Hi!

I'll be honest, I'm a compulsive overeater .If I only ate when I was hungry and stopped eating when I was full up I would be much thinner than I am! Ive battled with my weight all my life and am due to be banded in 2wks. I know it's my stomach thats being banded, not my brain, but do you think I'm kidding myself thinking a band will help me help me lose weight and keep it off?

has anyone who's like me been banded and has it helped?

thanks

Julia x

Julia, I don't know how you will react,but I can tell you about me.

I thought the band was going to be magical. I never understood head hunger and I thought once banded I would never have to diet again. Well I now understand that the band will not not not stop ice-cream Cookies or cake just to mention a few. And don't forget chocolate. If I have any of these things in my house I cannot stop thinking about them, planning when I am going to cheat just a little, but in reality I will be honest and say I know I will not just cheat a little I will eat them untill they are GONE! So I think that is compulsive. I will tell you though when I am restricted and eat my Protein first then veggies I feel full. Not like Christmas dinner full, it's different. It makes me not want to eat, puts me in controll, and makes me feel that there is a chance for the first time in many many years I am going to be in controll of food and my weight. You need to controll good food choices going into your body. It is not easy sometimes. So I controll the choice of food, the band controlls the amount, it is the best combo in the world for me. Good luck with your banding and keep us posted on your progress.

cc

julia, i was eating compulsively. the band stopped me from eating too much and i lost the weight. once my body adjusted to less food and healthy food, i felt better and lost the interest in food. then i went through a stage of being almost anorexic. now i think after 3 years ive finally got it together. if you go to all the trouble to do this, make sure you follow the rules and set correct healthy habits from the start. i eat ice cream once in a while now. but that was my fat food before so i stayed away for over 2 years.. i will always have to be conscious of my eating...... i stay very active . good luck to you.

Julia,

i have also suffered from compulsive overeating. I believe the band is only as effective as your recovery from overeating. Compulsion says it all. It is a behavior that if we could easily stop doing we would. I would suggest that you find some recovery from the compulsion before going through a life threatening surgery. You are very brave, thoughtful and honest to be able to acknowledge your problem. I know that whatever you decide to do, you will make it work!

Good Luck,

Hi!

I'll be honest, I'm a compulsive overeater .If I only ate when I was hungry and stopped eating when I was full up I would be much thinner than I am! Ive battled with my weight all my life and am due to be banded in 2wks. I know it's my stomach thats being banded, not my brain, but do you think I'm kidding myself thinking a band will help me help me lose weight and keep it off?

has anyone who's like me been banded and has it helped?

thanks

Julia x

You know Julia you need to really sit and evaluate why u are a compulsive eater... What are the triggers that causes u to go to food... I had the same problem, but my only thing was I was always hungry... I said If i wasent always hungry i could loose the weight with no problem which I am doing now... When i would get angry.. or someone would piss me off the first thing i would do was to run to food because that would or at least i thought it would make me feel better... but it wasent it was actually hurting me by putting more fat around my heart, and causing me to die a slow death.... When i realized that i was turning to food for all kind of up's and down's in my life.. I made the effort to stop it..... When u know better u can do better... Food is fuel and that's it. It wasen't created to be our best friend, our lover, and a confidant. It is just fuel... Like i said in another post... gas for our cars is just that... when i get sad or pissed off how would i look carrying around a gas can with fuel in it like it was my buddy.... think about it... use food for what it was ment for and the other.. let your feelings out... if others can't take it then they need the help.. not u....

Edited June 21, 200818 yr by mstrina27

I dont know that actual statistics but I would venture to guess that most of us who have gone through wls are compulsive overeaters. I have been a compulsive overeater and I admit it.

The band has helped me to lose a lot of weight quickly. My compulsions have gone away for the most part in that I can eat a bite or two of something I am satisfied . . . where it used to be I had to eventually eat it until it was gone :0).

I think I have found success so far because I learned a couple of valuable things to help me along the way. I am a processed carb addict. I eat them and I can not stop. I have had to eliminate processed carbs from my diet. Apart from the initial difficulty, I dont crave them much now. The other thing that I am still learning is that I am an emotional eater and I have had to learn to find alternate ways to deal with my feelings.

Your BMI is fairly low to begin with. If you are ready to commit to the lifestyle and analyze the reasons why you overeat, you can achieve great success. Best of all, you don't have to wait to be banded to get started.

Best of luck to you.

Hi, I noticed you have a low BMI and you are getting the Lap Band. Was approval difficult? I am just in the initial phases of this process but am researching all aspects. Thanks for any help you can offer. Kimberly

Im a snacker and a grazer, I eat constantly. Is that compulsive or boredom?? Hard to draw a line. I love to taste food that I like candy, chips, popcorn. I do know when I was on Nutrisystem and lost 80 lbs I got mostly off sugar. The more sugar in your system, the more you will crave more. It takes several weeks to get past the sugar craving, but then you will be ok.

