Search the Community

I am just about 5 1/2 months out. The weight loss has slowed down a tad but is still headed in the right direction. Had been stuck at 205 for the past week or so. Weighed myself today and was happy to see 203lbs. That bumped me from double to triple digits, 101lbs. to be exact. Definately made my day! 23 to go and I will be a happy camper!!

Are you: * eating when you aren’t really hungry? * struggling with stress or “nervous” eating? * circling the kitchen because you can’t find “the thing” that will satisfy you? * eating when you are bored, tired, frustrated, or procrastinating doing something else? * hungry all the time–no matter what or how much you eat? If so, it’s worth considering whether emotional eating is getting in the way of your healthy eating and weight loss goals. We all eat emotionally. We’re encouraged by friends, family, and the media to associate food with all sorts of warm, comfy, delicious things that are not simply a need for fuel. We’re taught to think of “comfort foods” and to reach for certain foods when we want to Celebrate or gnaw away our frustrations. Emotional eating is a fact of life for most of us. But if it gets out of hand, it can TAKE the upper hand and become the primary factor behind your weight struggles. If you are having a hard time with emotional overeating than you know what a vicious cycle it can be to break out of. Remember that it IS a vicious cycle and apply these strategies to break free of the emotional overeating cycle and start walking a different path. 1. Call it emotional eating. If you are using food as a tool to cope with feelings or needs, than call it what it is. Once you identify emotional eating, let go of the other names you’ve been using—you know—the ones that leave you feeling awful about yourself, guilty, and maybe even ashamed. The issue is that you are an emotional eater. The issue is NOT that you are lazy, unmotivated, or undisciplined. 2. If you are going to change a pattern, you need to understand it first. This is why any diet you choose will probably fail you. A diet doesn’t teach you to listen to yourself and understand the pattern of your eating. A diet won’t help you understand what drives you to the kitchen after you’ve already eaten a meal. It won’t help you figure out what you are REALLY craving, feeling, or needing that isn’t even food. Taking the time to understand what’s really going on will help you craft a strategy where you address the CAUSE of your overeating. Programs like the Emotional Eating Toolbox™ 28 Day Program can be helpful if you find that you need new tools or strategies to identify what’s going on or help creating alternatives to overeating. 3. Don’t just say no. No isn’t a strategy. To successfully take control of emotional eating, you’re going to need to decide HOW you’re going to not use food the way you’ve been using it in the past. What’s essential here is knowing what you will do INSTEAD of relying on food. Too many weight loss plans fail because of a lack of this type of planning. Make a list before you start your next weight loss attempt—or better yet—make it now. What are your trouble spots, triggers, and emotional eating cues? What can you try instead of turning to food? ## Dr. Melissa McCreery is a Psychologist, Coach, and Emotional Eating and Overwhelm Eliminator for smart busy women. Are you struggling with emotional eating, overeating, and balancing work and life? Claim your easy-to-use audio series: "Five Simple Steps to Move Beyond Overwhelm with Food and Life" at Too Much On Her Plate.

My name is Maren and I live in Alabama. I'm 34, with a high weight of 293 and a BMI of 47 (starting). I have BCBS and am in my third month of the 6 month supervised weight loss. My doc has me doing a controlled carb diet, mostly to get me in the mindset of putting protein first and carbs last for my post-surgery lifestyle and I'm down to 278 after only a few weeks of *really* trying. Believe me, I've done the calculations and know that to be safe in terms of insurance coverage, I shouldn't get below 260. I think I'll have to add back in a few carbs over the next few months and then once I'm approved, get back on track. That's sad, considering I've been morbidly obese for about a decade, but I'll play the games just like everyone else. For a long time I've thought casually about surgery, but I haven't gotten serious until recently. I actually don't have any major health concerns yet but I've had three miscarriages (no successful pregnancies) and even though there is no clear reason why weight would have anything to do with it, my OB specialist recommended I put off any more attempts until I lose weight. My doctor (primary) and my OB-GYN think I should do the full bypass because of my weight, but I have thought a lot about it and think I prefer the band. I'll hold off final decision until I talk with my surgeon, but in the meantime I'll be preparing for the LapBand procedure. I look forward to learning from you all and journeying with you. -Maren

