Question:
Anyone out there that has had the gastric lap-band still feel hungry?

I am 8 weeks out and have lost 30lbs. My problem is I am so confused. I want to eat!!!! My whole day is consumed in my mind about food. I feel like I am losing my mind and nobody seems to understand. I had my first band fill on 4/9/03 and the doctor didn't want to do it then but I insisted because I had stopped losing weight. I am at my wits end, I want a cheeseburger and french fries so bad. My problem is I can eat just about as much as I did before the surgery and everyone else I know that has had the surgery can't and nobody can explain why I am like that. I have a support group along with a nutritionist but I don't think anyone understands this. I've heard all the sayings, "hang in there", "it's head hunger", "exercise helps", I've heard them all but it doesn't help. Any suggestions that I haven't heard? Thanks for the help.    — Sherry C. (posted on June 13, 2003)

June 13, 2003
What helps is knowing that WLS is a tool and not expecting it to do the work for you. It is a tool in that it will help you to eat less, malabsorb (if you have a bypassed intestine), lose faster than conventional dieting, and provide you with the quick success you need to motivate yourself to do all the things you knew you should've been doing all these years but couldn't (drink lots of water, exercise, cut back on carbs etc.). It sounds as if you don't have a physical problem and that the doc says everything is the way it's supposed to be. So what are you doing to meet your surgery half way? I'm 2 years out. I feel hunger. At 8 weeks I craved BBQ ribs. I have learned over the 2 years that if I sit around and let my hunger pang get to full blown hunger, I will throw all good sense out the window and go eat something that I probably shouldn't. So when my common sense is with me, I head off the hunger pang with a protein shake. This is EVERYDAY for me. This is what I have to do everyday to keep myself from making poor choices. This is the pact I made with myself by deciding to have this done. If I could go thru this then I would try my best to do all I could to meet my tool half way. I'm thankful when my tool does the work for me on those days when I am less than an angel and the "bad food" gets the better of me. And I'm sure my tool is thankful when I decide that I better help it along by taking my butt to the gym. It is and always will be a give and take process. So don't beat yourself up, make a decision to commit to yourself and do everything possible to ensure your own success. Prayer helps too. Good luck and God bless!
   — Kimberly L.