Jachut

Lol, its so easy to forget we have had help and that we couldnt do it on our own either. I can be pretty hard on my growing teenage son, who does have a slight weight problem. He says I make it sound like all you have to do is eat less - when he's likely to be genetically programmmed to be just like Doug and I. Exercise though, I have little tolerance for lazy excuses. No its not always fun, yes it hurts, and yes you have to push yourself to keep getting results. So what? Anything worth having takes work and sooooo many people say "oh, but I cant do that, I have a bad (insert your body part)", or "I have 3 kids", or "I work full time and dont get home till its dark". Pah. You either want it or you dont. I've been called worse than an ex smoker quite a few times over that attitude, lol.

This is my attitude as well. I simply do not believe that there is a whole world of thin people out there who do not eat for reasons other than hunger - in fact I believe that the person who eats only for hunger is very rare. I am not going to live my life on a diet, I also eat when I'm stressed, bored, to Celebrate etc. I've just managed to be more aware of it, to distract myself from it more of the time and to eat a lot less overall. But I love food, and the thought of a low carb diet is like, well, I'd rather be FAT than live like that. I like all food, I like to eat to fit in with everyone around me, I dont want to be difficult or unable to eat in certain venues or situations. So that also means I cant be very tight. To do that, I exercise, and its honestly not that hard. A good hard run most days - I've exhausted the long slow cardio thing, my body is totally adapted to that so I mix in a lot of fairly hard interval running too and some basic strength training and I can eat 2000 calories a day without gaining. I refuse to beat myself up for being human and having the same relationship with food that most normal weight people have - eat the basics, eat healthy most of the time but enjoy ALL foods in moderation. I actually dont really consider strangling my stomach into 900 calorie a day submission the kind of success I wanted- I call being able to live a normal life at a normal weight success - and whilst it sounds easy, its suprising just how much we need our bands to achieve that.

I'm so glad you've taken this step - and I hope you now get the support you need to correct the problems you've been having without further surgery. But even if it DID come to that, at least you now have a doctor who has enough experience to handle it. I've always believed the actual surgery is the easy bit - placing a band is not the most complicated surgery in the scheme of surgeries. The experience required to recognise and treat complications only comes from having treated many though.

I ate "healthy" before too, but I ate way too much and I had way to many treats on top of what was a well balanced healthy diet. If I'd not eaten as many muffins, cakes, Cookies etc on top of good wholesome foods like meats, wholegrains and veggies I wouldnt have been fat. But as far as heading through a drive through for every meal, no I didnt do that. I didnt often eat McDonalds, KFC, I didnt eat out more than once or twice a month, I didnt eat a lot of processed foods for my basic meals. I ate healthy. Its been easier for me not having to learn to cook, learn what healthy food is, learn how to eat healthy foods. I just had to cut out the extras. Dont underestimate portion control and what it can do - for most people it'll turn out to be at least 95% of the equation. You can eat a diet horrifically high in saturated fat and lose weight and you can eat a diet high in processed carbs and lose weight. Weight loss is really only about calories in and calories out no matter where the calories come from. So if you already eat healthy foods - that's great. Portion control will make the difference. But a band is also great at reminding you how many extras you eat because I find when I eat that muffin with a coffee at the shops, I cant eat my dinner. It makes me "remember" I ate it and my body forces me to account for it. And I feel very guilty for having a muffin for dinner! That's NOT healthy. If you truly only eat healthy foods, and dont eat extras, then I'd highly recommend working out just how many calories a day in healthy foods you are taking in - they must be big portions to have gotten you to the stage of needing a band. Or is it possible that you have the usual food amnesia that most of us have and that you certainly fit a fair bit of fat and sugar into that healthy diet to result in enough calorie overload for a weight problem?

You have to be *willing* to make changes, you dont have to be perfect. Very few people get a band and then totally change their lifestyle to some perfect faultless routine. I certainly didnt. What I did do was become really good at some elements of it and suck at others. I am a sugar junkie too - I no longer live on sugary foods and I no longer totally binge on them but I certainly still eat them regularly - probably almost daily. I never could be bothered counting calories or planning meals pedantically, or logging my food intake. I still cant. But - I do like healthy foods, I do like cooking, I do take feeding my family well seriously so I dont eat lots of packaged crappy frozen foods, I feed my family healthy home cooked meals that I make from scratch, and I dont keep junk foods like chips in the house. And I love to exercise, so I do run for an hour a day and I do do several very strenuous weights workouts per week. The balance changed enough that I became thin and have stayed that way. But no way am I perfect, nor do I ever expect to be. Someone else might be willing to do the food side of it better than I do but hates to exercise. Each to their own. But you have to be willing to give something up - you cannot go on as you have been and expect change - and the band will not do that on its own. You can eat around a band easily enough.

