so what good is the band if....

[lotsabirds 0]

I'm still waiting to get to my sweet spot so that the band can do it's part and I can continue to do mine.

[Jachut 487]

Look, I think people panic over this but the fact is the band DOES do some of the work for you or it wouldnt work for anyone at all. If any of us could do all of this ourselves, we wouldnt be here.

The band doesnt work as well for some people as it does for others and many people need more help than the band can give. But it does give help and only you can know whether that is enough for you.

For me it works this way - I have to choose good foods, but my Portion Control is done by the band. I dont have to choose to stop eating, I feel exactly like I did before only I'm full much sooner. That's automatic, its my conscious choice. I could overeat by eating chocolate, ice cream, milk shakes but i dont. I never really ate that way anyway, I overate solid foods in high volume, so that choice is not a huge stretch for me.

So that's the first two steps - food choices (done by me, good 75% of the time), portion control (done by the band, obeyed by me). The next step - exercise - that's down to you. To me, I cant believe anyone would be sick enough of themselves to turn to weight loss surgery and then not be able to pull their finger out of their ass and get on with the exercise part of the equation. Its a given. With ANY surgery. If you dont want to subsist on 500 calories a day and be malnourished then you have to burn up some of what you eat by exercising. Just do it, it really isnt that hard. Hard is having cheesecake in the fridge for 2 days and not touching it, hard isnt going out on a glorious, cool evening at dusk for a run to clear your head and loosen up your joints!

There are other surgeries that restrict your intake and portion control even better and more reliably than the band does, but NOTHING will negate your responsibility to make good food choices and ignore those pesky voices that tell to eat when you're not even hungry. You can outeat any surgery if you wait for it to do the work for you.

[Bethanyblondie 0]

I never thought I'd have control of my appetite...my band has changed my life and I no longer look at portion sizes worried it won't be enough. Now I look at them and think, Good grief...who could eat all that?

[thingirltrapped 0]

The band is a "tool" meaning it is NOT a quick fix. But it DOES make a smaller "pouch" which is your "new stomach" in a sense, meaning you will eat alot less and fill up alot quicker. Yes, you can overeat by drinking with meals,etc. You have to learn to discipline yourself and work with the band, not against it. To make better food choices. To exercise. These things aren't fun. But this is your life we are talking about. You've GOT to make a change if you want to get healthy and live. Believe me, most of us had the same questions before hand and the same fears. You are NOT alone. Just trust in yourself and your will.