to band or not to band.....

[EGsimi 0]

So, I am just waiting to get my date. I expect it any time now (even today) and I am having major second thoughts.

My wife and I talked about this last night and kind of decided on a plan to take a traditional approach, to alter our eating habits, to start walking after dinner and going to the gym in the mornings.

It has been about two years since my last major attempt at weight loss. I was derailed back then by plantar fasciitis in both feet...

I just cant help but wonder if one last shot at a traditional approach might not be the right thing...

it seems to me from my reading all the band does is make you feel full on less food

I am so confused now, if I can't do a traditional program how can I expect to do the band and not fail...

[LeighaMason 19]

Your right, one more try may be for you. I had just had "one more try" too many. I was tired of being HUNGRY! Every time I was on a diet, I was HUNGRY!, I could eat a full plate of food and still be hungry.

This is what the band does for me, I eat a small plate of food and I am no longer hungry. Don't get me wrong if I go too long without eating I can get hungry again but its not the constant "OMG I am STARVING!" kind of HUNGRY! its the "I could eat something" type of hungry that normal people have.

Plus I have had surgery on both my feet for heel spurs and it was totally weight related. Now I am actually running a 5K three times a week with no foot problems.

As far as the "to alter our eating habits, to start walking after dinner and going to the gym in the mornings." goes, you will need to do that with the band too.

Good luck with your decision.

[Whammie 0]

I feel the exact same way. I am just getting started with the Seminar on July 29th. I have such a battle going on in my head. Could I do it without the Band. But if I could do that I would have already done it. But then I will have to change my eating & exercise habits anyway. My husband will support me either way but he made the statement...."If you eat now what they are expecting you to eat with the band, you will lose the weight anyway" BTW he is very overweight too. I have failed so many times. I am at a point now that I can't even do my housework much less walk for exercise. I truly understand how you feel. I'm still praying about the decision.

[btrieger 21]

Go with your gut [sic].

If you aren't positive you are ready for surgery, then put if off. There is no hurry. The Lapband isn't going away any time soon.

You can combine traditional and the Lapband though. I lost half of my excess weight, 95 pounds in the five months leading up to surgery. I just cut back on my portions and started walking 30 - 60 minutes a day.

I went through with banding as a fail safe so I don't gain the weight back ... again.

[Mariasha 3]

There are two aspects to deal with, the intellectual aspect and the emotional.

For the first, if you do your research you will see that the only effective method for people who are morbidly obese to keep of the weight long term is to have some form of weight loss surgery. All you need to do is look at the statistics.

The emotional part of it is more complicated and different for everyone.

Although I intellectually understood that I had to have this surgery, emotionally I kept telling myself that maybe I can manage without it.

The morning of my surgery, I was packing to go to the hospital and had to get a pair of slippers out of my closet. They were somewhere in the back so I had to get down on the floor to retrieve them. While I was down there I started thinking to myself, maybe I'm making a mistake? Maybe I can do this myself.

The effort it took me to pick myself up off the floor and the discomfort such a simple action caused me was enough to send me on my merry way off to the hospital to be banded.

[kcarny 0]

I started researching weight loss surgery when I was 19. It took me almost 10 years to make my decision. I made my decision last year and wasn't approved until 2 months ago. Over that year, I questioned my decision so many times, but I also tried to lose weight on my own so many times. When you get so sick of the yo-yo dieting... losing 50lbs only to gain back 80, you'll know this is the right thing to do for yourself. I'm almost 2 weeks in, and only now stopped questioning my decision. Give yourself time to feel comfortable with it.

[BetsyB 9]

There is no hurry; if you are not ready for surgery, it will be available to you if you should decide to go that route in the future.

It took me a very long time to decide that banding was the route for me. Once I did, there was a sense of immediate peace and comfort with the decision.

If you are not feeling that sense of peace--of knowing that it is right for you--then take your time.

[Froggie D 1]

It can be a long process from the first interest in the band to the surgery. It took me 18 months to get everything in place.

Use this time to try the traditonal methods one last time. Watch what you eat, walk, go to the gym, start drinking 64 ounces of Water and reduce the refined carbs (sugar, white flour, white rice, white pasta), etc.

While you are working on that, keep working on getting the band surgery set up. After you have jumped through all the hoops that are reqired by your primary doc, your surgeon and your insurance, and are ready for surgery, see how you have done and see if going ahead feels right. If it does, go for it; if not don't do it.

