is the band always supposed to work?

andielmt · June 28, 2008

somedays i can alot and other days i can barely eat. is this normal? yesterday i went out to eat and couldnt eat that much i had really good restriction but today ive had the muchies and have been snacking all day with no problem. this is frustrating because i want it to work all of the time.

andrea

Hastings · June 28, 2008

I think you do have to exercise some self control over what you eat and how often.

Try to learn to eat only when you are hungry.

Teach yourself to make good food choices, I think this is crucial in case you lose your band, you will have the good habits in place already.

Northwest_Nance · June 28, 2008

It's easy to snack all day even if you have restriction - I think that's what they refer to as "eating around the band" and you will not lose weight that way, in fact, you might gain weight. You're going to be able to eat a lot more that way, as opposed to sitting down to a healthy meal, eating your Protein first, no between meal snacking, etc.

andielmt · June 29, 2008

i get upset when i end up snacking all day i feel like im failing. this is why diet and exercise didnt work, i am greatful for the fact that i am eating less per each meal though. i've been buying tons of healthy stuff to eat so i need to eat it!!!!!! i tend to go towards the few bad things i buy instead of focusing on the healthy stuff. i have come along way though i buy the lower cal and fat things if i am going to cheat. its hard to get through the whole day and do eat perfectly . it is definetely a learning process and i am learning alot so far. the weight came off so easily in the beginning when i had the strict diet and tons of restriction now i really have to work at it

andrea

Jachut · June 29, 2008

Mine does that.

Two weeks ago I was so restricted that for the first time in 3 years I was considering an unfill. Today I've just eaten oatmeal with half a banana AND a piece of toast for Breakfast, and not even with major effort to get it down.

The tighter my band has got, the more noticeable these swings are, for me, they're related to my cycle, but I've got 3.2cc in a 4cc band now. To be able to eat what I just did with that much in is a little unusual but to be honest, apart from at brief periods during the month, I've NEVER had the type of restriction that others talk about. I've always been a "big eater" if you could call a healthy Breakfast a pig out.

The way I've handled this is: I do eat carbs, wholegrain carbs as they provide the bulk that I still seem to need. They're the only foodsthat make my band work like it should, Protein doesnt really do that for me.

I'm also loose in the morning, tight at night (the opposite of most bandsters) which is just darn good luck really as you burn off what you eat earlier in the day. Lucky also that a lot of junk foods like pizza and McDonalds just plain wont go down for me, so I dont eat them.

I just have to use willpower to stay away from chocolate and Cookies, lol.

I exercise quite a lot, an hour of running four or times a week. That makes up for the fact that I cant seem to find that half cup sweet spot. As I've lost 120% of my excess weight, I dont think that matters!

I dont snack. 3 meals a day works the best for me, once I start snacking, I keep picking, it just sets me off.