Hello All! This is my first post - scary...:lunch:

I live in the UK and I have a BMI of 41.5, with about 85lbs to lose. I had a consultation with a very nice surgeon yesterday for lapband surgery. He is happy to do the operation for me if I want it (self-pay). Now I have to make the decision to go for it or not.

The surgeon said that 92% of his patients were very satisfied and making a success of losing weight with their bands. Sounds good!:wub:. However, apart from patients who were unhappy because things went wrong during surgery, or afterwards with the band (leaks, slippage, port flipping etc.), he said the other unhappy patients were those who weren't successful in losing weight because they weren't able to stop their bad eating behaviours - eating chocolate especially.

Now I have a huge chocolate and sweet food problem. I would love to think that I will have the willpower to curb this bad habit after I have been banded. But I know that a band won't make it hard for me to eat chocolate. If I want to lose my weight i'm going to have to kick the habit one way or another.

I would love to hear from anyone who was a chocolate addict like me before they were banded. Please tell me if you've been successful with banding or not. How long have you been banded? Has being banded helped you to beat sugar cravings? Has the band made any difference to your desire for chocolate? How hard has it been? Have you got a strategy that allows you to have a little bit of chocolate without going too far? I want to know it all!

Thank you in advance to anyone who is reading this and replies.:w00t:

xxx

Hello! I have a huge sweet tooth. Not just for chocolate but anything sweet - especially in the evenings. I just got banded Friday, March 13th, so I may be jumping the gun by answering your post. So far... so good! I haven't had any temptations to eat anything sweet at all. Being on the diet isn't that hard. It's a little tough watching your family eat good food - Sunday I made them a pot roast with potatoes, carrots, onions, gravy and hot rolls - but believe it or not, I wasn't hungry for it. Everyone is different and I hope that I am able to keep abstaining! I DO think having the band was one of the best decisions I've made so far. I just can't wait til I'm about a month down the road to see how I'm holding up! Good luck!

Thanks for replying, I hope all goes well for you with your band. Good luck!

I use to eat something sweet after lunch and in the evening. (Chocolate was my bestfriend) I was banded in Jan and I don't have a problem with skipping the sweets now. I think its because I look forward to being able eat actual food after being on the liquid diet for so long. Now don't get me wrong I still eat sweets. Like on Saturday I had a piece of cake at my nephews bday party and tomorrow is my birthday so i am planning on making an angel food cake. I was told the other day by my nutritionist that this isn't a diet its a life style. So the way I look at it its ridiculous to think I will never eat cake or cookies again but I have to watch it CAREFULLY. like only on special occations.

I am self-pay also, so I have a monthly reminded everytime I make a payment on my loan. Also, I agree, you can't think that you will never have chocolate, (chocolate is a major food group), but you have to have a plan. 1. buy the very best chocolate you can afford.... 2. buy in very small quantities, one serving if you can... 3. sit down and enjoy every sensation the chocolate gives you. 4. (actually it should be 1 but..) make a deal with yourself... I can have the chocolate when I.... 5. DON'T FEEL GUILTY.

k

I'm almost on week 3 of my pre-op diet and something I have found that will kick the sweet craving is belive it or not.... calcium chews! You need them since you aren't getting dairy anway, so why not get the chocolate or carmel ones? I personally like the carmel, but not only do they taste good they are only like 20 calories and full of the calcium you need. Also, depending on your age you can have 2- 3 a day...one after each meal!

The thing that helps my chocolate craving is sf dark chocolate pudding. I eat 1-2 every day. Also, maybe once every two weeks I will eat a little dark chocolate, like the hershey special dark minis.

I've been banded 5 1/2 years and have lost and kept off 180 lbs. I was and still am a chocoholic! I was very careful to rarely if ever have chocolate or any sweets or cookies, cake, etc. for the first year. (I lost 205 lbs, from 407 at banding to 202 lbs, in the first 13 months.) But once at goal, I have not denied myself the odd chocolate bar or truffle.

The band is not meant to be a punishment or a straightjacket. Non-banded slim folks sometimes have a little treat, but they then eat less the next day.

The trick is to make it an occasional treat (maybe once a week), and to have just a modest amount. Do not stockpile this stuff at home -- buy a little bit of the best quality expensive dark chocolate available, even if the jumbo size average quality box is the "better deal".

If you stop losing or even regain, then cut out all sweets until you're back on track.

