Jachut

The thing that I dont get about this is the surgery will HELP you to change your eating habits and it gives you hope, which is perhaps the most important factor of all! I hope he doesnt hold it up for you.

Lol, I stumbled here by hitting new posts, but yes, that used to annoy the crap out of me. Like 200lb is the most horrendous weight ever. Same with my sister whining because she's hit 120lb! Or my SIL actually crying during her first pregnancy when she hit 130 - AT FULL TERM! Grrrrrr.

Give it a bit of time too. I find myself adjusting to the new me even 18 months after hitting goal. For a long while, I knew I looked better but I was still the old me in my head.

I got eight weeks of superb restriction. Which is weird because I'm not a "sweller", I can eat right after a fill, I dont PB or get stuck often, generally I have a cast Iron gut. If anyone was going to recover immediately and have NO swelling or restriction after surgery, it would be me. But for some strange reason I was really nicely restricted for a long time and lost TONS of weight.

I'm not 20 but why hide it? Be proud of the step you've taken, because its a positive one. You dont eat as much as others do, big deal. Eat and drink what yiou want to, in the amounts that you want to and you'll probably find that, yes, whilst there's more peer pressure for you than there is for me, people really arent that interested in what you eat. You might get a bit more pressure to drink! That doesnt go away even when you're 40. I nurse drinks, as long as people see a drink in your hand they're happy. But life is for living too and as long as you're committed to your diet and exercise for the main part, go out and ENJOY it every now and then!

Given that hardly anyone actually has a normal BMI these days its easy for people to think you're too thin. We're so conditioned to fat that someome with a BMI of 28 or 30 actually looks normal to us, afterall normal is all in the definition. I have a BMI of 22 as well and I am definitely NOT too thin. The natural body shape that's emerged for me is actually one that needs to be quite low - a BMI of 19 or 20 would sit well on me, I just have that tall and thin sort of build. I'm not muscular at all. I definitely would like to lose MORE weight and/or put some muscle on my body and get rid of some more fat. I still have quite a bit of fat below the waist. That isnt obsessed or unhealthy, I'm not talking about weighing 100lb at 5ft 10, but there is NOTHING unhealthy about weighing 138, 140 lb at this height. Its well within the normal weight range! Low end, but still within it. Same for you - you stop where you feel you look good. People are just used to seeing you heavier and I'd say that there's often a fair amount of sour grapes in people's comments too - by and large, whilst people dont try to be purposely nasty, they dont like the feeling they get when someone achieves something fantastic, its threatening and they tend to react negatively to it without even realising why they do.

No, that's not what restriction feels like. You're way too tight. And you'll probably find that as your body gets desperate for some nourishment, you'll start to eat rubbish that goes down easily - chocolate, liquid calories, ice cream. I'd get some fill out. My normal experience of a fill is that I can go out and have lunch an hour afterwards, I dont need to and have never been told to do the liquids to mushies regime after fills, just to eat carefully. Each fill has been a teeny increment tighter, I have NEVER had a single bit of trouble getting fluids down and whislt I see what Tom is saying, I'd rather have the fill out and then sneak up on the restriction with more fills over time than wait it out and see if it loosens (which it probably wont do anyway). And being too tight nearly always leads to eating very poorly. I think I've taken about 10 fills (and one unfill) to get where I am now, which is 2.9ml in a 4ml band.

I took no before photos either. I'm also not a very photogenic person, I'm fine looking in real life but I dont photograph well at all. I'm always looking weird in some way, just dont have the bone structure or something, and too many shadows on my face. That avatar is probably the best photo of me I've ever had, I'll never be able to repeat it.

