All patients who come for an interview with regards to banding are told proven scientific facts about the band from years of research done in many centres worldwide as well as information from our experience with the numbers we have done. I always inform patients that having a lap band inserted is only half the battle with their weight. They must adopt lifestyle changes which include choices of good low calorie, low carbohydrate foods and some degree of exercise after their surgery. Eating a high calorie liquid diet with a lap band could lead to no weight loss at all. Patients are followed very carefully through our clinic long term to ensure that their diet is broad and wholesome with adequate protein and vitamin content. I remind patients that a lap band is literally just a plastic band, it is not a super computer, it is not a brain though its effect is to send signals to our brain and the satiety centre in the brainstem making a small meal satisfying.

There are a few rules that need to be adopted. One is to avoid loafy bread and as I tell my patients most foods that are made on self raising flour will tend to swell and block the stoma of the band so loafy bread, muffins, cakes, scones, donuts (all the bad food if you want to lose weight anyway) will be problematic. If you are serious about major weight loss these things can be avoided and certainly there are substitutes. The flat breads such as Nan bread, wraps, cruskits, sao crackers, salada's, etc all tend to go down well. Food needs to be chewed well and a few tricks to the process of eating are discussed at each meeting with either myself or the Dieticians. Sticking to these simple rules or processes should lead on average to a 50-60% of excess weight loss with dramatic improvement in co-morbidities that are associated with obesity such as sleep apnoea, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and most of our patients note dramatic changes in their general mobility and feeling of wellness.

A number of patients have stated to me that they have felt that friends have commented or even family members have commented that in having surgery for weight loss they seem to be taking the easy way out. This usually gets me fired up and I love the opportunity to be able to debate this one. There is certainly nothing easy about having surgery and making the decision to finally go from trying diets, drugs and exercise over many years that has never worked for you as an individual or have ever shown to work very well as a population basis. The average weight loss with most of these other options is approximately 10kg.

Our clients obviously need to lose an awful lot more than this to get into a healthy weight range. The word to use is "effective". The surgery is incredibly effective in that it will consistently get weight losses, as I mentioned in the 50-60% range or more and this is on average. Most medical therapies will only get up to about 10% of weight removed and most of these are not permanent. There are now long term results up to 10 years showing permanent weight reduction with a gastric lap band. On the other hand maybe it is easy, maybe these people are correct and say that it is easy and taking the easy way out because how easy has it really been for you throughout your life battling the problems of obesity, constantly failing at them and the regain of any weight loss that you have managed and usually adding on more at the end of it.

How easy has the struggle been with medical problems associated with obesity, social situations and community bias? Having the surgery may feel easier for you and you should feel confident that it should work in most situations given good support from our team. I never say that surgery is easy but certainly once you have done enough you make it look relatively easy so if taking this easy way out is going to be effective, is going to work, is going to cure the problems then I guess the answer to your "supporters" that claim it is the easy way out is ……….. I think you know what I am saying, just ignore it as you will see the surprise in their eyes within about six months when they can't believe the amount of weight loss that you have had, are continuing to get and maintain and how healthy you have become. They will become converts.