There seems to be a lot of discussion among bandsters about people who feel guilty about WHAT they eat and other people who are measuring out their food, people who are terrified of the holiday food temptations, etc.

The reason lap band works is because it forces you to adhere to a portion control program that alleviates the need of having to rely solely on willpower. I was banded in March and I eat whatever I want, only much less. I have lost 37% of my total weight or 115 pounds and have exceeded my goal weight. In fact, I now have a problem I always dreamed of...how do I stop losing weight?!

Since day one, I have not worried about what I eat and have tried to put the band to work for me...and it's worked. For those of you who have been banded recently, the weight will come off. It started slow for me but escalated quickly after my 2nd (and final) fill this past May.

So, this holiday season everyone needs to relax a bit and let the band work for you. If it's not restricting your intake, get a fill. Get to your sweet spot and enjoy your new life and the holidays!

You make a lot of good points, however I will say that sometimes I make suggestions to others who are having trouble losing weight. I don't think its as easy for everyone depending on their specific conditions or limitations. I do agree that I don't want to be one of those people who always has to count my calories or overanalyze every food.

I agree with this. I also want to point out that total deprivation can cause bingeing. Yes, you may only be able to eat a small amount, but what's keeping you from filling up on cake one day? Or just eating a carton of ice cream since that will go right down? It's ok to have a treat once in a while - just not to go overboard. The reason I chose the band instead of bypass is that I would be able to have sugar - there is NO way I could go without ever eating chocolate again. So, being obsessed with what you can't eat probably isn't good for you in the long run. Having a treat once in a while isn't going to cause you to gain 50 lbs...

that approach worked for me too and it is beyond me why anyone would want to count calories, obsess over Protein or measure portions or even WORSE (to me, lol) low carb it *shudder*.

But I think there's a couple of different reasons why people need and like different approaches.

I ate reasonably well before banding - of course I ate too much crap, that's how I got fat and i have a real problem with foods like Cookies, cakes and muffins. But I knew what a healthy diet was, I cooked well for my family and ate a lot of healthy foods. I dont eat things out cans, boxes and the freezer section of the supermarket, and I have the skills to cook from scratch. There are people who have become so consumed by the disease of obesity that they dont even know where to start to eat healthy. They need a "program". On the other hand, I was able to trust that if I "ate what I wanted", a good proportion of time that would be healthy. My only real problem was portion size, but that isnt true for everyone.

Then there's people who are just like that. They love routines, they love rules, they love to follow something. My mum is like that. She loves to live on weight Watchers even though she's not the least overweight. It drives me freaking crazy and running straight for the nearest Donut King.

Then there's people who just want the magic fix. They need to believe in the latest diet because they have not yet faced the reality that it is THEIR choices that affect their result. They want to follow something and when it doesnt work, they can blame it instead of thinking about their own choices and decisions.

the same is true of exercise and our approaches to it. I cant for the life of me understand why you'd need a body bugg and a heart rate monitor, its not that freaking scientific. I reckon if you go out, work hard, sweat a lot and get out of breath, then you're doing great. But some people have a need to know their heart rate and how many calories they've burned. They need to know the sums add up.

Nobody's right or wrong, but I certainly got a band to just eat what I want forever more and never diet again. For me, any approach that resembles dieting is dysfunctional and does not lead to a healthy relationship with my body. I would not consider myself "cured" if I were thin but counting calories, logging, adding exercise calories burned the way I do becuase I eat what I want and enjoy exercise and stay thin as as a result.

And lately, I dont even care about the scale, have been checking maybe once a month. Major breakthrough!

For me, the band is not a magic fix. I have thyroid disease and have to keep it monitored routinely. I can actually gain 2 pounds in one day or more depending on what I eat and how my food intake went that day. I have to be very, very careful and can't just eat whatever I want just less of it with the band. There are certain foods that trigger my metabolism in a negative way even with the band and cause me to gain weight. And in my opinion, the whole point for me was to get healthy and I can't get healthy if I am eating what I want because that would mean sweets, starches, fried foods and all things bad. Even if it is in smaller portions. To me, it is not healthy and I stay away with very rare exception. But I certainly don't eat it on a regular basis. No offense intended but I think it is irresponsible to tell people to just eat what they want and they will still lose weight. It isn't like that for everyone.

It's kind of scary but I actually enjoy keeping track of the calories going in and out. I am not obsessed with staying below a certain number but it makes me feel better to keep intake below 2,000 and burn above 3,500.

I am not yet banded and so far this approach has been working for me. I just hope I can keep it up until I am banded with restriction.

There seems to be a lot of discussion among bandsters about people who feel guilty about WHAT they eat and other people who are measuring out their food, people who are terrified of the holiday food temptations, etc.

thanks for nothing else than a reminder to relax.

i know for me, being new to the band, i am having a hard time giving up the diet/failure mentality. i am not trusting the band. etc.

i know i need to relax about it.

thank you... and good to hear

I respectfully disagree - I can't eat what I want and keep the weight off

Sugar & Fat are my drugs of choice.. I am at my sweet spot but these foods are sliders - My band isn't going to stop me from eating a box of See's candy.. Ya my band stops me from eating a 16 oz steak and a loaf of bread- but it doesn't do anything for the sweets, adult beverages..

So yes pple who are addicted to sweets you do have to be diligent in keeping their guard up against these foods..

I can't eat what I want to eat - I want the candy and Cookies and at night I have no control - so I don't have these foods in my house - I am a food addict - I am no diff than a crack addict - you can't leave a bag of crack on the kitchen table and not expect them to smoke it..

This isn't to say that I don't allow myself an occasional treats

but I can not eat like I would like to - if I did I would still weight 250 lbs

So for those of you who are sugar addicts - be careful during the holidays - Allow for some treats - but be mindful and aware of what you are eating..

