SageTracey

That could just be the anasthetic....or the realisation that you have made a major life change. Scary, but just keep reminding yourself of why you went down this path and what you will achieve in your life as a result.

Welcome Lisa. Good luck with your pre-op diet. I was so excited to get a quick surgery date (less than a month from getting my referral from my GP to surgery!) that I breezed thru the pre-op diet. I'm from Australia so I was wondering what vignette is? all the best Tracey

Hi Deb, Good luck with your appointment. Hope you don't have to wait too long for a surgery date. Are you also in Victoria? Cheers Tracey

Oh, and I forgot, I have a long held dream of completing the Great Victorian Bike Ride

Dance all night long Look great in my son's wedding photos Go off all my blood pressure medications Be an active grandmother if my kids ever produce grandchildren Live longer as a healthy weight person than I have as a morbidly obese one Travel with my husband

Call your doctor. It may be normal, it may not but you need medical advice.

My husband and I go to dance classes/social dancing every Monday night. Usually it's me saying that I've had enough and it's time we headed home. Not tonight! He had to go to a meeting so I joined our friends for dinner and then we all headed off to dancing. By the time my husband arrived I had learnt a new line dance and done the warm up dance. We skip beginners because the floor is filled but we are first up for social dancing and then intermediates. Our usual finish time came and went and I was still rocking, Charleston kicking and having a ball. Eventually my husband said he was tired and we needed to call it quits but I had another dance in me so joined a new waltz solo before he finally dragged me off the floor. What a buzz!

Me too! I hated that oversize cuff for my fat arm but I don't need it anymore. Glad to see you have gotten help for your port problem. I was worrying about you.

No doubt things are different in the USA than here in Australia, but as soon as I knew where I was moving to, I would be asking my surgeon for a referral to someone in my new area. And if that didn't work, I would find a new GP ASAP in my new area and ask them for a referral. Hope your move goes well.

The most important and often hardest thing to do is listen to your hunger signals and learn to separate the head hunger from real hunger. Good luck

Upping the ante on your exercise sounds like a good option to see if you can break your plateau. And, if you are not already, try tracking your calories and exercise with something like myfitnesspal.com so you can be 100% certain that you are on track. I was surprised to see how low my calories actually were until I started tracking. From personal experience and what I have read, it seems that mixing up your routine with both eating and exercise is what it takes to break out of a plateau. good luck.

You look great! Hope you had a fantastic time at the party and got lots of compliments. You deserve them!

I have medically diagnosed IBS and the lab band. I still avoid my known trigger foods but that seems to be easier as I am working harder at making healthier food choices. I cannot eat as much as before so I am making sure that I am enjoying and benefiting from what I can eat. The more difficult part is the effect of stress on my IBS and I just have to avoid stress as much as possible or suffer the usual pre-band effects. Good luck.

I have 5.5 in a 14cc band and am restriction but please remember that it is different for all of us. Some people do well without a fill and others need many more fills. Good luck.

I had the same problem. The advice that seemed to work for me was to vary my calorie intake and my exercise. Good luck.

I'm a band fan but must say I didnt research the other options. For me it was that I know I can lose weight but cant keep it off. The band is a tool and will work as long as I use it properly. I am losing weight and feeling better every week. I would definitely have the band again but can't say its right for everyone - that is a matter of personal circumstances and choice. Good luck.

Wondering if anyone else has this problem and/or can offer me some advice. I usually eat two Weetbix with boiled Water for Breakfast (I can't tolerate milk early in the day) and then I don't feel hungry until lunch time. I have an afternoon snack and then dinner but am finding it really difficult to eat my 1200 - 1250 calories/day. I have started having an occasional morning snack to try and reach my calories but I am not hungry and don't like eating just because I need to consume calories. I am using myfitnesspal.com to measure my calories, and have started weighing and measuring just in case I was under-estimating. I physically cannot eat all my calories unless I continue eating into the evening, which I understand I shouldn't be doing. Weight loss to date has been great, but myfitnesspal.com tells me I will go into starvation mode if I go below 1200 calories a day. Any advice, tips, help, suggestions?

It's different here in Australia but it was actually my GP who suggested I investigate the lapband. Good luck and maybe you should find a more positive dr.

Five months and 39 kilograms (86lb according to unit convertor on iphone.) No wonder I feel so good! Aiming for another 12 kg (26lb) by Christmas and then I will decide just how far I want to/can go with this. Either way, I am going to look awesome at my son's wedding next April!

You asked for advice, so here goes....the band is a tool. You must still manage what you eat and your exercise level. Therefore, when you get banded, you have to make a lifestyle commitment. The band helps me to identify when I am satisfied but it doesn't stop me from eating, I have to do that myself. The biggest advantage for me is that I am much more self aware and on the alert from signs of satisfaction - and they occur with lovely small portions. The other piece of advice I would offer is that you shouldn't try and do this on your own. I need at least a small circle of strong support. I get this from my husband and younger son and, from a lesser extent, my mother and one very close friend. They support me in making better food choices, avoiding temptation, and staying active. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

Hi Amber, I was banded in April this year and I still get hungry, but it's nothing like before for me. Since achieving restriction (three fills), I feel satisfied with quite small meals and that satisfaction lasts for three to five hours. Mornings are definitely my best time. I usually eat Breakfast about 7.30am and have a black coffee mid morning before lunch at 12. It is usually 11.30 or so before I start thinking that I am ready for lunch i.e. feeling hungry. I usually have a snack about 3.30pm because I am feeling hungry and then nothing til dinner time which could be anywhere from 6.30 til 8pm. By 8pm I am definitely feeling hungry. I drink a lot of Water throughout the day and that helps me feel satisfied as well. Good luck with your surgery and your journey.

I only tend to think (obsess) about foods when I am not keeping busy. Since I started using myfitnesspal.com I am finding it easier to manage my foods. Because I take my lunch to work with me every day now, I enter my breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack into myfitnesspal.com at breakfast time. This means I know exactly what I have to work with calorie-wise by the time it comes to dinner. And this week I have started walking before work, so I get to put my exercise in as well. For me, it seems that the planning is helping.

I'm amazed at how much I love drinking water now, although I have to take it a bit slowly so it doesn't hurt. What I don't miss is all the fizzy pop that I used to drink. It doesn't bother me to have it in the house or to see others drinking it. I just don't miss it. And I am easily doing 8 to 10 glasses of water a day.

Hi Jewls, it takes time and sometimes several fills before you will feel restriction. When are you due for your next fill? Why not contact your dr and see if you can get it any earlier? In the meantime, practise selecting healthy foods and know that restriction will come eventually. good luck.

Telling others is a really personal decision. I made the decision with my husband to have the surgery and only told our kids plus my mother. I felt they had a right to know that I was having surgery just in case something went wrong. Later I told a very close friend and then two others guessed. I don't want to lie to my friends so I confirmed their guesses but asked them to respect my privacy, which they have. I have battled with my weight since my teens so my sons have never known me as anything other than fat, with a bit of yo yo up and down. My eldest son is getting married next year and is trying to lose weight before then. I was shocked and quite upset when he told me this weekend that I had taken the lazy way out! Needless to say I pointed out that I must still manage my diet and exercise and that WLS is no lazy way out becauseI have tried everything else and need a tool which will help me to make a permanent lifestyle change. I don't regret telling my son about the surgery, but it just reinforces my belief that it's my body, my health, my choice and I don't want to be justifying my decision to people who haven't done the research, haven't been through it and often don't have a weight problem anyway!