I'm thinking this is the best place to put this post since you all have been very successful. Could the band not work for someone who used it properly? I hear more successful stories then non but for the ones where they only lost 15lbs in a year why ??

I'm getting banded on the 8th. This is my last chance. If this does not work I don't know what will happen , I need it to work and need to know what you guys did and didn't do to have so much success

So for all you who have done so well can you pleas share with a newbie... Think back to when you were pre-op ( like me) and had no clue , every fear ,etc... Any insight would be great!

Kuddos to all of you!!!!! I hope to be here one day!!!

I contribute my success to journaling my food intake and having my one good buddy who had her surgery the week after me to talk to all and I mean ALL the time! Until you get into the green zone you may be able to eat whatever you want and more than you should. It was hard many days, but I kept my caloric intake at 1,000/day for a long time. Good luck to you!

Having the band is work. If you have not worked thru any food issues you have the band will not work. i hear things like i paid to much to be on a diet. You will be on a diet and will have to follow it for sucess. Some people lose weight slower and because they have the band think the weight is going to fall off. Weight doesnt come off fast for some with the band. I think because the weight loss is slow for some, people give up on the band.

I track every calorie i eat and work out 4x a week i am losing a 1 to 2 pounds a week. I still have head hungry issues but i am very aware now when/what i eat.

It is perfectly possible for the band not to work especially if the person with the band expects it to be a magical cure that does everything for them.

There are lots of foods that it won't stop you eating.

e.g

chocolate

Icecream

Milkshakes

custard

candies

crisps

Cookies etc

These will go past the band really easily, they will not make you feel full and you will gain weight.

For the band to work you have to work with it. Follow the dietary recommendations your Dr has given you, don't drink your calories, don't eat all day long and do some exercise.

After the liquid and mushy stages, avoid sloppy foods like ice cream and mashed potatoes and gravy and tasty tidbits like chocolate candies and frosting. They go through too easily and aren't nearly as rewarding as seeing an extra pound come off on the scale. You can cheat the band, purposely or without realizing it!

I agree with all the above. Mostly journaling as you can actually see what you are eating. I eat more now than before the band and I am losing weight! The difference is I more aware of what I eat and more focused on why I eat. These are issues I know I have to deal with for the band to 'work'. I see it like this...the band is a tool. Whether I use it correctly or not is up to me and me alone. I am responsible for what and how much food I place in my mouth. As long as there are no complications, this must work.

Was I scared? Oh yes! Nervous? Absolutely. Desperate? Of course. But I knew it was time. Was I forced into this? Nope. In fact when I was in the pre op room taking all my vitals and such, I knew I could still back out. As I walked into the operating room, I knew I could have walked right out too. Then as I lay on the table, my doctor must have seen my expression and asked me if I wanted to stop it all and I said no. But I knew that if I wanted to I could and that relaxed me so much. The next few days after the surgery and each little pain, I would think to myself...What the heck did I do to myself? I researched this so long and even saw some of the surgeries on youtube, All in all, I wish I had done this years ago! Just give yourself as much time as you can to heal and take it one day at a time. I look back at my old life and it seems so funny. It's like it's not really your life at all. It does make me cringe to be honest, on how destructive it really was. I hope and pray I never ever return to that type of so called existance again! Good luck and take care.

Having the band is the EASIEST thing I have ever done. I do not diet, I do not count calories, and I do not monitor food portions, I do not keep journals. I eat when I'm hungry - which is seldon, and I eat what I want. and I know what is good and bad to eat. Plus the band prevents me from eating certain foods.

I do not see how the band, if adjusted properly, cannot work.

An individual can, if they wanted to endure the pain and discomfort, "Cheat" the band.

The band has taken away my hunger cravings. I can, and have, gone all day without eating at all because I was pre-occupied doing something else, ie: traveling.

I have to remind myself to eat, and then the band controls the amount of food I can eat - portion control.

But I have learned to "listen" to the band, and dictate how and when I eat.

I have reached my goal weight in 12 months. And I am still loosing, although slowly now.

I also do not diet, do not count calories and simply eat smaller portions but I think it would be easy to "cheat" the band if your head wasn't in the right place.

Unfortunately most of the high calorie foods that cause weight gain do not cause pain and discomfort. Well for me they don't, I think if they did it would be great as it would discourage me from eating them.

chocolate and the foods I mentioned earlier are too easy to eat .

B52 maybe the reason you don't have an issue with these type of foods is because you are male? Males seem to naturally prefer foods such as steak, meat etc whilst us females are generally the ones that have issues with chocolate. I am sure that there are some exceptions to that rule but on the whole it seems to be true.

