Jachut

Not at all. I wasnt overweight all my life, I always tended to be heavyish, with a BMI of about 27, 28, but not really fat. As a teen I was active and as a young adult working, I stayed a reasonable weight. Nonetheless my weight was always a concern but not a real problem. Anyhow, after I had my second baby I started to pile it on. I was a sahm, my days would consist of plenty of social contact with my friends, but also a lot of windowshopping, treating myself to cappucino's and cakes, only to head home to watch TV shows I'd taped at night while the kids slept, more biscuits, coffees, etc while I sat on the couch, not a lot in the way of housework got done besides the basics, erk, not a very exciting life. Was looking forward to returning to work and routine and structure when my youngest started school, but fell pregnant again. This time there was the internet, sitting on my butt half the day on the computer, the same routine of shopping and eating, punctuated this time by school drop offs and pick ups, I just got fat and unfit and too lazy to do anything about it. When I hit 240lb I knew I was in trouble, that my lifestyle was not doing me any favours. When I looked at myself, I realise I would have described anyone else behaving like me as fat and lazy, someone who deserved the weight problem they had. That's because I knew it was my choice, I could spend the morning eating crap at the mall and spending money I didnt have or I could spend the morning at the gym! So I changed. I changed because I knew I was better than that and didnt want to become really obese. I knew I still had a window to get out of it with relative ease, so I took it because I cared. Self loathing *might* have come had I allowed mysel to get heavier and heavier. I was still always a confident, basically happy person, but there was an element of my daily behaviour that wasnt making me feel great about myself and I decided to change it. I was frustrated by the way I looked and had to dress but basically I hate the thought of acting like a fat housewife watching soaps all day. I had more brains than that! I like myself lots better since I also decided that I would keep my house a lot better, I was never a complete pig but to have 3 weeks ironing piled up wasnt unusual. At the same time as I lost weight, I decided to fight my basic personality flaw of being chronically disorganised. Now I'm not. So whilst there was something about myself I wanted to change, it was not self loathing, not at all. Wanting to make the most of yourself is called self RESPECT! Its an important distinction to make, it wasnt ME I didnt like, it was my BEHAVIOUR!

I probably wouldnt do it. My DH wants me to be a speaker at my surgeon's info nights, when I went to DH's appointment with him, the surgeon sort of half offered it to me and mentioned that I would be paid. That's all that DH wants to hear, for him to say its a good idea. I have decided not to though. Unfortunately I feel that having been successful with a band, lost a lot of weight makes me a target for negtative remarks. Especially because I did it by running a lot. People seem to assume that becuase I can run, I'm somehow different to them, that it was easier for me. The think I never had to learn to run, never had to bust my ass to get fit enough to run, that I could just do it and therefore losign weight was easy, I had a surgery I didnt really need and that I should shut the hell up becuase what do I really know about being fat. It happens all the time. I dont want to get up in front of a room full of people who are ten times fatter than I was and pretend that I know what that is like, nor do I want to hear about how I'm somehow special and it was easy so my journey doesnt count. DH thinks I'm crazy becuause there's a little money involved.

I agree with Kat, you want to know the surgeon is a competent surgeon, but they are not exactly offering you a work of art, its a functional panniculectomy. You're looking at a big change, which you can always fine tune later on I would assume, and one would think, all risks of surgergies aside, a panniculectomy is not the most complex or difficult of procedures, you're going to be opened up anyway and I would guess you've got your bowel surgeon's choice of anaesthetist etc. I would think as long as the surgeon has a reasonably good reputation, and your bowel surgeon is happy to work with him, then I'd feel comfortable, I just wouldnt be expecting anything more than a lot of belly gone. That's going to give you a huge boost for the rest of your journey, it will be so much more comfortable. Good luck with it, that's a lot to get fixed up at once, but its a good opportunity for you too.

Lol, the exact same thing happened to DH as I was driving him home from the hospital.