I do suggest that for teh first year when you're in the prime active weight period, that you try to manage without any such goodies at all. But if that's too hard, then just stick to very occasional treats in tiny quantities.

Good luck,

Peter (in Canada)

I have a sweet tooth from HE_L! My fix is sugar free candy and sugar free gum. Worked so far. Good luck <by the way they make sugar free candy chocolates that are very low fat and low calories>

I have a major sweet tooth as well. I still crave sweets after surgery. I am not perfect but I really try to manage by not bringing my favorite sweets into the house. If too much suger makes its way into my house I throw them away quick. I also do the calcium chews it s like a yummy tootsie roll every morning. I also hate the chewable vitamins so I also do gummy vitamins so thats 2 gummy bears every morning too. Good luck to you.

HI EARLY,

I WAS BANDED IN JAN-09. LIKE YOU I LOVE chocolate, ESPECIALLY CAKE! BUT I HAVE FOUND A Protein DRINK (MUSCLE MILK) THAT IS SOOO GOOD, I HAVE ONE OF THESE FOR Breakfast AND I'M GOOD TO GO. YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL THOUGH BECAUSE THEY HAVE DIFFERENT TYPES. YOU WANT THE LOW CALORIE/FAT ONE. I'M NOT SURE IF YOU CAN GET IT IN THE UK THOUGH. BUT ONLINE?? I REALLY HAVE NO DESIRE FOR SWEETS SINCE THE BANDING. I USE SPLENDA IN MY coffee WHEN I HAVE SOME BUT THAT'S IT. I HAVE LOST 52 LBS PRE/POST SURGERY DIET AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY IT WAS THE BEST DECISION I'VE EVER MADE (NEXT TO MARRYING MY HUSBAND lol). I FEEL LIKE A NEW PERSON. GOOD LUCK!!!!

The biggest thing the band has done for me is teach me that I don't have to gorge myself on something to enjoy it. I used to eat a candy bar or a cheeseburger or whatever almost without thinking about it, but now because of the band I have to take small bites and eat slowly, which has heightened my enjoyment of each bite, which makes eating less just as satisfying as eating huge amounts before. I don't deny myself anything because in the past that is what has led to binging. When I want something I have it, I just eat small quantities and if it's an especially unhealthy thing I make up for it by only making the best choices the rest of the day. It's a whole new way of thinking about food, everything is ok as long as it's in appropriate amounts.

What your doc was probably referring to is people who tend to eat slider foods, or foods that go down easily without having to pay attention to the band rules and tend to be bad for us (chocolate, ice cream, chips etc). If you are keeping in close contact with your doctor and keeping your fill level appropriate (not too loose, not too tight) you will have less trouble with good foods getting stuck and will be less tempted to go for the slider foods.

Because you will need to focus on consuming enough protein, you will find yourself limited to what is basically a low-carb diet. Once you get off of the carbs for a week or so, your cravings will drop dramatically.

Realistically you will eat chocolate again - I had a sweet tooth prior to surgery and I have one three and a half years after surgery.

I did really well the first year and lost most of my weight, I had more restriction, more appetite control particularly during that first year, over time I've found the effect of the band reduces a bit and a more normal appetite creeps back in - perhaps I could be tighter to counteract this, I dont know.

But I eat chocolate and Cookies - just not all the time. I've lost and kept off 100lb.

I find being very active allows you to not have to be quite so perfect an eater too - and I agree, enjoy things moe without gorging myself on them.

This is real life, not a "diet" forever.

:sneaky: Thank-you all for the great replies. I was just worried about going through surgery, only to discover that it made no difference to my eating of things that have made me fat in the first place. What I am reading from you has encouraged me that I will be able to cope, and I will be asking the surgeon for a date soon. (WOW - I am going to be banded!!!!)

BIG THANKS!!!!!

I'm not a chocolate addict, thank goodness. But the US chocolate makers have made it easier on losing weight because many have changed their recipies and the once 'melt in your mouth' chocolate is waxy.

But as a soda pop addict, I can tell you that if ALL you ate was chocolate- you'd lose weight. (not healthy mind you) So, your doctor has seen first hand patients who weren't ready for weightloss...meaning to do what it took to loose the weight.

You are on the right track but you never know...you may develop a sensible relationship with chocolate through your experience. I have with cakes/pasteries, etc.

just not the soda pop.

Good luck!