Im just as worried as you are that I wouldnt lose with the band, nothing else lately has slowed down my weight gain. I know HOW to eat right after Nutrisystem and reading some low GI books (very good by the way explaining how to eat), but doing it is something else. I know I need more Protein, but Im not a meat lover, I love carbs. I know this is going to be a big struggle even with the band helping.

Hi, I noticed you have a low BMI and you are getting the Lap Band. Was approval difficult? I am just in the initial phases of this process but am researching all aspects. Thanks for any help you can offer. Kimberly

hi Kimberley

I live in the UK and over here the only way I can get a band is if I pay for it privately. I have found a doctor in Belgium (Dr Chris de Bruyne) who is happy to do the op on patients with a BMI over 30. His attitude was that I was already significantly overweight with a BMI of 32 so what would be the point of waiting till I was 10kg heavier and in a worse state? I couldnt agree more. In the past my BMI's been 47 so I know I've got it in me to go up and up! Anyway before I went to see him and paid for a consultation I double checked with him over the phone to make sure my low BMI wouldnt exclude me. Once he confirmed that yes he was happy Then I went ahead and booked myself an appt to see him.

I have spent the last month glued to the computer researching all about the band on tht internet, picking the doctors brains and asking a million questions to people on this forum who have had it.. everyone has been incredibley generous with their time repying to my many posts and its been invaluable in helping me make my my mind up if its for me.

I'd say ask away! Ask as many questions as you can!

Good luck!

Julia x

From what I've learned over the last few months, I think he's in the minority as most of the docs I've contacted say you need to have a BMI of 40 or 35 if you've got 2 or more serious weight related illnesses.

There is no way I'd be able to get the op done on the NHS here, they just wouldnt consider it.

So in 2 wks i'm going on the euro start train over to Belgium to get my band. It's been a very easy smooth process so far to be honest.

Julia, I don't know how you will react,but I can tell you about me.

I thought the band was going to be magical. I never understood head hunger and I thought once banded I would never have to diet again. Well I now understand that the band will not not not stop ice-cream Cookies or cake just to mention a few. And don't forget chocolate. If I have any of these things in my house I cannot stop thinking about them, planning when I am going to cheat just a little, but in reality I will be honest and say I know I will not just cheat a little I will eat them untill they are GONE! So I think that is compulsive. I will tell you though when I am restricted and eat my Protein first then veggies I feel full. Not like Christmas dinner full, it's different. It makes me not want to eat, puts me in controll, and makes me feel that there is a chance for the first time in many many years I am going to be in controll of food and my weight. You need to controll good food choices going into your body. It is not easy sometimes. So I controll the choice of food, the band controlls the amount, it is the best combo in the world for me. Good luck with your banding and keep us posted on your progress.

cc

ccm

i love your honesty, thank you so much for posting me a reply, I have found it hugely helpful and it's given me a lot of hope for the future. I'm grateful to you. It makes such a difference to talk to people who share the same struggles. What you said about you controlling the right food and the band controlling the amount is brilliant. Over these next few days/ weeks as I prepare myself mentally for the surgery (and also afterwards) I will keep those words with me to remind me and keep me focused on how to make this work. Thank you so much x

julia, i was eating compulsively. the band stopped me from eating too much and i lost the weight. once my body adjusted to less food and healthy food, i felt better and lost the interest in food. then i went through a stage of being almost anorexic. now i think after 3 years ive finally got it together. if you go to all the trouble to do this, make sure you follow the rules and set correct healthy habits from the start. i eat ice cream once in a while now. but that was my fat food before so i stayed away for over 2 years.. i will always have to be conscious of my eating...... i stay very active . good luck to you.

To all of you who have replied to my post, thank you. you've given me a lot to sit and think about which is a good thing.I know I will be reading over your replies many times in the next few days, the experiences and advice thats been shared is ever so helpful and I'm grateful.

these last few weeks waiting for my surgery, have been hard. My emotions have been all over he place and as a result so has my eating, worse than usual! i'm excited, nervous, worried and very impatient for the day to come. it makes it easier having this forum with people like you guys there for support and advice.

Many thanks

Julia x

I have so been where you are. I am a compulsive overeater too and I can honestly say 1 year post lap-band that the band does stop the compulsion except when it comes to mushie/liquid calories. In other words, it will limit my amt of popcorn but now limit my amount of ice cream because the liquid will go straight thru the band into the lower stomach. So, am I still a compulsive overeater? I would say that I'm a sugar addict instead. If I practive overeating real food, the band will force me to throw up. But once I eat candy, ice cream...any of my binge sugar foods it is hard to stop. The band doesn't stop that. That's where it's the head problem. But it's all a process. I am so much better off now.

Jeanie

TYPO - I meant it will NOT limit the liquid calories.

jeanie

that is so helpful thanks. Im getting a much better understanding of the band and how I need to use it (or not use it! ). its really encouraging to hear from you and to see that although youve had trouble with the sugar and compulsive eating in the past, you have done phenomanally well with your band. it gives me hope that I can do it too.thank you. congratulations on your success bythe way!

Julia x