My surgery is on June 27th and up until today I've been totally excited about the possibility of losing all this weight. But today I feel scared. Can I really completely give up drinking with meals? Am I going to ruin my quality of life with all of these restrictions? What if I go to Italy someday. I can't eat pasta and drink wine with my meal? Am I prepared for the major life change that is about to happen? Should I try (and probably fail) yet another weight loss option? I'm sure I'm not the only person who has felt this way.

You will look back and say why didn't I do this years ago.

When you go to Italy you'll be able to eat whatever, just not as much.

LB is a life changer that's for sure. You'll have all the energy and drive to do what you've been wanting to do your whole life.

Make a bucket list of all the activities you've wanted to do and guess what??? Within a year or even less you can physically do them

All.

my surgery isn't until November but everyday i ask myself the same questions. Do i really want to make all these changes for something thats not guaranteed or something that sounds like its more pain then what it might be worth? I even go so far as to try to convience myself I will become a horrible person. and then i remember that the reason this surgery is even an option is because of my health not for superficial reasons (though looking good will help). I guess what i'm saying is...you have to weigh your health against everything else and then make a decision.

Best of luck.

I felt the same way I was 355 lbs when I started so I love love food. I was freaking out the night before surgery6-12-12. Now I'm a week post op and I'm on mushie foods now I'm still healing. I have been so pre occupied on making sure I'm following my diet and re focusing my attention to doing things right. Has it been hard yes have I been frustrated yes. But I've lost 30 lbs since my pre op post op diet. I rushed to get a side of mashed potatoes when I got put on mushies. I could only eat a little side but they were the best! I ate a little oatmeal this morning and a little chicken salad and tonight a little ribet with the rest of my potatoes. I get full faster and I'm eating yummy foods. I'm trying to learn to eat slow and enjoy the taste. The foods are still really good. I was also able to wear my old pants to work this morning. It's totally worth it! And if all else fails you can always get your band unfilled and go back to the old way. But I doubt you would want to so that when you start seeing the new sexy you. And if you want a little wine with your pasta drink it. One time won't hurt when your in a special occasion most ppl cheat at holidays and vacation anyways. What would be the difference banded or not. Good luck I hope I helped ease your mind a little.

1. Giving up drinking w/meal: I still sip here and there. Sometimes it's the only way to get a meal down. But, drinking a lot of Water with your meals can have a fattening effect some nutritionists say. I miss the drinking but I don't miss the pounds. I prefer being able to tie my shoes than struggling to tie my shoes. I prefer walking distances with littlle pain vs lots of pain. I prefer to live to see my grandkids get married vs assuming room temperature. My quality of life is enhanced so much more than before LB. I'm not thin yet, but I'm getting there and where I am now is so much better than where I was 7 months ago.

2. If you go on a trip, you can still eat like Jeff said. Just not as much. And here's the best part. If you want to pig out, and don't mind putting on 10-15 lbs, go to your doc for an unfill. I don't recommend it but it's crossed my mind. Be thin for 44 weeks of the year and pig out for 2 and then lapband for 6. You can literally have your cake and eat it too.

3. Probably fail? Ask for your limitations and they are yours.

I'm not going to try to cheerlead the band, I'm just saying that you overstate the downside of the band and seem to be ignoring the incredible and wonderful benefits and opportunities the band offers to those who make the commitment. Maybe you're not ready? I know I was and I had no doubts and now, no regrets. Only you know?

tmf

I agree with tmf above me , maybe drinking water with your meals contributed to your weight gain. Why cant u just drink before hand, out of all the things people miss i cant imagine drinking with meals getting a higher prority than ones health and wellbeing ..

I physically CAN'T drink when I eat. I throw up unless I wait about an hour. I can tell when I'm ready to drink. So that's no problem for me anymore. When you finally get adjusted correctly and start losing, you'll have all those doubts erased from your mind. Be patient tho. It took 3 fills to get mine right. I lost little weight the first 5 mths. And I can eat ANYTHING except pizza crust and pineapple chunks (have no clue why the pineapple but whenever I try them, they come back up right away). And I'm the rule breaker when it comes to drinking: GASP! I drink soda and beer. You're not sposed to drink anything with carbonation but I do have little sips here and there. I've never actually ordered a soda or beer, but I'll sip on my husbands. And it doesn't cause me any discomfort or I wouldn't do it.

