Jachut

I think this is a great point. But I also think, from several years in this forum (and when you watch shows like biggest loser too) that obesity is a disease which often comes with a set of personality traits. The major one of which is a reluctance to accept responbsibility for what we put in our mouths and how we move our bodies. The people who are successful are the ones who finally bite the bullet, stop making excuses and get on with what needs to be done. I've also seen many people gradually morph into a doer rather than a whiner. But its all part of getting better which is why I dont think its bad for people to gently point out the flaws in this logic rather than just go on the attack.

If you've had only one fill in that time, its little wonder you're not getting great results. I really dont see how you'd be in strong position legally if you havent utilised your band to its full advantage. And if money's an issue, did you not realise that you would need fills and that they would cost? I think it would be very hard to prove that you've been deliberately misled when the information is fairly easy to find out there. I'm sorry it hasnt worked the way you might have hoped, but if you can get together the funds for regular fills, you might find that it improves. But I dont think any of us ever had a guarantee in writing that we would lose weight.

Plus I always have really good ideas when out running - its great thinking time. I have to get my sixth grade class up to perform in assembly next week, we simply cant agree on what to do. So...... I went for a run and BINGO, my idea came to me. Quick, simple, easy and doesnt require negotiating with a bunch of 11 year olds. You've gotta love that. having just returned to full time work, its big time stress relief to me, I really value my running and boot camp time.

Oh, I know exactly what you mean. I just refused to see what was staring me in the face. Its so weird how you can objectively KNOW that you're fat, afterall, I went and had weight loss surgery. But i still didnt see it when I looked. I made myself see someone who looked OK becuase that's what I needed to see. Now I look at old photos and I'm just horrified and so so sad. I looked awful. I dont think of myself as a bad person, and I didnt then either, but I looked awful - bloated and unhealthy and not attractive. I could see it if I really looked, but I avoided doing that and pictured myself in my mind's eye instead and like some above, I never thought of myself as fat in my minds eye.

Yes, you can lose weight without exercising. But you probably wont: - lose weight as fast - lose all your weight - remedy all your health problems as quickly or fully -chave the benefits of positive self esteem and achievement that exercise can give you over and above what you achieve diet wise - look as good when you have lost your weight enjoy the benefits such as feeling happier, better, sleeping better to as great a degree - have a tool which will keep your weight off forever, without requiring strict dieting to maintain - be able to get away with eating things like wholegrain carbs as a regular part of your diet to the same degree - be able to enjoy treats like a cookie, or a glass of wine as often - be able to develop the same healthy relationship between food and activity and your weight - retain as much lean muscle and lose as much fat as possible. Exercise is so not about just losing weight and so much about all of those things. Plus people that value their fitness and athletic achievement naturally tend to eat better becuase they want to preserve that. Losing weight IS all about what you put in your mouth. Revitalising your body, mind and life is about what you put in your mouth AND what you do to burn it off. That said , exercise need not be formal - gardening or swimming is great if running's not your thing. You just need to do a lot more of it for the same burn.

I do regularly make smoothies for breakfast. Its a great way to get fruit in and I find fruit almost impossible to force myself to eat these days. I've never liked the sensation on my teeth of eating it (weird, I know) and now that I have a band and fruit tends to get stuck, it nauseates me to even think of eating it. So I blend it up, usually bananas and berries. I'm not much of a breakfast eater even though I'm not unable to eat it, I just dont really want it. I find now I'm back at full time work, I risk going through the day on about 200 calories if I dont get in breakfast, so a smoothie is a great way to meet Calcium needs, fruit needs and calorie needs. I thrown in some flax seeds too for the nutrients and fibre they offer. Good, worthwhile, multipurpose food if you ask me.

