:cry I have been banded a year last July and was 20st when I had the op, now I am 20st, so have not lost anything, apart from the post op fluid regime. When I had my consultation, I told the Dr I had an eating disorder and especially with chocolate. He told me that I would feel sated quickly and there fore would eat less, however, I can eat all the chocolate I want, however have restrictions, on the foods I am supposed to eat, like chicken, etc. So does the band fail many people? do people end up having it removed? What does one do in a case like mine and in actual fact with another person I know, who has all so the same problems.

Have you had any fills? The band is a tool to help you lose weight. Like the gastric bypass you can stretch the pouch is you overeat. You are the first that I have heard that the band isn't working. May be it is a defective band? I was just banded August 29th and I have no fill until October and I know that the band is here..believe me. I didn't chew something so well the other day and felt it big time. The band 's purpose is to cause you to feel full on smaller portions longer. NOt only will you have to change your eating habits, you also have to exercise too. Have you changed your diet? Do you exercise? What has your doctor said about this because it does not sound right to me. You should have lost something on th liquid phase alone. Did you do the liquid phase and follow all the instuctions post-op? Some people lose during the 4-6 weeks post op because of the food restrictions. what was your diet like after surgery? I really would like to know the answers to these questions because you have piqued my curiostiy. You are the first I have encountered where the band did not restrict. Thank you for posting.

Dee Dee

I guess you really have to think about whether you want this to work. Maybe you are going to have to treat chocolate like cigarettes and just quit cold turkey, never to have any more. Some things we just cant handle and chocolate is obviously like that for you. Perhaps you need the same kind of help smokers often need - would a psychologist/therapist help.

Do you eat your proper meals first so that you dont have room for more? Have you had scheduled fills? Only you can do it, band or not.

I think you should go back to your doctor and start fresh, plan to use this tool that you have but enlist his/her help and certainly start having fills if you havent already.

The problem with the band is that softs pass easily ie. chocolates with the band you have to eat proteins veggies then fruit then carbs. With the bypass you get dumping when eating sweets and the symptoms I guess are scary enough that you don't do it again. People have failed with the band but many have not its all in a matter of following the lap band rules and going for your fills its not easy the weight loss is slow and the fills don't last long but what is the alternative gaining and losing weight or going for bypass which has its own set of problems.

Bypass is not the answer either. The dumping syndrome (which happen to most but not all) levels out and goes away after about a year or two. So if someone was determined to eat something eventually they could. Then any loss would be regained.

As I am sure you have heard over and over by now...the band is just a tool. If won't stop the junk food and candy or ice cream and chips etc. You have to change your food choices on your own. If you eat your solid protien first, then veggies then other food there should be much less room if you want to finish your meal with a small bite or two of chocolate. Your meal should not last for more than 20 minutes. If at all possible you should not eat between meals. No liquid of any kind with or for at least 45 minutes after a meal (this washes the food through your pouch too quickly and leaves you hungry again)

I would have to agree with the earlier post though...If you really cannot control yourself with chocolate (or any othher food for that matter) you need to just give it up. Think of it like an alcoholic who can't just take a social drink but instead drinks a whole bottle or a smoker who can not just smoke one cigarette a day but needs a pack or two. You just have to make yourself quit and avoid it all together.

The banddoes not restrict chocolate no matter how tight you are PERIOD! This iswhere your head has to do some of the work and not rely on the band, if you rely on the band to restrict chocolate, it wont unless it is chocolate cake

There are foods that no matter how tight we are the band just does not restrict, all ofthe soft foods and chocolate falls into that category.

What does one do in a case like mine and in actual fact with another person I know, who has all so the same problems.

Maybe you should seriously go and talk with a counselor and get to the reason why you sabatoge yourself with chocolate. Obviously the band is doing its job if you have restriction when you eat Proteins and the right foods, you just need to do your part now and get clean from the chocolate.

