Jachut

Funnily enough, I have wondered a few times lately how LA Madam is doing.

The only way coffee could stretch your pouch is if you drank 10 cups at a time or drank tons of it on top of eating food. Whether or not caffeine is bad for you is like everything else - there's good and bad in it. It actually has a protective effect against diabetes for example. Its jsut another case of moderation being the best way to go. Somethign I dont practice myself. I love my coffee. But thankfully we have decent instant coffee here so I dont guzzle huge quantities of high caffeine brewed stuff. My doctor is fine with coffee.

I think that if you believe you arent sick enough or large enough to justify a bypass, then that's not the surgery for you. I would never ever have considered it for my situation either.

This happens to me sometimes too, who knows why? All I can say is thank goodness we dont have that Hershey's chocolate here anymore, it came out on the market briefly but bombed here becuase nobody liked it. We have Cadbury's. That's even HARDER to give up! Occasionally, if I have a day like this, I will just go with it. Nine times out of ten, its becuase I'm premenstrual. but when it stretches into days, its a problem, its really just a matter of dig in your heels, resist and fill yourself up with good foods instead. After a few days the urge tends to lessen if you can avoid the trigger foods.

All the factors are unique for you. You're right, as an ex smoker, you've done damage to your skin but you may naturally have better skin than the next person. There's just nothing but time will tell how your skin is going to react to weight loss. One thing's for sure. Nothing you put on it will stop loose skin, but there's nothing but good to come of keeping your skin in great condition.

My weight loss petered out and just stopped eventually so I called that goal! There's a couple of ways to look at it for me. My original goal was 79kg which was a normal BMI of 25. I went past that. In truth, I always knew i considered that still fat for me becuase it was a long held weight, right through my 20's and i was never happy there. So I didnt worry when I went past. But I always wanted to be about 65kg. So am I past goal or not at goal yet? Lol. This is just where I stopped. I didnt have to unfill or anything, but I do eat a bit more than I did, not a lot more though. And of course, I still exercise.

Only eating once per day will kill your metabolism, its much better to eat five or six small meals. You sound like you MAY be too tight, hence the choking (I assume you mean getting food stuck?) but that weight loss is poor a) because you eat hardly anything and :huh2: because you're not getting an awful lot of exercise. To lose weight I needed to run for an hour five times a week and do strength training. Good steady weight loss takes a LOT of exercise. I *STILL* need to do that now to maintain my weight loss. You may not be a runner, or want to be a runner, but some form of reasonably challenging cardio is a must and some strength training on top of that. If you could do that much exercise, you could have your band a bit looser and hopefully stop the problems. But you must eat regularly and well to lose weight well, once a day simply wont cut it. Almost without exception ALL the really successful long term banders on this board have eaten well and exercised heaps. The ones posting questions about failing to lose, having long plateaus etc are ALWAYS people who eat hardly anything. It goes against your intuition, but you really do have to fuel your bodyb to move it and it is the only way you will ever burn the fat, rather than just shrinking yourself a way to a bag of toneless loose skin. Throwing up every now and then is quite normal, everyone gets things stuck occasionally, but it shouldnt be an every day thing. Even weekly is too much if it can be avoided (some are more sensitive than others)! I have maybe thrown up ten times in three years.

I tried it just now. It was delicious! A new fave definitely. I wouldnt ever have thought to do something like this with a humble bowl of porridge.

I've just passed my third bandiversary. Life is pretty much normal now. I'm used to my restrictions and limitations, I've changed a lot of bad habits. I think close contact with your doc and the ability to have fills whenever requried is key. I think part of the reason we have so much success with the band in Australia is that our medical system is amenable to that. My doc is a few suburbs away and I can go whenever I please without it costing me anything. The band is something that requires proper aftercare and I would recommend strongly that you have a doctor nearby. Group support? Not my thing. I'm a loner like that. This site functions like that for me, but face to face stuff I dont really feel I need. But I went to see my doc probably four or five times last year. Exercise would be my biggest tip for being successful.

