:cryIn it's literal sense-- not getting enough nutrition to maintain weight.

I understand about the restriction and the amount of food tolerated(not talking baout cheating).

Stay with me a sec...please, I am not trying to be controversial.

I have three friends who have had other kinds of WLS. I have thought" hey, I should just mirror them in eating and it'll work". Nope, they eat WAY too much food--they are all at least 3 years out of surgery.

Sooo..if I mirrored a LB patient and chewed extra slowly and thoroughly...and stopped after so many ounces etc..it would work!?

BUT...alas, I know I don't have that kind of self discipline.

Getting to my question I promise....

So the LB forces us to do the above....effectively forcing starvation..and therefore losing weight??

If you CAN accomplish the results with the LB...couldn't you/we/I just do it with super strict supervision and no band??

(I get this way after a season of TBL ends......lol)

Is a person getting enough of the vital nutrients with the LB?

Thanks for any answers. Everytime I think I have made up my mind...I waffle.

Thanks

Susan<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Just answered this in a different thread.

the difference between the doing it with out the lapband and with the lap band the way i see it, Is this. its not that your starving yourself with or with out the band. with out the band you might diet the way you do with the band but, you dont get the satiety or fullness like you do with the band . with the band although you eat less at a setting your still getting the nutrition you need with out starving but the satiety or fullness is thier alot quicker. In my case before i had the band i did the dieting but i never ever felt full so even thought i was eating 3 meals a day i was snacking in between to get the full ness. with the band and i know i just got it 9 days ago and im still on the 10-14 days liquid phase i feel the fullness and i know when to stop drinking my drinks i mean i drink water through out the day but my protien shakes. i know when i have to stop for awhile. and i cant even finish a whole popsicle. its hard to understand until you get the band your self. so if you do gl. things will change for you in a good way. and youll understand where i am coming from. i hoped i helped.

Yes you helped, you guys are all so helpful. I will be looking for the poster above you reply in the other thread.

So, it IS forced.....but, that is the tool.

There is no ifs and or buts about it....you have to stop..or suffer the consequences. I get it.

I still don't see where I must be getting all the extra calories from...must be portions.

Susan

Thanks Wheetin, I read it.

I'm thinking I mean malnourished VS the word Starvation.

I type faster than I think sometimes.

In reading MANY posts..I am coming across some of the baddies..like any forum...and I know that when there is a gripe about the procedure or lack of success there will be a lot of posts about it.

My concerns are nutrition, PBs and all the rest.

Read this morning that salads are a bug problem for a lot...but not for others. Fruit...and the bread thing.....sheesh.

Thanks for replying.

My view is that we have to live on fewer calories than "normal" after having dieted for so many years. It's not starvation level but it's hard to maintain for the rest of our lives. I lost 70 pounds on a VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet) four years ago but as soon as I went back to 1600 -1800 calories a day, I gained. According to all the math and formulas, I should have at least been maintaining, if not losing, at that level, and that doesn't even count the exercising I was doing. But they're beginning to learn more and more about how all this works and it really isn't just "calories in, calories out."

So the band allows me to be on a VLCD for the long term. I found that idea a little depressing at first because it's hard to imagine that I wouldn't be miserable, but that's what the band helps take care of. There are still adjustments to be made in my thinking and habits and I'm just at the beginning but I've had enough of a glimpse of how this works that I am no longer depressed.

I think you asked a good question, one that many of us had in the beginning. Good luck on whatever you choose!

Soozan, responded to your reply in the other topic 'why am I fat', but had to add something here - you mentioned you read salads are a big problem for some people. Here is what I've discovered:

If you chew, chew, chew and chew some more until there are no 'chunks' in your food larger than a pea, chances are, you won't have a problem. When I have a problem with things getting stuck, it's usually one of three reasons:

1) I'm eating too fast (gobbling my food like I used to do)

2) I'm not chewing it enough (along with eating too fast)

3) I'm eating MORE than I should (even after the warning signs have told me to stop, that I've had enough).

