Jachut

I'd have to say, being a home exerciser has been my secret. I have a really good gym quality treadmill at home and basic weights/stability ball/yoga mat so I can do a really hard circuit indoors consisting of weights and interval cardio. If I'm going to just run, I prefer outside but I always have the treadmill for bad weather - particularly really HOT weather, I dont handle running in the heat very well. It really is key, I'm never stuck for something to do. But I'd really recommend gym quality equipment, you simply wont use anything that is rickety, crappy or noisy.

Erg, everyone's PB's are different. I've never pb'd liquid, only solid food, including the offending bite of whatever it was. I usually get a sharp pain at my belly button, a cold sweat and pain in the stomach - an ache - but it still doesnt feel ANYTHING like what I'd call nauseous, which is far yuckier. Its just simply a physical reaction, something needs to come up, up it comes and that's it. The only bad part of it is if it wont come immediately and i have to spend 45 minutes hanging round the bathroom spitting saliva.

I wish I cured my sweet tooth! But I dont think that'll EVER happen.

Cardio haters, have you checked out cardio coach (www.cardiocoach.com) or this one I've just found and ordered the strength and conditioning program for runners MP3 Fitness Training - Download Workouts to iPod: Total Wellness Consulting Toronto They're interval style programs, and they make the time on cardio equipment fly by. I just love zoning out to some music because slow running feels so easy to me now, its just a pleasant activity. You know, I know we've all heard the competing advice - slow long cardio burns more fat, slow long cardio is useless for fat loss and actually changes your body composition for the worse. I think it took me a good 2 years to really plateau out with running, to stop improving and stop noticing positive changes to my body. Its changed it for the better for sure, but these days I really need INTENSITY to further progress. I'm full of new enthusiasm, I have a great program mapped out and today I did a blistering circuit composed of hard cardio intervals and circuit style multi directional running specific weight training (focussing on core, hip stabilisers, etc). I was STUFFED when I finished but a glass of milk and a shower and I was right to go with the rest of my day. And since I decided to cut back on the long runs and do harder cardio and strength training, the pesky few pounds i had as a result of my small unfill have gone and my clothes feel better again. Thats after months of no change or progress. I really believe now i can get the last of this weight off, I know I'm thin and have had good results but I want stupendously good ones!

I agree. Why wait till you're REALLY fat to take decisive action? Marieg, I know it wasnt your intention to offend anyone, you can tell by the tone of your post that you're stating an opinion, not trying to incite a riot. I just have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about this topic - everywhere on this board I see peopel bleating about how they're discriminated against on one hand, whilst on the other they're completely oblivious to the biased and prejudiced views they express about thinner people. It drives me nuts. If we really want to be a non discriminatory world then we need to stop making judgements about people based on their weight WHATEVER that is, not just stop making judgements about people based on their fatness. It's impossible to say that I thought I was disgustingly fat at 245lb because that just insults everyone who was 350 and has lost 100. But if they're honest, they all felt desperate at every new high they hit. They just need to remember that.

The fills do make a difference but to be honest, I still have a lot of head hunger, that effect wore off a bit for me, and I do nibble and I eat cookies! But in nowhere NEAR the quantity I ate before, overall, I make more healthy choices and I eat less than I did. My tastes have changed, I've lost the liking for high fat salty foods, it all just takes time. The hugest factor in my success was exercise and all the band really had to do with that was that this time I was really serious about it. I say "oh, yeah I exercise" but in reality, I guess I really am VERY fit and have worked VERY hard at it. I *could* have done that before. I dont know why I didnt. But it would never have worked as well as it has without a decrease in calorie intake sustained over a long period of time. but I'm not perfect. I have food "issues" like we all do and I will always have them. The band has not cured that, I have got better at handling it, that is all. Overall my diet is healthy and reasonable but its FAR from as perfect as some people manage and I dont really care becuase I have what I consider a "normal" relationship with food - I eat anything and everything and I dont really overthink or stress about it. So I have a bad day, tomorrow is always better. Good days outnumber bad, so I didnt worry one jot about going to the Pankcake Parlour with my son this morning! Willpower doenst really come into it for me, unless its just those occasions when I want to eat 10 Cookies and know I really dont need to.

Yeah, I just love the implication that those of us who have had WLS in large part for the cosmetic benefits are somehow morally corrupt, but a huge pair of plastic knockers is OK!

It mightnot happen - I never had any hair loss. And you know funnily enough, I have NEVER seen this discussed on an Aussie board. I wonder what it is that we do differently or whether the subject has simply never come up.

To me a normal diet means you get a mix of nutrients in a day - several differnt types of fruit and vegetables, a serve of wholegrains such as cereal or bread, a couple of serves of protein in the form of dairy, lean meat and eggs. And it is also entirely normal to not be afraid to have the odd treat! In my view it is NOT normal to drink several protein shakes a day, live on soft foods, and avoid entire food groups.

