Ok now I am freaking myself out--maybe it is because I finally get to officially say bye-bye to Jenny Craig--three years and no real weight loss, just lose/gain/gain more/lose a bit....Now they want to know what I am doing to have lost 25 and kept it off--told them South Beach, they still keep pestering me to come in...

Anyway, what if I get banded and I still do not lose weight? What if I eat these tiny portions and nothing happens, or worse, what if I get it done and still gain weight? I mean could this happen if I follow it to the letter? I have been following South Beach--dr. recomended--and except for a holiday deviation (damn me for succumbing to the cookies) I have been on a nice downward move, so I know I can follow what I am told. I am just worried, I guess....

I also worried that it would not work for me. After years of trying every diet and it seemed like I had to pry every lb off with a crow bar only to gain it back in a day, it was hard to believe something would actually work. It will work - believe me. I think I'm still amazed it works as well as it does but week after week the lbs keep coming off AND I don't feel like I am prying them off with a crow bar! Good luck!

I think your fears are normal. If we hadn't dieted and failed numerous times, we'd not have turned to surgery.

Your success on South Beach tells me that the band can help you! It will give you control of the physical hunger allowing you to battle head hunger.

For me it has been the tool I needed to gain success at portion control. For the first time, I am able to put a small portion on my plate and not want to go back for seconds.

Today, I went out for lunch with my hubby. Before I ordered my meal I had a plan to get a box and take half of it for my lunch at work tomorrow. This is something the band has given me. I knew things like that could happen before I was banded. But I could never follow through with it, because I always wanted more food!

As to the Cookies? Well, the band will NOT take away the desire for them. Nope, and they go down easily. That is something you will have to deal with if you get a band.

Some people choose gastric bypass for the dumping sydrome that foods like cookies can cause. So they get a negative impact when eating foods like that. For me, I LOVE junk food. But don't keep it around, so I am doing ok with it. I have it as a treat from time to time, but don't have it in my life all the time.

Best wishes in your journey!

I have the SAME feelings of feared failure...

But I think everyone has this.. just like posted by Cocoabean... we wouldn't be here if we hadn't tried everything else.

This is a lifelong change.. a lifelong tool.. a lifelong thing to be managed...

I feel like I will be the only one who gains.. but that is my irrational side...

This is condition the mind the body will follow.. you don't want to predispose yourself... you have made the committment intellectually, now you can make it emotionally....

It will work.. but the feelings are normal....

Hang in there...

omg just relax i had my band done 5 months ago have lost 31 kg it is the best thing i have ever done i would recommend it to anyone it is the best thing since sliced bread go for it u wont regret it at all good luck

I also worried that it would not work for me. After years of trying every diet and it seemed like I had to pry every lb off with a crow bar only to gain it back in a day, it was hard to believe something would actually work. It will work - believe me. I think I'm still amazed it works as well as it does but week after week the lbs keep coming off AND I don't feel like I am prying them off with a crow bar! Good luck!

Thank you so much for that.. I know you were responding to someone else but boy have I been worried about the same.

I have the same fears - and then some....

What if it doesn't work?

What if I waste this opportunity?

What if this doesn't help the things I am hoping it will help?

What if my friends and family don't recognize me?

What if I don't recognize myself?

What if I lose friends - lunch buddies, Breakfast buddies?

What if people judge me as taking the easy way out?

And we haven't even gotten to fears of the physical (surgery, complications, etc).

I am there with you (and then psychotically beyond you!). I think these fears are normal and, dare I say, healthy?!

Good luck to you.

I think we all have the fear that it won't work for us. Like pdmarkle and cocoabean pointed out, if we hadn't previously tried and failed at many diets, we probably would never have considered anything as drastic as surgery.

I won't lie and say that it is guaranteed to work for everyone. There are a number of people here who have not been happy with their results, but the VAST majority of people have been successful and have never regretted making this decision. The same cannot be said for any other weightloss method - diet and exercise alone is notoriously unsuccessful in the long run, as we all well know... In my humble opinion, there is no better option out there for safe, steady LONG TERM weight loss.

That being said, you do need to understand that it isn't magic and the tool DOES require hard work from you, in order to get the best results. You've said you can follow a plan - excellent! This tool will give you the edge you need to STICK to your plans long term and achieve the results you want.

My best advice to you is to read, research and ask questions over and over until you really feel you understand how the band works and how to make it work for you. Most people in here are happy to answer questions, but you will also find that most questions have already been asked and answered over and over, so invest a little time in learning how to search threads for topics of interest before re-posting the same questions again.

Good luck with everything! Feel free to PM me if you want to ask about anything...

