I'm new here and so appreciate the knowledge and support.

I have read it over and over..."the lap band is just a tool" Please, tell me how!! How was this time different for you in the weight loss journey, what specifically do you do differently now with the band? Are you no longer hungry, are you unable to overeat because you will become physically sick, are you less interested in food? Im so curious and want to know exactly why the band is a tool and how it worked for you. THANKYOU!!!

I did not get the full feeling until after my 2nd fill. My 1st fill, I felt restriction for 2 days and then none after that. I stopped when I felt I had enough calories/carbs/protein for the meal. It is a tool by restricting food intake after some fills usually and once at the sweet spot giving you the full feeling. It will not work by itself. You must follow the doctors and nutritionist dietary plan, you must exercise and you must drink plenty of fluids each day. If you don't, you probably will not lose the desired weight you want.

Wow! You have a lot of questions.

The lap-band is just a tool. It helps you to feel full faster and you don't get so hungry between meals. Everyone's experience is a little different. For me, I am able to eat regular food. If I eat too fast I kind of feel a pain in my chest that reminds me to slow down. I'll put my fork down for a little while until the pain goes away, then I'll start eating again a little more slowly. If I ignore the pain because I'm rushed or distracted, it will take much longer to go away. Some people have PB's (productive burps), but that doesn't happen for me. So basically, you are forced to eat slower, using smaller bits, and chew your food well. Hmmm. That's a great tool.

Remember, it is just one tool. You should take advantage of other tools too such as supportive family and friends, a diet and exercise plan that work for you (I like Weight Watchers), a positive attitude, and a faith that you are doing the right thing for you.

Just to let you know, as you can see below, I've lost using Weight Watchers before. The difference this time is that before I ate the maximum amount that I could eat on the program. I used all my flex points and all my activity points every week. Therefore, my loss was more slow and I had a lot of ups and downs. It is different now because I simply find it difficult to even eat the basic 26 points a day I'm supposed to eat. I almost never use any weekly flex points and I NEVER use my activity points. So, I'm really eating less and I'm happy with that. Right now it is 10:00 at night and I've had 24 points and no desire to use that last 2 points of the day. That's the big difference for me.

Also, it will be very difficult to gain the weight back again !!!!

Hope this helps.

Edited April 10, 200917 yr by ThinknHealthy

this is great thank you both very much!

The band is just a tool because it cannot cure your head hunger & some of the foods that help to cause weight gain can go down easily, no matter how restrictied you are, like ice cream and chocolate.

You don't stop craving things and although I now am able to eat small portions of most foods, I do have to exercise some self control and will power to stop myself eating food that I know are not going to help my weight loss.

I have found I have had to train myself in eating slowly, chewing more and not taking drinks with meals. Although I do feel full quicker, feeling full is different to how it was pre band so I have to remember to stop after my full signals or I will get pain and possibly PB.

You have to learn to live with your band an follow the bandster rules at least most of the time so it does require effort, it isn't a miracle cure to obesity.

Hope that helps.

Sue

My experience:

1. Pre-band hunger is WAY worse, more frequent, more intense, more distracting etc. Post band and with fills, the hungry feeling is down 75%, happens less frequently and is far less intense. (The only thing I can compare it to is diet pills..without the pills and jidders)
   
   
2. When I am properly filled, after a small amount of food I am satiated and I don't want to eat too much more b/c it will hurt or come back up. So it is not worth it.. which takes me to #3..
   
   
3. My relationship with food is so different now. Which for me is weird after it being the number 1 focus of my life before (not just out of urges but because being so big meant frequent meals to just sustain myself)
   

I think we say "only" to help people realize that the band doesn't do all the work. You have to make good food choices. You have to keep up on your follow-up visits and monitor your fill level.

The band really does help--it diminishes hunger and makes it easier to do all the weight loss work that has to be done no matter which route you choose.

I sometimes think of all this weight loss as a moving sidewalk. Weight loss without the band felt like trudging through the airport going the wrong way on a very fast moving sidewalk. Every time I stopped for a second, I’d get swept backwards. The band slowed the sidewalk WAY down. Not to a stop, but WAY, way down. I can take a break and stroll for a minute (or a month) and not lose ground. Or, I can kick it in gear and actually make progress.

BUT . . . I can't just stand still. If I don't work at it, I don't lose, band or no band. The tool needs an operator. The hammer won't pound the nail in all by itself.

:drool:

This is the best feedback ever! thank you! It just keeps making more and more sense to me. The wonderful analogies are appreciated. And I'm learning exactly what I hoped to learn. I'm more and more ready to work this tool. Interesting on all counts!!!!