Well, I dont think its mutually exclusive, but most of us will never be the perfect weight or have the perfect look so if your self esteem is based entirely on that you're in trouble. I get my self esteem from doing the most I can with what I have, not by comparing myself to some celebrity that I'm supposed to look like. Its why I can never understand those "role model" debates. They are them, I am me, I dont feel a need to look like someone else. Fat or thin, I like myself in many ways that have nothing to do with my looks. But yes, I feel better about myself for having gotten through a tough journey like this and knowing I've done the best I could for my health and that I also look my best. I didnt feel bad about being fat because I looked bad, I felt bad because of what it said about me, lazy, unmotivated, careless. It may not be true about every fat person, but I was fat because I was acting like a fat slob.

I would start with the simple things like doing the laundry. Just try to make your day as active as possible around the house, and resolve to spend much less time simply sitting. The challenges must be enormous, the emotional journey foreign to many of us, but the physical facts remain the same - push your body just a bit harder than it wants to go and it will respond by getting fitter. We all have to do that. It doesnt have to be so hard that it almost kills you. Worry about walking, swimming and such when you've gotten into better shape.

Oh, I can. But I do the smoothie thing for breakfast to get my fruit in. I can eat in the morning, but I think dairy/fruit/protein/grain is probably a better option than white toast, lol. And I really struggle with fruit, its harder than bread for me. Drinking breakfast makes sense in other ways too. I try to remember to throw linseeds in as well, and break my fish oil capsules into it so I dont have to swallow them. And In addition, I can carry it round and sip for half an hour whilst I dry my hair, make the beds, make the kids lunches. Otherwise I just tend to not eat breakfast due to lack of time.

The fact is you can be lucky in pregnancy too. What is your basic body shape?. I'm tall, and with care during my pregnancies, I did not gain lots of weight, um, I think 20lb for my first, about 25lb for my second and 10lb for my third. Being tall and having nicely sizede 7 to 8lb babies, I didnt get big during pregnancy. I got no stretch marks from pregnancy. I have stomach muscles that are rock hard now, I never got any muscle separation and although I have a little bit of looshish skin courtesy of the weight loss, my stomach is flat as a board. I know someone who had a full tummy tuck prior to pregnancy and it still looks fine afterwards - like most women, she doesnt quite have the stomach she did before pregnancy, it stretched out a little, got a few stretchmarks etc but in no way was the work "undone". There is no reason to totally let yourself go in pregnancy, if you're little and you have a big baby, you cant do a lot about that, and you cant help the way you carry. But without the massive weight gain that really isnt necessary for you OR the baby, you dont have to do too much damage. If I were you and unsure whether it would happen, or when, then I would go for the stomach I want NOW. With your band and your new habits, you wont pile it on in pregnancy if you're careful.

Lol, I'm firmly in the tell it like it is camp. I was FAT. But I quite like "fluffy". Some women, despite being heavy, are very feminine, attractive, heck, they can be gorgeous. I have a girlfriend like that and the word "fat" doesnt suit her because it does connote uggliness. Fluffy is perfect for her. But me, I was fat. Or maybe hefty.

Its hard but I do it anyway. I have no discipline regarding getting up in the morning to do it, that will never be me, lol. I need to be up an hour before I can even think about it and on an average day I'd need to be out running by 5.30 am, there's just no way I'd be getting up that early. So even though I feel tired at night, I just bloody well do it. And over time, the more you exercise, the less tired you will be at night. I'm virtually never too tired now, the only times I am is when I've had a physically exhausting day and have already done lots of calorie burning. On those nights, I'd get on the treadmill for a walk for half an hour. Never fails to get rid of that exhaustion.

In my experience, men and stinky poop go hand in hand.

