This was a post from Butterfly618.  Excellent experiement and information!


Do you often feel like your weight loss efforts are a constant battle, with as many defeats as victories? Are you plagued by frequent cravings when you stick to your diet, and by guilt or shame when you don’t? Do you even remember what real hunger feels like? How much time do you spend thinking about food, counting calories, and worrying about your weight—enough to think that something is seriously “wrong” with you?

If these examples sound like you, then you're probably still living in a “diet" mentality. With this mentality (and its narrow focus on numerical results), you are fighting against the very thing that can help you lose weight without all the suffering and distress—your own hunger. Furthermore, the tools and strategies that can actually help you succeed (nutritional knowledge, calorie counting, self-discipline) become transformed into weapons of self-defeat.

This article is the third in a series that describes "normal" and abnormal eating habits. (Part one looked at some of the basic characteristics of normal eating. Part two contained a checklist of behaviors often associated with disordered eating.) This article will explore mindful eating, an alternative approach that can help you turn around the problems described above. It involves learning to recognize, respect, and respond to your hunger, and making conscious, purposeful decisions about eating in the moment, not just before or after the fact.

 

The Roots of Mindful Eating: Paying Attention to Your Hunger
Hunger describes the escalating, physiological sensations you experience when your body actually needs food: rumbling, unpleasant stomach contractions (hunger pangs), mild lightheadedness, difficulty concentrating, irritability, faintness, and headaches. For most people who regularly eat a balanced diet with adequate calories, hunger will set in about four hours after the last meal, and will escalate after about five hours.

Feelings of fullness or satiety will occur when your stomach reaches a certain level of fullness (about 75% of its maximum capacity). These sensations also escalate from mild fullness, to "stuffed" to bloated and uncomfortable. Even if your stomach is nearly full, you may want to continue eating for a couple of reasons. One—it can take up to 20 minutes for your brain to receive the signal that your stomach is full and for the brain to send the “stop eating” signals to you. And two, eating feels good!

Dieting doesn’t work for many people because it doesn’t offer anything you can actually use in the moment, when deciding what, when, and how much to eat. In that moment, success or failure at achieving permanent weight loss is determined. Making good choices in the moment requires three skills:

1. the ability to recognize your innate hunger and satiety signals;
2. the ability to distinguish between hunger, appetite (preferences, habits, tastes), and impulse;
3. the ability to stay grounded in your self and your goals so that it is you making the decisions—not hunger, appetite, impulses, or your diet rules.

Getting In Touch With Your Hunger & Satiety Signals
If you’ve been overeating and/or dieting for any length of time, you are probably out of touch with your hunger and satiety signals. Here’s a 7-day experiment that will help you find out where you stand and how to get back in touch with the "natural resources" of hunger and satiety.

Step 1: Organize Your Eating
Using the low end of your calorie range, divide those calories into a good breakfast, a moderate lunch, a mid-afternoon snack, a good dinner, and a small evening snack (optional). Plan your meals and snacks for each day in advance, so your calories and nutrients balance out for each meal and for the day as a whole. Schedule your eating so that you wait no less than four hours and no more than 6 hours between your meals. (Your snack can be scheduled anytime want it.) Stop eating at least two hours before bedtime. You will NOT weigh-in during the entire experiment.

Step 2: Stick to This Plan—No Matter What
No extra eating, no skipped meals, no excuses. If you go “off-plan,” don’t scrap the whole experiment. Just describe what happened in your journal (see below) and keep going. You need to give yourself a chance to experience true hunger so that you’ll know what that feels like; and you need to stick to the schedule so you can determine whether you eat out of hunger or other reasons. Don’t plan to do this experiment during a week when you know things are going to be crazy or unusual.

Step 3: Keep an Accurate, Detailed Food Journal
Note how you feel before and after each meal, including physical sensations (especially the hunger and satiety signals described above) and emotional reactions. If you feel like eating more or eating between meals, decide not to. Make a deal with yourself to wait 30 minutes, and then find out whether you still feel like eating. True hunger will stick around until it is satisfied whereas other “reasons” for eating will come and go. Describe how you feel when you stick to the plan and when you don’t. Either way, you will learn a lot about the differences between hunger, appetite, and emotional eating by simply observing yourself, your reactions, and the effects.