I think you post is great! You have what it takes to control this for the rest of your life because you are sensible and realistic. We wont beat it. Its because we struggle to control these behaviours that we needed to be banded in the first place - but we CAN control it. And I dont even know that the band makes that easier, it just makes it more *worthwhile* because we've lost weight, gotten healthier, look great so therefore we are more motivated to continue to battle these demons. I've backslid like that a gazillion times during my journey and I'm completely accepting of the fact that I always will. Sweet stuff is my medicine, I like alcohol but have never had a problem with drinking sensibly, I dont smoke, I dont ahve any other *addictions*, this is my thing. But you're right - carbs in general dont make me crave more carbs but sweet stuff does and it really just needs to be avoided completely. But I think I'm living proof that you dont have to be PERFECT to be successful with a band, I've lost 120% of my excess weight and I still backslide at times. Just being consistent and keeping on at it is all it takes.

Hehe, I like wearing them now because they make me 6ft tall (and sometimes even taller). there's no doubt about it, if you're thin and very tall, people assume you've got supermodel looks too - they double take ALL the time and dont even appear to register what you actually look like. Its like you've got two parts of the formula so they assume the whole. Not that I'm vain or anything....... much. Oh - no more fat rash in the summer. I could never ever wear a skirt because my fat thighs would rub together and get really sore. I can also wear a g string and my fat arse doesnt gobble it up.

I'd have to say too that despite both DH and I "only" reaching BMI's of 36, it was getting hard to ahve good sex. DH had a big beer gut which got in the way. Fellas, losing the gut does make you a better lover!

OK will my bald there it is admission be the one that starts a shitfight, lol? I will openly,happily and PROUDLY admit that whilst I did this to prevent future health problems (at a BMI of 36 I didnt have anything serious YET) my main reason was because l looked disgusting. I was a fat pig. I hated the way I looked, it was unattractive, unfit, ungroomed. I never felt pretty or like I took good care of myself, despite actually being well groomed, I always looked like a slob. I'm sorry to offend people who have lost from a BMI of 50 down to 35 and are feeling great about themselves. It seems around here often you are not allowed to say a BMI of 35 is fat but it is. I looked awful naked, even worse on the beach trying to cover it up. I had cellulite and rolls and a big beefy face. I looked horrible and i hated it so I had WLS to look better. I had it to feel better too and I feel FANTASTIC and I think (if I do say so myself, hehehe) that I look pretty freaking great for a 41 year old mother of three too! But not plastic surgeried till within an inch of my life fake perfect - I look REAL PERSON good. That's not to say at all that I dont look at other larger people and think "she's gorgeous" or "I love what she's wearing" - yes women mainly look at other women that way, lol. And I actually find a more cuddly guy much more attractive than buff gym boys. Peh. They dont look like they could ear $200K a year and do the football run on Saturdays with their kids! I like a bit of cuddle to a guy.

No, that's not true. You feel perfectly normal if you eat properly, that is you eat small bites, chew well, eat a small amount and avoidany foods that personally cause you problems. And anyway, "feeling sick" doesnt describe it. Its not nausea and its nothing like vomiting when you're actually ill. The words "productive burp" describe it well. It can be uncomfortable and painful, but its not the same as that awful nauseous, like down on the bathroom tiles between bouts of vomiting sick. Its more like that lump in the chest feeling that foods can give you now if you eat really fast - bananas in particularl used to do that to me. As for your sister - dont you just love how people can be such experts on things they havent experienced themselves?.

Just coz oatmeal doenst have heaps of Protein like animal foods do doesnt mean its not a worthwhile food. Its full of other wonderful goodies and heaps of fibre, great for you. Particularly if you eat real oatmeal and not that stupid quick cook stuff. How about soaking half a cup of rolled oats in orange juice or apple juice overnight and then in the morning adding a half a grated apple, some almonds and some berries and greek yogurt. Bircher muesli! Its absolutely fantastic and no cook. Or soak your oats overnight in a little milk and then they WILL be quick cook in the morning but still with all their nutrients intact. I eat Cereal too - any normal muesli is good. I just avoid processed ones like cornflakes. I also eat sandwhiches for lunch but if you cant eat bread, I keep some nice cheeses to hand all the time - brie, a fruit and nut cheese, maybe some edam or something smoked, add a few olives, some sundried tomatoes maybe, and a bit of cabana or salami (just a bit, its high fat) and a few crackers and that's a great lunch! Today I made a mango and goats cheese salad that I had a recipe for, delicious. You just have to be organised and have the food on hand, its quick and easy if you actually have the ingredients.

