i am very new to the whole lap band idea... i just read about it recently and had a question. If a person gets the band put on and then doesnt exercise or eat right, will they still lose weight? is it fail-safe?

thanks

Not sure about that one. Why would someone get the band and not want to work with it? Please do lots of research before you make any decisions to help you decide if the band is right for you. A "search" (located at top of page) will give you lots of answers to various questions. Best of luck to you!

is it fail-safe? thanks

I'd say just about nothing is fail-safe. And I agree with Marie, why get the band if you aren't going to work with it? If you research here, you will hear a lot that it's just a tool, you still have to do all the dieting work and sometimes it just ain't easy. You will lose weight faster if you exercise, but I don't suppose you HAVE to, I mean, the Band won't fall out if you don't. But, yes, you have to watch what you eat or you will eat around the band and get plenty of calories that do you no good on weight loss. You can't just get the Band and be done. Fire away with questions...if you are seriously researching, no question too dumb, just do your homework.

I have to admit to being a fairly bad bandster. I don't follow a diet or exercise regime at all. I eat what I want when I want. Because my intake is so limited, I do try and make better choices than I used to, but deny myself nothing. Somethings my band decides I can't have, so luckily there are many foods like breads, cakes, cookies, carbonation, etc.. that since banding I can't tolerate, and that helps me cut out a lot of junk. I don't want to be unhealthy or get sick, so I take a flintstone vitamin everyday, and try to drink more water, but I know I don't drink enough. I don't do regular workout type exercise, I do walk a lot at work, but then I walked a lot before banding... now that I've lost weight, I am more energetic, and thus more active, that's my workout. I feel like this band is about lifestyle changes not dieting, so I am trying to deal with my band in a way that I can live with permanently. If I want chocolate, I'll have some, but somedays it just doesn't agree with me and after 1 small bite I'm done. If I notice I haven't done well with proteins, I'll eat part of a pouch of flavored tuna. If I eat at a restaurant, I try and pick band friendly choices. I do find it difficult to get in enough water, fruits and veggies in good proportions, so I keep bottled water on hand, and have added v8 to my grocery list. I don't know about fail safe, it seems that a person could take in a lot of calories in shakes, puddings, and cream soups, when caloric intake reduction is what we're looking for, I just know that I am not a rigid lapband rules follower and I'm still losing weight. If I worked harder to eat and exercise more, I know I'd have lost a lot more weight than I already have, but I'm comfortable with my current way of things. You have to do what works best for you, and working with your band IS the best way to get maximum benefit.

I agree with Pam. With a band that is adjusted to provide restriction, it would be a challenge to eat enough calories to not lose weight--at least in the beginning. If you don't get your band adjusted properly, all bets are off since most people can pretty much eat whatever they want.

As time goes on and your body adjusts to a lower number of calories, though, the weight loss will stop unless you commit to following MOST of the rules, MOST of the time (though gaining would still take effort, I think). But if we're not willing to participate in our own rebirth, why get banded?

If I were to not count my calories I can eat enough every day to gain weight back. It is a lifestyle change and there are plenty of things that I just can't eat anymore, but there are still plenty of things that I can eat that don't give me any trouble and when my mind is not in it, I gain weight back...also when I don't exercise I don't lose weight.

Good Question...

I have not exercised much, I have made better food choices and ate fairly decent in the last year and have lost 85 lbs. Others may tell you differently. Everyone has there way of working the band

I can tell you from personal experience that if you don't eat right you will not lose. I just recently went thru a two month period where I got off track. I had restriction and was limited to what I could eat but I was making some very poor choices. Replacing salad with Girl Scout Cookies, cutting back on the veggies so I could put in more breads and meats. And I slowed way down on my treadmill from 3 to 5 miles a day to 3 to 5 miles a week. I put weight on and I went up approx 15 pounds. I did a reality check with myself and got back on track and I will be back to my lowest weight since being banded in about one more week.

Its really not rocket science. Calories in and calories out. Too many in and not enough out you gain...Can't help control that. So the band does help but its just a tool. You have to be dedicated and if your now why go thru all this.

Good Luck on youe decision.

If you are going to go through a major surgery, why wouldn't you want to follow the banster rules and eat properly? The band is a tool, and we must work with it, it is not going to do all the work by itself.