Step 4: Draw Your Conclusions
If you spent a lot of time feeling the physical sensations of hunger, it’s safe to assume you weren’t getting enough food. You may want to repeat the experiment for a few days at a higher caloric intake, until you find the level where you only experience hunger four to five hours after your last meal. If your desire to eat outside of your plan was due to anxiety, emotional discomfort, resentment or boredom, you can use your journal to identify the situations, thoughts, and feelings that triggered the urge to eat and find ways to manage them without turning to food.

Understand that by making it through this week-long experiment, you’re already on your way to learning to eat mindfully. You used your food management skills to get in touch with your hunger—not to replace it—and you used the temptations and difficulties you faced as opportunities to observe yourself in action, and use that learning to move towards your goals.

Even if you weren't perfect, each simple act of observing yourself in the present is itself a moment of being mindful. This observation of yourself from a distance gives you the ability to be the choice-maker, instead of the passive victim of your own feelings, impulses, and appetite. Every time you succeed at maintaining that perspective you make it easier to do it the next time.

If you had major difficulty sticking to the experiment, you may want to make it a long-term project, using the techniques above to gradually sort out whatever is causing you problems and refine your problem-solving skills. Long-term problems with emotional eating and/or a disconnection from your own internal signals can’t be overcome in a single week. But moving towards mindful eating at your own pace may still be your best bet.

This was posted by OH member N.M. in response to another poster's question.  I thought it was an excellent diagram and explaination.

FYI-


The band isn't on your esophagus. The esophagus is certainly affected by the band, but if it's around your esophagus, you'd know it. And that would be cause for emergency surgery. If your band has slipped, it could be causing your stomach to be in an hourglass shape. If it's prolapsed, the top portion of the stomach would be drooping over the band, causing problems, as well.  If you have a hiatal hernia, the top portion of the stomach can rise up into the esophagus, causing a "gap" in the diaphragm. All of these things can affect how your band works.




The left shoulder pain common to banding is caused by the diaphragm (which "separates" the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity) and the Vagus nerves that run through it.  Sometimes people who are banded have a "soft stop" signal... the pain in the left shoulder. The Vagus nerve:





The Vagus Nerve is the longest of twelve pairs that originate in the brain, serving as the brain's central command in the fight against stress, inflammation and toxicity. The Vagus Nerve regulates our "fight or flight" response, digestion, detoxification, various aspects of heart rate and blood pressure and more.


If your stomach is inflamed, which is not uncommon when you have a band, it will become irritated, creating restriction. When the swelling lessens, the restriction does, as well. 

I haven't been in denial, I've just plain been avoiding doing what I know I need to do for the last year and a half!  EXERCISE!  Yes, I move more than I did pre-op.  I walk up every escalator I come upon, (kind of a new personal commitment), I park further away in the parking lot, (or at least I don't circle and circle until a close spot opens up), and I ocassionally walk the dogs.  But I have resisted consistant, daily exercise almost from the very beginning of my surgical weight loss journey. 

Sometime during my first year post op I joined Curves.  It was just the right speed for me and it helped me lose 115 lbs but when it got easier, instead of increasing my effort, I quit.  I believe subconciously, I thought I was "cured"!  I lost 100+ lbs and I could touch my toes; isn't that what it's all about? 

Shortly after I quit Curves I started having lower back pain, every morning!  I blamed the matress, I blamed my favorite spot on the couch, I blamed my desk chair at work but oddly enough I never equated it to my sudden abandonment of regular exercise!  Well, I'm sure in my heart I knew, but man!  Exercise is exhausting!  Did I really have WLS, lose 100+ lbs just to have to exercise everyday?  After ruling out any skeletal or disc issues, the reality is yes, I do need to exercise regularly.  I believe that I lost a lot of muscle because I lost my weight so fast without much exercise to build muscle, (or retain muscle), that now I'm paying the price.  I'm as weak as an infant!

