Jachut

That's right, I'm not particularly trying to lose weight anymore so a carb loaded meal a couple of hours before a run works great for me. I've tried the run in the morning on an empty stomach thing and to be honest, I cant run. I run out of steam. I run at about 5pm and I can go twice as far at that time, its a high energy time of day for me and I have plenty of fuel on board for it. So whether you burn more fat or not is kind of irrelevant if you're talking 3 slow kilometres versus 10 later in the day. Whatever works for you! I think we get WAY too tied up in the science of it, especially when personal trainers become invovled. Its pretty simple really, the BEST exercise is the one you will do, the BEST time to exercise is when you can be most consistent about it, the BEST fuel to eat is the one that makes you feel the best. No matter what the studies or trainers say about it. Same as the BEST diet is not high carb or low carb or 1000 calories or 1500, its the one YOU can stick to and live with.

Oh, wow, unkind emails? That's deplorable, I'm really sorry that's happened to you. If people have a view on what you're saying that they think is too abusive to mention to you in public then they shouldnt say it at all. Now, I may be thinking "why would you purposely overeat if you're wanting WLS" and you may not feel the same way as me about it. That's fine, you asked, I gave my opinion. So go ahead and enjoy if that's what you want to do. But dont write off every food based on what other bandsters can and cant eat. I can still eat sushi, really easily. Banding isnt about giving up everything for ever more. And that's FANTASTIC weight loss by the way, really impressive without a band.

I didnt have to do a pre op but I viewed it like this. Once I made that decision to have surgery I had made a life change and I behaved as if I had from that point on. I could not see the point in the whole last supper thing, and I knew I would feel simply awful about myself if I stuffed my face for months and gained weight beforehand. Not that I lived on some perfect diet. I resolved just to be moderate, I wasnt trying to lose weight, but I also didnt want to be shoving in everything I thought I'd never eat again either. So I ate moderately and mostly well, and I had what I fancied within reason but I didnt overindulge in anything. I felt way better about that than I would have felt about going all out on any particular food. I know you're kind of joking but my thoughts are that you'll eat sushi again so why go nuts on it? Have it for sure, but stuffing it in till you cant move? Is that really how you want to go into life changing weight loss surgery?

I dont really think a small indiscretion like that on the preop is much to worry about - I mean its not as if you binged on cake. Just put it behind you and move on. It is really hard, that pre op diet, I'm so glad I didnt have to do one.

Smoking and anaesthesia are a pretty dangerous combination which is why many docs will refuse to do elective surgery on smokers. If you add obesity to the picture, well, I'd want to quite smoking to reduce the risks. You dont strictly *have* to quit forever, just stop for a month or two pre surgery. But really, if you were going to put yourself through that, you'd probably at least try to keep going. Smokers heal slower too due to lack of circulation to the skin. But everyday, smokers have surgery and are absolutely fine because ultimately the risk is down to the combination of factors in YOUR body and is unique to you alone, no doubt you've got other factors that make you less of a risk than other people.

The first 9 months, I think I had about 4 fills, then I had one six months later, then I had one a year after that and again a tiny tiny top up a year later.

That's sliming allright. It is possibly THE most annoying thing about being banded, when it happens its a pain in the ass. For me it rarely goes on to be a PB (and I cant make myself PB) so it goes on for ages, really embarrassing and inconvenient if you happen to be in public. Its not horrendously painful, just damn annoying.

I really think its OK not to "get it". I got that all the time from other people who are the same size I was. I've got friends who are the ame size I was who are perfectly happy with the way they look. I wasnt. Now there's no way to say that without then implying if I thought I was gross at 5ft 10, 240, what on earth must I think of someone who's 400lb? I cant answer that. I was worried about what *I* looked like, not anybody else. I was every bit as out of control with my weight so I really dont judge that. I dont think someone is weaker than I was because they got heavier, but by the same token, that means that I dont necessarily find it any easier to control my weight just because I'm lighter. Its really just a function of when you say "ENOUGH" and do something about it. I'm also lucky to live in Australia and have private health insurance, this was a lot more available to me than it is to a lot of other people.

Oh, yes, that's really what I mean. I dont necessarily tell someone without a weight problem themselves if they ask me how I lost weight. But for other people struggling with their weight, well I remember on the very odd occasion that you'd see someone had actually lost a lot of weight, I'd feel simply terrible about myself thinking "why cant I do that". So if somebody is obviously wanting to know because they also struggle, I tell them.