I really have trouble with fruit these days and truth be told, whilst I've never actively disliked it, its just not one of those things I'd choose to eat if there's any other alternative. I do a lot of smoothies for Breakfast. I wont do Protein shakes (digusting, yuck!) but I do make banana and berrie smoothies with skim milk and yogurt and a weetbix in them, there's protein, dairy, fruit, and grains all in one glass! I have one five mornings out of seven and can then forget about fruit for the rest of the day. On the days I dont have this for breaky, I definitely make myself eat a piece sometime through the day, usually mid morning. I eat more in summer when the stone fruits are out, but last time I tried to eat a peach, I couldnt finish it even in an hour, really really really hard to eat.

BBK I had a .1 fill about five or six weeks ago now for exactly the same reasons, I wasnt feeling quite as much in control, eating more, hungry sooner. I didnt want to lose any more weight and I havent, but my band is doing its job just that bit better again, which of course means I can do MY part just that bit better.

The only tampons I ever had trouble with were Tampax with applicators. Those applicators complicate something so simple! I don think they're even on the market here now. Stupid things, mustve been a man that designed them.

Who knows what weight loss does. I only know that both my sisters are seriously afflicted with endo, one has had 15 laparoscopies and is infertile, my mum had it and had a total hysterectomy at 35, and I seemed to get off scot free. I fell pregnant the instant I wanted to and even without trying to the third time! I had painful periods when I was a teen, but outgrew it and after having my first bub at 28, had over 10 years of symptom free, pain free, PMS free periods. Like clockwork 3 days of light bleeding, over for another 28 days. Since losing weight my periods have become more and more painful, more and more PMS, and I have begun having exruciating bowel episodes during and before them - seriously worse than labour pains. Also, coincidentally since being banded I developed sciatic problems, which do not involve typical sciatic symptoms such as shooting pain down the leg but a constant hotness, ache and heaviness of my right leg, with a hotness in my right buttock. Its been masked by some gait problems I have which cause pain in my right heel, and I do get occasional sciatic flare ups as most people will if they overdo things but this constant low grade discomfort for 2 solid years, every second of every day has driven me mental. I'm beginning to feel like the sufferers of diseases like fibromyalgia must, with nobody giving credence to their symptons and writing them off as hypochondriacs. I have spent thousands on physios, chiropractors and acupuncture, the acupuncture has cured my heel but done nothign for my leg. FINALLY, an answer though, maybe. My gynae says its almost 100% certain I have endometriosis, and he believes it has escaped my pelvic cavity and is causing problems on and around my sciatic nerve. I've got to have a laparoscopy later this year (when I have time) and am off for an MRI next week. I cant believe I'm saying so but I actually HOPE its there, because I just want this backpain solved. I'm not thinking WHAT might be done to solve it at this point. None of this affected me when I was fat, its all happened suddenly since I lost weight, and my gynae agreed that weight loss can cause great hormonal changes and turmoil.

I think even thin people need good undergarments! So many people could look so much better without bits of flab showing. I dont really like the panty style ones though, I find that since I am a bit "fleshy", I dont have a lot of loose skin but my skin is softer and looser than it otherwise would have been, I suffer a lot from VPL, lol. Any type of spanx garment makes visible marks wherever it ends, even if its a bike short style, and it looks stupid under any pants. Instead, if I want to wear a really fitted top, I've become addicted to the singlets/camisoles they sell. It hides the dent round my navel and my little lovehandles well without biting into my flabby bum! I find this much better for midriff smoothing than any type of high waisted undies. Now if its bum smoothing you need, I prefer control top pantyhose for that, even if I chop the legs off (since I hate wearing control top pantyhose). That avoids the visible leg marks. I have a couple of spanx style slips but they're for under the one or two slinky dresses I have.

The fact is that as a formerly obese person, for reasons unknown (as explained by my surgeon) you will probably never be able to eat what a person who's always been normal weight can and stay at your goal. I need my band to maintain, more so than I needed it to lose I think. I eat about 1500 calories a day. Which is not a lot for a 152lb woman who runs an hour a day, its certainly not bad, but most women of this weight can eat more than that. What I found was my weight loss gradually petered out, and stopped here. Its really hard to stop though. Its hard to jsut switch it off, and I still have quite generous thighs and behind, I keep thinking I want to get down another 14lb or so, but at 5ft 10, its not really realistic. What happens is that I try hard, keep dropping to 148 or so and then back it goes overnight to 152. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that this is my weight, its where it wants to stay. The types of lifestyle changes i would have to make to weigh less would be too restrictive long term - I mean I already eat well and exercise lots. But I've never NOT been on a diet!

