This is such a big dection to make, it is so hard. I keep telling myself I can do it on my own after doing every diet for the last 15 years and Im at my heaviest right now. I need to admit it to myself that I just can't do it!!

I always wished they would come out with something like this and now that it is right here for me I don't know why I have to think twice about it.

I tell myself I want to be proud to say I lost my weight on my own, I see that works well for me, NOT!!

Did you have these feelings? How do you over come friends telling you not to do it? I need to just go and do this for me, I know this but keep making excuses.

Thanks for the support!!

I understand exactly how you feel. I felt the same way to. But after I started writing down every diet I have ever been on and what age I started dieting, the decsion was very easy. I cried when I realized that the first diet I went was in the third grade. I am a self pay and have been banded since July 30, 2008. It has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself.

I need to just go and do this for me, I know this but keep making excuses.

Thanks for the support!!

Take your own advice. You are smart. You will still be doing this. The band is not a magic wand. You will still have to make good food choices, better actually. Once you get restriction, the amount of food you should eat will be reduced, so you will need to make good, healthy choices to get the proper nutrition. Most bandsters who are successful. Make better food choices than they did before, follow the guidelines, and exercise. Not all, but most. Don't sell yourself short and think you won't be earning your weight loss. This is work, but the band is a good tool to help you take and keep it off if it is used correctly.

I started thinking about the band about a year before I finally started the process of getting one. I too had trouble letting go of the fact that I just couldn't do it alone. I also, initially, had trouble with the fact that there might be some things I have to give up forever. Before January of this year, I wasn't ready to let go. I finally came to the conclusion that soda, beer, whatever wasn't worth it. That being healthy and happy was.

For that year and up until I got banded (well still actually), I educated myself. I read everything I could get my hands on, both good and bad. I talked to people who had had it done, I went to a seminar, I read books, etc. It's a very personal decision and it's one only you can make for yourself. I'm sure your friends care about you, but they have never walked a mile in your shoes. Only you know what it's like to be you.

You need to be aware of what it takes to make the band work for you. It's not a magic bullet. My mom still says "that's all you've lost? It sure is slow to come off." I'm having to work at it just like before except now I can control my portions and it forces me to be accountable to myself. It's the best thing I've ever done for me and I would do it again and again. And yes, there are some things I can never eat or drink again. And you know what? It's okay because what I've gained is health, confidence, and happiness. I actually feel "normal" for the first time in my life when it comes to food.

I can't say your experience will be the same as mine, but I do know that if you decide you want the band, it's okay. There is nothing wrong with you, you just needed some help. Good luck with your decision and keep us posted.

Losing weight with lap band is losing the weight yourself. It may not be the opinion of onlookers but it's the truth. There are people who have lap band who don't ever lose weight. There are also people who lose the weight and gain it all back. The lap band is no miracle. You get exactly what you put into it. Honestly, Lap Band is the smartest thing I ever did. When i was 10 years old, I would pray to God to help me stay strong and eat healthy and exercise the next day. I have done almost every diet known to man. I would lose 30 pounds max! My mom never fed me junk food either. It was about knowing when to stop. This is the first diet i have been on where I lost more than 30 pounds. i would recomend Lap Band to anyone who is fed up with diets not working and has the will power to eat healthy. The band is amazing!

good luck!

Thanks for your kind words.

I have seen on this site how people lose good and I have seen a lot of people who lose so, so slow or not at all.

I am the type the eats when Im not hungry, that is a bad thing I know and Im worried that is a bad thing for lap band.

What Im really thinking is, I've tried so many other things and have lost and gained that I really need a tool. I have taken pills for tool, I know how to lose weight I am just not strong enough to stay away from McD's.

I am going to look up the next siminar and I am going to just go! I have a lot of learning to do and everyone here is so helpful.

Thanks!!