I told. Well those that are close to me, I told. I just dont see how I could have hidden it or why I would want to. I dont broadcast it in public, but whenever someone asks me how I lost so much weight, I tell them, because I feel quite strongly that I dont want people thinking I'm superhuman and being down on themselves because they cant do what I did. Nowadays, as time has gone by there's more and more people in my life that never knew me fat and I dont mention weight or surgery to them at all.

Well, firstly, its weight gone, and its stayed off so congratulations for that. What do you eat? And what exercise do you do? If you're still having trouble controlling what and how much you eat, do you need more fill? It really does become much easier with good restriction. You've no doubt been given dietary guidelines, but if not, there's any number of ways to skin a cat. Round here, most people do a highish protein/lower carb type diet, in australia, we're told to eat from all food groups, according to the food pyramid, so personally, I eat plenty of wholegrain carbs. You just need to settle on a healthy, moderate, lowish calorie diet. And you really probably need about 40 minutes of cardio (walking, elliptical, bike, swimming, running) about four or five times a week at the very minimum, and if you can add some strength training on top of that, so much the better. It really does take quite a bit of exercise and work for most people to keep the pounds coming off at a good rate. But we ALL need our fills to make it happen. My first port of call would be your doc if you feel your restriction is not optimum. Good luck!

This is an interesting point to ponder. firstly, I'd tried all those things at a BMI of 35. I must have done weight watchers 20 times in my life, I've been on Lite n Easy at least 10, done Jenny Craig, even did Gloria Marshall back in the 80's. Have had countless gym memberships and I think I've started a new diet every single Monday of my entire life. I've tried hypnosis, bought things to sniff off the internet, done it all. I just didnt happen to make it to 300lb before my patience ran out. But its the plastic surgery thing I'd like to examine. I find this one fascinating. So what if people treat it like plastic surgery? A lapband surgery is a hell of a lot less complicated and dangerous than a tummy tuck. Why do we accept people sticking bags of silicone in their chest but think that to have a lapband when you're merely overweight, not unhealthy is way too extreme. What is the difference? How is installing a device and vowing to eat healthy and exercise for the rest of your life "extreme" or "inappropriate" just becuase you've a BMI of 35 but deciding to have lip and breast augmentation is OK? Especially when the lapband also solves a potential health problem at the while and prevents greater obesity in the future Why is it wrong to think about the lapband in a cosmetic surgery light? I actually feel the opposite way round on this one. I was quite comfortable that my decision to have lapband surgery was at least 50% cosmetic because I wanted to look better due to the fact that it was a relatively easy, quick to recover from surgery that would also improve my health greatly and prevent future problems. I've talked about PS, thought about it a bit but the truth is I probably wont do it because I feel that that is a surgery based ONLY on vanity (in my case) and I really cant justify shunting family funds towards it when I only have a little bit of an easily hidden problem. Nor would I undertake the risk of surgery for the size problem I have. To me, in my situation, PS would be a far more gratuitous, unecessary and irresponsible surgery than the lapband was.

Studies have found that the best thing to have after exercise is MILK. It has exactly the right protein/carb ratio for recovery and muscle building and outperforms all the Protein Drinks they tested. I'm remembering here, it was in the news and on telly a few months back, sure if you google, you'll find stuff. Protein drinks before exercise do little for me, I've tried it because when I get up early for a race or fun run, I'm really not able to eat easily first thing in the morning. But protein doesnt give you good running fuel, you need carbs prior to exercise. I do MUCH better on a breakfast of Peanut Butter toast, coffee and a gel (carbs again) right before the race. so after would be my guess, but plain ol milk will probably do the job.

Is that really necessary? Its exactly this kind of passive aggressive nonsense that riled me so much that I was moved to start another thread retaliating and look where THAT ended up. I was wrong to start that thread but there is NOTHING more anoying than someone using that sweet tone with you whilst throwing down the gauntlet in a veiled way, particularly when they're trying to show you up in public. Anyway, so what? She may have said it, thought about it and then wanted to explore it further in order to understand it better. I dont see that she has to be accountable for anything. But thanks for calling it all to our attention. Do we really have to only stick to a list of politically correct topics around here in order to avoid argument? Can we really not accept that some people have opinions and they may not even be particularly nice ones, we can argue about them, debate them, even get hot under the collar. But must we continue to do this I'm smiling while I sink the knife stuff? THAT's what makes it get personal, not disagreement in general. There was no reason to say that other than to try to embarrass the OP.

I love it but unfortunately cant really risk anything like that with my back. Running is relatively safe, its simple, the same movement over and over again, in the one plane. I get sore from doing a lot of it but if I do things like tae bo, lots of twising or rotational movements I can guarantee I'll be injured and not exercising for two or three weeks. I couldnt even handle curves, it took me months to recover, lol.

