My opinion on fills....

   We have to take some responsibility for our weight loss. Everyone blames needing a fill for not loosing weight. I myself got unfilled to 1cc for the summer. I didn't want to be too tight and traveling. Since June I have lost 5 lbs and that was with some pretty liberal eating.      Now I don't know about you but on my best day I can't eat half as much as I used to. Also I can't eat to fast or I PB. So let’s take some responsibility and admit that there is some dieting involved. I have counted calories since the day I had surgery. I am not the kind of person, even with the band, that can be trusted to just eat until I am full.      This is just my opinion but I would love to hear you’re on this subject.

Morning!! Correction to your first sentence!!  We have to take some responsibility for our weight loss.  NO!  We have to take ALLLLLLL responsibility for our weight loss.  I have to agree with you....people blame different reasons for not losing weight.  I was the QUEEN of excuses until one day I realized that if I wanted to lose weight, I had to do all the work.  There is totally dieting involved.  People can't expect to hit the McDonalds drive-thru and think...oh, I have a band, so I will still lose weight!  I lived like that for a long time and said "tomorrow I will start to be good!"  Just like I said a few posts down...you have to want to lose the weight and when you are ready and dedicated, it will happen!!

Totally agree.    This is a lifetime battle/struggle/state of mind.    I lost 100 pounds in the first year and when I tell you that I never cheated....I didn't.   I watched everything to the letter.   I had only one PB episode because I was on the phone while eating and not paying attention.    I didn't 'test' the limits of the band.    I'm still in awe of people who can only eat a half sandwich and they're full.     I've never had that.   I think I'm getting close and that my next fill will bring that restriction (my last fill was too much and I had to have a bit taken out).   I don't ever want to be too tight.    I know the band is a tool and I'm happy to put in the effort to work it.  I take responsibility and blame for eating around the band when I do - and although it's not recommended, I weigh in and write it down every day.   I'm not going to let weight creep back up on me.    I know how quickly you can put it on! Great post.....thanks! - Ann

Okay, let me be the one to stir the pot.   I am addicted to food, if I feel hungry, I eat, because I can't help it.  Counting calories is too time consuming for me.  I got the band, to help me, because I can not do it by myself, and boy have I tried.  Like I said in an earlier post, I have never lost more than 20 lbs.  I think for people like me, it is more of a psychological thing.  I told my therapist in one of our sessions, I love to eat, I love food, the way it taste.  For me, getting fills have allowed me to eat way less, and when I have restriction, I am less hungry and more apt to exercise.  Without restriction, I just couldn't have done it alone.   Great Post! Myrt

Myrt, You are not stirring the pot you are giving your opinion. I just have felt restriciton from the beginning. I need to count calories because for me I would over eat if I didn't. Not counting is when I give into head hunger. As Work-in-prgress said it is all very individual. Her and I are almost at the end of  tje  first phase of our journey. I have between 36 and 50 lbs. to go depending on how thin I want to be. I need to diet to get there.

All of our journeys are unique thats for sure. The 75lbs I have lost so far have come off without dieting. However, that being said, I follow band rules and try and never eat one bite more than I should. But I have eaten whatever I wanted all along (and havce never counted calories). Now trying to get the last 25-30lbs off...I will have to make some bigger changes than I have to date. I dont think for me at this time that another fill is the answer. There are so many emotional issues that I have only been halfheartedly dealing with up til now about eating, and I have to really address them to get to the finish line (weight wise). We never really get to finish do we? It will always be a daily battle...some days are easy and some are not. The fills are important for me as they level the playing field and make this obesity war a winnable one. But they are only about 50% of the equation in my mind.....my head has to be in the game to have results. (since I have been banded I have never been able to eat what I ate preband, even with no fill).

Myrt: You have this is your sig: You are the author of your own dictionary. You define who you are and what you are looking to accomplish in life. No one should be able to define or dictate your happiness. I think that the psychology of this statement must be applied to yourself, too. IF you define yourself as addicted and unable to help yourself, that will come true. I am  not trying to minimize your approach to things, But how can you make this signature and then post what you did. I challenge you to challenge your own statements about food. Refute them to yourself. 

I never said I couldn't be helped.  However, I am addicted to food.  I have started helping myself by getting my band!  As I have stated, I am in therapy and beginning to exercise and make better food choices.  But it is a process.  And I am still learning.  Hw can I refute my statements about food?  It is what it is.  Once again, that is why I got lap band and am posting on a weight loss surgery board.  Surely as "fat people" or "former fat people", someone can understand where  I'm coming from. :) Myrt

I agree....As for now I have to be accountable and record everything that goes into my mouth. Maybe when I get to goal that will change, but I'm to far off to consider it yet. Thanks.

Well written- ALL! As someone who is 3 almost 4 weeks post surgery- I have NO restriction and grant it-I am still on limited foods, I find myself eating WAY LESS than before. I LOVE food. I love the way it tastes-I love cooking food-I love sweets!! I am a sweets addict . I can smell a HOT NOW Krispy Kreme donut miles before I see the sign.  But, with my LB, I have a gentle reminder that a portion of our retirement funds are sitting in my belly-wishing me the best of health. So, yes, it definately takes personal responsibility for me to drive past that Hot Now sign. And, it takes the LB to remind me that if I decide that the HOT NOW sign has an alluring effect on my psyche, that it will not be well received once placed in my body. Just my thoughts... Nanci