This is just for discussion people please do not take me worng it's just a question that has me confused.

I was reading a post and talking to a friend that will soon have her surgery and I was trying to find a positive post for her and I found myself reading a post that as I read it to her confused me!!!!

Anyway one of the members posted that they lost 100lbs in a few months and I was like damn that is great! But as I read on it stated they didn't even have a fill?!?!?!?!? Ok I thought if this person didn't need a fill but yet can lose over 100lbs what was the job describition of the band? I know I have been thinking alot and reading alot too and have come to conclusion that if one is able to diet and eat healthly what was the reason for the band? I know for me "bandy" she works hard becasue I do no have it in me to diet or eat healthly, nor have the will power. I know she works hard for me but when I read posts like today makes me start to think is it really in our minds?!?!?! Can one really do this without WLS?!?!?! I mean what makes one change their minds, have the will power to eat healthy, exercise, with just placement of the band?!?!?!?!? Do you all understand where and what I am trying to say?!

Not every doctor drains bands after testing before they place them. I have seen posts on here and on another forum where people leave the operating room with 5ccs or 6ccs in their bands! So that poster may be one of those who has some saline already in their band and has never felt the need for more.

Oh ok well I understood it that they never even got a fill but never thought of it already having some in there after surgery. But that is not the only one that I have read about, saying that jsut the placement of the band was enough for them to lose weight maybe it's in the minds of some it really had me thinking for a minute.

I guess that my first response to someone claiming that they lost 100 lbs in a few months would be skepticizm. Add on not having a fill, and I'd be even more skeptical. It's not impossible to lose 100 lbs in a few months, but even with the band, it would be an incredible effort.

It's most definitely possible to lose large amounts of weight without of WLS, lots of people have done it, and I have too. I just couldn't keep it off. My learned eating behavior always derailed me, and the weight came back with a vengance.

I think that one of the reasons that I've been obese for my entire life is just the way my brain is wired. I know that eating too much is bad for me. I know that it's caused health problems for me and members of my family. Intellect has very little to do with the problem. I'm an overeater, and I need this band as a tool to make me uncomfortable when I try to overeat.

Whether to have WLS is a personal decision. Each of us have to weigh the risks, benefits, and the potential for success or failure. Your friend has to understand that in order to be sucessful with banding, she needs to be committed to that success. It's no magic bean.

Bryan

I lost 100 lbs in just over 8 mos after my surgery. I did not have my first fill until my 6 mo. appt. I had a 2nd fill a mo. later even though I did not feel it was needed. I just had my 3rd fill about 5 wks ago. I'm almost 2 yrs out and have lost approx. 130 lbs.

I simply used the WLS as a 2nd chance. I decided I did not want the band to do all the work for me. I wanted to get back in shape and get active again. I've accomplished this w/o alot of restriction. However, for me it is more about being full/satisfied longer than about eating smaller portions. As much as I work out (run 10-15 miles per week, lift 4 nights a week, softball 1-2 nights a week, golf when I can) I need the extra calories.

It is possible to lose weight w/o "proper" restriction. In fact, I get a little irritated when people say they don't work at losing weight right after surgery because they have not had a fill yet. For me, I made a concious decision to stop eating when I felt satisfied and it worked. I could have fit more food in if I wanted to, just didn't "need" to.

Personally I think you have to stop and consider.....even though you may have NO FILL in your band it has created a smaller stomach pouch that doens't require as much food to feel full.

From the very begining I have NOT been able to eat as much food as I was eating Pre-band. The food has to slow down to pass thru the opening into your "bottomeless pit." I don't understand how anyone can eat the same volumes of food AFTER having their band with or without a fill...I just don't understand it.

And I also believe alot of people take Ceradad's approch, I don't think you will have long term success if you are sitting back "waiting for your band to start working." For me the band is simply a tool to help me MAINTAIN weightloss, I know I can do the work required to lose weight, I've done it time and again, but I truely feel like THIS TIME I CAN KEEP IT OFF....and THAT'S what my band is gonna do for me (I hope).

~Monica

I am 2 months out and really didn't feel I needed a fill, but got a tiny tiny one that was fine. i Do not even plan on having anymore bc I feel i have had good restriction since the day I was banded... I am down at least 33lbs and feel great. I can eat whatever I want so long as I don't eat too fast or too much!

love my band!

amy

i totally understand ur question rcruz...i have often thought to myself why was i able to be so successful with the band...why couldn't i have made the choice to eat less and healthier and exercise without the band...i have 3 reasons #1...i hated to feel hungry when dieting....i was always on atkins...and i would lose weight...my portions remained enuff to feed 6 people while on atkins...but i still managed to lose weight and then managed to put it all back and then some!!! my band totally controls my over-eating habits...#2 fast results...i dont know for sure...but i have never and dont know if i could've lost over 125 pounds in 8 months on a convential diet...i saw fast results from the start and kept on going....#3...i also had the mindset of "this is it...u went as far as having surgery to lose weight"....u have to do it right...period...no excuses...this is ur last and final chance...but i totally understand ur question....

