I read many posts, and not sure how to respond to many of them...so I decided just to make a statement concerning MY weight loss approach...

My problem was I could not control my eating....every diet in the world is not going to do anything for me if I can't stop eating.....I could eat an entire large pizza's all by myself...along with a couple of beers, and then dessert! Every Friday Night!

So I had WLS to stop me - prevent me from overeating....simple as that...I have a band wrapped around my stomach that stops me from eating too much.....physically impossible to over eat....

I eat a 1/10th of what I used to on any given day...and the best part is I'm not hungry, I'm always satisfied....period....will be that way for the rest of my life....

It is a new lifestyle...eat less, eat healthy....all things in moderation?

I am not on any diet, do not care about calories, carbs, etc....I simply cannot overeat! And since I am eating so little now, I make sure that what I do eat, I eat healthy...make the best food choices I can....sprinkle that with some exercise and there it is!

Sure, I still eat ice cream, etc....just not enough to feed an army....I have friends, colleagues, who go out and eat-drink all sorts of things that dieters would have nightmares about....and yet they are thin, and in good shape, and never speak of dieting....they simply do not over do it....

Vacations, parties, holiday dinners have no effect on my eating....so I have no fear of that anymore....

It's not me doing this....It is the band!!! I am unable to do it on my own, as my history has shown....

There is no dieting....there is no maintenance...just a surgical procedure that has me eating the way normal, thin, people do all the time....and eventually I did reach that place....

There are no clever tricks, catchy motivational sayings....you can do it slogans, words of encouragement....it was simply surgical intervention,,,,to do for me what I could not do...and what other people who are not overweight are able to do....

I now live a regular day to day life, a daily routine, without the fear of weight loss or gain....it is finished....I cannot possible imagine living the rest of my life on a constant diet.Torture...yet I believe that is what many people here are setting themselves up for....

I know people don't like to hear it, but there is no hard work involved at all on my part, other than learning about good foods and planning healthy meals....and those first few months learning to live differently with this....

I've been around here long enough to know there are many who will not agree with me....So What...it is what it is....I'm happy, successful, and ready to live the rest of my life this way, at a normal weight, not having to diet all the time...

I'm happy for what other people have found to be their success paths...that's all that matters....

So there it is...take it or leave it.....I would guess over 85% of the people here cannot relate to what I am saying...and that is why many veterans choose to move on.....all the banders who were here when I first came, are all long gone....and I can understand why....

So much for my rant....

Edited February 27, 201412 yr by B-52

I am a sleever and feel exactly the same way about how I do this journey. I do not eat as I would if I were on a normal 1200 calorie diet. I believe in moderation and balance.

The other way did not work for me either. so I do have a cookie when I want one. I too eat better then I ever have in my life and I chose wiser choices not just because they are good for me but because I actually like the taste and flavors and what it does for me.

I refuse to see this as another diet ( failed ) This is my life for the rest of my life and I need to live it in the real world not in a place where lettuce is the number 1 item on the list to eat.

This is a journey for me as well. A life long change that I work hard to embrace and help others as much as I can.

However, bailing after you have received the help you needed from this forum is just not nice. There are new people here that need your help as much as you needed others as you were finding your way. I feel paying it forward is the right thing to do. Not jump ship when it gets a little frustrating answering the same questions over and over again. We needed help and others do to.

We are in a society where there is not a lot of help out there for people who have WLS. I am sure B- 52 you have a lot to offer folks on here that are considering or just started their WLS journey. Don't be like the others that moved on....Be there to help others as you were helped.....

Feel free to tell me to do the same if I decide to leave as well..Okay!

Edited February 27, 201412 yr by RJ'S/beginning

True true ya-all! I need input from outside sources! Who else understands the way you do? Some have words of wisdom, some inspiration, some motivation, some the voice of reason... Pick and choose, intelligent enough to do our research, but who knows where the next idea will come from? Who knows when someone will make an impact on our thought process, and never know it?

B52: I enjoy reading your posts and I value your experiences. What I will say is the band has changed me as well but you made one important statement that I would like to highlight:

And since I am eating so little now, I make sure that what I do eat, I eat healthy...make the best food choices I can....sprinkle that with some exercise and there it is!

Your band is not making those choices you are. You're making the decisions with your brain on what to eat. Your band maybe limiting your intake but your choices are all on you.

I think it is very important for newbies to understand that the band will not force you to choose meat and vegetables over potato chips and ice cream. IT is not that EASY....

Edited February 27, 201412 yr by Jim1967

Any of us that have been banded for a long time have made healthy choices to eat. If we didn't we would be right back where we started from. It's amazing how time has changed the way I eat and what I eat. It has stopped me from over eating also because if I eat too much can feel it in my throat backing up.

That's great advice - I count my calories right now because I am still learning to eat healthy and my mind is not banded (unfortunately- lol). After I learn what is healthy and what is not - I will be able to do what you are doing! I can't wait to be free from it all and just let it be!

