Summerrain

Great post but personally I also see it as a lifestyle change not another diet. Personally I don't count calories but I make healthy portion control choices. This is what I'm retraining myself to do. Eat right every single day, if I feel like something not so healthy it's a very small portion and that can be as much as two tiny bites and I'm done. In the past if I had this mentality you're on a diet you can't have this, this and this, I'd fail miserably. Now with my new mental attitude nothing is off limits and I don't feel denied and I actually crave good healthy fresh food, I no longer get chocolate cravings or sweet cravings. I did up to a few months ago but it's gone now. So my retraining is a lifestyle change, be more active and think and eat like a fit, healthy normal person. If I have to continue dieting and counting calories for me personally that's still thinking like a person that needs to diet every single day. ( please note I said personally)

The way I see it if you set an unrealistic goal and don't meet it by the time you want to it can lead to disappointment. I have/ had so much to loose that the bigger picture made me fearful of never getting there so personally I have chosen to tackle ten pounds at a time. If it takes me two weeks, one month or even two months that's all I'm focused on. Once that ten pounds is out the way then I focus on the next ten. When I was first banded I had set myself a goal of five kilos per month (just over ten pounds per month), it wasn't an unreasonable goal considering what I had to loose. But when I made that goal I didn't factor in plateaus, and believe me you will hit those from time to time. So when I didn't meet my own challenges I beat myself up till I sat down and decided to change my way of thinking. I think it's best to take each day at a time and whatever weight loss comes with it and be grateful it's a loss, all the losses add up nicely in the end.

Looking fantastic!!!

You look fantastic!!!!! Well done!!!!

If you are too tight right now, jan 22 is too far away to get it sorted out. Does your fill centre close completely? Do they have an emergency number to call? If so call it and let them know what's going on, better to be safe than sorry.

Well done!! So happy for you.

I remember that stage well, I found it more comfy sitting in an upright position the first few days. My hubby would help me get into bed and put a million pillows behind me to help me stay upright. By about the third night I'd wake up on my tummy so I started to put pillows under my side for support which helped me to not completely roll onto my tummy as I'm a tummy sleeper. It does get better especially once the swelling goes down even if it feels like it won't at this stage.

I guess I was one of the luckily ones or I have an incredibly high pain threshold. I was told to take over the counter pain meds if needed. Here in Australia you can get the dissolvable adult pain meds. I only took them once for the shoulder pain when that hit but honestly for me it didn't help. I did have some pain and a lot of discomfort which I found if I walked around the house it helped. The shoulder pain, a lot say its due to gas but my surgeon told me its referred pain that comes from the diaphragm. In that situation I found walking helped with periods of laying flat on my back for ten mins and deep breathing and warm showers. Maybe you might be one of he lucky ones that don't need it but if you do then make sure you take them every four or five hours so you have that build up in your system. Best if luck to you and fingers crossed you don't get much pain.

My bmi was at 62 and it's now at 48.6 in just a little over six months. 81 pounds lost as of this morning. There are so many on the forums that had a high bmi and have done amazingly with the band. Provided there are no complications through no fault of your own and you follow the rules the band works to get that bmi down.

I like this post and the reason I say this is because we all pretty much follow the same set of rules BUT the posters in this thread have shown how they have personally applied the rules to themselves, their lifestyle and their daily routines. They get in their day requirements in how it suits them. They get it, they get how this all works. And by getting it each one is and has been successful.

