Lapbanders are not taking the easy way out...

I don't think it is easy with a lap band at all!

I do think a lot of people that decide to get one think it will be easier with one. I think they're wrong.

I have two friends that have them and they have issues with them.

I don't hold it against them at all. Their weight loss is as much of a triumph, if not more, than mine.

At the end of the day they took their weight seriously enough that they had surgery to fix it. That's a lot more than most of us and it should be commended.

But (you knew it was coming)

I think that lap bands should only be for the seriously overweight. The two friends of mine that did it were big but I don't think they were big enough to warrant it.

I think the procedure is making a bunch of surgeons rich so they push it more and market it (you've all seen ads for it).

It's not a quick fix and people need to realise that they still have to be diligent not only on what they eat but HOW they eat. I think it complicates your diet even more.

If someone is thinking about having one done I try to talk them out of it but I won't push it if they've decided. I won't hold it against them because it's their body and therefore their choice. You can l lose weight safely with a lap band and lots of people live healthy lives after one.

Just remember that it's not magic and if you have a serious eating problem then the lap band may introduce more problems than it solves.

Will I be proud of my accomplishments if I lose this weight without diet pills or surgery? Sure I will, but then again, it's not like I have a choice. Diet pills don't work on me anymore. I also have no health insurance and no money, so I couldn't get gastric bypass or a lapband if I tried.

Even if I could, so many of my calories came from liquid (and still do) that I doubt surgery would work. In the end, I'd be right back where I was before, only malnourished. Plus the thought of complications scares me pretty bad. I don't see it as an easy way out. I see it as a last ditch effort to help you make the changes that will save your life.

That said, when I see a success story with photos and find out the person had surgery, I have to remind myself that I'm less likely to lose the weight quite that fast. It's a different path that I'm on, but so what, we're all trying to get to basically the same place.

People really need to stfu. I've never had the lap band or gastic bypass and I've never been really overweight but I have known people that have had it.
I hate how people are so judgemental about everything.
I just want to say congrats to those of you that have lost weight with the lap band surgery or gastic bypass.

Anyone who says that there is even anything remotely easy about lapband has just proven themselves to be an utter fool.

There is absolutely nothing easy about having your body cut on for surgery. There is nothing easy about sticking to an all liquid protein diet 2 weeks pre-op. There is nothing easy about being so dehydrated the morning of your surgery that 2 nurses and 2 anesthesiologists can't find a single vein in either of your arms and have to run a central line through your neck. There is nothing easy about being in so much pain that you literally have to hold your stomach when you sit up or walk for a week. And there is nothing easy about having to completely change your eating habits and lifestyle so that all the hell you went through wasn't for nothing.

As other people have said, WLS is not a cure, it's a tool. If it was a cure, everyone who had WLS would lose all of their excess weight and keep it off forever. That does not happen. It is a tool that people have to utilize along with their own hard work, discipline, and dedication. And like with any other tool, there is a right way to use it and wrong way. Generally, the people who use it the right way see the best long term results. And like with any other type of surgery, there are risks. And everyone's reaction to the surgery and recovery is different. That is life.

It's hard enough being an obese person in this country, especially if it's something you've struggled with your whole life. Fat people are not stupid. We see the looks. We hear the comments under the breath. We read the comments on message boards. Then to take steps to make positive changes and address the issue, we get knocked down again and told that our hard work and success doesn't count or is diminished because we took advantage of available tools is the ultimate slap in the face. Losing weight and getting healthy is hard. Period. There is no easy way out.

I don't think this is the easy way out

I applaud you both for your weight loss success


I work with alot of these patients and the only thing that bothers me is the ones who think it IS an easy way out. They have the surgery ..... abide by the diet for a time...and then eventually go back to eating and living the way they were before surgery and it can reverse itself.

I know a few that this has happend to - they had the procedures but didn't take time to be conscious of the calorie / nutritional intake and ended up gaining everything back. Tools are tools and everyone uses different ones. If it works to obtain the results necessary to gain good health then it deserves a congrats but the individual deserves the bigger Congrats... So Congratulations to all of you that have utilized the tools with success!!

I'm a bander, and have not told many people because of this.. (ex above...Phoenix). Before I joined MFP, my friend told me to watch what groups I joined because of the band bashing. No, it's not easy with the band...I wish I would have lost more weight by now, but I'm still an emotional eater and family issues have not helped. BUT, I'm am plugging away and trying to get on track.. Any of you banders (or not), that want another friend, please "friend me". Merry Christmas!

I don't hate lap banders either. What I DO hate is the way some weight loss surgeons try to "sell" people that could lose weight just as effectively without surgery on doing it to get rich.

While there are legitimate reasons for weight loss surgery -- like it someone weights 400 pounds, if you can develop the self control to eat only certain things after WLS, if someone is really committed to losing weight, I think they can develop that same self discipline without going through weight loss surgery.

Is it extreme? Yes.

Is it easy? Hell no!

If it's a cop out, then so was getting braces instead of simply willing my teeth straight, or wearing contacts/glasses instead of squinting.

I've known people with all kinds of results from WLS. The ones with great progress busted their butts. They'd tried losing weight in every other way possible and were having major health problems from the excess weight they carried.

Sadly, I had a friend who died from complications following surgery. Yeah, that's an easy way out. :brokenheart:

And I knew a few people who've had mediocre results. They're the ones who didn't put the work into their health and nutrition, and it shows. I'm sure they're healthier than they were with the excess weight on them, but it just goes to prove that it's not magic wand. It's still work. Possibly harder work than losing weight through traditional means.

I myself was over 400 pounds before I had the lap band. And I can say it is a great tool.I have lost 180 pounds since... It has helped me alot during my journey. I could care less if you think it is the easy way out because in the end all that matters is that we all become healthy. You should be less negative and show more support for all , surgery or no surgery...

Merry Christmas everyone ! Wish you all the best of luck with your journey..

I have a friend you had the lap band surgery, one friend who had a total remake of the "Swan" and another friend you had the gastric. The one who had the lap band surgery gained ALL of her weight back plus some. The one who had the total "Swan make over gained ALL her weight back plus some. And the one who had the gastric just had it done this year in May and she's still losing; but she doesn't eat the right foods and she doesn't even TRY to exercise. Hopefully she'll get it together and try to watch the foods that she eats and try to exercise.

As their friend I have talked them into exercising with me, but that didn't last long. It seems as though they have no WILL POWER what-so-ever, and that's why they resort to the surgeries.

I have nothing against anybody who has surgery to help them lose the weight if that's they're last resort, but if you're going to go through all that pain and suffering then all I say is put in the effort to try to do the right thing for your bodies.

Congratulations to all of you who have had the surgeries and kept the weight off by eating right and exercising. I applaud each and every last one of you!