I have to say that I think everyone's body reacts to the band differently. I was banded on May 8th of this year. All I was reading about was how hungry everyone was the first month or so after surgery. For me it was the total opposite i was on clear liquids the first week and then went to full liquids. There were times I couldn't get through a 10 oz can of cream soup for lunch or dinner. And believe me I could eat. Even when I went to Mushies the third week, it was tough for me to get down a half cup of whatever it was I was eating. Also, a response to BDS_Geologist, actually 100 lbs in a few months is very possible. Because you have to also look at the size of the person. Obviously someone who is anywhere between 250 and 350, there's no way they're losing 100 lbs in a few months. As for myself I went into the operation (may 8th) at 570, at my post op (may 20th) I weighed in at 529. It felt fantastic, I am getting my first fill on June 10th and I'm sure I lost a bunch more and am pretty confident that I will have lost 100lbs within a month and a half or two the most. So just remember to stay positive and that its a tool and you still have to work for it.

as for why get the band if they can lose it without restriction....

we have all tried diets after diets. some even WORKED..we lost, we may have even got to goal. the problem is, when that motivation is gone, it's way too easy to put it back on. when we put it back on, there are ALWAYS a few (or A LOT) pounds with it and the roller coaster begins again!

it's a TOOL, it will HELP us not to STAY off the wagon when we fall!

GREAT responses! Thanks so much! AS 2fly says I guess if you went as far as having the surgery then I guess it can "force" your mind setting to be much different! I myself have made the band work for me as I have admitted that I have no willpower! I am not able to eat fast of course I still do, and I am not able to eat much at all...do I eat the right stuff, NO I am still working on that!!! Thank you for all the responses...

Mentally you tell yourself that you are ready for your surgery and come hell or high water you're gonna lose the weight no matter how much you have to work at it. I've had that mental determination since the day of my surgery and i've steadily lost weight since and i exercise as well. Just mentally I was ready for it and having the band in place just really put me into that mode of losing weight.

It's probably best not to confuse "no fill" with "no restriction" or "no weight loss". Some folks need more, some need less, and sometimes the band itself is sufficient to achieve the desired effect.

As for me, I've lost 30# in the past month, and I'm still a month pre-op. I'm already preparing myself for the possibility of that rate increasing dramatically if my body continues to respond well. Then again, I could also hit a plateau.

We'll see. Either way, I haven't weighed this little in over a year.

I read the exact same thing and thought it was also strange, cept this person had lost 100lbs in 3 months which sounded fishy to me. Some people maybe 5% of people on here only ever need one fill and there set, there definitely lucky. There's also been one person on here (tomander) that's only ever had 4 fills so it just depends on the person and how much willpower they have I guess.

I think we've all read enough about each other that we should know we all respond differently to the band. Not everyone loses weight the same...and of course it depends on how much extra effort you put into it besides just letting the band do the work. I think we all start out enough overweight that initially we lose some weight just because we can't eat as much. But there will come a point that you have to pay attention to what you eat and how much exercise you get.

I'm two weeks post op and have lost 14 pounds...and that's been with little effort on my part. Now that I'm starting to feel better and healing up from surgery, I know I'm gonna have to start doing my part with exercise and eating well. But I know I need to make my own journey out of this and not try to mimic someone else's success. I will use them as inspiration...because you all inspire me everyday when I get on here!

I'm just taking it one day at a time!

I know I could lose weight without the band, I've done it over and over and over and over and over again.......The problem was, I never could keep it off.

I'm down 88 lbs and only 15 lbs from my goal, and I know I will NEVER be fat again with the band.

Pre-band, I was never able to lose more than 50 before I started to pack it back on, plus another 10 to 15....

Even when I eat bad with the band, I only gain a few pounds.

Before I got banded, I decided to try ONE LAST time to do it "on my own". Well, I lost around 50 lbs, went on vaction, gained 15 in 7 days....and kept on gaining, then I realized I needed serious help, so I turned to WLS.

So that is why I got the band, for PERMENANT weight loss.

Hats off to anyone that can lose and keep it off, for me, that wasn't possible and for me, the band was my solution.