Did you do this or question ?

Whether or not you could comply with the way you have to eat after the Lap Band ? Did anyone try to start eating the way you would if you already had the band or did you wait and do it after you had the band put in ? Just curious oh and did you get cold feet before surgery ?

Let me put this out there from the perspective of an RNY person.  Now, mind you, this is me and only me answering this.  I do not speak for the whole gastric bypass community!

I started out with the intentions of having RNY.  During the 6 motnh diet, I lost quite a bit of weight and started questioning my decision.  I thought, if I could do this on my own, do I need to have RNY, maybe I could get by on Lap-Band.

At this point, I realized I did not have the will-power to adhere to the Bands regime.  I started thinking, I could go to Mickey D's and get that 32 ounce chocolate shake and sip on it all day, knowing all to well that I would not lose weight.

Then I changed my decison  to having RNY because of the dumping syndrome.  This would surely help me in my quest for a healthier life!  Well, lo and behold, I no longer dump on small amounts of sugar!  As long as things are in moderation, I have no problem!

So, my thought process has changed.  I do have to stick to a regime that requires me to seek out the best and healthiest foods.  I do have to watch what I eat on a daily basis. I do hold on to that new lifestyle that I have taken to heart!  Because, I can regain the 180 pounds that I have lost, and I don;t want that to happen.

I guess what I'm saying is this...What ever decsion is made, there are compliances that have to have to be , in order to be "successful"..  A topic that was discussed last week, and will be discussed again and again.

Great question!  Have a good day!

 I'm still pre-op, so I can't talk about cold feet.  I'm sure I'll be a bit anxious, but I know that the end result will be worth that bit of stress.

My dietitians (I have one in the diabetes clinic and one in the surgical weight loss clinic, and they chat together) say that my diet is not all that bad.  It's mostly portions.  I'm single and not overly keen on leftovers and as the years go by it seems my portions get larger and I tend to eat all of what I make.  My biggest problem is I just need to be able to stop after a reasonable amount of food.  I refer to the band as my off switch.

I have heard a lot of successful WLS patients say that they measure everything that goes into their mouths.  I'm trying to do that.  And keep a food diary.  And I get about an hour of exercise per day, 5 days a week,  in 20-30 minute segments.

Read lots of posts and see what works for the successful people and what doesn't work for the unsuccessful ones.

I have made some small additional changes . . . I haven't had pasta or rice in weeks.  I'm trying to cut back on the simple carbs.  I want to be as prepared for post op life as much as possible, but then again, you can't truly prepare until you get there.  Ya know?  It's still going to be different than you expected, I'm sure.

In short, I'm trying to make small and hopefully permanent changes that will benefit me once I have surgery.  Measuring, documenting and of course, exercising.  It's going to be challenging no matter what (even Dr. Phil said gastric surgery is NOT an easy way out!), but I think making some small and positive changes prior to surgery will help set me up for success.

Hope that gives you some "food," for thought!   
Denise

My insurance required a six month supervised diet, so my primary care suggested portion control plates.   And if you want mine, just PM me and I'll mail it to you!  It was an EYE-OPENER!!  I ate more than I am eating now, but MUCH LESS than I ever had before. 

A great deal of our eating is habit, we don't need as much as we eat to live, so it is a real change of habits.   First recognizing what your bad habits are in regards to eating. 

My BIG Three!!!
SNACKING/ GRAZING: I was eating whether I was hungry or not, it was something to do. (Now I am back into crafts when watching TV, or if I'm "tempted" I will come into my office and get on the boards, or just look through before and after pictures, they are inspiring to me.)

CLEAN UP CREW:  cleaning Connor's plate when he didn't  (The dogs are much happier now that I've stopped this habit!)

OVEREATING:  I would heap on the food on my plate because it was there!  Now when I cook, I immediately break it down into 1/2 cup containers, freeze some, and leave some in the refrig to eat.


Without the dumping syndrome, I have to admit, the "cheat" is more attractive at times, but then I think, "Why did I do all this to fail?"  During our lovely time of the month I was going to KILL for some chocolate, so much so, I tried to make my own fudge with splenda (GROSS, which killed the craving!)  Now, I have sugar free fruit pops that are a little treat.  

