I'm really working on internalizing the idea that "I could eat" is not the same thing as "I am hungry." Seems simple enough, right?

I realized today that, if the above is true, then "I could eat more" does not mean "I need more." This also seems simple.

If only simple things were easy!

When I was preparing to get the band, part of that was mental preparation, or what I call "getting my head right first". I told myself that the band will only be an assistive device to help me with the lack of dicipline with overeating. iI did not realize it works on the appetite as well until my surgeon explained it to me. Before I got the band, there were certain foods that I knew I needed to cut out or severely limit, such as sweets and pasta. If you eat sweets, you just want more, and they also drive your appetite by raising and lowering your blood sugar. i eat them only very rarely. I feel hungry at times, but don't want anything. I do portion control, and get that warning "hiccup" if my portion is too big and I stop eating. I couldn't stop before the band and always ate seconds or even thirds . I am most proud of myself for sticking to portions and cutting out bad things in my diet and actually have the dicipline to do so.

You are so right. It's not easy and not it's not simple. Most of us haven't even felt physical hunger in years because we would constantly eat and never let ourselves get hungry. So not only are we trying to learn to listen to our body's natural hunger signals' date=' we're also trying to retrain our brains to go "Oh, I don't need more food" rather than eat until our brains go "Oh I couldn't eat another bite".

That's one thing all the surgeons and nutritionists seem to miss telling us ahead of time: trying to be successful with the Lap Band is one huge learning experience.[/quote']

I agree 100 percent!! And I love learning about the band....