Quotable.
I was explaining the band to someone I've been hanging out with, and this was the most important thing I felt I had to communicate. When I was bigger, I felt like explaining my choice to have weight-loss surgery to others was almost easier because they could see that I was struggling with my weight. It is a very different experience now, because I "pass" as a skinny girl. A friend recently told me he didn't recognize the girl in my old photos on facebook, and looking at me now he couldn't believe I ever looked different. I was then tempted to introduce him to the belly, haha.
I do not believe I could have lost weight without having surgery. I believe that for many of us, our calorie level has to be much lower than for most people to lose weight, and that trying to get to that low level without our hunger and intake being regulated is near impossible. The band really changed that, and in turn, I changed me.
What do you think is the reason the band has worked for you? Do you have any lines you've used to explain the band or your choice to others that you found especially useful?
xoxo
Ang
This is me now... at 160!
with my bestest friend!
14 comments:
Great post!
Angie that is really a great post! It really is true that if it wasnt for my "lucy" I dont think I would have lost the weight. Because looking at the amount of food that I eat nowadays I would have passed out week # 1 had I not my internal referee!!
I agree with you with everything you've said... I have had trouble losing weight past a certain point... I always hit a plateau before... and i am still afraid that that will happen even now that I am banded. But I am proud to say I admitted that I needed help losing the weight and especially keeping it off... I have lost more weight with the band that I ever could without it. I am healthier now than I have been in years, and I thank the band and all of the support that this blog community has given me. Like with any addiction, people don't want to admit they have a problem until they're ready, so if someone else who has a weight problem says... "I want to lose weight naturally or the right way", I just say Good Luck. I can not force my "Lifestyle" on others anymore than they can force their lifestyle on me. When they're ready... I will be glad to explain how it works. I get annoyed with the "Easy Way Out" judgements... that's for sure. Thanx for your beautiful post. *Maria*-Blogger from "This one time at BAND Camp..." Check out my blog mybigfatbandgeeklife.blogspot.com
Great post! I have used the GPS analogy very often lately and it seems to work-
My GPS helps me get where I need to go, but I need to be in full control of the car.
My band helps me control my portions, but I have to be in full control of what I put in my mouth every day. :)
Definitely a great post! So true!
I don't have to explain it to anyone...yet!
That quote is the basis for what I tell people (the few I do tell). I TRIED to lose weight before... it was nearly impossible. I AM losing weight now, not because I all of a sudden know how to eat healthy and exercise, but because I have the band. I don't think I could have done it without the band.
I think I was just always truly physically hungry which made dieting near impossible. Self control and willpower will only get you so far. The biological urge to be satiated is strong and it's almost impossible to outrun it for long enough to get all the weight off. My band is pretty loose - 3 cc in a 10 cc band - but it is enough of a "nudge" that I can pass up the stuff that isn't good for me. I can eat an entire 6" turkey sub on whole what with lots of veggies, but it will keep me satisfied for hours and hours. Pre-band, a 6" sub only bought me maybe 2 hours of hunger control and left me feeling like I was on a diet - and that was WITH chips. A Lean Cuisine used to be a snack, now it's my whole lunch and it will keep me going until dinner. With my band this loose, I could easily pack enough calories in to gain weight, but this lovely tool makes it so I don't WANT to.
I love that quote - it is so true. I haven't really lost enough to pass for the skinny girl so it is still easy to explain, when necessary. Great post, it got me to think about how to handle this when I DO pass for the skinny girl! <3
Great post -- and I loved Kagead's GPS analogy too!
I tell people (when I tell them anything) :) that the band is a fantastic tool, that I couldn't have lost the weight without it, but that I also worked my @$$ off at the gym and had to make good food choices to get to where I am. Once I describe my workouts, they pretty much get it! :)
Love this quote! It sums up banding perfectly. Also love Deb's analogy!
I can't wait for my procedure (August 27). I cannot succeed on a diet. I've already decided that other than the people I've already told, I probably won't be telling anyone else about the band. I may, but at this point I'm not planning to. I'm not sure how I'll approach it...it can be difficult to get people to understand that it's harder for some of us to just "eat less & move more".
I am not banded yet, but I have been thinking about this for a while. One of the analogies that I use is the notion of amputation.
Amputees use their prosthetic limb to help them do the things that we take for granted.
Having a band will allow me to do things that the non-obese people do without even thinking--like not eating 3.5 Magnolia cupcakes in one sitting.
Any tool that helps me achieve a goal that I have been striving for for over 75% of my life, is aces in my book.
What I always say is that there is something that lets you know when you have eaten enough, I came wihtout that piece, so the lapband is in there doing that job.
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