Just use this time to practice and learn about yourself, your eating habits, your emotional needs related to eating, and about the band. This does not have to be an either/or right now. You can make your decision right up to the day you are scheduled for surgery.

There are many issues involved in making the decision to have the band. You need to be prepared for comittment and dedication to making the changes it requires and following the plan your surgeon and you set out. It is not "the easy way out", like people will tell you, but it can be the extra edge that gets and keeps the weight off.

Good luck in your decision making.

[honk 780]

Clearly you have to feel comfortable with your decision. One thing to ponder is that most doctors make you loose 10% of your body weight before they will do the surgery. How long would that take you? Doing a regualr diet and exercise not the Preband liquid diet?

[LinKo 0]

It's funny to see this discussion because my husband and I were just talking about this very thing on the way home today. We talked about one diet that kind of worked for me, or another one that seems to work for others. I said I could probably lose some weight again, but not keep it off. He then said that if those diets truly worked, they would put themselves out of business. Meaning that people would lose the weight, keep it off, and live happily ever after. I can't even count the number of times I've gone back to WW and regained all I lost plus more. They've gotten quite a bit of money from me over the years.

I'm in the same boat, wondering if it's the right thing to do. We love food, love to travel, love trying different things. If I knew I could eat what I want, only much smaller portions, I'd have no second thoughts. (That sounds very childish, I know).

So I'm with you, researching and praying for peace about being banded, or looking for another way to lose.

[SoccerMomma73 1,867]

I had considered bariatric surgery for years but every time I got serious about it I guilted myself out of doing it (kind of a "what the hell is wrong me with me, why can't I lose weight like everyone else on the planet does" mentality). When I finally decided I WAS GOING TO DO THIS...I felt like such a failure. Had it really gotten so far out of control I was willing to voluntarily let someone cut me open and wrap plastic around my stomach???? That lasted about 2 days and then the sense of relief kicked in. I had a couple really bad days where I beat myself up but got past it and haven't looked back. I wish I'd gone through with it sooner, maybe I'd be sitting her at goal instead of having 60 more pounds to lose. Who knows :confused: Trust your instincts but don't rush. Get your questions answered and make sure you are comfortable with your decision. Good luck!

[MollyRN 28]

I felt the same way and then I saw Dr. George Fielding speak at NYU Langone. The way he broke down the whole issue - it just made complete sense to me. If you go to his website, you can see a clip on the topic. I have my surgery in 2 weeks!

[stargate713 0]

What is your plan for keeping the weight off? Statistics show that 95% of the people who lose weight traditionally don't keep it off.

I wish I had done this 10 years ago when I was your age....but then again it's hard to know if I really would have been "ready" to do it then. You do have to be mentally ready and comitted.

Good luck with your decision, we'll all be here for you no matter which path you choose.

Edited July 13, 2010 by stargate713

[Laura Lane 0]

i definitely suggest you go for the surgery, we all want to say we will be able to do it alone, but it is really really hard. i did it for health reasons, i want to live and see my grandchildren grow. and i definitely knew i needed extra help. it has definitely been a lifechanging experience, and my lifestyle and eating habits have changed, but it has all been for the best. go for it!!!:grouphug:

[kit2477 0]

having second thoughts happenes to everyone at some point but you have to think to yourself do you really want to put in all that effort to lose weight traditionally only to have the weight come back to you and then having to go through the process all over again with the lap band some people dont really lose weight but if you have proven that you can lose weight with exercise and diet the band is perfect for you because this will be the last time you have to go through the process of losing the weight because the band is designed to keep you from gaining the weight back. Even if you stop losing weight at some point with the band at least you wont gain anything back so your hard work won't be for nothing. Well at least thats what i thought. i'm only 20 years old and i have been through the whole process of loseing over 60lbs in 4 months only to gain back 60 and keep gaing more:cursing:. I had enough of that so i decided to get it done over a year ago but i had to wait until the past two months because my father was unsure. I was banded on July 7 2010 and i am very happy with my decison. But to each there own if your having some serious doubts you might wanna take in some more info, go to a seminar and talk to the doctors usually it helps to ease some of your worries. Good luck with your decision and don't rush if your not sure it might just make you a little too nervous :grouphug:

Edited July 13, 2010 by kit2477