As the holidays approached I realized I didn't want to be overweight for the rest of my life. I am only 25 but it was time to do something. On 12/13 I began the process at a weight around 340lbs. Today I am 293.5 and my surgery date is scheduled for 2/2. Everyday I think about whether or not I actually need this. My mind never has been in the state it is now and the motivation I am feeling is beyond describable. I don't struggle with dieting and have incorporated it so well into my life that I don't even feel like I am missing anything. My insurance doesn't cover the surgery and its around 17k. I can afford it but it has become the principle. I feel so proud of the fact that I am almost 50lbs lighter and I've done it the old fashioned way (~1200 calories a day, minimal fat/organic/healthy). While I don't really care how it happens, I just want to get healthy. The only reason why I think I am going to go through with surgery is I have a past history of losing weight only to gain it back. There is something about me mentally that once I trim down I start to feel confident and my eating habits revert back to unhealthy ways. I think this surgery will be a daily reminder for the rest of my life. I think I need that, but I am not sure. What do you think? I know most people will say to get the surgery but I thought I'd ask anyway...

Regardless I am pretty pumped.

I was successful on diets in the past too...losing all the weight only to regain it. At some point the 'hunger' just got to be too much. My surgeon felt I was a good candidate for the band because my reason for overeating was 'hunger' and I had a past history of successfully staying on a diet and losing weight. After being banded for over a year, I understand.

The band works by putting pressure on the vagus nerves which tell the stomach to quit producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. So when my band is at the right tightness, I can eat my 1200 calorie, low carb (30-60gm) *diet* and be satisfied for about 4 hours after each meal. I don't have that constant ravenous hunger that, in the past, drove me to eat. Oh sure, I still pass by a McDonald's or a restaurant, inhale and think "yum that smells good", but because I don't have hunger driving me, I'm better able to pass by...but it still comes down to my self-control.

We can have all the knowledge in the world about good nutrition, exercise, yada yada...but when you're dealing with atypical hunger due to a defective system that produces ghrelin even when you've just finished a meal...all that knowledge doesn't mean squat when it comes up against a driving hunger that never stops.

To the OP...many of us are successful dieters. Our problem is that we never keep it off long term. Now, depending on *why* that is, the band may or may not help. If it's due to hunger, it most likely will help although there are a few who say it didn't stop their hunger. They seem to be a very rare minority. If it's because you like to eat sweets...or just like to eat...the band won't stop you from doing that. *You* will still have to *choose* to eat the right foods and *choose* to put your fork down. If it's because you're an emotional eater, the band won't stop you from doing that.

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