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Is the Lap Band just a placebo?



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Hello,

I am just starting to wonder if this whole thing is a fraud. I am at my second fill. I have lost 63 pounds since 09/09/09 I don't feel that a single pound is from the lap band. I am still fighting my hunger. The weight I have lost has been from calorie counting and going to the gym 7 days a week. I have been burning around 565 calories a day at the gym. When I did this before the surgery I lost more weight that this in the past. I gained it back and that's why I had the surgery. Ia asking you guys if I made a huge mistake? Do I just feel like this because I don't know what restriction is yet? Please help? I seek the truth.

Thank You in advance,

Gary

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Gary, I have felt the same way you have before - dead serious.

Of course once I got my fills all set I realized there was a band in me and boy did it set me straight fast.

I do have control of my hunger now, I do need to watch what I eat and how to eat it - ugh - that can be painful some days if I am not careful.

Regardless of how you have lost the weight in the past few months that is absolutely amazing! that is a lot of weight to lose for sure.

Keep your chin up, get your fills, have faith - really, I know it sounds corney, but again I really felt the same way you do.

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Personally, I didn't feel restriction till my 5th fill....it is very common that most people do not feel restriction until at least their 3rd fill. For me, it is quite obvious that the lapband is not a placebo. It is a very distinct feeling once you get to the right restriciton. Of course, I do still battle real hunger --sometimes--and head hunger most of the time.

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Restriction will give you control of your hunger, but you are always going to have to make a conscious effort to eat well and to exercise.

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I have the small 4 cc band and can feel the restriction with relatively small adjustments ( a double edged sword), and I have to say that for me the feeling of fullness is not psychosomatic.

Your results are very impressive and it's great that you are so proactive in your weight loss. With additional adjustments it will get easier for you.

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I've got a 4cc band too and I have to say over the years here, I've observed that it definitely seems harder to get noticeable restriction in the larger capacity bands. I've never not had restriction - I just needed more as time went on and I lost, but I had it right from the very start.

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I have a 10cc band and have restriction with no fills at all. Fluid goes right through, but solids don't and I can only eat a limited amount. Definitely not a placebo for me. I mess up and I feel it. I eat too much and I feel like my internal organs are being shoved into my chest.

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I have a 14cc band and have little restriction. The only true restriction I have felt came after my first (and only) fill.

Personally, I dont think mine qualifies as a placebo because it is very real. I learned just how real it is when I ate 2 green Beans too quickly.

For me, controlling my hunger has to do with watching what I put in my mouth. Not all calories are equal.

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Hello,

I am just starting to wonder if this whole thing is a fraud. I am at my second fill. I have lost 63 pounds since 09/09/09 I don't feel that a single pound is from the LAP-BAND®. I am still fighting my hunger. The weight I have lost has been from calorie counting and going to the gym 7 days a week. I have been burning around 565 calories a day at the gym. When I did this before the surgery I lost more weight that this in the past. I gained it back and that's why I had the surgery. Ia asking you guys if I made a huge mistake? Do I just feel like this because I don't know what restriction is yet? Please help? I seek the truth.

Thank You in advance,

Gary

hi gary u r doing great. i only been banded for 2weeks n havent got a fill yet. i dnt have a clue how 2 count calories but im willing 2 learn n im getting my 1st fill dec 21st n im going 2 wrk out as well. can u tell me what u are eating n what exercise i should start out doing. dnt go 2 hard on me gary. im just lookin 4 help n support so i can b successful

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Thank You so much for the info. I'm sure you are right. I was just worried that I made a mistake. Good luck to you and in your journey.

Gary

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Hello,

What I do is I use a treadmill for 10 minutes eventuly working my way up to 30 minutes. I use incline of 5.5 and speed of 3.3 I do that 3 days a week but un Sunday I use the treadmill for an hour and do some weight lifting for about 30 minutes.

Now about for food. I didn't loose anything listening to the nutritionist . So I talked to my Surgeon and asked her if I could do a higher Protein diet and she said yes. So a typical day goes like this:

Breakfast : Protein Bar like Atkins ( No Sugar)

Protein shake

lunch a Turkey on Joesephs Low carb Pita with Mustatrd

Protein Shake before gym

dinner I have some grilled chicken or scrambled egg whites( with a little salsa) :-)

That's what I do for now. I do that Mon-Friday. then Sunday. Saturday I do go out to dinner but I just eat the Protein and green veggies. No fries or starch.

Hope this helps.

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If it is a placebo, it is a damn good one. I can tell you that it helps provide focus and if that is all it does It still helps.

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Hey Cingulus! Havent heard from you for a while :-) How are you doing ??? When did you have your surgey?

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Hey Cingulus! Havent heard from you for a while :-) How are you doing ??? When did you have your surgey?

Hey,

I am going in on Jan 27th. I just did my update appointment last week. Good to hear from you also.

Shaun

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I thought that to for a while until i was filled a little to tight and if i didn't chew very well and take really small bits i would be in pain. You will feel it to when you get tight enough. I know my band is there because it reminds me when i take one extra bite past what i am to eat. Don't worry you are doing wonderfull. Also head hunger is very hard my stomach may be full but i still look at my husbands bag of chips and think i am hungry.

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