I've read this dozens of times here and other places: "It's not magic, it's a tool." But I haven't seen anyone yet really spell that out. I mean what does this tool do for you? I know how it's supposed to work - I've read all the packet they gave at the seminar and watched the movie. But I guess what I'm looking for is specifics about what people feel this tool does for them - e.g. Does it make you feel full faster so you stop eating sooner than you normally would? Does it hurt when you eat "bad" things? Does it keep you feeling full longer so you won't snack between meals? How do you use your tool?

Hi everyone!

Heres my 2 cents. Maybe a little backyard or redneck,lol.

If I fill my oil resevoir with out the oil plug,,my oil leaks out fast and I need to put more in. IF I put an oil plug on loosely, my oil runs out,,but not as fast so I still end up putting more oil in more often than I want to. SO, I put the oil plug on tight,,,the oil stays in for a much longer amount of time and I only need to fill it when it absolutely needs to be filled. BUT If I put tranny Fluid in instead of good ole oil,,,my bike wont run at all and It wont matter how tight the oil plug is.

My Band, will help me eat smaller portions as opposed to big ones, it will help me stay full for a longer period of time as opposed to being hungry every hour..

I have to make the right choices though, Protein versus, cake, chips, Cookies, buttered taters, french fries and hot dogs, pizza and pie.

SO, I combine my Band with my mind and make sure im full when im done!

Hope this helps!

That is the best dang analogy ever!!!

Hi everyone!

Heres my 2 cents. Maybe a little backyard or redneck,lol.

If I fill my oil resevoir with out the oil plug,,my oil leaks out fast and I need to put more in. IF I put an oil plug on loosely, my oil runs out,,but not as fast so I still end up putting more oil in more often than I want to. SO, I put the oil plug on tight,,,the oil stays in for a much longer amount of time and I only need to fill it when it absolutely needs to be filled. BUT If I put tranny Fluid in instead of good ole oil,,,my bike wont run at all and It wont matter how tight the oil plug is.

My Band, will help me eat smaller portions as opposed to big ones, it will help me stay full for a longer period of time as opposed to being hungry every hour..

I have to make the right choices though, Protein versus, cake, chips, Cookies, buttered taters, french fries and hot dogs, pizza and pie.

SO, I combine my Band with my mind and make sure im full when im done!

Hope this helps!

Hi everyone!

Heres my 2 cents. Maybe a little backyard or redneck,lol.

If I fill my oil resevoir with out the oil plug,,my oil leaks out fast and I need to put more in. IF I put an oil plug on loosely, my oil runs out,,but not as fast so I still end up putting more oil in more often than I want to. SO, I put the oil plug on tight,,,the oil stays in for a much longer amount of time and I only need to fill it when it absolutely needs to be filled. BUT If I put tranny Fluid in instead of good ole oil,,,my bike wont run at all and It wont matter how tight the oil plug is.

My Band, will help me eat smaller portions as opposed to big ones, it will help me stay full for a longer period of time as opposed to being hungry every hour..

I have to make the right choices though, Protein versus, cake, chips, Cookies, buttered taters, french fries and hot dogs, pizza and pie.

SO, I combine my Band with my mind and make sure im full when im done!

Hope this helps!

OK, now that's a metaphor this southern redneck girl can understand!

"It's a tool" is an overused term, IMO, and one I could do without seeing in replies. That being said - this is the band's job and it is your SURGEON'S job to see to it that it works this way:

At the proper fill level the band will allow you to be satisfied with small amounts of healthy foods and keep hunger at bay for a certain length of time. You do NOT need to be overfilled, too tight, suffer with vomiting, reflux, or heartburn to lose weight.

YOUR job is to make healthy food choices, not drink with meals, and exercise and choose appropriate Snacks. In addition, some require a certain amount of Protein a day or restrict carbs. That will be something you have to decide for yourself as to how your weight loss is progressing.

Some are able to be successful without counting calories or measuring and weighing - others write down and measure every molecule. Some do the whole low carb thing - others don't. You will find the way that works best for you.

