i wondering if this only works for the first month then...it's just counting calories

[wintersunshine 0]

i wonder if this really works or is it cuz you are on a liquid diet for so long...then you lose pounds....

and once you recover...nothing really changes unless you do what you couldn't do well before and that is COUNT CALORIES...

and then you don't lose ???? if you don't count...

i am wondering just how great this operation is after reading these pages...

WHAT IS YOUR THOUGHT on this ??????

:help::whoo::bandit:car::ranger::rain::hungry::kiss:eek::faint::cry:kiss2::cool::sick

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Have you not read the posts about restriction and an inability to eat huge quantities of food?

[wintersunshine 0]

hey WASaBubbleButt....so did you find it really changed your life?

i have read the said info on food restriction but i have also read that ppl eat anything and gain....too...

so i am wonder where the reality lies...or lay

would love to know your story...i suppose its posted here??? somewhere

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

The reality is that you have to make better food choices. There is no magic cure for weight loss. The band restricts the amount of food you can eat in most cases, but if you choose malts over Water, you are not going to lose. If you follow good eating habits you will lose weight.

[jfran 0]

I count calories, but that is only because I am trying to lose steadily and quickly. I know I would still lose with my band even if I wasn't counting as long as I continue eating healthy foods. But, I want to make my goal in 12 months, so I keep counting and exercising like crazy.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I count calories, but that is only because I am trying to lose steadily and quickly. I know I would still lose with my band even if I wasn't counting as long as I continue eating healthy foods. But, I want to make my goal in 12 months, so I keep counting and exercising like crazy.

Ahhhhh, a person I can relate to!!!!!!!! :cool:

[cindyluhu 0]

Wintersunshine,

The lap band isn't a "magic cure". We still have to work at it. It is a tool that helps us get to our goal. Exercise is key, and something that I'm really trying to work on more consistently. That and drinking lots of Water. Some people like to follow weight watchers and with the band's restriction, helps them to stay on track. You will find what works best for you. Good luck in your journey.

Cindy

[Jachut 487]

I've never counted calories.

What I do do is figure out if I really want to eat when I get the urge. Am I hungry? Can I last till dinner? What if I ate an apple instead?

Generally I just try to avoid eating in between meals and eat 3 small meals a day. That keeps the calories automatically in check.

[Jachut 487]

And yeah, I exercise a lot!

[DonHoll1 0]

The band helps me a great deal. It really reduces my hunger and that makes it possible for me to make better food choices and eat a lot less. I also go to the gym five times a week. I count my calories because i want to know how i am doing and if i need to cut back. It is the best thing i have ever done for myself. ( outside of going to college so i don`t have to depend on someone else to support me) Donna

[wintersunshine 0]

my questions is ...then why spend so much money on a band

when in fact you do the real work

controlling our hunger....

my problem is i eat when im not hungry now...how will that change..

exercise..i can do it now..will the band MAKE me exercise...

is the BAND a modern day bottle of SNAKE OIL ????

A cure all pretense ..when the reality is ...very different

i wanted to open this can of worms cuz i don't see it being discussed here

i want to believe it will help me..but i am about to pluck down 10,000 dollars in cash....

and with all the research i am doing....i am asking these questions

[mmsmom 1]

I am getting a band not so much to just help me lose the weight but to help prevent me putting it back on time and time again.

[Leena 108]

Personally the band has been a huge help for me. I was not an unhealthy eater before, just had issues with the quantity of food that I was eating. With the band I am now forced to limit my quantity unless I want to be sick (trust me I hate hate hate puking and pbing). For me it's a great tool to know when to stop. And I don't even have a fill yet, am hoping for one soon though.

I feel like it was probably the best $14,500 I ever spent. And I know I won't screw it up because let's face it you could buy a small car for that amount. So I don't want to throw away something the price of a car.

-Leena

[kland 0]

The band will work if you have the desire for it to work. If you choose to work around the band, then that can happen too. If you are able to successfully lose and maintain a substantial weight loss, then maybe you don't need the band.

[Danielle2649 0]

It is true that the band is a tool we have to work at to use properly. But, its an amazing tool! The best statistic that I heard while researching for the band was that with traditional dieting methods you have a 98% chance of gaining that weight back (yo-yo dieting), but with the band you have a 2% chance of ever gaining your lost weight back! The odds are in our corner!

I have been banded for about 4 months now and I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that I did this. I Celebrate non-scale victories almost everyday, as well as the pounds I am shedding!

But don't be fooled! Its not always as easy as it may sound like its going to be. There are a lot of mental hurdles that you will have to go through and daily challenges that could sabotage your success, but the band truely does help you through those.

I have been struggling the last couple weeks with making sure I eat slow and small bites. I have been PBing and sliming alot, and even had a bad vomit episode last night. But, I am trying to change the eating habits I have had for 27 years, its not going to happen over night! And when you do slip up and eat too fast or eat too much, your band lets you know that was a bad idea!

Sorry, I seem to have written a lot! My main point is that your chances to loose the weight and keep it off are MUCH better with the band. It DOES help me know when to stop eating, it DOES keep me full till my next meal, and it IS helping me to loose weight and KEEP it off! Now, if they only made a band for your brain to help with that mental hunger, and maybe a brain band that makes you exercise too...