Jachut

Personally I wouldnt feel comfortable eating artificially sweetened products in any quanity. I buy the normal full sugar, full fat versions and treat foods that contain a lot of sugar as treat foods. I'd rather eat natural or greek yogurt with fruit, than to eat fake low fat, artificially sweetened yogurt, sweetening drinks doesnt make them acceptable for everyday consumption and for freak's sake, if you want chocolate, just HAVE a small piece! I can feel the brain tumour growing every time I drink a diet coke, lol. I'm a bit paranoid and not entirely logical, we all have our dietary beliefs and foibles and for me its artificial sweetener and low carb diets.

Nowadays, my hair and skin are in great condition for what is normal for me - I've never ever had a problem with oily skin or hair, I tend to be quite dry and I do get a bit scaly at times. But for a while there, my hair was just snapping off, it was incredibly dry and i had to chop it all off much shorter. That all passed though.

Yes, this is pretty dangerous and must not be ignored. Not only can it damage the esophagus over time, but you can cause complications such as pneumonia from aspirating stomach contents into your lungs. You may be too tight, if this is a nightly occurrence, then you MUST fix it. You need an unfill. If its an occurence that occurs following only certain behaviours, then note what those behaviours are. I've woken up coughing precisely once in four years, but I've had a couple of nights where I've been uncomfortably aware of food sitting right at the top of my pouch, and unable to sleep deeply for fear of regurgitating it. Its ALWAYS after overeating (and not by a lot) at night, food too close to bed, and for some strange reason, whilst I can have a cup of coffee after dinner, my DH likes a hot milo (bit like activite) and this always causes me these symptoms. Till you fix it, sleep propped up a bit, try not to lie flat.

All things in moderation of course, and that stuff is pretty darn soft, but I'd maybe wait. And of course, you know that processed mac n cheese offers your body nothing of any nutritional worth? All that food colouring, fat, additives and white carbs, ugh. Have a tiny bit if its what you love, I've found that eating what I want in moderation has worked brilliantly for me and there's more to life than being nutrionally faultless. But still, its a pretty yuck choice for just now in your program. Why not make a home made one, with decent ingredients?

I think its the best NSV out of all the possible NSV's! Congratulations. Perhaps I'm biased becuase I didnt need to ditch medications, or become mobile or independent again or anything really serious as a result of my weight. WLS surgery for me was a health decision yes, but more of a preventative one and was VERY much a cosmetic surgery for me. I wanted to look better and feel better about myself. The thrill of being able to wear whatever the heck I want has never worn off, and I doubt it ever will.

I just dont understand how people can put themselves on these crackpot nutty fad diets and then feel bad because they break them! Why on earth would you need to do something like that to yourself? Its madness, of COURSE you're going to get hungry and make poor choices sooner or later and of course any weight lost gets regained because all you achieve is to dehydrate yourself and burn up your muscles. Just stick to sensible, regular eating and it becomes much less difficult to avoid blow outs. That pouch test is ridiculous and by following regimes like that, you're setting yourself up for this kind of fall. It doenst matter that there's a band round your stomach, starve your body like that and it's going to retaliate. I know I would have done the exact same thing. That's why I got a band, to leave that kind of behaviour behind forever.

there's definitely more than one way to skin a cat, and if its not your thing, then there's lots of other great activities out there. but just a note for the would be runners, everyone says oh my joints wont take it. Well, you get the cardiovascular fitness developing VERY quickly with running, you can quite reasonably train from nothing to half marathons within 3 months if you're determined in that respect. But what takes the time is the strengthening of muscles, tendons and connective tissue to cope with the stress of running. It can take a year or more to build enough stability in your body to handle those long distances. But it DOES happen over time, its just a sport you have to start VERY VERY slowly at if you've got any issues. Not everyone can run long distances, but most people who want to include running in their regime probably can, given enough time and care. Its still what gets me on a long run. I'm quite sure my heart and lungs could keep me running all day now, no matter how far I run I dont get out of breath (unless I go really fast). That means my aerobic system works really well now. Anaerobic speed work is a different thing. But what limits the distances i can run is a) running out of fuel/energy and if I consistently go too far/too long I will get injuries.

