so what good is the band if....

[Paige59 0]

What good is the band if it doesn't do the work for you? Okay, I know this sounds stupid, but please read on....

I sat through a lapband seminar the other night, and after listening to this doctor and the people who gave their stories, I am beginning to wonder if I am just crazy. I thought I was ready to have the surgery (meaning I had no fears of the surgery itself) but was struggling over having to lose 40 pounds (yes, the doctor says this has to be done first). However, after sitting thru the seminar, now I confused myself and messed up my thinking. I am hoping someone out there can help me straighten out my thinking process on this one!!

IF you have to work just as hard (or harder) at watching what you eat, and how much you eat after being banded, then what's the sense in having the band in the first place?

It seems to me that IF I could watch what I eat and how much I can eat, then I wouldn't be obese and searching for other options (ie: weight loss surgery).

SO...I guess what I'm asking is... If I can not be discplined enough NOW to watch what and how much I eat, how is the band going to change that?? IF you have to work just as hard or harder after the banding, then what good is the banding? What exactly is it's job? I know everyone calls it a "tool", but what good is the tool if it doesn't help me change the way I choose foods and their amounts? I hope this makes sense to someone out there!! Please help if you can!

[Nanook 2]

If someone told you that they could restrict most of the types of food you ate but you could still eat foods that slid through the band meaning chocolate, ice cream, Cookies, chips etc...would you be successful? Not all of us are that strong. It is something you really need to discuss with a doctor ahead of time to make the right decision for you! Good luck Nancy.

[Unforgettable 0]

For me, the lap band has been about helping with Portion Control. Of course you can overeat or eat the wrong things with the lap band. Thankfully, for the most part I have the willpower to make the right food choices most of the time. My problem was not eating the right size portions, and not understanding what it meant to be comfortable vs full vs stuffed. The lapband has helped with this because I eat whatever amount of food I'm supposed to eat (right now, about 3/4 cup every 3 hours), and it fills up the top "pouch" of my stomach that the lapband has created. This is where the nerves are that send messages to your brain to let you know that you are full - at the top of your stomach. My brain tells me I'm full, and then I feel pretty full for 3 hours until it's time to eat again. All with only eating 3/4 cup of food. Before the lapband, I could eat a full dinner plate or two before I realize I wasn't hungry anymore.

The lap band isn't for everybody. Do some more research, talk one-on-one with some professional, think about what's keep you from losing weight now, work it through your mind a few times and then decide what's best for you.

Good luck!

Edited July 28, 2009 by Unforgettable

[maclynn 0]

Unforgettable is right. It is the help with the Portion Control that the band is best for. I have always been an overeater. I've done the yo-yo dieting which would have me successfully lose weight only to see it creep back up when I stopped actively dieting.

Also for me, the band is actually helping me lose weight. I've been trying to lose weight over the past two years with no luck. I had to do the six months pre-certification diet and managed to lose only 18 pounds in those six months. I proceeded to gain 3 back during the wait between insurance submission and surgery, approximately 3 months. Since surgery I've lost 22 pounds and feel great about my food intake. Granted, I've had to make good choices but I do allow myself the occasional treat. But now it's only a few bites instead of gorging myself until I’m stuffed.

The band is not for everyone. Not for grazers, people who eat all day long. And not for those who cannot part with/give up slider foods (chips, candy, cakes, ice cream, etc) and bad carbs. Those who are successful are usually those who have done their homework or had a good support team with the bariatric center or both, that have given them the right information to make the correct decision for them.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

I'll add this. It seems on diets I was ALWAYS hungry, and obsessed with food. I counted it. I weighed it. I bagged it and apportioned it. I fretted over each bite, wondering if I would be hungry later.

food wasn't my friend, food was my "master". Now I forget about food for hours at a time. I eat a good meal and am not hungry for HOURS. In fact, when I get peckish between meals I KNOW it isn't real hunger, and believe me, knowing that REALLY helps stop the bad behavior.

As I posted earlier (and Nanook liked!) The lap band is a tool, not a solution. If you are willing to work, it's another weapon in the weight loss arsenal.

I had despaired of dieting because I'd do well for a while then get exhausted or bored or both and stop, and gain, plus plus. Now with the band, it's there helping. I don't get bored because I personally don't count, weigh, portion, fret...and if I want something I eat it. I just don't eat much of it any more. Last Weds I had 3/4 of a cheese enchilada and about 5 tostado chips at my favorite Mexican food restaurant. I was happy as a clam, and I've lost a couple pounds since then. Amazing! I couldn't ever have done that without the band.

