Jachut

I dont know really, I just went out and walked the day after surgery and whilst I was less energetic than usual I managed 3kms. I did it every day.After about three months, I tried running, I ran 3kms and never looked back.I entered races to give myself distances to train for, to keep me motivated. I wasnt *that* unfit I guess. I had a BMI of 35 when I was banded, I've always been pretty athletic and never gave up exercising completely, so it was relatively easy for me. Now I'm absolutely hooked on running, I love it, so I dont have any problems with motivation.

I didnt, I hated photos of myself! But I wish I had if only to show people here. I can post afters but nobody knows what I looked like before.

Precisely. I have the cardiovascular fitness to run a half marathon tomorrow. I can run for an hour solidly at about 10-11kms per hour speedwise, talking the whole way and barely getting my heart rate over the 120-130 bpm level. So I'm fit. But I just plain run out of steam, about an hour seems to be my limit. I can push past it with pure willpower, but it takes me days to recover. Fuel is definitely the answer to it, and actually my fill doctor (who is a sports medicine specialist) told me this would probably happen if I wanted to do a half.

This is a real issue for me and as I'm really now moving on to focus on my running and not weight loss anymore, I'm seriously thinking of having some fill removed in the next few weeks so I can gear up for a half marathon. At the moment, I rely on isotonic drinks and energy gels during my long runs, and they really make a difference, I find it hard becuase I cant help feeling its a shame to ingest calories during exercise (want maximum deficit) but I dont need to lose weigh so why? I'm really noticing a difference with these products. The drink I buy has loads of magnesium and that I find is really key for muscular endurance - Powerade and gatorade and crap like that dont cut it, you need a professional product. I eat carbs. I try to load them in. I eat complex carbs for Breakfast (oatmeal, wholegrain cereal), I try to eat a sandwich for lunch and I often eat Pasta, but will always have some rice or potato with dinner. High Protein low carb will do you absolutely no favours as a runner. I'm lucky that I can get those foods in, but its bloody hard work. Yet it's what keeps my weight down because to be honest, its complex carbs that make my band work right (fill me and keep me full) and not really protein. Hard protein like meat for me is just so hard to eat that I eat such a tiny meal that although it gives me a full feeling quickly, it doesnt stay with me, I'm starving in an hour. Carbs on the other hand give me that slow energy release - note good carbs NOT sugary ones. I supplement Iron too as I find I get very low on that. But even with all of that, I think if I'm going to regularly run more than 10K, I need more food in total and will have to think about an unfill.

Thanks! Yeah, I quite like the Gu. The Endura, when made up in 200ml is 90 calories, my bottle holds 500 ml (so I make 400). Really, if you're running 10K what the hell does 180 calories matter? Yet I worry about that! And still come home and have a glass of wine or two over the course of the evening. She, my carbo loading takes days too! We went out for a Pasta pig out the night before the race last weekend and I ate about 10 strands of fettucine!

As the weight loss sort of slowed and I needed to be tighter, the pb's and sliming did start but they are NOT a part of my daily, or even weekly existence. They're very few and far between. You are indeed normal and probably a tad lucky. My early journey for the first year was just like that, I hardly needed any fill and I lost weight steadily (albeit a bit slower than others). Enjoy it! You can always get a fill when you need it and yes, that may bring on a few episodes but they dont need to happen frequently!

I've got another 10k on the 27th, I'm pretty sure I can come in under an hour. I really find a problem with fuelling myself for running with a lapband. I really probably need to ditch the weight loss mentality now and realise that I'm in maintenance and dont need to lose anymore. I could probably have a bit of fill out so I can eat more bread and things like that. As it is I invested in some Endura and some gels, and that REALLY makes a difference (forgot to take them to the goldcoast, der). If I dont hit the wall at about 7ks or so which I tend to do and then slow down markedly, I'm sure I can come in at 50 something minutes. Doing the half is really going to take some fancy footwork nutritionwise.

Well, you're right, that's a GREAT accomplishment. If you can do that well with your band not working properly, then you're going to do great when its all fixed up. What a pain for you though, I'd go out and kick something (soft!). I guess there's a bright side in that this is a completely fixable problem, there's no damage to your stomach and it should be good to go for rebanding.

Yay, the photos are in. Here's the link Marathon-Photos.com ALWAYS FIRST IN RACE PHOTOGRAPHY Darnit, would you believe I missed Pamela Anderson's arrival on the goldcoast by about 3 days Now I need to adjust to running in the cold and rain! It'd freeze your tits off in Melbourne at the moment. Was looking at a parka thing in Snowgum, it was really fitted (dont like running in baggy clothes) but at $179 Im worried that it will be too hot and a waste of money.

Its just that its not actually a particularly invasive or dangerous surgery and it doesnt reroute your insides, so really, compared to a silly 18 year old getting into debt for a nice pair of boobies before she's even begun her career, its not such a terrible option for someone who's healthy but doesnt like the way they look. You have to draw the line somewhere though,that's the problem. But 30lb can turn into 50 which can turn into 100......

