Jachut

Deep breath. She's not necessarily "in trouble". You can nourish a healthy baby with a lapband in place, plenty of people have done so. There's forums here dedicated to exactly that. She wont be able to really start her journey until after her bub is born, that's the main issue. You can indeed lose body fat and still have a healthy baby, I've done so myself (but without a band) so she neednt be too distressed by that factor either - jsut eating well, exercising moderately and practicing good band behaviour for later will help her. She probably wont have her band filled with any saline until her baby is born. There's nothing to panic about. Early on in the pregnancy you dont need any extra calories, in fact most people only need about 250 extra in the third trimester, eating for two is a bit of a myth. And with an unfilled band, she probably wont have much trouble eating what she needs to.

Well, I'm not a March bandster but I am a Melbourne one! Where are you going?

I dont think people give enough thought to the media images foist upon guys, just like for women. I know exactly how you feel. Some days I can stand before the mirror, look objectively and feel glad that I look healthy and a lot better than I used to. I look great clothed, I can wear pretty much anything I want to, I blend into the crowd, I have less of a mummy tummy than many women I know. I feel that plastic surgery would be an expensive and unecessary step for me. Other days I want to rant and rave and SCREAM. It is so NOT FAIR, I put in so much work, why do I still have to be loose and jiggly. I almost envy women who have the apron, those former apples shapes - because I feel its not JUST my stomach, not JUST my thighs, not JUST my butt, its all three and I need a total body lift. My boobs are wrecked. Other days I feel like I should just buy myself a great pair of tits and spend the rest of my life focussing on them and not worry about any of it. This is a head journey as well. There is a LOT of work to be done on coming to accept that your body is just your body, same as anyone elses, has good bits, bad bits, etc. But its sure not easy.

Ooops, sorry if you get my reply in your inbox, stumbled into the wrong forum. I basically said I'd try a band first but you were looking for those who'd had bands removed.

Why not focus on something other than weight loss? Set yourself a goal like to complete a fun run or something, whatever it is that rocks your boat, to provide some external motivation. I absolutely believe I was successful with weight loss this time round not only because of the band but becuase I found this love for running and a lot of my focus was taken up with achieving THOSE goals, so that weight loss became secondary. Because I was a slow loser, there were many many weeks where I didnt lose.

Oh, yes, I can virtually promise that there will be no 3 or 4 donut binges - OUCH. I can do one, but how much damage does one donut very occasionally do? Learning how to fit those foods into the occasional category and enjoying them appropriately is just as important as eating healthily and appropriately for most of your meals. This is a mental as well as a phsyical journey and much more than a matter of deprivation of all foods. Its about learning to manage our eating in all situations. So that's good news and bad - sometimes its easier to draw a line in the sand and not cross it, take those foods OUT of your diet and forbid them, but I differ from many in that I dont believe that helps you develop a healthy relationship with food. To me that means being able to cope with all foods, not falling apart if you dont have control of what you're eating, being able to eat treat foods without overindulging etc. I really dont think strict "rules" help much in the long term.

You know, you could even do aerobic housework, lol. Sounds insane, i know, but I do this sometimes. Dress comfortably and go NUTS cleaning a bathroom or widows REALLY scrub and move FAST, or wash a floor on your hands and knees scrubbing it, vacuum at top speed, race from one room to the next putting away laundry etc. Its how I motivate myself to do that crap that I hate doing so much but that has to be done. It can get MY heartrate up and I'm fit, I run regularly, so I'd imagine that just starting out, at a heavy weight, this could be quite a workout.

Great idea!

Happy happy happy success story here! I have zero complications, zero trouble and lost 120% of my excess weight - about 100 lb - in about 18 months, and have kept it off for 18 months. I've just come home from shopping - bought a bikini on sale (its the end of summer here) and some new work clothes, all from normal stores, all on sale. No more very paying $80 for a bloody ugly Tshirt because its all that fits, and I have to wear SOMETHING. No more being overcharged because I'm backed into a corner regarding where I can shop. Oh, before I went shopping I ran my daughter to school while she rode her bike - a 10km round trip. I even ran past all the workmen on the main road and didnt even feel embarrassed. I love that I'm not even tired after doing that, all in a day's work to me now. Banding was the best thing I EVER did for myself. People didnt think I was fat enough at a BMI of 35, but the difference between how I feel now and how I felt 3 and a half years ago proves to me that I was plenty fat enough. And banding was on the news here again this morning with Prof. O'Brien on telly talking about how it cures Type 2 diabetes. So I've had some time again today to appreciate just what it is I've done for my future health.

