I am curious. I know I have an eating addiction (don't we all). I have my first consultation next week for the band.

My question is: Do you still want to consume more food even though your pouch is full?

I can be an emotional eater. Do you feel like consuming food and then get frustrated with your body saying no, or do you feel as though you don't want food anymore?

I am getting mixed messages from other people's threads. Some say they don't even want the food they're cooking and others seem to struggle with stopping.

Any input on this?

:help:

i'm almost 6 weeks out...and i get hungry...i still want chips and ice cream and cookies and cake and CANDY!!!!! i am just choosing not to have it.... just know....i think this is worth doing! i needed something to control my appetite...i've not been filled yet...have appt on 1/8/08... and i cant wait.. but dont expect to not want things...untill you get filled my dr even told me its a fight... just make good choices...but thats hard.... however....i do believe when i get restriction...it'll be great... gl to you... i love my band...i know its going to work... ps..even when you get restriction.... i know for me..i'll still want those things.. my mind lovessssss food... you can do it....if i can do it :bounce:

At mealtime, being "full" is being satiated for me. Now that doesn't mean that (mostly in the evening) my MIND doesn't say, "Hey, your hubby has some potato chips out in the cupboard"!!

The question is do I follow my MIND or my BODY? Believe me, Bandy, once the weight starts coming off, you have more than enough incentive to keep on the right track!

They way you described your "food addiction" fits me perfectly. The "addiction" part actually became crystal clear to me the day after new years when I started back to work after a week off. I had my protein bar for breakfast and a healthy choice for lunch. I was so hungry by the time I got home from work, I had a coke, cookies, etc until I was stuffed with junk. I felt a calm come over me, and just felt good all over. I though to myself, this is what it must feel like for a drug addict when they can finally get high. The band has been a HUGE disapointment for me. I've had it for about 5 months and have gained 10lbs. I'm afraid to go for another fill because my doctor makes me feel like such a failure. It is depressing when your "last resort" doesn't work. I'm bigger than ever, none of my clothes fit. I would be so devistated if I would had payed for it all by myself. My insurance helped, thank goodness. But I wouldn't recommend it for "binge" eaters like myself. All I have to show for it is scars on my stomach. And some advice...... Don't tell anyone you are having it done. I had to tell some coworkers that had to cover for me at work, and they keep asking me "how its going" have I been back to the Dr. lately, etc. I know they are like.... why is she fatter than ever? Thats just one opinion. I wouldn't recomend having it done though.

I'm really sorry to hear about this. I need to hear these types of things because I think people get so caught up in this idea that this will save them from everything and you're still the same person in the end... now with a tool under your skin that you can use or not. I guess a good way to look at this would be, that if you mentally got set to challenge your relationship with food, you'd have something already inside (literally) to help you do it. I'm really afraid of this being a problem for me. I have such a strong relationship with food and tastes and it's such a part of my life. I'm really going to have a struggle with this.

Thanks! I know that the weight loss part will be great for me. It's the strong relationship I have with food, that I will worry will be a problem for me in maintaining the weight loss in the future!

They way you described your "food addiction" fits me perfectly. The "addiction" part actually became crystal clear to me the day after new years when I started back to work after a week off. I had my protein bar for breakfast and a healthy choice for lunch. I was so hungry by the time I got home from work, I had a coke, cookies, etc until I was stuffed with junk. I felt a calm come over me, and just felt good all over. I though to myself, this is what it must feel like for a drug addict when they can finally get high. The band has been a HUGE disapointment for me. I've had it for about 5 months and have gained 10lbs. I'm afraid to go for another fill because my doctor makes me feel like such a failure. It is depressing when your "last resort" doesn't work. I'm bigger than ever, none of my clothes fit. I would be so devistated if I would had payed for it all by myself. My insurance helped, thank goodness. But I wouldn't recommend it for "binge" eaters like myself. All I have to show for it is scars on my stomach. And some advice...... Don't tell anyone you are having it done. I had to tell some coworkers that had to cover for me at work, and they keep asking me "how its going" have I been back to the Dr. lately, etc. I know they are like.... why is she fatter than ever? Thats just one opinion. I wouldn't recomend having it done though.

Did you loose weight during the five months before you gained the 10 back? If so, you're still ahead! Catch it now before it becomes 15 pounds!

Don't allow the DR to make you feel anything bad about yourself. You went there for help and you still need help. Maybe you just need a fill?

That's what the band is all about. And in the meantime, maybe try to get rid of the bad stuff in the house and get some healthier choices to substitute.

I am at a plateau right now and waiting for my next fill and wondering if I will get any restrction from it. I don't want to gain any back, so today I am having liquids all day and then dinner.

