What's your flavor?

Mine would be mint chocolate chip. Out of all the other flavors in the world, there isn't one that would even come close for me. A couple of weeks ago, we had a half gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream in our freezer. I was a little nervous... could I have it in the house and not lose complete control? It was my daughter's request to buy it, and I warned her that if I had any difficulty at all with my self control around it, it was going down the kitcen sink disposal. It's a slider, so my band would be useless against it. It was completely up to me. And, I'm happy to report that I had a 1/2 cup serving size everyday. One of the days, I thought about having two servings because I could fit it in calorie wise. But I've made a decision to have treats, but to always limit myself to one serving (or half a serving if it's huge or calorie dense). It is completely up to me to be mindful of what I'm doing around these types of food.

An excellent question was recently posed to me. Did I think that my history of anorexia (and obvious ability to refrain from food) somehow give me a "willpower" advantage with my band? I think that is absolutely a valid point. I do have that ability for the most part, but living that way is not sustainable for life. We each gained weight for different reasons, and I truly believe the band works for each of us for different reasons. There are different flavors even among bandsters.

By my surgeons criteria, I was not a good candidate for the band. I am a carboholic and grazer, complete disadvantages to being banded. It would appear that I would be the kind of person that would simply eat around their band. But, I have not done that! I've respected my band, and in my opinion have been successful. My point is, whatever disadvantage any of us may have, whatever place we may be coming from in our obesity, the band is ALWAYS an advantage for every single one of us. It works how you want it to, if you want it to.

Some people use their band as a "plan a" and some use it as a "plan b". I'm in the second group. I will fully admit that I try to use my own willpower first, and if that doesn't work, I'm expecting my band to help me out. I paid for half of it (my insurance benefit was not generous), so I absolutely have expectations of it. That is what has worked for me. However, those who use their band as "plan a" can be just as successful, if that's what works for their individual personality and lifestyle.

I am anti-diet with my band. No surprise there. However it would be a lie to say that in the beginning, I wasn't diligent about keeping track of what I was eating. I knew protein was important, and as I was tracking that, it made sense for me to check calories and get the most bang for my protein buck. I even wrote down what I was eating for a very long time. Tracking calories! Dieting! And, that did help with my band loss. I used the two in tandem. Eating that way was a short term advantage for me.

But, I know me. And, I can't keep up a diet forever. Now, I'm at a point where I've got a dietary routine. From experience, I have a rough idea of the amount of protein and calories I have during the day. Nights and weekends... it's my own prudence and the band, baby! I do have willpower, but it's not like when I was anorexic, which was a sickness and not an advantage... one reason being that I couldn't be that way for life (death was the only other option). But, my band??? It's a healthy alternative and long term advantage.

How do you use your band? What advantages do you have with it? Disadvantages? What's your flavor?