Gastric bands

[mungbeanz]

I am confused about this. When anybody is giving diet advice they always tell you not to starve yourself as it is very unhealthy. and your body wont lose any weight due to starvation mode or something.Isn't this exactly what gastric bands force you to do? I saw some woman on the Sun website today who lost 9 stone in 4 months. Looks pretty effective to me.

Also, are these really neccesary. Does it mean that you can only have a chip and bite of chicken or so for your tea for the rest of your life?

[EvianBaby]

From what I understand the gastric band effectively reduces the size of your stomach meaning you can only eat the amount the smaller stomach can hold. So you're not starving yourself because your stomach is still full, it just can't hold as much.

I also believe it is a life long proceedure so yes your eating habits would change for life and as I understand you will also be on some medication for the rest of your life.

I feel a lot of people see it as a quick fix solution, when it is clearly not. I'm not sure where I stand on it really. There are better ways for most people to lose weight IMO.

[rowanwitch]

the band can be released or removed and fluids still go straight through people have managed to put weight back on after a while.... although it is supposed to be effective for about 70% of those who have it done

[Sqad]

You have a normal,well balanced diet............but less of it, as Evian says....smaller stomach so that you feel full earlier.

The object of the gastric band is not to "starve " you.

It can be tightened or loosened to suit the person's needs and depending upon the type of band one doesn't need another operation to perform this.

[BagPussAA]

What a gastric band does is reduce the size of your stomach, as Evian says. Then for the first 2 weeks after the op you can only consume a liquid diet which is things like slimfast, complan, soups without lumps etc and you eat whenever you feel hungry and stop the instant you feel full. After then you can eat puree consistancy food which is like blended foods, basically anything that doesn't need cutting with a knife and can be mashed with a fork. After that you are back on normal food. You take a multivit and get dietary advice on what food to eat so that you do lose the weight and don't make yourself ill in the process but other than that you take no medications unless you tell someone you have got one, no-one would know from the food you eat, it just forces you to eat much smaller portions of foods but is not as extreme as you may think.

[vodkancoke]

Mungbeanz, she had a gastric bypass which is a different thing altogether. I had a gastric band fitted privately about 4 years ago and I have lost 6 stone through exercise mainly and sticking to a low-fat diet. You can't eat anything you like, you still have to eat sensibly and depending on how tight the band is it means many people stick to just liquids. A gastric band isnt the magical thing many people think it is. It's not been easy but it has been worth it for me.

[joko]

the sensation of a full stomach still occurs so the body doesnt go into starvation mode.

[DaisyJ]

Try looking at www.gastricbandstand.co.uk . Loads of information on the pros and cons of weight loss surgery