Thanks for the welcome skuzzie. The first dietician appointment with Helen (a beautiful, caring, approachable lady) was a group meeting at The Avenue. At that meeting Helen explained exactly how the lapband works and what sort of foods work with the band. She will give you paper and a pen to take notes and take down the notes. They are great to refer to weeks down the track. You'll have an opportunity to ask questions and don't be shy to ask anything, that's what she is there for. She does have a couple of books and DVDs I bought them all at the end of the session. I find them quite resourceful and often go and read them to keep everything fresh in my mind. It's up to you if you feel you want to purchase them otherwise she pretty much covers it all in her first session. She will also organise a night out at a restaurant, go to it, it's so informative, she will teach you about bite sizes, if you thought you had the right bite size all figured out wait till you actually go out to the dinner, lol. I was initially hesitant to go as I'm quiet a shy person but I am so glad I did, my group was a great bunch of people, we enjoyed good food, good company, good information and a good glass of wine or two (yes with our meals, we are allowed to drink with our meals as long as you do it correctly). Now how do I feel after loosing 36.8 kilos as of today? Way back at my heaviest I was constantly tired, I'd wake up in the mornings tired and a few hours later was ready for another nap, I'd be tired every minute, I didn't sleep well at night because I had developed the disgusting snoring. That's all gone now, that actually started to improve within a few months of being banded, I no longer snore and I sleep like a normal person and am rested on even just 6 hours of sleep per day. I no longer feel that need to have that nanna nap in the afternoon. I feel so much more energetic, I look much more awake and I am even thinking much more clearly. I used to have a lot of knee pain, I no longer have that, back pain I've always had and it was worse at my heaviest, I still get it from time to time but nothing like it was before. My skin is clearer and softer. My confidence levels are improving, I always hated even going out shopping as I'd be so conscious that people would judge what I put in my trolley. I hated social situations because I hated how I felt and how I looked and was so self-conscious. Now I love going out, sure I still have a way to go in how much I need to loose but I no longer always feel like I am the biggest person in the room, and believe me I used to always be the biggest in every room i'd walk into. Food wise I follow the Protein, veggies rule, I drink two litres plus of Water per day. I used to drink herbal teas but have gone off them now and I've always liked my water so don't have any problems getting the required amount in. Months ago I did a search online for high protein receipes as I needed new ideas as to what to eat and went through a heap of them and picked out the ones I felt were suitable for me and made my own high protein cookbook. I eat fish,lamb (backstraps, a bit expensive but no fat in them), beef from time to time, chicken, vegetables, I don't eat the starchy type like your potatoes, every now and then if my kids are eating hot chips I sneak three or four and i'm done. I love my salads so I make them interesting if I am having that instead of vegetables with my protein. Some days I can eat a cup of food (which is recommended) other days I can only manage 1/2 cup of food. I love my bread and still at that till about a month ago but haven't had much of a craving for it lately. Yesterday morning I had one piece of wholemeal toast with a scrapping of Peanut Butter and it was a struggle to get it down. Sounds like you are doing really well, just follow the rules and you will be fine. If you have any concerns bring it up with the aftercare team, that's what they are there for and paid for and they really are a great bunch of people. Oh and I forgot exercise, I walk every day, haven't been so much the last few weeks as I got sick but that's all the exercise I do for now. I want to go back to water aerobics and will do so in the new year now that I feel more comfy getting into a pair of shorts and t-shirt. At the moment I am dropping anywhere between 400 grams and 700 grams per day. Seems like my little stubbon plateau has ended and I'm loosing like I was at the beginning of being banded. Fingers crossed it continues for a while. I didn't do anything special to break it I just kept doing wht I was supposed to and eat right and exercise.

Hi, I'm in melbourne too and go to glen iris CBS. I only wish I was still 32. Professor O'Brien put my lapband in too back in July of this year, love that man, he is so nice and makes you feel so comfortable. The aftercare at CBS also is outstanding, nothing is too much trouble. Glad you girls are doing something permanent about your weight at an early age.

Same as skyvic.

Hi seeme, I can understand how you are feeling. It's still early days and like the others have said once you start getting fills you'll get restriction and your band will start working like its supposed to. Some people are lucky and need no fills, just the placement of the band gives them the feign of restriction. The majority of us do need the fills to get to the greenzone. It took me four months to hit the sweet spot and in that time I taught myself about healthy portion control with the assistance if my nutritionist and started to become active exercise wise. The band is a magic tool once it's fine tuned and it will take away your hunger apart from the normal meal time hunger and it will make you eat less and stay full longer and the weight will come off. For me personally it has taken away a lot of the cravings and obsession I used to have prior to the band. The only regret I have, and it has been hard at times, is not doing it earlier. Now my band is where it needs to be with the right amount of fills loosing weight and more importantly keeping it off so far is the easiest thing I've ever done. So please don't be discouraged take this time to learn about healthy food choices, if you're not exercising start finding something you will be able to enjoy and keep in regular contact with your aftercare team. They will help get you through this tough phase.

Well make that a few this time around. Another bag of undies went into the bin this morning. Two pounds away from a total of 80 pounds lost, which fingers crossed will be in a few days. Five pairs of shoes gone to the op shop, they were falling off my feet. And another bag of clothes out the door this morning also. My wardrobe is getting very bare. Will wait till Christmas sales to go get a couple of new things. To those of you just starting out or at plateau keep at it those are just temporary stalls. When I looked back at my stats I record every day I realise I was in a kinda of a plateau for a few months, I still lost but some weeks it was gaining and loosing the same few pounds over and over. I stayed strong and on my new path and these last few weeks the weight is melting off again. Persistence and patience is the key. Oh and an edit , bmi is now at 49 compared to 62.8 at the start of the year.

The food will eventually pass through, walk around and stretch your arms up. If it doesn't pass through it will come up on its own and you'll get instant relief. Be careful though when you eat again as you may have some swelling and irritation because of the stuck episode. You may want to do liquids for a day. My nutritionist has told me coke helps with stuck episodes, the bubbles make you burp and it's supposed to dislodge the food. Depending on what it is that is stuck liquid can also make it worse for example if its doughy type foods.

Please stop beating yourself up, this is what we used to do all the time. You ate a bit extra compensate by doing some extra exercise over the next few days. Your loss so far is outstanding so stand tall and proud. If you're constantly hungry you need more fills and this is the tough part. There were times at the beginning I'd eat that bit extra too because I was hungry. On e I got the right amount if fill the hunger disappeared.

I stopped taking Biotin because at the five month mark I still shed a lot of hair. Every single diet I've been on in the past once I've lost a huge amount of weight which is usually at the five month mark I get the hair shedding. It's something that happens naturally a few times a year anyway, weightloss makes it a bit more. After a month I've found it's all settled down. I've never been a hairy person and personally I didn't find biotin has made any difference and I took it every day for the first five months.

Yes I have had that for the last two fills. It settled within a few days but as the other poster said call your doctor for reassurance.