ok, this is going to sound weird, and please don't hate me because these are thoughts I'VE had about myself, but i've got to get this out to those of you who know way more than me.

i am here i'm doing extensive research about lap band surgery and this board has been incredibly enlightening. so thank you in advance for allowing me to indulge.

i have read about the 2 week all liquid pre op diet and the 2 week post op all liquid diet (and i do realize it varies from dr. to dr.) and it sounds incredibly difficult to do -- pre op especially.

so here is my question: how do you have the will power to do all liquid pre op and post op but not the will power to stay on a diet? more accurately -- how would I have the will power?

and i do realize if you want something bad enough, you just do it. But, i'm telling you this: i want this bad yet i just can't seem to get past the liquid diet part of this process. and i'm surprised at the slow weight loss that is expected for such major sacrifices.

please enlighten me.

Hello IIS: I am not banded yet, but I hear what you are saying. I meet the surgeon on October 8 and she will place me on the pre-op diet after I leave her office. The center that I go to requires we lose 10% of our total body weight. Most places only require 10% loss of excess weight. Thus, I have 25 pounds I need to get rid of before they will schedule surgery.

So I started practicing. I bought beef and chicken broth, which I have at lunch. In the mornings I have a protien drink. I have Snacks, such as cheese, nuts or yogurt. It is hard. And now Halloween is around the corner and office candy is floating around every where. I bought the little tootsie roll midgees for when I have a sweet tooth attack.

My stomach growls all the time. But I keep reminding myself that other people have done this and I can do this too! But it is hard to do. So an all liquid diet is the sacrafice I am willing to do in order to have a healthy future.

Good luck with your journey!

For me, the difference in a diet and the band is this, losing my weight was such a huge task that a diet seemed to crawl along at a miserably slow pace. I was hungry all the time, wanted to eat what my family had, etc. Having so far to go and it being so hard made me give up over and over. With the band, I eat what I want but in much smaller portions and I'm satisfied on the amount I would be eating on a diet.

The liquid preop diet was do-able because it had an end point. I could do it for 2 weeks even though it was nasty and I was starving because I knew that at the end of those 2 weeks help was waiting for me. Huge difference in that and a year or more of hunger and depriving myself stretching out in front of me.

The post op liquid phase was actually very easy because of the swelling from the surgery, I had trouble getting enough in and didn't have any temptation to eat more. The only trouble I had was feeling weak and shaky the day before I moved on to full liquids, and the couple weeks on normal food after the swelling was gone but before I got my first fill when I started to feel more normal levels of hunger coming back. Again, with the fill date only 2 weeks away, I was able to get through on my will power knowing help was coming.

i just had my surgery and was not sure i could handle this type of diet either. after the first few days the hunger pangs went away honestly. it was not an all liquid diet either. i ate cottage cheese, veggie Soup and slim fast for the most part. so you are getting filling foods. i am sure this may differ from dr to dr but this is full of Protein . good luck, tara

ok, this is going to sound weird, and please don't hate me because these are thoughts I'VE had about myself, but i've got to get this out to those of you who know way more than me.

i am here i'm doing extensive research about lap band surgery and this board has been incredibly enlightening. so thank you in advance for allowing me to indulge.

i have read about the 2 week all liquid pre op diet and the 2 week post op all liquid diet (and i do realize it varies from dr. to dr.) and it sounds incredibly difficult to do -- pre op especially.

so here is my question: how do you have the will power to do all liquid pre op and post op but not the will power to stay on a diet? more accurately -- how would I have the will power?

and i do realize if you want something bad enough, you just do it. But, i'm telling you this: i want this bad yet i just can't seem to get past the liquid diet part of this process. and i'm surprised at the slow weight loss that is expected for such major sacrifices.

please enlighten me.

I totally agree with lauralee and dacty. Also, I felt like this was a permanent change I was making, and with the help of the band, I won't regain as I had in the past after a diet. I got to the point where the word "diet" = "what's the use, I'm going to fail". With lap band, I feel I finally have a fighting chance.

One other thing, is that not every doctor requires as restrictive pre and post op diets. Maybe you'll be lucky! Mine really wasn't too bad. But even if your doctor is one of the more strict ones, you'll find the strength to do it, because the outcome is well worth the initial pain.

It's much easier to do ANYTHING for 4 weeks than it is to do it for life.

For the pre-op diet, I knew it was only two weeks. I have always been able to do a diet for at least two weeks. I am in my first full week post op. The liquid stage is easier here because again, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Also, the liquid stage after surgery is to let your stomach heal with the band around it. If you eat too soon, you can cause damage to your stomach and risk complications with your band. The thought of having something go wrong with this now, keeps me on track. I was not hungry the first few days after surgery. I was just trying to get my liquids in to keep hydrated. I am hungry now, but it isn't taking even 1/2 cup of soup to have me feeling full. The thing about the band is, you won't be on a "diet". This will be a lifetime change with the aid of this wonderful tool. So instead of dealing with extreme hunger as I normally do with diets, I will have my band to help me get full faster and stay full longer.

Hi IIS, We are pretty close in age [i'm 51] and I can tell you that I have been trying to lose weight for 31 years! In those 31 years I have NEVER stuck to a diet for even a single day. EVER! I was very concerned about the pre-op. My DR uses Optifast. I had 4 drink boxes and 2 bars a day. And for the most part [95%] I stuck to it! I even enjoyed the drinks and the bars [Peanut butter bars are my favorite]. I added SF Jello and some chicken and beef broth for a little variety. There were even days that I didn't drink all 4 of the drink boxes. I can't tell you what happened and why I could suddenly 'restrict' myself and I don't know if I even have willpower. But stranger things have happened!

Good Luck! If I can do it, you can too!

Staying on a very tough diet for two weeks (and the liquid diet is TOUGH) is nothing like losing 100lb and keepign it off. That's darn near impossible.

Anyone can have willpower in short bursts. If you did the liquid diet and then didnt have surgery, its almost a guarantee that you'd regain the weight and then some as fast as lightening.

even with the band, you need some willpower. Its easy to not get filled, to not follow your particular rules, to eat slider foods like ice cream and chocolate. And the lapband doesnt make me go out and run every day. Its still hard, but its doable. And its much much harder to put weight on, you're much less likely to regain.

Even so, the band can and does fail people, some people dont lose and some lose and then regain. But overall, its a pretty worthwhile tool that will have good benefits for most people. But for the most part it takes personal commitment and determination.

I asked this same question. the answer is this: i have the will power to do anything for awhile. i can't sustain this kind of will power. but i can with the band. so if i'm determined enough but the will power starts to slip, we can physically assist with that. or so i hope. with all my heart.