Over time I would half heartedly talk about getting back to regular exercise.  I researched classes, did my pilates DVD, even took some one-on-one pilates training, but nothing stuck.  The weird thing is that I never left an exercise class or ended a walk thinking, "Gee, I wish I hadn't done that!"  It always feels good after I do it, but why is it so hard to keep it up?  This is where my "all or nothing" mentality tends to get the best of me.  I'll start 100% committed and then over-do it by going every day, or I'll miss a day and then before I know it, I've missed 2 weeks and I don't miss it at all!  Just like dieting, I think I know everything about exercise and all the "tips" and "tricks" on how to adopt it into my daily life.  Still, I fight the knowledge that it's the right thing to do.  My willfull self, fights the logic and usually wins! 

Don't I deserve to lead a fully, healthy life?  Of course, I do, but do I BELIEVE I DESERVE THIS?  I'm not so sure.  Logically I know I do, but there's a deep seeded psycological reason that I continue to self sabotage my efforts to adopt a daily commitment and enjoyment of doing something I know is good for me.  Today, I'm working on this with my therapist and I'll keep you posted as I work toward discovering the "why" and then the "how to get past it".  But this self-awareness is a big part of the journey and while it can be frustrating I know that I've made a lot of progress.  I've done a great job actually, so onward I go! 

I joined Curves on Thursday and today I tried the Curves Zumba which was a blast!  It feels good to take action.  

Thanks for taking this journey with me!

Lisa O.

 Eight Signs of Emotional Eating

A lot of people ask, "How do I know if I am over eating for emotional reasons?" If any of the following statements sound like they could apply to you, then it's likely you are struggling with emotional eating.


1. My hunger comes on suddenly. Physical hunger comes on slowly. Hunger from emotional eating often comes on quickly and suddenly.

 

2. I crave specific foods-generally not carrot sticks or steamed broccoli.Cravings for specific foods usually unhealthy foods are signs of emotional eating. Often people like the rush they get from satisfying their cravings. The rush is fulfilling emotional hunger.　

3. My hunger feels urgent- I need a particular food right away and I am willing to walk out of my way, or get in your car late at night, or raid my kids Halloween candy to get it.  Physical hunger, unless you haven’t eaten for a long time, is usually pretty patient. It will wait for food. Emotional hunger demands to be satisfied immediately.

4. My hunger is often paired with an upsetting emotion- if I backtrack a few hours or a few days I’ll usually find an upsetting event and feeling that triggered the urge. Hunger thats comnnected to an upsetting emotion or situation is definately emotional hunger. Physical hunger is not typically triggered by emotions.

5. My eating habits involve unconscious eating-all of a sudden I’m eating ice cream and I find the whole contianer is gone.

6. I don’t stop eating in response to being full- I keep wanting more of the taste of the food. Physical hunger doesn’t need to be stuffed in order to be satisfied. Emotional hunger on the other hand often demands more and more food to feel satisfied.

7. My hunger isn’t located in he belly- I crave the taste of a certain food in my mouth or I can’t stop thinking of a certan food.  Feeling hungry in this way is usually a sign of emotional hunger or binging. Physical hunger is happy to get what it can, while emotional hunger usually focuses on specific tastes and textures.

8. After I satisfy my hunger, I am often filled with a sense of regret or guilt.  Feeding your body what it needs is not something to feel guilty about. If you feel guilty after you eat, it’s likely because part of you knows you’re not eating just to satisfy physical hunger.

When you’re eating for phyiscal reasons, you are usually mindful of what you’re doing. If you catch yourself eating, “just because”, then its likely you’re eating for emotional reasons..

**This was originally posted by Prek3.  It was given to her in her Support Group Meeting.

Your surgeon will be an important resource in guiding you which surgery is best for you, but you're doing the right thing...researching all the options available to you.

You will hear a lot of feedback but I encourage you to check out the RNY board as well as the Sleeve and all the others. 

Personally, I chose the band because I was concerned, (and a bit chicken), about the RNY surgery it's self.  With that said, if there were no other options available to me I'm sure I would have done it.  I was 330 lbs at the beginning of my journey, fed up and desperate.