Wow, that's an amazing achievement for six months! Congratulations, you're a star.

Congratulations! You were hot to begin with, you'll be dangerous once you recover!

To fit the contour of your stomach correctly, it would have to be on an angle, not perfectly horizontal, so that would be right. As to how much is in your band, if you've had no trouble with it, then its not too much for YOU so I wouldnt worry. Everyone is completely different in how much restriction they can handle. DH has had one fill where he bled everywhere, it was weird. It was his first fill, perhaps there was a small seroma there or something, its never happened since.

Anything I want. I am maintaining now and have been for almost 2 years but its only a little more than what I ate to lose - more "treats" like a glass of wine etc. Yesterday I had: breakfast: a bowl of organic muesli with some strawberries (small, about 2/3 of a cup in total). I generally carry my Cereal bowl round with my whilst I get ready for the day, takes me a while to eat in the a.m. lunch: a salad - lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, mushrooms, grated carrot, cheese and a can of tuna - ate about 2/3 of what I made. afternoon: 2 shortbreads and a cup of coffee dinner: glass of wine, 2 small lamb cutlets, 1/2 baked potato and about 1/2 cup steamed veges (broccoli, carrot, cauliflower). Went for an 8km run in the early evening.

I found I felt like that, I was devastated for a while with my "horrible" body and my "old" face. I was obsessed with PS for about 12 months, luckily we couldnt afford any, it was planned for about now instead, DH was very supportive (and I think he wants me to get my boobs done, lol). But now I dont really want it any more. I came out the other side of that funk, but its taken a couple of years. Its a HUGE adjustment, and its very very hard to come to a place where you're "good enough". Not having weight to focus on is really weird after a lifetime of being diet obsessed and trying to lose and I think most people simply switch obsessions for a while there. Now, i dont think its unhealthy to have PS for those reasons. I'd guess a LOT of the people that go on to PS are experiencing these feelings and quell them thinking after that tummy tuck, then they'll finally feel good about themselves. Many do, so its not a bad thing. But I also think many of those people, if they'd waited a few years, might have gotten more comfortable with themselves and never had had any PS at all. At some stage, you have to face that you are what you are. What you are now is healthier and no doubt more attractive than what you WERE. I've had to come to terms with the fact that yes, I actually AM 42 (gasp) and that my 30's IS gone and I didnt make the most of it by allowing myself to get fat. On the other hand, it was a good decade, a hard one, but there's lots of joy ahead. I'm a student teacher, and I was on prac recently, and it was my birthday - my students thought I was 20 something! So that just PROVES to me that we're way way harder on ourselves than others are. Do you look at other people and dissect them, criticize their wrinkles, analyse their muffin tops and tut tut about the exact shade of their complexion? No? So what makes you think others look at YOU that way? You cant force it and its a really really hard stage of this journey, but it is a part of it that you do complete one day. Focus on the positives, the more you practice it the easier it gets.

Exactly. Its not a case of willful ignorance, because I certainly dont deny people get good results with low carb. Its a case of not being gullible enough to believe it all, that THIS time they've got it right. But its also a case of well, so what if your blood lipid profile is great?How's your bowels for example. Not much point of having a great lipid profile if you die of bowel cancer from your totally animal based diet. Just the same as with high carb low fat, its not much good keeping your bowels healthy and giving yourself diabetes in the process. I reckon keep an open mind, be moderate about what you choose, whichever side of the fence you fall on, becuase exactly like sleeping babies on their backs, you'll be believing something else totally and passionately in another few years time. I dont totally believe in global warming either, for the record, lol.

I was brought coffee the next morning too. I was never told to give it up, I've drunk my normal amount ever since surgery. I'd rather have coffee than food!

