New here and banding booked for 31st Jan in Chichester UK. I've been reading and reading these forums and they are fantastically informative. But something keeps hitting me and I have just got to ask about it:

Over and over I am impressed and awed by everyone's success stories, whether at goal or well on the way. I keep reading that you are all watching carefully that you don't eat high calorie food that would render your bands useless as they are foods that would slip through easily - chocolate, crisps (chips), ice cream etc. I also read that you are disciplined in your exercise routines or, at the minimum, make sure you are active in some way during the day.

Here is my question (and I ask it with the greatest respect): How is the gastric band making you do those things that you didn't do before you had it fitted? The band restricts the amount you eat, but it is still possible to gain weight if you eat high calorie soft foods. The band does not make you exercise. So why is it that you are now able to discipline yourselves to avoid those high calorie foods, whilst making sure you incorporate exercise into your lives?

As I said, I am in for a band in 3 weeks. I have done all the things you guys have - the diets, the pills the whatever - and I am now at my heaviest. I am turning to WLS as a last resort and not feeling too proud of that. But, if I had the willpower, self-control and discipline displayed by the majority of the posters to these fora, I wouldn't be having the band!

What is it about having the band that means you have these new-found strengths? Of course I am making an assumption that the strengths are new to you all, as why else would you have resorted to WLS, if you had the willpower, self-control and discipline to do it without surgery?

I really hope my post doesn't come across as rude or impertinent. That is truly not my intention. I have nothing but respect and admiration for everyone on these forums. But I am going through a crisis of my own as I feel a failure for having to resort to WLS and I don't want to get to the stage after surgery of thinking "I could have done all this without the band as all I am doing is exercising self control and discipline"!

I would really love to have your thoughts on this please.

I'm on board with RestlessMonkey... We're the same breed of Monkeys, I think. I don't count. NO NO NO. In fact (getting ready to be flamed here), when I wake up in the morning, I make myself some hot tea and eat one beautiful Lindor truffle for Breakfast. YES, Full fat, full sugar, chocolately goodness. My new perspective is: it sets the tone to my day in a delicious way. I savor it and enjoy it... I don't get a twinge of guilt. Before the band, having that in my house would make me have a stroke from the guilt. But now, I am NOT the same person. I eat a little bit at a time, and I eat what I want to eat. There is NO counting of anything. No measuring, no nothing. With my fill to the right level, I simply eat until I am satisfied, and it doesn't take much. I eat 800-1000 calories a day and am PERFECTLY satisfied. I make sure I don't eat a bunch of slider foods, but that's my only 'restriction.'

My band took the obsession with food away. I don't wake up thinking of my next meal, or go to bed thinking of what is for breakfast. I only think of food when I am hungry. My brain was rewired. Thus, the self-control... and why I can stop at one truffle. :confused:

I don't want to be a downer but in my personal experience it truly depends on getting your restriction right. I have been banded since May & only lost 20 lbs. I work out 5 days a wk vigorously & feel this is the main reason I have lost this much. I still haven't found my sweet spot but I also had to be unfilled around Thanksgiving for becoming too tight. For about 2 days I finally had the restriction that took my cravings & hunger away but then due to stresses of the holiday the band swelled too tight & ALL the fill had to be removed. So... to answer your question, I eat reasonably but I don't count or measure & eat fast food because I hate to cook. I do try to make better choices than b/4 just because I need this to work but I still eat junk so that is why I haven't lost very much in 8 mos. The 2 days I had good restriction that kept my hunger in check was a taste of how it's suppose to work & I cannot wait to finally be there for a while. I haven't lost 1 lb in months so it can get frustrating. I have exercised off & on in the past but when I saw this wasn't going to be as easy as I thought I got off my fat ass & started back. Exercise does so much more than shape your body, it feeds your mind. If you have never REALLY been into it I highly recommend anything you can to get active & after a while you will see what I mean and hopefully crave it's benefits.

Good luck to you!

I am in agreement with the others that have said if you go through all the trouble and pain to do this, you tend to be more motivated. Also, as the wight comes off, you are just able to move easier, so fitness comes easier as well. You will hit snags and bumps in the road, but once you start buying smaller clothes and people NOTICE your weight loss, you are inspired to keep going. Plus, the PBing is a beast!

I was eating about 3,000 to 3,500 calories a day. I was always hungry. Before the band, I could eat a whole box of Sees candy, the whole 1-pound box in one sitting. Today, I am satisified with one peice of Sees candy.

Before band, I could eat half a chicken with all the fixings. Today, I can eat a chicken thigh and some veggies and I am full.

The hunger I had before the Band just was never satisfied. I was always hungry. With the band and my fills I can eat a small meal and feel full for 5-6 hours. I am not grazing and snacking.