Excess skin isnt skin you didnt have before though - its skin that was filled out. So it cant make you weigh more! Or do you mean its excess skin over and above what another person meant to be the same height and weight would have?. If so, yes, many people might have a couple of pounds worth, but not 20 pounds! We also have slightly heavier bones than someone who's never been obese. And even maybe a bit more muscle tissue if we've managed to preserve it well during weight loss. I know that I weighed 70kg as a 20 something for a year or two and i was fatter than I am now. I'm way slimmer at 70kg this time - at least a size smaller and I think it can only be because my body composition is different - more muscle and heavier bones from running and from having been heavier. Because you dont expect to be actually smaller at the same weight after having had three babies!

No, you dont have to be anorexic, and you've done wonderfully, but I was just looking at some photos of me at about 190 or so (I'm 5ft 10 too) and honestly, I was still definitely overweight - I hadnt changed that much from my 247 high. In fact I'd really only gone down ONE clothes size. I know how great I *FELT* at that point but I didnt start to look "slim" till about the 160's and once past about 180, every few pounds made a noticeable difference. Hang in there, people do notice, but they dont know whether its polite or not to say anything. there's a lady at school who I *think* has lost weight. I just remember her being a bit more rounded than she is, she's very thin now but was certainly never fat. But I cant quite work it out. It really is quite hard to tell on other people.

I agree, I want coffee, not a hot milkshake!

there's a couple of reasons, but technically, if you have a 1000 calorie per day deficit, you should be able to lose that 2lb per week. Doesnt really work like that in real life. I know now - I need less calories - what maintains my weight now is LESS than I was eating to lose fast in the beginning. I'm a runner, I've run diligently for three years now. My body is super duper efficient at it, its second nature, it barely raises a sweat. Even though I now run 10kms per run instead of 3, it is not as much as an effort and shock to my body as it was. It doesnt burn as much calories as the charts say it should. I'm also nowhere near as zealous as I was at the start. I dont feel urgent about my weight. I like how I look now, I can buy what I want to wear, I've had 3 years of denial and the motivation is just not there to be really strict. I have no problem eating well, but maintaining a big enough calorie deficit to lose means that I have to hardly eat anything and I cant be bothered to be frank. I'm already a healthy weight, and yes, 10lb more would take me down another size, but meh, it would take work too. I think its a combination of all those factors.

It depends how heavy you are, where you carry it and just on your skin texture in general. There's little you can do to prevent it. Some of us are luckier than others but I think everyone has looser skin than they would have had had they never become obese, if that makes sense. I had a BMI of 35, I carried it fairly evenly, not a lot on the stomach, lost weight slowly and just have pretty good skin. I dont *need* any PS after a 100lb loss, but a few nips and tucks here and there could certainly improve things. Others have an undisputed need to remove problematic hanging skin. It just depends.

The opening isnt the same as before - its swollen, which gives a lot of people pretty severe restriction. Also the band is stitched to the outside of the stomach, and in order for the stitches to heal and scar tissue to form to anchor the band permanently, the liquid diet is meant to prevent the stomach from having to churn and work a lot to digest. Less movement of the stomach means better healing. And eating, with the swelling, increases the risk of getting something stuck and vomiting, also not at all good with a brand new band not cemented in place yet. Tell your hubby to hang in there, this is the most important part of the entire process. It DOES matter if you break the liquid to mushies regime. But you may not know it till further on down the track when the band slips.

