Doc says, "It won't work unless you make a lifestyle change"

[angelsoul 0]

Dearest forum friends, I need your help with figuring the lapband out in my head. I had my first appointment with the surgeon yesterday and it didn't go as well as I had hoped. (I've done everything I need to due to get insurance approval). Here's what happened. We were talking about the band, and he said, "I don't mean to be blunt but I've seen it too often. If you're not willing to change your lifestyle, the band won't work for you." Now, I fully understand that the lapband is just a tool, but my concern is that I've TRIED - I mean REALLY TRIED to change my lifestyle before I decided to get the band, and was unsuccessful. Sometimes at night, I cry because I haven't felt "good" in a very long time, and I know changing my lifestlye is one way to feel better. Question is, I'm afraid that after I get the band, I WON'T be able to change my lifestyle - that it will be just as hard as it is now to change it. Maybe I'm not ready for it yet (even though I was sure that I was). Can any of you shed some light on this for me?

[annielkd 0]

First... you will be forced to change your lifestyle. I just have one question for you... do you eat because you are HUNGRY... or do you eat sweets because you like them. If you said you eat because you are hungry... the band will be a HUGE help for you. If you like deserts, and candy... you will NOT be able to find success from the lap band... because you will STILL be able to eat those foods... and you won't lose any weight. I couldn't change my lifestyle till I did lose weight... now I can and do work out. Sometimes just losing the weight helps keep you motivated. The real question is.... are you willing to change the way... and WHAT you eat?

[Ellisa 6]

Only you know if you are ready to commit.

But it is easier with the tool. I will tell you, I'm a work in progress. I can't do it all at once, but I'm heading in the right direction. And the band is the reason for my success so far.

But there are certain things that you have to know you can do... the pre-op and post up diets have to be followed properly. The rules for what you can eat for a day or so after your fill has to be followed. Chewing your food thoroughly is a must. But there's room when on the regular diet for a little play, something I absolutely could not do and still lose on any other plan.

Only you know if you are ready, but when you are, we are here for you.

[lovemyband 0]

I have to say that my own expereince has been hard as well...i was banded knowing this wouldnt be the end all of my problem but i didnt realize that subconsciously i did...i had the surgery and expected to be skinny in a month and when that didnt happen i became depressed and always felt bad until i realized this is just a tool to help me but i have to do all the work...you have to change your habits or else it will hurt physically and mentally...nothing is worse then getting this surgery and going through everything with no success...so id say go for it but make sure you also recieve some type of therapy bc without it i wouldnt succeed at all!!

Goodluck

[snowbird 2]

Well, he's right, but the band helps you make the lifestyle change if you are willing to work with it. My husband and I are retired and our main source of entertainment preband was going out to dinner several times a week. We still go out once or twice a week, but because of the band there is a big change in what we eat and how much. Often I will just order Soup and be content with that. A couple of days ago we went to a Mexican restaurant. We ordered an appetizer plate for the two of us, no Entrees. We ate less than half of the appetizers and took the rest home, where it became 3 meals for my husband over the next two days.

Sweets can be a problem, and we have just decided that we can't buy them and bring them into the house, because once they are here we will eat them until they are gone. If I really want a treat I will buy sugarfree chocolates. I like them, but they don't make me want to eat the whole bag and will cause so much gas if I eat more than two that it isn't worth the hassle.

If I am binging on food, I will often eat something on purpose that I know the band will have problems with. Then my stomach feels uncomfortable and stuck, so I don't feel like eating for quite a while.

So if you have reached the point in your life where you are willing to give up food as entertainment, solace, and pleasure, the band will help you make the required lifestyle change. If you are thinking you will get the band and it will stop you from eating poorly, you will fail, because it will not stop you from eating ice cream and Cookies. Only you can decide where you are mentally and emotionally, and how much work you are willing to put into your band.

[angelsoul 0]

Wow, Thanks Annie, Ellisa & Luvmyband. Reading your replies have calmed my concerns a bit. To be honest, Ellisa, I do love sweets (and of course I'm a diabetic....) but I know that I have allowed them to control my life and I fight with it every day. As a matter of fact, I gave them up for Lent! The struggle hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be. But, I know I am really ready for a change and I think the band can help me. I'll admit, I don't see me as the "I gotta get to the gym" type, and I think the struggle to exercise 4-5 times a week will be really hard for me, but I've got to try. I know it will be a life long struggle, but all I have to do is remember how lost and out of control I feel now, and that should be all the motivation I need to keep on moving....

Thanks again everyone to giving me your feedback.

[Kelgirl68 0]

In all honesty, if you get your fills like you should and get the right restriction you have no option but to not eat as much. I didn't get good restriction until my last fill back on October 1st. 2007 was a very horrible year for me personally with my family so I put myself on the back burner for awhile. I finally went in again in Oct and had gained 3 lbs! I was furious with myself, got a fill and it's been great from then on out. I've lost 36lbs since October and I'm pleased with myself. Some days I can eat more than others, it's just hit and miss.

A week or so after I got my band I did wonder why the heck I got it because I did miss food and eating like I had. I will say, that gets SOOO much better over time as you see yourself getting skinnier and you feel more confident! I went back to my old work a couple of days ago to have lunch with a friend who still worked there. I said "hi" to a girl who was walking in, she kinda smiled, said hi and went on her merry way. I sent her an email today and said "it was nice to see you the other day, sorry we couldn't chat". She sent it back and said she was sorry but she didn't recognize me at first cause I lost so much weight and look so good! That makes it all worth it!!!! :grouphug:

Good luck to you!