I agree with him in principle but the thing is everyone is so different. For me to only be able to eat half a cup, I would have to be so tight that pbing and sliming would occur more often and there would definitely be foods I couldnt eat. But aiming for "not being able to eat bread" or "not being able to eat more than half a cup" is pretty pointless. You have to listen to your body more than that.

Those are common places to have fat. Most people if they lose a lot of weight will regain the nice natural curves of their back. I didnt have a "patch" but definitely the shape of my butt changed and the natural curves returned.

I was logging on here to say the exact same thing. I said in another thread yesterday that I thougth a lot of the reason for the relatively modest weight loss the lap band effects (statistically) is lack of proper exercise by users, but also equally vital is aftercare. All my aftercare is free for life here in Australia (not precisely, its bulk billed direct to the government, but nothing will have to come out of my pocket) I could go back and fourth four times a week for fills/unfills. Its so important.

Oh, I dont know. That's just your opinion, not fact. I man, how is lapband so very much more SERIOUS than having breast implants? Both operations cut you open, insert devices into your body and carry the risk of complications, dont they? I dont know about anyone else but having a lapband hasnt meant that I have to sacrifice my health to be thinner, I eat very well, much better than I did before. Its a much easier surgery to recover from than a lower body lift - and with less risk of uncomfortable and inconvenient complications. It drives me nuts that people accept all these surgeries without judgement - heck, injecting toxins into your face or plastic substances, that's all OK, but god forbid anyone have a lapband because they dont like how they look fat! The cosmetic benefits were a huge part of it for me and I refuse to apologise for that, nor do I believe my *right* to the surgery was any less than yours becuase I didnt have comorbidities!

My goal is more circuit training. I'll share a secret, people think I'm so disciplined with exercise but truly, I'm taking the easy option and have been for months. When you're cardiovascularly fit and well adapted to running, it isnt hard to go out and runk 10K. Its no harder than walking is for a less fit person. That's all I do, five days a week. I've realised lately (I knew it but I've really owned it) that what Ineed to work on now is NOT more weight loss but a really decent change in body composition. While all this long slow cardio has not wasted away my muscles like the doomsayers predict it also does leave you somewhat a "skinny fat person" meaning although I'm fit and strong, I am somewhat soft and am still hovering at around 25% body fat - healthy for a woman but too high to look really buff. So........... long story short ............ I know what I'm doing and I have designed a really HARD circuit, well three or four to keep my muscles guessing. I'm doing those three days per week and my runs are going to be harder but shorter interval sessions. One long slow run only per week. That ougth to get things tightening up. There's no sense in continuing to try to lose, I'll only get skeletal but flabby. I still want my curves. On top of that, Doug is having a few weeks off and we'll be walking heaps. So I'm looking forward to ending our long school holidays at the end of January really fit and looking fantastic! But I MUST do those circuits and not cave and go for a nice easy run instead. When I do them, I work almost to the barfing stage.

I have found all the way through that having my focus and challenge centred around my running was key. There's always a race to train for and i've been able to increase distances, when you've done all the common 5k, 10k, half marathon distances, then you compete to better your time. Being even 2lb heavier affects your time. Having a new running challenge always gets me back on the straight and narrow - espcially with a view towards being properly fueled for it, which for me means a rather higher carb diet than most bandsters eat. if I just focussed on what I have to not eat, this would just be another diet. I find it very hard to get back on the wagon once i've fallen off unless I"m wanting to achieve something as a result of getting back on it, if that makes sense.

My surgeon takes the view with drinking that if you dont think it makes you hunger, then drink when you like. I truly do not think drinking with a meal makes me hungrier. However, since about my fifth fill I can no longer really do it anyway. It gives me that bubble in the chest feeling too, its not comfortable and with certain foods its guaranteed to cause a pb. I usually drink within half an hour of finishing a meal though. Over time, the desire to do it has simply dissipated because I associate drinking anything more than a sip with discomfort, same as how I never want to eat pizza or Mcdonalds either. I had enough restriction after each fill to lose well, what changed for me was how long that restriction lasted before my band would loosen off and it was time for another. Early on it was weeks, after my last fill, I went over a year before getting a tiny top up.

No that's not normal. There could be several reasons. Do you think it possible that your fill has given you a case of first bite syndrome, where you get uncomfortable very quickly but once that clears you can eat? If you truly can eat only that much, its not going to be good for you long term. You can either wait it out, maybe if you lose a bit of weight, it will loosen, but the thing is that people often find they dont lose when they eat this little. If you're getting any symptoms like reflux, night cough, or even just feeling phlegmy after you eat, or if you find yourself pbing often, get some fill out. You might find you can tolerate it at a later time.