I've had one Isopure CLEAR ( 40 gms protein 160 calories) and one large glass of V-8 low sodium (100 calories). I'll have a lean cuisine and a protein shake for dinner and maybe a yogurt. That will put me at 800 calories for the day. If you could do something similar one or two days a week (spread the two days out if you want) then maybe that would be the jump start you need to get back on track.

Believe me, I know how hard this is. The holidays are over and even the "normal" people are dieting in January, so just jump on the bandwagon!

Mermaidpuppy, your problem was trying to go from lunch to dinner without anything in between. We are supposed to be having at least 3 meals and two snacks a day. Are you getting enough protein? Are you drinking at least 64 oz of water a day? Try to eat every 3 hours. I have a snack every afternoon with lots of protein like a protein drink, yogurt, cottage cheese, applesauce or v8 with protein powder, hot chocolate, etc. It helps me not be so hungry just before dinner. I have a snack around 9:00 too.

I feel hungry (less since my first fill back on 01/07/08), but initially I did not. The first three weeks after surgery I did not feel hungry. But there is another person on this site who was banded the same day as me and she has never had a fill and swears she is NEVER hungry. I am so jealous :cry

Anyway, I know there are folks who have the band and are five or six months out, they originally lost 20 to 30 pounds but have not gone any further. I don't mean to judge that success, but I sure hope this does not happen to me. Honestly I am worried I might be, but I am going to fight the good fight and keep trying.

I am still glad I had it. I have twangs that I should have had gastric bypass, but I really like my hair and bone mass to much to have gone that route. Plus the DH would not let us gamble with the mortality rate.

Good luck with your decision.

<p>One of my friends once admitted to me that he couldn't go to sleep at night if there was a beer in the refrigerator. Then, I got to thinking that my addiction was not alcohol but food. I don't get banded until next week, Jan 16 2008. To lose weight, I know I can only have lowcarb foods and drinks in the house. Fortunately for me, it's just my husband and I at home and he is willing to stay on the same LowCalorie LowCarb foods that I am. </p> <p> </p> <p>I do believe the LapBand is a good tool. Just as you can have all the top-notch tools to build something but you still have to put the labor into it. Our labor is to consume LowCalorie, very LowCarb foods and drinks.</p> <p> </p> <p>I've learned just on this Pre-Op diet that my 51yr old obese Type 2 Diabetes body is responding so well to those foods. It's returned my bloodsugars to almost normal in just a few days and I've had diabetes for years. The lbs are just melting off and I feel better than I have in years. It's Wednesday, all this since Sunday! I'm not kidding.</p>

I had the same food issues you have, and I found that the right amount of fill and a few unpleasant episodes of sliming...OK, and a couple episodes where I WISHED I could throw up and make the pain go away, suddenly I found myself a LOT more able to exercise some self-control.

Now, I still catch myself emotionally eating, but its a LOT sooner, and I'm a lot more honest with myself (i.e. do you really want to eat this...you KNOW what will happen!), and I've found myself able to stay more self-aware and in control.

im also an emoitional eater but ivelearnt to control my eating the last few months due to knowing that im gettin this done..n dont want to shock my self by 1 day not being able to eat anything or(much)... but im still going to get it done and do my best.. thats all u can hope for if u do the right thing, things will fall into place..

This is a common problem as more and more folks get banded.

Besides getting your band you need educated, experienced support.

If you are banded and gaing weight then something is wrong!

Your Dr is an ass for doing anything negative!! "jerk"

He prob has no weight issues.

Look you need some phone support its great to chat with folks here but you need more than that. Often its the lack of good education that leads to band issues.

try me its free and I am down 200.lbs so I feel qualified to help you or anyone that wants a little knowledge about how this is supposed to work.

If you "work your band" you should have more food left over at the end of the day than you could eat. If not working your band you will be hungry and gain weight and all the other crap that comes with it.

Call me if you'd like we can chat. 1626 675 4143.

PST

I am definately mentally hungry for food, but physically I am not. I am one month post op & had my first fill a week ago. The mental is still a big issue.

When I get to that point in the meal where I know that physically, I have had enough, but want "one more bite", I really feel as if I am at a crossroads. Sometimes I put the fork down & walk away and sometimes I go ahead and eat a few more bites. I am learning that taking a few more bites comes with reprocussions!

It is definitely mental. I can feel so full I would surely puke if I took another bite, but my mind -- conditioned from 45 years of eating -- will be screaming at me, as I walk away from the table..."You didn't eat enough, you're going to get hungry!"

I'm almost 5 months out from surgery and it gets a little easier -- the physical vs. mental challenge -- every day.