One of the biggest perks post band for me was better sleep. I hadnt realised how uncomfortable I was at night, now I dont wake up from a sore hip or a sore shoulder and I really do bound out of bed in the morning. But yes, exercise makes you sleep better. I dont notice it with strength training per se, just execise in general, I work pretty darn hard and at night, by about 9.30 I'm tired. I'm out like a light the minute my head hits the pillow. Its not like if I dont exercise I cant fall asleep but I do notice the nights I'm less physically tired.

Sounds like you're doing everything right. Keep doing it and eventually the weight will move. plateaus are a part of it, they are going to happen and a pound a week is a good healthy rate. This thing just takes a lot of patience. Interval training really gets weight moving for me, but its awful. Bursts of really hard activity with recovery periods, but I feel exhausted and to the point of puking afterwards. But doing that 2 or 3 of my 5 workouts really works for me.

I am committed to it and I love it, but not addicted. I spend about an hour, maybe an hour and a half on long run days, most days. That's it. The only reason I feel anxious if I miss a few days is becuase I dont want to get out of the habit. The more days you miss, the harder it is to get back into it, I've worked really hard and dont want to lose fitness etc etc. Not becuase I *need* it for any other reason than it makes me feel healthy.

Well done! There'll be no stopping you now, lol.

Have a look at www.cardiocoach.com. I use these for running outside, but they really do work best for ellipticals and bikes because you have more control over incline and resistance rather than just running faster like I do. I use it for my treadmill too,. love love love cardio coach, its so much fun!

pbing has NEVER been open and plop for me, its much more like your carrot episode, thank god it doesnt happen to me often. Although as time has gone by, I've learned to relax and let it happen and not fight it which means I can usually have it over and done with more quickly - I used to spend up to an hour waiting for relief. But its still not horrid, scary and awful like vomiting is. I will do ANYTHING to avoid vomiting. Thankfully, I havent actually chucked in about six or seven years, we seem to have passed that stage of the kids bringing home horrible gastro bugs.

Yes, its positive affirmation time isnt it? I've never been one for therapy and all that stuff. I just woudlnt do it. I dont feel I need it, and I dont feel there's a reason for every negative behaviour I practice. But I'm positive part of my success has been due to the fact that for an hour a day, I'm loving my body. I'm thinking about what it can do, how it is feeling, NOT how it looks. Whilst the battle to get your body to look the way you want is endless, you can get it to DO what you want with running (or any other sport you love). Its a matter of put in the work, put in the practice, you will get there. You have to start small, take baby steps, but it happens in the end. But you must have that love for it. It was always there in me to do this, so perhaps running was right for ME, but maybe not for someone else. I dont know how you GET the love for exercise. For me it was sometihng that my weight held me back from but something I wanted to do. Not something I had to fight.

Yeah, that's how I do it. initially I started doing that becuase basically I loathe standing around lifting weights. Its so boring. So I did it circuit style instead. Then I started googling it and really reading what circuit training can do for you. I also resent any non aerobic time as my main focus is running and much as I appreicate how necessary strength training is, I felt it was taking me away from what I really needed - fat burning aerobic cardio. So this way keeps it aerobic (in fact VERY challenging) and builds the muscle I need too. And it has improved my running a LOT.

It took me six months to start to get into it, to really not have to dig deep to find the willpower to get out and run. I always liked it becuase of the huge achievement of acctually doing it and in my imagination, that was my goal. It wasnt to be thin, it was to be a runner. I was lucky I had memories of what a runners high feels like and i knew how absolutely exhilarating it would feel to run freely, without lugging the weight of a ten year old on my back. But for a long time, it hurt, it was hard, it was embarrassing and the lure of the warm couch and TV was strong. I just figured this time was it, how bad did I want this? It was important to me. also, I really find it weird that people would rather eat less and stay on a stricter diet than exercise. To me, exercise is not something you have to be doing all the time, it takes 40 minutes and its over and I told myself if I didnt have the willpower to do something for 40 minutes, then I might as well give up and stay fat. Having the willpower to stick to a diet is WAY harder! Now, I simply love it. It is as necessary to my body as food, love, shelter. Its jsut somethign I do every day at one level and its also extraordinarily challenging on another, the lure of that half marathon, imagining the feeling of actually completing it, being in the crowd, being "normal", no better than normal because most people are home in bed too lazy to ever do a half marathon. Its just not difficult for me, its such a rewarding, worthwhile activity. The self esteem it gives you is amazing.