Toyota have always had a great rep for reliability and they run and run and run and run. The best car to buy when you're young and buying your first one was always a corolla or something similar. The worst you could say about Toyota is Boring with a capital B. We have a Camry at the moment and ... yawn... its just such a bland, plastic car. I hate it. Its reliable, cheap to service, has reasonable power and such, is well made and has stayed together (which is more than you can say for my stupid Ford Territory which has been a pain in the backside since I bought it four years ago brand new) but sheesh, its just such a boring, unsexy family car. I'd actually stay away from Ford, my car has been such a nuisance. Two recalls for safety items, and constant, constant problems with central locking, electronics and windows requiring boring, inconvenient, unscheduled camp outs in the dealership. My rear windows got stuck open yesterday and I had to leave my car parked at school out in the open, unsecured AND it was raining, GRRRRR. I'd say every manufacturer has a glitch occasionally, its their reputation over decades that counts. But a bad experience does put you off. However, both our cars are being replaced this year, Doug's got his eye on a BMW, but I'm going for a Honda this time. I love the new Accord.

There's stereoptypes for everyone, fat people included and in movies they are played up and exaggerated. So no, it didnt offend me at all. I've certainly eaten 1/3 of a cake at a time too - more in fact. But I'd do it slice by slice so people didnt notice!

If there's one way I can say my face is aging, its in my lips I notice it. At 42 I'm not yet worried by wrinkles and such, but my lips have faded and the lipline is uneven. I would love my entire lips done, but very natural. I dont want to really look like I'm wearing bright lipstick. I dont really wear make up, dont like it, but I do like just a touch of liner, mascara and lipgloss to make my features look even. But I hate a made up look. So I'm tempted, but afraid that I'd look like I had a full face of make up on at the gym! I periodically trawl these threads and look online but I've never been brave enough to do it.

Hi Puddin! I've not been pregnant with a band, but from everything I've read here over the years its very very common for the band to play up after pregnancy. You may not be able to tolerate as much fill as you did before, for example. I dont know why/how or what to do about it, just that it seems to be very common.

You know, I went through that too, although I'm 42 now, but this was a year or two back. My face really DID readjust. I look pretty good for my age, I think, and people tell me so and I'm an Australian which means that big time sun damage is gonna show somewhere in my future. I decided for me I dont want to go down the botox/filler route. I've barely known one single person that doesnt then become obsessed with more and more of the stuff, start wanting to fix everything and then ALL of them end up lookiing freakishly similar. And in Australia, the attitude is maybe a bit different, but Nicole Kidman is pretty much universally hated for turning herself from a gorgeous red haired freckled Australian girl into some weird hollywood looking robot with a forehead like a plasma screen (to quote sharon osborne). i reckon celebrate every age, age gracefully and save the botox and surgery only for truly disfiguring features like really terrible eye bags or huge jowls. But embrace your natural face and have the confidence and individuality to remain natural. I firmly believe men like women not overly made up and nipped and tucked people trying to look like anyone but themselves. wow, sorry that turned into a rant, and i've probably just offended half the readers. I didnt realise that I do actually feel strongly on this.

My goal was low, a BMI of 22, which the nutritionist who I saw exactly once swore I'd never make. Not that I was every a BMI higher than 36, so I dont know why she was so negative. I didnt need to do anything to stop. My last 10 lb took about a year to lose, so my weight loss just got slower and slower and eventually petered out and by pure coincidence it was at about 70kg which was my goal. i did go past that a tiny bit, but only by a pound or two. I exercise like a maniac but my weight stays absolutely steady - I dont lose or gain no matter what I do, so the exercise obviously works, lol. Over time you do get looser too, I can eat things in ways I never could have two or three years ago. So I dont need to unfill, but nor have I needed a fill in well over a year now.

