the weight gain on "struggling lap bandsters" under "lap band complications" and am curious to see if anything comes up there about a drug I read about called zonegran or zonisamide. thanks brandyII

I posted this on my blog, but I thought it might be important to share here because I am sure I am not the only one who is experiencing this: I know I've been raking on DH a bit here, and usually he's a decent guy, but I don't know exactly what's happening here lately. It's either time for a sit-down or to really get this before a counselor to make it a bit more neutral because, frankly, I don't believe he'll see what he's doing. Since the "coming to Jesus" talk we had (okay, I had with him) a couple weeks ago, on more than one occasion he has made some bizarre comment when I've complimented him after making dinner. I'll say, "Oh, the chicken was good," and he'll reply, "Nah, it's okay. It's just food." The first time I asked what he was talking about and he said he needed to look at food as just sustenance and nothing else. Um, that's NOT what I said. What I said was that he lives to eat and makes everything about the food. So that's been going on a few times since that day. Tonight I said that he needs to stop it, to which he replied that he was only being supportive. I said no, what I feel like he's being is mocking, like he really doesn't get this whole thing I'm going through. I said that it's not bad to enjoy what we eat, it's just that he was so consumed with the act of eating that it was wharped. I said that I wished he was as into me as he is into food, and he thought I was being silly. Uh-huh... *eye roll* Another thing that just started on Friday is that I'm getting a blow-by-blow synopsis of the weight HE has lost by virtually doing nothing. I'm exercising four days a week and eating good meals, every meal, and he's lost over 20 freakin pounds by just not eating all the junk after dinner -- in front of me. And again, he attributes it to "supporting me" -- almost like, "Look how I'm suffering for you because I'm losing weight too." Okay, he's lost almost as much as I have, and now I feel like he's crowing about it (his weight has NEVER been discussed before). The problem with DH is, even if I try to discuss it with him, he is totally lacking in personality or person skills (read: he's very immature). He is not always good with other people, and he seems to lack the ability to understand anything or anyone beyond the end of his nose. Compassion is virtually nil. As Jennifer Aniston would say, there's a sensitivity chip missing sometimes. So when you explain something to him that he's doing, he only knows how to deny. Comprehension doesn't seem to be his strong suit -- especially when it comes from me, unfortunately. I always knew he was going to be the hardest part of this journey, but I guess I never realized just how hard. In the past when I was just dieting, he eventually got his way and we'd start back to eating out again, leading to my weight gain. I'm not blaming him, per se, but still -- if I was doing this only own, I'd have done lost it by now, I feel. But now it's as if he's pulling out all the stops. I dunno, maybe I'm just being sensitive or reading more into it than I should, but I'm not even three months into my journey and we've already had waaaay too many conversations over this. I think that's why I spend so much time on LBT and here -- because these are the places I get support, these are the people that understand what I'm going through. I find it sad that I can get that from people I've never met, yet a man I've known 17 years is either so self-absorbed or so clueless that he doesn't get it.

I weighed myself and the scale showed I gained 6 lbs. I don't eat much, barely 4 ounces. I eat healthy, when I can eat. I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. I can see I lost weight, I wear a size 18 - 20. I was wearing 24. I don't want to gain back the weight.

