My Favorite Side Effect of the LapBand!!

[cattoy71 0]

Hi everyone,

Pre-band as I put on more and more weight, I became consumed with thoughts about food. Actually, I think I mostly thought about craving foods for me like chocolate, cakes, pie, ice-cream, etc.. I knew that these were the foods I always had to severely restrict or I would just pile the pounds on :mad2:

Don't get me wrong, I still love those foods, but now that I am banded, I simply don't think about food all that much. I could not have imagined just how radical the change is. I no longer go to bed thinking about my favorite foods and wake up thinking about how I need to stay on track least I continue to gain.

I had no friggin idea just how much time I used to spend thinking about food and that it was a normal thing for me. Now I actually feel like I should pick up a hobby or two since I seem to have more free time, lol. Anyone have any suggestions!

My surgeon mentioned that I wouldn't be very hungry, but never really emphasized that I wouldn't think about food much. Actually, I doubt I would have believed him back then.

I still can't get used to how weird this aspect of my new life is!:blushing:

[dietpeach 0]

I always believed that actual hunger is what makes people think about food all the time - not gluttony or or bad character or laziness or whatever else a lot of people assume about fat people. If a person isn't hungry, their mind doesn't turn to food automatically.

I hope I'll feel the same way as you - so far I'm definitely less hungry and I think less about food, but my stomach is probably still swollen from the surgery, so we'll see.

[Band_Groupie 3]

Thanks for this thread! I just did a blog (on LBT) the other day about this (trying to decide if I'll need to "diet" and count calorie the rest of my life even with the LB. It's reassurring to know there's a chance this "obsession" may go away forever. Thanks!

[HeatherO 7]

I too was OBSESSED wıth food pre-banding. I would start thinking about what I would have for lunch and dinner at Breakfast time, lol. I was always very specific as far as what I wanted. I would even have dreams centered around food or cooking.

Now it is not like that (although I do have pregnancy cravings). I am not obsessive. I could eat or not eat or eat late and still not think too much about it. I have not had a food dream in months.

I used to think my obsession was only mental and not physical. Now I truly believe it was physical all along. That doesn't mean that I don't get head hunger (if I go to a dinner party where there is cheesecake . . . I still want it hungry or not), but I am not obsessed. A bite can sometimes be all I need and I don't feel deprived in the least.

[FWWAB 0]

I read this article on Oprah's site that explains a bit about why we all think about food:

The Way to Eat with Dr. David Katz

But, I know that I think about it a bit more than most. I'm very much looking forward to this side effect.

[kgloverii 0]

I always believed that actual hunger is what makes people think about food all the time - not gluttony or or bad character or laziness or whatever else a lot of people assume about fat people. If a person isn't hungry, their mind doesn't turn to food automatically.

I hope I'll feel the same way as you - so far I'm definitely less hungry and I think less about food, but my stomach is probably still swollen from the surgery, so we'll see.

There is more and more scientific evidence that proves this. I read the article Oprah wrote about her food addiction in this month's O magazine and I kept telling my husband "I'm rolling my eyes" as I was reading it. I truly believe, more often than not, it is a physical/physiological thing that is making people hungry, not some food addiction.

After I hit my sweet spot, I literally had a breakdown and wept because my brain literally was rewired. I no longer was planning my next meal. This is the BEST part of the band. Even if I had stayed fat, and my brain was no longer consumed with thoughts of food, I would've considered the surgery a success.