Jachut

Well, see I wouldnt call you a hater. That's a genuine problem. And I'm perfectly aware of the fact that that could happen to me. Its a bit naive to insist everything about the band is all wonderful and there's no risk involved. I fully expect to have my band replaced in my lifetime, for instance. The band DOES have problems that other surgeries dont.

Good on you grace, I would offer but I suspect my no bullshit approach to exercise and weight loss would be a little harsh for a few people, lol. And if you talk to me about Protein shakes, I'll cyberslap you! On the whole, its probably best if I keep my weight loss secrets tomyself.

You can also experience hair loss due to lack of iron, lack of B's or generalised malnutrition. Protein alone wont always solve or prevent it.

Sounds a bit like a panic/anxiety attack - are you prone? My DH has them and spent months convinced he was going to have a heart attack, it was difficult to diagnose, it was actually me that diagnosed it becuase I was able to do so based on his anxious hypochondriac/control freak kind of nature, (that sounds mean, but it really isnt, its his personality type), I just KNEW him and knew that he was talking himself into it. Nonetheless is a very debilitating condition. Are you worried about something? They CAN just happen but even the stress of surgery etc may have been the catalyst for it. You know though, it COULD have been the food. It may have just blocked your stoma for a while, that sensation can certainly happen sometime after you've eaten, particularly if you're drinking too. And you're healing up from recent surgery arent you? Could just be a phantom thing. Keep an eye on it though.

I had a lot of breakage for a while there, still not sure it was weight loss related, it came about a year after my surgery and I had had bio-ionic straightening done about four months after surgery - it could just have been chemical damage. Anyway, I thought hair loss,it has finally struck me, but it was BREAKING off, not falling out. Very intensive work with Redken CAT, and the Redken Extreme range, super strengthening Protein based, with tons of moisturising treatments as well (because strengthening protein shampoos can make your hair feel dry/tacky) virtually EVERY shampoo for months, followed by a very big hair cut, and switching to an ionic hairdryer and bioionic straightener (these things seriously IMPROVE your hair, they're quite miraculous) and it improved for me, 12 months later my hair has totally recovered and I dont have those flyaway broken bits all over my head. But whatever, my nutrition was and always has been good, I wasnt deficient in anything, I get enough protein despite being not being protein focussed, I didnt change anything and my hair still improved. I think its just something a lot of us have to grin and bear for a while.

Yay for you - finally somone has a sensible way to get fibre - EAT it. Sounds like a great way to get it too.

This is where I feel quite passionately that the Protein first rule is seriously flawed. I get that protein is important and I totally believe one of the keys to weight loss is eating less carbs. But to tell a bandster that protein is the god of all nutrients, with our tiny stomach space, leads to many people eating virtually ONLY protein and nowhere near enough fruit and vegetables. You need two fruits, and five different vegetables per day, and that's almost impossible if you always eat the chicken first! Not to mention that wholegrains contain valuable nutrients - including B's and E. Taking a supplement is not the same thing at all, they do not understand the science of supplementing yet, but its still pretty much the view that supplements dont replace food - possibly due to the synergies between different substances in our food. I would definitely try to eat a bit of EVERYTHING on my plate, try to include more plant based foods and less protein foods (whilst still keeping an eye on my protein intake). You're 3 weeks post op so that may not be so relevant, I'd be surprised if ANYONE got all they need in the post op period, it will improve as you heal.

I didnt have to do a pre op but I tried - tried being the operative word and given that I had cold sweats and fainting by day 3, I was NOT working out. After surgery, I returned to gentle walking on the day after surgery, but it was an easy 3kms, I didnt do anything really hard till I was well healed and back on solid foods.

