Thread: Is it easy to stay on your diet for lapband?

I'm waiting to have surgery and wondering how people are doing that's already lost weight...

It's kind of hard. You're definitely not as hungry as you usually are pre-op, but the food options are bad. I had 2 weeks of full liquids, soft mushie food, soft solids, and then finally solids. I'm in the solids stage right now, and have lost 35 lbs. I have not cheated once. I will not allow myself. The band is just a tool, you can cheat it. Lap-band is best at restricting solids, not liquids remember that. If someone sits home and binges on cake, chips, soda, juice, ice-cream, etc. They WILL fail.

It's a total lifestyle change. You can eat your way around any of the weight loss surgeries available. Lots of people will tell you it's the "easy way out". Actually it's extremely hard. My cousin had the bypass surgery. It was hard for her to deal with at first. She could only eat a tiny bit at a time. It changes the outside, but it doesn't change your brain or habits, those you have to work on. Good luck to you.

Actually, while it was originally assumed that the Lapband worked by restricting the quantity of food (and it does work that way for some people), they're now discovering that it has a much more powerful role in suppressing the appetite. The stomach produces a hormone called ghrelin which is what makes us feel hungry. When a person eats, the slight pressure on the walls of the stomach puts pressure on the vagus nerves which run into the stomach through the top opening. When these nerves feel pressure, they tell the ghrelin to stop production.

Some people get enough pressure on these nerves just by having the band installed. Most people need to have their bands filled to tighten them...some just a little...some almost to maximum. Some people find that they can only eat a cup of food or less when they have restriction. Others can still eat as much as they did prior to getting banded but because their appetite is suppressed, they are better able to control their intake. I do clinical therapy (individual and group) to help people overcome the emotional component of their food disorder and know that the experiences of the band and how effectively it works varies quite a bit.

Being banded doesn't make the weight loss any easier. The individual still has to make the right choices regarding what they eat and how much because even those who are restricted in volume can still eat what they call 'slider' foods which tend to be very very high calorie and high carb (most WLS doctors recommend a low carb diet).

Hope this helps.