I havent been in your position but i can totally understand not wanting to go public just yet. Walking, swimming, the gym would make you feel very exposed. Why not get yourself some hand weights and perhaps a barbell (or use something like a small bag of sand that weighs about 10lb, anythign really) and start some circuit training in private at home. The idea is to move from one exercise to another without taking a break and to concentrate on compound exercises that use big muscle groups - so you might do some squats combined with pressing the weight over your head, pushups (modified to whatever form you can do them in), dips (again modified for you), lunges, with short spells of skipping rope, marching on the spot, doing jumping jacks, whatever you're capable of doing. This can be VERY challenging but the best thing is you can do it at your pace, so whatever pace challenges you. The idea is to get your heart rate up and keep it up, ideally for 40 minutes, but you may start out with say, 15. I'd recommend googling circuit training and looking it up on you tube too for visuals of the exercises, or if you have someone you know and trust that could teach them to you if you dont already have a good knowledge of them. When you google it, you'll get a lot of in your face body building stuff but remember you can modify this to your level and that all that matters is that you're challening yourself to get your heart rate up for a good period of time - you should break a sweat and feel tired but not give yourself a coronary. A great site is this one - the Fitter U workout - Workout Routines | Fitness Training | Healthy Eating - this guy is great, I've purchased some of their treadmill trainer workouts, and you can get a download to see the program before you commit - it kind of gives you the guidance of a trainer without the expense. You play it on an ipod or MP3 and they send you video to show the exercises. Just a suggestion, but it would be private and not embarrassing, and its actually probably more beneficial than walking as it combines both cardio and strenght training for you. Its also a REALLY good fat burner, you'll get fast results. As time goes on, you might want to purchase a treadmill or similar when you're ready to step up the cardio. Good luck!

I think Jack's been 5 years or so? I'm doing great at 3 and a half. I lost the weight and have kept it off so far. I really changed nothing once i hit goal weight - I just kept doing what I did to lose and now I maintain.

I got the impression from here over the years that it was quite common for insurance companies to cover panniculectomies but not full tummy tucks? And that its often a step undertaken part way through weight loss to facilitate mobility - its hard to exercise, dress appropriately etc with a massive apron. So lop it off, lose weight, fine tune later. If you can get it covered now, and think about the belly button, muscle tightening etc later and your stomach really bothers you, I would do it. Its better to be dissatisfied with a panniculectomy result than with a hanging stomach, no?

Hmmm.... I'd say PB. Weird one but PB. For me, there is NO doubt if I have the flu. Headache, fever, nausea of a type I never get with blockages and pb. It hasnt hit me since I"ve been banded (touch wood), but I wouldnt mistake it. PB to me is stomach symptoms only without actually feeling what I'd call nauseous or sick.

Yes, the first bite syndrome is very common and seems to happen most in the first year. I used to suffer a lot from it and DH did too, but for both of us it has passed now. I just used to start my meals VERY slowly with TINY bites, then sit and wait a bit for it to pass, then carry on. Nobody really knows what it is, my doc reckons about 80% of his patients have it in the first year.

Hmmm, could you have "emergency" gall bladder surgery? Here in Australia you get a medical certificate but nobody has the right to know the specific details of your illness, so you could get a certificate that says you are suffering from a medical condition and will not be fit for work for however many days. They dont say what you are suffering from and nobody has the right to demand that information. So you could easily just ring up on the morning and say you're unexpectedly in hospital having your gallbladder removed or passing a kidney stone or whatever and that you wont be able to come back to work until such and such a date. Dishonest perhaps, but its better than actually asking for time off for a surgery you knew you were going to ahve when you're brand new to a job.

Yes, daily weighing is not unhealthy if you look at it the right way. I use it to make sure the fluctuations are not more than 1-2lb and to spur me on - if I'm up I'm careful, If I'm down that gives me extra motivation, If I'm the same, well that's great since I'm maintaining. I think if you're getting on the scale seriously expecting to lose weight every day of the journey then yes, hide the scale. Because that isnt EVER going to happen and nor is losing weight every single week. I figure with daily weighing, I always knew i hadnt lost that week - rather than the big blow when you expect a number after 7 days of hard work and you dont see it.

