This has probably been posted about before but I just thought I would ask: When did it stop being a diet but a way of life? I have not had my first fill yet and feel like this is just another diet for me.

Will it change after my fills? I have a 4cc band with 1.5 in it already I can eat pretty much what I want but with moderation cuz I get full fast but know I need to make better food choices!

Uuuugggg I thought it would be easier then this!

It's is not a diet it's a change of life style from day 1.

It gets easier with restriction but you can't eat sugar and pasta and carbs all the time.At the end,you want to lose weight and until you do that it is only natural you deprive your self from fatty foods.

In my mind it is not a diet although i dont eat sugar and pasta/rice at all.It was a diet until my first fill.Then it became easy and i bet it will get easier and easier.Now is a mental thing,every time i crave for something i remember my surgery day and what i put my shelf in to in order to have a healthier life.

It is too soon for you to be anxious about it.Make smart food choises and the band will work for/whith you.Be patient :smile:

I did feel like I was dieting until I got my 2nd fill. The band managed quantity okay, but I really could eat anything I wanted until then. Hang in there.... it happens.

For me, it felt very diet-like when I was working toward restriction. I reminded myself it was the last time I'd be hungry in the name of weight loss, and stuck with my doctor's plan--which is quite restrictive. That gave me a leg up, in terms of loss; by the time I reached restriction, I'd lost a good deal.

Now that I have good restriction, it doesn't feel like a diet at all. When stomach real estate is limited, then the restricted intake feels just right.

There are very few times when I feel restricted, or limited, or as though I "can't" have something. The "can't" feeling now is much more of "don't want"---I don't want to eat things that don't give my body what it needs. I don't want to eat something that will push me past "enough" and into uncomfortable "too much" territory. I don't want to eat something inappropriate if it will take up space that could be better used for foods that would provide my body with good nourishment.

It all falls into place when you have restriction. The head games really quiet down when hunger is removed from the equation.

It felt like a diet until I hit my "sweet spot" --- hence the term prior to that they call it bandster hell! Once you get the restriction you need it makes it easier - as you don't get hungry all the time and feel like you are depriving yourself....and really I find I don't miss the Pasta and bread at all....I mean they can bring in Krispy Kreme's at work and they have absolutely NO pull at all...I would've never believed it before now! LOL

Hang in there....it will become second nature to you...just make good food choices and get LOTS of protein!

Kim

For me it stopped being a diet last week after my first fill. My first fill brought me to 4cc's total and now I can get full on a cup of food and I stay full until my next meal. Just hang there. It's so worth it! I'm amazed at how well my band is working for me:)

10 months postop and it still feels like a diet...and I'm struggling just as much (2 steps forward, 1 step back)...but I don't have restriction yet. That darned sweet spot just seems to be eluding me.

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I have the Standard AP band and received a slight fill during surgery. Since surgery, I have not been able to eat the quanity of food or eat just anything I want. I do pick and choose what to eat, and I've lost weight and a few inches slowly. Some food just doesn't go down well. So far, I have avoided white chicken, other than canned chicken, pasta, and breads. I will get my first fill on Oct. 4. I do not feel like I'm on a diet. I just can't much smaller portions.

It never was a diet for me. Diets suck and they have end dates.

It is a lifestyle change. Make the changes slowly and plan on living with them for the rest of your life. If you take too big of a leap you will resent it and fight it.

Try to keep a positive attitude and not think, "I am going to hate this" or "this sucks!" So many set themselves up for failure by having these negative attitudes.

Although I tried NOT to approach it as a diet, but instead as a lifestyle change, it didn't really work out that way for me at first. To me diet=hunger and disatisfaction. After I started to get restriction (i.e. more satisfaction and less hunger), it stopped feeling so much like a diet.

However, I'm trying to lose another 80 pounds or so...so I AM on a diet (of sorts). I'm currently aiming for at least a 500-1500 calorie deficit per day. When I get to my goal weight, I will no longer be aiming for a deficit, just no surplus. So, in my opinion, until I'm no longer looking to lose weight, I AM on a diet. But it doesn't feel like the diets that I have done all my life. AND once I get to my goal, I won't go back to my OLD habits and will incorporate much of the healthy lifestyle I have learned along the way. I guess that is what the difference is for me.

Good restriction makes it so much easier! Once you hit that point, you won't feel like you're on a diet.

For me it stopped being a diet once it became a habit. My pre-op habit was to order greasy cheese burgers with a double order of fries and a Dr. Pepper. After I started my diet I cut out the grease/bread/bad-for-you foods. Soon it became a habit to order a small cut of meat with veggies and Water every time.

I am a very habitual person. I go to the same places and do this same thing almost everyday. Once I altered my habits, it became pretty easy. At the moment I don't worry about my daily calorie count. I worry more about whether or not what I am consuming is healthy and not to over-eat.

I don't feel like I'm dieting at all. I just feels like I changed my eating habits to healthier over time. Practice makes perfect..

For me it stopped being a diet once bandster hell was over. For me, that was after fill number 2. I do "diet" in that I pass on cookies and other desserts and try and do the right thing, but I don't really feel like my willpower is heavily at play too often. Mostly I'm not starving and it all kind of falls into place.

For me the band was a diet, but a diet with an end. Once I got to my goal size, I stopped dieting and have stayed in a 3 pound range for a month. I just weigh every morning, if I am closer to 132 I eat more calories, if I am closer to 135 I eat less calories.

That's how I hope to be Leigha!