I think it is just a tool. Like a hammer or a drill. Sure you can bang things in using a shoe, or screw things in with a butter knife, but things are just so much better and faster with a drill or a hammer. It is all about the right tool for the job. It is 50 pounds that I will never have on my body ever again. The band is quite restrictive. I can eat half or less than what I used to without feeling hungry or deprived (ex. half a sandwich, one small piece of pizza, quarter of a noodle bowl, or one small chicken breast with nothing else on the side).The exercise is just a reality of weight loss. This isn't magic. However, now I have the energy to work out at lunch in a high intensity cardio class, go back too work, then go out and play 9 holes of golf before sunset. Before I was dragging my butt by 3:30 in the afternoon and plopped myself on the couch until I went to bed. As for the exercise, I was always more interested in looking like Wonder Woman than Kate Moss.
Bottom line is you just can't eat very much and you have the energy and motivation to exercise more.
Good Luck!