Have I sabbotaged myself?

This is probably for the more experienced bandsters but any help is appreciated.  I have kind of fallen off the wagon a bit over the past month or so and I have no one to blame but myself.  I don't mean I have gone wacko and eaten everything in sight or even really eaten all that badly.  The problem is that I have not eaten much at all.  I find myself DRINKING my meals more so than eating them.  So, I wonder, have I done more harm than good by letting myself have a smoothie as a meal versus having to eat foods that I know are good for me and actually have to chew?  I have noticed lately that everything (other than the drinks) is getting stuck.  I just tried to eat a sugar free cool whip jello salad with crushed pineapples in it and it is stuck right now.  How could that be?  I have not had a fill since the end of April.  Clearly I am not doing something right as I have not lost anything in about a month.  With very little that I do eat, I cannot be getting too many calories.  Possibly I am not getting enough calories to lose?  This all started when I was overfilled and that was a horrible experience so I think I resorted to drinking a lot of higher calorie things such as the smoothies and milkshakes to replace my meals so I wouldn't get stuck or sick.  So now am I so used to drinking things that I can't actually eat?  I think I have sabbotaged myself.

Do you have a nutritionist or dietician?  I'd suggest you talk to them.  Drinking your calories doesn't do anything for you.  It doesn't leverage the band or what it's designed to do.  If you start getting fills based on liquid meals, you are headed down a seriously dangerous path.  Maybe you are too tight.  Maybe you are not chewing your food thoroughly enough.  So drinking is how you resolve that?  If drinking your meals is working for you great.  But if you are not losing any weight, then it's not.  Are you exercising every day?  Are you increasing your daily activity to enable yourself to exercise?  If not... why?  I'd suggest you go back to basics.  If you are on liquids now, go to soft foods or mushies.  Ensure you can hold those down.  Practice taking small bites, chewing thoroughly and eating slowly.  Sit quietly and eat.  No TV, no radio and no distractions.  Just concentrate on the task at hand -- chewing your food to a consistency that won't get suck.  It sounds like you know exactly what you are doing and what you need to do to fix this.  So stop making excuses and get on it.  Nobody is going to start putting real foods back in your body except you.  Nobody is going to get you off liquid calories but you.  Maybe you need a little more liquid taken out.  Maybe you need it all taken out and need to start getting fills slowly again until you find the level that works for you but don't give up.  You didn't come all this way for nothing.

First of all NO.. you have not sabotaged anything.  Thats what is so fantastic about the band. you could always pick up where you left off.

That said... I went through the same thing as you at some point.  I thought I was too tight because I kept choosing to eat slider foods and foods that were either mushie or all liquid.  When my doctor suggested I needed a fill I thought he was nuts.. I needed an UNFILL if anything.... but a month later I got another fill and the weight just started to melt off... keep in mind that I was about 9 months out and only lost 20 lbs......   Now I am not saying that you need a fill but I am saying that you need to run some tests to see exactly what you do need or if you are perfect just as you are.

This is tried and true and if you follow what I suggest only good could come of it.  First spend the next 2 days on liquids... NO MUSHIES!!!! NO YOGURT!!! Just low calorie broth, lots of water, and SF jello... if 2 days is too much just do it for 1 day but DON"T CHEAT!... after that start a "diet" that is simular to the atkins diet... no carbs, pure protien. You could start with cottage cheese in the morning. Eat it very slow because CC takes time to go down, you might get that tightness in your chest after only 1/2 a cup... thats okay, take a break and finish if you want.  The next is the protein like fish or chicken for lunch.... cut your food like you would a little baby, chew alot and wait about 30 or 40 seconds before the next bite.... soon you will feel a tightness in your chest which is uncomfortable for a little while which is okay... stop eating. If you are content and you managed to eat about a cup of food (should have taken 30 minutes NOT FASTER). then you are okay... if you could not get past the first bite or you threw up then you might be too tight... remember... as slow as you think you are eating.. YOU ARE WRONG!  EAT SLOWER!!!.... getting in a cup of food in 30 minutes is like watching paint dry.

What I didn't relise at first was that the tightness in my chest was a good thing.  It meant STOP EATING! You are full........ It took me over a year to get the hang of the band but so what... I am living the dream today!

Are you staying hydrated?  That can lead to tightness.  Also, pay attention to your bite size and chewing habits-I know when I was unfilled I got a little lax-at which point I realized the slow refill even for someone with experience is a good idea.

I also have a rule that I have to watch nutritional content no matter what texture.  I like mushy stuff, it's my favorite texture, but if I want oatmeal I have to boost it up with protien, etc. so that's got the high protien nutrition I need.

Same with liquids-has to have protein, and a lot of the smoothies don't.

Now, I'm not saying I never have a milkshake or a bowl of ice cream-but I call it what it is (junkfood) and not a meal.  Moreso than a texture issue, you may be hurting yourself by not getting the proper nutrition.

Thank you so much for your advice.......both of you.  I know what the problem is and you are right, I need to deal with it.  I just fell into a bad trap of drinking things because I knew it would not get stuck. I know, I was being a wimp.  But, this needs to stop and you have both helped me tremendously, thank you!  I am getting off the smoothie band wagon I was on and dealing with the band as I should. Also, I know I eat way too fast.  It's such a natural instinct for me to scarf food down since I am always dealing with my kids at meal times, etc.  So, I think I need to not eat when they are eating and eat afterwards at my own slow pace.  Life is so rushed anyway, I can't stand it.   So, back to basics I go and we'll see what happens.  I also need to exercise and work my band the way I know it will work for me. 

Hey Buddy, I have a card I have to send you that I keep forgetting. I suck... I went through the same period - I just didn't want to eat.  Strange, right? Work your way back into eating.  Start with snacks.  I went to granola bars and almonds, to munch on.  Then worked my way back into real meals.   You can do it, chicky!! 

The others have answered everything very well so I'll just address the pineapple stuck. Pineapple is fibrous and stringy gets stuck for me everytime. Just use the juice to flavor and give the fruit to someone else.