Procedure might help my wife. We have been round and round and round with this nagging issue for about four years. She has been battling this issue for ten more! <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/> </v:formulas> <v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/> <o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style='width:12pt; height:12pt'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:DOCUME~1ScottLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_image001.gif" o:href="http://www.lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/default%20smilies/frown.gif"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--> I have been very supportive and encouraging since the get go. To further aggravate the issue I am not a MD. And I assure you all that it’s not about the looks of it! It is much more than that. And this is a WE issue for sure. I know it bothers her to the core, makes her feel uncomfortable in her own skin and feels ashamed of the shape she is in. These are the facts of the case AFAIK: -Was an athlete in high school always height weight proportionate. Were 160 on a 5'6.5" frame -At age 19 gave birth to second child 14 years ago, had complications, and was bed ridden for a few months before giving birth. This is when the weight gain started. -Since then has been approximately 260- 280 lb till 4.5 years ago then dropped to 185 by not eating anything but lettuce and water for 6 months. (This is when I met her) -Then the climb was back on after I met her, back up to 285 ish. <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style='width:15pt;height:15pt'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:DOCUME~1ScottLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_image002.gif" o:href="http://www.lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/modern/sad.gif"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--> -Last spring I gave her come to Jesus talk about her over all health and the weight was a part of it. And that I want her around for a long time and right now she may feel fine but it is not going to last (I know this I am older and not as bullet-proof either) <!--[endif]--> <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style='width:28.8pt;height:15pt'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:DOCUME~1ScottLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_image003.gif" o:href="http://www.lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/modern/thumbup.gif"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--> -I am a cyclist and moved to CO for the riding. I begged her to participate more on the bike with me. We started to commute to work 13 miles one way at least a few times a week and the weight loss was back on and dropped 50 pounds! (225) -All of her blood work has come back perfect and normal, BP is fine, and the only issue is excess weight. (And nagging ankle issues related to the weight). The doctors have said that she is a specimen of health! TOTALLY FRUSTRATING! -I have been watching her eating habits for some time now and what I am seeing is this. Eating sweets is her downfall, but not addict. Not eating for 5 or more hours is normal for her or worse yet not eating till 5 in the afternoon. I am not sure if this is as bad as I think? Or is it as simple as too much in and too little out? It can’t be good? And if she is not eating enough calories she should lose? Is she over eating?? I am so confused I can’t tell you! Am I over analyzing everything? All I like to do is help her FIX this once for all. No more failing! Will the dietician really be the fix? I like to know. We are seeing are PCP (internist) for this issue and he is on board for the band. And the Dr. is saying 1400 calories is where she should be on a daily basis. I am thinking this better said that done. Just getting the ducks in a row is going to be the hard part (I think). The question is what you guys and gals think?

smacke20 - Being from the US I don't know how much a "stone" is, but any gain is a gain and I know your pain. I am now up 10 pounds. I feel FAT. I walk 3 miles everyday and work out each evening..still up. The doctor told me to relax, that this is normal and it will come back off. Just hang in there and give it time. He is watching to make sure I don't keep going up. I hope you have leveled off on your weight gain by now (sorry for answering so late) but if not, stay active. Walk, swim, workout..whatever it takes. I am eating too much, too large a portions and some wrong things. It is ALL ME and I am the only one who can get it under control, but - that is why I got the band in the 1st place - no control. I guess now, I have no choice but to figure it out..I sure don't want to gain all 124 pounds back..YUCK.. Melinda in Florida

im on the pill and its working fine. NO weight gain at all.

I had the band done in 08 and recently 10 months ago I had it emergency removed due to prolapse. I did have success in the very beginning, losing about 70lbs. I do have to admit it was not easy!! I was working out twice a day and watching every little calorie. I had 5 to 6 fills and became very sick do to restriction and had it emptied. After that it all went down hill as far as weight gain Today I weigh only 10lbs less then the day I had the band put in. I'm two weeks from my Gastric bypass surgery!!! I'm praying all goes well! Good Luck on your journey Sent from my SGH-T999L using the BariatricPal App

I started my day as usual.. running like a loon cuz I cant scrape myself from the warm, cozy bed but thats besides the point... I made my 2 scambled eggs w/my hunk of mozzarella cheese on the side. Thank god for the dog.. I could NOT finish my eggs :eek:. I had my beloved protein shake at my 930 break. It hit me like a ton of bricks.. I was FULL. Lunch was half of a turkey on wheat wrap... I made it with more lettuce than anything. I also had a yogurt. can we say FULL. At my 230 break I had my other protein shake and felt... whats the word I am looking for... FULL. I came home from work and finished my salad (leftover from yesterday) and I am FULL.:biggrin2: Full is not something I have felt before. Not without a lot of food being involved. I am so flippin excited about this whole fill thing. It almost motivated me to get off my ass and use my treadmill. I said ALMOST. Instead I am being a mouse-potato and comtemplating a long hot bath since I now have clearance to take one. I do have one side effect of the fill though. :wink2: I'm burping like a mo-fo. In the fat-club meetings, they said gas and burping repeatedly but in my first 5 weeks, I had nearly none of that stuff. Today..BURP. Every few minutes... BURP. While it doesnt bother me so much, I have very stuffy coworkers that are not so amused (BURP). Hell, atleast I wasnt farting. I am FINALLY starting to feel as if this has all been worth it and my mood is obviously improving a bit. I still hate my coworkers (most of them) but now I am starting to like myself just a smidge anyway.:thumbup: I am going to take the long awaited HOT bath and I am going to stay in there til I run out of hot water and wrinkle like a prune. OOOOOO. I almost forgot to mention that I went down a size in undies. I can almost buy hanes-her-way in a color other than white. Whoo-freakin-whooo. I have been so looking forward to the day I get to buy some pink panties!!!! Hell, in a few more months, I might be back to wearing thongs. I gave up thongs years ago after my enormous weight gain. While they were still comfy.. I couldnt bear to see the fat girl in thongs. Not attractive. Walmart has/had tummy control thongs. SERIOUSLY. why bother controlling the tummy when the booty is jiggling uncontrollably???