Its a highly debated topic. Yes, you can get too much Protein, but in reality, if you're eating less than 80grams a day you probably wont be. Over 100 grams for most women and the rate at which your body excretes Calcium as much as doubles, and it can predispose you to calcium based kidney stones (and osteoporosis if long term). Personally, I'd dispute that you need 80 grams a day because I think in trying to eat that much, you're missing out on OTHER things you need. Its all a fine balancing act.

I did it last week in a Vietnamese restaurant - it was sooooo good, I just ate way too much, then had to leave the table to PB three times and spit in a coffee cup all the way home on the freeway! Last night we went out to a steak house and I was much more restrained but then I got the third degree about what was wrong with my meal. The fact was that the smallest steak was 200 grams and I ate about a third of it and the waitress was making eyes obviously thinking I was anorexic. the trouble with a band and what you realise when you lose restriction (like with my small unfill recently) is that you eat to feeling quite satisfied, you dont get used to staying empty like successful dieters do (and there's hardly any of them around). The only difference between band and preband is that you cant push past that point! One more bite is one too much! But I think we all do it at times. I also inist on eating foods I know will give me pain, even though I can get them down. But the trouble is, its those foods that satisfy me most. If I eat something that causes no pain or discomfort whatsoever to eat I'll either eat heaps of it or be starving in an hour.

I too found it a moving target - I was extremely lucky in that EVERY single fill took me to a sweet spot. It was more a matter of how long that sweet spot lasted. I lost weight steadily all the way through. Of course at first, I was able to eat 2000 calories a day and lose weight so THAT was a sweet spot despite the fact that I hadnt given up any food and I still ate 2 cups at a time. After that waned, i had another fill and was probably eating 1800 calories a day. Weight loss continued on so THAT was a sweet spot. Then that waned and I had another and my calorie level dropped and perhaps bread and some things became harder to eat and the weight loss continued so THAT was a sweet spot. I certainly never needed to have goals like must only eat 1/2 cup and should not be able to eat bread. Based on that I'm not at a sweet spot YET and I've lost 120% of my excess weight. I wasnt a fast loser though, not by any stretch of the imagination, yet I felt I've done it by a change in lifestyle and not a diet. I guess its all how you look at it, but some people need greater calorie restriction than others and I was just very lucky that I never did. A small decrease in intake was enough for me to lose weight. I think my running helped all along of course and I did tr to make good food choices etc.

Lol, nothing. Sweet coffees like that is a habit I dont need. Actually Starbucks havent done well in Australia, I think they're actually closing down. I like a lot more European style coffee, like a flat white or a real latte - which is just a little glass with 1/3 espresso and 2/3 steamed milk - not sweet at all. Luckily that's mostly what coffee is here - its really only Starbucks and Gloria Jeans that do the more American style stuff so I havent found it too hard to resist. I've just been raised to not drink calories so I avoid stuff like that and soda etc without a second thought - its a life habit. Still fit plenty of bad calories in in more solid form though! I guess as long as you realise its as many calories as a MEAL and you account for it though you can indulge yourself. Surely you can find the nutritional info for all the products online?

You should keep an anti nausea medication to hand, somehting that you will need a script for. There's been a bug going round at school, a 12 hour one apparently. Last night eliza chundered in my car, all down the windows, in the electronic door mechanism, in every nook and cranny she could find. This morning we woke up to find puddles of spew right through the house, dripping off the bathroom sink, and she was curled up on the couch covered in diarrhoea - she's five, YUCK. Sigh. I feel suspiciously blah. Of course the trouble with kids is that they've been all over you before you realise they're sick. So I've got this headache. I just popped an anti nausea pill this minute. I can tell I'm a bit unwell so I'll head off the gastric symptoms before they start by taking the pills six hourly today. That's how I handle stomach flu, which with 3 kids is a very common occurrence here and with me being the one who has to clean it up its VERY hard to avoid catching it. I hope you feel better. If you have medication, you still get sick, you'll still feel crappy but it will probably be restricted to the actual fever, aches and diarrhoea and you'll skip the nausea and vomiting, which is better for your band.