Fanny Adams

Wow, some of you have much more aggressive doc's than mine. I have a 10cc band, and had 2cc put in at the time of the op. My doc put in another 1cc at my first fill (4 weeks post-op), but that was at my own request, as I was really scared about getting too tight and having problems - normally he would have put in 2cc. At my 2nd fill (8wks), I was feeling a little bit more comfortable with the whole idea and said let's go hard this time, but he only wanted to add another 1cc, I wanted the 2cc to make up for what I'd turned down previously. We split the difference at 1.5cc. On my third fill (12wks), we went for another 1cc - for a total of 5.5cc. I feel pretty good about my current restriction - it could be tighter but I am feeling it work and not struggling with hunger and not having any tightness problems, so I'm ok with it right now. Doc doesn't want me to come back before 20wks post-op, unless I'm absolutely desperate. I'll see how I go :huh2:

The liquid/mushie stage is hell but you'll get there, batkitty! I've found I haven't had any trouble with any type of food, as long as I pay attention while I'm eating, cut really small bites and chew chew chew. The only two times I've gotten stuck (both since the last fill), have been when I was talking 100 miles an hour while eating and just didn't pay attention to the chewing. I WON'T be doing that again, let me tell you! Hurt like HELL!! Good luck with it all!

I still enjoy steak but I go for the very small, extra tender, fillet cuts, rather than a big old t-bone, as in past days. You need to be careful to chew thoroughly, but shouldn't have problems if you aren't too tight. And I LOVE me some marinated BBQ skinless chicken thighs!! (Had that for dinner last night :huh2:)

I do a 3 hour flight every week, to and from my work, and I've never really noticed any difference before or after the flight. Then again, I'm not so tight that the slightest little change shows up straight away. It might only be a problem for those who are right on the cusp of too full, pushing them over. If you're not flying until May, I don't think flying then would be affected by a fill now. You'll have plenty of time to work out if you are too tight before then.

Swap your breakfast of oats and yoghurt for some high protein. Did you know that a poached egg and slice of fatfree bacon is lower in calories (and fat!) than cereal and skim milk or oats? You will feel much better for it - more energy and will feel fuller for longer.

12 pound in a month is EXCELLENT progress!! You have to remember that it won't always be like those first few honeymoon weeks. Most of that loss was probably mostly water anyway and 12 pounds of fat lost is nothing to sneeze at! Congratulations!

You know, one of the main things I love about this band is the attitude change to little stalls. In the past, a week without the scales moving meant giving up in disgust, followed by a major blowout causing me to regain any pounds lost. This time round, I feel differently about it and am reasonably happy to move from losing to plateauing and back again, knowing that if I keep things up, it will all come off eventually. Congratulations on finding your new motivation - enjoy the next ride down!

My suggestion would be to go see your doctor. If you are so tight you can't eat anything without throwing up, that very unhealthy! It may also have put your body into starvation mode, so that it is hanging on to every calorie and gram of fat, because it doesn't know when it might get the next one. Sounds to me like you need a slight unfill, to get back to a more normal eating pattern, but don't take my word for it - see your doctor!!

It's "lose". :cursing::tt1:

Well said Sue. While this thread is amusing in that train-wreck way, it was also excessively hypocritical in piling scorn on the DSers whilst complaining about them scorning LBers... oh the irony.

I can't see any reason why it wouldn't be. I used Nicobate to quit smoking for 2 weeks leading up to my surgery and 2 weeks post-surgery, at my doctor's behest. Why would you think that the lapband would make a difference to using Nicobate??

ROFL! Go Pixie!! :thumbup:

OMG!!! I love you, Jachut!!! I've been looking my whole life for someone in Aus that does this and never found a good bathing suit yet. *bookmarks the site forever and ever* *edits* On second thoughts, I'm not sure if I should be thanking you - I'm just about to spend a FORTUNE on bathers and bras!! Nah... I don't mean that... THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

ACK!! I make it over the line to vote in the 31-40 band and it's before the end of March, but the poll is closed!! *cries*

Breathe, Christasha, breathe!! :shades_smile: You are doing fabulously. I count my pre-op too - I lost it, it counts!! I have found myself rationalising my slow loss over the last month by saying "ooh slow loss is healthier, better for my skin, easier to live with" and so on, but in reality it was just an excuse to be a lazy slackarse and not do any exercise. I kicked myself in the pants 4 nights ago, when I came back to site and have been at the gym every night. Fingers crossed that I see a difference on the scale when I get home on Friday!! I'm gonna vote in that 31-40lb range before the end of March, if it kills me!!

