Wa Going to Try for Lap-Band, But Decided Against It

Awesome, Sandy! Exercise/calories and portion control- all you need to get it done. It might take longer, it might be harder, but you are worth it!

My sister struggled with weight all her life. Two years ago she had GP surgery. She lost a lot of weight, but now she has to watch very carefully what she eats.
I thought all I have to do is put that same idea into my head without the surgery, so far it is working.
Personally I feel I should give it my all before I resort to anything like that.
You can do this!
Good Luck!

Awesome! And, what a brave choice!

Best of luck & God bless you!

I was going to get the lap band then thought of gastric bypass. My husband and father was against it. Then I heard these horror stories then decided to do it on my own. I think I was just overwhelmed with how much I have to lose, but so far have lost 10 pounds. I am so glad I changed my mind also.

Love it, mental lap band....that's exactly how it works...

No that's not how it works at all. Weight loss surgery gives you physiological hunger control. Your hunger hormones (ghrelin, leptin, etc.) are actually changed and your body's set point is lowered as well.

That's why clinical data shows that 75-90% of people who get weight loss surgery end up losing and keeping off an average of 50% of their excess weight for at least 5 years while people with 50 pounds or more to lose who attempt to do so without weight loss surgery succeed in keeping off 40% of excess weight for only two years only 1-10% of the time. Those are not good odds.

For me, I could lose weight just fine. I've lost gobs and gobs of weight. I couldn't keep it off though because of my ravenous hunger. Now the part of my body that overproduced ghrelin is gone and I have normal hunger. My body's set point is no longer 225, but 115 as well. This makes a tremendous difference in my ability to maintain my weight.

I wish the OP well, but I also hope she doesn't end up yo-yo dieting for 30 years like I did when a tool exists now that can break that cycle. Society tells us that obesity is a behavior issue, one of willpower, and that failure to lose weight is due to character flaws. Science tells us that's a bunch of BS, that obesity a complex disease with many physiological causes. Society reminds me of a little kid with its fingers in its ears singing "la la la" I can't hear you" on this one.

I have the lapband myself and it was great! i lost 100 lbs with it, but learning to "eat through it" and grieving during my divorce, i gained 80 lbs of it back. Not good! that's why I'm here....im eating better, smaller portions, exercising, and i am getting a fill in my band next week. i figured i have the tool in my body, i might as well use it, but live healthy too. congrats on your decision to get healthy and lose weight....no matter how you choose to do it. it's hard either way.....

This is truely one of thee best post I've ever seen on the community board. Good for you and please keep posting so we can all join you in your quest too. We're pretty much all here for the same reason and you said it best; it's all mental!

Good luck.

:drinker:

Yesterday, I called to get pre-qualified with insurance for a lap-band. I'm desparate to lose weight and started convincing myself that I needed something besides counting calories/excericse. After I called I got ticked-off at myself. I have everything I need to succeed inside of me. Even with a lap-band it is all about calories/excericse. So I'm re-committing today to log my calories and excericse on MFP every day. When the lap-band place calls back, I'm going to tell them, thanks but no thanks......I'm going to give myself a mental lap-band and stick to MFP. LOL

there you go, give yourself more credit to be able to do it EL natural !

Love it, mental lap band....that's exactly how it works...

No that's not how it works at all. Weight loss surgery gives you physiological hunger control. Your hunger hormones (ghrelin, leptin, etc.) are actually changed and your body's set point is lowered as well.

That's why clinical data shows that 75-90% of people who get weight loss surgery end up losing and keeping off an average of 50% of their excess weight for at least 5 years while people with 50 pounds or more to lose who attempt to do so without weight loss surgery succeed in keeping off 40% of excess weight for only two years only 1-10% of the time. Those are not good odds.

For me, I could lose weight just fine. I've lost gobs and gobs of weight. I couldn't keep it off though because of my ravenous hunger. Now the part of my body that overproduced ghrelin is gone and I have normal hunger. My body's set point is no longer 225, but 115 as well. This makes a tremendous difference in my ability to maintain my weight.

I wish the OP well, but I also hope she doesn't end up yo-yo dieting for 30 years like I did when a tool exists now that can break that cycle. Society tells us that obesity is a behavior issue, one of willpower, and that failure to lose weight is due to character flaws. Science tells us that's a bunch of BS, that obesity a complex disease with many physiological causes. Society reminds me of a little kid with its fingers in its ears singing "la la la" I can't hear you" on this one.

