The LapBand is a tool
No worries. I'm not taking it as an argument. 
When someone says that the band (or any other surgery) "is a tool", the statement needs to be explained, and the right way by the right people. Again, you can walk into Home Depot and buy all the tools you want but if you are never taught how to use them correctly, they are useless and even harmful at times.
But I AM pointing out that no surgery is going to be a magic bullet. They will just HELP us behave ourselves. RNY can cause you to have issues with sugar and fats. Fats are fine with DS but sugars and carbs will make you very unhappy. A sleeve will never prevent you from grazing. EVERY surgery is going to allow all of us to continue with our bad habits. We just have to listen to our new-world bodies if any procedure is ever to work.
Diets never worked for me because there was never anything preventing me from continuing my bad food habits. I could be on a diet for a couple of weeks or a couple of months, but whatever food the diet was keeping me from would, eventually, become all I wanted, I'd have to have it and it would be game over for that diet.
My overeating and obesity was never caused by not knowing what to and not to eat. It was knowing when to STOP.
Having the band keeps me from eating too much, eating too frequently or eating mindlessly. I have to pay attention to what I am putting in my mouth and when. I don't, however, consider it a "diet", because there are very, very few foods that I CAN'T eat - beef, for example, has to be cooked exactly right or it sits in my stomach for days.
When someone says that the band (or any other surgery) "is a tool", the statement needs to be explained, and the right way by the right people. Again, you can walk into Home Depot and buy all the tools you want but if you are never taught how to use them correctly, they are useless and even harmful at times.But I AM pointing out that no surgery is going to be a magic bullet. They will just HELP us behave ourselves. RNY can cause you to have issues with sugar and fats. Fats are fine with DS but sugars and carbs will make you very unhappy. A sleeve will never prevent you from grazing. EVERY surgery is going to allow all of us to continue with our bad habits. We just have to listen to our new-world bodies if any procedure is ever to work.
Diets never worked for me because there was never anything preventing me from continuing my bad food habits. I could be on a diet for a couple of weeks or a couple of months, but whatever food the diet was keeping me from would, eventually, become all I wanted, I'd have to have it and it would be game over for that diet.
My overeating and obesity was never caused by not knowing what to and not to eat. It was knowing when to STOP.
Having the band keeps me from eating too much, eating too frequently or eating mindlessly. I have to pay attention to what I am putting in my mouth and when. I don't, however, consider it a "diet", because there are very, very few foods that I CAN'T eat - beef, for example, has to be cooked exactly right or it sits in my stomach for days.
Banded 10 years & maintaining my weight loss!! Any questions, message me.
Pickles123
on 7/25/12 2:11 am, edited 7/25/12 2:25 am
on 7/25/12 2:11 am, edited 7/25/12 2:25 am
I agree that the lapband is best for me in maintaining my weight loss.
When you compare the tool to a screwdriver or a router or any other tool it is not a fair comparison.
When I was training as a student teacher (many years ago) we were taught that you can not teach underpriviledged children something they know nothing about. You can't tell a child who has never been on or seen an escalator what it is: they will not get it. That is why some standardized tests are said to be unfair.
So we know how a screw driver works so we know what it is going to do. If you don't have the band, no matter how much someone tells you about it, until you have it you do not know what it is going to do or how it will work for you. What if you needed the Phillips head screwdriver and you were given a flat head screwdriver. That would be the wrong tool for you. We just need a better description for what the band does for those trying to decide which surgery to get.
I do not like the feeling of being the least bit tight so I keep my band fairly loose. Even with the band I would have a hard time describing what feeling I am having that others don't seem to mind.
I just feel that there needs to be a better description of what the band is and how it really works. A tool tells you nothing.
When you compare the tool to a screwdriver or a router or any other tool it is not a fair comparison.
When I was training as a student teacher (many years ago) we were taught that you can not teach underpriviledged children something they know nothing about. You can't tell a child who has never been on or seen an escalator what it is: they will not get it. That is why some standardized tests are said to be unfair.
So we know how a screw driver works so we know what it is going to do. If you don't have the band, no matter how much someone tells you about it, until you have it you do not know what it is going to do or how it will work for you. What if you needed the Phillips head screwdriver and you were given a flat head screwdriver. That would be the wrong tool for you. We just need a better description for what the band does for those trying to decide which surgery to get.
I do not like the feeling of being the least bit tight so I keep my band fairly loose. Even with the band I would have a hard time describing what feeling I am having that others don't seem to mind.
I just feel that there needs to be a better description of what the band is and how it really works. A tool tells you nothing.
Bette took the words right out of my mouth...
I don't say "The Band is Just a Tool" to people who are considering the surgery...they should be reading everything they can to understand how it works...I say it more to people who have not had it and think since I've had surgery It is an easy way out, then I have to "educate" them...
I don't say "The Band is Just a Tool" to people who are considering the surgery...they should be reading everything they can to understand how it works...I say it more to people who have not had it and think since I've had surgery It is an easy way out, then I have to "educate" them...