I didn't do very much research on banding before I did it and I regret it. I thought I would magically get this band and it would cause me to live my dreams. It didn't - I actually had to work for them. But I eventually got there (almost to goal). It sounds as tho your doing lots of research and thats good. You'll know about patience, the "sweet spot", fills, PB'ing, vomiting, and everything else that this life entails. Good for you!

I wish you the very best in your decision. It was the best decision I ever made for sure. And it gave me the confidence to start dating again a few yrs after my husband died. Met the love of my life when I was down about 75 lbs and got married 7 mths ago. Yep, I'm living my dreams.

Oh and I eat Pasta all the time. My favorite restaurant is Olive Garden. One meal is enuf for 4 meals for me now tho. And you have to eat it slowly. But I eat pasta, rice, bread (cept pizza crust) everyday. No problems.

Good luck!

Marci

I physically CAN'T drink when I eat. I throw up unless I wait about an hour. I can tell when I'm ready to drink. So that's no problem for me anymore. When you finally get adjusted correctly and start losing' date=' you'll have all those doubts erased from your mind. Be patient tho. It took 3 fills to get mine right. I lost little weight the first 5 mths. And I can eat ANYTHING except pizza crust and pineapple chunks (have no clue why the pineapple but whenever I try them, they come back up right away). And I'm the rule breaker when it comes to drinking: GASP! I drink soda and beer. You're not sposed to drink anything with carbonation but I do have little sips here and there. I've never actually ordered a soda or beer, but I'll sip on my husbands. And it doesn't cause me any discomfort or I wouldn't do it.

I didn't do very much research on banding before I did it and I regret it. I thought I would magically get this band and it would cause me to live my dreams. It didn't - I actually had to work for them. But I eventually got there (almost to goal). It sounds as tho your doing lots of research and thats good. You'll know about patience, the "sweet spot", fills, PB'ing, vomiting, and everything else that this life entails. Good for you!

I wish you the very best in your decision. It was the best decision I ever made for sure. And it gave me the confidence to start dating again a few yrs after my husband died. Met the love of my life when I was down about 75 lbs and got married 7 mths ago. Yep, I'm living my dreams.

Oh and I eat Pasta all the time. My favorite restaurant is Olive Garden. One meal is enuf for 4 meals for me now tho. And you have to eat it slowly. But I eat pasta, rice, bread (cept pizza crust) everyday. No problems.

Good luck!

Marci[/quote']

Wow Marci, thank you so much! You've made me feel so much better! Thank you!!!!

So joannedt, now that you are banded, how are you doing? Your post spoked to me, as your feelings are exactly mine. My husband and I have cocktails every evening together. We eat out every night. It's what we do. My BMI is 35. I don't want to give up quality of life just quantity of fat. I think one of my biggest fears is my husband being saddened that I will be changing a few things about how I eat. I'm determined to make it work and successful for us both.

My surgery is on June 27th and up until today I've been totally excited about the possibility of losing all this weight. But today I feel scared. Can I really completely give up drinking with meals? Am I going to ruin my quality of life with all of these restrictions? What if I go to Italy someday. I can't eat Pasta and drink wine with my meal? Am I prepared for the major life change that is about to happen? Should I try (and probably fail) yet another weight loss option? I'm sure I'm not the only person who has felt this way.

Gosh, your thoughts mirrored mine exactly. I was banded July 25, 2012 and still have some doubts. This forum is sometimes old posts so hasnt really helped me much, though I check every single day. My husband and I plan on a cruise down the Danube in October this year, and I wonder how I'm going to do it. I have an empty band for now, and just started the mushy stuff. I had no choices on weight loss. I have tried every thing imagine able. Remember Oprah... Me too and she is still fat! All her money, personal chefs, trainers, etc. I'm 69 years old and probably oldest one on here. I went to the "seventy +" section and it wouldn't load. HA HA. Hope that isn't a forebearer?