I read blogs and they confuse me sometimes. About dieting and so forth? So whats the band tool really ment to do, if we gotta fight mental food cravings and what types of food we eat. Isnt this what we need to do to lose weight with out the band. So where dose the band being a tool come in to play? I am a heathly eatter, but I eat alottttt like a few days ago i was at this guys house i am talking too and he cooked some rice and beef kinda like chinese. He put only enough to fit on a saucer plate!!!!! This fat girl looked at that and thought omg omg a mouse to stomach all this!!! So I eat it slowly as possible and with much water to be temporarely satisfied. By the time i left I was starving again after like 2 hours the first MC D's i saw i was there!!! So tell me if Im wrong, I want this band because i need help with my portions and hunger. I look at what i eat in size compared to others and Im embarassed. Am i on the right path here?

The band is to help you feel full quicker and longer, but eating MUCH MUCH smaller portions than you can currently eating.

i remember the nurse saying that if you are JUST a big eater (meaning you don't really snack, or eat all the time, you just eat a LOT when you do eat) that this is a GREAT tool to help!

Here is my blog about what my band does for me. What does my band do for me? - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum

Remember cravings and hunger are two completely different beasts. If you can get the bread, pasta, rice or potatoes out of your system the cravings will decrease. If you are truely hungry 2 hours after eating then you need to concentrate on eating 3oz of sollid protein first and then your veggies and you need a fill.

Hang in there. When you get to the sweet spot you will finally realize what all the happy shouting is about.

I was totally going to send you a personal note to go to julie.ann 's blog. I read it a few months ago and copied in my email for future use after I get the band. Check it out.

I had my lap-band surgery in January '09 and lost 30 lbs. after 2 mos., but now am having a problem with hunger and wanting to snack too much. I had my first fill of the band about 3-4 wks. ago and I don't think it was filled enough because I shouldn't be this hungry. Any others having this problem?

OKAY GREAT CAUSE IM A BIG EATTER WHEN I EAT OMG ITS EMBARASSING SOME TIMES EVEN WHEN I THINK IM EATTING NORMAL AND LIGHT PPL STILL SAY THINGS,, :thumbdown:

The band is to help you feel full quicker and longer' date=' but eating MUCH MUCH smaller portions than you can currently eating.

i remember the nurse saying that if you are JUST a big eater (meaning you don't really snack, or eat all the time, you just eat a LOT when you do eat) that this is a GREAT tool to help![/quote']

I DEFFINATLY KNOW THEY ARE TWO DIFFRENT THINGS BUT LITTERALLY AFTER I EAT SMALL AND NORMAL PORTIONS OMG IM HUNGRY AGAIN LIKE GROWLING HUNGRY BTW WAY I DONT HAVE THE BAND YET SO NO SWEET SPOT TO LOOK FOR RIGHT NOW

Here is my blog about what my band does for me. What does my band do for me? - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum

Remember cravings and hunger are two completely different beasts. If you can get the bread' date=' pasta, rice or potatoes out of your system the cravings will decrease. If you are truely hungry 2 hours after eating then you need to concentrate on eating 3oz of sollid protein first and then your veggies and you need a fill.

Hang in there. When you get to the sweet spot you will finally realize what all the happy shouting is about.[/quote']

I DONT HAVE THE BAND BUT FOR WHAT I SEE YOUR NOT FILLED RIGHT. bUT I EAT LIKE THAT NORMALLY LOL

I had my lap-band surgery in January '09 and lost 30 lbs. after 2 mos., but now am having a problem with hunger and wanting to snack too much. I had my first fill of the band about 3-4 wks. ago and I don't think it was filled enough because I shouldn't be this hungry. Any others having this problem?

You sound a lot like me.. I too thought I was eating small/normal portions, until I got the band... After cooking for a few weeks and realizing I was throwing more out than I was eating, I realized how MUCH I HAD BEEN EATING BEFORE. My doc is very agressive with my fills, and I got to my "sweet spot" very quickly (only 2 fills) but now, my weight loss has slowed down. I was losing 1-1/2 pounds a week, then 1 a week, and now it is slowing down even more.. Guess it is time for another fill... Hang in there, I am sure you will get there like the rest of us......... SLOOOOOOOWLY ....... which by the way, will help us KEEP IT OFF! Hope to see "less of you"

I had my lap-band surgery in January '09 and lost 30 lbs. after 2 mos., but now am having a problem with hunger and wanting to snack too much. I had my first fill of the band about 3-4 wks. ago and I don't think it was filled enough because I shouldn't be this hungry. Any others having this problem?

