For the fellow lap banders that have many days under their belt do you find the band helps with binge eating??

yep - the band only allows so much food at one time and unless you binge on liquids which I haven't done (ice cream for example) it will be coming up. I binged once during my good ole period week on melted butter with sugar and dipped one piece of bread into it - got it soft - i guess necessity is the mother of invention and my cravings were huge. Really in almost 15 months that's about it. Binging is something I used to do often so I consider that pretty good - if you continue to binge as some do - you can eat around the band - you can stretch your pouch, sabatage your weight loss, etc.

Yes and no. It helps in that you can't eat the pure quantities that you could before. But it doesn't take away the urge to binge eat. So I still "binge" on occasion. The good news is that instead of 3000-5000 calories at a sitting, it's more like 1000 cals. Bad news is...it's still a form of binge eating.

I'm struggling with this one right now...can you tell?

I think it does. Whether it is more physical or mental, I have not gone on one eating binge since surgery. At least twice a month I would come home and shovel food in my mouth - taking large bites and eating quickly untill I was beyond stuffed.

Now, I am afraid of getting stuck, so I will not even attempt to shovel. If I start "snacking" on bad foods though, I am much more in control since I have to think about chewing the food well. Because of the time it takes to do that, I am able to stop myself before getting to binge status.

YES!!!!! I won't say I don't "binge" now.....but it isn't quite such an issue when a binge is 2 cookies!!! The desire for food has changed, but the biggest change is in how much I can eat. I used to grab a bag of chips or cookies, and I could eat a good part of it, if not all of it---not so anymore! A few bites, and I'm done!

The lack of actual hunger has greatly reduced desire to binge. Now when I do hit a binge, it is head hunger...that little demon on my shoulder telling me I really NEED those Hershey Kisses in the cupboard!!! Luckily I no longer have a need to eat more than a couple. And with real food, I just can't eat much, so when it is a binge---it is a few bites, and I'm past it!

YES----YES-----YES!!!! The band helped my binging tons!

Kat

That Is A Resounding Yes!!!

Yes, it helps a ton. Granted, I can still eat too many chips, but it's still not what it used to be. I haven't decided whether this is a good practice or not, but sometimes when I feel really out of control, I'll eat a few bites of bread, or something else that is going to just sit in my pouch for a long time and make me not able to eat... which helps in it's own way...

Hmm, I'd haveto say no.

I've never been a real binge eater but I eat because of boredom, and the foods I eat - Cookies - go down easily and I can easily destroy my day with cookies, I can eat an entire packet and have done. But it might take me 3 hours. I cant shovel them in.

Since its got nothing to do with hunger and my band doesnt stop me eating large amounts of stuff that goes through easily, its totally down to me not to do this, and I generally dont.

Thanks for the answers!! That puts a big ole smile on my face !!