Fanny Adams

Restriction does change from day to day, depending upon how much Fluid you are retaining, whether or not you're under stress, if it is your ToM, etc. It sounds like you are right at the edge, so that most times it is perfect but gets a little too tight on daily fluctuations. It's up to you if you want to work that way and just be extra careful on the days when you are tight. One word of advice though - once you have started the PB cycle for the day, switch to liquids for the rest of it (smooth creamed soups are good). PBing too much makes your stomach swell and things will only get worse the more you try to force your way past it. If you are having trouble every day, get a slight unfill - it's amazing how much difference a tiny 0.25ml can make.

I know that everyone has their own opinions on this and everyone has their right to privacy and may not want to tell people, however, I feel sad when I hear that people are telling others that they are losing weight from simply "eating less and moving more". Yes, that is true on the surface, but weren't we all told that before we took the lapband step? Was that true or possible for us? How did it make us feel when people told us that was "all it took"? I know it made me feel like a hopeless failure, that I could try and try but not succeed at losing weight that way. It made me feel like I was weak and powerless, greedy and lazy, that people thought less of me because I didn't have the strength to stick to a diet plan and do the hard work. Every time I hear that someone with a lapband has explained their success that way, I feel that they are perpetuating the myth that diets work - that myth that made me (and I would bet most of us) feel so bad about myself. If anyone asks, I am happy to explain how I did it - through eating less and moving more with the help of my lapband! I know I couldn't have done this on my own - I tried and failed at it for 15 years. I want to tell as many people as I can about it, so that I can help to change the attitudes of people...

Looking fabulous, Stephanie!! Well done!

I just spent a horrible 2 weeks being too tight and have finally gotten some relief, having 0.25ml taken out today. Over the last 2 weeks, I have been PBing and sliming almost every day and could not move past thick Soups and mushies. The ONE thing that saved me, once I had started the PB cycle for the day was ginger & honey tea. Grate a small piece of fresh ginger (peeled) until you have approx 0.5 - 1 teaspoon, put it in a mug with a teaspoon of honey, fill with hot Water and let it steep for a few minutes. Sip slowly. It cuts through the thickness of sliming like nothing else I've known - settles the stomach down and gives excellent relief. Highly recommended!

PS: Grate some fresh ginger and put it in a mug of hot water with a teaspoon of honey - home made ginger tea! Works wonders when your tummy is upset!

My doc says you should be on liquids for a day or 2 after a fill anyway, then slowly reintroduce solid foods again. If you find that you can't get back to solid food within a week, get half the last fill taken out. I just spent 2 weeks (coz I was out of town and couldn't get to the doc after a week) in misery from being too tight and I will never let that happen again! Being too tight is NOT fun. Still, it's only the first day for you, so give it a few days and see how it goes. Liquids is normal for this time for you.

I'm noticing a really curious phenomenon in myself lately. I've never been one to be jealous or envious of other people. I've always been proud of my own accomplishments and easily able to Celebrate other people's achievements. Yet lately, I have heard this bitter little voice in the back of my head making really bitchy comments, when I have heard about other people's successes. For example, I have a really good online friend who is coming to Aus to see me at Xmas. She has been absolutely wonderful in supporting my journey, really positive and encouraging. She is also fairly overweight and in the last month or so, since we decided she should come, has been working hard with diet and exercise to lose weight for the trip. She's doing really well and is losing weight and getting herself fit. I should be happy for her. I AM happy for her! I'm thrilled that she is able to do this for herself! But there is still this tiny voice of resentment in the back of my head that is saying nasty things like "yeah, well she won't keep it off" and so on. What's worse is I can really see myself thinking nasty smug thoughts of "I told you so!" if it turns out that way. I don't understand this. She has done nothing to deserve these horrid thoughts and it seems so unlike me to be thinking those things. I know it is resentment that she is achieving success at something I have failed at, but that's no excuse! I REALLY REALLY don't like this dirty little secret and I can't fathom why it is rearing its ugly head. Have any of you felt differently about hearing your friends talk about their diet efforts, whether successful or not, since banding?

Hehe - I'll beat you at Vegemite shots every time - we Aussies are weaned on the stuff!! (Seriously - that was my daughter's first ever taste of anything other than breastmilk! At the health nurse's suggestion of course!)