I knew someone would have to make a crack! Welcome and ignore this dufus, he's all mouth, but not really dangerous.

You sound very similar to me - I just love food and I was an all day snacker mostly on sweets and carbs. I dont really know how to describe how its different - but I spent a good year and a half feeling decidedly UNhungry, like I'd just eaten a big meal all the time. In that time I lost most of my weight and I took up running and became dedicated to it. My eating habits and the help the band gives me slid a little over the next 2 years, well I make that sound wrong, but the initial incredible motivation and drive inevitably wanes, and the band doesnt provide such great hunger control - although this is adjustable of course,- I found I got less and less appetite control as time went on, I have plenty, but its not like it was at first. At first I was aware that I was not hungry if that makes sense, now its kind of unconscious, I have more interest in food than I did and am not aware of being "full" but I have way more self control so that's obviously a bit of a mental adjustment that you make over time, as you forget what you used to feel like. I eat carbs - bread, Pasta, Cereal, the odd cookie. I eat everything in moderation. A lot of those sweet carb foods - donuts, muffins, cake just feel horrible to eat too - they block you up as if you'd tried to eat a kitchen sponge, erk, they jsut dont appeal to me anymore. I sometimes might still buy a muffin because I feel like it, but I'll have it in a take out bag, I'll nibble a bit, put it away for later becuase there's no way i can eat it all at once. Now for someone who used to be able to eat six (I kid you not, I occasionally did that) enormous muffins over the space of 2 or 3 hours, to make one last all day effortlessly is kind of amazing. I dont put it down and have it call to me all afternoon and resist it, I just dont want it becuase 1/4 of it makes me so full its a few hours before I feel like anything again. Cookies though,......mmmmmmm. I stay away from them! Most of the time :-p It really DOES help. I never got hungry pre band, I ate just becuase and never gave myself a chance to get hungry. I regularly get starving now becuase I havent eaten for a few hours. I also notice I've gotten good at eating what I really want, most of the time thankfully my tastes are healthy, but if I want a Mcdonalds cheeseburger (the only burger small enough for me to be able to eat) then i darn well have it. If I want fries and a coffee I"ll have it. If I want a piece of cake I'll have it. I've entirely let go that emotional tie that good food/bad food has on you because whilst nobody would say its healthy to eat cake for lunch, its nothing more than calories and energy for your body and if that's what you want one day, it really does make NO difference in the scheme of a healthy diet. Now that nothing's forbidden, its amazing how much you dont want it. I dont really agree with getting banded and then following some super strict regime the way it seems to be done in the US, but that's more a personality thing. For me it was important and is important that I can have what I like in the scheme of a balanced plan.

Of course the doctors need the practice, that's how they get experienced. But sorry, they can practice on someone other than me. I think the surgery itself is probably safe, but the potential for complications that they make worse by not recognising and not knowing how to treat is too high. Someone mentioned the other day that his doctor said it was strange that he found pork chops hard to eat becuase normally red meat was the problem. Talk about spewing out a textbook! ANY surgeon worth his salt will know that people can have problems with anything, there's no rhyme and reason to it. That's just one example, theres a gazillion of them in these threads showing just how little EXPERIENCED surgeons sometimes know about banded life, let alone those starting out. Perhaps if they were in practice with more experienced surgeons who could provide support. Perhaps.

Why oh why would you want to make a complete fool of yourself like that? What a dickhead. Not becuase of what she thinks but because she thinks anybody gives a rats.

For sure, follow YOUR doc's instructions - I only had one day clears, then anything that would go up a straw for 3 weeks.

I dont do anything with them either. I mean technically I guess I lost weight and maintain weight eating a fair few calories (about 1800) but I dont add up what I burn exercising and then eat that number of calories on purpose, I dont exercise to earn treats or anything. I do it becuase its part of a healthy lifestyle and I enjoy it and it keeps me thin and fit.