Definitely do it! At 71, 100lbs overweight, in pain constantly, both knees destroyed by arthritis, peripheral neuropathy in both feet with hot burning pins and needles when standing and walking, back pain. My journey started in orthopedics with knees, steroid injections, worked well most of the time, but didn't stop the occasional fall [3 to 4 times a year]. I knew sooner or later something would break. I would have had knee replacement sooner except for covid & elective surgeries were cancelled for two years [socialized medicine ***]. No weight gain, but developed hypertension. Researched weight loss thru ***, and because I had obstructive sleep apnea, I would qualify, and found this bariatric surgery should be first before the knees. I researched, attended classes, youtube videos, surgeons, after care, supplements etc. I wanted the Roux-N-Y but at my age surgeon said no, VSG. The surgeon recommended to me, is EXTREMELY strict and no BS kind of guy, he canceled my first surgery date because he didn't like something I did, so I really buckled down to his protocol. I knew I would have nausea and vomiting from anesthesia so I told EVERYONE, to give me whatever so this didn't happen. Well...it happened, no medication, and postop recovery the uncontrollable violent projectile dry heaves started, nurse good, gave IV Zofran, the IV Reglan and within a few minutes it stopped, but it was bad. I went home the next day. I had all my foods for week two, supplements etc. I am keeping up with supplements and fluids but not hungry. Dr said eat 1/4 cup every 2-3 hours otherwise your body will try to hold on to everything and the metabolism shifts. I'm going to add the vitamin patches from Bariatric Pal to my daily regimen of chews and capsules, [ I am very fatigued] for a while and see how this works. I use Mira Lax/:axa Clear equivalent in my morning water bottle and use a stool softener at night. Find whatever works for you, the stool softeners alone did not work for me. Trying to find my new normal, I knew it would be a process. I have NO regrets, and would tell anyone considering surgery to 'go for it' and FOLLOW directions strictly. Once I pass the phase of full liquids and get into pureed foods it will be another advancement. During surgery found a hiatal hernia and did the repair. Who Knew?! I didn't, glad it's done. My significant weight loss will help me in recovery for total knee replacement. I'm looking forward to repairing the rest of my body in my older age. Best wishes to you. Surgery May 15.

We are back from our 2 weeks in CT. The cold weather was a wondeful change to our 80s in Florida. I was so excited to see my sister and friends and to get their reactions to my new look. Everyone cried when they saw me. Good tears, thank goodness. They were very proud of me, which made me feel wonderful. I was very worried that 2 weeks away would cause me a weight gain. I tried to sign up at LA Fitness for the 2 weeks, but they wanted so much money, I decided against it. My aunt had a treadmill in her basement - a very old one, but it worked. And my cousin lent me some weights. So I went down into the cold cellar every other day and worked out for an hour. I also did not cheat on my food in take. I stayed on track and when I stepped on the gym scale today was thrilled to find I had a 3.1lb loss. I have just over 1 lbs to lose to hit the Onderland. I have lost 67 lbs since my journey started and feel amazing. And I have to say I got whistled at in the supermarket! We had a great Thanksgiving. Now I have Christmas and New Year's to get through. And because I am hosting Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at my home, I can control what gets served and eaten by me. All is good. I think 2011 will be a good year for us all.

Ugh. Stretch marks, wrinkles, saggy skin.... All part and parcel of the weight gain and surgery. Mederma, bio corneum, melaquin, hydroquinone, ammonium lactate.... There are a zillion out there. Stretch marks fade... As do the angry scars from the surgery. But we feel like we need to DO something, so let us do just that. And? As women, so much of this world is tied up in our appearance---think of the sheer volume of makeup products and anti wrinkle creams out there--- and you'll get it. Not saying it is right, but there it is. For me? I'll fight aging tooth and nail, and what ever little benefit I see in 30 years, well, I'll take it. For the saggy tummy skin and boobs---that's what plastics are for. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I just had mine done and from the day I talked to my doctor I 100% knew this is what I had to do! I could lose weight on my own but never could maintain it for any large amount of time, me and my body were so sick of the yoyo weight gain and loss that I knew this would be the only way for me to maintain a healthy weight! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi wl fam! Hows everyone's mending going? Im still getting some swelling at the top of my belly. Still feels weird around my belly button sometimes, a little pain. I tried putting a marble in to shape it but it bothered me. Hopefully it doesn't close up. Sometimes i get an itchy sensation around area but when i go to scratch it doesn't help because the area still has some numbness. Maybe its a ghost pannus itch[emoji3] Feeling a little down tho. Along with the swelling and some weight gain i have to wear some of my old bigger clothes. Its disheartening. But i will get it together. And hopefully the swelling will subside. Hope everyone is feeling better!