That was my thinking too. Its the maintenance stage that I think my band for. On the 60 minutes program that I mentioned above, they spoke to a weight watchers leader, a lady who'd lost like 100lb and kept it off. She was mouthing off about how WLS is too extreme and you just need to eat less and move more. Its exactly the advice I always give on here, only difference here everyone has a lapband to help them. Statistically it is PROVEN that WW, Jenny Craig, none of it works if you've more than 50lb to lose, its only about 1% of people who actually lose weight and keep it off. It is a senseless, endless losing battle, you wont win it. Everyone can eat less and move more for long enough to lose some weight, hardly anyone can keep it going long enough to maintain that loss.

See that swimsuit in my avatar. It was $150 in Byron Bay last year, and yeah, Aussie Dollars and US Dollars nearly have parity at the moment, so its about $150 US as well. And the bloody thing doesnt FIT me. I cant fill out the top anymore waaaaaaaaaaaaah. I just went out and bought some swimsuit shapers - little foam pads that you put at the sides of your boobs to push them up and together. It adds a cup size. I've dropped the top down at the fix everything from hems to buttons place ot have them sewn in as I need it this weekend. Tits look AWESOME with them in, but sheesh, not filling out a swimsuit top is a bit sad. It was a D+ cup sized top, I never thought I'd see the day when I was smaller than that.

well, stiffness from exercise I would ignore and not take any medication for. But I do get very bad backpain at times and the only thing that really helps is a dose of nurofen which is ibuprofen. My doc has OK'd it occasionally. I usually need 2 tablets and that'll be it, its enough to break the inflammation cycle and if I need more pain relief a couple of panadol (paracetamol) will suffice after that. That's usually at period time, the backpain and cramps go hand in hand. I certainly wouldnt be popping ibuprofen on anything like a regular or even semi regular basis. Its not good for non banded people either.

No, its not bad, lol. But sometimes I think you have more "right" to say it at 400lb than I did at 245. Because so many people would just love to get to 245 and here I am saying that I looked disgusting, it does stick in people's craw a bit. But I had nothing else to compare it to you know? It was the fattest I'd ever been, so I felt terrible - no energy, slow, heavy, lethargic. And I felt I looked terrible because I'd never looked heavier than that. To see someone go from 400 to 245, well we'd all be saying "you look fantastic" and truly meaning it. Because its all in the comparison. To me, I'd never weighed more, so for me it WAS rock bottom. But its very hard to say it in a diplomatic way.

I *LOVE* the chance to answer these ones becuase sometimes it doesnt get well received unless its specifically asked. I eat absolutely like a normal person. Absolutely. This morning I had some oatmeal with half a banana and a piece of toast with Peanut Butter for Breakfast. I'm planning some baked Beans on toast for lunch. dinner tonight is going to be a nice thai chicken curry that I made yesterday. With rice, but I struggle with rice in the evening. I eat about 1500 calories a day.I like a glass of wine with my dinner. When I eat out, I enjoy it, have a drink or two, order what I want and stop when I'm full -usually 1/3 of the meal, sigh, but oh, well. I sometimes order dessert just so I can have a bite of it. I dont count calories or Protein at all. I run for about an hour four to five days a week. That's it. Its a completely normal life very like that some of my friends live. Only they werent born with a huge appetite that had to be culled. But what I eat, how much I eat never occasions any comment. Apart from when I really cant join in at Mcdonalds or wherever, I just cant choke a burger down for love nor money. There's two things I believe help 1. dont be too tight. Allow enough room to eat fibrous healthy food that satisfy you and accept that that may mean you need a bit of willpower in between meals or whatever. 2. exercise as much as you reasonably can as that allows you to eat more normally and still lose weight.

