I know it sounds weird, but I have tried diets and even though my husband is right there supporting me I feel like I need to be forced to loose weight. I think thats why I like the idea of having the lap band. I have read that if you try to eat bad foods then you can get sick, and that isn't any fun so you are forced into eating healthy. I feel like I do overall eat healthy, my husband has type 2 diabetes and while it doesn't act up a lot it is right now, so we are focusing on a atkins type diet. I am 22, and I am beginning to steer further and further away from fast food which I know will help me in the long run. I like to make meals from scratch and I have more time to do it. I am in college full time and I only have class 2 days a week. Is it wrong to want to do this because I feel like I will be forced? I was doing really good on my own until we started having some job issues, my husbands work closed down and we moved in with my parents for a while. They are retired and eat literally anything they want so they always have sweets in their house, and I gained about 30 pounds just living there. Now that we are back out on our own I feel like I am struggling more then ever to calm the cravings down and go back to eating healthy. I try to avoid bring in any types of sweets into the house so that I am not wanting them, but it really is just too easy to drive down to the store for a candy bar

Honestly, if you're looking for something to "force" you to eat well, the band might not be the way to go. Because there's no malabsorption component, there isn't the "dumping" syndrome as with gastric bypass. Something might get stuck if you eat too quickly or don't chew well enough, but that has nothing to do with the quality of food you're eating.

Having the band is an enormous commitment to yourself. It won't force anything--you can sneak pretty much anything by it if you try hard enough--but it can be an excellent tool to lose weight if you're ready to do the work.

I would highly encourage you to do research on exactly what this involves, and find a surgeon who has a good pre-op program so you are well educated in what you are planning. I think a good support system, and good follow-up care, make a huge difference in the success of lapband patients.

I felt that way too. It's a lifestyle change, more than anything. I'm a little over a week post surgery and I already feel differently. I want to be a good example for my daughter (who we don't let eat alot of junk anyway, she's two!) as she grows up and starts making her own choices. It's not easy by any means, it's a learning experience and the band is a tool. But I know what you mean. Good luck!

-C

Don't get a lap band then! Seriously. This is hard work and you have to make the right choices every day. All you have to do is read this message board and you will see that most people with the band are not forced into eating healthy. You'll see people saying they eat the same way they did before the band. You'll see people saying that they have gained weight with the band.

The band only works if you work with it (and then sometimes even then it doesn't work for everyone). Sure, I could have ice cream and alcohol and Cookies but I choose not to. I choose to eat healthy and I am not being forced. I also exercise intensely six days a week and the band is not forcing me to do that.

Do some more reading on this board and get an accurate snapshot of what the band will do and won't do. The band helps but doesn't force. You'll see that what you need to force you to lose weight is you. May THAT force be with you!

No no no no, do NOT get banded. the band won't force you to do anything. It works best for people who are ready to make a whole life change. it doesn't make me sick ever, I can eat ANYTHING I want, good or bad. Look into the malabsorptive (sp?) surgeries instead of the restrictive ones. Those make you lose weight a lot easier, and they also often make you ill ("dumping") if you eat the wrong thing.

the band is really a diet with some extra help. Clearly this is NOT what you want, and it's not going to help you at all.

I agree with the others, you will read a lot of people on here that didn't come out and say they wanted the "force" of the band to stop them from eating. These are the same people that are eating around their band and eating whatever they want in any amount that they want. This is about portion size and learning how to eat but it is not going to stop you from eating what you want. You're still in charge of what goes in your mouth and the easiest things to get down the band are also the highest in calorie! (Ex. Milkshakes)

I disagree with all the previous posters. Lapband, the sleeve, nor RnY is the answer for you. Sure, a malabsorption surgery may be better for you, but in the end, no surgery, no doctor, no diet, no NOTHING is going to "force" you to lose weight. Maybe you should talk to a therapist or some other professional who will be able to better understand and help you.

