I just felt the urge to post something positive about the band. I always read these boards and have read about so many fears, doubts, frustrations, and regrets lately. I am certainly not an expert...I have only been banded for four months. I can tell you that I have experienced everything from the super highs to the super lows during the last 4 months. I had this "placebo effect" going on for about the first 6 weeks of being banded. Didn't struggle with hunger, was so amped and motivated that I never felt hungry or sad.:tt2: Then my hunger returned with a vengence and I began to experiment with what I could get away with eating. Ummm...let me tell you...I could eat anything, pizza, bread, you name it...probably even dry chicken, but who wants that anyway?:wink2: I was mad that I was in bandster hell.:blushing: I tried to stay so positive and yet I found myself there anyway. I was beginning to SERIOUSLY wonder if I was going to be a LAP-BAND® FAILURE and I was beginning to have feelings that I was an idiot for being sucked into yet another diet trap that doesn't work...then I got my fourth fill last Monday....TA DA:w00t:! I finally feel that I know what this band is about and how I'm supposed to feel. I hesitated to jump back into euphoric feelings about the band but then I realized that even if this feeling of restriction goes away, I can get it again by being diligent about my fills. This band only works if the driver knows what (s)he's doing! I'm not saying there will be no more lows or challenges or pieces of pumpkin pie calling my name:drool:. But I gave myself a gift by deciding to have this surgery and it's the gift that keeps on giving if I continue to work with it as we all have to do. It's not perfect or easy, but I finally see now that it WILL work. When I got hungry yesterday, I fixed something to eat (band approved) and was only able to eat about 1/4-1/2 cup at each sitting before I could physically not eat another bite. I will be honest and say that I felt a little bummed about not being able to eat more because the old me is still in there and I want to eat more than that. :sneaky: That's where the mindset has to change. That's the part I'm working very hard on. But I finally see firsthand how the band will limit my portions until my head catches up. I just wanted to share my realizations and hopefully let everyone else see that there is hope and that the proper fill level is CRITICAL to success. :w00t: This has been my journey so far...maybe yours is very different...or maybe you can see some similarities. That's what we're all here to do...share our experiences and support each other.

You know I felt what you felt last night, my family and myself went a local pizza place I was in comfort food mode lots of stress going on right now and I had one slice of pizza and we ordered cheese fries well I didn't get to eat the whole slice and had a few fries and I was so disappointed b/c I wanted to eat all of it and maybe another slice, well I ended up in the bathroom vomiting at the pizza place I guess I ate too fast but I was so upset b/c I really wanted to eat everything!!!!!! For a second I missed the preband eating but feeling much better today and so grateful I wasn't able to eat more!!!! Love the band!

people ask what's the hardest thing about the band (i tell anyone who will listen about my band journey!) I tell them all the hardest thing is the mental. I say imagine eating soomething so yummy....your favorite food....and only eating 1/2 cup of it and then being done. no matter what your belly says your brain wants mpre and more. the mental aspect is such a weird struggle....one I didn't know even existed until I got banded....mainly because I ALWAYS gave into the little voice telling me to eat and not to stop! hence the reason why I got banded. haha

Great post!

I'm with everyone on the mental/head thing, but even that got better over time with me. At first I missed things like pizza, but now I don't really miss that stuff.

I was self-pay and I too think the band was the best gift I've given myself.

It is a bit discouraging to read all the posts about people having trouble with the band, but this is the place I will come when and if I have any trouble. It is so great to have a place where so many people have the band too!

I agree that the proper fill level is so very important. I was so lucky to reach my sweet spot early on with my 2nd fill. I am also very lucky that this has been the easiest weightloss of my life. At this point my biggest fear is having some sort of complication that causes me to have the band removed.

Banded life for me is VERY GOOD. I am so happy with the thinner me.

Congrats on your journey! You are doing great! I agree with the comments on the mental part...it IS hard to adjust your thinking....and I am still not there yet. As for pumpkin pie calling your name --- well I have found when something like that calls my name it is only one or two bites and I am satisfied...so I like that nothing is completely off limits forever.

My best part is that I am now venturing over to the regular misses sizes...that is a scary place, interestingly enough, as I haven't been there for many moons and I feel like an intruder! I don't like to try on clothes - takes too much time and I am usually in a rush with a toddler in tow - but when I get home and find that a regular XL top fits perfect or is slightly large? That is priceless :blushing: as before I was in a 3X.

Keep up the good work!

Kim

I'm pre op but after reading all the negatives - I was seriously wondering if I was doing the right things. Thanks for posting this and reminding me that I was! See you on this side of the wall after next Monday!

Awesome Post!!! I think that we can all say that we have been there and felt the same way at some point in this journey!! I have only been banded for 3 1/2 months now and I know that my body is sometimes on a different page than my mind. Obviously my mind never received the memo that I was "done". LOL It is a learning process and I think that with time, determination, and will power it is a big success!!!

I have only been banded for a month and a half and so far it's going great for me. I am worried though about the coming up holidays but the band was so worth it for me. I'm now below 200 for the first time in about 6 years.

Finally!! Someone who is seeing this thing in the same light as me! I have been stopping in here less and less because it's too much doom and gloom. I find it frustrating that the same threads get started over and over and over and they seem to all be focused on the bad stuff. Let me tell you, even when I'm saddened by the loss of my old comfort-namely food!-i appreciate that the band is giving me my life back-one pound at a time. I have followed the same journey as you all have. The ups and downs, the "testing the band" and now finally-the sweet spot.

I guess you can take this journey a lot of different ways but if you keep focusing on the negatives, it's going to be negativity all around you.

