First time post here. I'm in the early stages of getting authorized for surgery. Actually attended my first support meeting last night as a prerequisite for surgery. 95% of attendees were Bypass clients, only 3 banded folks. My question is I've been told by my surgeon the banding works better for women than men. Have you found that to be true? Would appreciate hearing from any guys that have been banded to see if it has worked for you. I am hoping to lose 75 pounds.

thanks for the info

Pocono59

I know we love to talk about man food, bar food, drinks and all the fun that comes with making food highly social.

I am looking for ways that you have successfully reduced/removed soda and fried food intake. Or how you work to reduce your manly size meals to bandster size.

My soda and fried food intake is increasing and so are portion sizes. I am back to about 1/2 of what I just to throw down and I am three months away from an adjustment.

Still not weight gain or loss in the last month.

I know we love to talk about man food, bar food, drinks and all the fun that comes with making food highly social.

I am looking for ways that you have successfully reduced/removed soda and fried food intake. Or how you work to reduce your manly size meals to bandster size.

My soda and fried food intake is increasing and so are portion sizes. I am back to about 1/2 of what I just to throw down and I am three months away from an adjustment.

Still not weight gain or loss in the last month.

I eat out 6 to 7 days a week. That means a lot of fried food. It also means man size portions.

I don't think the fried food has hindered my weight loss at all. It is keeping my cholesterol a little on the high side though.

As for portions, I sometimes either move what I plan on eating to the bread plate or ask for a to-go box early and put what I am not going to eat in that before I start eating.

I haven't had soda in about a year and I don't miss it. I was a Diet Dr. Pepper addict and surprise myself that I don't even crave the crap.

I drink socially and tend to oversocialize quite often. On those weekends that I do go on a bender, I usually lose weight because I forget or am not in the mood to eat.

It absolutely “can” work. For me, it worked beautifully. I am 6’ tall and went from 282lbs down to as low as 170lbs. I am back up to 185-190, but that has been a welcome weight gain as I have been working out and gaining lean muscle mass. My BMI went from over 38 to under 25, more importantly my Body Fat percentage is hovering between 13-15% (which is considered excellent). Was it easy? No, nothing that works is. You have to learn how to work the tool, you have to set goals, and you have to do some work.

Before this, I wasn’t always to most dedicated dieter or workout person. With the band though, I saw that my work was paying off (while losing weight I was dropping 2-4 lbs per week). Now I am careful about what I eat (but not super anal about it) and am very motivated to maintain and improve my physical fitness. I do some sort of workout 5 days a week (usually a couple of days in the gym, and a few days on the bike).