Jachut

i just saw an ad for something similar on telly here the other day and thought "about time". I know quite a few normal weight people who cant wear boots! I have the opposite problem, my boots look a bit like I'm playing dress ups in mummy's clothes, lol, because I have skinny calves. I'd love a bit more shape to them actually. We're never happy are we? Yay to sexy boots for women of all sizes!

Hehehe, Juli, this whole marriage, three kids and mortgage disaster gets a bit boring at times.....

Fish oil is a great multi benefit supplement for everyone to take! I buy children's burstlets. They'e about the same size as the capsule and contain the same amount of oil, but its flavoured, you bite the little capsule thing and swallow the oil, you can eat the capsule but I spit it out. I can take big pills though, they dont get stuck, but I've been a gagger all my life, lol. I loathe pills.

What worries me is that he said it. That's what's mean, and that's what indicates problems. I'd suspect a LOT of our partners found us less attractive physically as we got larger. If I'm completely honest, I found DH much more attractive when he was thinner. Physically now he isnt really my "type". But over the 25 years we've been together, I've gotten to love HIM, not what he looks like. I hate the way he dresses too, it drives me mad. He is so conservative and boring. But I would NEVER say that to him. Never. It would hurt him and I wouldnt want to do that and those arent the things about him that are important to me or our relationship anyway. If your husband cant see past that, then that would indicate problems to me. I think counselling is a good idea, to sort through this before it becomes a matter of resentment that will eat away at your relationship. He might not even really feel that way, it might just be a way of striking out if he's feeling threatened or vulnerable.

Oprah's no role mode for health, although she is for other things. She doesnt accept her size. She's been the most public yo yo dieter of all time. She just isnt successful in controlling her weight - that doesnt make her some plus size role model who truly accepts and lives a healthy life at a higher weight. She's as warped in the head as they come over her weight. If she managed to maintain her weight and her health even if that weight was still technically overweight, then she would be a role model for moderate, healthy living and being beautiful and successful no matter what your size. Yo yoing all over the place doesnt spell that for me. It drives me nuts that any overweight celeb is automatically a "role model" for health. First being fat isnt healthy. Second, the fact that they're out there looking great (thanks to their zillions of dollars, stylists, make up artist and hair guys) doesnt change the fact that behind closed doors they're as prone as we are to swallowing boxes of laxatives, getting injections of horse urine, going on crackpot diets and running till they fall of their darn treadmill trying desperately to shed the weight. And in the meantime, they can make themselves feel better by filling their faces with botox and their chests with silicone. Oh, and having the right Chanel bag for the week. How is THAT being a role model"? I feel for Oprah, to have publically espoused that you're anti weight loss surgery and to be as famous as Oprah would mean you cant really go back on your word. Which puts her squarely in the position of a lot of ordinary people, fat without a hope of doing anything about it long term. I agree Mac, if she publically admitted that she was losing this battle, that she wanted to take responsible steps towards her long term health THEN she would be a role model. I dont want to read about her latest diet and exercise regime, how this time she's discovered the secret, knowing that in a year, she's going to have regained it yet again. I dont judge her for that, we've all been through it, I'm just saying she's not really a role model for how to deal with obesity.

I agree Michee. Protein is calories, just like any other food. Protein has similar calories as carbs gram for gram and if you eat too much protein, and that leads to excess calories, it WILL make you fat just like any other food. However you can play around a lot with how much of your daily calorie intake is made up of protein v carbs v fat of course. The way protein damages the kidneys is not by taking 40 grams at a sitting. overtime if you have a very high protein intake (like over 100 grams a day), your body doubles the rate at which it excretes Calcium and THAT can cause kidney stones and gall stones (the calcium based ones) and also if you take in your protein with a lot of animal products and saturated fats you can predispose yourself to gout (nitrates) and heart disease. However, if you take in a lot of manufactured protein (as in soy products) this can have detrimental effects on the hormonal systems of the body, particularly males. Body builders LOOK fantastically healthy. That doesnt mean they are. Big muscles does not equal cardiovascular fitness or health for example. Many body builders cant run around the block and they can have awful blood make-ups. It has to be done right and it doesnt transpose that because you're an average joe, working out four times a week you can go slogging three or four Protein shakes a day and the calories wont add up, or you wont be overdoing the protein. You need "adequate" protein to grow muscles, more doesnt equal bigger muscles necessarily. Moderation is the key. 60 grams a day for a woman is fine, there's absolutely nothing dangerous about that, but it should come from a variety of sources, dont overdo any one food or rely totally on shakes. Protein shakes on top of a normal diet can easily cause weight gain if you're not burning it all off. And protein is not complete nutrition, you also have to remember all the other elements of a healthy diet. But even staunch carb eater that I am, I do have to admit that a high protein Breakfast stops the mid afternoon cravings for sweet carbs So lately, I have been trying to do that. For me, high protein breakfast and high protein lunch = awful awful gas. High protein breakfast and then my normal carb based lunch (like a sandwich including a small serve of protein like chicken or egg) = no naughty treats in the afternoon. dinner for me is usually a protein and veges, I usually cant fit in the starch, but sometiems we do have Pasta.

