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?

Heather, you're really summing up how I find the band too. That's always how it worked for me.

Any doctor who tells you that you'll eat a half a cup and be satisfied is, I believe, misusing the band and doesnt understand it. Stick with such a doctor and i think your chances of erosion and slippage are higher than average. At the very least you're in for misery and a sense of failure and self blame as you search vainly for something the band cannot provide - complete control over your eating. People's disillusionment and sadness over how it hasnt worked, not to mention how much of a failure they feel, is so sad because its sometimes simply a case of the wrong tool for them. I remember one member on here who claimed it didnt work, she got flamed, we had posts locked mainly because she just insisted it didnt work and wouldnt take any responsibility at all for what she was choosing to do. People's indignation was justified to a point, I mean at some point in time you have to be an adult about your own choices, but she went on to have RNY and has been successful. it was just the wrong darn tool for her. She'd been both misled by her doctors and also had allowed herself the luxury of indulging in a fantasy/hope/dream of a miracle cure without really facing that little voice that should tell each of us we have a part to play in this as well.

There's not much advantage to pullling rank, but I do attend Prof. Paul O'Brien's practicee, he's one fo the band's pioneers, a worldwide authority and he suggests that the point of the band is not to feel stuffed, but that the band somehow exerts some appetite control just by being there. Its a tool means its your job to listen hard to that (it can be a very very quiet voice in the general babble of all our other food cues) and also to eat to "not hungry" anymore, not to stuffed. If you feel thanksgiving full after eating you are overeating and if you feel that way after half a cup of food, you are way too tight. Most of us can only tell head hunger from real hunger when we're very motivated to do so, and even for the most successful bandsters, its an issue. This practice is very upfront about the way the band will and will not work, but there's still people sitting in the waiting room talking about giving the doctor a good piece of their mind because they've lost no weight and should have been given more fill.

if the band is used the way it is designed to be used than it is a very successful "tool" but that relies very heavily on the user, and it doesnt take into account people's issues around eating, many of which are mental. You hear so much negativity about the band here, and a good proporotion of the time, it is simply not being used the way it is meant to. That doesnt mean its a bad tool, it means its not the right tool for you. The band decreases portion sizes and general hunger and that is ALL it does. If that's not enough for you, then its not the right tool. The skill of our medical professionals is in determining that, and guiding people in the right direction.

However, the band CAN be used as a much tighter collar, some people CAN have it so tight they barely think about food, lose lots of weight fast, dont have undue vomiting and stuck episodes.

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!

That depends on how much you are filled too. My Dr. says 4oz. meat. some carbs. to kick the Protein into gear "it works!" 1/4 cup of soft cooked vegetables. Now I can't eat all that, but if I were 1/2 empty ,I might be able to eat more then I normally wood. Also these portions would be tracked on CALORIE KING, and the calories and protein would be written in my journal.

If I didn't eat it all? I would write that down so he knows how much I am eating. He knows the proper amounts. That's why the "TOOL" is adjusted!

Another thing,,,,,,, You could be starving,and had 4 or 5 bites of your dinner ok , still feeling the same STARVING!, and eat the next piece, and instantly your full! Your hunger is gone. That's how you work the band, because now you stop.. No matter what, you do not continue to eat.

That's how I was taught.

I'm loving all the responses here. Even the ones it didn't work for. My goal is to go into this eyes wide open. FWIW Jachut my dr. never said I would feel full on 1/2 cup of food, that was my thought after seeing the size of the pouch. I haven't had any appts. yet so I'm still in the information gathering phase. I appreciate your knowledge and the fact that your doctor is probably the best in the world at this, and it helps to hear about how you're using your tool. I'm hoping to avoid the disappointment that may come from having too high expectations and too little information. That's why I'm trying to get a lot of responses.

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.

How much is 3 oz. of chicken? I've always heard it's about the size of a deck of cards. Does it really take up 1 1/4 cups? I'm sure my proportion perception is way off though, so you're probably right. But 1 1/4 cup of chicken has got to me more than 3 oz. right?

Invest in a Kitchen scale that weighs by the ounce. I have the one that has a bowel on it so you can fit things in it.Also it holds a couple of pounds if that helps you. You will learn how to use this, like with the bowel on the scale, adjust your scale to 0. That way you will get your true or close to true ounces. It's called TARE weight. Another thing is when you way anything with a bone in it like a chicken leg. Lets say it ways 31/2 ounces. Take the bone out and weigh it, then deduct it from your ounces. I don't know what your Dr. says, but with him it's 4 ounces. Try this and you will see this works. This is just another TOOL that you will use to make your tool "BAND" work.