I ended up choosing the band because my insurance didn't cover the Sleeve at the time, (that was my first choice).  Luckily, the band worked great for me!  I lost 104 lbs in 9 months, but haven't lost much more than that in the last year and a half.  Still, my health issues are all resolved and I'm living the life I dreamed of!

Pros: 
The band is removable if issues develop
It's adjustible allowing me to determine the level of tightness and therefore what and how much I can eat.
The mortality rates are the lowest of all the surgeries
There is no need for a lifetime regime of vitamins because it's not a malabsorbtive WL surgery, (otherwise, your body keeps all of the nutrients it gets through food).
I'm fairly diciplined and believed that I could change what I eat if the band would help me control portion size, (which is does for me).

Cons:
There is a lot of maintenence involved because of the need for regular fills over-time to keep the band properly adjusted for maximum benefits.
There are many foods that I no longer tolerate at all, like pasta, bread and many fruits and veggies.  (Anything that is doughy or very fibrous does not go through the band well)  This is a personal thing though, and it varies greatly between individuals.
You have to eat very slowly and chew very well or you may regurgitate foods that get "stuck" because they won't go through the band.

With all that said, I have absolutely no regrets!  I love my band and it's been a good tool for me.  None of the surgeries are full-proof.  I believe you have to choose the one that's best suited for your lifestyle and eating and emotional behaviors.

Keep researching and make the choice that's right for you.  Be sure you're ready to do the work and change not only how much you eat, but what you eat. 

WLS can be life changing, (it was for me), but you have to do your share and that includes dealing with any emotional eating behaviors you may have.  Therapy has helped me a lot and I knew early on that it would be part of the key to my success.  If you turn to food for comfort, that doesn't just go away because you had surgery.  There is no magic cure!

Diet soda may be making you fat   editor

• by Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Manage Your Life, on Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:55am PDT

•  

  Think you're making a healthier choice when you reach for diet soda instead of a sugary soft drink? Think again.

Diet soft drinks may have minimal calories, but they can still have a major impact on your waistline, according to two studies presented at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.

Researchers at the Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio tracked 474 people, all 65 to 74 years old, for nearly a decade, measuring the subjects' height, weight, waist circumference, and diet soft drink intake every 3.6 years. The waists of those who drank diet soft drinks grew 70 percent more than those who avoided the artificially sweetened stuff; people who drank two or more servings a day had waist-circumference increases that were five times larger than non-diet-soda consumers.

The findings are in line with those of a 2005 study, also conducted by researchers at the Texas Health Science Center, in which the chance of becoming overweight or obese increased with every diet soda consumed.

“On average, for each diet soft drink our participants drank per day, they were 65 percent more likely to become overweight during the next seven to eight years, and 41 percent more likely to become obese,” said Sharon Fowler, who was a faculty associate in the division of clinical epidemiology in the Health Science Center’s department of medicine at the time.

But how does something with no calories cause weight gain? Turns out that even if our taste buds can't tell the difference between real and fake sugar, our brains can. Another study, also presented at the American Diabetes Association meeting on Sunday, found that after three months of eating food laced with aspartame (which is also found in many diet soft drinks), mice had higher blood sugar levels than rodents who ate regular food. According to Fowler, who worked on all three studies and is now a researcher at UT Health Science Center at San Diego, the aspartame could trigger the appetite but do nothing to satisfy it. That could interfere with your body's ability to tell when you're full—and could lead you to eat more in general.

It happens in humans, too. A 2008 study found that women who drank water sweetened with sugar and water sweetened with Splenda couldn't taste a difference, but functional MRI scans showed that their brains' reward center responded to real sugar "more completely" than it did to the artificial sweetener.

"Your senses tell you there's something sweet that you're tasting, but your brain tells you, 'actually, it's not as much of a reward as I expected,'" Dr. Martin P. Paulus, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego and one of the authors of the study, told the Huffington Post. So you chase that no-calorie soda with something more caloric, like a salty snack. The sweet taste could also trigger your body to produce insulin, which blocks your ability to burn fat.