Awesomely put Cleo's Mom!!! And I too am so sick of TOOL!!!! We all know it's a tool and will do better if we make better choices, but jeez even my doctor and dietician used that word to death. The more I hear "It's a tool" the more I seem to interpret that as "the band doesn't work if I'm not on a diet" and I think we all paid a ton of money and expect the band to pay off even if we aren't good dieters!

"It's a tool" is an overused term, IMO, and one I could do without seeing in replies. That being said - this is the band's job and it is your SURGEON'S job to see to it that it works this way:

At the proper fill level the band will allow you to be satisfied with small amounts of healthy foods and keep hunger at bay for a certain length of time. You do NOT need to be overfilled, too tight, suffer with vomiting, reflux, or heartburn to lose weight.

YOUR job is to make healthy food choices, not drink with meals, and exercise and choose appropriate Snacks. In addition, some require a certain amount of Protein a day or restrict carbs. That will be something you have to decide for yourself as to how your weight loss is progressing.

Some are able to be successful without counting calories or measuring and weighing - others write down and measure every molecule. Some do the whole low carb thing - others don't. You will find the way that works best for you.

I guess your close in your theory,,,

Now they are saying the sleeve does what the band was suppose to do.

Somehow,, I can believe that,,,

In a nutshell.....

All the other program "tools" helped me to lose the weight.

The lap band is a "tool" that will help me keep it off.

It's a tool...the work is all from the shoulders up. I have to use my brain to help me work the tool.

The lap band is NOT magic. I have to work WITH it.

Good luck on your journey....

"It's a tool" is an overused term, IMO, and one I could do without seeing in replies. That being said - this is the band's job and it is your SURGEON'S job to see to it that it works this way:

At the proper fill level the band will allow you to be satisfied with small amounts of healthy foods and keep hunger at bay for a certain length of time. You do NOT need to be overfilled, too tight, suffer with vomiting, reflux, or heartburn to lose weight.

YOUR job is to make healthy food choices, not drink with meals, and exercise and choose appropriate Snacks. In addition, some require a certain amount of Protein a day or restrict carbs. That will be something you have to decide for yourself as to how your weight loss is progressing.

Some are able to be successful without counting calories or measuring and weighing - others write down and measure every molecule. Some do the whole low carb thing - others don't. You will find the way that works best for you.

Thank you. I tend to agree about the overuse of the term. At least when no clarification is forthcoming. It's usually used by people telling you what the band will NOT do. I'm glad to be getting a lot of answers about what the band DOES do. Thanks!

I've read this dozens of times here and other places: "It's not magic, it's a tool." But I haven't seen anyone yet really spell that out. I mean what does this tool do for you? I know how it's supposed to work - I've read all the packet they gave at the seminar and watched the movie. But I guess what I'm looking for is specifics about what people feel this tool does for them - e.g. Does it make you feel full faster so you stop eating sooner than you normally would? Does it hurt when you eat "bad" things? Does it keep you feeling full longer so you won't snack between meals? How do you use your tool?

It keeps me from being hungry, I can go 5 hours without eating.

But as said in other posts, it doesn't stop me from eating, it doesn't stop me from wanting food, it doesn't stop me from over eating (granted I can't eat as much food as before, I could still eat enough to sabotage myself, and gain weight), it doesn't exercise for me. I think a lot of people believe that you will eat a 1/2 cup of food and be stuffed! That's just not true. Then they wonder why? Then they get 10 fills.. then everything gets stuck haha. I'm not hungry, so I don't ever really feel deprived, but it's not the satisfying feeling of being really full.

Me personally, I can eat anything, I haven't had trouble with any food going down (I eat rice, bread..etc). Some people do have problems.. either because their band is too tight, they aren't careful, or sometimes it just doesn't agree with their body.

A lot of this battle is mental, we are all addicted to food. It takes time for me to learn to just not want it. Even if I'm not hungry.

I guess your close in your theory,,,

Now they are saying the sleeve does what the band was suppose to do.

