What if what made us fat keeps us fat?

[Liz1531 3]

I have a really sick compulsion to binge on sugary foods. I am so afraid that I will get the band and then not be able to stop binging. Anyone been thru this?:help:

[mcgreen 0]

Hey Liz- I've been banded almost 8 weeks and the desire to binge has not gone away for me at all. I keep all the foods that I used to love to binge on out of my house- they aren't allowed in and I try to eat some Protein first if I feel like Im out of control- usually by doing that, I get full and the thought of eating a bunch of crap doesn't appeal to me at that time.

The band won't fix your head hunger. It does make it harder to eat the volumes that I used to eat. Good luck!

[Kelliebelly 13]

The band is only a tool and we need to remember that. My cravings for sugary food never left me after banding.

Most of the sugary food I like is not restricted by the band either so dont think the band will help with things like chocolate, ice cream and lollies etc. They still go down as easy as ever.

It is where your will power comes in and that is something I dont have a lot of.

I love my band and it has helped me come so far but I dont want to paint it all perfect and tell you that it will help you with your sugary cravings because the fact is...it just might not.

Good Luck

[ginger205 0]

I have a really sick compulsion to binge on sugary foods. I am so afraid that I will get the band and then not be able to stop binging. Anyone been thru this?:help:

You have a very valid point. I will tell you that I have been disappointed with my band, for that same reason. The cravings do not go away completely.

Most days, it is just like being on every other diet you have been on before. The foods we like are what my doctor calls "soft foods" that simply means you can chew them down to nothing and consume more. My doctor also insists that to make this work you only eat 3 times a day. That is hard for me not to snack!

I will say that I have noticed I can be satisfied with less. If I am really craving something, then I watch the portion size. I am also living off of 100 calorie packs for my sweet tooth.

I don't mean to sound so negative, but I didn't expect to be hungry and I am. Some people are not, so I may not be the best person to judge by!

I just got my 3rd fill yesterday, so I am hoping it will give me more restriction!!

Good luck!

[lyndseygal 0]

I've had the band for just over a week, DO NOT think that the band will take away the desire to compulsively eat!! Where there's a will there's a way. Although I do have considerably less on the band and I still seem to be dropping weight like crazy, like Jack said now one cookie feels like a binge. Ofcourse, having to chew everything so much (or PB, your choice) makes it harder to consume more food. I've done the scarf and spit thing before a few times (take a big mouth of food you want then spit it up in to a napkin, :speechles ewww).

[dr.sooze 0]

Yes. I got the lap band three weeks ago. The urge really doesn't go away and those types of foods slide right down pretty easily. It won't me "magical" like I thought it would be.

Suzie

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I'm not sure you can expect miracles at 1 week and 3 weeks. With time and band experience many of the cravings do indeed go away. But it doesn't happen in a week or three weeks, that is unrealistic.

We didn't gain these habits and addictions in a week, they aren't going to be dealt with in a week either.

I was banded in December and I have worked really hard and many (most?) of my cravings are gone. If I get a craving it lasts a few seconds and it's gone. Just not a biggie.

OTOH, I have a friend who eats her 800 calories daily in food and another 2000-3000 calories in chocolate. But she isn't putting forth the least bit of effort either. None, absolutely zilch.

Regardless of procedure you have to try and you have to put forth ALL your effort and it will pay off. The band helps you do what you can't do alone, but to think it will do it all for you is just plain wrong. It would be nice, but that surgery doesn't exist yet.

[Kat817 19]

If you can really use your willpower (or won't power is more like it) to avoid these things for a period of time, the cravings DO lessen. The more carbs you eat, the more you want. The more sugar, the more you want...that has been proven. Avoiding them, lessens the actual cravings.

After a year and a half of being banded, I still get cravings on occasion---most of them not a physical craving, but I hear something, or see it, and I want it...I know it is head hunger, but I want it just the same!!! The difference this far down the road, is that I no longer have the desire to binge out on it, just to have some, a taste or 2 is enough. My biggie is brownies---always were my favorite, remain so today. In days gone by, I could buy a package of bakery brownies, or make some myself, and if I would have allowed myself, or if no one had known, I could have eaten them ALL in one sitting, by myself!!! Now, I can buy the little brownie bites, and one is usually all I care for....2 max. I savor them, chewing slowly....make one brownie last 4-6 bites....and I am fine. No desire for more. Craving satisfied.

Many things I used to crave, the desire for has totally gone away. I used to eat a lot of chips....but now, chewing them well, they leave like a fatty film in my mouth, and it grosses me out, I no longer even want them, let alone crave them. I do still sometimes want popcorn....but rather than an entire bag of microwave popcorn, I buy the small bags, and one lasts most of the day...and I am not tightly restricted, it is just something I can slowly graze on throughout the day.