Very occasionally, usually just pre period, when something is really uncomfortable to eat (rice, pasta usually) I may eat it standing up. And instinctively the first thing I do when I get stuck is get up and walk around.

You dont *have* to take chewables, I can swallow big pills but I take chewables because I really loathe taking big Vitamin pills. they dont block my stoma but I gag and regurgitate them anyway, I"m a huge baby. I take 2 kids chewables, a chewable iron/folate supplement, and 2 enormous fish oil capsules. I hate the fish oil ones, when they're all taken I'm definitely going to a liquid supplement for that too. I keep all mine on the bathroom sink, so when I'm up there with my coffee doing my hair, I take them. Works much better for me than them being in the kitchen - I'll be there for 2 minutes or so so dont have to shove them down fast, I can take one at a time.

My DH got banded 6th June, 2 and a half years after me, so technically we've not done it together, but both of us are bandsters now.

The few days before my period are the only times I ever PB. It happened on Saturday, its always my trigger to think "4 weeks already?" and sure enough, on Monday AF arrived.

That looks a bit different, that looks worth trying! That is a lot more like a diaphragm, the keeper and mooncup sit lower and consequently are much more rigid, which is why they hurt me. thanks, I'm going to try these.

Menstrual Items - Cloth Menstral Pads - Fuzzi Bunz, bumGenius, Ergo Baby Carriers and Bravado Nursing Bras= They're all over the internet but I bought mine here several years back, when I was into cloth diapering my daughter. I loved both Happy Heiny's and Fuzzibunz for her, so that's what I have. The Fuzzibunz (Mother of Eden) ones are the best I think. The mooncup or keeper are a small silicone cup that you insert rather like a diaphragm, but the rim is more rigid than a diaphragm and it really hurts me, I get terrible cramps from it. It collects your flow inside and you empty it, suprisingly it is easy to do without mess. They have a stalk instead if a string for retrieval which I found incredibly irritating, many people cut them off. So its the conveince of a tampon but reusable.

I took about 3 or 4 days to feel normal, I could have coped with working short days by that time - non physical work of course. I didnt have to as I'm a student and stay at home mother. So I got oh, 2 hours to relax, lol. I had a 2 year old to look after and coped fine. I needed a bit of an afternoon nap though, and no lifting. DH was banded on the 6th and went back to work today - with the two weekends it was nine days at home. He's more than ready to be back at work, could easily have been back after about five days I'd say, was working from home.

It usually creeps up on me. Sometimes I know right away but often it takes 10 minutes until whatever it is tries to pass through the stoma. But usually its a quicker process, not immediate but maybe 2 - 3 minutes, and its always from eating too fast. If I'm actually going to PB it takes longer, about 20 minutes 0of sliming an discomfort, even more, and when its about to happen, I get a hot flush, a burst of saliva and a strong pain in the stomach, exactly like when you're going to vomit, only the PB is nowhere near as unpleasant as an honest to goodness chunder. I wish it was just quick, I could cope with that, but i fear it happening in public more than anything because I will be behind a toilet door for half an hour, and its incredibly LOUD! I envy people who can think uh oh, I'm stuck and go and relieve themselves right away. I cant seem to do it without everyone in a five mile radius knowing I'm in trouble and deciding I'm bulimic. Just an aside: I said in another post, I dont often PB, I can get VERY stuck and it wont come up. I mentioned I was going to try a drink of Water on top to try the help it along. I tried that Saturday night, I will NEVER do that again. I'm not a panicky person but I honestly thought I was going to choke, the pressure in my chest was incredible, I couldnt breathe. Got my period today, I only EVER PB right beforehand.