Somehow,, I can believe that,,,

I think the way the band is portrayed by the media and such is wrong... it's way different that I expected. I think people are looking to feel full (like full to a regular non banded person would feel after eating a meal), with very very small amounts of food. But that simply doesn't happen with the band. Maybe it does with the sleeve because your stomach is physically smaller? For me the band controls hunger, that's it. But half the battle with food addiction is it's all in my head, I just eat for the sake of eating, not because I'm hungry.

It keeps me from being hungry, I can go 5 hours without eating.

But as said in other posts, it doesn't stop me from eating, it doesn't stop me from wanting food, it doesn't stop me from over eating (granted I can't eat as much food as before, I could still eat enough to sabotage myself, and gain weight), it doesn't exercise for me. I think a lot of people believe that you will eat a 1/2 cup of food and be stuffed! That's just not true. Then they wonder why? Then they get 10 fills.. then everything gets stuck haha. I'm not hungry, so I don't ever really feel deprived, but it's not the satisfying feeling of being really full.

OK, how much does it take to feel full? I ask because at the seminar they showed the model of the stomach before and after. And the pouch size sure looked like 1/2 cup would fill it up. They said the feeling of fullness comes from stretching the top of the stomach where the pouch is. Buy you're saying that you still don't feel full, but you're not hungry? So by full I'm guessing you mean that overstuffed feeling like we get after Thanksgiving when we can't even stuff one more pieces of pie in, right? I guess I'm one of those people who would wonder why 1/2 cup of something wouldn't fill me up after seeing the size of that pouch. I'm just looking for education. Thanks!

The fullness feeling is different. I'm just not stuffed like I would be before surgery. Exactly the thanksgiving analogy.. it doesn't feel like that generally. Like when I stand up after dinner I can feel the food and it feels good, but it's just not overstuffed. It's more about being satisfied.

You don't exactly feel full, you just "don't want anymore" it's hard to explain.

1/2 a cup maybe enough food, but it's not satisfying. Realistically you eat about 1-1/2 cups of food in the long run. I have like a 3oz piece of chicken, and maybe a 1/4 cup of a side dish for a general meal, or for Breakfast I'll have about a cup, cup and a half of oatmeal. To start off when you are healing it's about half that.

The fullness feeling is different. I'm just not stuffed like I would be before surgery. Exactly the thanksgiving analogy.. it doesn't feel like that generally. Like when I stand up after dinner I can feel the food and it feels good, but it's just not overstuffed. It's more about being satisfied.

You don't exactly feel full, you just "don't want anymore" it's hard to explain.

1/2 a cup maybe enough food, but it's not satisfying. Realistically you eat about 1-1/2 cups of food in the long run. I have like a 3oz piece of chicken, and maybe a 1/4 cup of a side dish for a general meal, or for breakfast I'll have about a cup, cup and a half of oatmeal. To start off when you are healing it's about half that.

Yeah, what she said! Well put Heather!

To put it in pre-banded terms...I can eat one cheese enchilada with a little bit of Beans and rice. Or I can eat half the enchilada, half the beans and rice and put the other half away for the next day.

From a pizza place...A medium pizza, 1 slice. From Round Table, a small veggie, 2 slices...maybe, it depends on the day. Somedays only 1, somedays 2 1/2.

That will keep me satisifed for 4 hours or more.

Good question, I am still trying to figure that one out but I agree with most of the comments that see it as a portion controller. For me that is the best part because I can now only eat so much and I rarely get hungry in between meals.

My personal reason for getting the band is to make it my safety net after I lose all my weight.. I have only had one fill (I am about 3.5 months out from surgery)and plan to keep it that way until I lose all my weight. Once I do, will get another fill just to make sure I can't put it back on. I've always been great at losing weight but then for some reason as we ALL can relate to, it changes and something mentally/physically allows us to put it back on. That is when I will use this tool to the fullest, to keep off the weight, permanently.

The band is obviously just one component of the whole process, you gotta exercise and eat right...no matter what.

Peace.

I guess your close in your theory,,,

Now they are saying the sleeve does what the band was suppose to do.

Somehow,, I can believe that,,,

from what I have seen on forums of people who had the band and were revised to the sleeve - their experience with the band has been mine and their experience with the sleeve is everything I thought the band would be and isn't.