You're still in the healing phase, not the weightloss phase, so don't worry too much. You should still be on liquids, however, so the greasy food is really a no-go. I was on full liquids for 4 weeks. At 3 weeks, I cheated and started mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs. I could have bought stock in KFC for the potatoes! The first 4 mths I ate exactly the same as I had previously. I could still eat a large Quiznos sandwich and a bowl of broccoli cheese Soup. Until my 3rd fill. Thats when the magic happened. I started eating a toddlers portion. I could eat about 1/3 of a Quiznos SMALL sandwich and a few bites of soup. Now I'm at 3 yrs and have lost about 100 lbs. But in the beginning, I thought I had made a huge mistake and thought I had failed yet another diet. You're just a baby in this journey. You're going to have fills/unfills, eat MUCH, MUCH less and LOSE WEIGHT. I promise you, if you stick with it and have patience, you will have success. The people that don't have success either give up too soon or don't follow any of the rules. Good luck! Marci

I am starting month 5 and have been stable at 190 lbs for a month, only 10 pounds from goal but quite frankly comfortable at 190. I can eat full meals and have some desert (ice cream etc) and I snack on small candy bars, MMs, etc and I neither gain nor lose weight. Nothing wrong with having a cookie, with or without sugar or ice cream, etc. It is normal. I am also with Kaiser and they want only 3 meals a day, maybe a Protein bar or shake in between but they do want only 3 normal meals per day. I didn't have the surgery just to give up eating everything else I would have done the bypass. Enjoy a snack just don't overdo.

Andrea Are you full after you eat a WW meal?? When you say breadstick are you talking about the ones that are like pretzels or the kind from olive garden (real bread) how much salad did you eat and what kind of dressing. How may calories are you consuming in a day?? For me personally - I want to eat more than 1/4 or 1/2 cup per meal - IMHO eating only 1/2 cup 3 x day is not healthy. This is a lifetime lifestyle change in our eating - its the combination of eating healthy (low fat - low sugar) and the restriction the band provides by making you feel fuller on a smaller quantity of food and adding exercise into your life. Weight loss is all about calories in vs calories burned - if you are consuming more than you are burning then the weight isn't going to come off. You say cuz you have done so well in the last 9 days that you ate 2 breadstick & salad - was this a reward for doing so good. There are theories out that that your body goes into starvation mode if you don't get enough calories - I am not a nutritionist or scientist - so I can't debate that - but for me if I vary my calories - say 950 today and 1100 tomorrow and 1000 the next day - I do ok. I keep a food diary and track my calories and Protein grams and log my exercise - again which has been a very big part in my success too. I have been truly bless cuz I have had a lost every week since I started this journey (well except for 1 and I didn't gain stay even) Suggest - write down what you are eating - the amounts and calories and then total them every night - do that for a week and go back to exercising and see if it helps get the ball rolling again. Good Luck..

my third fill was last tuesday and my doctor said my band was tight. for the first week i barely ate. i didnt lose any weight though. in the past 3 days i can eat more but i am trying to keep the intake low. i havent been as hungry lately so im assuming its working better than before. this is the point right. i can still eat a whole weight watchers meal though. should i be able to eat this much? because ive done so well for the past 9 days i had 2 breadsticks and a salad tonight. i couldnt believe that my stomach could handle 2 breadsticks. i was worried at first because the first week of being adjusted this time my stomach ached on and off for days straight but now its back to feeling pretty normal. i need to really focus on my calorie intake and keep up on the exercising. i havent exercised in 9 days. i just wish i could hit the 40lb mark im so close. when is it going to start coming off again? should i go back on the strict diet that we were on in the beginning stages? andrea

It is funny how differently we measure success after the sleeve. Pre-sleeve I would be over the moon with this weight loss. Now. I feel impatient that I am not under 200 yet.

Be sure to get your 70-80 Grams of Protein a Day, and stay as close to 800-1000 Calories a Day! I found that helped me to loose the weight!

Yes Team Work is Great on The Field and In Sports and In The Arena and Even At Work in The Office!! But Team Work is Best Served When Its Done Within a Relationship!! Lets Create a Better Relationship with Each Other and Stick Together Never Apart to Accomplish This Weight Loss Goal!! This Site is Called Lap Band Support Not Your Feelings Only Support!! Strength Comes in Numbers!! I Love All of You From The Bottom of My Heart!!

