Lap Band and Hunger? Is it right for me?

[Lillie24 2]

I am thinking about all my opinions and the biggest hurdle I have to over come is the fact that I am a big eater. I dont like to be hungry. Will the lap band help with this? Does restriction help with hunger or just with the amount you can eat in one sitting?

[tazzyinheels 0]

Hello

I still get hungry especially if I go too long without eating but I can easily go 5-7 hours without a meal especially if I have eaten Protein.< /span>

In general it takes much less to fill me maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of what I ate before.

My stomach gurgles/growls when it is hunger (the ghrelin hormone is what they tell me I call it the gremlin).

I am almost 6 months post op and you will get hungry and really need to think about what type of hunger it is (real or need/want) and make good choices, your stomach does shrink. I have also learned that when I want something it rarely tastes good or is worth the exercise to take more than three bites. That works for me.

Good Luck on whatever you decide....

[Lillie24 2]

Thanks Tazzy,

I appreciate the feed back. Anyone else?

[LeighaMason 19]

I had the lap band to control my hunger. I am overweight not based on bad food choices but on the amount of food I could eat. I could eat a full plate of food and still be hungry. I did not graze, drink sodas or eat many sweets. But I estimate that I would eat 2000 or so calories per meal, 4 or 5 cups of food at a time. The band makes this physically impossible for me. I can eat about 1 cup of food and then if I continue I have pain. I get full quickly and I am not hungry for about 3-4 hours. If I wait too long to eat I do get very hungry in a way that can not be satisfied and I will be hungry for the rest of the day the only cure for this is to go to sleep at night and the next day my hunger is reset. But if I follow my plan of 3 small meals, and 2 small Snacks I am not hungry other than the "its time to eat" sensation which is completely different than my pre-band "I'M HUNGRY!".

[Lillie24 2]

Thanks Leigha that really helps me feel better. I am the same way, I don't really make bad food choices but the amount of food I ca eat in one sitting insane.

[kkarryall 0]

Yes it defintely helps with physical hunger when you are at proper restriction. Of course, it doesn't help with "head hunger". And there are certain foods that you can eat a lot of ...like ice cream, chocolate, chips for some people...etc. I do think you would do well with Lap Band though....good luck :thumbup:

[Humming Bird 275]

The band has really helped me with hunger issues. After I eat a tiny meal my hunger stays at bay for long periods of time. Below is a post that a lapband Dr. wrote in another thread. I copied it because he really gives good info.

The thread I got it from is http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f178/i-dont-understand-110373/

All weight loss comes from calorie deficit (burning more calories than you consume). Burning more and consuming less is what causes weight loss.

The band will not force you to burn calories. The band helps with the consuming less part. It helps with this in three major ways:

1. Reduced appetite - some surgeons argue that the band is an appetite reduction operation. It has been shown to reduce appetite hormones. Patients say they don't feel hungry - they don't feel like they are on a diet. The band reduces true physical hunger. Some of us struggle with emotional hunger, phantom hunger which is not cured by the band but reducing physical hunger is very helpful at combatting head hunger. Emotional hunger comes from deep rooted emotional pain causing negative emotion that is unfortunately temporarily cured by food.

2. Fullness on small portions - the amount of stomach above the band is small. You will feel full on a much smaller portion of food if the band is properly adjusted. The fullness feeling is not a "pat your lower belly" kind of fullness. Band fullness is a very high sensation - in the chest - the feeling that the last bite of food is somewhere near the base of the tongue and another crumb will not be physically allowed.

3. The impossible nature of overeating - let's say you feel full and not hungry but you decide that you will overeat anyway. A properly adjusted band simply will not allow this. A point will be reached where the system will reject anything more. The esophagus (swallowing tube) is a transport organ; not a storage organ. The esophagus has two buttons: down and up. It will try down first. If that doesn't work, it switches to up and you get to see the food again.

We've been banding for eight years and we see three groups of patients in our practice:

Group 1 - gold medal superstar patients who lose easily and steadily after band surgery and send us Christmas cards that will bring tears to your eyes.

Group 2 - patients who acheive the same ultimate results as Group 1 but it takes longer with more office visits and more education and slower weight loss but we still get there. The race car crosses the finish line but it's on fire and badly damaged.

