Is dieting necessary?

A couple of days ago a reader posted a comment which posed some important questions. In my attempt to answer these I somehow almost deleted the original post and comment and couldn't get it back again - as a comment. However, I did have a copy on my clipboard (phew!). So, since there were some important questions in there anyway I've posted the original comment and my response below. I do hope this was OK by you Amy - thanks so much for your contribution:

Hi Theresa,

I am an avid reader of your blog - has been marked under favorites forever! I have only commented once, though....I love reading about your progress - you are a very approachable writer, if that makes any sense. Anyway, I am wondering if you could be your eloquent self and answer this question....I was banded on June 22 and had my first fill on August 12 - 7ml in a 10 ml band. Before the surgery, I asked my consultant, if he had to use percentages, what percentage of my weight loss struggle would be my own burden, and how much of the struggle would the band take care of? I hope that makes sense to you...he answered he thought the band would do about 75 percent of the work. My question to you is....since you have lost SO much in 9 months, how much of the work did you do, and how much was the band? Your loss has been amazing, and it is early days for me yet, but I am having to overtly and actively "diet" to lose....Your weight seems to have come off very steadily and consistently ...I just had to ask you to try and see your success formula. Again, how much effort was you, and how much the band? Thanks for trying to make sense of the question for me....Amy

Hi Amy,

Thanks for your kind comments and for being such an avid and loyal reader - it's nice to be reminded from time to time that there are actually people out there reading this labour of love! To your question:

My provider, Healthier Weight (Dr David Ashton), liken weight loss with the band to a three-legged stool - remove one of the legs and the stool falls over (ie the band 'fails'). The three 'legs' are (a) the band and the restriction it provides, (b) the calories that go in - what WE put in our mouths, and (c) the calories that go out - through exercise. Using this analogy the band does one third of the work and we have control over the other two thirds. David Ashton told me at my consultation that I would have to do 70% of the work and the band would do the other 30%. These percentages are regularly cited on the UKGastricBand forum.

I think I put in very little of the effort during the first two months post-op because I was swollen and bloated and dealing with healing rather than weight loss. Nevertheless I lost quite a bit of weight during that time. The next five months were the toughest for me because it took a long time to get restriction (many people get it early on but I was not lucky in this respect). I complained a lot that the band wasn't keeping up it's end of the bargain and doing its 30%. I felt I was having to do most of the work by sticking to the band rules, doing lots of exercise and being disciplined. Just as I began to run out of steam I started to get some restriction at last. The last couple of months have been a bit up and down because the band is definitely providing some restriction now, though I am clearly nowhere near as tight as some others, but holidays, celebrations and meals out have disrupted my flow somewhat.

However, through these various ups and downs, I think what has helped me achieve fairly consistent weight loss has been that I decided, right from the beginning, that I was going to change some critical eating habits. These include:

1. Always eat off a side plate and use small cutlery
2. Eat slowly, avoid distractions, chew chew chew!
3. Don't drink for at least one hour after eating
4. Don't put gravy, sauces, mayonnaise etc on anything - keep it all low fat and dry
5. Eat carbs, proteins and veg/fruit in approx equal proportions
6. Practice environmental control - remove from the house anything that isn't nutritious and healthy
7. Aim to walk 10,000 steps per day (don't go anywhere without a pedometer)
8. Keep a food diary - weigh everything, count calories, write it down

Some of this has been a right pain (!), but it's been worth it. It is said that if you do something (whatever it is) for six weeks it will become a habit. It's true. For example, I no longer have to even think about eating slowly it just comes naturally.

I understand that you, indeed I, don't want to diet now we have a band. But I think there is a transitional period between the op and reaching that ideal restriction. If this period is short then lucky you! If it's longer, as it has been for me, then there is a choice - either maintain weight (or even gain) until you get restriction, or use that time to get into good habits and 'do your best'. If like me you continue to lose weight during that time then that's fantastic - but it may mean semi-dieting to some extent.

Gosh I've rambled on (hardly eloquently either!) - I hope that goes some way to answering your question. If it doesn't or you want to ask other questions, PLEASE ask away! I wish you all the best. Just remember this is no quick fix, it's a long haul (I have to keep reminding myself of that), and a key success factor, in my opinion, is getting into good habits early, and putting these good habits into practice most of the time (probably about 80% of the time in my case - I'm no angel!).

Theresa x x