I dont have any particular passion for the lap band per se, I get heated in these threads because people just cant see their own destructive thought processes! Because of course, I'm God and I know everything. I've realised that sometimes I could be wrong about what people actually mean, the typed word can be a bit hard to interpret. But its simple to me, I dont care of someone's fat, thin, round or square, I love go getters, people who are positive, make things happen, stick to the commitments they make. People who remain positive in the face of problems. Point in case, I am quite possibly going to kill my DH tonight. He is getting banded, my daughter had croup last week and yesterday my son had a bad tummy bug. DH is in a complete panic about his surgery. Every 2 seconds its "oh my god, I think I feel sick" followed by "ooooooooooh, aaaaaaaah, groooooaaaaan" because poor baby has a little cold. Its a sniffle. He will be in surgery Friday. We've already HAD the stomach bug that Ewan has, all of us had spells of feeling dizzy and nauseous last week, only poor old Ewie has copped the vomiting. So DH is not going to get sick again. So I have sympathy yes, but do I want to be kept awake by a grown man acting like a big baby, who cant sleep because every twinge in his body he thinksw he is about to get really sick? No, I dont. Adults say "oh, sh$6t, that is ROTTEN luck, if I develop gastro or a chest infection, I'm going to miss my surgery on Friday". That would suck. But its not the end of the freaking world. So you reschedule it, here in australia in the private system, that might mean 2 weeks. Grown ups do not carry on like gigantic babies makign life miserable for all around them. I'm going to bloody stab him with a kitchen knife if he doesnt shut the hell up soon. Relevance?There's more than a few of those on this board. Its rare, but they are around. Its not as easy to ignore as it should be because they're in your face the whole time driving you NUTS. And Brandy, that most definitely does not mean you or anyone else who has a genuine problem. Its the ones that dont, that dont try and then panic about why the band isnt working or complain that it doesnt work that I mean and I think that's what Leslie meant too. Yeah, I'm a bitch, I know. But YOU try living with my hypochondriac DH. I am absolutely DREADING him being banded, he'll be a puker for sure.

Actually, Ive found other fat people the strongest opposers! They seem to feel like I've somehow been disloyal and joined the opposition.

Pop Tarts luscious? Ergh. The lasted on the market here about two weeks. Along with Hershey's chocolate. That's NOT chocolate. But move aside on the soapbox, lol. I need to get up there too. Dont even TALK to me about that darn lemon coconut slice down at Muffin Break.

I drink Water and coffee pretty much - I gave up sugar in coffee and tea at about 18 and really, it tastes awful at first but it takes 2 weeks and you'll be used to it. but if you only have the occasional coffee, I'd just have the sugar.

Its only theory at this stage, there's no real proof. They just dont get that scientific down here in Australia. They say eat Protein (meat, dairy, legumes, pulses), complex carbs, lots of vegetables, moderate fruit and avoid simple carbs (sugary, white carbs), eat 3 meals a day and nothing in between, dont drink calories. Simple and it works. I avoid aritificially sweetened things becuase I hate the taste and I believe it encourages people to eat way too much of those sorts of foods and not change their tastes. sugar free pudding for example - what kind of utter crap is that to be putting in your body after you've just had surgery to change your health for life? Have somehome made vegetable Soup instead! Learn to love good organic greek yogurt not that fruit flavoured sweetened rubbish in the supermarket, just give up sugar in your coffee and tea (that is EASY to do, takes 2 weeks max). Sorry for the rant! If I really want something sweet, I have it and I just have the sugar.

You! I'm 5ft 10 and 152 and nobody in my real life has called me too thin, in fact DH encourages me to lose a bit more IF I want to. I'm not really shooting for model thin, but just a nice Australian size 12 in ANY store would be great (that's an 8 for you guys) currently I'm really annoyingly between sizes. 142 is still in your healthy weight range and I think it would look gorgeous. If I ever got there, I'd be thrilled, but the whole issue of how hard you want to work and how easy it is to maintain does come into it. I'm sitting here without any effort at all. At 5ft 10 and 152lb, I am very much "normal" looking, not skinny. And definitely not super skinny, that's ridiculous. But then I live in australia where not so many people are morbidly obese. Personally, I love my DH but he doesnt get to say how I look, I present myself how I want to. I'm having a breast lift next year, he wants me to come home with a gigantic set of silicone mammaries, that's just not happening!

you're supposed to eat slower for both those reasons. The best thing you can do for yourself is stop worrying about what others think. They just dont really care that much about what you eat and drink and most probably wont even notice. Nothing may have happened pbwise so far but eventually it will if you dont learn to slow down in ALL situations. The only time I feel weird about this is when I feel a bit blocked and know I need to stop eating to let things clear. It feels awkward to just suddenly stop eating. I usually make a trip to the bathroom just to give myself some time if that happens.

