Fanny Adams

Brandy, How has it been going since you got your unfill and hopefully are working with proper restriction levels? Have your hunger levels stabilised now that you can eat more normal foods? Are you having less problems with PBing? Hang in there mate, once you get the fills worked out, it DOES become easier to work with and the weight will start to move - slowly but surely...

Zoloft had the same effect on me - reduced my appetite quite a lot, although not enough to lose serious amounts of weight.

I think one of the beauties of this surgery is that you can put it down and pick it up again later, when you want. If you could give us a little more information, I'm sure people would be happy to help you find ways to start over, but the advice offered will differ depending upon what your situation is. Did you never get any fills? Can you eat solid foods, just too much of it? Or do you eat soft foods because the solid stuff is too hard to eat?

Thanks Salsa! I think I'm starting to get the hang of this game and the weight is starting to move a little faster, so that's really encouraging. Right now, I couldn't be happier with my progress - hope things stay that way!

I've been told that my goal of 135lb is ambitious and I've also been told (by an asshole trying to get a rise out of me) that I am still aiming to be FAT with that goal. I'm 5'3" and the BMI range says it should be anywhere from 107 to 141, so my goal is in the top end of the "normal" range. As a teenager, I was around 115 and wearing Aus size 10 pants (US size 6) and size 14 tops (US size 10) because of the boobage. In dresses, I would compromise on a size 12 (US 8) and have them too tight across the chest (hehe - and who minds that as a precocious teen?) and a little loose in the hips. After I had my daughter, I went up a little to about 125 and stayed there for several years. I can still remember crying my eyes out when I hit 60kg (135lb) and that's when I started the whole yoyo dieting that got me up to my biggest of 275lb on the day before I started the pre-op diet. I figure that at my age (45), 125 would make me look gaunt - I think I'll need a little fat left on the bones to soften the wrinkles hehehe, so 135 it is... For the first time in 15 years, I'm really starting to believe I can get there too!

Hehehehehehehe :rolleyes2:

Hehe - there's always a good reason to have a pina colada instead *grins* And if you can tolerate watermelon, great! I'll probably try again in a couple of weeks when this fill has loosened up some. I guess 3 days afterwards was just a bit too soon, but it is the first time that any one food has said NO to me like that! And I happily eat everything that others say they have problems with.

I'm gonna jump in from elsewhere too, and say that "i don't eat a whole hell of a lot" tells me that getting another fill will NOT solve the problem! It might even make it worse, by making it harder to eat the good solid healthy foods and you'll end up substituting the easy soft slider junk foods that don't fill you up. If you're not eating much in quantity, what's the quality of your choices like? Are there other ways of changing your routine to give your body a bit of a shakeup? Maybe change your choice of exercise or go back to keeping a food diary again and see if the calories you are eating are giving you the most bang for your buck. Unless you are finding that you are eating large quantities of solid low fat, low cal, high fibre healthy food and are STILL hungry, I don't think a fill is the answer.

Be careful with the watermelon, even after an unfill - I have been able to eat just about anything, had no trouble with breads, pastas, meat, etc, but tried watermelon a few days after my last fill (when I was allowed back on solids) and OH BOY did that hurt! Watermelon has always made me burp big time, so I guess that's what all the pain was about but man, that's the first food I've found that I'm not in any hurry to try again... Now fresh salads and chicken, I eat every day for lunch and love them!

If you have a bit of a sweet tooth, I think it is a good idea to plan in a small treat within your daily allowance, best done as dessert. That way you can look forward to it all day and say no to other things during the day, because you know you'll get your sweet fix that night. You have to be really smart about it though, and make sure you don't have stuff around that you can overindulge in. For example, I don't trust myself AT ALL with a block of chocolate or a packet of biscuits in the house- who can stop at a couple of squares or 1 or 2 biscuits? NOT ME!! So I get things like the Nestles Diet Creme Caramels, which come in fixed serving sizes. When I'm up on site, I'm lucky, because the kitchen puts out a selection of tiny cakes and pastries, all cut into 1 inch by 2 inch squares. I can take one back to my room with me and nibble it in tiny bites, because I know I can't go back and eat the whole cake. Most of them are only around 150-200 cal in such small portions. If you like chocolate, maybe buy a Cadbury Freddo once a day? They are only 105 calories and could easily be factored into a daily allowance. I wouldn't trust myself to buy a multi packet though - coz I'd eat half of them in one night if I could. Perhaps you could make it a daily ritual to walk down to the corner deli and buy one for your late night treat? That way you get in some exercise and can't go wild and scoff the lot.

*giggles* Ok, now before anyone gets upset, this is meant as a JOKE, ok? I saw this today and immediately thought of this thread and the opposing sides. Hope everyone has a sense of humour :rolleyes2:

Yes, sodium can sneak up on you. When I was in the full liquid post-op phase, I stopped losing weight and started regaining and it took me several weeks to work out that even though I was only taking in around 5-600 calories a day, it was almost all in canned soups, which are high in sodium themselves, and I was pouring on the salt in an effort to satisfy hunger pangs with "flavour". I've stopped putting salt on almost all my foods now (still have to have a little sprinkle on eggs and tomatoes), don't add it in any cooking and avoid processed foods as much as possible.