My name is Carlie. I am 27 years old and I have struggled with weight my entire life. I live in Tucson, Arizona. I love to travel, volunteer, dance, workout, run, exercise, hike, rock climb, play the violin, go to movies, listen to music and spend time with my family. I was banded two weeks ago. I am trying to change old patterns. I love eating anything unhealthy (donuts, Cookies, candy, ice cream etc.), but up until now have maintained a decent weight. Recently, since December I have gained 70 pounds, which is the most I have ever weighed equalling 192. My weight gain was extremely rapid. I have a scary family medical family history. I am excited to have the band, but I feel I am not following all the rules. I don't think I am doing everything I am supposed to. Please help. Sincerely, Carlie:eek:

I have PCOS I found out after I had the mirena taken out and I just wasnt getting my period, the weight gain was crazy, a beard on my chin and acne like I was a teen uggh I hope the sleeve helps with some of these symptoms... Sent from my SM-G900P using BariatricPal mobile app

I agree, we are all different, and we all gain or lose weight different. I don't have the chatter in my head, I don't wake up in the middle of the night to get something to eat. And I don't agree that I am sick because of my weight. When I was five years old, we were on our way to a Sunday outing, my Dad, Mom, and my three brothers. A car crossed the line and came over and hit us head on. My father broke one leg into 50 pieces. He was in a cast from his chest to his toes for over a year. My mother broke her kneecap and hit her mouth and lost all her teeth. One of my brothers hit his mouth, knocked out his teeth, and two of his teeth went down in his lungs. He also hurt his knee and broke his jaw, and had pins in it. One of the other brothers lost his front teeth, and my other brother and I was just bruised up. We had no money coming in our house at all for a very long time. My Mother was a great cook, but everything she cooks was southern and very fattening. We lived on pots of Beans, stews, and every Sunday we had fried chicken. Most of all, almost every meal we had was based around what kind of potatoes we were having. Potatoes was the base of all our meals, and most were fried or mashed with gravy. food was hard to come by since money was so scarce, so we had to finish our plates of food, and couldn't waste any. I learned to cook exactly like my Mother, and once I got married and had children, I started gaining weight. I didn't lose the weight between my children, which started me off on a huge weight gain. I didn't exercise like I should have, or eat the right foods. The only way I knew to cook was how my Mother taught me. Just like the old saying "You can't teach old dogs new tricks" I just didn't realize the way I was cooking was causing me to gain so much weight. Losing weight has been extremely hard for me because of the way I cook, and because of lack of exercise. I am learning I can fix meals without the potatoes or the other starches. I am learning just because I fix my DH those things, that I don't have to eat them. I am learning I can fix some veggies and fill up just as good on them as the starches. I am learning I have to exercise to get this weight off. I am learning that no one except me can do this, and I am also learning that I have to want it bad enough to do all of that. Do I think I am sick because I have gained this weight and have problems getting it off? NO! I just think I have to learn the right foods to eat and the right way to cook without all the grease/oils. My dear Mother, bless her heart, didn't even realize that cooking with lard was bad for her. She cooked with it right up until a couple of years before she died at the age of 83, and she was in such bad health I finally told her it would be best if she didn't use it anymore. She grew up eating lard sandwiches because of the depression, so using lard to cook with was a natural thing for her. I followed her footsteps using lard and cooking just like she had, so now I have habits to break too. I think almost everyone on these boards has a reason why they gained weight if they go back and really think about it. And yes, I do believe it can be a sickness for some people, but not everyone. It took me a long time to realize it's my problem, and I am the one that has to work at getting the weight off. If I sit on my lazy butt and don't do anything about it, then it's my fault. I have chosen to get this band to use as a tool, to move my butt and to eat the right foods, and guess what? It's working, and I feel great! I am lovin life again for the first time in a long time.

You are owning up to your failure and that takes guts. Drinking is one big weight gain problem and if you put your mind to it then yes you will succeed. 24 minutes is better then nothing. I wish you nothing but success.