I have a question about eating

beth443 · May 27, 2008

I am having my first consult June 9. I eat when I am not hungry and eat fast. One of the main reasons I am 100lb over weight. How does getting the band help you from not eating when you are full or eating so fast . I am afraid that I will continue with my old habits and not lose. This is such a drastic step for me to take and will be devastated if it does not work.

Thanks

jrg1979 · May 27, 2008

Most of us find out the hard way how the band helps us not eat so much or so fast. Once you have good restriction, if you do either of those things, you will PB (productive burp) which is like throwing up, or get some food "stuck" which I hear is very painful. (Thankfully, I have not experienced that one yet. ) The band does not automatically refrain you from eating too much or eating too fast though. It still takes a concious effort.

singledad167 · May 27, 2008

Most of us find out the hard way how the band helps us not eat so much or so fast. Once you have good restriction, if you do either of those things, you will PB (productive burp) which is like throwing up, or get some food "stuck" which I hear is very painful. (Thankfully, I have not experienced that one yet. ) The band does not automatically refrain you from eating too much or eating too fast though. It still takes a concious effort.

The band does not keep you from eating too much? But I thought with restriction, you cannot eat as much. I don't understand.

mominlv13 · May 27, 2008

I thought the same thing and believe me you will know you have had too much. Its amazing how it works. You WILL be happy in the long run.

juliegeraci · May 27, 2008

Beth, the lapband works 2 ways. First of all, with good restriction you will feel full longer. Second of all, you will not be able to consume big servings of food. Restriction does take some time but it is well worth it.

snowbird · May 27, 2008

What the band won't do is stop you from eating too often. While I am not hungry between meals, my band does not stop me from grazing. I can eat less than a Lean Cuisine for a meal, but I can eat an hour later, even though I'm not hungry.

Since snacking was always my downfall, I've dealt with this by not buying stuff that's high calorie snack food. For Snacks, I have rice cakes, Curves granola bars, and 100 calorie bags of microwave popcorn. sometimes I still overdo it, but it's not so tempting.

jrg1979 · May 27, 2008

The band does not keep you from eating too much? But I thought with restriction, you cannot eat as much. I don't understand.

It definately depends on what you are eating. Some foods slide right through your pouch without even a wave as they go by. On the other hand, more solid foods (which you should be eating anyway) will stick around and you will feel full sooner and longer. But even if your band does its job and you do eat the proper food, it is very easy to overeat sometimes. Head hunger plays a big part in this. You have to learn to listen to your body and determine if you really are still hungry, or if you just want 1 more bite ( and then 1 more and more after that). When this happens, you become over full, and it has to go one of two ways: either down or up. Since the band is making the path on the way down alot harder to get through, it has no choice but to come back up.

auntlucy · May 27, 2008

beth443,

While the band will limit how much you can eat at one time and will have consequences if you don't follow them, you need to keep in mind that the band is a tool, and not that magic wand that we all wish was available. If you went to the hardware store and bought a hammer, it's up to you to use the hammer the right way to achieve the desired results. The band is the same. You have to make changes to what, how, when, and why you eat. There are definitely ways to eat around the band, and I think that's what jrg1979 was referring to.

Good luck with your decision. It took me a few years to make it, and so far I'm glad I made it. But, it's definitely a personal decision that you need to make sure you are ready for.

Numbrgirl · May 27, 2008

At the beginning it seems like it is a more "drastic" step than it really is - at least for me. It is a useful tool that is always with me and helps me regulate my food both physically and mentally. Since being banded I don't even try to shove some of the same stuff down my throat that I used to (ie breads, pastries, etc.) also staying away from sodas and the fast food helps immensely.

Vikki · May 27, 2008

It definately depends on what you are eating. Some foods slide right through your pouch without even a wave as they go by. On the other hand, more solid foods (which you should be eating anyway) will stick around and you will feel full sooner and longer. But even if your band does its job and you do eat the proper food, it is very easy to overeat sometimes. Head hunger plays a big part in this. You have to learn to listen to your body and determine if you really are still hungry, or if you just want 1 more bite ( and then 1 more and more after that). When this happens, you become over full, and it has to go one of two ways: either down or up. Since the band is making the path on the way down alot harder to get through, it has no choice but to come back up.

I completely agree with that explaination. It is hard to explain to someone that has not experienced it. When you say comes up its not like throwing up your meal. It only is that couple of bites that did not want to go down and you start to feel a tight pressure at the tip of your esphegus and top of stomach where the band is. It is very painful as I have gone threw it many a time. I had gotten a fill that was too tight for me and tried to just get threw a couple of months to see if it would loosen and it just got worse and worse and I kept PBing every day which just made my insides irriated and swollen which then made my fill even tighter. I got to were I could hardly even sip Water with out feeling like I needed to throw it back up. Once you start recognizing the feeling of the tightness you will start learning that is when you put down the fork and stop eating to wait and see if the tightness goes away. It makes it almost a pain in the butt to eat and for me has been that blessing to stop overeating and obsessing on food like I used too. It become a pain in the butt to overeat and almost impossible or you will be in pain. It changes your brain and the way you look at food. It is now that fuel for me not just emotional comfort. It is what I need to be healthy and to feel good. I went threw days where I could hardly get anything down and I started to feel very tired and horrible because I wasn't getting what my body needed. I had to start figuring out how to get the nutricion in with out going threw pain. Not everyone goes threw this and I had to learn the hard way but after getting an unfill and having no restriction I went crazy eating like it was going out of style. Fast food big time. I need that stop button to make me not eat that much so I went back and go another fill. I am at a good fill level now and can eat fine but just have to eat teenie tiny bites at a time and very slow and always chew chew chew. I watch my husband eat now and he shoves the whole meal down in 10 min when I am still on my 4th or 5th spoon full and think to myself wow that used to be me. Now a small cup of Soup and a small dinner salad is more then enough to fill me. I save money on ordering food and intake a small amount of calories a day..................and I am okay with it.....head wise. Best thing I have ever done for myself. I feel good and I am not beating myself up anymore about eating way too much threw out the day. You just can't anymore. Yah weight watchers and all that is still good but when you can't do something it is a lot different then just not doing it. If we had the will power to NOT eat it we wouldn't be overweight. This tool is a God Sent and it is NOT THE EASY WAY OUT. There are days when I just want that darn double cheeseburger and would give my first born to shove it down.....................but I CAN"T. So I get that small Soup and deal with my emotions. It is changing your ways and it takes awhile to retrain your brain and stop feeding the emotions. Good luck to everyone that is thinking of getting the band.

beth443 · May 28, 2008

Thanks so much. I needed to hear this. I am 46 almost 47 and my weight is starting to effect my health and general well being. I have to do something this seem like the right chose I just need that reassurance that I am not the only one out there that have eating habits. I am very excited but scared too afraid this will fail like all the diets I have tried. Thanks for the support I am sure I will be writing more with this venture.

singledad167 · May 28, 2008

What the band won't do is stop you from eating too often. While I am not hungry between meals, my band does not stop me from grazing. I can eat less than a Lean Cuisine for a meal, but I can eat an hour later, even though I'm not hungry.
Since snacking was always my downfall, I've dealt with this by not buying stuff that's high calorie snack food. For Snacks, I have rice cakes, Curves granola bars, and 100 calorie bags of microwave popcorn. sometimes I still overdo it, but it's not so tempting.

Oh I see. Thanks for explaining. As for me, I don't really snack between meals, but my meals are rather large. So I hope this would be a perfect fit for me then.