Invest in a Kitchen scale that weighs by the ounce. I have the one that has a bowel on it so you can fit things in it.Also it holds a couple of pounds if that helps you. You will learn how to use this, like with the bowel on the scale, adjust your scale to 0. That way you will get your true or close to true ounces. It's called TARE weight. Another thing is when you way anything with a bone in it like a chicken leg. Lets say it ways 31/2 ounces. Take the bone out and weigh it, then deduct it from your ounces. I don't know what your Dr. says, but with him it's 4 ounces. Try this and you will see this works. This is just another TOOL that you will use to make your tool "BAND" work.

Good advice! I think that a scale will be a must have for me! I am terrible at guessing weights.

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!

Ok, I'll put this in terms of pre-band eating rather than weights or cups. Please realize that I don't eat these foods regularly (I mostly follow a low-carb diet because it works for my body).

Before the band, I would eat at least 4 pieces of large regular crust pizza plus breadsticks. Now, I eat 1 or 2 medium thin crust slices.

Before the band, I could eat a full Pasta dish (plus salad and bread) at a restaurant. Now, on the rare occasion I get pasta, I skip salad and bread and eat the pasta for four meals.

Before the band, I would eat an order of hot wings and as many fries as you'd put on my plate. Now, I will eat 3 wings and zero fries and be deliciously full.

Before the band, I would get a pulled pork or smoked turkey sandwich and a huge order of fries at my favorite barbecue place. Now I get the sandwich only and don't eat the bun.

I am not tight at all. I have about 2.5 cc's in a 10 cc band. I am at my personal sweet spot-- because I get hunger satiation on smaller amounts of food and I'm steadily losing. My band lets me eat whatever I want . I have to make better choices than the ones above 90% of the time to lose, but I can have them and I do in moderation.

The above may be way more than other bandsters can eat, either because they have their bands tighter or because they have to watch calories more closely than I do. But this is one person's experience with pre-and-post band eating.

Ok, I'll put this in terms of pre-band eating rather than weights or cups. Please realize that I don't eat these foods regularly (I mostly follow a low-carb diet because it works for my body).

Before the band, I would eat at least 4 pieces of large regular crust pizza plus breadsticks. Now, I eat 1 or 2 medium thin crust slices.

Before the band, I could eat a full Pasta dish (plus salad and bread) at a restaurant. Now, on the rare occasion I get pasta, I skip salad and bread and eat the pasta for four meals.

Before the band, I would eat an order of hot wings and as many fries as you'd put on my plate. Now, I will eat 3 wings and zero fries and be deliciously full.

Before the band, I would get a pulled pork or smoked turkey sandwich and a huge order of fries at my favorite barbecue place. Now I get the sandwich only and don't eat the bun.

I am not tight at all. I have about 2.5 cc's in a 10 cc band. I am at my personal sweet spot-- because I get hunger satiation on smaller amounts of food and I'm steadily losing. My band lets me eat whatever I want . I have to make better choices than the ones above 90% of the time to lose, but I can have them and I do in moderation.

The above may be way more than other bandsters can eat, either because they have their bands tighter or because they have to watch calories more closely than I do. But this is one person's experience with pre-and-post band eating.

Wow that sounds great. Right now if I only eat 2 pieces of pizza I'm still way hungry. Like you before the band I can eat just about as many hot wings as you show me! 3 wings and full? Now that's what I'm talking about!

I like the "magic wand" analogy...the band is not magic. Yes, it will help you to eat less but you also have to do the work to eat better. There have been people on this site who are very upset that their band is not working the way they expected it to, but the fact is if you only change the quantity of the food you eat and not the quality then you will have a problem losing weight...just because your band helps you to only eat half of the double quarter pounder with cheese instead of the whole thing, you are still eating almost 400 calories! You also have to keep in mind that for most people it takes several fills to reach good restriction so there can be months where you feel like you and your willpower are doing the majority of the work.

In the end, everyone's experience with the band is unique. Be patient and willling to work to figure out your own path...at first it takes some trial and error but, for me, it has been worth it!

Good luck!