While studying for the bar 4-5 years ago, I became addicted to McDonalds, and fast food in general. Now I can't seem to go for more than a week w/o fast food. Really I have it about 2-3 times a week. The same goes for ice-cream.

Since your lap band, how have your addictions to food changed? Do you visit a support group regularly? My doctor doesn't seem to offer much in the way of nutritional counseling, therapy, etc. and I am worried I will defeat the bad with junk food--maybe not initially, but down the road when the newness passes.

Just prior to being banded I did what I called my "farewell tour" to drive thrus and happily ate McDonalds, Portillos and Wendys daily and LOVED IT. Now that I am banded I realize that fast food is just off limits for me. I can live without it. Every once in a while I will look up the calories of one of my old fast food faves like the McDonalds double cheeseburger and I see it has no place in my new eating plan. Good luck, it's not easy but it is so worth it!

Get involved in support groups now..and go get a Psy eval, if you haven't already. I can relate to your addiction to fast food. When I was in school, it was much easier to get a quarter pounder with cheese and eat it while driving, than a salad.

Put down that cheeseburger.IT'S MINE!!!!

I don't have a food addiction...but I did do 10 months of behavioral therapy to figure out why I overate and how to stop it. Something along those lines might help you.

For me it went away for the most part but the first weeks were very difficult. I don't crave it anywhere near as much. The problem is there is not much there that I can eat that is satisfying. I used to go to McD's post banding and would order a grilled chicken patty on lettuce . . . but I am bored with it now. I do like refried beans from taco bell once in a blue moon.

I think I should participate in some sort of support group. The only problem I have is where. My surgeon, while very well regarded and experienced (1500 procedures), doesn't offer one--that I know of. He is also in the LA area, and I am about 1.15 hours away in Riverside. There is one doctor here in town, Dr. Coon, who is very strong believer in support groups and has a good one tailored to how long the person has been banded-but he has done at most 100 procedures. I can't imagine asking to crash is support groups. I think that would be pretty damn rude. Are there any support groups out there that are not tied to a physician's practice?

I am sure of you ask the doctor....he will let you attend the support group. My doctor offers one..they are free of charge. I dont have a craving for fast food anymore. I did go to a couple after i was banded but there is nothing i can eat cause bread is off limits, so it is like bother. Besides I paid way to much money not stick to the program. I figured if I wasn't going to follow it, there was no sense in having it. Good rule of thumb is, eat protien first, then veggies. no bread, no pasta, no rice, no potatoes, and count carbs, less than 30 carbs a day, veggie carbs dont count. Good luck on your journey.

You can go to any support group. My surgeon's office/ hospital sponsors one, and there are people there from other surgeon's office. The surgeon usually isn't there, unless he is a guest speaker. I could go to any support group in Nashville if I wanted.

Yeah, I just did some research and he doesn't seem to be the one speaking regularly--he has monthly guest speakers that I hear are very good. And, I read on his site that the group is open to the public. That's good.

Thanks for all the comments so far! :tt1:

I haven't given up anything entirely, for instance at McDonald's I order a cheeseburger kids meal instead of a quarter pounder meal. I can't finish it and it still is as satisfying to me as the big meal was before. I think you will find that with the forced portion control that the band will give you, you can have your favorite things, just less often and in smaller quantities.

I was the biggest diet coke addict in the world, thought I'd never ever be able to give it up, but I did for those first few healing weeks and I didn't even crave it. I can now sip on a small one from time to time and enjoy it without going back to that have to have it feeling that made me drink so many every day before.

Lauralee...I am always so happy to see posts like yours! They remind me of what an awesome thing the band is! :tt1:

Once you get the right restriction some of those fast food favorites won't go down so easily if at all. I can barely eat fries and bread. I can eat Wendy's nuggets if I chew them well. Five nuggets and I'm satisfied. Ice cream is a problem and a struggle for me. Ice cream is good and it goes down real easy. Eating it in moderation is very hard!

Like you, I'm the type of person who loves to eat fast food. I work in downtown <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dallas</st1:place></st1:City> where just about any fast food restaurant I'd want is within easy walking distance. Before my band I ate out everyday. I spent about $200 a week on food alone. I would estimate that I ate at either a restaurant or fast food about ten to twelve times a week.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

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For me, eating out was still a very real problem immediately after being banded. I would have to constantly remind myself that eating fast food was no longer something I wanted to do. I caved fairly regularly and continued to eat McDonalds, KFC, Taco bell, and whatever else I got my hands on. Then, after I began to get fills, things started changing. <o:p></o:p>

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At first, it was what I chose to eat from fast food restaurant. Maybe I’d pick a kids meal instead of supersizing or have something a little healthier- grilled chicken sandwich instead of breaded. <o:p></o:p>

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Then, after the second fill, I began to develop a method of ‘left overs’ where I would eat what I could and take the rest home in order to eat the second day.<o:p></o:p>

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After the third fill, however, all bets were off – I absolutely refuse to spend even $3 on a meal from which I can only take three bites. Left overs would last a week before going bad. It’s a waste of money, food, time, and calories to eat fast food. This wasn’t something that I had to work incredibly hard at either; it became more and more easy as time went on just to say ‘no thank you’ to the fast food. IN fact, I don’t even want to eat out anymore.<o:p></o:p>

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I've had a handle on mine for the longest time. It's just been in the last month or so, that my cravings and ravenous addiction to salty and crispy has gone out of control. I had been doing so good, and all of a sudden it's back with a vengence. I've even gained 5 pounds in the past 6 weeks. It's so disappointing and frustrating.....