Keep up the good work-all of you! Let's promise each other that we aren't going to join in on the negativity because we have been blessed with a great opportunity-NOT punished-and we need to celebrate the journey...:blushing:

You know I felt what you felt last night, my family and myself went a local pizza place I was in comfort food mode lots of stress going on right now and I had one slice of pizza and we ordered cheese fries well I didn't get to eat the whole slice and had a few fries and I was so disappointed b/c I wanted to eat all of it and maybe another slice, well I ended up in the bathroom vomiting at the pizza place I guess I ate too fast but I was so upset b/c I really wanted to eat everything!!!!!! For a second I missed the preband eating but feeling much better today and so grateful I wasn't able to eat more!!!! Love the band!

The same thing happened to me tonight. I went to a pizza place with my kids. I ordered a small dinner salad and could only eat about 5 bites of it. I sat and waited a while and then was able to eat about 3 bites of pizza. I wanted to eat more, but the band just wouldn't let me. Later I knew I needed to get more Protein in so I tried some light provolone cheese and a piece of low fat salami. That worked well and it really actually filled me up! That will be my "go to" snack for a while!

Finally!! Someone who is seeing this thing in the same light as me! I have been stopping in here less and less because it's too much doom and gloom. I find it frustrating that the same threads get started over and over and over and they seem to all be focused on the bad stuff. Let me tell you, even when I'm saddened by the loss of my old comfort-namely food!-i appreciate that the band is giving me my life back-one pound at a time. I have followed the same journey as you all have. The ups and downs, the "testing the band" and now finally-the sweet spot.

I guess you can take this journey a lot of different ways but if you keep focusing on the negatives, it's going to be negativity all around you.

Keep up the good work-all of you! Let's promise each other that we aren't going to join in on the negativity because we have been blessed with a great opportunity-NOT punished-and we need to Celebrate the journey...

Great post! I was beginning to feel the same way...more negative than positive on these boards. It was a little sad because when I first started coming on here I found very little negativity! Don't know what's changed. Don't get me wrong, however, l do enjoy the occasional cat fights that get started...hahaha! Anyway...glad we are the same :thumbup: I am your age as well! I will try and PM you...maybe we can be each other's positive buddies!

Great post!

I'm with everyone on the mental/head thing, but even that got better over time with me. At first I missed things like pizza, but now I don't really miss that stuff.

I was self-pay and I too think the band was the best gift I've given myself.

It is a bit discouraging to read all the posts about people having trouble with the band, but this is the place I will come when and if I have any trouble. It is so great to have a place where so many people have the band too!

I agree that the proper fill level is so very important. I was so lucky to reach my sweet spot early on with my 2nd fill. I am also very lucky that this has been the easiest weightloss of my life. At this point my biggest fear is having some sort of complication that causes me to have the band removed.

Banded life for me is VERY GOOD. I am so happy with the thinner me.

I'm so glad to hear that you don't miss food as much anymore. That is the biggest struggle with me. When I went to my 1st seminar, one of the banded counselors at my surgeon's practice talked about how she never even thinks about food anymore and it used to rule her life. That was the hook for me...sign me up...count me IN! I wanted it to be like a switch...but it's not. It takes time and I think I'm finally OK with that You've done great hummingbird and I always enjoy your posts.

I'm pre op but after reading all the negatives - I was seriously wondering if I was doing the right things. Thanks for posting this and reminding me that I was! See you on this side of the wall after next Monday!

Best of luck to you! The pre-op and newly banded are one of the reasons why I wanted to post something POSITIVE! When I was pre-op it seems like there was a ton of positive stuff to read and I felt it was shifting a bit for some reason. It's not a cakewalk, but it's going to be great if you stay positive and open to all the changes you must make in order for this to work. You will do great! The surgery itself is the easiest part, ha! I did great with my surgery and I was soooo scared. Good luck on MOnday!

I have only been banded for a month and a half and so far it's going great for me. I am worried though about the coming up holidays but the band was so worth it for me. I'm now below 200 for the first time in about 6 years.

Wow, you've done great! I'm finally below 200 as well...199.5 this morning, ha! I hit it a few weeks ago and have floated back up a bit. I was back up to 204 on Monday for my 4th fill 3 days later and I'm back down again. Story of my life so far. Hope to start taking some real weight off again moving forward!

I have been banded almost 2 years and I still struggle with head hunger. I went from 235 pd to 144pd and have been maintaining for the last year. I do not ever say I cannot have a piece of pie, that is trouble brewing in my mind to be told that I can never have what I love again. I have had no fills and have perfect restriction ( odd bird, I know). I am off all meds and feel like a teenager again. Love these websites to see how everyone else is doing. It is worth every dollar I paid out of pocket to be in my size 8-10's. Good luck everybody!

I have been banded almost 2 years and I still struggle with head hunger. I went from 235 pd to 144pd and have been maintaining for the last year. I do not ever say I cannot have a piece of pie, that is trouble brewing in my mind to be told that I can never have what I love again. I have had no fills and have perfect restriction ( odd bird, I know). I am off all meds and feel like a teenager again. Love these websites to see how everyone else is doing. It is worth every dollar I paid out of pocket to be in my size 8-10's. Good luck everybody!

All I can say is WOW!!!! Congratulations! No fills? Amazing. I will be honest and admit that I "Christian hate" you HA! Heard that one a while ago and have been dying to use it :thumbup: Seriously, though you are a poster child for the band. I agree with you on the food thing. Strict dieting does not work for me and never has. It's a lifestyle change and I will never say never to any food!