I dont have any foods I cant eat, that constatly get stuck except for two weird ones. I struggle so badly with canned fruit, any pureed or chunky fruit. I have a jelly in the fridge I made with fresh berries too and I wont be able to eat that either. It just wont go down, I dont pb it back up but I just cant force myself to eat it. I really struggle to get enough fruit these days becuase soft fruits like bananas and mango and stone fruits are the same - and we have GREAT fruit in Australia. I cant drink fruit juice for the LIFE of me either, it hurts hurts hurts. What's with that? Which leads me on to having some trouble with acidy foods. They burn. Fruit juice,fruits like pineapple, and wine on an empty stomach - I love a glass of wine but I always have to suffer for it. Lately when I've been out and had a drink, I've opted for something mixed like a gin and tonic and I've never drunk that sort of stuff at all. And all the sweeter drinks that younger girls drink, I fancy those which is most unlike me, lol, I call those drinks tart fuel! I wouldnt be caught dead drinking tart fuel instead of wine, which appears a lot more sophisticated, lol, but I know which I'd rather be drinking half the time. I always had a good palate for wine and knew a lot about it, and we live near some great wine regions, but sadly, it just doesnt agree with me all the time anymore. I've always stuck with white, as I like it better and it doenst make my teeth grey, but red is actually kinder on my stomach and I've had that more often lately.

Lol, I'm the odd one out but i probably would be unsure, just like you. Never say never though, you never know how something looks till you try it, and there's no hard and fast rules. Brown boots with brown skirt could look weird too depending on the tones.

That definitely sounds circulatory. Not that that needs to be serious, many people are prone to poor venous return and varicose veins and such. Unfortunately there are normal variations in our bodies that lead to things like some people having more attractive lower legs than others. Myself, I tend to get those spider veins, hate em and they dont stay on my legs. My mother has hundreds so I'm treating mine early. Anything you could do to improve circulation is likely going to help.

I know what you mean. I've had what you would call a spectacular result going from a 20 or so to an 8, and very little loose skin compared to others. But I do have loose skin, and it gets me down. It sucks to have the body of a 42 year old mother of three (even though that's what I am) when I never got to have the body of a hot 21 year old. But I have come to terms with several facts - compared to other women of my age, I look pretty darn good and men do look, when I wear a bikini, I can enjoy the achievement even if a few people are thinking "good lord, put it away, because I do ah, wobble a bit), there are some clothes I will NEVER be able to wear because I'm just not built for them. I'm fine with all that, because i realised, when you examine the people you think look great, they usually have flaws too. But your'e not focussed on theirs like you are on your own. There's NO point comparing yourself with models and celebs because there's a very small percentage of women in those careers precisely because a very small percentage actually have the physical perfection to carry it off, and finally, at my age, I can and do appreciate that I ahve things to offer other than just how I look. Society's standard is insane when you realise how completely stupidly out of control our obesity problem really is. Being "fat' by society's standards really means being somewhere approaching a healthy weight. But I dont really believe in "settling" for higher BMI's either, I really do think most people could get to a healthty one and would be better off to do so. I've never really heard anyone give a very credible reason for why they're OK at a BMI of 28, even though its overweight for everyone else.

Even though they DO make your legs look better, personally I think they are something only a 60 year old would wear. Yes, most of us women over 40 have a few things about our legs that pantyhose would camouflage well, but they're just not in style anymore. I wouldnt be caught dead wearing them unless it was required for work. Tights and funky ones yes, but nude ones, hmmmm, dont think so. Formal, dressy occasions for me ALWAYS involve a spray tan (for an especially good result) and I pretty much keep my legs fake tanned anyway all year round, I just do it myself twice a week or so.

I find I do best when I do include some bread or similar in a meal. Those are the foods that give me the bulk I'm looking for. I've simply never truly felt that Protein keeps you fuller longer thing. I think its probably a fine line between head hunger and true hunger but fibrous foods like wholegrain bread fill my stomach with bulk which satiates me. I can get full on protein too of course, but I get hungry much quicker because it doesnt have the bulk to it, even though I know it takes longer to digest. the best meals for me are things like a piece of lean protein, some vegies and a small potato. Those sit for ages. Whereas a small can of tuna on salad vegies means I'm hungry again in two hours. But slap it between two slices of bread and I'm good for five or more hours. The worst meals are carb only ones. I still get the bulk but unless I also eat protein, I just get the munchies within the hour and start looking for Cookies. For me, I think its the GI load of the meal - carbs are fine as long as they're with protein and a bit of fat to slow down their digestion and the blood sugar rush. Bread and carbs have not affected my weight loss at ALL, so I just eat what makes me feel best.

