Just flicking through some of the posts and it got me thinking, i tend to eat becaise im bored not because im hungry just because its there! sometimes its just for the taste not because i actually want it and if i feel crappy or whatever il bing until i feel full and crappier? That said id give up all the food in the world for coke!!! im a secret coke whore and i like litterelly get the shakes if i dont get it cokea cola and pepsi are my dirty lil secrets and i dont know how il cope without them i guess coke to me is like alchohol to an alchoholic! its like crack totally addictive. Guess im feeling a lil apprehensive as my whole world will flip up side down... overwhelmeddd :thumbup:

I'm a picker and boredom eater too. If you're going to do the band it just has to stop. I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that I will be banded in about 2 months... but I'm already following the diet the dr and nutritionist gave me, and it was hard at first. No drinking with meals. 3 small sensible meals a day (no white foods- whole grains only and paying attention to serving size. Lots of calorie free fluids (not soda though) and no snacking. I'm not perfect yet, but I am confident that by surgery I will be close! The first week was awful. This past week I've only snacked 3 times... and only 1 of those times was "bad"... the others were carrots and dill pickles.

Basically, from what I've learned, having this surgery is life changing. You must change your lifestyle and habbits for it to work.

I too am a boredom eater. I do not yet have restriction (2nd fill tomorrow) and can eat pretty much anything and as much as I want. The only way that I am still losing weight is through determination and willpower. I am getting there, but this is still a learning process for me.

I have been banded for 2.5 months and I still find myself grazing through the cupboards and fridge when I have nothing to do. I am not going to lie and tell you that the need to graze will instantly go away once you are banded. It is something that you have to work through....and it will be tough...I am still trying to get over it. Just being banded will not change this need to eat when bored. I am trying to fill my time with other things to take my mind off of that need to eat.

As for the soda.....forget about it. You will have to give it up. I find that my new vice is iced tea. I REALLY want to drink soda, but I have not had one sip since surgery. My surgeon was adamant that his patients not drink any carbonation of any kind. It is hard to get over not being able to drink soda when I go out to eat. I don't have it in the house anymore so I am not tempted at home. I do remember how good that cold fizzy feeling was on my tongue. It is something that I haven't gotten over yet. Whoo...now I want a soda!

You can do it if you just accept that you can't eat like you used to and be ready to make changes. My best advice is to attend support meetings, chat with others that have the band, and maybe seek counseling support if you are having a tough time of it. You will find that "mind" hunger is really daunting and will take some time to get over.

I really wish you good luck! I have faith that all of us can be good band patients....that is if I can now get the thought of a soda out of my brain!