One of my greatest concerns is that people tend to put all their eggs in one basket when they have a gastric band placed from Realize or Lap Band. Imagine if you will that four pillars are holding up a building. One pillar is behavior modification, one is fitness, one is diet composition (calories, protein, etc…) and the last is a properly tightened band. Each of the four pillars provides 25% of the strength of the building. If you rely too heavily on one pillar or completely ignore one, the building will crumble. For gastric banding this is very true, if you rely on the band to be tight, but do not exercise or engage in healthful eating behavior or try to eat small amounts of less than healthful foods, your building will crumble. The next time you think you need a fill ask your self whether or not your building is sturdy and if you are truly utilizing all the tools needed to realize your success. Your band does not need to be super tight to eat a variety of foods per day to make it to about 900 to 1400 calories and go for a 30 minute walk. So here’s to living fresh.