If you can go all day without eating and then eat a pizza, I actually dont think you necessarily need a fill, I do think you need to "kick your own ass". If you ate regularly and properly, then the pizza would be MUCH easier to avoid. If you eat properly all day and THEN eat a pizza, that's when you need a fill. Ok, so being able to fit the pizza in may be indicative of suboptimal restriction, for sure. But that's not the real problem in this case is it? This isnt hate mail, god, I'm as prone to this as the next person, I do it too. But no amount of fill is EVER going to totally stop the emotional eating, just limit the damage you can do with it. Eating regularly, sensibly and properly is very important with the band, but sheesh, the occasional breakout will not kill you either. You have a whole life to lead and its not like you'll never pig out again! Dont be too hard on yourself, but examine the reasons why this happened.

I wanted one, I had E cup breasts - which werent SO huge on my frame, but I hated them. Then I lost weight and have C's. For me weight loss accomplished what an expensive surgery would have anyway. But I still need the lift so who knows?

Its the same for everyone - for every molecule of carbohydrate your body stores you also store a couple of water molecules - 2 or 3 (I think). That's also why you drop weight so quickly at first on low carb - its not fat, its water shedding.

Ugh - I HATE that, you've just reminded me to go plug my ipod in to charge for my run.

Didnt they find just recently that those mouth washes give you oral cancer? Anyway, I'm partial to anti plaque whitening mouth wash and of course i brush twice a day but I hardly ever floss. I'm lucky, I've never had even a filling and I'm 41. My teeth are strong as strong. But flossing is important for the health of your gums - and poor gum health can lead to things like cardiovascular disease. I fight tooth and nail to get my kids to even BRUSH, they're digusting. I usually notice Fraser's teeth are yellow and furry and rip through him for it, but he still needs to be reminded every single time - he's 14 for crying out loud!

I've never had results like I've had from doing compound full body moves rather than working one muscle group at a time. I might use a barbell to squat with but otherwise I rely on things like pushups, dips, tricep dips and attempted chin ups - I work out at home so I turn the trampoline upside down and use the legs, and chin up from a sitting position - cant do full body ones. But gyms have assisted chin up machines. I actually usually use a sandbag as my weight - google sandbag workouts. Its incredibly intense, but boy oh boy it gives results and my running speed has increased by about 30% - all for a total of about 25 minutes two or three times a week. Failing that, I'd use free weights in the gym - machines work in one plane only and dont develop your core and synergistic muscles the way lifting a heavy free weight does. I mix my weights into a circuit routine - so I break it up with short treadmill runs. I'd rather dig out my eyeballs with a blunt teaspoon than stand around doing bicep curls, lol. You can easily do that in a gym - simply move from one exercise to the next very quickly, lift heavy and fast (whilst still keeping proper form) and get your heart rate up.

You need to be creative to get Protein and carbs in though - so that you hve some substance to what you're eating. You're right, you cant live on Jello. Nor is it a healthy food. For instance - choose a Soup that has some meat and Pasta in it and blend it down. Blend it to a consistency suitable to what you can handle at your stage with extra broth or milk (great for more protein). Have THAT instead of rubbish like jello or pudding and flavoured Water and you will probably feel loads better and less hungry. You can make it as liquidy as you need to, just sip it as often as you can without inducing a stuffed full feeling.

Hmmm, its impossible to say. What *might* happen is that you're not left with a hanging tummy, becuase you are young, havent had babies. But you probably wont have a bikini model stomach either. The likelihood of a sixpack stomach covered with smooth, tight skin is rather low since most normal weight people dont have that either. At 22, your standards will be higher than us old bags who've birthed a few babies and compare ourselves to our friends in the same boat. To me, my stomach is OK, to a thin 20 year old it would be a nightmare. One thing is for sure, your chances are pretty good for bouncing back. You're young, you've had no babies, and in the scheme of things you're not that heavy. Good luck!

No, I dont think that. Its physiologically senseless - a pound lost is a pound lost and you're doing it the same way - by eating less. The only difference with the band is that you can keep losing way past the point you do with WW or JC. Is the consistency that makes the difference.

You know, it seems to be a phenomenon that occurs when people are just ABOUT to hit a normal BMI. Looking at your ticker, your BMI is 28. That looks normal to people. Its not fat like you used to be. Its probably a more "normal" BMI amongst the general population than something under 25 is. Suddenly, you're a bit of a "threat"? It seems to make people slightly uncomfortable that someone who was invisible before is suddenly coming into her own. They feel a need to put the breaks on. But its about them, not you. Of course, it is also true that people are just plain used to seeing you fat and it can be alarming to see you thin. They think you've gone too far. But they do adjust. I had a problem with this with my mum, she wouldnt stop going on about me getting anorexic - like anorexia is just about what weight you happen to be! Now she says I look normal to her, she's used to it.

I think its a great preventative measure and of course, if you've never had a BMI of 40 and 30 is the heaviest you've hit, then you feel just as fat and out of control of the next person. Everyone who has a BMI of 40 had one of 30 at some stage. There's loads of evidence that the band works best for low BMI patients and tends to be more difficult for heavier ones. But you probably wont have the spectacular initial losses some people have. Then again you're light enough to do some serious exercise right form the start. Good luck!