Kel

[anitai25 0]

I was banded 1/3/08 and am completely stalled with my weight loss. I am finding myself falling back into old habits, eating chocolate, etc. I hate that I still CAN do that. I thought the band would make it so I couldn't eat everything, but I have not yet felt full and I am soooo hungry. I lost about 33 pounds so far, because I was so strict with the rules in the beginning, but as I get more leeway, I am doing poorly. I am thinking of moving up to solid foods 2 weeks early so I will feel full. Any thoughts?

[sadie11 2]

I see the lapband as a brake. I need to follow the rules to lose my weight then if I screw up I won't be able to eat as much to put it all back on.

I do feel really different after having this tool installed in me. I was at the grocery store the other day and somethng smelled really good- really good and I wondered what it was BUT it didn't make me hungry! I just got my few things and left. A miracle in my life!

I asked my skinny friend if normal people were like this about food and she said yes.

Anita- you should be on solid foods by now! Yikes! I am on them next week and I just got banded on March 3rd. Go to another doctor!

Sadie

[anitai25 0]

Thanks, Sadie. It's great to know that if I go on solid foods it won't damage anything going on with the band!

[angelsoul 0]

Anita,

Haven't been banded yet, but I STRONGLY suggest you mention this to a doctor before you do it. There may be a reason why they kept you on liquids for so long. It sounds unusual, but still, I wouldn't make that decision all on your own without talking to a professional about it first. (Just my two cents...)

Thanks again everyone for responding to my concerns. I feel better about the choice I made to receive the band. Hopefully, I should hear back from the insurance comp. soon.

[TracyinKS 7]

The band is a tool to help you work a plan...... (yeah yeah you can read it a million times, but until you actually experience it you won't get it)

LET ME BE THE FIRST TO SAY........ I AM NOT A PERFECT BANDSTER! as a matter of fact I'm getting ready to admit myself into the DAIRY QUEEN REHAB.... lol

But that said...... I am quite simply no longer physically able to gorge myself at a buffet or pizza joint even if I wanted tooooooo...... I would be PB'ng til my eyes watered and all the while beating myself up for being stupid............

You will be eating less and because of that losing...... your body has no choice.....but when you get a to a place of complacency (like I am now) you WILL have to chose more wisely to keep on with the journey....

I started in a 24 jean....... I am right now as I type this wearing size 12 pants....... and I weighed 193 on the scale........ so to lose the last 40 pounds I am going to have to get my head back in the weight loss game because quite simply I am feeling fine in 12's......... last year at this same time I was 272 and miserable....... I know I'm rambling......

Short version: Proper restriction for me is NOT ABLE TO EAT pizza

Have a plan ready to work at and then don't beat yourself up for slips

50-150 lbs in a year is nothing to sneeze at (enjoy the ride!)

Having the band and being able to "turn off" the hunger sensors quickly makes working ANY plan easier

OH........... and a small blizzard fills me up when pre band I would of eaten a large on top of a meal.............

Preband mexican night: 1 basket of chips, 1 complete order of fajita's, pick off my sons plate.......

Last night: a few chips, 1 crunchy taco (or a bowl of chicken tortila soup)..................PRICELESS BABY PRICELESS

We eat out A LOT........... I may not eat half a pizza anymore but I can usually find something on any menu........ (even if it is a loaded baked potatoe)

Today:

Weight Control oatmeal

Tomatoe Soup w/milk

Dinner: TBA

GOOD LUCK

[snowbird 2]

Anita, you said you were banded 1/3/08. Are your saying January 3 or March 1, since outside the US they do dates differently. If you were banded in January, I would think you were back on solids already. If we're talking March 1 then that's different.

Either way, if you haven't had a fill yet then you need to look over the forum section on how fills and the band work. Having a band without a fill yet is not going to restrict your appetite much, if at all. It isn't until you get a fill or two that the band starts doing what it is supposed to do. So don't give up! Talk to your doctor and see what he says.

[Ang1982 4]

Thanks, Sadie. It's great to know that if I go on solid foods it won't damage anything going on with the band!

Anitai, you need to talk to your doctor about it first. Most people do not go on solid foods until they are about 4 weeks post op... and for a good reason. Not allowing your body time to heal properly can attribute to slips in the future. And by slips I mean your band moving to a place it's not supposed to which can cause to have the band removed if they cant correct it.

[coolcrystal 1]

I was banded 1/3/08 and am completely stalled with my weight loss. I am finding myself falling back into old habits, eating chocolate, etc. I hate that I still CAN do that. I thought the band would make it so I couldn't eat everything, but I have not yet felt full and I am soooo hungry. I lost about 33 pounds so far, because I was so strict with the rules in the beginning, but as I get more leeway, I am doing poorly. I am thinking of moving up to solid foods 2 weeks early so I will feel full. Any thoughts?

I can't believe you aren't on solids yet.. WHAT?? my doc did one week of liquids. one week of mushies. and now I'm on solids... you've been banded for two months.. Um YES, you are ready for solids sweetie.. OMG. this is ridiculous.