I am pre banded and try to eat like a "bandster" but I give up after a few minutes. I feel that the pleasure of eating is gone when I am so pre occupied with chewing and making sure I'm not swallowing too much.

After being banded do you still get pleasure from eating?

Yes actually you get use to chewing and if your eating things with lots of flavor you actually get to enjoy it more cause you are taking the time to taste it. Like try to experment with this. Do you eat a quater pounder from mcdonalds. If so get one and eat it slow you will realize how gross they really are. I never knew it before cause i was eating it so fast i didn't get the full effect. When i tried to take a bite and eat it slow it was gross all i could taste was fat and grease. So i think you really do get to enjoy things more once being banded.

I never really enjoyed food before being banded. I ate mostly out of boredom. After being banded, I now have even less interest in food.I'm 2 months out and I'm still not getting in 3 meals/day. Due to a lack of interest in food, I'm getting most of my protein from liquids. That's not good but it's just the way it is for now.

I don't enjoy eating anymore.......things taste different and dull. I'm at the "why bother" point and I have to make myself eat so I don't pass out. I guess it isn't as fun as it was before because my eating was for "sport"- now I have a grip on my eating and it's not a free for all anymore!

Don't get me wrong- I love not being dependent on food and it's great not to be constantly thinking about food!

Oh how sad for you realmccoy. I love food still. I have always loved healthy food. I just never knew when to stop eating. There are so many good healthy choices that you can make. Even as a dessert I can eat frozen yogurt. Its sugar free and 160 calories in a pretty big serving. Granted yogurt doesn't make you stay full for very long but i never seem to be unsatisfied. I don't obsess about food the way I used to. If I'm full, I don't eat. There used to be a time where I could have eaten and someone asked me if i wanted to go out to get something and i would. Uhh it grosses me out now thinking how I used to over indulge myself every single day. The lap band has saved my life.

Realmccoy,

Your band could possibly be too tight if you are having that much problems with food and you are picking things that are easier to get down. The band should not decide what you eat, just how much. See if your doctor will give you an x-ray to make sure you aren't too tight. If you get sick frequently when you eat normal food, than you need to get unfilled. I had that problem and my stomach swelled shut. BAD

I enjoy food more than I ever have before in my life. Small portions, eating slow, savoring food have made a tremendous difference. Also I choose quality over quantity now and take time to enjoy it.

I realize that with overeating, I don't think I ever even "tasted" more than the first bite or two. I wasn't consciously eating, just filling a void. Now I eat to fuel my body and it is a whole different experience, and infinitely more enjoyable then in the past.

For me the answer is both yes and no. Some foods seem to taste different with so much chewing and effort and just aren't really worth it anymore. I had my fourth fill several weeks ago and am now experiencing true restriction for the first time. It's great because my hunger and cravings are virtually gone. I'm eating more for nutrition than for recreation (you know, the way it should be!). But yes, I do miss the recreational eating. I know it's a habit or an addiction or a compulsion or whatever you want to call it but I do have a sense of loss in that I can't just sit and eat and lose myself in the food anymore. I'm thankful for that but I'm also a little sad about it. I believe that over time I will adjust and am looking for other ways to deal with stress and other ways to comfort myself. It's a part of the process. The trouble comes when rather than dealing with that loss, people try to find ways to eat around the band and continue with old patterns. The band is not an easy journey but it's definitely a worthwhile one. I am down 3 or 4 sizes, I am off all medications, I am exercising between 30 and 90 minutes a day and I feel great! Mourning the loss of my ability to binge is very worth it.

All your answers are so good..I'm still digesting ...your words ..I am still smiling at what you said RealMcCoy about now you're not eating for "sport"..lol. You hit the nail on the head that is what I do and once I start I can't really stop until it's all gone or I'm full ....which and the later never happens...especially in front of ...Big TV! Lately I do feel like why bother starting...I'm not really hungry until I start eating...I messed up my full & hunger signals years ago probably. I' know I will be withdrawing from the snacking tho and that scares me.

Gilli...I haven't had a Quarter Pounder since I was your age! I think I do eat healthy either chick or fish but just way too much and too often.

Sorry I'm posting so much....I just had to reply to DaiseyMay's post. WOw you really hit me in the gut...with your profound truth~ This is what I'm afraid of; that Loss... I will feel not be able to escape into food. Using food like a drug. I do have an addictive personality and I should get help for that probably even before getting banded? You are coping better every day though and that is great to hear. Thanks agian.

you should get help while you have the band. it'll help you more than battling it without a tool. I have the same addictive personality. I didn't start counseling until this month and i am doing fine. i wish i would have started sooner. So get on it girl. You will love the way you feel toward food afterwards. It takes time though.

One day at a time. Good luck!

Thank you so much for your honesty Holli, may I ask you did you go to a addiction specialist? How do you find a good one?

only two weeks out YES i love food. All in my mind. I did love to eat all sort of tasteful foods. Sure miss it. Trying to eat right. The last two nights I been attending our university women volleyball games. It was such a challenge for me not to eat the nachos. At the arena here in Hawaii makes the best nachos. Watching everyone eating it is just killing me a friend had it infront of my face telling me to just take a bite. I had strong will power and said no. But I really want it. Tonight is another game and it will be another challenge for me. Hope I still say NO... :wink_smile:

I feel that the pleasure of eating is gone when I am so pre occupied with chewing and making sure I'm not swallowing too much.

You will get over this, the days of shoving food down down will be over :wink_smile: I still love eating I love the little bites I take fun they have just as much flavor as the giant bites I used to take!!!

I enjoy the taste of food. Food has lost it's hold over me, however, and I am not interested in it as a rule. I eat when I need to. Sometimes, I forget to.