Okay, I'll start off my saying I love my band. Was banded in October and have lost over 70 lbs so far including the 9 I lost on the preop diet. Life is good...I'm the thinnest I've ever been, in the best shape of my life. I ran a 10 mile race and I have a half marathon coming up next month. I bought a pair of freaking size 10 pants for Pete's sake, which I have never done in my life. I only have 30 lbs left to my goal weight. I love my band and would do it over in a heartbeat.

Of course there's a but....

I miss eating, the way I used to eat. I miss going to the Outback and eating bread, and salad, and the big onion and steak and fries. And it's not that I'm starving...I have enough restriction that I feel full off of a pretty small amount of food.

I miss just "grabbing a quick bite" which is not even an option anymore. I just want to eat something without chewing it to death. And I know some people say they enjoy food even more now because they take the time to savor each bite, but I like it far less. To me, food chewed to the consistency of appleasuce tastes almost putrid in my mouth at times...hell I don't even like appleasauce! Add that to the fact that it's usually cold by the time I get done. Food is not enjoyable to me, which is depressing because it used to be so enjoyable. The exception, of course, is food like ice cream, chocolate and chips that are so easy to eat and as enjoyable as ever, but of course I try not to eat those too much.

I realize it's all in my head, and my therapist and I are working on it ...just wanted to see if anyone else felt the same way. Like I said,I'm happy to be banded, happy with my success so far, and I would take being at goal weight, healthy (and hopefully wearing a size 8) over a huge meal at the Outback, but still....

This was my only reservation about having the surgery... I LOVE to eat. I'm not where you are yet, but I'm sure there has to be a mourning period for your old relationship with food...

.

Yes, at times, I do miss eating like that. But only for a minute. Than I go, "oh, gross". I don't want to ever eat like that again. It is too much food, for anyone. ( excpet my very skinny daughter-in-law who eats like a cow, and never gains weight.) She actually finishes my meals, and her husband's meal(I was banded 2 year ago, he was banded in aug 2011). anyway, I don't know why the commercials show all these people eating all that food. Yuck!!! even in my fatest times, it was way too much.

you will get used to that, and eat a little. I don't go to Outback, anymore. I do miss the blooming onion, becasue I love onion rings. I will make my d-i-l order them from Burger King and have 1. Goodluck to all. karen

I've been been banded just not quite 4 months, and I've lost quite a bit of weight, and I'm definitely in the Green Zone with my band. I have good restriction and I'm rarely hungry.

... but I do still battle with "head hunger". I just want a snack or to graze.

It's a constant learning process.

Thanks guys...I'm sure it will get better. Or at least I hope!!

I do miss eating foods like bread and french fries. However, I like feeling good and being able to walk with out becoming short of breath or having to go to speciality stores to buy clothes.

Food is not my friend.

That is exactly why I am on the fence about getting surgery at all; I don't mind small portions but all that chewing to mush - good grief!!!!! Could you take a break with no fill and splurge now and then when you reach your goal weight?

Other than that, I would make a copy of what you wrote here about all the positive stuff and look at that while you eat, and/or before/after pics or something like that.

De-emphasize the negative and accentuate the positive. That would be my tactic.

I do occassionaly miss certain foods but than remember how I got to where I was. If I could have continued to eat that food and lose weight I would not have had surgery. I need my band to keep me from back sliding to the old me, How I feel and look now outways all the bread and pasta in the world.

Me and food have a pretty dysfunctional relatinship in general, but I too wonder what it will be like to have certain items that I just can't eat.... EVER. I am getting my band in May. I have been over and over the choice for over a year now and keep coming back to the band option. I watched this youtube video by some Australian doctor called "the 8 golden rules" and thought to myself, "Self... you can do all of that.... without a $16,000 dollar leash for your out of control appatite. With that.... I decided to grab some baby forks and spoons and eat on a tiny plate following a modified version of the Atkins diet (75g of carbs per day). Here I am, about a year later, still eating on the tiny plate with the tiny spoon, but I have not been able to keep up the full low carb routine on my own and....drum roll..... there is nothing stopping me from filling that little saucer over and over and over and over!!! I have managed to lose about 10 pounds in the last year, but that is all. I think the idea with the band is supposed to be that "we" have a maladaptive way of eating and "we" need something to help us out. I have been trying to think of it like a governor on a vehicle. The governor keeps the vehicle from exceeding a certain speed.... no matter what. The band is supposed to keep us from overeating.... no matter what (more or less). You still get to drive your vehicle, you just can't go fast. You can still eat food, you just can't be a total hog about it. The governor keeps us from getting a moving violation and the band keeps us from developing obesity related illnesses. Maybe you just need a montra to tell yourself when you are having these feelings?? It couldn't hurt to try.