You CAN have real food on liquids!! I dont know why people persist in trying to live off nothing. Get out a pot, the lentils, the meat and the vegies, and make yourself some decent Soup (or buy it!). Not cream soup rubbish, soup with something actually in it that will give it a bit of substance. Now blend it up. Throw in some cooked wholeweat Pasta and blend that too, for a little energy. I lost tons of weight post op, I followed my instructions but I ate real food and wasnt hungry - my instructions were "anythign that will go easily up a straw is a liquid". So blend it right, and as you heal, you can handle thicker liquids until they become mushies. Dont eat crap, dont blend up chocolate or drink milk shakes of course, but healthy Soups and stews can be blended down into a suitable consistency with the addition of broth or a can of tomatoes. Eat when you need to, even if its every hour, but I found soup like this sat with me for hours. Another good one - a fruit smoothie, I used up my leftover vanilla Optifast - blend with milk, some tinned fruit like apricots (somethign soft) and I threw in a weetbix too (wheat Cereal, you could use AllBran, anything like that) to make a good protein/carb/fruit balanced meal, drink half, refrigerate half and drink a bit later. I had 3 weeks liquids, gradually thickening - by the end they were very nearly mushies. Trying to live on V8 and Jello will leave you weak and exhausted.

This is something I have noticed at times when I am tight too - food can "burn". It has always happened to me in the week or two after a fill, just enough to make me feel like Ooh, am I just a bit too tight? But it always settles within a week or so. If you've eaten pork chops, vegies and salad without any more problem than that, then you're not likely to be too tight. If you get that burning every single time you eat and its really bothering you and it doesnt settle within a couple of weeks, then speak to your doc about it, but I dont think its anything to really worry about just now as you are probably a little swollen and irritated from the fill. Certain foods do it to me long term though - potato chips, ugh. They really hurt to eat, donuts too. Not that I need either of those foods!

Hmmm, we are living this too at the moment and I'd have to say, sadly, that there is only ONE person who can change your daughter's health future and that's her. By the age of 14, its really set and she has to be motivated to want to change. For sure, a healthy family lifestyle is a HUGE factor - its a great preventative tool, its important to teach them the skills so that if and when they want to lose weight, they have a base to start from. I grew up in a healthy family, with home cooked, healthy meals, my parents were sports mad and I played sports too. But I still got fat. However I've lost weight relatively easy and become very athletic because my body has a "memory" for it, its how I grew up. My 13 year old son is 5ft 7 and about 170lb and I'm really worried about him. He's as lazy as all get out - he's like his Dad, its just his nature, he is not at all sporty or athletically talented, he plays basketball twice a week but the team carries him because they're all his good mates. He's pretty asthmatic so doesnt push himself and he will play the "I've got asthma" card when encouraged to do so and of course, with asthma, you never ever would take the risk of assuming he's faking (but he does). He loves lying around playing PS3 and Wii. His brother and sister are much much much more active - disappear at Breakfast time on their bikes and reappear for some dinner kind of thing. He eats a lot - he has a man sized appetite - but he does like healthy food as well as the kind of junk teens like. Our family diet always WAS healthy but it has improved but its how much you eat as much as what, and he eats too much for his acivity level - although he eats about the same as what other boys his age eats. He's cursed with a bad metabolism. He just cant burn it off like his friends can. He's showing some signs of self consciousness about his weight - he goes to a private school, so strict uniform, he has to tuck his shirt in so he wont take his school jumper off no matter how hot it is - he walks home in 90 degree heat wearing a wool jumper. they ahve school swimming this week, he's hating having to go shirtless. So it does bother him but just not enough to do anything about it. We've tried having talks, it just ends in a fight. So we leave him alone, and I make him walk to and from school every day just for that bit of extra exercise and he knows that's why I do it even though I could pick him up. My having a lapband and DH having a lapband has had no real influence on him, our whole family lifestyle is healthy and he's still getting heavy. He hasnt hit puberty, I'm hoping for a massive growth spurt, his dad is 6ft 4, and he's looking to be bigger, so it *could* still be puppy fat. What worries me the most though is the lack of fitness because that means he does less which means he gets fatter, which means he gets less fit...... My advice would have to be influence what you can (like me making him walk to school, making a healthy school lunch, not having junk food in the house, never ever buying crap like soft drinks, cordial and orange juice, plenty of fresh fruit to eat etc) and provide support but dont get down her throat about losing weight, they dont want to hear it and will do it when they're good and ready - if ever. Sadly we cant live our kids lives, or put an old head on young shoulders. But I would definitely say that whilst your getting banded may not result in loss for her (afterall we couldnt do it without a band right?), the positive messages will be getting through - you'll never know how fat she MAY have gotten had you continued down the same path and you are teaching her a sensible lifestyle.