The band will work but you have to be proactive and make sure you get to restriction. In other words, *you* set the schedule for your fills...not your doctor. You are the only one who knows if you are hungry and able to eat to excess and that is what determines whether or not you get a fill.

After reading this forum for months, it's apparent that some doctors use the band as a carrot/stick motivator rather than what it was intended for. They put in a tiny little fill and then threaten not to give you another one if you don't lose weight. That's a misuse of the band.

Some doctors only give tiny little .25 or .5 cc fills and space them out 6 weeks apart. Since most people don't get restriction until they have 6+ cc's in their band, it means several months of being in the same position as they were pre-band...and there's no need for it. The point I'm trying to make is that your doctor should be treating you as an individual...not just following some arbitrary schedule of fills.

I shopped around for a bariatric surgeon. I chose the one I did because he has a band and knows first hand how and why they work. He allows his patients to set the fill schedule starting from 4 weeks postop but advises that fills should be no closer than 2 weeks apart to give time for any swelling to resolve itself. As a result, I'm probably going to hit my sweet spot by the time I'm 3 months postop.

Some people do lose weight for no other reason than they had the surgery...but that is not true for the vast majority. We got this band because we needed something to stop us from eating to excess...and until that band is doing its job by restricting the amount I eat, I'm not losing weight.

Now some people have a problem with making the wrong food choices (too much junk and not enough nutritional food). That's your job...and as someone already mentioned, Cookies go through no matter how restricted you are, so it's still up to you to make good choices.

It's a partnership and both partners have to do their job for there to be success.

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Thank you all so much for your replies. It is reassuring to know others have been concerned about the same thing, but that the lapband will work. I am aware of the "cookies" and ate them very consciously knowing that I would not be doing that in the future. On New year's day they were thrown out--something I have never done with food before, so I am making changes. Since I have been following South Beach Christmas to New Year's day is the only time I spent off of it, and the whole house has been transformed. Very little junk food is in the house--I have teenagers so that is why there is some. DH is now at goal weight from following the plan, DD is down 20 pounds--she isn't as restricted and I give her more dairy and fruit since she is 14. DS is 18 and does his own thing. I have no intention of dealing with Cookies after being banded until I reach goal--though I amy jsut forego them completely since I know compulsive eating is what has gotten me where I am today. At the Dr. Office when I asked about the band, he made me talk to two people who work in his office, one who was successful and one who was not though both had the regular bypass surgery, talking with them both was very helpful in my decision.

I really appreciate you all!

. At the Dr. Office when I asked about the band, he made me talk to two people who work in his office, one who was successful and one who was not though both had the regular bypass surgery, talking with them both was very helpful in my decision.

Maybe you could share the reason the one was successful and the other wasn't. I think that would help a lot of bandsters.

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Maybe you could share the reason the one was successful and the other wasn't. I think that would help a lot of bandsters.

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The one that was successful basically had her head in the game. She followed the diet given to her from her surgeon, exercised and was willing to invest in the process of losing weight and giving up the things that she knew got her to her high weight in the first place. She was fine with giving up carbonated beverages and with giving up foods she thought she couldn't live without. Once the weight was off, she still stays clear of carbonated beverages becasue she doen't want to stretch her stomach, knows that no food is bad for you in and of itself, but that all things that led to her high weight need to be used in moderation now that she is at goal--a few bites of chocolate cake not the whole piece or whole cake. Her surgery is her tool to keep healthy.

The one that was not successful believed it would be the magic thing that made her thin. She refused to give up her favorite things and drinks a lot of carbonated beverages. She is not willing to work extra activity into her busy schedule and will eat that whole piece of cake. She stretched her stomach back out and is not restricted to help her feel full anymore. As a result she has put on weight after her initial weight loss.

The reason the doctor had me talk to both of them is because he wanted me to know that it doesn't always work if you are not invested in your own outcome.

This is SUCH an interesting and informative thread! Thank you all for sharing! I've been worried about many of the same things as I look into the lapband. The emotional side of things is what I'm most worried about, and failing yet again.

Hi! Being banded is NOT a magical thing that will just work on it's own (as you know) it's a tool. You still have the head games or head hunger , cravings, you still have to make good choices. It's VERY VERY hard. The band helps though. Good luck!

I was banded on 10-19-09 by Dr Trace Curry in Evendale Ohio, and he is really good about the fill process(he is banded also) This is hard work, but in the end I know I did it and you are right, this is only the tool, the work is up to us.

I'm glad to hear someone else admit this is very hard and the way we go about it is going to show the results (good or bad). Thanks for your out spoken honesty.