Hon, don't wait till you get to goal, dump that ass right now! No-one deserves to be treated that way, but unfortunately when we are big and insecure, we often think it is all we deserve :thumbup:. You'll feel so much lighter once you dump that big old weight dragging you down and I'm NOT talking about the scales! I'm speaking from experience here :cursing:.

Well done, Sades! Keep it up!

PS: The trick to using prunes is that they are mainly preventative or an early intervention solution. If you are stopped up for a day or two, they will help, but if you've let it go for 4, 5 or more days, you'll probably need something stronger to solve the immediate problem. Once solved, make them a permanent part of your diet to prevent future reoccurrances.

I don't know if this affects all Wii's but you might want to take its fitness readouts with a pinch of salt: A person who is 4'9" and weighs only 6 stone (84lb or 38kg) has a BMI of only 18.2!! That is classed as UNDERweight, not fat!! How the hell did this thing come up with that as a comment if those are truly her measurements? Poor kid :cursing:

*the ghost of Rico speaks* It's "culinary"! :cursing::thumbup:

I have problems with this and if I'm not very careful it can get very severe at times. Drinking more Water does help and I have 10-12 pitted prunes as my morning snack every day. I noticed several people have mentioned prunes and some have said they didn't help much, but maybe they just weren't having enough of them. I know 2-3 prunes a day isn't enough for me, but 10 does the trick. I also eat a fairly high fibre diet (lots of fresh vegetables), which keeps everything moving. Also, the worst times for me are whenever I take any kind of pain killer. For example, two doses of paracetamol (Tylenol?) in the same day will stop me up for sure unless I double my vigilence on my diet. Given I eat a packet of 24 paracetemol every month at that time, I really really have to watch it then :cursing:.

My surgeon didn't discuss it with me but I knew I was likely to want a breast lift and tummy tuck anyway. The boobs were hanging pretty low before the band (I was up to a size G), have deflated somewhat (now an E-F), and will deflate more before I reach goal. I had always planned on waiting at least a year after reaching goal to see what recovers and what doesn't, so I know the extent of what is needed. I have fairly young elastic skin, so I'm hoping I can get away with the minimum but it may end up being a full lower body lift, the boobs and the batwing arms... and the turkey neck... *sigh* just do it all, eh?

Sorry to hear that it's been so hard on you. Hopefully the worst is over now and you can move on to your new life.

No worries mate. Actually, I was thinking I'd given some good advice and then after I posted, I saw that you had lost more than I have and thought "who the hell am I to give you advice!!" LOL! :blushing: Hang in there - you're doing great! And a little bit of indulgence now and then obviously isn't hurting - that's what "normal" sized people do! We just have to remember the "now and then" part and not make it an every day habit.

Congrats on becoming an athlete! It sounds like you are really getting fit and that has to feel good! I'm curious though - why have you given up steak? Is it because you can't eat it or haven't you tried? I still eat steak but now, instead of trying to find the biggest steak I can for my money, I go for the best cut and get a small fillet rather than a huge piece of rump. I'm fussier about how it's cooked - it has to be TENDER - but if I cut small and chew properly, I have no problems and savour every bite. I would hate to have to give up steak!! BTW, a small piece of good steak, say 150g (5.3oz) is only 185 calories.

Check out this poll: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/how-many-calories-day-do-you-eat-24106/ You'll see that 1000-1100 a day is about in the middle, but I think a lot of those who have replied are also in the early post-op stages like you. As you heal and get back onto solid foods properly, you're likely to find the calories go up to about 1200. There was a similar poll running for ages (I'll try to find it) that shows a much higher concentration in the upper ranges (ie more at 1200ish). PS: Had to laugh about the "GASP! You piggy!" thing - like 1000 calories is overeating in ANYONE's book! Isn't it funny how we put that negative stuff on ourselves. Chin up mate - one of the best things about this band is getting out from under that cloud of thinking and learning how to eat without guilt.

Hi Blue Eyed Girl. One of the pitfalls of the band is that "slider food" goes down really easily but good healthy fibre food is harder to eat. Slider food is all that stuff like chocolate, icecream and chips, that have very little in the way of bulk to stick in your pouch and just slide right though the band - unfortunately, they are also all the high calorie high fat foods. You need to fill up on good healthy food, so that you are not hungry and have enough willpower to concentrate on making good choices, instead of using up all your willpower on trying not to eat when you're hungry. If the healthy foods are filling you up faster - GREAT!! That's the whole idea right there in a nutshell. It's up to you to work WITH the band and eat right. What you are describing is not a symptom of a band problem - that's exactly how the band is meant to work. Good luck mate! PS: You're doing fantastic on the weight loss!! Don't sabotage it now by turning to chocolate and chips!

I use a food diary most days and use plastic measuring cups occasionally, although I am getting much better now at estimating by eye and don't need them as much. My best "measurement" tool is my plate - I use a sandwich plate for dinner and have a rule that I can't put anything on top of anything else (ie no piling it up) but whatever goes comfortably on the plate, I can have without guilt.