I just posted about that very thing and my advice is to get a small unfill IMMEDIATELY! Whatever your doc put in at your last fill, get half of that taken out. For example, my last fill was 0.5ml which took me from really needing the fill to way too tight - 0.25ml taken out and I am one happy camper! My doc says that struggling to live with a too tight fill and PBing/sliming regularly is the fastest way to a slip - don't do it! If you find that you get hungry easily again after the unfill - eat more lean meat and veges! You won't get fat on lean meat & veges but you will gain on icecream and cheesecake when that's all you can keep down.

I think I see where the problem is... it's not that we pronounce "sauce" like "source", it's that we pronounce "source" like "sauce". In an Aussie accent, an "R" in the middle of a word tends to disappear with barely an "h" sound to acknowledge it.

Again with the vanilla slice references! You're a cruel cruel woman!! TIM TAMS!! :biggrin::tongue2::thumbup::tongue2::crying:

How else can you pronounce sauce??? Sauce/source = complete homonyms.

You had to go and mention vanilla slices, didn't you, Jachut! Evil bitch!! :frown: *edits* Ha!! I know how to pay you back.... TIM TAMS!!! ANZAC COOKIES!! KINGSTONS!! So there!! :wink2:

Hehe - you're on! I've got a spare bedroom and everything - but bring the crockpot!

That sounds delish! Make some for me, please! (I don't think you'd have trouble with the casing if you are going to crockpot it, but that's no guarantee - just take it carefully).

You go, Noela!! Well done on your journey so far. With your attitude, I'm sure you're going to make it all the way!

Well my pre-op diet included plain grilled chicken breast (Optifast for breakfast & lunch, steamed green veges & chicken for dinner), so I doubt that you've done any damage. Even if it was a fat-filled meal, one only shouldn't upset the applecart too much (although more than that WILL). However, take the time to think about how well you will stick to the post-op diet. It is VERY important not to cheat in the first few weeks of healing. Even if you manage to eat something that you shouldn't without apparent problems, it can cause problems further down the track. Take the time now to re-commit yourself to doing it right when you come out the other side of the surgery.

You may have already tried this but I swear by it. I use plain old Nivea Q10 Day Cream as a combined makeup remover and eyecream. I find the make up removers too harsh and the job gets done just as easily with the cream alone. Over the years, I've tried a number of more expensive and/or exclusive products and have never been happy with them, always coming back to the Nivea. It seems to be working too, as I have virtually no lines around my eyes and surprise the hell out of many people when I show them pics of my grandkids.

Ihaven't seen those applicator thingies on the shelves here for years and years. I'm surprised they are still common elsewhere.

I dunno if I count as true blue (parents are Poms, but they've been here since the 50's), but I use "let's hit the frog" ALL the time, not to mention dummy spit :mad2:

Alex posted this story from the news today: I think there has to be a reason why 90% of Australians choose the lap band...

Alex posted this news story today: I figure there has to be a reason why 90% of Australian patients choose the lap band. For me, it certainly was the best choice.

You haven't gotten to full restriction yet, so the food is still going through the band easily, allowing you to eat more. But don't get mad at yourself for eating 9" of the sub and 3 Cookies. If you're anything like I was, in pre-band days that would have been the whole 12" and the whole bag of cookies, so you are ahead already! What you should be getting mad at yourself now for, is if it was the meatball sub with extra cheese instead of one of the leaner, fat free versions - that's a choice that's in your hands (if you picked the "good" one, give yourself a pat on the back!) When full restriction kicks in, you will feel full on the 6" and probably won't be able to finish that, or will just eat the filling, not the bread. For me, if I eat too much but still follow the rules re eating slowly and chewing, I don't PB but I feel uncomfortable and get that heavy stretched tummy feeling that I used to get when I overate before the band. It just feels full and uncomfortable much higher up and isn't really as satisfying (I LIKED that pain before - sad, huh?). It took me a while to recognise that new sensation but I know it now and I don't like it, so I try hard not to let things get that far. Eating more slowly really helps to give your body the time to send those signals too. PBing only comes for me if I eat too quickly and don't chew (except for my last week, where I've had real problems with being too tight, but it looks like that's come good now, thank the stars!).

A change like that with no obvious explanation should probably be checked by your doctor. Good luck!

LOL! All the ones you listed are familiar but "push that baby out her chicken" nearly made me spit Water on my monitor! Her chicken??? That's a new one! :mad2: