Jachut

I dont have issues from a glass of wine but have three or four and I will spend a couple more days rather tight.

Whatever I want in smaller portions - but I'll qualify that by saying if I want cake every day I dont allow myself that. I dont find wanting too much rubbish food a problem though. Many days I"ll have a glass of wine. And I hate McDonalds and greasy fast foods like that and always did to a degree. But I eat carbs etc, I dont do any *diet*

Couch to 5K is a GREAT way to start if you've not run before. I planned on doing it, but I was lucky, I found that about eight weeks after surgery, I went out to try day 1 and I ran 3kms, so I had a pretty good base to start from. My tips though, slow down and then slow down some more. I really believe the secret for learning to run is to half your pace. The pace that feels natural is usually way too fast for you to maintain, I could actually WALK faster than I was running. But I stuck at it, plodding along and now I can run at a respectable if not earth shattering speed. I trained for longer and longer races, first a 4k, then a 5K, then a 10k, and now a half marathon. Not sure my back is going to let me do a half though, I think 10K is "my" distance. Having goals to force me to add the distance was the key for me. Also, take break days, dont run too many days in a row and once you've built a base, vary your distance, I do one long run a week, two medium and a short (usually 14k, 8k, 8k, 6k)

And if you're doing this with the hope of looking better why on earth would you sabotage it by smoking? Sorry to all smokers out there, but you can pick a smoker a mile off by their skin.

I do occasionally drink it, now that I'm under goal weight and maintaining I dont really need to worry about the calories and its a good way to get in the nutrients of the fruit without taking up all my stomach space.

Or the cost! A lift here in Australia will cost me less than $7,000, with implants it will almost double. But I'm going to get several opinions, I really want to sort this particular detail out. I'm not going under the knife unless it really worth it.

I tend to be low in iron too, before banding even. I take an iron supplement.

Yes, we dont really have to stop for winter, no snow ever here in Melbourne! No rain either, groan. I'd love some rain.

Brandy, you have to examine what you just said to me though. Exercise is a vital part of making the band work for most people. It doesnt have to be running and it doesnt have to be swimming, but before you can say that the band isnt working for you, you do have to be able to say you've given it 100% - and exercise is at least half of that equation. Weight loss takes lots of hard exercise, big commitment to lots of hard exercise. And that's not my personal opinion, or my judgement or my view on what you should do or any sort of evaluation of you personally at all. Its just fact. If you cant/wont do the exercise then chances are the band is not going to work terribly well. Some people wing it, and are lucky but I can tell you I wouldnt have been one of them because I like my food. This is the type of thing where I tend to get into trouble and be seen as argumentative, because now I'm breaking from support and sympathy into a bit of tough love. But it is just plain truth, and if you want I can phrase it another way. If you can put your hand on your heart and say that you CANT do the exercise and WONT do the exercise then you're probably right, the band is not the *best* choice for you personally. I really dont mean that to be unsupportive, its just the way it is. Healthy weight loss takes exercise. Would you truly rather have another surgery than to do it? Believe me, I'm not a good runner either. I suck at it. My times are prehistoric, I battle through a chronic back condition and run with some degree of pain at all times. I hate swimming, it wrecks my hair so I wont do that. I dont have time for the gym, I know I'd find too many excuses there. So running was what I chose for conveniece, but its not the only choice. Really think about it, please. It could be the part of the equation that you're missing. How simple would that be, if it worked?

I agree, to a point, I have a sweet tooth and not a lot of personal willpower when it comes to it. If you can get the *balance* of your lifestyle right - which is easier said than done, I know - then you dont have to eat perfectly for ever after to stay thin. Personally, that's why I've been willing to put what I have into exercise. To me, its easier to run 10kms nearly every day than it is to control my eating habits enough to stay thin without lots of exercise.

I think we'll be getting one when they're easy to get hold of. Its about to be released here. I know I should be doing some strength training but I need some sort of external motivator to do it. As far as aerobic work goes, the ads on telly look a bit lame to me, lol. I'd rather go out and kill myself running.