The first time you "push" the band limit, it HURTS, the feeling like someone is sitting on your chest and not letting the food go down or not letting the food come back up.  I made the mistake of eating and not paying attention to bite size, and quickly slipped into eating fast.  OUCH!!!!   When lessons are learned through pain, they stick with you! 
Somedays are easier than others, but being overweight is due to an addicition that took us lifetimes, the bands are tools, it is our job to learn to live with them and make them successful. 

So..  now that I've rambled, to answer your questions...  I did wonder how could I ever eat so little and keep up with a two year old, let me say, it is EASIER now, I'm only down 24 lbs since surgery, but it really is easier now.      I did try start eating smaller portions before surgery, which helped understand what I was getting myself into.

I got major cold feet before, but then I knew that without help and some new tools, the weight I loss would come back, and probably come back plus some, which has always been my history.  (Loose weight, gain it back and more.)   I starting posting my own inspirational sayings around my house.  I started telling everyone, because the more people who knew the less likely I would be to back out.  I had a HUGE support group, and I knew I was doing the right thing.

I hope my ramblings help, you can always send me a PM if you want my phone number and want to chat via the phone.

HUGS
Amy

I wanted a mind set for after the surgery. I lost 40 lbs before my surgery. With my surgeons and pcp 's help along with the wonderful support group HUM HUM !!  Hey You have to be satisfied with your decision. I did what was right for me. But in order for your surgeon to have a easier time go'n in and do'n whatever he/she has to do the liver needs to be smaller, and the way to do that is to loss the extra lbs. It is for your benefits and theirs.  I didn't even have to go to ICU, and was sitt'n up by that night. Dr. Richards and his team was wonderful!!! The Nut. had me on the right path before during and after the surgery. Along with the support groups. Wow  Thanks to all !!! And I can't say that enough, oh and about my ANGELS I Had some WONDERFUL ONES!!!!! MySpace Comments & MySpace Layouts
LUV YA"LL BARB

I think you're really wise to consider whether or not you can comply with the post-op regimen. I'd suggest talking to (either in real life or on the lap-band forum) banders who are two or more years out. All the WLS have a honeymoon period when the weight slides off with relatively little effort, from what I've read. The real test is once that honeymoon is over.

I know myself well enought to know I cannot depend on restriction alone, if it did not also curb hunger. So when my surgeon talked at the seminar about how RNYer and lap-banders in particular had problems with hunger in the post-honeymoon period, I paid attention. (He also later told me that in his practice, the band success rates were much lower than even in the studies, while his  DS patients were the same as the study data. Studies say after 5 years out, band patients have excess wl 50%; RNY has 75% EWL; and DS has 80 to 90% EWL, depending on which study you consult.)

Two of the WLS surgeries, VSG and the duodenal switch (DS), remove the ghrelin-producing part of the stomach. Ghrelin is the "hunger hormone," and is thought to be a culprit when lap-band and RNY patients don't do well and overeat post-surgery. There isn't long-term data on the effectiveness of VSG, though, so that one didn't appeal to me.

I've chosen the DS for many reasons (best long-term weight loss stats, I need to take NSAIDs, can't dump due to blood sugar issues) but one of the big reasons is what the eating requirements are post-op. After you're healed, as long as you get protein in first, you can eat other foods you like and can tolerate. Most DSers can't tolerate white carbs without gas issues, though some can. Most can tolerate fats well, so bring on the cheese! In fact, fat for DSers is almost like health food, because the DS digestive tract absorbs only 20% of the fat that passes through it, whereas it aborbs 100% of simple carbs and about 60% of complex carbs. Now THAT is a post-op regime I can embrace! I don't care if I have to give up cake, but if I had to give up steak, I'd be completely non-compliant and I know it.

So anyway, I got long-winded and I apologize. If you're feeling cold feet, review your thought process that got you to the band. If there's no new info between when you decided on the band initially and now, then I'd suggest distracting yourself to get past the nerves. If there is new info you need to consider, then consider it now. This is a big decision, and you only want to do it once. As we like to say on the DS board, think twice, cut once!
Best,