Thinking about it...

[sldeitrus 0]

In a lot of articles and in these forums, it talks about your commitment to diet and exercise.

Here is my question, and I'm not being flippant.

If I could diet and exercise with success, why in the world would I need the surgery? The whole reason I want it is because I never stay on a diet.

I'm moderately active, don't eat a LOT, but more than I need obviously. BMI of 36, diabetic.

So would that make me a no-go on surgery?

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Only you can answer if it's right for you. Personally, I am moderately successful on just about ANY diet I've tried, but find myself unable to go the distance. I tire of weighing and counting and writing about and FRETTING over every morsel that passes my lips. Some like the regimen, or learn to embrace it. I never did. And foremost? I get HUNGRY. Not head hunger, not emotional hunger, not from boredom, but plain old HUNGRY.

With the band, those major stumbling blocks to my success are removed.

I think the band is just a tool. Some need it, some don't. Some use it, some never do, even if they have it.

So while I honestly have no idea if the band might be a good choice for you, I can tell you with a certainty that comes from years of soul searching, dieting, and even includes months of behavioral therapy I paid for on my own before I ever started the process to get the band, that it holds the best hope for me to get my super morbid obesity under control.

[Mr. Green 3]

You have to make the choice!!! If you can do it with diet and exercise and keep it off, then that is great. Others like me have tried for years, and I am not lying about this when I say I have tried them all and had some moderate success, but gained it all back. Everyone is different and as you will find out, this works for some and not others.

[Sasha2013 0]

i'm like everyone else...dude i'm the diet champion, give me a diet, i'll follow it, i can lose weight, that was never a problem, can't say i tried a diet and didn't lose weight...lost weight every time!

gained it back...and more EVERY TIME! i did every diet, sometimes very dedicated, some times not so dedicated, my whole life was a diet, i didn't like being fat, i was motivated as many days as i was unmotivated.

i did not EVER think i would have surgery, puh-leeze thats for lazy people who don't wanna diet and exercise! i tried, i really freaking tried, this was a last resort, i didn't have it in me to try another diet, i'd been down that road hundreds of times before and it ended the same way, no matter how dedicated i was, no matter how many times i knew that THIS was the straw that broke the camels back, how many times i said i was doing this for me and no one else, it ended the same way, i gained it back and then some! yo-yo dieting is worse than just being fat, one more yo-yo diet and i was going to be over 300 lbs, and that scared me, i avoided hbp and diabetes while in the 200's but its only a matter of time before they caught up with me.

the band is a tool, it tells your body your fuller sooner, instead of doing a 1200 calorie diet on your own and feeling hungry all the time, and just so many other benefits.

i'm not at goal yet, and i have a long way to go...but i'm already feeling changes, i'm not thinking about food all day, i'm not hungry, it basically helps you stay on a "diet" i guess if thats what you wanna call it

everyone is different do you reasearch and always do whats best for you

[DebC 0]

There is only ONE way to loose weight and that is to burn more calories than you take in. That involves diet and exercise. Some think this is an easy fix. It's not. The band is only a tool to help. When you are fully restricted your band will not let you eat more than you should, so you concentrate on Protein alot. It does not happen over night. It took me 4 months just to feel some restriction, then I had to get a complete unfill because of major surgury, now I am where I should be. I get full on a half a salad and tuna at lunch, for dinner I put my food on a salad plate and get full. I tried to loose weight by willpower alone, but always failed. Having the band is the tool I need to stick to it. You could still gain weight if you ate junk food and drank soda and milkshakes, so it does require a committment to make the right choices

[Fanny Adams 7]

I was never particularly successful at dieting. Sure, I tried them all and started out strong but my motivation factor rarely lasted. I just couldn't deal with being hungry all the time. I would have difficulties going to sleep because I was hungry, wake up in the middle of the night dreaming about food, get up in the morning and immediately think about what I was allowed to eat that day. After a couple of weeks I would start to cheat. Once that happened, it didn't take long before I'd throw my hands in the air and say "**** it! I don't care if I'm fat!!" and go pig out.

My approach to exercise was much the same - first couple of weeks I'd go hard, but it would taper off. The weight loss ALWAYS slows after the first couple of weeks, even if you are sticking to it perfectly, because half the initial loss is only Water. That didn't stop my head from saying to me "Why bother? It's not working! What difference does it make if you don't go to the gym today?"

Getting the band was a whole change of headspace. I knew I couldn't face the prospect of trying and failing at yet another diet. I knew I couldn't face the idea of struggling to live with that hunger for the 18 months I needed to lose the weight I wanted to lose. The band gave me a reason to believe that I could succeed. I don't fight hunger all the time. I don't obsess about food all the time. Believe it or not, I've even FORGOTTEN TO EAT MEALS! I was absolutely astounded the first time that happened.

I eat pretty much what I would have eaten on a "balanced 1200 cal" diet plan, but it doesn't FEEL like a diet, because I'm not feeling deprived. My exercise has been sporadic - went hard at first, slacked off for a while, got back into it. Right now, I am going strong at it, because it is SO much easier when 70lb lighter and I can really feel the difference.