I work, study and have three children. I tend to cook in large batches in the slow cooker, its expensive to go out and buy the ingredients, but once you portion it out into several family meals, its way better economy than stuff like cheese and lunch meat. We focus more on fresh vegies and we also eat a lot of things like lentils and chick peas (I have batches of lentil dahl in the freezer at the moment) and Soups like minestrone. I also do a great zucchini and leek Soup that costs hardly anything. The thing with healthy cooking is the time, more than the cost. Healthy food is only expensive when you buy in small amounts, single meals, expensive cuts of meat etc. As to the time, well I'm short on it too, but I manage most of the time to do it, and I manage to run daily too, its just a matter of having to do it. I devote a good part of a weekend day once every couple of weeks and that means i only have to cook a fresh meal a couple of nights a week. How long does it really take to chop up some vegies - carrots, celery, cucumber and zucchini, and throw a tub of hummus on the bench for you all to lunch on? Or to whip up a quick salad? Its a mindset and time isnt really a hindrance once you get into it. But I know what you mean, this failing to shop, failing to cook and falling to junk food at the last minute because there was nothing in the house was my WORST habit and probably the main reason I became overweight. It was realising that I was doing it to my family as well as myself that motivated me the most to change.

I find soda is WAY more bubbly and carbonated than beer. I can drink beer quite easily, soda makes me feel bloated full of gas. I dont like it anyway and I cant for the life understand how people actually like Diet Coke - tastes like drain cleaner!

Oh, I feel for you. My MIL has had bladder cancer, and is just completing her chemo after losing her bladder, uterus, ovaries, and part of her bowel. She has no signs of cancer, once all that was removed, the chemo was a precautionary measure, but boy it has been rough, and she's endured 6 months of virtual quarantine, her white blood cell is so low she has no immunity at all. Naturally, she hasnt been able to see her grandkids because kids are ALWAYS carrying some sniffle or other and she's gotten really depressed from the isolation. And of course, you jsut never know when its going to reappear. Hugs to your family and everyone else affected by this awful disease. cancer is a disease that is so common because we live so long now. Millions of years ago we were all eaten by wooly mammoths before we got to 40, so cancer wasnt a huge issue. Nor was heart disease. I guess there's a price to progress. My MIl is 80 and has taken the very positive view that although there is a very poor 5 year prognosis for bladder cancer, there's not that great a 5 year prognosis for being 80 either, so she's just taking it a day at a time.

I really dont go well on a completely empty stomach, like first thing in the morning. the difference for me between morning runs and early evening runs is unbelievable. In the morning, its hard, I feel like I'm running through waist high Water, i dont enjoy it and I'm slow. In the evening I'm light, fast and energetic and its a much more positive experience. I can also run further and longer. I *can* eat and then run immediately without getting a belly ache and I'm bad but I never drink during the average run - around 45 minutes. I drink afterwards. So it'd always be at least 30 mins after eating anyway.

I'd say you need a liver ultrasound to check for gallstones - but also, I've known/heard of a couple of people whose tubing has been touching their diaphragm, causing agonising pain and difficulty breathing. One of them that I know had another very quick surgery to shorten the tubing.

The thing I find unique to this problem is the way you guys eat, cutting everything up, swapping your fork to your right hand and eating it all cut up. Nobody does that in the rest of the world and I really think its problematic with fast eating, I've watched a friend do it and its FAST. She gets teased so much here for having "bad table manners", lol. Cutting a piece of food off, using your fork in your left hand, eating a bite, then having to cut another piece off really does help to slow you down.

I must have been extremely lucky becuase that wouldnt have bothered me in the least. I was so positive and full of new enthusiasm for what I had done and I had such good restriction and no appetite after surgery that people could have eaten anything in front of me and I woudlnt have cared. DH wasnt so lucky though, he really strugged through the post op diet. Out of courtesy, I didnt keep any foods he might be able to get down - like chocolate or ice cream, in the house and i certainly wouldnt have eaten stuff like that in front of him. I agree, very insensitive.