Well its not a pound weight as such, more so BMI because 200 is very overweight for some and not so much for others. From a personal point of view, I got banded at a BMI of 35, maybe 36. I had no real comorbidities - well I had a bad ankle which has since been fixed, but no high blood pressure, no diabetes, no sleep apnoea, I was really very healthy. However, I felt I'd begun the fat cycle. At the risk of inciting riot yet again, I felt disgusting at that weight, I looked awful, bloated and unhealthy, I couldnt buy anything I actually wanted to wear and as most of us here would know, once you start down that road, you get too fat and unfit to be active, you spend more and more time on the couch, and its just a vicious spiral into true obesity. I figured why wait till I DID have problems? I wanted to nip it in the bud. I'm saved the health care system in Australia potentially tens of thousands of dollars that would have had to be spent on my in the future when I was diabetic, on blood pressure medication, in and out of hospital with heart scares, all the things that happen to obese people who make it into old age. There was a story on Sixty Minutes here last night about Bruce Venables, an Australian actor, who was having a lapband put in. He became "not diabetic" 48 hours after the surgery. Prof. Paul O'Brien has pioneered a world first study of banded people in which 1 in 10 of the medicated people in the study cured their diabetes with diet, exercise and medication and virtually ALL of the banded people had complete remission. Its in the news here, its remarkable and they truly dont know why yet. But the money that saves the public purse is incredible, its gajillions of dollars if we can cure/prevent obesity. I fell sort of halfway - yes, I was obese but it was mainly a preventative measure for me. However for me it was truly a cosmetic thing too, I really wasnt happy with the way I looked and what being so fat said about me, and I cured it the most practical way I could see. And I really truly do NOT believe that is any more drastic that someone going and getting breast implants, a face lift and a bit of lipo - the surgery is no more risky AND it improves my long term health to boot, whereas cosmetic surgery is just that - cosmetic. So if people can then defend it by saying how much better it makes them feel about themselves, why is a lapband any different - obviously whether the public system pays for that or whether it should be self funded in those circumstances is another debate but I'd be quite happy to have to pay for mine, whereas someone with a BMI of 48 got theirs funded publically, I think that's entirely fair. Overall though, I think in Australia, it shoudl be widely available to people, not just those that can afford to go through the private system. Its largely funded by medicare, so anyone technically can get it done, but its mainly done by people working in the private system so in private hospitals etc. Anyway, I dont really care, lol. I did what was best for ME, and I know I couldnt have beaten this weight problem on my own.

Mine does that. Two weeks ago I was so restricted that for the first time in 3 years I was considering an unfill. Today I've just eaten oatmeal with half a banana AND a piece of toast for Breakfast, and not even with major effort to get it down. The tighter my band has got, the more noticeable these swings are, for me, they're related to my cycle, but I've got 3.2cc in a 4cc band now. To be able to eat what I just did with that much in is a little unusual but to be honest, apart from at brief periods during the month, I've NEVER had the type of restriction that others talk about. I've always been a "big eater" if you could call a healthy breakfast a pig out. The way I've handled this is: I do eat carbs, wholegrain carbs as they provide the bulk that I still seem to need. They're the only foodsthat make my band work like it should, Protein doesnt really do that for me. I'm also loose in the morning, tight at night (the opposite of most bandsters) which is just darn good luck really as you burn off what you eat earlier in the day. Lucky also that a lot of junk foods like pizza and McDonalds just plain wont go down for me, so I dont eat them. I just have to use willpower to stay away from chocolate and Cookies, lol. I exercise quite a lot, an hour of running four or times a week. That makes up for the fact that I cant seem to find that half cup sweet spot. As I've lost 120% of my excess weight, I dont think that matters! I dont snack. 3 meals a day works the best for me, once I start snacking, I keep picking, it just sets me off.

Start today, right now. what are your daily habits? Do you exercise, are you trying to watch what you eat as well as how much? It could be as simple as needing more fill, till then, you do have to sometimes struggle with the hunger. But you know, with a band, all those dieting "tactics" we all did so secretively actually work. Eat an apple before your meal. Fill your plate with loads of steamed veges. Fill your stomach with low calorie, low fat stuff like that (as well as your protein) before you even think about the sweet stuff or the chips or whatever. Dont drink calories. Whether your band is working to its optimal capacity or not, you have to fight those things. I have to, you have to, we all do. It can take several fills before it really becomes easier, so do hang in there. The band isnt magic and people are OFTEN surprised at how mcuh work they have to put into it. Most of us are in that stage of just wanting to hand over responsibility when we turn up for that first surgeon's appointment. We wouldnt be human if we didnt secretly think the band was going to make it really really easy. It doesnt but it becomes a hard that we CAN do and as you get to a better level of restriction with more fills it does become more automatic. After about a year too, I found my habits and tastes had changed. You must exercise too though if you're not already.

As it was explained to me, its sometimes possible to fall pregnant quite quickly with your tubes tied if you have it done after a birth like I did. apparently with all the major healing going on in there, its not impossible for the tubes to heal up too. Which is why mine are clipped, tied AND diathermied. After that, pregnancy can be risky due to a very increased chance of ectopic pregnancy. Doing anything to the fallopian tubes can damage the little cillia in them that move the egg along and that's why the increased risk of ectopic pregnancy. But you'll definitely need surgery to un-tie your tubes. Good luck, its been done and the thing is, everything is still there, so even if the worst case scenario were to happen and you need to bring sperm and egg together outside your body due to your tubes, you've got a good chance of that being very successful as you're young, dont have fertility problems etc.