I still enjoy most foods. The exceptions are very dry foods like pork chops - they take way too much chewing to be enjoyable.

I have not been banded yet, but i too have an emotional attachment to food...i need the band to help with my obesity related health issues..but i do wonder how or what i'll substitute for food when i am bored,upset or stressed. It will be a learning experience, but is all for the positive for me and my family! Thanks for posting..glad to know there are others out there like me!

I am weird on this i recall eating like that with afondness. Heck alot i mean ALOT of everything i did revolved around food. However i am not like B52 i am just not interested anymore. I have 3 guys in my house who love to eat an eat large an i am ok with sitting there with them an watching them enojoy. Yet i am not interestes. I guess now i eat to live not live to eat

I still love to eat, that hasn't changed for me. I just eat way less than I used to and prob enjoy food more now because of it.

I like to read things like that.... I have heard a lot of people say they enjoy their food more. I am just worried that the thing(s) that I may find that I cannot tolerate will be among my favorite things and it sort of makes me feel uncomfortable. I have noticed that there are plenty of folks that seem to have very few items that they cannot eat, but there are also a fair number who have lots of things that they can't eat. Just makes me wonder what side of that fence I will land on..... I suppose I will find out before long, hey?

Okay, I'll start off my saying I love my band. Was banded in October and have lost over 70 lbs so far including the 9 I lost on the preop diet. Life is good...I'm the thinnest I've ever been, in the best shape of my life. I ran a 10 mile race and I have a half marathon coming up next month. I bought a pair of freaking size 10 pants for Pete's sake, which I have never done in my life. I only have 30 lbs left to my goal weight. I love my band and would do it over in a heartbeat.

Of course there's a but....

I miss eating, the way I used to eat. I miss going to the Outback and eating bread, and salad, and the big onion and steak and fries. And it's not that I'm starving...I have enough restriction that I feel full off of a pretty small amount of food.

I miss just "grabbing a quick bite" which is not even an option anymore. I just want to eat something without chewing it to death. And I know some people say they enjoy food even more now because they take the time to savor each bite, but I like it far less. To me, food chewed to the consistency of appleasuce tastes almost putrid in my mouth at times...hell I don't even like appleasauce! Add that to the fact that it's usually cold by the time I get done. Food is not enjoyable to me, which is depressing because it used to be so enjoyable. The exception, of course, is food like ice cream, chocolate and chips that are so easy to eat and as enjoyable as ever, but of course I try not to eat those too much.

I realize it's all in my head, and my therapist and I are working on it ...just wanted to see if anyone else felt the same way. Like I said,I'm happy to be banded, happy with my success so far, and I would take being at goal weight, healthy (and hopefully wearing a size 8) over a huge meal at the Outback, but still....

I was happy to read that you are working with a therapist to address your continuing issues with food. Though your weight loss has progressed impressively, your relationship and beliefs about food do not seem to have made the same rate of progress.

Revising your thinking about food, and the requirements for your diet with your band has to happen before you can truly be in a different place emotionally. I have never felt that having to chew many times, taking small bites, and restricting the type of foods I can have were an imposition, or that I was "missing out" with the changes I chose to make with eating. These action items were part of what I still consider to be the opportunity to have better health.

I had to wait an extra year for my surgery for a variety of reasons, none of which were planned or avoidable, so when I was finally cleared medically, I had no reservations to proceed. I believe that most bandsters have some pre-op questions to themselves about if they are making the right choice. There is no easy answer, but I believe that the answer is tied to one's priorities.

At the Southern Woman's Show 2 summers ago, I had the good fortune to encounter someone who had been banded the previous fall. She helped me place my concerns in the proper perspective: which is more important to you? Being able to eat anything you want to for your meals covering several minutes a day during meals, or having some rules for those meals which require attention and mindful eating? It was a no brainer after that for me.

We should eat to live, not the other way around. The longer you hold onto your flawed thinking, the more of a negative attitude towards diet compliance you will have.

The things you mentioned that you disliked are the same things which got most all of us to the point where we had bariatric surgery. You cannot expect a sustained weight loss without increasing resentment towards compliance unless you redefine for yourself what your relationship with food needs to be.

You have done so well with your weight loss...I hope you modify your beliefs about food. and let go of the ones which got you to your band surgery. Food is not your friend...and in many ways one can be addicted to food in the same way as one can be to drugs or co-dependent relationships.

Wishing you continued success with your weight loss journey.