Healthy food can be the cheapest option of all but you have to teach yourself how to shop, cook and store it. Eating pulses and lentils (beans, chick peas - I think you call those garbanzo Beans - lentils) augmented with a little meat, canned fish rather than fresh, making and freezing vegetable Soups and cooking and freezing in batches - it takes effort but you absolutely cannot say you cant afford to eat well. It will always be cheaper in the long run to buy some pita breads and MAKE a basic pizza than to order them in, however the initial outlay is that you have to ahve things like cheese, tomato paste etc in the house. You can freeze grated cheese, you dont have to let it go bad in the fridge becuase you cant eat it at once, likewise you can freeze things like salami and ham too. Things like oatmeal, well it doesnt GET any cheaper than that. Not processed 1 minute single serve packs, but the real stuff, the unprocessed rolled oats. Fresh fruit IS cheaper than chips and Cookies. It definitely can be done, but you cant have the convenience of packaged foods, that's the pay off. As for the exercise, well I sympathise. I work and study too. I get home some nights, I'm so darn tired, but I MAKE myself go and run, first thing. Before I sit down and relax. I put it first. I have SO much work to do at the moment, but half an hour to fit in a run, that isnt going to make or break anything. And feeling healthy and in control of my eating and exercise makes me way more productive anyway. I also run becuase it costs nothing and its the quickest most efficient option. It would take me an hour and a half to go and do a spin class, I can get similar exercise in 40 minutes by lacing up my shoes and heading out the front door - and yes, rain, hail or shine I go anyway. its harsh but its the bald truth. You have to find the time and the inclination to make these efforts or you have to choose to live with your weight.

Sometimes new shoes can take a while to adjust too, particularly a different shoe to your last one. If you're in a lot of pain though, dont discount that whether you're measured or not, sometimes you can make an expensive and annoying mistake and simply buy the wrong shoes for your foot. I've done this before and I got my money back. Stretching always helps but its a very hard area to stretch! Massage, particularly stuff like rolling a golf ball round on the area, may hurt a LOT but really loosens things up and gets the good blood flow in there. Ice it after exercise if you need to. Also, dont ignore your hips, buttocks and back muscles. Tight hip muscles can cause all sorts of foot and knee problems. Stretching out your hip and buttock area is good practice that you should be dedicated too. I've been a VERY lucky runner, I have the most trouble free knees. Knee problems can sideline runners for months so when I started having very mild ITB issues (outside of knee) I was worried. But focussing on core strength and stretching religiously helped me enormously. It doesnt sound like anything too serious, more annoying?

Muscle using fat causing pain? Um, I hope to goodness this didnt come from a medical source! A muscle doesnt "use fat" in that sense, your body breaks fat down and distributes the energy via your bloodstream, so the idea of getting pain in a certain region due to the muscle using fat is rubbish. Firstly, you're doing a LOT of ambulatory exercise on your feet. You might have a niggling injury that you need to rest - you could try something like spinning or swimming etc for a while, just not quite so much repetitive motion of running and walking. Your body does need rest and particularly when you're overweight, running is HARD on the body, it might be better to space it out with other cross training activities if you're having problems. Also, how's your shoes? Are they old or worn? Have you had your feet properly assessed and do you KNOW for sure you have a shoe that suits your foot's anatomy and needs? You may be rolling in, or rolling out, a motion that needs correcting or it can cause pain. You may even need an orthotic. I'd see a physio or podiatrist about this. I've had tremendous results from acupuncture from these kinds of inuries and chronic problems. It gets sore after your run becuase you cool down. Once you warm up, you can run through some pretty significant pains and injuries and not even realise it.

To get the last bit of my weight off, I did Lite n Easy, which is a home delivered system here in Australia. It worked so well for me - it always did, but the cost of it and the eventual monotony of having what you eat decided for you would always see me going off it again at about six weeks and gaining weight. This time, I didnt regain. However, its a massive waste of money for a banded person! I threw out a good half of the dinner every single night and saving and reheating really didnt appeal to me night after night after night. And I do eat bread, but there was too much of it in the breakfasts and lunches for me.