I decided to try the couch to 5k and ditched it the first night to run 3kms. I just didnt need to stop so I didnt. I say 'run' but in truth it was what my husband fondly refers to as joggling. It was a very jiggly awkward stagger. Bu the time I had band surgery, I was 37, I was fed up with getting fatter every year and feeling like frap and I was OVER worrying what anyone else thought of me doing that in public. I just did it. Over time, I set myself goals by registering for races, so gradually increased distance.

Well, not insane amounts of time, generally an hour or less. I generally will do between 6 and 10kms - 40 minutes to an hour at a moderate pace. I just mean really that a lot of cardio is what really worked for me, I've never seen much result from weight training. But for my body, cardio really strips the fat.

Mondays and thursdays I do an hour boot camp session which involves various tortures like doing pushups with a soccer ball under one hand, cruel and unusual amounts of squatting and lunging and biggest loser type madness such as dragging tractor tyres and piling sand bags. I absolutely love it. We also mix in a lot of sprinting and very fast cardio in short bursts. That takes care of my strength training and interval cardio needs since I'd rather watch paint dry than go to the gym. Three or four other days a week I do a nice relaxing run - usually between 6 and 10 kms depending on how much time i have, how I feel and what route I choose. bad weather is taken care of by my treadmill. Usually at least one weekend morning I'll go for a long walk with DH to chat and catch up after our busy weeks. Eliza often joins us on her bike, but the boys just grunt from their beds.

That was a great story for even us old time bandsters to read. You know, you really sound like you've gotten a handle on a normal relationship with food. I really dont like the militant I followed this program, I wrote everything down and had a trainer design my never to be swayed from perfectly balanced exercise plan stories. That's not a cure to obesity, that's swapping one obsession for another. You sound real, honest and grounded, all things that are an important part of recovery.

I've had the best band experience ever, but I think I'd be tempted go the sleeve in your situation. I find the band does require a lot of aftercare - although now at four years out, a once a year visit is all I have to do. But it works well here, our medical system means that aftercare is usually free because of the way we pay a one off fee and then the doctor bulk bills - any revision surgery will be free or very low cost depending on your insurance policy, no insurance would quibble about band removal or upgrading, unless you live somewhere remote the surgeon is likely to be local, there's nothing like travelling to and from Mexico or across states for fills, doctors dont in general refuse to treat clients they didnt operate on, there's a whole host of reasons why the band is pretty easy to have here. I think the adjustability of it is a real advantage, too. But having just returned to full time work as a teacher, I wonder what on EARTH I'd do needing those six weekly appoinmtments etc. I couldnt do it now, I cant take days off for things like that. If I were moving around like you, I'd think quite hard about a sleeve. But if I could devise a plan of aftercare, I'd still choose a band. Because it does worry me that you've made a permanent change to your body and if it doesnt work well for you, there's no switching over, revision or undoing of it.

I can guarantee being in a situation where I dont want to do number two's, lol, like when there's four people waiting to use the toilet after me at work, will get my bowels working. Other than that, a high fibre diet less heavy on the Protein and more focussed on fruit and veg is what keeps me regular and if I do need a bit of help, like sometimes with a band you dont go regularly because you just dont eat much, a couple of prunes a day does the trick.

The difference is in what people burn, so that what you have to eat to get that 3,500 calorie deficit differs for everyone, I can do that easily on 1,500 calories a day which is quite a lot for a woman, but that's because I'm very active. The real test is just see how your body goes on that sort of intake. Many people start exercise and then wonder why they havent lost weight - the answer is they consciously or unconsciously eat more. I'd say an increase of almost 400 calories in your daily intake compared with just over 400 burned is not going to result in terrific weight loss, if you were at a steady rate on 1000 or less. But you might be surprised. Perhaps try to keep it to 1200?