There are people that have been banded that have had limited success. I believe that for many of them it was because they were unable or unwilling to change their eating to the way that it is recommended you eat with a band. A lot of them were looking at the band as being a magic wand and it isn't. It is possible that the band was not the correct type of surgery for them. They may have been better suited to something such as a bypass which causes malabsorption of food as well as restriction and some people also get dumping syndrome. I think it is important to carefully investigate the different types of surgery available and work out as far as possible (with the help of a Dr) which one would suit you and your particular type of eating issues best.

I've never been a chocolate fan...and I have all but given up on meat. No matter how hard I try I just cannot get it down easily. So I choose not to waste my time or money on it.

I do like a lot of fish, chicken, and mostly make stir-fry meals in the wok.

I have a Protein smoothie I mix up in the blender for Breakfast everyday, usually have Soup or something similar for lunch, then there's dinner. That's about it.

I can graze on things like tortilla chips, etc, but I'm not eating them by the handfulls. Just one here and there.

Not sure if men do emotional eating as women do? Maybe someone can shed light on this?

Thanks for the tips everyone. My date is March 9 so I really want this to be the "last thing" I try to lose the weight - for good, also.

I did not journal, I didn't count calories, I didn't avoid carbs, I just avoided foods that were obviously bad for me (we all know what those are, elcee mentioned a lot of them earlier) and ate smaller portions and exercised, until my band kicked in with enough fills and took over all the portion control for me.

The band, when you get the right amount of fills, stops you from eating too much. When I got to that point, I preferred to get in proper nutrition than eat chocolates. I needed the energy to exercise.

So between the lifestyle change - exercising - and the mindset change - changing the way I thought about food and hunger, plus the band, it worked for me. And it actually wasn't that hard to do once I got the 'head' part right.

It is perfectly possible for the band not to work especially if the person with the band expects it to be a magical cure that does everything for them.

There are lots of foods that it won't stop you eating.

e.g

chocolate

Icecream

Milkshakes

custard

candies

crisps

Cookies etc

These will go past the band really easily, they will not make you feel full and you will gain weight.

For the band to work you have to work with it. Follow the dietary recommendations your Dr has given you, don't drink your calories, don't eat all day long and do some exercise.

Oh NOW I am hungry.....thanks a lot, Elcee!!

This is very true for me. I don't journal, I don't count, I don't obsess.

Life is very, very good.

I'm thinking this is the best place to put this post since you all have been very successful. Could the band not work for someone who used it properly? I hear more successful stories then non but for the ones where they only lost 15lbs in a year why ??

I'm getting banded on the 8th. This is my last chance. If this does not work I don't know what will happen ' date=' I need it to work and need to know what you guys did and didn't do to have so much success

So for all you who have done so well can you pleas share with a newbie... Think back to when you were pre-op ( like me) and had no clue , every fear ,etc... Any insight would be great!

Kuddos to all of you!!!!! I hope to be here one day!!![/quote']

Hi there and happy banding,

I hope this reply finds you well. I lost very little weight the first two years and gained weight during my third. I had no restriction, but exercise saved me although I shrank I had no scale victories. I became so frustrated that I had to stop weighing altogether and focus on just feeling good where I was.

I can't say what I weigh, I just like the way I look and feel.

It took me three years and 16 fills but I'm finally happy.

Good luck on your journey.

Well, now that Im 2 months post op I guess its good to revisit this thread ....

What's working for me is journaling ... I use my fitness pal ... if i don't journal then my calories will get away from me. I try to stay under 1200 calories a day ... sometimes less. Its very hard as I only have 4.25 cc in an 11cc band. I exercise a lot more than I ever did before. I try to walk/jog a few miles a week.

I also know that I need to stay away from alochol, even if its only 2 small drinks. Alcohol slows my weight loss and even makes me gain weight.

I also don't count my grams of Protein a day. If i have too much protein, I gain or stall.

Lastly, Im reading a book called "The Beck Diet" ... its helping work on my addiction to food and overeating. Its like $10 on Amazon.

How do you know when you hit your "Sweet spot or Green Zone"? I am in my 5th month post op. I have had fills and 2 unfills. And refilled. Disappointed with my WLS group- especially nutritionist. I keep asking for menus or food ideas. No info given. And one nurse fussed at me for fills and unfills. Said I was eating too much ; that was my issue. Me; personally feel like I am not eating enough. Very discouraged. Glad I have lost 45 lbs. But last visit gained 6 when band was unfilled.Frustrated in the morning not being able to eat. So I drink too much milk. I stumble through my day guessing what to eat. So I have returned to this website for guidance. I have my next appointment on May 24. Not looking forward to it. I don't journal. (I know no excuses) But I could tell them what I eat. I eat the same things over and over. Getting in a bad habit of drinking ice cream shakes because of too tight symptoms. I cook for my family things I can't eat. I don't know what I am doing. Was exercising; got depressed over the fill/unfill deals. ANY ADVICE WELCOME.