Help me, I'm backsliding

[hrtgoeson 19]

Started at 259 in April '09 and got down to 166. Then I got a Tummy Tuck April this year and had my band mostly unfilled for it. Of course I went mad crazy and have since packed 20 lbs back on. I've tried to get back to the green zone but have ended up overfilled twice and am now a little underfilled but I don't want to go back to the surgeon and risk being overfilled again. I KNOW that if I went back on my low carb faithfully I'd get going again but after the TT I lost my diet and drive motivation and I just can't get it back. It's been SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR for a couple months now.

Anyone else been there? I've fallen off the wagon, hit my head, gotten amnesia and can't figure out how to get back on. I am up to 185 now and I still can't get motivated to get back on my exercise and diet routine.

[readytolosemomof5 0]

Not sure how to manage that one except to say, you just need to psyche yourself up to it. It sounds like you are taking the beginning steps by reaching out and acknowledging the issue, without coming up with a million of false reasons for not doing it.

Just remember why you got the band in the first place. Do you want all that hard work to go to waste.

And the TT, you don't want to go through that again. I've never had one, but have taken care of post op TT'ers, and I have to say, it takes a lot of courage to do it, not sure I could.

Good luck in getting back on the wagon!

[Desdemona 48]

Yes. I have done exactly that and was off track for months and months. Also wanted to get back on LC and just could not. Sugar, sugar, sugar --- Pasta -- larger servings of food, just plain out of control, etc. But then I went back and took a look at that 5 Day Pouch Test for the band online. I was home for a few days and not feeling well anyway -- so I got up the next day and started the pouch test. Fortunately, I didn't have to do much but sit around and watch TV. It worked like a charm. I "found" my band again immediately (for the first time in a very long time). It had all the tightness of when it was new by the 3rd AM - but it didn't feel over tight. It was excellent. That made it easy to get back on LC and it was even very small meals because of the pouch test. ALL the sugar and carb cravings were completely GONE! I lost everything I gained very quickly and am now at a new band low. Energy came back. The last time I was at my current weight was 1988. Try doing the pouch test. Just decide that when you get up tomorrow you are going to only drink Atkins Protein for the next 48 hrs, broths, Water, tea, and coffee and that's it. Then follow the 5 day pouch choices which are LC. On the 3rd AM I had a mix of cottage cheese and chopped hard boil egg. After that it was protein choices that they give you. Starting with the 3rd day --the food was very filling with the band. I WAS tired during those 5 days and for a day or 2 more --- but it made a world of difference. I did it in the beginning of June and I'm still going very strong on LC. I'm completely confident that I will be at 25 BMI within a few months. Here's the link:

http://www.5daypouchtest.com/

Best wishes

[Kristen Archer 0]

TY, I'm gonna give it a go! I really hate Protein Shakes at this point but it's worth a try.

[joeventura 0]

I thought my band was in the sweet spot but I will be damned I can find a way to get stuff past the band,

I have to get another fill, as much as I hate the thought, I have gained back probably half of what I lost mostly from stress eating and this crap has to stop!!

[Desdemona 48]

Yes. I was slipping everything past my band again too. chips, popcorn (with lots of butter and salt of course), ice-cream went down like a charm. On to chocolate bars, Doritos. And then that helped pave the way for some potato, Pasta and even managed to get some great crusty bread in there. I could eat it all right through what my MD said was the best safe restriction he could give. I'd eat it all and then get hungry a few hrs later. I also was drinking Water, coffee --whatever with my meals. I just figured that the honeymoon was over with the band and that it wasn't working anymore. But when I went back and really reviewed all the info on the 5 Day Pouch Test I realized that most of those foods I was eating were "slider foods" that all go though the band very easily and then I was just washing them right through my pouch as fast as I was eating them. All those calories were going straight into my body. Since my insulin levels were going up on all those carbs -- I was HUNGRY--and since I was washing it down with liquid -- my pouch was empty most of the time. Once I did the pouch test ---BOY! --- could I FEEL that restriction!!! A few TABLESPOONS at a time was ALL I could handle for the first week! LBS poured off of me. Especially when I drank all the water/fluild they told me too. I will never make the mistake of drinking Fluid 1/2 before or an 1 after again. I will also not get into those slider foods again.

[Kristen Archer 0]

Desdemona,

I have slipped on the not drinking 1/2 hour before and an hour after as well. The problem is that I am ALWAYS dehydrated and I snack so much that I would never ever be able to drink lol. Do you just eat 3 meals?

[Desdemona 48]

Desdemona,

I have slipped on the not drinking 1/2 hour before and an hour after as well. The problem is that I am ALWAYS dehydrated and I snack so much that I would never ever be able to drink lol. Do you just eat 3 meals?

