I've been reading, reading and researching, researching.

Things I learned:

-It is a life changing surgery. Motiviation is key

-The band works with hard work, some have it more easier a time than others. It is a tool not a miracle.

-Certain foods are ok sometimes, not ok other times. Different people have different food experiences.

-As with anything there are certain risks such as slippage or erosion that could depend on a person's following the "rules" or could happen no matter how good of a rule follower you are, stuff happens.

My question:

Does the band work because you simply cannot get all the food you used to eat go down. A lot of food cannot go down, you get "slime" or "pb" or worse really hurt your esophogas-which in turn is really negative reinforcement-don't eat that, don't eat fast, don't gulp, don't drink w/food or you will get the negative reinforcement which means pain.

OR

Does the band work because it really does what the manuf. says it does-which is make you feel fuller so you don't eat as much. Granted the above slime/pb/pain is there to make you really reinforce eating less but the bottom line is the band will make you feel full if you follow the guidelines.

OR

Is a combination of both?

I want so desperately to believe the propaganda-I will feel full with less food.

I know that if I don't do something I will keep up the cycle of gaining and losing, gaining and losing. I know my doc says I am at risk for heart attack or stroke My appetite is amazing and scary. I am motivated to follow the rules. Is the manuf right?

Full or not Full??????

Full, but I have found it is surely a cobo of both, that dont eat that or you will hate your self later ( this goes for me currently suffering from the oh just 2 more bites syndrome)

and you do feel full, sooner and for much longer.

hope this helps.

Diva, it's absolutely been true for me that I FEEL full on less food with the band. Yes, the negative reinforcement helps keep me from eating too much just because of the pain, but there's no question that this amount of food really IS enough.

The trick, and there is one, is paying attention to the feeling and recognizing it for what it is. It's a different feeling than what we may have thought of as "full" before--it's not that belly-bursting, full-to-sleepiness stuffedness we might remember from Thanksgivings past.

The negative reinforcement helps minimize the mindless eating that was my hallmark pre-band. And now all it takes is a little attention to realize that I'm actually full and satisfied, too.

I was banded 3 weeks ago so I have not had a fill yet. I'm on a soft diet and do NOT feel full. However, I am committed to this surgery and am sticking to the diet. My logic is simple. If I can lose weight staying on the diet, I'll be well prepared to maintain that level of loss and maybe increase it once I have a fill. Since I don't see my surgeon again until June 5th, it will be over 2 months from the date of the surgery before I get that fill. In the meantime, I'll be making positive life changes.

well this brings me to a question:

Does this mean I will be full on 1/2 or 1/3 of a sandwhich if you are supposed to eat 1/3 of what you did before banding?

I cannot even eat a full sandwhich - 2 pieces of white wheat bread, ham, light mayo & cheese without being full.

Im a grazer and eat off and on all day - something like this:

slimfast or eas shake for breakfast;

cheese or pork rinds for morning snack;

chicken salad for lunch;

shake afternoon snack or cheese & 5 crackers

dinner depends on family (last night was 6 small beef tips and 1/2 cup rice 1 small dinner croissant)

Someone in another post told me maybe I wasn't eating enough - not sure if this is going to affect being banded or not?

I think my success has been due to a combination of things. First of all, there are foods I cannot physically eat: pasta, bread, pizza, cake, rice, french fries - mostly carbs that I shouldn't be eating anyway. That certainly has helped me to lose weight. Then there is the question of quantity. I cannot physically over-eat. More than a cup of anything (even chunky soup or chili) and I will be revisiting my dinner.

I agree that it's not the same "full" feeling you have been used to all your life. But I think it's different for everyone.

Thank you all!

BTW by "propaganda" I mean:

I have been reading and looking into the lap-band for about 3 years. Mostly in trade periodicals, medical databases, news and informational sources. (I gave weight watchers one last shot)

Until I found this particular forum I only dimly read about instances of food backing up (never called "PB") or saliva overflow.

This information is glossed over especially by the manuf. Obviously I knew there had to be some sort of physical payback just by looking at a diagram of the surgery, but LBT is the best source of the truth I've found.

Anybody else want to "weigh" in the subject? :-)