Just curious, but if you feel like you are addicted to food or large portions, once banded, will that go away? Or will the feeling need to be replaced by something else? Another addiction so to speak....

The band will take away the large portions. If you try to continue them you'll end up stuck or throwing up. The addiction is something to work on. I love food and will still fantasize about my favorites. I have just learned to make better choices, and lumit the bad choices to very small portions. Remember, we needed the band because we have made some bad choices at times. I have discovered that exercising can take my mind off food at times. Tonight after some chinese food I was feeling pretty guilty, but got up out of bed and walked a couple of miles. This doesn't make up for the chinese, but does make me feel a little more in control.

Replacing one addiction with another addiction is not uncommon. If you understand the psychology behind addiction, it is a cycle that can be broken, but it takes time and perseverance. The band will help to moderate physical hunger, but "head hunger" has to be managed through understanding it and learning ways to adjust your habits and thinking so that you don't give in to it.

Physically, once you have restriction, you will not be able to eat the large portions, unless you learn how to "eat around the band". The people who choose to do this are generally ones who are trying to change the dietary rules to meet their own perceived needs, instead of understanding that there are valid reasons for the rules to be in place. That type of flawed thinking is a hallmark trait of an addict. There are many unhealthy slider foods to choose from, but if you want to be successful with weight loss, you have to learn ways to avoid giving into it.

Your relationship with food needs to change entirely; it will not be your friend. You will no longer be able to seek solace from the stress and boredom of life with food. You need to accept that we must eat to live, and not the other way around.

As you will often seen quoted on this forum, the band is only a tool. You must learn how to use it properly for it to work as it was designed.

Best wishes...

I was told by my psychologist that there is such a thing as "addiction transfer" so it's something to look out for. Have your support system be aware of that as a slim possibility, and if it looks like you're headed that way, regroup! I've only been banded for 6 weeks, and I was a compulsive overeater. I do not feel like that anymore - first of all, the band won't let me. It reminds me right away if I'm overdoing it. Sometimes I still have the urge to just eat more (and I do still put too much on my plate), but I know the downside and I stop. With time, that addiction does go away! The trick is to replace it with healthy things - walking, something creative, meditation, snuggling with your honey, music, or whatever fills your spirit besides food or other addictions.

You're going to do great! I'm excited for you and can't wait to hear how things go!!!

D

Thanks! I'm not sure how yet, but must come up with alternative ways to handle the stress, boredom, etc... Other than food.

Interesting question!

I know I was/am addicted to both. It's a conscious effort to ask myself "am I physically hungry, or am I head hungry?" Head hungry is when you want to eat just for the sake of eating, not for hunger. As a food addict, I still struggle with this. Thankfully, the band definitely keeps the physical hunger at bay so at least I'm not battling that anymore along with it.

The big portion thing is also so true! It's funny, even now over 6 months after being banded, I still have eyes much bigger than my stomach. At home when I can measure food it's not a problem, but when I eat out I habitually end up with more food than I could possibly eat. Like today, I went out to lunch with my kids, and I had a single crab cake for lunch. I decided I also wanted a salad so ordered that too. I had about 3 bites of the salad and wasted the rest. Ordering the salad was a dumb move on my part. I couldn't even finish the crab cake!

The sad part is, before being banded, the crab cake would've been just an appetizer. I would've ate it all, the entire salad, a big entree, and maybe even dessert. Now, there is just now way I could possibly eat even a quarter of all that at one meal.

Any kind of weight loss surgery patients have to be very aware of trading addictions. We are definitely more at risk for drug addiction and alcoholism so it's smart to be aware of.

I ran across this comment on another post or site? Anyway, I often wish I were so thoughtful and could express how I'm feeling as well as this guy did.

"Sometimes to get where you want to go, you have to do what you are afraid to do. You must be brave and push forward. Miracles occur when you give as much attention and energy to your dreams as you do to your fears.

In my case, the most fearful thing I had to do in order to succeed with my band wasn't switching to skim milk, surviving a liquid diet, or giving up bread. The most fearful thing was giving up my emotional attachment to food. In the nearly 5 years since I was banded, I've made a lot of progress with that, but the attachment is still there. It forms one of the innermost layers of my turtle shell. Working on that layer will probably be a lifetime job for me. At times I'm not even sure I truly want to get rid of it altogether. At times I'm afraid that if I shed my shell completely, I won't be able to survive. On the other hand, I seem to be doing fine without that thick old b***h layer. So I'm going to pay attention to my dreams rather than my fears and pray for a miracle. And why not? It can't hurt to try!"

tmf