Because the Band allows me to feel full for longer periods of time with less food, I have been able to lose 30 pounds. Because I lost 30 pounds, I have less weight on my joints so now it does not hurt to exercise. Because I have less weight on my frame I am able to do more activities. :grouphug:

I really want to thank everyone for taking the time to reply to my OP. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that your responses have put my biggest doubts to bed.

I am back to being excited about the band again!

Thank you all. You are, every one of you, an inspiration :grouphug:

Thanks for posting such a great question.

This really made me think.

Not sure anyone mentioned this, but as you lose weight, for me anyway, I became move active. With all that extra weight everything was a effort. I think I am burning more calories now.

The other thing, even if I do lose control a little, it is nothing like before. EVen with the slider foods, I just can't do it anymore without getting sick.

"Guilty" as charged - since the surgery I've been exercising faithfully and sticking to a diet (except for a fitful few days during the holidays when good food and great company to share it with abounded, and I gained a few pounds.)

Why am I suddenly able to do it? I know for me it's a combination of factors:

(1) The surgery itself. As someone mentioned above, surgery is intense. It was painful. (For me anyway - I know some people breeze through it though). I was determined to stick to every rule for the 3 week post-op diet, and I did - if only to avoid needing further surgery. I didn't want to have surgery twice! And, having invested that much pain, I was determined to make it work.

(2) The surgery amplified for me the seriousness of my situation. For years now I've dieted off and on, and in the back of my mind I had the possibility of surgery. Now that I have had surgery, there are no more life lines. This is it. Either I make it work, or I'm finished. Yes, there's always gastric bypass, but if I fail at the band, what makes me think I will succeed at that? In both cases you have to stick to a set of rules - either you can, or you can't.

(3) HOPE. For the first time, I have hope that I really can succeed. So many other times I tried and failed, but this time I have help. I have my band. I don't have to battle raging hunger, only nagging hunger. (And hopefully, once I get restriction, niggling hunger.) I'm willing and able to make that effort, but more than that I can't do.

Will I occasionally fall off the wagon? Probably! Until I get restriction I'm sure I will fall off and on, but I will keep trying because I know that eventually the band will take most of the burden off me. Right now I'm in the baby steps stage (post-op), but I have a feeling this will be it for me. And every day brings me closer to my goal. I hope!

ETA: I don't mean to make this sound like success of the band is psychological - it isn't! It's truly physical. Less hunger = success. But being willing to exercise, or being willing to eat healthier foods - this comes from the feeling of success and hope that the band gives. I've started to exercise in the past, but the scale never moved because I couldn't stick to a diet for very long due to overwhelming hunger, so I felt hopeless and gave up.

With the number on my scale dropping, and knowing that I will soon have restriction and will therefore succeed, I'm super motivated. In other words, the band gives me a huge psychological boost because I know it will give me physical help, for years to come, in dealing with my hunger. Get it? :thumbup:

Edited January 11, 200917 yr by dietpeach

Thanks again everyone.

Had my date confirmed as 31st Jan (they were waiting for Theatre time) and my pre-assessment is Fri 23rd.

Getting closer isn't it :yikes: One minute excited, next thinking I am mad and will miss certain foods like bread, rice, pasta and some fruits.

Shut up Marmite_Crumpet! :wink:

I'm going to be the devil's advocate on this one! The question you asked is a very good one - one that I wish I would've looked into a little more before having the surgery.

I was told from the very beginning that the band is ONLY a tool - is does not work alone. It will restrict your portion sizes, providing you keep up with your fills. However, it is EXTREMELY easy to eat "junk food", "slider" foods, whether you're just right or too tight. I love, love, love sugar and salt, and everything that contains them. I have found that if you aren't willing/ready to make the changes in your head first - the band will not make a difference.

I have been banded for 19 months and haven't lost nor gained a single pound. That being said, I do contribute my success as far as not gaining to the band - because without it, I truly believe I would be even heavier. However, I am very disappointed, disgusted, and frustrated - to say the very least. And, yes, I will be the first to admit that it is my fault. I didn't truly believe what I was told "the band is only a tool", "you have to work with the band, in order to make the band work with you". These things are most definitely true.

Although I went thru the psych eval like everyone else - and passed it -- I was not ready to make the changes in my head, therefore, my success is suffering.

It is also true that the band requires the most effort by you of any of the weight loss surgeries. I am by no means trying to discourage you from having the band - it is a wonderful tool and many have had great successes with it; I just want to let you know that THE BAND IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. As bad as I wanted to think it was for me, I now know that it was not. I'm actually considering revising to a bypass.

Please think about your inner self while you make this decision. It is a decision that no one else can make for you - only you know your personality.

I wish you the very best of luck on your journey.

Getting closer isn't it :wink: One minute excited, next thinking I am mad and will miss certain foods like bread, rice, pasta and some fruits.