Exactly. I think that's a healthy attitude. I know my avatar looks fine, but believe me, I dont move a lot if I'm in that bikini in public. I need to drape myself just so, lol. There's plenty of jiggle and jelly there and I'm pretty much at peace with that's how it is. I figure I"m 40, for crying out loud. For the size of the problem I have, what's the point in going through such horrendous surgery as a lower body lift when no matter what I do, I will be 50, then 60 etc and my skin IS going to get lax, slack and old very quickly from now on. I'm an Aussie, I've spent my youth in the sun, the damage is done. Getting the boobs done though. I figure with a great rack, nobody will be looking at my flabby bum anyway.

Good point Molly. Most people do overdo carbs to a degree. I dont think they necessarily need to be the *basis* of your diet like we used to think. I agree with Fanny too, most people who push the high protein/low carb diet are trying to sell you something. We've had an absolute exposion of Optifast type products onto the market lately - everyone just puts their name to it and calls it "The Joe Bloggs Diet". Every pharmacy has one, its ridiculous, cost a fortune, really unsustainable, designed to dehydrate you, waste your lean body tissue away and leave you fatter than you started six months down the track. I have another personal theory - that its the overemphasis on Protein that CAUSES hair loss, not the other way round. When you eat too much protein and not enough of everything else (which is easy to do just by eating protein first with a band) then you suffer such generalised malnutrition that your hair falls out. You cannot fix hair loss with one single nutrient, be it a macronutrient like protein or something like zinc, Biotin, etc. Its the combination of those, and you can believe that if you're eating protein first and are banded, you're probably not eating enough complex carbs, to get your B's, your E, etc. And you cant necessarily fix that with a Vitamin pill, there's STILL no real proof that they are as good as actually eating the nutrient. Again - personal opinion, not scientific theory.

I'm hopefully going to have breast lift later this year. I've had similar advice to what Dr Schulman has said above though, that I'd probably need an implant to go along with it, to get a good result. My upper chest is so flat that my actual sternum sticks out further than my breasts. And we were lying in bed this morning when Eliza came in (mother's day, sigh) and laughing at this puddle of skin lying on the sheet in front of me - it was what used to be my right boob, boo hoo. Trouble is, I'm a D cup. I do not want ginormous plastic tits. So I'm really not sure what I'm going to do but I also dont want to pay what is serious money at our stage of life for a mediocre result. And I used to have GREAT boobs and I want them back! I'm not sold on the safety of implants, that's the trouble. What I dont understand is that they wont last my lifetime so will have to be upgraded at some point in time. I'm 40 now. Will I really be wanting a new set of breast implants at 60? And if I dont, what on EARTH are my poor boobs going to look like by then? Its a lot to think about. Dr Schulman's Example 1 is almost exactly what I look like now, I would be absolutely THRILLED with a result like that if I could get it from just a lift. I'm really similar in size and shape to that patient.

It is very hurtful but I think the fact that she said something (and has continued to call you) probably indicates that she might want to try to work past it? Like she knows that in a way she's been using you but she does love you enough to want to work through that. I may be barking up the wrong tree, its hard to tell from a post, but I'm also very forgiving (or stupid?) and would want to try to continue the friendship. I'd give her the benefit of the doubt but I'd tell her how much she's hurt my feelings. Your call though. Nobody would think you were strange for giving her the flick, either.

I have significant back problems too and losing weight has not fixed them, but its not disc degeneration, its muscular/postural/biomechanical and in years we've never managed to get to the bottom of what is causing it. I get pain in my actual back but more concerningly, my toes on my right foot alternate between feeling like they're broken and being numb, and I have typical sciatic symptoms - pain down the back of the thigh and in the buttock. I still run regularly, and manage it with acupuncture and physio, its just part of my life, keeping my back in shape. I notice when I dont run, that my back feels better initially then I stiffen up and get worse. Most times when I run, I feel sciatic pain down to my foot for the first few minutes, then it goes as I warm up, then sets in badly when I cool down. I plan my runs for the night for this reason, I can sleep off the discomfort and am OK in the morning. I figure I have two choices, back pain but be thin and fit or backpain and be fat and inactive. One thing that really helps me is to treat it like its what's known as piriformis syndrome (soemthing some practitioners recognise and other's dont believe exists). I stretch out those buttock muscles aggressively and hard and I roll around on a tennis ball every day, its like deep tissue massage. If I've missed a few days, the pain of doing this is quite honestly worse than childbirth, that's how tight and adhered I get in there. But doing it regularly really reduces my symptoms. Have a try, get a tennis ball, lie on a hard floor and put it under your buttock, roll around on it a bit and find the sore spots. You'll be able to really tell whether its a muscular problem - but dont put the ball under your spine.