That's my point though Fairy, do you think that intervention at 3 really would have changed that for you? Or do you think its your body type, and in your genes and that was always going to be your lot? I really think that if a child has weight problems like that then they are going to become obese adults, no doubt about it. We know that for adults, WLS is really the only intervention that works. My guess is that that would be true for those children too. No intervention is going to stop that obesity if its in their genetic make up and to be really obese at eight, I'd guess its an inevitable fact. Around me anyway, there's plenty of slightly overweight kids, which is worrying for their future. But really obese children, its just not that usual. I'd have to guess in Australia that most kids are active and relatively skinny and become fat later, because you just dont see that many really obese children.

I've tried a few, true mineral make up is entirely natural and Revlon and Loreal and the like have ones that are kind of pretend mineral, lol, in that they also contain talc and other chemicals. Truth is, I love the Revlon one! I find real mineral make up very dry and cakey round the eyes (great if you've got no lines probably). But the Revlon one is gorgeous, its so light and looks like no make up. For someone like me who's not a fan of a made up look (unless its for a special occasion) that's perfect. Even complexion but you dont need to draw the rest of your face back on again, which is my complaint with regular foundation, if you wear it, then you HAVE to wear eye make up and lipstick, which I dont generally do on a daily basis.

Biggest factor - its really all that's available here. Very unusual to hear of a bypass, and I certainly dont think at a BMI of 36 I would have been able to get one. Due to the size of my weight problem, I would NEVER have considered something like a bypass, no way was it worth an irreversible change to my body to lose the weight I had to lose. The lapband is pretty simple as far as surgeries go, its reversible, adjustable, I just didnt see it as "drastic" or "dangerous" like many seem to, for my particular problem it seemed sensible. And I must admit, it was very much a cosmetic decision as well as a health one for me. I thought I would be able to eat normally and nobody would need to know and I would have no issues and for the most part that's been the case.

It must be me, but I would refuse to have that sort of accountability to a nutritionist or doctor, it offends me! I am an adult and responsible for my own choices and any type of weight control program which treated me as a child wouldnt get my custom. What are you supposed to do, make perfect choices every day for the rest of your life? I think they need a dose of reality! I bet neither the surgeon or the nutritionist eat perfectly all thetime either. You've lost weight, you've decreased your calories and markedly improved your diet, but you're a human being, not a robot! Sheesh.

Luckily you dont see many fat three year olds yet. I'm not sure. The earlier the better but my guess is that if a child is obese at age 3, then they're going to have a problem for life. Many many people become obese but by far most of them are not obese at 3 years old. Most children eat appropriately if they are fed appropriately and I think with my children, they were at least 10 before their natural body type began to show. I've got 3 kids aged 12, 11 and 5. Eliza it 5 is gorgeously babyishly chubby in that normal healthy way, about average sized. Ewan at 10 was huge as a baby and toddler, a real chubber and is a skinny little kid now. Fraser had a 6 pack at 6 years old and in the last year or two has grown alarmingly big, he's overweight now, and I'm betting he will become obese as an adult. But at 3 you couldnt have foretold that. If a kid is obese at 3 its because they have problems and are probably going to fight obesity for life and it needs more than this type of intervention. Even kids who are fed badly dont usually become fat this early on unless they are severely overfed.

Yep, for sure, at 41. Look, I dont look "perfect". You can tell I've had a couple of babies and lost a fair bit of weight. I'm not the most gorgeous bod on the beach. But nobody has puked yet either. But a bikini actually is more slimming on me than a one piece because I'm a bit long legged/short bodied and the break in the middle and expanse of skin balances me out and it makes my boobs look a LOT better too. But I cant just buy any bikini. It needs to be one cut for a "fuller" figure (at size 10, go figure). But definitely no triangle tops/string sides, ugh.

I had many, but I never reached the restriction many people decide where half a cup of food 3 times a day was right for me. I always ate more. My weight came off pretty steadily, when it started to slow too much it was time for a little fill, but overall, it was slow and steady at a pound a week or a bit less.

Lol, if you tattoo an X eventually it wont be over your port anymore. Hopefully as you lose weight it will be more obvious where it is, I started with a BMI of 36 so there was never any trouble finding mine, doc always got it first go. As you lose fat from your abdomen, it will become much easier to feel and eventually see.

Not so much taste different (well for me anyway) but more that you go off some things. Like pizza still tastes like pizza but when you've eaten it five times and each time was tedious and you had to chew till you nearly fell asleep and it gave you pain and pressue in the chest, and you just didnt really enjoy it that much, the sixth time you'll opt out of pizza. You start to associate certain things with unpleasant experiences and you just dont want them.

Grooming wise, I always looked after myself, hair etc. I went out recently and bought a whole lot of proper running clothes. Not baggy Tshirts and tracksuit pants and not cheap crap from Kmart. Proper stuff, and it makes me feel great and its actually a lot better to run in too.