I'm willing to bet most on this web site have had similar experiences to yours, I know I have. Going through this weight loss journey seems to be a series of realizations including ones relationship with food. Boredom, anxiety, are familiar reasons to self soothe with food. My own realization was that I often medicated uncomfortable emotions with food and yes, alcohol. I had to find other ways to occupy myself and acknowledge my dependence on food and alcohol. My ha is and dependence were unhealthy for me and causing detrimental effects on my health. It's a good thing when you find healthier replacements. I had to focus on how was I going to prepare for life after surgery and improve how I coped with my emotions by talking about them or dealing with them. This is a great forum for that!

It was suggested to me that setting multiple goals along the way would be a good idea, and it's best to be somewhat realistic. If you're 50, it's probably not realistic to think you're going to get back to your weight as a high school junior if you were particularly slim, for example - your body has changed with age. High end of healthy BMI was a suggestion of a reasonable goal. Then once you get there, consider whether you want to continue or maintain and adjust your diet and exercise accordingly. Your surgeon may also have a goal for you. If it's less aggressive than the one you've set for yourself, then by all means think of the surgeon's goal as a major milestone, but not as the end of the journey. And don't forget - this is not a race. Slow and steady can reach a goal, too!

I'm sorry to hear about all that you have been going through. I know for me emotional eating is my worst! When I am stressing big time I tend to lose weight, when I went through my divorce pre-band I lost 45 pounds. (but I also broke my foot and had to hop around for 2 months on crutches! That's a work out let me tell you!) My best suggestion to you is to give yourself some TLC. Go back to band basics like when you first were banded. Try the 5 day pouch test/reset to start. You can find it in posts on the site and online as well. Find a doctor that you like as your PCP let them know your banded, then find a bariatric doctor and make an appointment. Don't let your insurance company tell you no! It's all in the way visits are billed and if your having an issue, then it should be covered. Best of luck to you, sounds like things are going in a better direction for you already!

Thanks Yall. I will keep taking the meds. Waterlover- I was set to have the sleeve almost a year ago and backed out for very similar reasons. Then I spent the past year struggling the same as I always have losing weight, gaining it back, exercising, etc. I think we can all attest that we all have tried very very very hard and struggled with out weight if not for an entire lifetime, then at least for a good bit of it. You are not lazy. C.C

I am in the same boat as you. Funny that Janet has posted here before I had the chance to. She is such an inspiration to me and such a wonderful friend of mine. It shouldn't surprise me that she is here cheering you on. I have just recently decided to get back on the bandwagon. For one reason or another, too many to go into right now, I'm starting again too. I originally lost 70 pounds. Have gained back 25 of that. It's time to get back to the program and do what I had decided to do in Dec. 07. My husband and I decided that this was the year we were both going to change our lives for good. We began taking charge almost 2 weeks ago. Here's what we did to get back in the groove. 1. We began with the 4 days of liquids. For me, to quit irratating my band, for him to shrink his stomach back to normal size so he wasn't always hungry. 2. We continued with the 5 day pouch test. 3. Now we are continuing with the divided plate idea, 1/2 Protein, 1/3 veggie, the rest a starch. To be honest, we often leave off the starch. If it isn't there, it can't be tempting. I also went through and threw out all the junk in the house. It was tough but I threw out quite a bit from the fridge and the freezers. We also joined the Blue Cross Blue Shield challenge. It will keep us accountable for the next 12 weeks. See if BCBS has a challenge going in your state. Ours was open to anyone no matter if you were a customer or not. There are lots of those out there, so see if you can find something. Other than that, it's just back to the basics. I'm here to tell you it is possible. Last week I lost 3 pounds, this week I'm on track to lose the same. My hubby lost 9. Don't think it can't be done. Find that gumption that we had when we started this process and tap into that strength you know is there. It IS there because you lost 50 pounds by using it. Good luck! And keep posting here!