I know how you feel but take comfort in the numbers you have racked up so far - 50lb is nothing to sneeze at!! I'd be STOKED if I could claim that.

Dr Watson is pretty good and I'm sure it won't be a problem. Murdoch Hospital isn't that rigid either (within limits). While I paid for the doctor and anaesthetist about a week in advance, I ended up only paying for the hospital on the morning of the admission.

Bah humbug :thumbup: I waited till got home from site, only to find nothing had changed...zero, zip, de nada... not an ounce gained or lost since I left. I guess that means I've found the perfect food quantities for maintenance, but I'm not ready to stop losing yet!! I've only had the 2 fills and went conservative on those because I've been worried about too much restriction, but I think I'm over that worry now! Tighten me up baby, coz this going nowhere has knobs on it!! I am back on site and I'm gonna do the best I can with willpower, till my next fill. I figure I still have another 15 days to answer the March poll and my next fill is due on 25th, so I'm hoping to see SOME change before the end of March :blushing:.

Hi everyone It's been over 2 months since our op for most of us, so I was wondering how the group was going. I am one of the "slow losers" but in many ways, I am working to make it happen that way, so not too worried at this point. So are you a tortoise or a hare?

I just got totally confused by the forum titles and categories reshuffling themselves between viewing one thread and coming back to the menu, but I like the new arrangement. Hello to all you Fabulous Forties out there

I'm going to hold off answering in the poll till after I get home from the mine site on Friday. I was at 28lb lost when I left home on Feb 28, which was down from the 23lb lost when I put the 2 month poll up. I'm hoping that by the time I get home and can take a morning weight again (Sat 8th March), I'll be able to vote in the 31-40lb range! That's still March so it counts too!! :thumbup: I'm aiming for a steady 2lb per week, so my mini-goal for 1st of April would be to get to 36lb down. PS: Hehehe - I really like the "Funny" Adams . Not sure if it was a typo or deliberate but cool either way :cursing:

As the others have said, it's not really necessary to diet aggressively, but it all depends upon how quickly you want to lose weight. Those that lose fastest are those who go onto a strict diet regiment with substantial exercise (no surprises there), but you can still lose effectively with just sticking to a sensible balance eating pattern and smaller portions. I think sticking to a strict diet is probably much easier after banding and some people are really excited and want to see the pounds melt away as fast as they can. For me personally, one of the main reasons I had the band was because I couldn't face the idea of yet another diet! I'm not in a huge hurry, I like the idea of losing slowly and steadily and giving my body time to adjust. I like the idea that I don't have to deny myself anything, just take all things in moderation and that I can be satisfied on this. I have been fairly conservative with my fills precisely because I DON'T want that intense restriction. My progress hasn't been fast but it is reasonably steady and I am quietly confident that in a year's time I will have achieved my major goal of 100lb lost. I'm figuring on at least 18 months and probably more like 2 years before I hit my final goal of 140lb gone. You need to decide for you just how you want to work the band.

I tried the "eat like a bandster" plan for a few weeks before I got given my op date, after which I had to go straight onto the pre-op liquid diet because there was only 14 days from surgeons's visit to hospital! While I found it hard to be satisfied on the smaller portions, I found that cutting the food up really small and having to chew every bite thoroughly really helped that. So much of my overeating was because I would eat so quickly that I wouldn't know I was full until way past the "overstuffed" stage. I had spent a lot of evenings after dinner, lying back in the lounge recliner chair saying "ow ow ow, I ate way too much!" It never stopped me from doing it all again the next night though :eek:. Once I tried the bandster eating style, I could actually tell when I was full WHILE I was still eating and could stop before I got into severe pain. Unfortunately, I have come to realise that some weird part of me actually likes that pain, so even now I do it. The good thing is though, that eating until I feel like I'm bursting only takes about 1-2 cups of food now, whereas before it would have been more like 6! I've had my second fill and I'm really noticing that now it is much more like 1 cup only and my portions have gotten smaller. I'm really looking forward to the third fill, which I think will be "the one" to get me to that "sweetspot" feeling on 1/2 - 1 cup.

From the things you've listed, it sounds like your insurance is pushing the gastric because they think your BMI is too high. You might try contacting people in the Weight-Specific Groups for "BMI Over 50" or "200+ To Lose". There are lots of people in there who could add weight (hehe :confused:) to your arguments.

If the hunger is getting to you, add steamed low-starch veges or homemade vege broth as an evening meal. The standard Optifast diet allows for 2 cups per day, so this isn't really cheating and shouldn't affect your weight loss. It will also stop you from getting so desperately hungry that you are trying to justify having the pizza. You don't need us to answer that question about "just one piece" - you already KNOW the answer :confused: