Hi All! I have been contemplating Lap Band surgery for quite some time. I am have an exclusion to my Ins. policy for WLS so I will have to self pay when the time comes. I am trying to gather as much information as I can prior to making my decision.

So.. here goes another question........

I guess I would be classified as an "emotional" eater. I don't feel that I eat because of depression, stress, etc.. I eat just to eat. There are days where I can eat a meal and be satisfied but if there is still food left on my plate I will just continue to pick at it until either it's gone or I am STUFFED and can't eat another bite. Or, sometimes I will eat until I am satisfied then an hour or so later I will grab something else. I know that if I have that STUFFED feeling I am done and will not eat another bite.

So.. I guess my question is about the "feeling" that you get after you eat the amount of food recommended. Do you just feel satisfied or are you really full??

My fear is that I will only get a satisfied feeling with the band and I will continue to overeat and sabotage the whole damn thing not to mention waste money. Do you really have to have a lot of willpower to say no to the extra food or does the band help you to just naturally step away from overeating?

Also, has anyone gotten upset or depressed because they are unable to eat the amount of food that they did prior to their banding? I can't imagine not being able to load up at my mother's on Thanksgiving! :tt2:

Thanks in advance for your feedback! I really appreciate it!

i love food and im a emotional eater ...the amount im able to eat is much less than before but sometimes i still want to graze all day...

so the band will help some but its all about willpower

i still have to work out alot if i want the scale to move ,...because i still want a cookie every other day...

so there are 2 groups of people on here the ones that work out an use the band as a tool ...and the ones that dont work out and complain about not losing and needing more restriction...:tt2:

On good days where I've planned my meals and Snacks and keep myself reasonably busy, I usually feel "satisfied" after meals. On those occaisions where I didn't plan, or I just dig into something, I feel FULL. The pressure/pain of eating too much reminds me the band is there and working.

I went into surgery knowing that the band was a tool that I wanted to use for permanent weight loss. Dealing with the emotional issues that cause me to overeat is an ongoing process that may never be done. I can't just rely on the band to do the work for me.

ps im starving right now

So.. I guess my question is about the "feeling" that you get after you eat the amount of food recommended. Do you just feel satisfied or are you really full??

For me... it varies. I've only had one fill so far. The majority of the time if I eat slow like I'm supposed to then the satiety kicks in, and I get busy onto something else until its meal time again.

Then there are days where I graze, where if I actually sat down and ate my Protein for a meal like I should it would give me more of a fullness.

Now, as far as over eating, it would depend on what you are over eating with...cookies, candy chips, etc... all are mostly sugar and you could eat a ton of it and never feel full. It won't fill your pouch. If I am out with my family to a restaurant and am eating protein and picking at fries, Pasta or anything that has some girth to it even breads or rolls, I will feel stuffed and may even end up being in some discomfort from overdoing it.

The best thing to do is plan, plan, and plan out your meals!!! Eat the proper portion, make sure it takes you 20-30min to do it. No liquids with your meal. Then move on to something else besides eating....like LBT!!!!

i love food and im a emotional eater ...the amount im able to eat is much less than before but sometimes i still want to graze all day...

so the band will help some but its all about willpower

i still have to work out alot if i want the scale to move ,...because i still want a cookie every other day...

so there are 2 groups of people on here the ones that work out an use the band as a tool ...and the ones that dont work out and complain about not losing and needing more restriction...

I definitely plan on working out once I get the surgery. I work out now just not as much as I should. I am thinking that once I start seeing results I will be encouraged to do whatever I can to keep the scale moving in the right direction. I just read so much on here about willpower, exercise, keeping food journals etc... that I wonder why folks just didn't do that before getting the band. Or maybe they did but they couldn't keep the weight off thus the reason they get the band in the first place?? I know that everyone has their own reasons but I am sure we all can agree that the 2 main reasons are to lose weight and get/be more healthy! I have been heavy all my life yet was a 3 sport championship athlete in high school and very active through college. At graduation I weighed in at 230. My great grandma was 6'4 300 lbs so I just chalk it up to genetics! LOL I am soon to be 34 years old, 5'10 and weigh 308lbs. Diabetes and Heart Disease are rampant in my family and even though my sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol etc... are at healthy levels now I know it's just a matter of time before I am diagnosed. Plus, I haven't had children yet and I want to be at a healthy weight before I try and conceive. And lastly... I am just plain ole tired of being FAT!!! :mad2:

Not only that.. Since I am paying for this sucker out of my own pocket I feel that I am going to do whatever I can to be successful. I don't want to waste my money or be seen as a failure to my friends/family members. I thank God for this forum because through it's memebers I can receive support and encouragement. I've been successful with everything in my life except losing weight. I have always been independent, confident and proud and never let my size stand in my way but this is going to be the biggest battle that I have ever faced in my life and I have to realize that I can't do it by myself. I plan on finding a local support group if there is one and creating relationships with as many bandsters on this forum as I can. The support and encouragement that is shown to everyone on here seems to be instrumental in their success.

For me... it varies. I've only had one fill so far. The majority of the time if I eat slow like I'm supposed to then the satiety kicks in, and I get busy onto something else until its meal time again.

Then there are days where I graze, where if I actually sat down and ate my Protein for a meal like I should it would give me more of a fullness.

Now, as far as over eating, it would depend on what you are over eating with...cookies, candy chips, etc... all are mostly sugar and you could eat a ton of it and never feel full. It won't fill your pouch. If I am out with my family to a restaurant and am eating protein and picking at fries, Pasta or anything that has some girth to it even breads or rolls, I will feel stuffed and may even end up being in some discomfort from overdoing it.

The best thing to do is plan, plan, and plan out your meals!!! Eat the proper portion, make sure it takes you 20-30min to do it. No liquids with your meal. Then move on to something else besides eating....like LBT!!!!

I am not a big "chip" eater and I like sweets but I am not one to eat a whole bag of Cookies, 1/2 gallon of ice cream etc... For example... I LOVE Chik-Fil-A nuggets!! I can eat an 8 piece and be satisfied but I always order the 12 piece and trust me.. If there were a 15 piece I would get that one! And this is just the nuggets. I am not a big fry eater either. I usually get technically full or satisfied with any normal size entree at a restaurant and could easily take leftovers home but I will sit and pick at my plate then I am stuffed and feel like crap! So, the food that I overeat usually has some sort of nutritional value in it. Fiber, Protein etc..

hi, trust me when I say you will feel full when you eat the correct things, and insanely guilty when you eat the wrong ones. I used to be able to eat enough on weekends to feed a small village! now if I try to eat a slice of pizza with my family on friday nights, one piece is all I can eat!!!! my eyes are always bigger than my stomach though. sometimes I just want to be able to gorge myself like the good ol days, but I am 5 weeks out of surgery and have yet to have my first fill, and I cant eat more than a cup of anything! so this contraption really does work if you are dedicated to staying on track with the low sugar content and watching your fat intake.

I plan my meals and eat 5 meals a day very small amount. I try to be good but not all the time you can be. Things that are bad for you do not make you feel full example chocolate and ice cream meal and go through the band meaning your hungry quicker. I would strongly recommend it and would not be without it. Change you habits too I would eat while on the computer (crap) now i do not have food near the computer and when i think i need something I first have a glass of water. For me I was eating with activites so I changed how I do my activities

Hi All! I have been contemplating Lap Band surgery for quite some time. I am have an exclusion to my Ins. policy for WLS so I will have to self pay when the time comes. I am trying to gather as much information as I can prior to making my decision.

So.. here goes another question........

I guess I would be classified as an "emotional" eater. I don't feel that I eat because of depression, stress, etc.. I eat just to eat. There are days where I can eat a meal and be satisfied but if there is still food left on my plate I will just continue to pick at it until either it's gone or I am STUFFED and can't eat another bite. Or, sometimes I will eat until I am satisfied then an hour or so later I will grab something else. I know that if I have that STUFFED feeling I am done and will not eat another bite.

So.. I guess my question is about the "feeling" that you get after you eat the amount of food recommended. Do you just feel satisfied or are you really full??

My fear is that I will only get a satisfied feeling with the band and I will continue to overeat and sabotage the whole damn thing not to mention waste money. Do you really have to have a lot of willpower to say no to the extra food or does the band help you to just naturally step away from overeating?

Also, has anyone gotten upset or depressed because they are unable to eat the amount of food that they did prior to their banding? I can't imagine not being able to load up at my mother's on Thanksgiving!

Thanks in advance for your feedback! I really appreciate it!

re: Satisfied vs. Full

I can honestly say I have never felt "full" like you feel now, with the band. It's full but it's the upper part of my tummy - the lower part is still empty! You cannot overeat with the band unless you graze. It's gonna come back up and it's gonna hurt like he!!.

Food left on your plate, you can look at it longingly but if your stomach's contents are telling you "1 more bite and I'm coming back up to see you" then you will stop. For me, being sick was ALWAYS enough of a deterrent.

what happened to me was, I learned to be satisfied with the portions I had. Taking much smaller bites, chewing everyhting like crazy, and eating slowly, I realized I could get all the same enjoyment out of that food as my dining companions (non-banded) were. the only difference was that I was eating only 25% of the quantity they were eating. After awhile it didn't bother me at all.

but your feelings are perfectly normal. to this day people tell me things like "Is that ALL you're going to eat? How do you live like that, don't you miss eating?" Most of the time... No. I'm too happy with the way I feel and the 125lbs i've lost.

it IS a lot to ponder. I don't know if I can adequately describe it. You have to really want it, of course. Maybe if you go to a local lap-band support group you can talk to some banded folks and see what they think :glare:

Jenny