Nothing in this world will force you to loose weight, unless you're locked in a room without food or Water for months on end. It comes down to how bad you want it. You need to track your calories, exercise, and have some willpower to want to lose weight. Surgery isn't the easy way out; there isn't one.

To add to this....I agree that nothing is going to force you to lose weight (AND keep it off). You may lose weight initially but as soon as you've lost the weight, you WILL gain it all right back if you do not learn new eating habits and change your lifestyle.

I disagree with all the previous posters. Lapband, the sleeve, nor RnY is the answer for you. Sure, a malabsorption surgery may be better for you, but in the end, no surgery, no doctor, no diet, no NOTHING is going to "force" you to lose weight. Maybe you should talk to a therapist or some other professional who will be able to better understand and help you.

Nothing in this world will force you to loose weight, unless you're locked in a room without food or Water for months on end. It comes down to how bad you want it. You need to track your calories, exercise, and have some willpower to want to lose weight. Surgery isn't the easy way out; there isn't one.

You have to be ready. With any weight loss surgery: bypass, lap band or sleeve. You need to be ready and willing to change. There are plenty examples out there with at least lap band and bypass that have gained the weight back. My best 2 examples are Carnie WIlson and Sharon Osborne who had surgery the same year. It looks like Carnie Wilson has put a lot of weight back on So was she ready to make and stick with the changes that she needed to do to keep the weight off.? Apparently Sharon Osborne was. Anything and everything we do; if we try hard enough we can justify to cheat on it. You have to figure out why you put the weight on, and I am no talking about just the eating. We are food addicts, and just like alcoholics we need to get to the root of the problem. This is i why they require psychological testing.

Hiya,

A lap band will not force you to eat healthy, I have a band and i am not sure i would do it over if i had that time again, as boring as it sounds counselling is really the key, you need to get to the bottom of why you eat the things you do and once you start to uncover that, things start to fall into place.

I had my band put in 4 years ago, in the 2 years post op i went from 17 stone 11 pounds to 12 stone 4 pounds. I then went back up to 15 stone 3 and am currently at 14 stone 8. In the last year I have been seeing a counsellor on a weekly basis and it is only in the last 2 weeks that things are beginning to slot into place.

My humble opinion is seek couneslling first, there are times when I have wanted to stop the counselling as it is too hard, but whats harder to stay as you are and be unhappy, or work through the things you don't want to talk about for whatever reason, and then come out the other side slighlty battered and bruised but with a better understanding of you.

Love and hugs.

This is not written by me, but by one of our lap band blogers, it kind of hits it on nail!

Posted by aliciab Forgive me for venting but a lot of people simply want to treat LapBand as a product they've bought and plugged in. It's suppose to work right????? My insurance paid for it and the doctor said it works! All those ads said it worked. It isn't working for me, I have the reciept can I take it back for a refund?

The band is simply a piece of medical grade plastic. You will in fact have to get up off of your butt and exercise. You will in fact have to pay attention to what you are eating. If you have not come to the conclusion that there will still be a LOT of work for you to do after the band is placed and healed then you should not get the band.

So many stories on here where people don't know why their not losing weight except they can't tell you what they're putting in their mouth and they can't tell you the last time they walked farther than from their car to the front door. This is not a miracle cure. If you were hoping for that - move on.

Sorry - just had to get it out of my system.

And in fact i would say that this mentality is the main reason for the rather poor success statistics that the band has - way more so than any inherent faults of the band. I totally believe that most people frustrated by that fine line between finding restriction and being too tight are simply failingvto recognise what the band can do and what they must do. Truth is that no amount of restriction will prevent you eating forbidden foods.

But in fairness to the op, she sounds like she has made a start in the right direction and i for one DID in fact loose an awful lot of weight almost automatically at first. I know i did on some level expect this thing to control my behaviour and that it has done. I also know that i have changed drastically as i havent gained at all, even being unfilled for eight months

Edited July 25, 201115 yr by Jachut