Thanks for sticking around for us, because we need people like you, Cheryl, Jim, Carolina Girl & alot of others who have been here for along time & continue to help us

B-52...dude I think I love you. This approach is what I am aiming for. I'm not there yet. Still a "newbie" just 5 1/2 months out. I am still figuring out what works and what doesn't. I have the foundation for the healthier lifestyle and I just need to build on it. I'm getting better and better everyday. I don't want to be on a "diet" all my life. I don't want to feel like I have to choose one food over another...and eventually the habits I'm forming now while I am actively choosing the healthier foods over the less healthy foods will lead to effortless eating in the future. Thanks for showing it's possible.

Sat next to the CEO of our company a couple nights ago at a business dinner, food was some of the best I have ever tasted. Sampled a couple of appetizers then ate about 1/5 of my main course and was done. The CEO remarked that I had raved about the food but had hardly eaten anything. I simply said a year ago I weighed 300 pounds, now I don't. Could I have eaten more? Yup, but them my wife wouldn't have had all those leftovers for lunch the next day. I love being able to eat fantastic food, and not feel guilty about it. Mistress Band gives me that freedom.

Great insights B52, thanks for sharing your experience. Sounds like a good plan to me!

Jim 1967- I couldn't agree with you more. The one thing I heard over and over again while I was researching this surgery and still do to this day and whole heartedly believe is "the band is a TOOL", not a magic wand, we have to be disciplined in our food choices and we have to be held accoutable to ourselves when we don't (the scale will do that for us). We still have the freedom to eat whatever we want, the band controls the quantity. We're the ones doing the hard work, we're the ones making a concious effort to make the right food choices and to live a healthy lifestyle.

If we continue to tell ourselves the band did all the work, without giving OURSELVES any credit for our success, we're ultimately telling ourselves we did nothing to earn this accomplishment and for me I don’t want ANYTHING I didn’t earn and work hard for.

For me recognizing my hard work and where it's brought me along with the bands help is what keeps me going, plus it’s positive fuel for the mind which is really what keeps us motivated.

Edited February 27, 201412 yr by enjoythetime

I enjoy this topic!!!! I had my band tightened and now am working on getting back to the basics. I started picking up bad habits by eating simple carbs. Bad idea and I know better. B-52 you made me remember how I use to eat and feel. I am focusing on that now and starting to lose the weight I gained back. This band is great. My sister had the bypass and tells me all the time she wished she had opted for the band. Thanks again B-52 for helping me remember what the band does and focusing on that.

If we continue to tell ourselves the band did all the work, without giving OURSELVES any credit for our success, we're ultimately telling ourselves we did nothing to earn this accomplishment and for me I don’t want ANYTHING I didn’t earn and work hard for.

Not only that but also newbies and people just starting their research on the band is going to get the impression that all they have to do is have this magical belt strapped around their stomach and hundred or so pounds will just fall off and in my opinion that is just bad news...

Jim1967 I followed your link from Dr. Simpson, GREAT article. Thanks,

"eat less, eat healthy....all things in moderation? I am not on any diet, do not care about calories, carbs, etc....I simply cannot overeat!"

and

"Your band is not making those choices you are. You're making the decisions with your brain on what to eat. Your band maybe limiting your intake but your choices are all on you."

Standing applause!!!!.....

The only thing I disagree with is it doesn't always stop you from eating as much as you want. If it has for you then that is great but lets not give people a misconception that it will not let them eat more then they want to because I can sit and eat all day if I choose to. I can eat more then I should but I don't. Not everyone gets the same out come and yes has to work hard at it. B52 I am happy that you have not had to do anything except change what you were eating but that is most likely not what everyone else will experience. I can certainly eat around my band if I choose to.

If we continue to tell ourselves the band did all the work, without giving OURSELVES any credit for our success, we're ultimately telling ourselves we did nothing to earn this accomplishment and for me I don’t want ANYTHING I didn’t earn and work hard for.

Not only that but also newbies and people just starting their research on the band is going to get the impression that all they have to do is have this magical belt strapped around their stomach and hundred or so pounds will just fall off and in my opinion that is just bad news...

The only thing I disagree with is it doesn't always stop you from eating as much as you want. If it has for you then that is great but lets not give people a misconception that it will not let them eat more then they want to because I can sit and eat all day if I choose to. I can eat more then I should but I don't. Not everyone gets the same out come and yes has to work hard at it. B52 I am happy that you have not had to do anything except change what you were eating but that is most likely not what everyone else will experience. I can certainly eat around my band if I choose to.

I agree with what you guys have written here. I am working with my band everyday. It has helped me in ways I never understood that I needed help before, which is why diets never worked for me, but there is hard work involved in changing your life.

I wish that it was so simple to have the band placed and poof 40 years of bad habits fall by the wayside, but that takes some learning and focus of thought to make good choices not to mention some umph to get up and move the body that has been sitting on it's laurels for far too long.

I'm embracing my new life and making it work for me.