[JENNIFER7375 3]

As others have stated the bands about Portion Control for me as well. For example went out for pizza with my kids the other day. There was a time where id have ate 4 slices of pieces. With the band im lucky if i can finish 1.and that 1 slice leaves me satisfied for a long time. I also make sure food dosent rule my life anymore. no i dont eat junk everyday. but nothing is forbidden in a reasonable quantity. I spent most of my adult life obsessing and feeling guilty about every bite in my mouth.

that all being said. the hardest part of the band or any WLS is can you committ to changing your relationship with food? I know head hunger is something that most of us struggle with everyday. Learning to deal with that is the hardest. its that little voice in your head telling you to eat chips and ice cream when you know you dont want or need it? the one that says it cuz you're mad, bored or angry. Were only human and no one can ignore that voice every time.

but before you have the band or any other surgery you've gotta deal with the emotional issues that cause you to overeat. whether is just doing some deep soul searching. attending over eaters annonymous or seeking some form of professional counseling.

so far the band has been an amazing tool for me. and yes requres some work, but its been WAY easier than any of the many diets i failed at in the past.but you also need to make some effort, better food choices and going in for fills. With good restriction and attitude you just dont eat as much.

[Nanook 2]

From what I've gathered over the past 2 years when trying to figure out why my lap band wasn't working for me as it was for others I came to a few conclusions. One was it was meant for certain types of eaters who ate certain types of foods. Those that ate larger portions of foods seemed to do well and those that tended to eat and crave sugary fat foods struggled.

I believe we use a term like head hunger a bit too lightly as it's supposed to be something we "should" be able to control by having and maintaining "willpower" or by getting some sort of behavior therapy and that's not necessarily the case. Head hunger is more physiological in nature than psychological. It's a real force that many of us can't control especially in a case where diabetes is in the mix or one is peremenapausal/menopausal, have hypothyroidism or anything else where homones seem to take over or aren't in the best working order.

I think people tend to feel that if they can't work the band the way it should be they are not only considered failures for being fat but failures for failing at the band when in reality they just chose the wrong weight loss surgery.

I not only had restriction from the very outcome of RNY surgery but my "head hunger" disappeared also. So there is probably a physical reason for that since physically my insides were rerouted the thing most people dread but it works. I also was fearful of this in the beginning and is why I opted out of RNY and chose the lap band first. You can't change the past but you can learn from it and I was much more knowlegeable going into RNY than I ever was getting the lap band.

I'm just using myself as an example of someone who would never have done well with the band because of the many factors I listed above. People have to choose the surgery for the right reasons and not just because it "appears" to be less evasive. I say "appears" only because of the many complications we read about here on the board every day.

Surgeons are wonderful at what they do in putting in bands and stapling stomachs in half but they might not be as good at figuring out which surgery is best for you so there's a lot of research that must be done and it's your own responsibility to do as much as you can. Good luck to you all, Nancy.

[greytz 4]

I feel as the other posters do on this thread. I haven't had my first fill yet but have lost 25 lbs. NO way I could have done that and I had not done that before the band. It is not just the tool that helps, but for me it is the state of mind that helps. I went through all the surgery and post op stuff and expense and my thought process is, I don't want to waste a minute of it by not doing what I am supposed to do. That being said as with anything you always have a time when something happens and you backslide or at least I thought I did yesterday. I was out running errands and could not go home yet as I had an appointment. lunch time rolled around and I thought OMG what am I going to do? I decided on chicken nuggets from Chic Fila (?) not sure how you spell that, and the line was so long it was in the street so Taco Bell was next door and I had one taco. I figured the corn tortilla wasn't as bad and there was barely anything inside but it kept me full but I still stressed over eating it even though it tasted sooooo good. I was so worried when I got on the scale this morning but I had lost another pound in spite of it! Then I realized, before the band, I would have eaten 10 times that much from the menu. That is how the band has helped me. 25lbs down.

[bearbandit 0]

I lost 165 lbs without having a lapband and gained most of it back....Simply put I went back to my old habits and gained the weight back...I got the band to keep me in check and keep me from gaining all my weight back. Very, very, very few people can lose a 100+ lbs and keep it off. Eating issues are deep seated in our habits and brains...I personally eat when stressed...thus having a band when I start eating while stressed stops me from eating too much. :smile2:

[kgloverii 0]

The band dims my appetite. As some of the previous posters have said, it makes it so that food doesn't rule your life. If you get to the right spot, you don't wake up thinking of what you're going to eat for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. You're not consumed with the next meal. And that new brain-wiring helps you when making your food choices. You are not 'so hungry you've gotta eat' and just fill up on Pasta cause you're famished. You have the ability to make better choices. I know I do. It is a whole new world out there with my band. And as an FYI, I am almost 2 years out, so I am quite realistic. The 'love affair is over.'

[crzytchr 3]

My band is my friend, because I am now in control of my eating. I eat 1200-1500 calories per day and I have lost 80lbs since my surgery. I have only lost 2-3lbs in the last 3 months, but I haven't gained anything either! I have NEVER been able to say that before. Any time I "dieted" prior to banding the MOMENT i stopped, the pounds came back and they brought some of their friends. I have gained and lost a few sumo wrestlers in the last 20+ years, and I am done with that. I still eat out and eat most of the foods that my family does, but I eat a lot less. I eat 1 slice of pizza instead of 3. I eat 1 biscuit at Cracker

Barrel instead of 3 BEFORE my actual meal arrives:blushing:. I enjoy every bite, I just eat less of it.