Yay! Even if it IS a mind thing, the mental side of it is important. I got .2 removed from my 4cc band two months ago because I was unpleasantly tight - not pbing, not in trouble, but not enjoying eating ANYTHING at all and I figured why did I need to be that tight for maintenance. Since then, I've managed not to gain but its been by the skin of my teeth. Who would have believed .2 could make so much difference? I am like a bottomless pit. I'm going back to have .1 put back in next Monday. I just dont like the feeling of not being completely in control that I have with this much capacity. I dont expect to lose, I just think it will control my appetite a little better. A very very very good reminder that yes, I've learned new habits, I eat better, I exercise but I really STILL need that band for portion control. Even though I'm still eating less than a normal person of my size would, I'm struggling not to gain. We just have to accept we cant eat like normal people. We're not weak or failing, we just need to live on less calories than most and its no darn wonder we need a band to achieve that.

I find I can eat spaghetti, but any shaped Pasta like bow ties or penne or rigatone, ugh, lol. I can eat it but it's harder. I dont eat too many pasa dishes that are Protein free - and i try to stay away from creamy sauces too apart from the odd treat if we eat out. Usually we make a good old bolognaise, ground beef, some finely grated zucchini and carrot and lots and lots of tomato sauce so its quite moist. With some parmeson shaved on top, yummy. I tend to go easy on the pasta (probably 1/3 of a cup) and heavier on the sauce. I also LOVE bolognaise sauce on sauteed zucchini ribbons. I actually like it better than pasta.

Dimmie = dim sim. YOu probably call it dim sum. There's the true chinese version and there's the junk food, sitting in the bain marie at the footy club canteen all day made out of lord knows what deep fried version. They're freaking fantastic, lol. But impossible to eat with a lapband. Instant PB, lol.

Gosh, it was so long ago........I think it was as follows 2 days Clear Liquids (surgery day and day after) three weeks liquids, gradually thickening up 2 weeks mushies then onto solids DH got banded in June and only did 2 weeks liquids, same doctor. Pretty standard, I think.

Not usually. The whole point to me is calorie deficit. I might run slightly harder or faster if I snacked but I'm bloody determined and I'm going to finish that 8km anyway so if its slightly harder because I havent eaten, it doesnt really make a difference. Nor do I have anything afterwards unless its mealtime (my usual running time is about 5pm). What's the point of burning off 600 calories and then having a 150 calore Protein shake? At that level of exercise, its tempting to think we're Olympic atheletes, but we're not. We dont need gajillions of grams of protein to recover from an 8km run. When I do really long runs though - like over 12kms, I will take some Endura with me, which is a proper electrolyte repacement drink, not crap like Gatorade. And I might have an energy gel too, which is just glucose. I can feel with those distances that it helps me, that I need the energy and I'm burning off in excess of 1000 calories in those times, so I can afford to have them. I've read and heard thought that people who have skim milk after their session burn much more fat, that its the best recovery food. All that said though, I've never existed on a 800 calorie a day diet, or cut out carbs or anything like that. I've eaten well all the way through, probably about 1500 calories a day on average, including wholegrains, which is plenty to fuel me for normal levels of activity and exercise.

It is a bit confusing. I'm all for no rules and go by feel but that's me, and there's a lot of people out there that would really not be able to handle that. Obviously people's bodies are all different, but the way people talk on here, as if their rules are black and white and the ONLY rules, annoys me a bit, as obviously, that's NOT the case. I mean, I've done no pre op diet, eaten carbs all the way through and never ever been told to focus on Protein. I'm OK, and I've lost weight, so patently, the American way is not the only way. On the other hand, people here lose weight fantastically well so obviously protein first and half cup servings work darn well too. I think there's a few "rules" that have become apparent here over the years though: the pre op diet is for a REASON. Stick to it. Its worth your while. Yes, you will probably cheat. Just get back on the wagon when you do. Most unbanded people way overdo the carbs. You do not need six slices of bread, two cups of Cereal, Pasta and Cookies all in one day. Most people really do need to change their protein/carb ratio. You should not be eating a whole roast chicken three days out from surgery. Follow your routine and take it slowly. It will not kill you. Somewhere around 1000 to 1200 calories a day appears to be ball park for most women. Running an hour a day or going to the gym and lifting does not turn you into an athlete who needs five Protein shakes on top of that. Eat less, move more. It usually works.

Congrats Mac, you seem to have been waiting a long time for this. You'll be a shadow of your former self before you know it!

It will probably pass eventually. Force the Water down and just go with it. Unfortunately my appetite is the same as it ever was, it just takes less at a time to satisfy it.

Lol, I've gotten around this by just obsessing as much as ever over my now (almost nonexistent) faults. Now I worry about my tiny muffin top, my saggy boobs, my old lady ass. I worry about my wrinkles, the bags under my eyes, my grey hairs. It keeps me on my toes, always wanting to improve and believing that once I get those cosmetic fillers, life will be perfect lol. Sigh. then I see a photo or catch a reflection and am blown away. I may not be a supermodel, but sheesh, I look totally and utterly normal. No, better since most 40 year olds I know have had a couple of babies and gone to pot, everyone is overweight these days! There's hardly anyone around my age who looks thin and fit. My problem is I hang with the wrong crowd. Being a university student at 41 means I spend my days with gorgeous 21 year old creatures. I just need to hang around people my own age.