Well, you've lost a good amount of weight, you must be feeling great about that! Well done! But you dont sound like you've had a lot of aftercare - youv'e been banded a long time and are wondering about why you can eat some things one day and then not the next etc? This is entirely normal, most people experience it to one degree or another. also, if you ahvent had a fill since Jan 08 and are having trouble losing and regaining the same weight, have you thought about another fill? Have you not been back to your doctor in all that time? what about Water based exercise - swimming, water aerobics, water running? Or circuit training (such as curves or in a regular gym) which doesnt require weight bearing and pounding on your knee? Regular aerobic and strength training really improves the results you'll get with your band. Can you tolerate walking?

Everyone's made great points above. I'm past the three year point now and I still eat too fast at times. I find some things have changed - my natural rate of eating is much slower without me thinking about it. I naturally dont tend to want to sorts of foods that will cause me problems, over time, my desire for things like bread has decreased. I do chew more without having to really think about it too. But still, if I'm hungry or really looking forward to eating something in parricular, I have to be VERY careful not to gulp it. Nothing more frustrating than sitting down to a nice meal you've taken ages to cook and getting stuck on the first bite!

The elliptical is famous for causing this, its just one of those things. Its one reason why I used to prefer the treadmill.

This is what really gets to me, this feeling that by having the surgery you've robbed someone else to have theirs. I hate that attitude, hate it. There was a thread the other day about this, someone complaining about her boss (sorry "someone" if you're reading). It was such a mean spirited post, like eveyone wants to hog all the weight loss just for themselves because they deserve it more. Its so darn stupid, thinking this way. Everyone's journey is individual and has nothign to do with anyone else.

Any loose skin will look better if its covering nice toned muscles. It might contract a bit as time goes by too. But there is nothing you can do really to prevent or get rid of loose skin.

Ack, that dont do cardio because it will waste your muscle myth really annoys me. Weight training is something I have only taken up at goal, primarily to train specific running muscles to avoid injury - weak glutes lead to knee injuries etc. I lost ALL my weight with long cardio sessions and I have lots of muscle - I have legs like steel and I have even developed really nice arm and shoulder definition through the upper body motion, not to mention I can do amazing strength tricks with my abdominal muscles. The cardio wasting muscle thing is another of those half truths that has grown from taking professional body building advice and applying it to mere mortals. If you're trying to build huge muscle to win a Mr Universde competition, then you dont do lots of cardio because it is counterproductive to that kind of muscle growth. You also eat HEAPS of Protein because you need it for the growth. Most body builders int heir building phase are kind of fat because of lack of cardio and huge calorie intake. Then before their competition they go on high protein low carb starvation diets to strip the fat. That's how they get that cut look. For us normal people, cardio burns fat, it doesnt waste your muscle away, it maintains it, and you dont need 7000 grams of protein after a workout, just a little of something with a carb/protein mix (like a glass of milk) will do. Likewise, on a typical lap band diet you're unlikely to gain pounds and pounds of muscle because you simply dont eat enough to do so, plus you're a woman. To maintain your body's muscle is an awesome goal and you already have nice muscles in there, you just need to lose the fat covering them. Again, like with diet, moderation seems to be key. Do a bit of both but dont be afraid of either, cardio wont waste your muscle and weight training wont turn you into Arnie. Keep up the great work everyone!

I've been a busy girl, faithfully working away at my circuits and interval stuff. Mr Jachut has been off his feet due to a HUGE blister from new shoes - sounds so pathetic and wimpy and honestly if it was going to happen to anyone, it would be HIM, but it was really really bad, lol. I'm just worried that I'm not doing a lot of just running, there's just not enough days in the week to fit in everything, what with trying to get faster, trying to get stronger and trying to support DH, there's no time for longer runs. Will I ever RUN a half marathon at this rate? When I started this circuit and interval stuff though, I told myself it was a 12 week plan, to build certain elements of my fitness before I began to run longer, hopefully avoiding injury as a result. So I shall remain faithfull to it for now - and weightwise, it works very well!