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I don't want to be a closet bandster



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I have told several people and I don't want to be a closet bandster. I want to share the information and help others who may be considering getting a band. My problem is my co-workers. I have only told a few of them. Alot of them are now asking me what I'm doing to lose weight and I don't want to spend my whole day(s) explaining to each of them what the band is, what it does, etc. I just tell them the bandster rules - Protein first, then veggies, then carbs and small bites.

None of them are obese so it isn't anything that would help them although the education may help them tell friends and others. Any suggestions on how to approach this would be appreciated.

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you can go with it two diffrent ways... this is just me.... 1 way you can just tell them "Oh im eatting a lot less these days" 2 way You can tell them " oh I had WLS the lapband which helps control what I am eatting so I eat much less." You dont have to tell them all the rules of the band I wouldnt think.. Hmmmm maybe someone will have better ideas..

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I'm not going to tell anyone at work either. If people ask I'm just going to say "I'm eating everything, just alot less, calories in / out" end of discussion lol.

Some people just don't understand, and some folks think surgery is the easy way out...which is nuts b/c having someone butcher you body most certainly is NOT the easy way out... plus we all struggle with hunger (well I do lol). So I'll tell only those who I think will understand.

Good luck !!!!

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I admire your desire to spread the love, but I wouldn't want the added pressure of everyone knowing I'm banded and watching every thing I eat.

With that said if I were going to openly tell everyone who wanted to know, I think I'd type up and copy a description of the band, how it works, general guidelines, and why I chose it for myself.

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This is one of the constant questions around the board, and after reading the answers, it appears that it all depends on your personality, and the type of people you are around. If you don't want to tell, that is perfectly fine. I respect that decision, and I bet anyone would. For me, I told everyone, and haven't felt pressured by people watching what I eat or anything. If they are interested in what I eat, they probably were before my surgery, too! Like, what does she eat so that she weighs sooo much?? LOL! Maybe it's my advancing age (50 tomorrow), and I just don't give a hoot what other people understand or don't understand. I understand. My family and friends support me, and that's all I need to know about that. I have also been able to help a couple of other people, which is something I am happy about. Decide what's best for you, and go with it. Cindy

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I tell everybody who ask how I am losing weight. Just Thursday a lady came to my desk and said that she had heard that I had the band done. She is going to start the whole process in the new year and wanted to know if I would answer her questions about it. I was happy to do so.

Anybody I can help along the way I will. I don't really have the problem of people watching every bite I put in my mouth. I eat at my desk most of the time and am usually in my own little world.

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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