Chickie

Mud cake, on my birthday, in my second year of banding (it wasn't a whole cake, just a small slice... I get the feeling you think I sat down and ate a whole mud cake, lol). I do not eat like crap every day. I do not eat like crap once a week. Or even once a month. A couple of times a year, at family gathering's is not in the same universe as eating pizza once a week / once a month. And letting you in on something... My body hated the cake anyway... I was on the loo for practically the whole day following it. My daily diet is pretty strict, simply because I feel amazing when I eat well, and run daily. It's the way I feel that drives the way I eat. In my previous life, I felt like shit all the time. Because I ATE like shit all the time. No more. I eat well, to feel well. I do believe in moderation. Maybe not to the same degree as you, but I was banded to lose weight, and become the healthiest person I could be. And I am. I lost all the weight I needed to, and I am healthier, and fitter than a lot of people who have never been as grossly overweight as I was. (In best Mr Macky from South Park voice) Mud cake is bad, M'kay. If you eat Mud cake you are bad... M'kay... And with that I will bow out. I have been as polite as I can be, and again have proved my point to no one but myself! :biggrin1: And in the end, that is what matters people. I know that my -fairly strict looking to someone who has poor eating habits- diet works for me, and I will continue to boycott Pizza, and mud cake (just thinking about it makes me sick) and anything else that is less than ideal.

I think you missed my point. Maybe half a dozen times, in over two years of banding? That is not the same as having weight loss surgery, then 3 weeks later eating pizza (and pizza usually is fatty, unless it is the veggie no cheese type) My point is still that pizza is not healthy. Not once a week, not once a month. It's not healthy 3 weeks post op. It's not healthy 3 years post op. Yeah, I ate a slice of mud cake on my birthday, a fruit mince pie at Christmas, a choc bunny at Easter, and a glass of non alcoholic wine at my 2 year band anniversary bash. It's still not the same thing as making bad choices daily. It never will be.

pizza was my thing. My husband and I could eat our way through 5 large pizza's, garlic bread and coke, and still be hungry. Now, I make the choice to NOT eat things that made me as fat as I was. In the last 2 years, yeah, I can count on one hand the times I have eaten something that was as bad as a pizza. I am pretty careful with what I put in my body. It is my temple. And if I want to live a long, healthy life, I need to. But, again. That is *ME*. My body. My choices. I was just sort of pointing out why it may bother other people. If I wanted every one to eat just like me we would have a world full of vegetarians. Actually, that wouldn't be a bad thing. If the veggie way of eating was even more mainstream than it is now, it would be so much easier to buy good vegetarian food! LOL

I have not touched pizza in 28 months. And I do not intend to, so no need to find a fast food place. But I am not blind. I see the pizza boxes coming out of the stores. The grease on the bottom of the box is enough for me to see that it is not healthy. But hey, I am not the food police, for anyone (not even my husband who needs it) All I do is make choices for me. I was just pointing out that generally speaking, pizza is not healthy. And I am down 183lbs in 18 months (8 months at goal) Was I wrong to exclude fat laden foods from my diet? I don't think so.

The first thing I think of as I walk past a pizza place is dripping with fat. And start to feel slightly ill. Without fail. I guess this might just be the online equivalent? The "band diet" may not have to be strict, but it is vital to eat well. Pizza is not my idea of eating well. And to be perfectly honest, a good number of the bandster who are at goal ate what can be considered a strict diet (and exercised daily, but that is not the issue at hand - sorry, I tend to get side tracked)

Provided I am careful not to eat too fast, I can and do eat rice.

NVgirl; Some people (like me) don't eat pizza as a post op (and I am hardly a baby bandster at 26 months po)

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/pizza-t33285.html?t=33285&highlight=pizza Is that the one?

Jacqui, you actually come of as (to me anyway) pro loving who you are, as you are. Not anti surgery. I think so many people get caught up in the excitement of having a perfectly flat tummy, or perky boobs, and don't stop to realise that they are worthy with saggy one's or a not so flat tummy. Now, I may look like a hypocrite saying all this given I had a tummy tuck. But (and this is a big one) If my tummy had been in even slightly better shape I would not have had my tuck. I honestly will not put myself through any surgery that I do not need. Need and want are very often confused. Needing surgery to correct a pannis, for example, is when the apron folds over, rubs, breaks the skin doing so, and causes infection. Want is "Ohh... My tummy is a bit blobby after losing weight" Boobs: Need; The empty skin that once held tissue folds over on itself inside the bra, causing rubbing, rashes, broken skin and infection. Want; Boobs are a bit saggy, not the boobs of a 16 year old (or porn star) I am not trying to be mean here, but so often I see people who just assume that they will need a tummy tuck, lower body lift, boob job, thigh lift, ect... Then they will go and have the surgery well before they are really even ready (20, 30 or even 50lbs from goal) and they just assume again that they will have enough extra skin (and fat) cut off to get them down to their goal weight. And it very rarely happens. I know you are trying to help. I just see so many people putting the horse before the cart so often, it frustrates me. Lose the weight first. Give your body time, then think about further surgery. And for what it is worth, I lost close to 185lbs (closer to 198lbs if you count the weight I lost prior to banding) and all I needed in the way of surgery was the tummy tuck. Yeah, my thighs, arms and boobs are not perfect, but nothing in life is perfect. And I am more than happy with what I have.