Not saying I recommend not trying...

but I had a friend who did absolutely NOTHING for over a year after her surgery... she still ate fast food & junk food, and sat on her booty all day (she didn't work, go to school, work out... she did absolutely NOTHING). The only difference was the fact that she barely ate anything when she did eat her junk food.

She still managed to lose 100 lbs (she was about 300lbs before surgery). She never did get "skinny" (she still looks "thick", but to me she looks great!) so I'm sure she could have gotten down to her goal if she would have put in any effort.

She was 21 at the time she got banded. Since you're 18, you'll probably have a bit of easier time losing weight than a lot of people who get it done. I've heard that the younger you are, the easier it is to lose weight (at least that's what my mom keeps on complaining about... lol).

But, if you're going through the surgery and you're given a opportunity like that, then why not make it work as good as it can for you??? The way I see it is, if I work out a lot after surgery, I'll lose weight sooo much faster.

How is your friend doing now? Has she kicked the junk-food habit? If she doesn't change that at all the weight is probably going to come back on, if slowly.

(Chatrooper, how do you know Maxwellbart05 is 18?)

Age of all of us is located in the top right hand corner

Age of all of us is located in the top right hand corner

DUH!!

Holy cow! You'd think this was my first visit to these boards. I must have read his post a million times and I just couldn't see where his age was mentioned!! Man, do I feel like a moron.

Mommy brain, my eternal excuse.

Pam.. thanks so much for your honesty...

What you describe is exactly how I feel I will be doing this band. I mean I hope I can do better, but I know better than to count on it.

If I was able to work with a program and follow all the rules, I wouldnt have needed to get the band at all.

This isnt the best nor the appropriate way to do it, but I was desperate and I was desperate because I FAILED for 15 years to have anyt control over it, getting the band did not magically make me be able to have control... and I sure wasnt going to NOT get the band and STAY in my situation just becasue I MAY not follow the banding procedure the best way.

Its worth the chance that it will help me, be it alittle or alot. Any significantly obese person should at least try it.

I eat way way less.. though it may not be enough for weight loss right now (I have not got my first fill yet)... its still worth it, that I eat less and especially DRINK less.. I used to drink a gallon of milk and then about a half gallon of juice a day and now its cut in half or more..

I think if your more than 100 pounds overweight and you have health problems and have tried for years and years to solve your obesity problems and failed...you should try it, rather than continuing failing or give up!!

but if your young and healthy and not very overweight and KNOW you prolly wont be able to work the program very well then maybe you should SAVE your money..

Hi,

I am reading all the replies and I concur. I would like to add that you get what you put into the banding experience. I wanted to lose quickly so I exercise a lot and made wise food choices. Thus, I was able to lose 120 pounds in my first year. I suppose if I didnt do anything at all, I probably still would have lost something. But it is possible to gain with the lapband. This weekend, I ate a lot of crap and I am up 3 lbs..... So it will take me a week of good behavior to get the number back down and hopefully put me at an all time low. The band really is a tool that works, but you have to work with it.

Babs in TX

334/180

-154

new goal:

170

Alexandra-

My friend is doing okay I suppose. I'm really quite surprised that she's doing so good to be honest... she smokes weed a lot, eats a lot of junk food, never works out, and hasn't worked in YEARS, and is supposedly in college, but takes only 1 class thru the Internet. She basically just sits on her butt all day.

She also became pregnant less than a year after she got banded... she had her surgery in March 04, and became pregnant in December 04. She is now about 4 mos pregnant, and has only gained 8 lbs.

One thing I did notice about her, is that when she does eat, she eats VERY, VERY slowly and chews very carefully.

I guess the odds were in her favor... when I was asking her some questions about the surgery a few days ago, she said "Don't worry about the stupid things that they tell you to do and the restrictions they give you- you don't need to go on a liquid diet, you can smoke afterwards, and you can drink pop after your surgery."

Needless to say, I'm NOT taking her advice...lol.

I'm paying completely out of my OWN pocket (and I'm a student). If I'm going to make that big of a financial sacrafice, then I want it to work for me, and work good.

My parents went on and on about my spending so much money on this surgery, but to me its an investment in my future. That $15,000 could be 15 more years I live, $15,000 more I get paid a year by looking more "pulled together", and many, many more years happiness & health.

-Lisa

PS... Good luck MaxwellBart... I'm sure you'll do great if you put your mind to it! =)