This is SO true. I was just so very lucky that long slow cardio (which is what I love doing, nothing like a really long easy run with the ipod!) got me to a healthy BMI with very little other than occasional circuit training (maybe once per week on average) to supplement. Whilst I will go to my grave declaring that the doomsayers that predict you will turn into a marshmallow and waste your muscle away without 300 grams of Protein and doing long cardi0 like this are WRONG - I think people get totally confused over building massive muscle versus maintaining lean body mass and they think that cardio is determinental. You cant really run 20k a day and also build big muscles at the same time, true, but running will definitely lean out an obese person and help to maintain their lean body mass, I'm living proof. By the same token though, just cardio like I've done will never get you really lean either - just look at marathon runners, skinny as all getout but hardly attractive bodies. I have plenty of muscle, you can see muscle definition on me, but I am also at the same time quite soft - typical female body. I know that i need to do much more strength training now and much less cardio to really see that fabulous result I've had become an INCREDIBLE one. My focus needs to change from burning huge quantities of fat to actually reshaping. At least I have the luxury of deciding whether I want to go through that much work, I'm healthy and not overweight. I think I do because I'm vain, lol. Exercise really is everything to successful long term weight loss. I'd love to run a survey here as to how many 100% or more of excess weight lost people exercise regularly and smartly. I really believe the depressing "the lapband only helps you to lose 60% of your excess weight" is very largely due to lack of exercise - either none at all or simply thinking that a daily walk will cut it forever.

I had small ones all throught the first year, between fills, I might lose 4lb one week and then nothing the next kind of thing. But it was about 15 months before I really plateaued out to losing like only 3lb in a month, all in a brief spurt and then nothing for weeks. I lost 30kg the first year and then took another year to lose another 10 or 12. So it really slowed down and the plateaus lengthened out. After that, I think I lost 5kg the following year. Now I havent lost anything in about 9 months.

Not eating or drinking after 7 am means you can have some breakfast, it will be cleared by surgery time. But I think I'd probably not eat either. I'd drink a BUCKET of coffee though, to get me through the day, lol. As to toast, if you really want a piece of toast, have one the night before. Its NOT going to suddenly well your liver to the size of a basketball. As far as last suppers go, that's a fairly reasonable one.

I agree, a daily active lifestyle is important but its not the secret to weight loss or staying slim. Its just life and it doesnt burn that many calories. to lose weight consistently, you need big blocks of aerobic exercise and ideally you need some strength training too. Why NOT become an exercise in front of the TV person? That's how I get my strength training in - I alternate running on my treadmill with squats, lunges, push ups, tricep dips and various barbell and dumbell work. Takes half an hour. I run an hour about four or five times a week as well. Sorry to say, but that's what its taken to get this weight off. You dont say what you eat, but some of us can get away with more than others in that regard, some people have to be VERY careful with what they ingest, the amount of exercise I do affords me a fair degree of laxity in that regard and I just focus on three heatlhy meals. But I eat a good 1500 calories a day, I dont starve. The lapband by itself is not magic. My DH has one since June, does not exercise, doesnt really watch what he eats, just eats a bit less and yeah, about 25lb is all that's come off for him.

LOL, my DH is banded and darn if I dont have to manage HIS band as well as my own. I cannot understand how you can be banded without the history of a lifetime's dieting to inform you about what is healthy, how many calories every food in the modern world contains, as well as its fat grams, Protein etc. that is just basic knowledge to me, I've learned it over 40 years. So to decide I want to eat about 1200 calories, 30% protein today, I just do that, I dont have to follow a set of instructins. How do you do this without knowing what you're eating? He knows NOTHING. He just eats. He has no idea what he is putting in. He lost a bit, but not much, he's one of the ones who needs good restriction before losing. So does he make fill appointments? Never occurs to him. When I suggest it, he acts worried like he's too tight already and he wont be able to eat bread! I booked him in for his last one and he went and lo and behold the weight starts coming off. At the time I made him one for six weeks hence, and that's this Wednesday, but unfortunately he cant make that. I better make an alternative one or it'll be another six months before he thinks of it. He doesnt exercise at ALL either. He expects me to not go for my run, to wait for him to go for a long walk and then he gets home and says he's too tired, GRRRRR. So I've just stopped waiting for him, I've gone back to what suits me and suddenly I'm "unsupportive". Unsupportive? Where the F was HE when I was slogging my way through learning to run 10kms? sheesh.

Well I only have a 4cc band so that seems HUGE to me. To me, large would be .3cc to .5cc, what band do you have? Anyway, your doc is the person to ask about that based on your symptoms and your shared knowledge of YOUR band. I cant possibly be the one to tell you how much to take out, I dont know.

It never did for me. By the time post op swelling and restriction was wearing off, I was ready for my first fill. I can honestly say I have never battled hunger with the band until now, almost 3 years out when my body appears to have adapted to being banded and is directing me to eat little and often. I can manage it, its not bad, but definitely hunger has returned and tighter fills only mean more hunger coz I havent eaten enough!

Well it was easy - they dont really do bypass here and if they did, no way no how was I obese enough to qualify for it. What would concern me about a bypass is the malabsorption issue and regain over the long term. Imagine having half your guts removed and nowhere to go from there and starting to regain weight. It would be heartbreaking. I simply didnt have a large enough weight problem to justify so drastic an action. I saw the lapband as much less drastic and for me, it has proven to be so. I was prepared to take the risk of anaesthetic - which lets face it, at a BMI of 35 and good health wasnt a large risk - but not to actually change my workings or risk malnutrition in the future.