reviewed the pre- and post-op diet with my nutritionist.

just thinking.

i would definitely lose a lot of weight just following the pre- and post-op diet without the band.

chew. eat slow. drink loads of Water and other low-calorie non-carbonated liquids, avoid bread and other bread-like foods. avoid Pasta. avoid rice. avoid ice cream, chocolate, and other foods that can slide easily past the band. avoid red meat. eat lots of flaky fish. sounds like most weight loss diets to me.

what does the band bring to the party?

in other words, can i save the dough i'm spending on the operation, and buy a car?

You're absolutely right that eating like a bandster would help you lose weight, even if you don't actually have a band. And if you can do that, really DO that for the rest of your life, maybe you DON'T need a band. A new car sure looks good! :biggrin1:

What the band brought to MY party was the ability to eat like that, for the long term. Eating a low-calorie-diet for a few weeks or even months is just dieting, and that may be easy for some or near-impossible for others. Eating that way long-term is much more difficult for everyone. Being banded has let me eat less day in, day out, day in, day out without feeling deprived, without reading myself the riot act fifty times a day, without feeling different from everyone around me, without the difficulties I've always had before. And that's what's making it work for me.

I agree with Alexander, I've been on a diet for practially all my life. It's funny that you (unopadre) wrote that because a day before my surgery my brother asked me the same thing. He said "if you lost all that weight pre-op then how come you aren't able to do it for the rest of your life" and I said "what are you kidding me...protein shakes, veggies and broth for the rest of my life" and he still didn't get it. That's all right because when I'm 100 lbs lighter and he's still overweight he'll see.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck!!

I have to say I was surprised about the diet. My doctor has a half-day seminar before the surgery on nutrition and the dietitian goes over the post op diet, including the foods to each at each stage and the amounts. Yes, I did listen to this and thought yeah ok for the first month I can stick to any diet but I’ll try sugar free this and that and fat free this and that so at least have a modified nutritious diet with some sugar free Desserts. Wrong! When I went back to the doctors for my four-week visit I was told no sugar free Cookies or any starches. Since I only lost two pound over the last two weeks I guess she was right. One to two pounds is a normal weight loss but since I was in my first four weeks I thought I would loose more.

From my own experience I’ve gather that in order to lose weight with the lap band you have to be on a permanent diet of Protein, fruit and vegetables. And a total of only 5oz per volume at each meal. If you cheat then you’ll have to exercise (which you should be doing anyway). If you cannot do this then the lap band is not for you because you will not lose as much weight as you’d like.

My best friend on the other had the gastric bypass about two years ago and can eat whatever she wants except rice and sweets but even then there are ways to get her sweet fix. Both of us can only eat a little at a time but she can eat a small bag of chips and popcorn daily and still maintain her weight. I can’t do this if I want to continue to lose weight.

So in the end the lap band is an excuse for me. An excuse to say I can’t eat what you’re eating and not feel guilty at a restaurant or with my family.

Good thing I like wide variety of fruits and vegetables!

For me, having the band has been as much psychlogical as physiological.

We all KNOW we COULD eat sensibly, healthily and in moderation if we tried hard enough.....BUT......

I've been overweight all my life and to be honest, i was cheating myself more than anyone else ... i've gone to the local store, bought a pack of fresh Cookies, ate the lot, hid the bag and denied to my wife i had much to eat .... what was i thinking?!!!!

My surgeon told me a very simple thing which put it all into perspective...

"The band is little a very quiet friend, but hides a very big stick, play fair with the band and you won't notice its there really ... mess with it and it has the power over you."

Simple really....since being banded and living on the post-op diet still i have found that its broken my pattern of eating, its broken my hunger and feelings of "i need that cookie"

I am now eating Soups, fish and a little (very little) mash and mushed fruit and am perfectly happy....i don't miss cookies, i don't miss the bad things....

The band has allowed me to break a destructive cycle of behavior and i haven't even had it filled yet ... also its put in my mind that i have paid £8000 ($13000) to have this done and i'll be damned if i am gonna waste that amount of money which i CANNOT afford to waste (i couldn't get it done on insurance)

I think its also encouraging my wife as well as when we go shopping i am not even looking at the bad things which makes it easier for her to stick with me.

Good luck to us all!

Jamie