Oh, about three months I think. I started with 3kms on the treadmill and gradually built it up over time as I trained for various fun runs - I got to about 10kms within 9 months and now I like to keep it between 7 and 10 depending on the route, with maybe one short 5km one in there per week. However, I was banded at a BMI of 35 and was quite fit for a heavier person, obviously if you're more overweight and have been less active, take it at your own pace!

seriously, people just plain arent all that interested in what you eat and drink. They dont notice. But being banded is not like wearing a sign across your head, at social events I do have a glass of wine, maybe even 2, just not six! And I do eat whatever's on offer, just not huge platefuls of it. That doesnt stand out as "weird" to anyone, in fact that's what most non fat people do at social functions. Being banded to me means moderation in all things, not having to go to social things with your jaw taped shut. I just enjoy them in moderation!

I do eat quite a lot compared to some bandsters AND I eat carbs too. I guess I'm 5ft 10, so that helps, but also I run for an hour five times a week and am very active in my daily life, I work in a school, I am a full time university student and I have 3 kids, I'm always flat out busy and running around. If I didnt eat enough, and I didnt have some carbs, I'd be out of steam by 11 am. I probably eat around 1500 to 1800 most days and I lost all my weight on that sort of intake.

yesterday: (this is 2.5 years post op by the way) Breakfast - smoothie made with skim milk, greek yogurt, 1/2 banana, some frozen berries couple of coffees through the morning lunch: home made pea and ham soup afternoon: ah, I think I had some wasabi peas, and an apple dinner: spaghetti bolognaise, glass of white wine later: a hot milo (milo is like activite) made with Water and a dash of skim milk plus 2 children's chewable multi Vitamins, 2 fish oil capsules, and an iron/folate/B12 chewable.

I'm pretty black and white with weight, to me you're either fat or you're not, lol, there's not a lot of in between. I really like a pretty slender body type, and I've weighed at the top end of my healthy weight range for years as a younger adult and I knew for me that was still too fat, so I chose the mid to lower end of it. I think for me I was right to do so, the amount of difference in my body as I've moved from a BMI of 25 to 22 is amazing, way way more rewarding than going from 35 to 25. At 25 I still felt big and chunky that was 5ft 10 and 180lb or so, as I'm pretty fine boned and really mean to be tall and quite thin. I could easily stilll lose 8kg more or so and not look too skinny - well not in my opinion anyway. At the moment I'm 5ft 10 and 152 and still have a fairly good covering on my lower half, groan. So yeah, I went by the charts to a degree but really on prior experience of knowing what my body was like at a certain weight.

Even a small handful of nuts squeezed in somewhere there would help. it is hard, I eat quite a lot for a bandster, but I also do eat carbs which makes getting calories in a bit easier. And I'm not above a treat here and there, lol.

You probably need a fill, the only way exercise will make you lose restriction is by fat loss, which is a GOOD thing!

I've said it before and I will again here too - there's such a thing as a fat mentality. Some people are fat just because they're negative, they make excuses, they dont take responsibility for their own actions, and this shows in their decision making re the band. They're always the ones that think the band is going to do it all for them, who respond to constructive support with "well if I could do that I wouldnt have needed a band" (that is quite possibly the DUMBEST and most annoying thing you ever hear on this board, it drives me freaking insane". They get negative and down on the band becuase they dont want to pull their finger out and put in the work, they want it all done for them - and they feel the need to "warn" all us poor souls out there that the band doesnt work. No, it doesnt if you're a lazy excuse maker. Plenty of people share less positive stories because they have genuine problems, entirely different kettle of fish. We need those stories, to gain a balanced view. I like the anchors and motors analogy, pretty true.

not in my case, lol, I have feet like flippers.

Running is moderate exercise for me NOW 3 years out, lol. Meaning I can talk while I'm doing it, my heart rate stays in the 120-135 fat burning range and I'm not sore or tired after an hour's run. Straight after surgery, easy walking was moderate. Moderate means gentle and not to hard on your body and depends what physical state its in. Take it easy until you're fully healed, but feel free to do plenty of walking. After that, well I believe you need to push a bit harder regularly because that's what gets you to the stage where an hour's run is moderate. I can now burn 1000 calories in an hour without exhausting myself in the process - that's a pretty darn effective weight loss/maintenance tool! Well worth the effort I put in to get here.