Someone else said this a few weeks ago but I'm going to use it again. I lost my boobs but I still have the bags they came in.

Same as yours but I'm in Australia. My surgeon said balanced diet including all food groups, the nutritionist said the same and I've managed to get the doc who does my fills (who's a great guy) to actually admit he thinks high Protein diets and the theory behind them is a load of bollocks. I was saying in another thread today that I personally have a self devised theory that a lot of the people who are really struggling with head hunger and inability to lose weight are really struggling with the awful limitations a low carb diet imposed and that unfilling a bit and eating carbs (yes CARBS!!!!!) like bread and Pasta would actually diminish their cravings, increase their satiety and start them losing weight. All just personal opinion though. You can back up either opinion (for or against carbs) with the kind of so called scientific proof you find on the internet.

Yeah, just dont drink them if you dont like them, have something else.

Its a fact of life for almost anyone, but you cant really tell how bad its going to be. However, I did go through a stage about halfway through my weight loss where it looked like it was going to be really band and then over the rest of my journey it did firm up, its much less at goal than it was 50lb ago.

Do the cups fit well though? Because a DD in a 32 is NOT the same as a DD in 34. For that very reason, I also went down in torso size, up in cup size.

Depends absolutely on the individual - metabolism, activity, exercise habits, lifestyle. I eat quite a lot, others here eat quite little.

Do you know I really believe the DIET that doctors prescribe can be problematic too - along with the overfill issue. What people are saying above is quite correct. People are so afraid of carbs. Yet I really truly do NOT believe that carbs make everyone fat. Of course we dont need sugar, and processed carbs. I just thank goodness I live somewhere where the high Protein thing is not done becuase if I hadnt happened upon the fact that it is wholegrain carbs like bread and oatmeal and fruit and veg and NOT protein that sits in my pouch and makes my band work like it should, completely quells my hunger and my cravings, then I'm quite able to see myself being in the position of the band not working. I really mean that. I would highly encourage anyone to unfill a bit, be looser and try a more NORMAL diet that includes all food groups. See how the head hunger and the cravings and the inability to stick to something goes with that. I could not live on protein and vegetables, I can say that with complete conviction. I have ONLY Been able to do this because I was allowed to eat bread, cereals, Pasta and rice as well and was encouraged to view this as nothign more than a normal diet, less quantity, treats occasionally included. No, I didnt lose 4lb a week, it took me two and half years to lose this 90lb. But I did it and I really think that's why. That and the running. I'm definitely not suggesting everyone here is on the "wrong" diet. Not by a long shot. I think some people are high carbers by metabolic nature and some are not. But perhaps its worth a try, less restriction more variety of food? I also think it pays to remember in such a large group of obese people, there WILL be some who have genuine medical problems that cause them to be obese. 99.9% of the time obesity is caused by user error, but sometimes its not.

If you're doing five sessions too, make one of them a much easier one. I try to run 10km three times a week and then on the fourth I just do an easy 6. It feels like nothing compared to ten! Then on my fifth day its an inbetween distance like 7.5 or so. You dont need to do your very hardest workout every single time you workout.

Totally normal, I do those things too. I always flip my pillow and I cannot STAND having my feet all tucked in. I could never ever sleep with blankets and sheets, it has to be a doona, and if I"m in a hotel or something with blankets I have to untuck all my side of the bed. I hate them. I dont necessarily need my feet "out" but i have to have them unrestricted.