I'm not a perfect bandster by any means, I eat chocolate but I have some self control. However I ate like a "pig" this weekend in Vegas, I ate chocolate and to my amazement I got on the scale and I actually lost 1 lb, go figure!

How about finding an OA meeting in your area that may help you, you can do this, you know what oyu have to do, now you got to just do it! Get the help you need to do it! Dont give up, you have been blessed with an awesome tool .. use it to the best of your ability.

i was banded in febuary this year, and until i had my fourth fill a month ago, i felt the same as you - chocolate being the main offender. I can't explain why but i can now put the chocolate biscuits down and back away. eating in general has become harder, and more unpleasant, but the positives far outway the negatives. i think your problem is that you don't have enough restriction.

good luck

How miserable to not lose any weight in a year. I really feel for you.

Yes I would go to a therapist and find out how to stop the emotional/addictive eating.

You can do it! I have given up alcohol, drugs and cigarettes in my lifetime. I go to a 12 step group and it really helps me.

Did you get any nutritional classes before you were banded? We got quite a few hours of instruction and it really helped me to understand why my body needs healthy food.

Good luck!

Well, I think the bottom line here is what you're putting into your body. As pretty much everyone else has said, the band restricts solid foods, chocolate becomes a liquid and just slides right past the band. You could eat a ton of it and not be full no matter how much restriction you have. "He told me that I would feel sated quickly and there fore would eat less, however, I can eat all the chocolate I want," I am very surprised your Dr would say you could eat all the chocolate you want...in order to be successful with your weight loss you need to make healthy food choices as well. A little chocolate here and there (chocolate is my weakness too!) ain't gonna bring your weight loss to a grinding halt, BUT, eating "all the chocolate you want" will not allow you to lose the weight. I suggest consulting with your nutritionist and following a meal plan and you'll definitely start losing weight. So the choice is yours my dear, BIG and eatin' all the chocolate you want, or SKINNY, an occasional chocolate bar, and eating healthy?

We still have to restrict ourselves from what we can't handle. I know better than to get any of the "low cal" ice cream sandwhiches because if they were in the house I WOULD eat the whole box. I might be able to abstain for awhile, but in a moment of frustration and boredom I would eat... and then kicks in the cycle of failure and self-hatred.

I don't know that a counselor is what you need so much as a group of people like you who are working on their eating habits and skills. We do some of that here--but nearly as much as I have done in other groups. I think a TOPS or Weight Watchers group might give you the best support for this. Please don't think this is just a "piece of CAKE" (sorry!) for the rest of us. I would kill anyone who brought chocolate into my house. The last time someone brought doughnuts into work I LEFT! I swear to God--this is my life! I just said, "I'm taking a break and if those are here when I get back I'll be taking the day off." Drastic? Yeah. Did I get a lot of flack? Yeah. Did they get rid of the doughnuts? Yeah. Sometimes you really have to look at this as life or death--because it is.

Awhile ago, after being in so many groups where people beat themselves up for eating something they had to have in the house for someone else I realized how prevelant this is and how much we sabotoge ourselves by having bad foods available. Know what I did? Since I had 2 boys at home & HAD to have things like cheese and butter in the fridge I bought a tool box, LOCKED them inside, put it in the fridge and gave the key to my 14-yr-old (at the time) son. We also have a locked toolbox in his room where we store the nutrigrain, fig newtons and other snack foods.

Do I feel stupid locking food away from myself and does it seem unfair for my kid to have to deal with a mother like this? Yes--but at least his mother isn't over 300 pounds anymore. She can fit in the seat to go to the movie with him and fit a seatbelt around herself in the car. The trade-off is worth it.

Anyway, all that to say, do WHATEVER it takes! Don't give up--think of solutions and never, ever let your guard down when it comes to things like chocolate, because that stuff'll kill ya... For some it's chocolate, for others it may be cheese, whatever it is start thinking of it as poison in your head.

Hi Saffy, please join us on the support forum under Slow Losers--Unite! thread. You need some extra care and help figuring out your situation. http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10174&page=1&pp=15