DO IT! In a year's time, you'll be saying it's the best thing you ever did for yourself.

[katieo 0]

I am having similiar doubts too sldeitrus, if I can't make those changes now, how will I make them after surgery? Part of me says, surgery will give me the kick up the backside I need and also I know that if I don't follow my surgeons advice, my body will be in BIIIG trouble, the other part says, well I have already wrecked my body so whats stopping me from completely destroying it?

What I do know is that a band will not get rid of my head hunger, I need some help with that too, I need to learn how to deal with my emotions without trying to stuff them down with food, I strongly feel that if I get some help with both the physical and the mental aspect of obesity I stand more of a chance of winning this battle.

Like the other bandsters said, I cannot face another diet, another diet would mean, battling on my own. With the band I feel that I will have someone/thing in my corner. I have never been one to even be able to accept help, let alone ask for it, well this is has to change and it will when I go to my GP on Tuesday.

Katie xx

[ElusiveQuality 22]

I am having similiar doubts too sldeitrus, if I can't make those changes now, how will I make them after surgery?

It's hard to describe but after the band, I'm not really craving the junk like I used to. I don't know what it is but I haven't been in a fast food restaurant for over two months and I don't miss it. Can't explain why.

Also, I can have less and feel sated. The tricks that have worked for me are:

1) Keep small snack portions handy. those 100 calorie cookie packs are a life saver for me. If I'm craving sweets between meals, I do one. Same for 70 calorie pudding cups and yogurts. Plan it into your allocation for the day. Still have sweets.

2) Eat something healthy and blocking before the treat. Baby carrots do it for me. Five or six of those fill the pouch and get a little blockage at the opening so when I have a tiny slice of pie, I'm full.

If you're planning daily milkshakes, sundaes, alcohol binges, etc, the band is not going to work well for you. You might do better on a malabsorbtion procedure like RnY which won't let your body absorb all the calories and put you into dumping syndrome if you try.

Cal

[Mariposa 0]

In a lot of articles and in these forums, it talks about your commitment to diet and exercise.

Here is my question, and I'm not being flippant.

If I could diet and exercise with success, why in the world would I need the surgery? The whole reason I want it is because I never stay on a diet.

I'm moderately active, don't eat a LOT, but more than I need obviously. BMI of 36, diabetic.

So would that make me a no-go on surgery?

Its up to you. But just like the other gals, its not like any of us cant lose weight working out and /or dieting. But sticking to it is hard. And if your furnace like mine doesnt burn very hot, and in order to lose weight, you have to eat very low cals a day and working out hard every day and only see 1 pd a week weight loss. Its not very encouraging to basically starve yourself, go to bed hungry every night, kill yourself at the gym and see only a pd a week loss if that. While the next girl loses 2-3 pds a week, not working as hard as you! GRRR So.. I give up, becuz yes I want to be thin, but cant stand living at the gym, having OCD on everything that goes in my mouth and starving every nite. For what a pd a week maybe? Not fast enough in my book for all that hard work! So.. the lapband, well, has cut out the hunger, I dont have to live at the gym, the 3-5 times a week of working out 30mins a day, and to see that I am losing 3-4 pds a week and I dont feel like I am killing myself to get that! Well is worth it! :tongue2: Thats why I got the lapband! Well one of the reasons!

[sldeitrus 0]

It's hard to describe but after the band, I'm not really craving the junk like I used to. ......If you're planning daily milkshakes, sundaes, alcohol binges, etc, the band is not going to work well for you.

Cal

See!!! There it is in a nutshell. I haven't eaten like that in YEARS. And like RestlessMonkey said, I bust my keester, and get a whopping lb a week off it. The last one was a cleanse/herbals for THREE WEEKS. I lost 3 lbs. after I went off of it. I eat pretty well. Sometimes I go on an emotional graze fest. A binge for me? A small bowl of Cereal, a handful of nuts, and maybe a piece of string cheese. Over the course of a whole evening. I don't see that as a big binge.

Here's the plan: Track my blood sugars, and food log religiously for a month. Get some counseling. Prove to myself that I really am trying. Start the process to do this after the month depending on what I see.

I'll share the process with the board here in a blog.

Thank you all for the wonderful feedback.

[Manatee 4]

Here's the thing for me: the band keeps me from backsliding badly when I do lose my motivation. After a while with this, you start to see portions differently, and you start to see types of food differently.

It may be hard to imagine, but after a while you start wanting to be in better shape, and you'll find yourself working out and enjoying it. It's a matter of feedback.

I've lost hundreds of lbs in my lifetime, and gained them all back. This time, it's gone and will stay gone.

Oh, and that lb per week is just about what my doc says we should be aiming at. 1-2 lbs is a safe, sustainable loss, and in only a year or two you'll be down a significant amount.

See my profile albums for pictures.