Maybe its just me but I think being secretive about it has its pitfalls as well - like you're sending the message it is something to be ashamed of if your daughters find out. And going on some extreme liquid diet is hardly modelling healthy eating behaviour - its being done for a surgical reason and personally I would be up front about it. I think taking a positive step and getting your weight under control for once and all is healthy for children to see. I dont see why you should hide it. The best thing to do is never get fat in the first place, which none of us have managed, so I see taking a positive, decisive step and losing the weight as a lot better than them spending their adolescence seeing you on a round of failed fad diets. There are so many influences on body image and esteem and you as a parent are only one of many. So be proud of what you're doing for yourself, making it obvious that excess weight has bad health implications is as important as letting them know they're loved no matter what their shape or size.

I cant imagine how tight you'd have to be to be full on 1/4 a cup - I really dont think the band was designed to work that way. 1/2 a cup is more the normal amount you hear bandied about but its fine to eat more if you're losing.

Come here, have a big whinge about it, get it off your chest and ignore dickheads like that. He isnt worth the argument, nothing you say will change his mind. I've had an argument once with a guy who actually insisted it hurts more to break your leg than have a baby. Now I've done both and I actually agree with him, lol, but how the frig would he KNOW? So the argument is pointless because its not based on knowledge.

I've never eaten that little and I've been at goal for a good 18 months now. My intake at a meal if I havent snacked is more like a cup. Actually lately I can eat even more, I think I need a tiny top up. I'd starve to death on 1/4 cup unless I ate every hour. Realistically though, for the health of my band and to avoid pouch stretching and other nasties, I try to eat small amounts more often. The hard part about that is thinking of it as snacking and thus reaching for the Cookies instead of proper food that you would eat at meals. But 1/4 cup 3 x a day? No way, I'd pass out. I eat about 1800 calories a day, even 2000.

I only ever lost 1 kg a week or so, and I got to goal eventually. Not only that but my goal was quite ambitions - went WAY past the 70% they say you'll lose to lose more than 120% of my excess weight to get to a BMI of 22. 18kg in 20 weeks IS fantastic. The band truly isnt meant to give you massive fast weight loss as you sneak up on restriction - you dont have lots at first and by the time you do you've often exhausted the easy weight loss and are on to the long hard slog part of it. As for changing sizes, well at a BMI of 36 I had to lose 17kg before I went down a dress size and before people actually noticed. Now I lose 2kg and my pants are too loose! The lighter you are, the more every kg shows but its a big slap in the face to realise you've gotten so fat that 18kgs barely makes a noticeable difference. Dont worry, you're on the right track and you're doing great!

That's exactly what I found too - I never had a particularly tight fill so I didnt hit goal in a blaze of glory, I just kind of petered out and left the Fluid as was. I kept up the same diet and exercise routine, and over the past 18 months have had two very small top up fills to keep me on track as I began to get hungry and eat more to the point where I kept having to lose the pesky 2lb I'd keep putting on. I still run heaps and am very dedicated to my exercise and I still try my hardest to keep to a healthy diet - but realistically, I do eat more naughty things now as its just impossible to keep the kind of motivation going that you have when just starting out. I just never stop dragging myself back on track and remaining vigilant.

How's your blood pressure?

I agree, you dont say that you've had terrible trouble with the band just a probable pouch dilation. No reflux, slippage, undue difficulty with foods etc? If that's the case I dont see why you wouldnt simply continue on with a conservative re-flling program to get back to good restriction and then continue on with the work of losing weight? Why would you have another surgery when nothing's really wrong? It wont be easy and if you've let your eating habits slide (which we ALL do at times and which is really hard to recover from), the sleeve wont police you any more than the band, you can eat around any surgery. of course, if you really WANT a sleeve and no longer want a band and the added surgery doesnt phase you, then I guess there's no reason why not to either, its your choice.

I found a lot of people became, not exactly nasty, but judgemental about what sort of vain self obsessed shallow person I must be because I am thin and fit. People whom I already knew dont treat me differently, to them I am me whatever shape I come in. I mean people whom I dont know or whom I have met since I lost weight. At uni, suddenly, I am "cool". I'm no longer one of the boring studious mature age students - not that I ever was, I never sat in the front row at lectures or mixed only with other older students, how boring! But I get those "oh, you wouldnt have to worry about THAT, you're skinny" comments, and I find I'm not "one of the gang" at school and such. When I was fat I was that "normal fat" - bmi of 36, I blended right in, didnt stand out, I wasnt unusually fat and I wasnt threateningly thin. Now I'm the odd one out because in any group of late 30's/early 40's mums of a few kids, nearly everyone is in pretty terrible shape. Nobody exercises, nobody eats well, etc. Except me. And people tend to resent that and assume I have my priorities all wrong and that all I care about is myself and my appearance. I dont mean everyone of course, I have lots of friends, but I can honestly not name ONE occasion where I was treated badly for being overweight, but can think of a million uncomfortable moments when someone has resented my thinness.