March 24th will be 1 year. Weight loss has slowed as I still drink a lot, but so far I've lost 152lbs. I have gone from 379 to 227. I feel great. I get hit on in the grocery store. This has been an amazing ride. I'm so lucky to have had this resource to learn and help me thru my journey. For those of you still thinking about this, it is a non issue. Just do it! This is the best thing thats ever happened to me! Fly

I had surgery 6/13/16 sw 227 and am now 185 i work out 4-5 days weight training and cardio i meet my Protein and drink my Water but ive noticed the last like 3 days that my restriction isnt really feeling like its doing anything i had a cheese stick and some small bites of chicken and thought that was probably to much for my stage i could eat double the amount of shrimp too i would eat 3 medium shrimps steamed now i can eat 6 anyone else stop feeling full so early out Sent from my SM-G935T using the BariatricPal App

You will probably have several plateaus as you lose your weight. I had 2 or 3 that would halt the weight loss for 4-5 weeks then it would start going down again. As I got close to goal I worried that I wouldn't be able to stop the weight loss. I went right past my goal and kept losing, unintentionally. However, my body eventually stopped where it wanted to be without many eating changes on my part. Even gained back a few pounds. Now I have to be careful of what I put in my mouth or I will gain. Don't sweat it, your body will decide what it's set point is, just keep eating healthy and getting lots of Protein.

I still aim for 100 grams per day, per my surgeon's recommendations. I'm very active though so that's why he insists I have a higher protein intake. I think for my height/weight, it would normally be somewhere around 48-60 grams per day if my activity level was more that of the average person. However, I run(distance running) and do weight training and, if I don't run, I do some sort of cross training. I would talk to your surgeon and see what his recommendations for you are because protein needs can vary a lot between individuals.

Hi Sharon I have my band now for over a year, and and have had no problems - I had the band placed in Europe, (In Paris, France) where band surgery has been performed for over twenty years, as we believe here, it is the safest weight loss surgery. I had full confidence in my surgeon here. In the USA the FDA approved the band about 6 years ago, I think, and they have such rigorous testing, I would feel very confident getting it over there too! The band surgery is a very minor operation, rearranging none of your organs, and is completely reversible, even tho the band is designed to remain in place for life. hope this helps!

I am stumped I have the older 4 cc band, I have had it for a couple of years, long story but I am still learning about the band. I got a fill in Feb of this year up to 3cc I lived with the pb and not being able to eat out and all of that. I have lost a lot of weight but still have more to loose. After reading on this site I have learned that I was to tight and it is dangerous to be to tight. So I went back to doc and he let it out to 2.6, now I am able to eat what I want most of the time, to much in fact. I can eat white bread and I can even eat breakfast. I do not want to gain weight I still have 70 pounds I would love to loose. I am thinking of going back for a fill, it has been about 3 weeks since he let out .4cc. I think with this band the numbers are very different than with the newer bands. Does anyone know anything about this older band. I do feel restriction when it comes to eating meats but nothing when it comes to eating pie, I know I know I should not eat that but I am being honest here. Fill or no fill that is the question I am askin here?:rolleyes2:

Some of my family members think I'm losing too much too fast. I've been pretty fortunate in that the weight has steadily come off (except for the traditional 2-3 week stall). Does the loss eventually pretty much stop or plateau? What do you do if it keeps coming off and you can't keep up with your calorie intake? I'm 3 months out, down 42 lbs, (74 since my highest weight). I struggle with sliming, so some days I don't get a good amount of calories. Other days I do fine. Worrying for nothing??

congrats, good to hear you're doing well and ready to start losing.....you will definitely love your new journey to weight loss.....goodluck and please keep us posted.

Well I'm all the way in Orange County, but my group was great! They are located in Newport Beach and are called the N.E.W Program. Their whole practice (including not only surgeons, but internists and dietitians) are dedicated ONLY to bariatrics. They had great statistics on laprascopic to open conversion and I liked their whole approach to the subject. I think their website is The N.E.W. Program Southern California - Gastric bypass, Lap-Band, Weight loss, Adolescent Obesity. Tell your cousin good luck!

Thanks for answering. I see my surgeon on the 20th and I'll be a little over 4 weeks (almost 5 weeks actually) at that point. I'm REALLY hoping he'll clear me because it'll be another few weeks after that before I'll be able to get up there to see him (he's a couple hours away from me). I'm itching to get back to weight training. I have instability in my ankles due to numerous injuries over the years so I can't do much walking and I feel so mushy right now. I want to get back to feeling in charge of my body instead of stuck doing nothing. I have started doing body weight squats since that doesn't affect my abs, and I'm considering getting hand weights and doing bicep curls and things like that, basically ANYTHING that doesn't touch my abs.