If you have a medical problem and endocrine has picked up on it...I say that's what you should do

However, so many people eat for emotional reasons and are basically sedentary....you have to understand why you eat, when you eat and how you move your body to compensate...once that is established, you can make the proper decisions based on what you and your doctor have determined what is the most appropriate course of action.

Becca, your right about docs promoting quick fixes...congrats on your weight loss and willpower to get it done

I work in a small hospital...we recently had 2 women in their 40s and 50s admitted to our hospital because of plastic surgery gone bad, mainly tummy tucks....1 died and I don't know what happened to the other....I have seen nicked bowels, bladders and people go septic...you think it won't happen to you; but, it can.

I APPLAUD YOU!!!

Good decision. The lab band will not change bad habits and it doesn't seem like it would be medically urgent for you to get it.

I was pondering WLS myself last winter because I knew I was at the point of needing to seek professional help. However for me, WLS would have done no good because I would have never learned how to eat properly and take care of my body, i would have just been restricting my calorie intake. Granted I know it is much more involved, but the main reason I think people get it is to restrict calorie consumption. However even with calorie restriction, if you eat the wrong food, which I would have continued to do, it would be no help. And think of all the complications you could inevitably end up with. I'm really glad I chose to lose the weight without surgery and I've invested my time, efforts and money into getting healthy the natural way. WLS is a tool that will work for many, and has, but it would not help me overcome my bad relationship with food.

This topic has been near and dear to my heart recently because one of my good friends who is only 30 yrs old has chosen to get WLS and is going under the knife Sept 8. She told me about it last week. She is the same height as me, but weighs less than I do NOW (after 6 months of losing). I just wish she would change her mind too because she is young, healthy otherwise, strong and I know she is capable. Her reasoning is that she doesn't want her life to revolve around food and if she can't eat she won't think about it. It is such a sad situation because I don't want her to get it but I have to be supportive of her decision as a good friend. No matter how anyone decides to lose weight it is good that they are doing it, but I fear she may be causing herself more health problems down the road when she is perfectly capable of re-learning how to eat properly and she has no restrictions that would prevent her from exercising. Sorry, I know I'm venting a little here.

Nevertheless, I'm glad you have given the surgery more thought and have really thought about what's best for YOU! :flowerforyou:

I have the lapband myself and it was great! i lost 100 lbs with it, but learning to "eat through it" and grieving during my divorce, i gained 80 lbs of it back. Not good! that's why I'm here....im eating better, smaller portions, exercising, and i am getting a fill in my band next week. i figured i have the tool in my body, i might as well use it, but live healthy too. congrats on your decision to get healthy and lose weight....no matter how you choose to do it. it's hard either way.....

This exactly, except I didn't get a divorce ..but my father passed away. I had the lapband also! Since I decided it was time to make it work for me again, I've lost 76 lbs in 3 months. It's your choice! But I agree ..it is hard either way.

Lap Band and Gastric Bypass are band-aids that don't fix the underlying problem. Nearly 100% of those who get weight loss surgery gain it all back. Why? Because they haven't identified the root of why they got to where they are in the first place. Most people who are morbidly obese got that way because they eat their emotions. Not everyone, but the vast majority. Relearning how to eat proper portions, learning your triggers (what makes you want to run to the kitchen when you're not physically hungry) and learning how to really focus on what you're eating and being in the moment so you are satisfied with your meal. These are keys that weight loss surgery doesn't teach.

It makes me crazy how many people resort to weight loss surgery, particularly those with less than 150 lbs to lose. And really if you're not close to 1 foot in the grave you shouldn't even consider an expensive and potentially life threatening surgery. Risking your life with a major surgery like WLS when you aren't even fixing the real problem is insanity. That's just my opinion though, take it or leave it.

But one last word of advice - Look up weight loss success stories. People like David Smith who weighed 650 lbs (yes SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY!), with diet and exercise alone he lost over 400 lbs. He's now a personal trainer. http://www.hemmy.net/2007/07/02/david-smith-amazing-weight-lost-story/

And there are other people out there who have lost massive amounts of weight through changing their lifestyles by eating right and adding physical activity to their daily lives. If David can lose over 400 lbs through diet and exercise YOU can lose the weight you want the same way!

Stacyskinny...please get your facts straight! I have the lapband and it is the best (underlined) thing I have ever done for myself! It's hard, because it's only a tool! You have to still excersize, fight emotional eating and count calories! It's not a quick fix! So all the negativity about lapband surgery... God bless you!!!