I can't remember exactly when the first pic was taken... Sometime within the first month post op. The second was taken last week. I can only just see 2 of my 4 little scars. Only just. And my port scar, due to my tummy tuck, is now much smaller, and sort of in my belly button.

I have a "tramp stamp". A butterly with scroll work around it, and plans to get another done around Mothers Day (a waterlilly or lotus flower on my belly or flank, I am not sure yet)

I would imagine step 1 would be to lose the weight, then step 2 would be to determine if she / he needs further surgery. Not 100% of people who have WLS (of any type) need surgery. Some people have amazing skin and simply never need plastics.

Only age, genetics, duration of obesity, how you carried the weight, and if you smoke can determine if you will need reconstructive surgery. No amount of exercise / Water / Vitamins will tone skin. Skin does not contain muscle. once it is stretched, it is usually stretched for good. However, there is muscle under the skin, that in some places when built up with weight training, can help fill out the empty skin. And the only sure fire way to prevent needing surgery, is to not loose weight. Best of luck.

Thanks Girls! I have been sitting on the Mothers Day Classic site for the last half hour... I have downloaded the entry form, and am just waiting for Donald to get home to find out what his work hours are for the 13th are. If we can swing a day off for him, or even the morning, I am there. I might even try a bit of fund raising.

Thanks Jacqui! I am just a bit worried that I am going to make an ass of myself! LOL Not that is any different to the usual with me. The 4km / 30 minutes I run is non stop, so I guess my aim should be to get that extra 1km happening, and worry about speed later? I do have a couple of months to train, and as I said they offer Tuesday night training on the actual course, so that would be a big help I imagine. Now what to wear? My DH joked that I can turn anything in to a shopping trip, and I guess he might be right! Rebel sport, Athletes Foot and Amart All Sports are good places to look for workout gear, right? I know shoes I want to be going to the likes of Athletes Foot, or Rebel Sport to get the right fit. Thanks again Jacqui!

I am glad it all went so well.

Alexandra, my prayers are with you for Monday.

Hi Brit! Thank you... Yes, you did see ribcage! Not something I thought I would ever see. Exercise? I do a wee bit of weight training with free weights a couple of times a week, but I do run around 5km a day. I give credit to running with regard to my tummy, legs and backside all looking anywhere near defined. Running is my "thing".

Normal bandster rules, and I exercised my ass off. And I still do. I ate well, and kept to around 1500 cal a day, but was not stressed if I went over, or under. Nothing too different. But I guess, I was, and still am constistant with my eating and exercise. Apparently that is key, PCOS or not. Good luck!

Thank you. I feel pretty fantastic. Never mind how I look! LOL But that's pretty good too. It's... Uhh... Normal? :clap2: And normal is FANTASTIC! My scar still hurt if I bumped it for a few months. It takes time to recover, but it is well worth it. Congratulations on your TT and BL. Thank you! Thank you Kat, nbjen, and mommy3boys. Thank you for your kind words. I fixed the "before" photo, so it actually is the "before" photo for the TT, not the before/just after LapBanad pic.

Yup it works in women with PCOS & IR/Diabeties. I am proof. I had almost 180lbs to lose, and I lost Every. Single. Pound. And in under 18 months. I found that the weight loss was much quicker after the IR / Diabeties issues were resolved (resolved through weight loss) But honestly, I don't think my loss was any slower (overall), nor does my surgeon. He holds the opinion that I lost rather quickly, despite my PCOS.

I would do it all exactly the same way.

Hopefully it will. My skin is not as bad as I thought it would be. Going from 297lbs to 118 is going to be rough on anyone's skin... I count myself as one of the lucky. I feel my age (26) played a huge part in my skin snapping back as well as it has. I must say, I would never in a million years trade this loose skin for being overweight again. Because, really once a person has been overweight, the only way to prevent loose, or sagging skin 100%, is to not lose weight. Good luck!

I have exercised a lot, and still have loose skin. At the end of the day, loose skin depends on a few different things; duration of obesity, age & genetics.

I love the band because it gave me the kick in the backside I needed to change my life.