Sounds to me like you need a fill too! The band is a tool, yes. And just like any other tool it won't work without you. If you buy a hammer because you need to pound a nail into the wall and then lay it on the table it isn't going to get up and do the task for you. The band is the same way. Just having it isn't enough. You need good follow up care and get fills until you are where you need to be. I remember wondering for my first two fills if I needed a fill. Boy I had no idea how much I needed a fill. When you hit the sweet spot.....well it is SWEET!

so what makes a sweet spot sweet? I havent had the band yet

Sounds to me like you need a fill too! The band is a tool, yes. And just like any other tool it won't work without you. If you buy a hammer because you need to pound a nail into the wall and then lay it on the table it isn't going to get up and do the task for you. The band is the same way. Just having it isn't enough. You need good follow up care and get fills until you are where you need to be. I remember wondering for my first two fills if I needed a fill. Boy I had no idea how much I needed a fill. When you hit the sweet spot.....well it is SWEET!

What it is supposed to do is force you to eat the portion size that you are really supposed to be eating. You will eat until you are full like you used to do, but it will take far less food to get you there. The thing that you have to be very careful with if you are like me (who eats well past the point where I feel satisfied) is that if you continue to eat (just because there is still food there) the food will come back up on you, and I have been told that it comes back suddenly and without warning. I would probably not go out to eat for quite some time while you get the hang of it as you don't want to have your food come back up on your plate in front of your dinner guests. Have that happen and you will look at portion size a whole lot differently. I am not trying to scare you, but just realize that you will have to look at food in a completely different way than you have ever before and for the rest of your life.

I understand completely where you are coming from. What is the band good for if you still have to diet and exercise? I think it is important to understand before you are banded what this will mean for you.

First of all, you WILL have to diet and exercise just like with any other weight loss program. I exercise every day for at least 40 minutes. Without burning the fat, you will not lose the weight.

Of course, everyone loses in the beginning (1st month) but after that it is up to you. I have been banded for 2 1/2 months but almost half of my 42 pound weight loss came in the two week pre-surgery liquid diet.

For some people, the band makes them feel full but not all of us get that "sweet spot". I have good restriction but I never get a full feeling (like I did when I used to eat half a pizza...haha)! Instead, if I eat too fast or too much, my pouch gets clogged and the food gets stuck. The pain usually ends the meal.

I am a snacker, especially with sweets, and the lapband is difficult for people like me. If I wanted to, I could eat a package of cookies. They never get stuck. I have to make an effort to stay away from those foods.

I have heard that the lapband works best for people like you who eat big meals but don't snack a lot between them.

As a tool, I think the lap band would be excellent in controlling portion size ONCE the weight is lost (I eat much less now than I did before) but in the actual process of dropping the pounds, the lapband is like any other weight loss program. You have to work to take off the fat.

I am happy I did the lapband because I needed something drastic to kick me in the butt and get me moving but this is not gastric bypass. You will not lose weight by just sitting there and watching it fall off you. The lapband is a much slower and healthier way to lose.

Hope I haven't confused you further.

I keep reading and agreeing, and feeling more and more better about this decision. Mom agrees also that this is right for me. She says this every day on the phone Kellie you work out so much and love sports but your eatting is to much and it hold you back from the weight loss. This is going to do the trick for you, i want you so badly to lose this weight before you have a family and kids to feel like a girl your age should sexy and confident. BRB gotta go to another computer lol

I understand completely where you are coming from. What is the band good for if you still have to diet and exercise? I think it is important to understand before you are banded what this will mean for you.

First of all' date=' you WILL have to diet and exercise just like with any other weight loss program. I exercise every day for at least 40 minutes. Without burning the fat, you will not lose the weight.

Of course, everyone loses in the beginning (1st month) but after that it is up to you. I have been banded for 2 1/2 months but almost half of my 42 pound weight loss came in the two week pre-surgery liquid diet.

For some people, the band makes them feel full but not all of us get that "sweet spot". I have good restriction but I never get a full feeling (like I did when I used to eat half a pizza...haha)! Instead, if I eat too fast or too much, my pouch gets clogged and the food gets stuck. The pain usually ends the meal.

I am a snacker, especially with sweets, and the lapband is difficult for people like me. If I wanted to, I could eat a package of cookies. They never get stuck. I have to make an effort to stay away from those foods.

I have heard that the lapband works best for people like you who eat big meals but don't snack a lot between them.

As a tool, I think the lap band would be excellent in controlling portion size ONCE the weight is lost (I eat much less now than I did before) but in the actual process of dropping the pounds, the lapband is like any other weight loss program. You have to work to take off the fat.

I am happy I did the lapband because I needed something drastic to kick me in the butt and get me moving but this is not gastric bypass. You will not lose weight by just sitting there and watching it fall off you. The lapband is a much slower and healthier way to lose.

Hope I haven't confused you further.[/quote']