Everything I read about the band includes the usual disclaimer "the band is just a tool...blah blah blah...don't expect it to change you or make everything in your life better."

I know the band is just a tool and I'm still going to have to work my fanny off. But I DO expect it to change me. How could it not?

I'm curious - for those who have been banded, do you feel that you have changed inside?

Not yet, but I feel more like "Me" than before. I'm still hashing out the issues that require some amount of self-control and discipline on my part. You know, the stuff that got me into this mess in the first place. Now I just get fuller faster. A little dissappointing, but I still have hope. As long as I have this band, I have hope. So, working on it over here.

I'm normally an achiever. I'm pretty determined, I take on big challenges and I always achieve them. Except when it came to weight loss, now I am confident that I will achieve this as well.

Apart from a bit more self confidence regarding body image stuff, I don't feel the band has changed me, as a person.

I've been overweight for a large majority of my life. I've often thought, as I'm sure many others have, "Oh, when I lose weight, everything will be better." Unfortunately, this is simply not true in my case. I was thinking about it today, actually. I'm 7kgs away from my original goal weight. That's not a very large amount. I still look in the mirror when I'm naked and think, Ewww! Will I feel different after those 7kgs? Probably not. Will I feel different after a tummy tuck and breast reduction? Again, probably not.

Alot of the issues we deal with are in our heads. As many a bandster has said, if only they could band the head as well.

As for me, I've decided to see a psychologist regarding these issues, because I now know that losing weight will not make me the person I want to be.

Oh, I'm still extremely glad I got the band and that I've had the success I've had so far with it. After I fix my head, I'm gonna have one killer body to go along with it LOL.

YES YES YES. I have changed..I smile more,Iam happy to have my photo taken and to top it off I think Iam a real smart ass.All those people whom always would some how judge me befor I lost weight now can't.Sucked in to those.I still just as fat as I did however I look the way I always thought I did when I wasn't looking in a mirror.I just think Iam the smartest thinner fat person I have ever known for having the band and now my really smart Mum is going to join me.I think it does change you how ever Iam still waiting for more sex LOL

Iam

Hi! I joined becauseI'm planning to have laparoscopic gastric banding and I want to know the status of those who underwent said procedure. Hope you can enligthen me.

it is changing my outsides but not my insides. although i feel great with how i have done so far, i still struggle with eating for eating sake...instead of eating to nourish my body. it has got me going in the right direction though....and has me thinking more about what i put in my body.

it is a tool!!! i could easily eat around it. you have to know that before going in.

I don't feel it has changed ME inside, at all. Maybe that will come with even more time. Or maybe I'm just one of those people who has never let being overweight define who I am.

It's certainly changed what I can DO, and how much I enjoy every day. But inside? I'm the same person I always was. And that's a good thing! I always liked myself--it was my weight that was the problem. So that's all I really wanted to change.

I think the biggest change for me (besides the weight loss) has been that I've become social again. I've been "hiding" for years now. I was thin when I first got married, my husband and I used to go out with friends all the time, we used to attend work get to gethers and such. When I became obese, I also became a recluse. I didn't want those people that my husband worked with to see me. I let some friendships go. I've really regreted doing this but I couldn't stand the embarrasement of how I had let myself go.

Now that I've lost the weight, I'm more outgoing. I actually look forward to seeing the people that my husband works with. I actually look forward to Christmas parties now or getting together at friend's houses to watch ballgames ect. I'm no longer embarrased.

I still have internal issues that I continue to work on, but the band has really helped me in so many ways.

Tricia

I have changed in so many ways. Here are a few examples.

I am no longer judgemental of people, nor do I think I know how to solve their problems. I'm too busy solving my own now, instead of eating them away. I used to stay home all the time; venturing out to go out to eat or to a movie was about it. Now I have plans almost every night and have had to learn to say no to some offers.

I flirt like crazy instead of sitting in the corner watching the boys go by. I can now find flattering, hip clothes that make me feel sexy and fun, so I act sexy and fun in them. I stick up for myself. I ask for what I need from friends, family, coworkers, and men. I no longer take the crumbs that are offered. I know I deserve more than that.

The other day I bought a candybar and ate it while I was walking through the parking lot. This was new for me. I used to eat in such isolation- my car, my house...the booth at a restaurant sitting in safety with the people that loved me. Now I eat when I'm hungry and if it's in public, so be it.

All this, and I still weigh 227 pounds. Don't tell yourself that you have to hit a certain number on a scale and then your life with change. My band is a tool that literally forced me to change my habits-thus, my life changed. I could go on and on about how I have changed. I love who I am now. I love my life. It is now MINE.

Megan

I'm more willing to come out of myself and help others. I smile more. I stand up for myself. I'm not scared of everything like I was before. I'm less judgemental. I feel like I matter now, like I'm of value and I'm worth getting to know... I want to make a difference in the world instead of watching it go by...

Unfortunately my weight very much defined who I had become.. and it wasn't a good or happy thing..

I'm so happy to finally be working on the person that I know that I can be and that I am deep down inside. Can't wait to be the best possible me!!

And more importantly I'm finally learning to love myself... and thinking "hey, I'm a good person and dang it people might like actually getting to know me!"

For me, I value myself now. I can now say "hey i'm worth it" I really hesitated about spending money on a luxury like a personal trainer, but i decided you know what I AM worth that $45 dollars a week, heck before being banded i would easily spend that money on fast food and junk, so now i'm doing something healthy with my money.

Before i would never buy myself cute clothes, now i say I'M WORTH IT!

I stick up for myself more, i say whats on my mind, i smile and look complete strangers in the eyes, confidence and loving your self.....its a wonderful thing.

I could have written Alexandra's post...I feel exactly the same way, with one small exception. I feel a lot of additional pride in myself for making the decision to take charge of my life in this area by having the surgery. I'm only a week out, but I don't expect that this will change who I am, and I've always been proud of that...

Emily

It has changed me, but only in positive ways. I value my life more, I take better care of myself, I have learned to speak up for myself when I feel that I have been wronged, I have learned to take life by the horns and live each day with a heart full of kindness/love/compassion/and joy! And for once in my life I truly have goals!

In the words of Nike........ "Just Do It!"

I'm with Alex, I never felt defined by my weight and size. I have fat, I am not the fat.

Banding has given me an opportunity to explore some head things, through the help of eveyone here at LBT. Banding has also just about cured me of my asthma, which is something I never thought would happen. I seem to remember a short period of time where I wasn't dependent on my inhalers, on meds, but "seem to remember" isn't quite good enough. I've gone from using up a puffer in 3 weeks to not needing a puffer more than 3 times a month or less. Because I can breathe again, I can do many more things again.