Aside from the health problems that go along with a widening waistline, diet soft drinks have also been linked to an increase in diabetes, heart attack, and stroke. One study of more than 2,500 people found that those "who drank diet soda daily had a 61 percent increased risk of cardiovascular events compared to those who drank no soda, even when accounting for smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption and calories consumed per day," ABC News reported in February. And a 2008 University of Minnesota study of nearly 10,000 adults ages 45 to 64 found that drinking a single can of diet soda a day led to a 34 percent higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome, a collection of health problems that includes high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and high levels of belly fat.

"Drinking a reasonable amount of diet soda a day, such as a can or two, isn't likely to hurt you," writes Katherine Zeratsky, a nutritionist at the Mayo Clinic. "The artificial sweeteners and other chemicals currently used in diet soda are safe for most people, and there's no credible evidence that these ingredients cause cancer."

"It’s hard to make a blanket statement on whether or not you should drink diet soda," Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., the nutrition editor for EatingWell Magazine, says. "At the end of the day what I think it comes down to is how are you using diet soda—is it truly a substitute for a higher calorie beverage or is it just an excuse to order the fries with your burger or a cookie for dessert? If it’s the former, go ahead. If it’s the latter, perhaps think twice."

But no matter how the soda is sweetened, it is an empty calorie food, Wright points out. "It delivers no nutritional value whatsoever and so should only be consumed in moderation."  

Hi All!

Yep, today marks the anniversary of my band surgery.  I can't believe how fast the time has gone and when I look back and start adding up the many positive things that have happened as a result of that little plastic band, it's overwhelming. 

I'm not going to write a lot about the many milestones reached, (because you all hear plenty from me on a regular basis), but I believe a picture speaks 1000 words and at least 115 pounds in my case! 

Here you go!

Me at the beach weighing 335 or so.


Me at the beach a few months ago weighing 215.


Me and my DH, (we just celebrated our 3 yr. wedding anniversary), and yes, there are men that can see through the armour of obesity that we hide behind!


Me and DH last November.


Me.  What can I say?  335 lbs trying to look happy getting my picture taken in a swimsuit. (I can't believe I'm posting this picture!)


A much happier, (and a picture Ham), today!



If you want the whole story, you can "friend" me and check out my blog.  But here are the basics:

-I lost 104 lbs the first year post band.  I believe, because I changed what I put in my body as well as how much.
-While not as strict as some, I watch carbs, calories protein and sugar.
-I know that drinking 60+ oz of no-calorie, non-carbonated beverages a day helped me lose weight.
-I still don't exercise like I should but I move a lot more than I did before and believe that every step counts!
-I still struggle with emotional eating and head hunger but I started therapy after the first year to work on these issues.  I believe that I'll never be free from my obsession and love affair with food if I don't get to the root of why I go there and learn new skills to deal with it when it happens.

Milestones:
I can walk 3 miles and carry on a conversation while doing it.
I went zip lining
I rode a rollercoaster and had room to spare between me and the safety bar.
I don't mind the middle seat on an airplane...much. And I can actually wear the seat belt and it has a tail!
I can tie my shoes with the bow in the center, not off to the side
I can shave my legs without feeling light-headed

There are too many to mention them all, but life is good! 

A few more pics...

I know I wouldn't have the success I've had without ALL of you here on OH!  Special thanks to my special support and now good friend, Jean M.  If you don't know her, you should, and if you don't have her book you should get it.  I say this not because she's my friend, but becuase all of the tips and advice she's given me over the years are in there and it's a great resource for Bandsters pre and post op! 

Thanks to all of you who share on this forum.  It's our collective experiences that allow us to each find our own way to live the banded life!

I encourage all of you to reach out to those OH members that live in your state.  I've met many friends, live and on line, through OH and know of no other place on earth where I can "meet" so many people that have walked in my shoes and are working to acheive the same thing that I am; longer life through good health and confidence through improved self-image.

Bless you all!

Lisa O.

A picture with me and several OH memebers from the surrounding area at a party we had at my house last year.


