I am happy for anyone who loses weight using any healthy method. That said, I know the real life statistics. Most morbidly obese people will not lose significant weight on their own, and those who do are likely to gain it back.
I know this from the statistics and from personal experience. I successfully "dieted down" on Weight Watchers twice and Jenny Craig once. But never, until the band, was I able to get within the normal weight range for a woman my height. Also, until the band I was never able to maintain a weight loss for more than about 6 months.