I usually eat 1 scrambled egg in AM and take a cup of coffee w/me in a thermos and enjoy it on the way. Every AM -- I take 1 package of Emerald100 calorie almond with me. There are 2 I love : coco coated and cinnamon coated. I also take 1 individually wrapped cheeder cheese stick (Cracker Barrel). I eat either the almonds and cheese about mid-AM. I sometimes have lunch and sometimes don't ---- depends on how early I get up and how long my work day is. If I have lunch --it would be very light --- like a small salad. But then I also have either the cheese or almond again for mid afternoon. dinner is usually about 6:30PM and is a small amount of Protein with either a small salad or small amount of veggie. Later I have a small dish of sugar free Jello with real whipped cream. So I don't know how to count that as meals. I guess you would say that I have 2 meals and 3 Snacks. I try to also get down at least 8 glasses of Water in there --which isn't easy with all that snacking. Maybe other people eat more than me and lose weight but I just find that if i don't cut back on what I eat, I won't lose. I'm very short and not very active so I need to be careful about eating.

[kentx05 3]

Started at 259 in April '09 and got down to 166. Then I got a Tummy Tuck April this year and had my band mostly unfilled for it. Of course I went mad crazy and have since packed 20 lbs back on. I've tried to get back to the green zone but have ended up overfilled twice and am now a little underfilled but I don't want to go back to the surgeon and risk being overfilled again. I KNOW that if I went back on my low carb faithfully I'd get going again but after the TT I lost my diet and drive motivation and I just can't get it back. It's been SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR for a couple months now.

Anyone else been there? I've fallen off the wagon, hit my head, gotten amnesia and can't figure out how to get back on. I am up to 185 now and I still can't get motivated to get back on my exercise and diet routine.

I feel like we are struggling through similar things. I've been set back by an sudden addiction to ice cream which I never had before Band Surgery. I've been binging on ice cream since the beginning of this year. Now I've put back 20 lbs of the original 82 I'd lost.

I'm starting the 5 day pouch test today. So far I've been getting through this first day well. I really want to detox my body off all this sugar so my cravings go away. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Desdemona 48]

I feel like we are struggling through similar things. I've been set back by an sudden addiction to ice cream which I never had before Band Surgery. I've been binging on ice cream since the beginning of this year. Now I've put back 20 lbs of the original 82 I'd lost.

I'm starting the 5 day pouch test today. So far I've been getting through this first day well. I really want to detox my body off all this sugar so my cravings go away. I'll let you know how it goes.

kentxo5

I hope it helps. Let me know how you make out. Ice and chocolate are my downfall too. If I just stay away --- I'm OK. Once that sugar hits me -- I'm a goner. Ice-cream was exactly what got me going too and once that insulin level surges -- it's extremely hard to get it under control unless you find a way to just go cold turkey for at least a few days (even up to a week). We just have to get those darn hormones back under control. The 5 day pouch test is pretty dramatic and kinda hard but I was disgusted with myself enough that I was able to stick the 5 days out. And I must say --- that ALL of my cravings were magically gone by day 3. I will be thinking of you.

[kentx05 3]

kentxo5

I hope it helps. Let me know how you make out. Ice and chocolate are my downfall too. If I just stay away --- I'm OK. Once that sugar hits me -- I'm a goner. Ice-cream was exactly what got me going too and once that insulin level surges -- it's extremely hard to get it under control unless you find a way to just go cold turkey for at least a few days (even up to a week). We just have to get those darn hormones back under control. The 5 day pouch test is pretty dramatic and kinda hard but I was disgusted with myself enough that I was able to stick the 5 days out. And I must say --- that ALL of my cravings were magically gone by day 3. I will be thinking of you.

Thanks Desdemona! I just completed Day 2 of the pouch test. I did very well. I'm still having some cravings but not nearly as bad as a few days ago when I finished off some Oreos and half a gallon of Snickers ice cream. That's when I decided to come back to this forum and found your response. I've tried the 5 day pouch test before but failed by Day 2. So far I am doing great. liquids left me a little weak but I could tell my body is getting rid of all that sugar. Drinking only liquids for 2 days means a lot of trips to the bathroom.

I can't wait for tomorrow. I miss eggs. I already prepared my tuna fish for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll feel my pouch a little bit more. Thanks again. I'll keep you updated.

[kentx05 3]

I'm on Day 4 and feeling much better. I found my pouch again. This is going to sound weird but I was eating my ground beef for lunch. I don't know if I didn't chew it well enough, I swore I did, but I felt I was having a stuck episode. I've haven't been stuck in months. I had to have a PB for the first time and got myself unstuck. I know, kind of gross, but it proved to me that pouch is back to the size I had it when I got my last fill in December.

Unfortunately, with the amount of Cookies and ice cream I ingested in my body in these last few months I'm still feeling the urge to go out there and buy myself a gallon. I'm eating Atkins bars right now to satisfy my sweet tooth but I'm eating one too many. Still, I'm going to use these to get me through until I can kick the sugar cravings. Once I'm done with this pack though, I'm gonna stick to nuts for my Snacks. Atkins bars can be very addicting too.

[Desdemona 48]

kentxo5-

Thanks for letting me know. It's good to hear. How are you now? Still doing low carb and feeling your pouch? I know it's tiring for several days. What are you eating now?

[shan-dog 1]

Why don't you start out by doing the pouch test and bring everything inside back to the beginning again and see how that goes....