I am confused. I am going through the approval process with my insurance right now to get the procedure done. The only thing that scares me is the fact that everyone on these boards says you have to exercise and eat healthy. If that is the case, why not just diet? Does the LapBand really help or do you end up doing it all on your own anyway? I just want to make sure I am not going to go through surgery for nothing. I would love your input! Thanks so much!

I'm curious to see some of the successful banders response to this.

I am in the same stage as you are and sometimes I worry, too. Especially when I read the vsg boards on OH.

This is how I hope the band will help me... I am able to lose weight. I have done it before but of course, gained it all back and then some. I am thinking that that the band will be a tool to help me keep my portions in check. I am a HUGE portion eater so if the band does what I hope it will, I will not be able to eat like an elephant. In addition, I believe that several of my binge trigger foods will not be an option any longer for me (beer, breads, nachos, etc.)

I know that I could start eating like the banders right now and lose weight. However, I would eventually be tired of feeling like I'm starving and I'd start the binge cycle again.

So, like you, I hope that the band will be the tool to helping me KEEP the weight off and control my ability to eat 4 servings of food at one sitting.

OMG I just posted the same question. I'm confused by this too. If this is the case then why do people get banded? If I would eat healthy and exercise then I wouldn't be considering banding. I just went to a seminar this evening and was unclear. I may call the doctor's office in the morning and ask. I'll let you know what they say if I call.

I am confused. I am going through the approval process with my insurance right now to get the procedure done. The only thing that scares me is the fact that everyone on these boards says you have to exercise and eat healthy. If that is the case, why not just diet? Does the LapBand really help or do you end up doing it all on your own anyway? I just want to make sure I am not going to go through surgery for nothing. I would love your input! Thanks so much!

I am confused. I am going through the approval process with my insurance right now to get the procedure done. The only thing that scares me is the fact that everyone on these boards says you have to exercise and eat healthy. If that is the case, why not just diet? Does the LapBand really help or do you end up doing it all on your own anyway? I just want to make sure I am not going to go through surgery for nothing. I would love your input! Thanks so much!

Hello,

i used to think the same way as you are right now. Than I realized this is a "tool' , not a quick fix. Ultimately to be healthy you have to exercise and eat healthy. As my doctor said to me, the lap band is for people who can eat healthy and lose weight, but they have a hard time keeping it off. Made perfect sense to me.

I think of the lap band as a overweight persons chemo. why I say that is if you have cancer you wouldn't think twice about chemotherapy to save your life. Well as a overweight person i think of the lap band as my life saving procedure.

Good luck to you in making this decision. You will do whatever is best for you at this point. It took me 4 years to make the decision for myself.

Hello,

i used to think the same way as you are right now. Than I realized this is a "tool' , not a quick fix. Ultimately to be healthy you have to exercise and eat healthy. As my doctor said to me, the lap band is for people who can eat healthy and lose weight, but they have a hard time keeping it off. Made perfect sense to me.

I think of the lap band as a overweight persons chemo. why I say that is if you have cancer you wouldn't think twice about chemotherapy to save your life. Well as a overweight person i think of the lap band as my life saving procedure.

Good luck to you in making this decision. You will do whatever is best for you at this point. It took me 4 years to make the decision for myself.

BTW I am not being banded until the 19th so i am no expert. haha

Once you are banded you will learn that it is a very personal journey. Eating healthy and exercising is the "ideal" way to work your "tool". But, some people don't get on board immediately. Unless you are one of the lucky ones that feels restriction/cessation of hunger from the beginning, you will probably feel as you did before banding -- until you reach proper restriction. Depending on your doc, this could take months. The thing about the band is that you can work "with" it or you can work "around" it. If you work "with" it you will follow your doctors eating instructions (or whatever food plan works well for your weight loss) and watch the weight fall off. If you work "around" it, you will eat unhealthy foods even after your have proper restriction (i.e., slider foods like ice cream, buttery mashed potatoes, some cakes and Cookies ... anything that goes down easy).

The band is truly about choices. The saying "To thine own self be true" comes into play when you find yourself going back to old eating habits. You have to choose what you really want for your life. Once you have decided, you will never again feel like you are dieting. Example: Never in a million years would I believe that my CHOICE, when eating chicken, would be to eat ONLY boneless skinless chicken. But, that is exactly what I eat. When I buy chicken to cook for myself (and family too), it is ALWAYS boneless and skinless. I remember, before banding, when it was suggested that I should eat boneless, skinless chicken by a friend I told her "what's the point of eating chicken if you can't eat the fatty skin?" I laugh at that statement now ... I am soooo not interested in eating the skin. You change ... if you really want to have a different life than you are having as an obese person.

I absolutely, 100% DO NOT think of myself as dieting. I eat what I want, just in MUCH smaller portions. I bake for family and friends and yes, I may have a cookie or two. Do I binge? Not by the traditional definition, and certainly not like I did pre-banding. Why? 1) I have learned through therapy about emotional eating, and I use the tools given me to stop; and 2) The band does not allow me to eat and eat and eat ... just can't do it anymore.

As I initially said, this is a very personal journey. Some people follow a strict diet, but that is their choice and it is what works for them. I have gone from a size 26 to a size 14/16 in 18 months and still losing -- many others have lost 100+ lbs in 7 or 8 months. It's your choice, it's your journey, it's your life.

Learn everything you can about how the band works so that you can use it to your best advantage.

All the best to you on your journey!

~Fran

For me, the choice was a last resort. Last year (2009) I went to my Doctor and she suggested WW. I did pretty well, had lost 20lbs prior and 35lbs at WW. THEN, I went on vacation and fell off the wagon and kept on rolling down hill, gaining back the 35lbs. My cousin had a LB about 2yrs ago so I talked quite a bit to her (she's lost 120lbs). We grew up in a family of BIG eaters and you would have thought we were feeding an army at reunions/holidays etc.. When I returned to my Doctor (2010) after gaining back the weight I told her, well I'm checking into the LB, and she was in agreement with me. I have been successful on diets but I can NOT maintain for long periods of time. I went into this knowing the band is ONLY a tool and that it will help me with my big eater mentality . I still have to work on it, but I do not consider this a diet. I have a new tool and I'm changing everything about my life. Eating right, excersising and mentally changing my idea about why I need food.

This truly is a personal journey for each person here.

Best of Luck! I'm glad I made this choice.

OK the band is only a tool. It will help you control how much you can eat. A help you feel fuller longer. But it cannot think for you and will not help you make the right food choices. The band won’t let you eat 2 or 3 big jars of ice cream at one time but you can still eat ice cream (every though you shouldn't) Exercise is just a part of being healthy and we should all do it anyway.