Randa Panda

Hello everyone, I’ve been considering gastric banding for sometime (I currently weigh 234lbs and my BMI is 38), however, I haven’t taken this any further than carrying out research on the internet. Although, thanks to my participation in a self-help group, my weight has been stable for the last three years and I have been abstaining from my old ‘binge’ foods of cakes, chocolate, sweets etc for a similar length of time but, while this is a vast improvement, I just can’t seem to under-eat (which let’s face it is what you have to do) sufficiently in order to lose weight. My self-help group friends are very ‘anti’ any sort of surgical options, however, I really feel that it is the only answer – I am sick and tired of living (or rather not living) my life like this. My big concern, apart from the surgery itself, is whether I would be able to follow a restricted / reduced diet following surgery – I can’t help thinking that if I were able to do that I wouldn’t be obese in the first place! Therefore, I’d be interested to know how those of you who have had surgery dealt with this. Many thanks to you all for your assistance, Randi

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts - lots to think about! I particularly take on board the points made about the band being a tool to assist in training oneself to eat normally, rather than being a 'quick fix' solution, which is what I've been worried I was looking for, again. I suppose one of my issues is that, having battled with over eating for more than 20 years, I have trouble believing that I could ever be capable of being a normal eater and therefore achieve a healthy weight (or, perhaps, deserve to) but it is inspiring to read of other people's success on this site. I appreciate the time you've taken to share your experiences. Best wishes, Randi