Cathlena - 39, 4'11" Start - 210 3/31/09 BMI Start: 42.4
People told me all the time " the band is a tool " and i believed that at first, it was a tool you had to laern how to use , learn how to use the tool properly and it will work for you .
however , I learned how to use that tool properly , To a T according to my doc and that " tool " Bulid my road to hell ! That "tool" now has caused me to not eat , throw up , and have to have my " tool" removed . I wish people had told me what the " tool" would really do to me !
however , I learned how to use that tool properly , To a T according to my doc and that " tool " Bulid my road to hell ! That "tool" now has caused me to not eat , throw up , and have to have my " tool" removed . I wish people had told me what the " tool" would really do to me !
See my whole band ordeal on my blog Trying to Stay Skinny in Texas
Read the good , the bad , the ugly and the truth about my lap band journey !
Read the good , the bad , the ugly and the truth about my lap band journey !
ROFLMAO There ya go ! that would be the proper term !
See my whole band ordeal on my blog Trying to Stay Skinny in Texas
Read the good , the bad , the ugly and the truth about my lap band journey !
Read the good , the bad , the ugly and the truth about my lap band journey !
Mindy, I know what you mean about using our band as a tool. I really never understood that before either. I wish I had had more extensive counseling about how to avoid Head Hunger and also Addictions. I am 20mo out from surgery. Lost 80lbs really fast. Need to loose 25 more. Head Hunger has really been hard for me. Esp in the evenings. Even tho I keep good snacks around that are healthy, I WANT ICE CREAM! The only way to avoid is not to have any unhealthy snacks around.
I really think I have a food addiction and would never have known that without reading about it on several blogs. This was not mentioned before surgery and I know I need to return to the obesity counselor for help.
Yes, I would get the band again! I love it. But it does not help the issues that got me fat to began with. That is up to me to take the next step. Is anyone else feel like that?
I really think I have a food addiction and would never have known that without reading about it on several blogs. This was not mentioned before surgery and I know I need to return to the obesity counselor for help.
Yes, I would get the band again! I love it. But it does not help the issues that got me fat to began with. That is up to me to take the next step. Is anyone else feel like that?
What Bette said!
I think part of the use of the word "tool" is to combat the idea that WLS is "the easy way out" and requires no effort from the recipient.
All WLS is a tool. It helps us to reach a goal, but without the other pieces of the project, no WLS will of its own accord result in permanent weight loss, except for a very lucky few.
I venture to say that every pre-op sales pit*****ludes the phrase "your WLS is a tool which when used in conjunction with diet modification and regular exercise" can help you get where you need to go.
I am not going to debate which of the tools are better, only that all of them require discipline, commitment and an arsenal of other "tools" to succeed.
I think part of the use of the word "tool" is to combat the idea that WLS is "the easy way out" and requires no effort from the recipient.
All WLS is a tool. It helps us to reach a goal, but without the other pieces of the project, no WLS will of its own accord result in permanent weight loss, except for a very lucky few.
I venture to say that every pre-op sales pit*****ludes the phrase "your WLS is a tool which when used in conjunction with diet modification and regular exercise" can help you get where you need to go.
I am not going to debate which of the tools are better, only that all of them require discipline, commitment and an arsenal of other "tools" to succeed.
Judy
On July 24, 2012 at 3:24 PM Pacific Time, Pickles123 wrote:
I have a complaint that drives me crazy.I just hate when "TheLapBand is a tool" is told to people who are thinking about having a lapband.
I don't think they have a clue what this means. As a matter of fact I think we all have different ideas of what this means.
What is your idea of "The Lap Band is just a tool"?. It does not work like a diet pill, it is not something that will stop you from eating certain foods, it doesn't stop you from being hungry (at least not in the way you felt full before) It does not stop head hunger. What is it?
I think there is a much better way to describe what the lap band does.(Or doesn't do for some) I also think this would help people from being disappointed in the surgery.
How would you explain this to a person that has not yet had a lapband?
This is just my opinion but I think saying The Lapband is a tool is falling on deaf ears to someone who has never had one.
I have lost my weight with the LapBand but I am not a real fan. "The LapBand is a tool" did not really mean anything to me. I think a better discriptiion could help people make more informed decisions.
Eating a certain amount of food and then not being hungry for 3-4 hours is not a good discription because some people never get there. Also the newly lapbanded do not have a fill so they don't know why they are getting hungry and using that tool as they were told to.
It is just not a good choice of words for this and causes lots of disappointment and failure IMO
.
I talked to a lot of people about WLS before I had it, but I knew that I wouldn't really know what it was like until I did it and experienced it for myself. IMO it was a risk worth taking. So far so good -- I'm down 27lbs since surgery (45 overall) and no complications. I've had a few days where I didn't make the best food choices, but that's my own fault -- I never expected the band to do that for me. I'm not disappointed at all. To me it's a tool in that I'm sated with a smaller amount of food so I can think straight and not let the hunger turn into uncontrollable binges. I know I have to work on my dysfunctional relationship with food, so I have a therapist for that. Even though I have the band and it's working for me now, I know there's no guarantee that it always will, and I know that to be completely successful and meet all my goals, 80% of the work has to come from me, not the band.
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