I totally agree with indioGirl 55. I do fine as long as I'm not around the sweets but once I'm anywhere near the sweets i'm popping a cookie or piece of candy in my mouth. The band does not stop you from eating the sweets. Trying my best not to keep any sweets in the house right now thru the holidays. I messed up big time during Thanksgiving and only lost 1lb during the month of Nov and they didn't think I needed a fill when I went on Nov 30 but I wanted one so desperatley because I'm terrified of gaining thru Christmas like I have all of the other years. I'm exercising and really trying to cut back because I know I have so many holiday parties to attend that will be serving high calorie foods and sweets. No it does not do me any good to eat healthy before I go because I can't resist the temptation.

For me, the band is not a magic fix. I have thyroid disease and have to keep it monitored routinely. I can actually gain 2 pounds in one day or more depending on what I eat and how my food intake went that day. I have to be very, very careful and can't just eat whatever I want just less of it with the band. There are certain foods that trigger my metabolism in a negative way even with the band and cause me to gain weight. And in my opinion, the whole point for me was to get healthy and I can't get healthy if I am eating what I want because that would mean sweets, starches, fried foods and all things bad. Even if it is in smaller portions. To me, it is not healthy and I stay away with very rare exception. But I certainly don't eat it on a regular basis. No offense intended but I think it is irresponsible to tell people to just eat what they want and they will still lose weight. It isn't like that for everyone.

I am in total agreement with this statement! I also have thyroid disease and a very slow metabolism and must count calories, carbs and protein to keep losing regularly.

Everyone is different! I have to exercise like crazy to drop weight as some people don't have to exercise at all.

I totally agree with indioGirl 55. I do fine as long as I'm not around the sweets but once I'm anywhere near the sweets i'm popping a cookie or piece of candy in my mouth. The band does not stop you from eating the sweets. Trying my best not to keep any sweets in the house right now thru the holidays. I messed up big time during Thanksgiving and only lost 1lb during the month of Nov and they didn't think I needed a fill when I went on Nov 30 but I wanted one so desperatley because I'm terrified of gaining thru Christmas like I have all of the other years. I'm exercising and really trying to cut back because I know I have so many holiday parties to attend that will be serving high calorie foods and sweets. No it does not do me any good to eat healthy before I go because I can't resist the temptation.

Sally

What I do is make deals with myself - I work and my office gets tons of cookies candies etc - well my deal with myself is that I don't eat any of the junk here at work so that I can have a few Xmas cookies that I make w/my granddaughters every year...

I guess what got me was the title of this thread

Relax - Eat what you want - Well hell - that's how most of us got fat in the 1st place.

I know that a few pple who have the band - didn't eat all that unhealthy prior to banding - they just ate too much food - (I wasn't a fast food eater - I ate too much home cooked food - that was high fat and I ate tons of carbs and sugar) would say for the majority of us weren't eating healthy..

here's a link that may help w/the holiday temptations

10 Ways to Avoid Weekend Weight-Gain

You can do this - you really can - If I'm doing it you can - it's work but your health is so worth it - it's hard at time and easier at other - But it's do-able..

Wishing you success on your journey

After doing my homework prior to the procedure and my surgeon making it very clear to me that if I had an addiction to non-diet soft drinks or milkshakes I should not expect to lose any weight I knew going in to this I would have practice some common sense with my new "portion control tool". Even when it comes to sweets, I have problems consuming most starchy foods such as cakes and pie crusts and I can only eat a cookie or two before my band goes to work and the restriction causes me to stop eating. Everyone is going to have different experiences but my point to being able to "eat what you want" is that my portions of "real food" have been cut by 75% and although I don't eat a lot of it, my portions of junk food have also been reduced by 75%. Not too terribly amazing that the net effect of that has been weight loss.

I'm actually glad this was posted with all the pros and cons and reasons why.

I have been obsessing about what I'm eating more now than before being banded. I'm worried I'm not eating enough protein, I'm worried I'm not eating only 1/2 cup of food, I'm worried I'm eating every 2 - 3 hours instead of 4- 5 hours.

Over all I'm eating WAY better than I did prior to surgery. My downfall was quantity. I could sit and eat a serving size bowl of salad and think it was ok.... :smile2: I also like ice cream and knew going into this I wouldn't be able to eat it like I used to. I think eventually I will eat once in awhile but not every day anymore. Maybe a treat once a month of every other month. I also am going to try to not eat too many carbs. I just feel better not eating them now. I should have realized that earlier.

Over all I feel better and even though I'm not loosing the weight quickly, which I never did before anyway, I know I have a tool for life and I will work with it and see where it takes me.

I agree with everyone...please keep in mind that you did not come this far to gain all your weight back...they say we have an 12-18month window to lose as much weight possible; so for all of you who are counting your calories and trying to do it the right way it will pay off in a couple of years....for those of us who are eating whatever we like eventually it will catch up with us as well...lets all stay on track; for me it will be the first of the year. I have fallen off track, but I plan to lose 20 -35 pds by March 20th...and Yes I can do it at least I have hope and determination. smile.

What i cannot understand is why people want to act like what works for them should work for everyone??? I mean, seriously?

I HAVE to eat low carb. My blood sugar will go completely out of control and I will get into serious trouble. For those who dont have it, I am actually very happy for you. God bless you. You have a better metabolism than I do.

I tell people what works for me, and expect them to figure out what works for them. NEVER...NEVER...NEVER would I come on her and do a fake "shudder" over someone elses diet. Lord, what is wrong with people here? As if it isnt bad enough having the whole world watch us eat, now we have to catch it from people who should be more understanding.