If you listen to your body and change the behaviors that get you into trouble, you'll be fine. You WILL get enough nutrients that your body needs. Make the right choices and eat less. It's a winning combination.

Ciao!

-Becky :ranger:

Well not only 'suffer the consequences'.. but for me, food is different. Honest to God, I don't like eating anymore. 90% of the time, I look at it as a chore, and darn I have to try to get THAT to go in THERE. I don't starve myself by any means, and I take Vitamins and Protein supplements I don't think I was doing any better with nutrition pre-band with all the crap I ate (fastfood 2-3x a day).

I don't know that I would have believed it if someone told me with the band I wouldn't look at food the same.. but I don't.

Once in a while (TOM times mostly) I get off the wall craving to binge, and eat all kinds of crap.. And I set myself up for failure, I get said crap.. when it comes time to binge on it.. well.. never works. I bite into whatever it was to 'start', and I'm back to.. food is too much work, I don't wanna eat.

Today I went to lunch with an old friend, we went to Chili's. I got a cup of the chili (which is damn good people, I never had it before). In the past it would have been an appetizer, a full meal, and likely a dessert since I was in good company. I'm full, which is most important thing. I didn't just eat something small to fit a diet, it's all I wanted.

When I was on the pre-op liquid diet I lost 7 lbs--and hadn't been able to lose an ounce in years--so my brother the doctor said "Great, now you can cancel surgery!"

However, when I think about the SIZE of my stomach and what it took to get it even the slightest bit FULL is disgusting. I always ate good foods: cereals, grains, yogurt, cottage cheese, skim milk, little red meat, lots of chicken and tuna fish--but what I didn't realize is that I had to eat too much of all of that just to feel full!

So yes, you could follow a lap bander in their eating but I will guarantee you that without having that "full" feeling, you'll be grazing before the next mealtime comes around.:hungry:

And nutrition? whey Protein isolate mixed in Water mid-morning and mid-evening (plus Vitamins and calcium) serve me quite nicely!

My doctor actually doesn't want me to eat salads. He says that the nutritional value is so low on a salad to not waste my valuable space on them. I'm supposed to eat to about a half to 2/3 of my pouch full of protein, then veggies on top of that. I've not been banded yet, but I'm really hoping that I will be able to tell how much room is in the "pouch".

Sharon160, that's what the threads are for--hopefully finding someone you can identify with. The very best of luck to you...

I don't starve myself. While I eat less I always hit my protein alottment for the day too. I love being banded. Its the best thing I've ever done. Good luck.

I also can't do it myself. The Biggest Loser is very inspirational, but it's not a lifestyle that's very easy for most of us to maintain. They exercise 4 hours a day. I don't want to do the diet/exercise anymore. The band at the right fill does not allow me to overeat. I think I get plenty of nutrition, it is just impossible to overeat now.

If you can do it yourself that is great. It will save some time and in my case a large self-payment. However, I've lost 73 pounds in the last 9 months and as hard as I tried before, that would never have happened. I think we all need a lot less food than we think, so it's not really starving, it's just eating the basic needs for your body and no more.

Good luck!!

I never would have believed there could be satisfaction from a meal that was smaller than what I used to either spill on myself or eat as an appetizer (wonderful concept there) or a desert in addition to the 'meal'....

Now that's a LOL quote! And so true! Thanks!:clap2:

I don't view being banded as starvation. It seems to be more about helping us with attaining normal portion management. Most of us who are fat overeat, the band if anything helps us eat more normally.

I think it is a blast to go into a restaurant and order something I would have 1.NEVER have ordered before because of the calories or 2. ordered, eaten it all, and felt guilty. Yesterday, I went to eat and ordered a meal, ate 1/3 of it slowly and felt full! Then I took the rest home, ate another 1/3 today, and shared the rest with my husband. I feel FREE now, and that never happened on ANY diet before. After my first fill, I am sure that 1/3 amount will be cut way back, but that is fine, 'cuz I feel full and satisfied.