I'm researching Lap Band surgery for weight loss. I'm 5'3 and my weight has hovered around 210 for a couple of years. I've tried every diet and either lose weight and gain it all back, or I don't lose any weight. My understanding of how Lap Band works is that if makes you feel full sooner. My fear is that I eat even when I'm full and I'm afraid this won't work for me. Any thoughts or recommendations?

Well Honey, the band will punish you if you eat when you are not hungry. You will HURT horribly and PB (search for that). If you like pain, you may do it more than once, but I doubt you will. No one gets that golf ball feeling on purpose... unless they are an idiot.

or learn slowly- like me! LOL

Are there foods one should avoid after lap band surgery? And about how much does lap band surgery cost?

Ideally we should eat a healthy diet, and most of us try, some of them succeed. The rest of us muddle along doing our best!! There are different things for each person that they have trouble eating and passing through the band, most common are breads, and dry meats. Some people don't have issues with eating, and eat very normally in very small amounts. The band allows food to trigger your full nerves very soon, it also will begin backing food up into your esophagus if you continue, and that hurts! You do like they told you, and learn not to do that!!!

The cost varies from under $10,000.00 in Mexico, and some other foreign countries, to over $20,000.00 in some states here in the USA. Some insurances cover it, some don't. It all depends on where you choose to have surgery, and can arrange follow up care.

It is a serious step, and uyou should research all you can to see if it is something you could "live with".

Good luck in your decision--and welcome to LBT.

Kat

I'm researching Lap Band surgery for weight loss. I'm 5'3 and my weight has hovered around 210 for a couple of years. I've tried every diet and either lose weight and gain it all back, or I don't lose any weight. My understanding of how Lap Band works is that if makes you feel full sooner. My fear is that I eat even when I'm full and I'm afraid this won't work for me. Any thoughts or recommendations?

It's a different full. I too used to eat way past full and was worried about doing so after banding.

It's very hard to eat beyond satisfied when you are filled to a good level, and you pay for it if you do. Even if you don't PB. I feel miserable, and hate it, so it's good aversion therapy.

The best part though is I don't really want to eat past satisfied anymore. It's not appealing at all. I even left 1/2 a piece of wedding cake on my plate over the weekend. It was very good cake, I was just done. That never happened before banding. I would have eaten it all and gone for seconds.

I have a poor memory. Do very well for a while, and then have a few days where my brain takes a vacation. It's a learning process.

I was just like you. Never allowed myself to be really hungry. My love affair with food has ended. I look elsewhere for those little "lifts" my snacking used to bring. Food doesn't do it for me any more

Read read read this forum. Good luck

While I'm relatively new, what I've learned the most from this site is that there doesn't appear to be much of a limit on the amount of "junk food" that can be eaten after banded. chips, ice cream, shakes all just slide right through the band.

So if you're a "bulk eater" who eats big meals the band will be awesome because you won't be able to do that anymore, but if you're a grazer and the weakness is sweets, ice cream, chips, etc., it may be a little tougher....but still very doable!

Good luck in your research,

The band works. If you over indulge you will throw up. I think your thoughts around food will definitely change. Good luck.