Those sound like good options if you have a cooler to take them in. You could also take fruit, yogurt, cheese and crackers and salads in a cooler. I can eat bread still! So I can always take a sandwich. But I dont eat the crusts anymore, lol. I usually elect to pack some sort of crispbread with something like vegemite (I'm an Aussie!) or Peanut Butter or cheese and some fruit. Its easy, quick and quite filling and doesnt go too yuck out of the fridge.

I think err or the side of caution but that said, I was walking the day after surgery and walking really hard and fast by 2 weeks. DH was about the same, he's 4 weeks now and has started jogging on the treadmill for a couple of kilometres.

I just dont get the aggro over this. I had no real health problems when I was banded, I was a bmi of 36. I will be the first to admit it was very much a cosmetic decision for me, I hated the way I looked and wanted to improve it. We've had this discussion in another thread, and I think I expressed the view there that why is banding so different from getting fake tits or sucking bits of your fat out? We all condone that, or at least understand it so what is so darn wrong about getting banded to lose weight to look better. Of course our health is also at stake and we would all like to improve it or at the very least prevent future problems. The best thing I got out of all this is becoming a runner, its a joy in my life. But I look much better than I did and that was probably 80% of my motivation. Why is it OK to have a facelift but not get a lapband? In my view, facelifts dont do an awful lot to improve your health or extend your life! If I'd been brave enough I would have asked, but I wasnt. But I certainly wanted to see people in swimsuits and I wanted to see what the scarring was like. It was a big concern to me.

100 grams a day is getting into the danger zone. At that rate, the amount of Calcium extreted by your body will just about have doubled and you're risking your kidneys and bone health. There is no reason why you need that much Protein. A diet that high in protein DOES help some people shed weight fast but its not necessarily healthy for your body overall. Now I'll get caned, lol. But really 100 grams plus is a bit much for the average female. That calculation by the way should be per kg of IDEAL body weight, not obese body weight. All that extra fat is not particularly metabolically active and no matter what you do, you will not keep the levels of muscle you have currently for carrying your heavy body around. You will lose some muscle tissue and that's normal, but you want to minimise that.

Congrats! I found it easy and very quick to recover from too. But dont be suprised if the doomsayers descend on this thread telling you how the honeymoon phase is bound to end. it doesnt always. It never did for me. Hope its the same for you.

I've really found it very easy and definitely my easiest ever attempt at weight loss. Its been automatic for the most part and Ive kept it coming off with the amount of running I do, also easy because I really love running. so yeah, easy. Hard work, yes, but I never really faltered kind of easy. Whilst I certainly DID significantly change habits and atittudes and lifestyle (which lead to weight loss) I didnt find that hard because I was just so ready to do that.

I dont find it odd, I wanted to SEE results when I was researching. I'm sorry I dont have any befores, all my before pics are non-digital and I dont have a scanner. Here's my avatar pic in bigger size. For reference, I was probably just a tad bigger than you are in your swimsuit shot that you've posted. I had a BMI of about 36, I was pudgy, wobbly and well rounded but not massively obese.

this is my tummy 2 and a half years out. I scar moderately, meaning I get a zit and it takes about six months for the red mark to go away, I have fair skin and scars show. Still I'm not too unhappy with the way mine have ended up, pretty good trade off. DH was banded 4 weeks ago and his already look like mine, but he wont let me post his gut on the net, lol. sorry its huge, but you need it to be to be able to see the scars

I dont use Protein shakes! Never have. I have hair, fingernails and lost weight without losing all my muscle. I dont buy them ever. I take a Multivitamin everyday.

Its a lot to do with how you dress and present yourself too and many overweight people look a lot frumpier than they would otherwise choose too simply because of the lack of choice. I know I did, I had to dress like someone's grandma! Now, people cant tell which of the three of us (my sisters and I) is the oldest (I am)! I definitely look older in the face for having lost weight, the fat plumped me out a bit, but overall my general persona is way younger, people think I'm between 30 and 35 generally!

I dont know where you got 75% from, that's not correct. Do you really think they'd even be doing a surgery that likely to fail? That wouldnt meet any sort of regulation!

I've got loads of those undies (they dont give you VPL). I may be thin, but I dont look like that in them, lol! My saggy old ass has never been my best feature. I'd really like a bikini with boy short bottoms but in truth, they just emphasise the width of my bottom and thighs - I disappear from front to back but am wide from side to side!

Wow, that's a blast from the past! Glad to hear you're still healthy and happy.

I had GREAT restriction till my first fill, I didnt even really need the first fill. I lost tons of weight right after surgery. Later on however, I was more open with fill in the band than I had previously been with the band unfilled. So my restriction was definitely due to post op swelling. I have no idea what I would be like with an unfilled band now.

I'd do my own thing. I think what you eat and what makes you feel good is a personal thing and not a one size fits all. For example, if I were told to do low carb, I would not do it. I live on complex carbs, grains, bread etc as the main part of my diet and it makes me feel good and run well. I eat enough Protein but dont focus on it. Luckily that's in line with how we are told to eat in Australia, but if I were in America and told to do the low fat/sugar substitute/high protein thing, I would NOT do it and I wold probably just lie about it rather than argue. I know better than anyone what makes me feel good and I figure there's no scientific consensus yet anyway on what is definitively the best diet, and probably never will be, so I do my own thing.