This does not mean that I think the band will work for everyone. My dad just had WLS on June 11 and he chose bypass. The band would not have worked for him, because he isn't disciplined enough for it. He watches me and knows that I still make healthy food choices (most of the time). He had a lot more weight to lose and wanted it to be a little faster. Good luck with what ever decision you make.

[PrincesaJenE 0]

The bands works! I totall yget your point - I've thought that too. Why get the band if you have to do all the work! I still think that. I really learned more about the band and to be honest, more about myself after I got the band.

Everyone has already said it - so I don't know why I feel compelled to say it again but - food doesn't control your life anymore. I remember about a month after the band being at a work seminar that served lunch buffet style. When I first saw the buffet the fat girl in me was excited ! Unlimited food she screamed! The LapBand in me screamed - u gotta figure out how to get the most of the foods you enjoy most into this itty bitty space. Whereas the fat girl in me was trying to calculate how much food I could fit on one plate without drawing any stares the labband in me was elminating food to make the good stuff fit (no top slice of bread, no potato salad, etc.).

Get this - there have been times when I

ve stopped eating a cookie MID BITE! (Now for those of your hardcore bandsters - I know I shouldn't have been eating a cookie!) There are times - most of the time - I start eating a cookie and I'll get like 1/2 way through it and will just set it down - and it will sit on my desk, untouched for the rest of the day and will end of up in the trash at the end. That NEVER would have happened before the band. I would have had 3-5 Cookies.

Before the band I was so scared that I wasn't going to be able to eat - but you can just very little. But you don't know its very little - in fact, I found myself looking at others in disgust at how much food they were gorging down. U can't really understand the feeling until you experience it. You're good - You're done eating - and have no desire to eat for 3-4 hrs. There are no cravings - I haven't found this to be a struggle at all.

I'm 6 months out - I've only lost 40lbs - but I have been unable to get consistent fills because I have significant scar tissue from a previous surgery and they have a hard time getting to my port. I probably should have had 2-3 more fills than I've had. My fills thus far (3) have tended to last 2 weeks and I always loose 3-5 lbs in those 2 weeks. I have a fill on Tuesday - Yay! Wish me luck. Good luck to you too!

[KatieKateKate 0]

I agree with all the statements above and would like to add that I chose the band BECAUSE I still have to do most of the work.

Personally, I wanted to relearn how to eat properly and get into an exercise routine and become a more healthy, active person all around.

In the past I've failed miserably because at some point it just stopped working for me and the pounds started creeping back on despite what I was doing. My last go around on LA Weightloss, I was losing and gaining the same 15 pounds for the better part of a year. Total I probably lost 150 lbs, but the scale only reflects a 60lb loss and that's all thanks to my band because I went right from LA Weightloss to my surgeon's office with no significant time in between to gain all that weight back.

I will admit that my scale hasn't moved in almost two weeks now, which is frustrating and I'm feeling a little discouraged, BUT at least my band is making it so my scale isn't going back up in the meantime so that when I do begin to lose again, it's not that same old 2 steps forward, 1 step back routine and instead I get to have all 3 steps be in a forward moving direction! That NEVER would have been the case before. This is what people talk about when they call it a tool. It's not doing the work for me, but it's allowing me to keep my victories instead of watching them slip away again.

[Mimilou2004 13]

I didn't know how much my band was helping me until I had to get a complete unfill 1.5 wks ago. I have gained 9 pounds and am hungry all the time. I will be getting a partial fill of 5cc this Thursday. I hope I never have to go through a major unfill again. I need my band! It has proven its worth to me.

Mimi

[NiceWillSuffice 0]

if all you eat is crappy food today..you'll lose weight with little effort because you won't be able to eat nearly as much of it.

(portion control as 1000 people already said)

If you want to lose weight and be healthy you have to pick healthier food and believe me you will want to because you'll be so modivated. it does MORE than take the edge off.

Just do it. all you got to lose is weight.

What good is the band if it doesn't do the work for you? Okay, I know this sounds stupid, but please read on....

I sat through a lapband seminar the other night, and after listening to this doctor and the people who gave their stories, I am beginning to wonder if I am just crazy. I thought I was ready to have the surgery (meaning I had no fears of the surgery itself) but was struggling over having to lose 40 pounds (yes, the doctor says this has to be done first). However, after sitting thru the seminar, now I confused myself and messed up my thinking. I am hoping someone out there can help me straighten out my thinking process on this one!!

IF you have to work just as hard (or harder) at watching what you eat, and how much you eat after being banded, then what's the sense in having the band in the first place?

It seems to me that IF I could watch what I eat and how much I can eat, then I wouldn't be obese and searching for other options (ie: weight loss surgery).

SO...I guess what I'm asking is... If I can not be discplined enough NOW to watch what and how much I eat, how is the band going to change that?? IF you have to work just as hard or harder after the banding, then what good is the banding? What exactly is it's job? I know everyone calls it a "tool", but what good is the tool if it doesn't help me change the way I choose foods and their amounts? I hope this makes sense to someone out there!! Please help if you can!