You originally asked an excellent question, and my responses mirror other posters. The surgery was a major commitment (financial) and I will be damned if I waste that money (I was self-pay). The band works to make me feel satisfied with smaller portions, therefore hunger is not causing me to constantly eat and eat and eat - regardless of what it was I was eating. As for exercise, many do a LOT more than me, and it has become a necessary and fun part of their lifestyle. For me, I committed to doing it 4 times a week, and 11 months later am still doing it - not because I like it, but because I have seen the results. I do it most weeks many more than 4 times a week, but I committed to doing it 4 times - anything more is a bonus.

I am puzzled by your reference to missing some foods though. Not everyone has to give up these; my lifestyle includes these foods, so I eat them. For me, restricting or eliminating foods is not sustainable. Everything in moderation - whether it is rice or icecream or (my particular addiction) nuts. But follow the guidelines provided by your physician.

Good luck.

Thank you RestlessMonkey. I think that is the kind of thing I wanted to hear.

I suppose I was getting the impression that the band doesn't do that much in the way of directly affecting weight loss. I have a theory that the fact that someone has gone through the surgery - usually paid for it themselves, has a large effect on their resolve to lose weight this time.

Is that the case do you think? Or does the band have that much of a physical effect that, with or without the right mindset, weight would be lost?

Gawd, I do overthink things I know! But this is how I process things - obsessively - and I have to explore every question in my mind to reassure myself I am doing the right thing.

I did the same thing before my surgery. It took me 2 years to decide to have it. Once I started doing research, I wanted to hear all the success stories, but more importantly, I wanted to hear the horror stories. It was important for me to know the typical worst case scenario before going through with it. I knew that death is always a possibility, so I was looking more for people who still gained, band slip, erosion, etc.

Good for you that you are overthinking this so that you are sure. This is a lifetime commitment and it's important to really be sure this is for you.

Good luck!

I don't count calories, I don't measure, I don't use artificial sweetner, I don't necessarily do low carbs either. I eat HEALTHY. Always have. I've always liked fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, whole grains, brown rice, sweet potatoes, fish, and 1% milk. I just ate way to much of it. I also like BEER. :yikes: The band keeps me from eating to much, and prevents me from drinking beer. I eat like I've always eaten for the most part, I just eat a lot less. I'm not nearly as hungry. As for the exercise, it was a mental thing. Once I made the committment of the band, it was like "If I'm going to go to this level, I might as well go all the way." No turning back. Plus, once I lost weight, and kept it off, my knees felt better and I COULD exercise more. I try to avoid slider foods, but not in an obsessive way.

Giving up great food is hard. REALLY REALLY HARD When your a professional eater like I am.

Seriously, Me and my wife combined spent too much money on 2 surgeries to let food get in the way of a better life.

We've lost about 35 pounds each since NOV. 20. The longer it goes, the less addicted to food I am. Now I'm getting addicted to this website. Thanks to all!!!

Here is my question (and I ask it with the greatest respect): How is the gastric band making you do those things that you didn't do before you had it fitted?

My gastric band isn't making me- I still eat those things you mentioned. Tonight I had Wendy's chilli, fries, bacon cheeseburger, Mt. Dew.

The band restricts the amount you eat, but it is still possible to gain weight if you eat high calorie soft foods. The band does not make you exercise. So why is it that you are now able to discipline yourselves to avoid those high calorie foods, whilst making sure you incorporate exercise into your lives?

Yes, it is possible. My Wendy's chili was 5 fries dipped in the chili and then 2 teaspoon fulls. My bacon cheeseburer was 2 bites, and sadly my Mt. Dew was a 32 oz left over from lunch. I'm working on sodapop this year-trying to kick the habit. And I am not incorporating exercise into my life-wish I could! Was at the docs yesterday and he wanted to give me more shots in my hips. No thank you! That hurts and doesn't work. I left my wheelchair years ago and 3 years ago left my walker. I'm freestanding and free walking now but haven't been able to exercise- yet. Another round of MRIs and a new specialist might can fix me up!

What is it about having the band that means you have these new-found strengths? Of course I am making an assumption that the strengths are new to you all, as why else would you have resorted to WLS, if you had the willpower, self-control and discipline to do it without surgery?

I don't have any new-found strenghts. I've overeaten a time or two but the band has been there for backup. It will take years of eating just what my body needs (instead of wants)-gonna take years to undo the 30+ years of food abuse.

I think this is an individual question. For me, it hasn't really been what I eat, just how much. It's like my brain has no off switch for when I'm full. The band helps me feel full, and stay full. But there is a pyschological impact in getting the band, to me. Going through the suffering of the pre and post-op diets, the band hell of hunger before the fill, and the sugery itself makes me want to follow the instructions. When I don't want to exercise, I ask myself why I went through all that suffering and expense to not do what I need to lose weight.