And...OH friends I met last year in Minnesota.


And OH members that are now part of my Support Group


LIFE IS GOOD! Go grab some for yourself!

I wrote this in response to a post from Sarah.  I was struck by how many experienced and successful bandsters responded to her post that are having the same challenge...maintaining WL after a year or so or losing the last bit of their desired WL goal.  I don't have an answer and am myself having the same struggles as the others, but I wanted to share my thoughts and encourage all of my "friends" to share any tips or advice that you may have about what it takes to stay focused when the bloom is off the rose!

I'm in the same boat as everyone else that responded to your post Sarah.  I'm 10 days from my 2 year surgery anniversary and all that structure and dicipline I used to lose 100+ lbs is out the window. 

We all know what to do, but doing it seems to have lost it's allure!  Most of us have acheived major weight loss and the challenges seem to be about how to maintain the loss or finish the last 20 or 30 lbs.  It's interesting that there isn't much help out there for maintaining WL with any of the surgeries and I think it's pretty clear why.  It is as simple as getting back to basics, but without the big changes in WL!!   That's not nearly as fun in my book as seeing those big numbers on the scale, even with the inevitable plateaus, it was still a big "high" for me!

Therapy has help me understand why I turn to food to deal with emotions and stress, but even armed with the Cognitive Therapy tools, I CHOOSE not to use them!  Sometimes, alot of the time actually, I just want to have my cake and everything else too!

Exercise is the elusive piece for me.  I've never been much for exercise and I know it would make a HUGE difference in my WL.  But that too is very easy to pass on when I'm tired, stressed, etc. 

It's those darn "lifestyle changes" that we've all heard about over and over that are difficult to adopt on a permanent basis. 

For me today, it's all about one step, one day at a time.  I do much better during the week so I foucus on being faithful to my plan during the week.  I allow myself more flexibility on the weekends and have decided, (for now), that as long as I'm not gaining, or I can quickly lose what I've gained, I'm happy with that. 

I still would like to lose another 30 lbs, but I know it's going to take regular exercise to get there AND NO SUGAR!   I haven't given up!  Never give up!

We can do this!

Initials	Meanings
AMOS	Association for Morbid Obesity Support
BBL	Be Back Later
BF	Boyfriend
BI	Breast Implants (PS Term)
BIL	Brother In Law
BL	Belt Lipectomy (PS Term)
BRB	Be Right Back
BT	Butt Tuck (PS Term)
BTDT	Been There. Done That.
BTW	By The Way
CBL	Circumferential Body Lift (PS Term)
CC	Carb Countdown (product brand name)
DD	Dear/Darling Daughter
DH	Dear/Darling Husband/Hubby
DIL	Daughter In Law
DS	Dear/Darling Son or Duodenal Switch
DW	Dear/Darling Wife
FBL	Full Body Lift
FF	Fat Free
FIL	Father In Law
GF	Girlfriend
GL	Good Luck
GMTA	Great Minds Think Alike
GTG	Got To Go
HTH	Hope This/That Helps
IMHO	In My Honest Opinion
JK	Just Kidding
LBL	Lower Body Lift (PS Term)
LMAO	Laughing My A$$ Off
LOL	Laughing Out Loud
MIL	Mother In Law
MUAH	Sound that a kiss makes
NP	No problem
NSV	Non Scale Victory (ie can fit in an airline seat, exercising more ...)
OFF	Over Fifty Forum (BMI Over 50)
OH	Obesity Help
OMG	Oh My God
OT	Off Topic (not related to weight loss or obesity issues)
PB	Productive Burp
PCOS	Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome
PITA	Pain In The A$$
PMP	Peeing My Pants
RL	Real Life
ROFL	Rolling On Floor Laughing
ROFLMAO	Rolling On Floor Laughing My A$$ Off
RT	Real Time
SV	Scale Victory (ie reached a weight goal)
SMTO@U	Sticking My Tongue Out At You
SF	Sugar Free
SIL	Sister/Son In Law
TBC	To Be Continued
TL	Thigh Lift (PS Term)
TMI	Too Much Information
TT	Tummy Tuck (PS Term)
TTFN	Ta-Ta For Now
TTYL	Talk To You Later
TY	Thank You
TYVM	Thank You Very Much
WB	Welcome Back
WTG	Way To Go
YMMV	Your Mileage May Vary
YW	You're Welcome

I can only speak from my own experience, but here are the pros and cons in my opinion.