You do not usually get banded, and immediately your desires change---although I am sure it happens to some. I think it is several different things---one food does taste different when you learn to REALLY chew it well....that does away with the like of some things. And as you learn to eat healthier, you just find it easier to say nah to some of those things---especially in excess. Overeating something you used to like, and it causing a PB is usually deterrent for awhile....aversion therapy!!!

Give your band, and your body & mind a chance to learn to work together. As has been pointed out to all of us a million and one times, the band is not a miracle cure, it takes work, but it DOES work, and is worth every effort you put into it. IMHO....

Kat

[kacee 3]

I actually went to Marble Slab yesterday and got a "Big Dipper" cup with Sweet Cream/Stawberries/pecans. About the first 4 bites it was great, but then I got home and it had to go into the freezer. The appeal just was NOT there. I nibbled a little more later...PB'd some (okay, so now we know that you can PB if you eat ice cream too fast even though it is practically a liquid), and tossed the rest down the sink. I have no desire for it at all. Of course sweets has never been my "thing" to keep up up at night....

[kland 0]

I still have some of those bingeing desires, but my band puts me in my place very quickly. Now when I binge, it's two packs of 100 calorie somethings, rather than eating on a big bag of Cheetos for awhile.

Like this morning....I thought I was going to cheat big time. DD has a bunch of girls over for a slumber party and DH got donuts for Breakfast. I put a kolache, choc donut and 2" cinnamon roll on my plate. I was going for it; just too good to pass up.

Well, I got through the small cinnamon roll and 1/2 of the kolache (both of which are pretty small) and my band said, "You are done Miss Thang!" I do not want more and before my band, I would have eaten kolaches and donuts ALL DAY LONG! So yeah, I cheated this morning, but I didn't undo all the work that I've done so far. I also know that I'm done being bad for the day and can move on without the "I suck" mentality.

I love what this band does for me. It is my crutch when my willpower is gone. The band telling me that I'm done with the binge gets me right back on track.

[DonHoll1 0]

My cravings have gone away for the most part. For me now a binge is four sugar free popsicles at a time, not nearly as bad as two bowles of ice cream. I use to do that all the time before the band. I do not keep ANY junk food in my house and that really helps. Also i am single so i do not have to cook for anyone else, so i have a lot of things helping me. Donna

[green 6]

If your problem is simply one of Portion Control the band works very, very well. Sugar fans do have more hard work in front of them. They have to learn to fight their cravings for sweets. It is unfortunate that many sugary treats are soft and can slide through the band easily.

[GayleTX 1]

That is why sugar addicts generally do better with Gastric Bypass.....sugar and fat make them very will (dumping is vomiting, sweating, fainting, etc)....a few dumps and you won't just won't do it any more. Banding works well for volume eaters but you have to choose what to put in your pouch. However....GB is good for most people only about 18-24 months - the hope is by that time you'll have changed your habits and kicked your addiction (dream on). LapBand is good forever as long as you make good choices in your intake.

[Kat817 19]

I have a good friend who had GBP and they own an ice cream Parlour!!! She has not had much of an issue with dumping in quite some time now, but for her it just went through her system way too fast, and she had explosive diarrhea, no vomiting, or fainting...I had never heard about that!!!!

She now can eat some with no issue....usually....which the fear of the unknown is why she continues to avoid it!!!

She has done very well, now sometimes she looks a bit pale, and needs to up her Vitamin intake...but she has maintained well, it was a good choice for her, mainly due to the fact that the ice cream would not have been much of an issue with the band. I don't own an ice cream shop---so the band worked for me, and also gave me peace of mind. We all have different needs, and that is why it is important to research your options, be honest about what got you to this point and move on accordingly. I of course feel the band is #1---and it has been for me, but for my friend Pam, she would likely be getting all her calories at work---and would not have had the deterrent that her bypass has forced on her. Different Strokes......

Kat

[Daisalana 33]

They don't take the cravings away 100% for me, but they definately lessen them.

And I would binge on more than just sweets.. I would get 3-5 meals from whatever fast food place. That's definitely a thing of the past. I rarely eat fast food now, but if I do, I can only get a bite or two before I feel icky.

And I keep 100 calorie packs in my house for my sweet tooth, which is a serious dent compared to what I use to do. 1 calorie pack does the trick for me also.. I get the shorties shortbread Cookies. Seems like an aweful lot now in that little 100 calorie pack!