Group 3 - patients that will be three years out from band surgery and only down 20 or 30 pounds. The three biggest reasons patients are in this group are: 1.) unsolved emotional eating 2.) zero calorie burning 3.) Quit, give up, stop coming to the practice for band adjustments, education, etc

One of the best books I've seen on emotional eating is: "Shrink Yourself" by Dr. Gould. Many patients have told me this helps. The secret to curing emotional eating is to identify the root cause of this negative emotional pain and work through it. This is the most difficult aspect of successful weight loss.

[Lillie24 2]

Wow.. that is a great post. Thanks! I plan on ordering the book right now.

[ratchetjaw 0]

The band has really helped me with hunger issues. After I eat a tiny meal my hunger stays at bay for long periods of time. Below is a post that a LAP-BAND® Dr. wrote in another thread. I copied it because he really gives good info.

The thread I got it from is http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f178/i-dont-understand-110373/

All weight loss comes from calorie deficit (burning more calories than you consume). Burning more and consuming less is what causes weight loss.

The band will not force you to burn calories. The band helps with the consuming less part. It helps with this in three major ways:

1. Reduced appetite - some surgeons argue that the band is an appetite reduction operation. It has been shown to reduce appetite hormones. Patients say they don't feel hungry - they don't feel like they are on a diet. The band reduces true physical hunger. Some of us struggle with emotional hunger, phantom hunger which is not cured by the band but reducing physical hunger is very helpful at combatting head hunger. Emotional hunger comes from deep rooted emotional pain causing negative emotion that is unfortunately temporarily cured by food.

2. Fullness on small portions - the amount of stomach above the band is small. You will feel full on a much smaller portion of food if the band is properly adjusted. The fullness feeling is not a "pat your lower belly" kind of fullness. Band fullness is a very high sensation - in the chest - the feeling that the last bite of food is somewhere near the base of the tongue and another crumb will not be physically allowed.

3. The impossible nature of overeating - let's say you feel full and not hungry but you decide that you will overeat anyway. A properly adjusted band simply will not allow this. A point will be reached where the system will reject anything more. The esophagus (swallowing tube) is a transport organ; not a storage organ. The esophagus has two buttons: down and up. It will try down first. If that doesn't work, it switches to up and you get to see the food again.

We've been banding for eight years and we see three groups of patients in our practice:

Group 1 - gold medal superstar patients who lose easily and steadily after band surgery and send us Christmas cards that will bring tears to your eyes.

Group 2 - patients who acheive the same ultimate results as Group 1 but it takes longer with more office visits and more education and slower weight loss but we still get there. The race car crosses the finish line but it's on fire and badly damaged.

Group 3 - patients that will be three years out from band surgery and only down 20 or 30 pounds. The three biggest reasons patients are in this group are: 1.) unsolved emotional eating 2.) zero calorie burning 3.) Quit, give up, stop coming to the practice for band adjustments, education, etc

One of the best books I've seen on emotional eating is: "Shrink Yourself" by Dr. Gould. Many patients have told me this helps. The secret to curing emotional eating is to identify the root cause of this negative emotional pain and work through it. This is the most difficult aspect of successful weight loss.

Great Post, relieved all my fears and answered questions. I am new here but this should be stickied :scared2:

[jmw0424 0]

I am new here and just banded about 2 weeks ago. I have not had my first fill yet, and I was starting to doubt that I would get "full" with the correct amount of food (1/2-1 cup) this post especially the one w/ the doctors story helped so much. I have been sticking to only eating 1/2 of a cup at a time and it has been so hard!!! I am really looking forward to my fills so that I can feel satisfied on that amount of food. I didn't realize I had this much will power until, but I am afraid to eat til i am "full" thinking that I may cause a slip or something so I am holding strong with my 1/2 of a cup :scared2:

[Cmor2k 0]

Well I can honestly say as a big eater that I finally have curbed that beast. I have to make myself eat. The problem for me is that I have not taught myself when enough is enough and get that bloated feeling that is uncomfortable. I had a bowl of Soup and a smoothie today and the smoothie made me not have room for the soup. Its a learning situation and I will have to learn to listen to my body because the old rules don't apply. My advice is to eat very small portions and wait 20 to 30 minutes before eating more of the same.

[MSan914 3]

I am 11 months post-op and FINALLY have restriction.

I was ABLE to eat large portions until last week -

Now, I can say that I tried NOT to eat the large portions.

But I could - and sometimes DID. But I still lost weight - due to exercise and the large portion was still smaller than the amount I had eaten prior to being banded.

Now - I can eat 1/2c to 1c of food - and then THAT IS IT.

My body (the band) sends a very strong message - that it is FULL.