Pros-
-I have lost 100+ lbs and have no existing co-morbidities, not even sleep apnea or plantar faceitis!
-The band works by pressing on a nerve that signals the hypothalamus in your brain that you are full.  I have never felt true hunger between meals with my band. (But, I followed the "rules" faithfully from the beginning for  the first 9 months.)
-There's no "dumping syndrome" with the band when you eat sweets.
-When you eat protein first you stay full longer and once you have restriction, 1/3 to 1/2 cup of food IS enough to feel satisfied.
-I can eat most foods with the exception of soft breads, noodles/pasta, white rice, dry meats and very fibrous vegetables and fruits. 
-I can eat out in restaurants with no trouble as long as I'm willing to make the proper food choices.
-I can re-create the tastes and flavors I thought I would have to go without, i.e., Mexican, Thai, Italian, whatever.  I just alter my old favorites to work with the band.
-I control how tight or how loose I want to keep my band.
-It's removable if something happens that warrants a removal but it's meant to stay permanently.  I know if I didn't have my band I would go back to the old habits.
-It works well for me because I am a type A personality, meaning I like following the rules.
-It worked well for me because my main issue with food is that I was a "volume" eater.  I never felt full and could eat a lot!  I felt that I could make good healthy food choices if the band would help control the portion size and that's exactly what's worked for me.
-I was committed to changing the quality of food I put in my body as well as the amount.  Making healthier food choices and giving up simple carbohydrates is why I lost the first 100 lbs in 9 months.  I was very strict with what I ate.
-The vitamin regime post op is mild compared to the other malabsorbtive proceedures.

Cons-
-You have to get fills, ( and sometimes un-fills), to maintain the restriction level in the band.   I don't mind the needle but you have to do regular doctor visits.  In the beginning, (first 6 months), it's about every 6 weeks and then after that it's just an occasional tweak to maintain good restriction.
-There are certain foods you may not be able to eat but it varies greatly by the individual and hasn't been a problem for me.
-If you eat too much, don't chew well enough, or eat something that's too dry, fibrous, etc. it will get stuch and you will feel pain until it passes through the stoma opening or you will regurgitate the food back up.
-You can still eat junk like chips, sugar, ice cream etc. and the band won't generally stop anything that turns to liquid once eaten.  You have to self monitor the junk foods.
-You can't drink during or at least 30 minutes after you eat because liquids will help move the food through your stoma faster and that defeats the purpose of eating a small portion  and being satisfied between meals.
-You can't, (or at least shouldn't), drink carbonated beverages.
-YOU have to control what you eat because this is not a malabsorbtive proceedure like RNY, so your body will absorb anything you eat, good or bad.

I could go on and on, but in my opinion the band works great if you are type A, extremely motivated and are completely committed to changing the quality of food you eat, not just the amount, and if you are willing to move your body more than you did before and increase exercise as you lose weight.  Exercise is a critical factor to success especially once you lose the first big chunk of weight and you metabolism adjusts to your new calorie intake.  If you are a grazer and  junk food junky but portion size is not an issue this may not be the best choice for you.  If you're a rule follower when motivated it can work very well.  If you're stubborn like me, it may work very well.  BUT, you can learn to "eat around the band" by chosing liquid calories, soft foods that go right through the band and lots of high sugar junk foods so in the end it really comes down to how much you can control your food choices and how motivated you are to exercise.  I was able to give up bread, pasta and rice but I still struggle with sugar so it's all up to me to be able to control that becuase it goes right through the band.  Good thing I'm a control freak who was able to channel my compulsivity toward my WL efforts!

Best of luck in making your decision.  Please feel free to ask any questions.  I'm an open book!

Lisa O.