Jachut

Mine's right on the surface now and quite visible. If you're standing near me, you cant see it, but my DH says from the other side of a room, you can see a very obvious lump sticking out of me - not that I get around naked all the time, lol. I've noticed it in bigger dressing rooms when I've been trying on clothes too. I'm not too worried about it, the only time someone would see it is if I was wearing a bikini and nobody's holding a gun to my head to wear one, if it bothered me I wouldnt! And I dont care to go and get a low profile port when my scars have healed and disappeared, then I've just got a new scar that I have to wait 2 years to disappear again.

I've lost down to a healthy weight not counting anything, apart from mentally toting up - I usually eat around 1500 to 1800 a day. But I'd like to lose another 15lb or so, and I can tell you that after a big weight loss and being an already healthy weight, after mucking around with wanting to lose that for about 8 months, its going to take proper calorie counting and sticking at around 1000 to 1200 a day, despite the fact that I run long distances regularly. The body just doesnt like to let go of that last bit.

I reckon its GeezerSue in disguise! About the only thing I agree with is that there ARE a lot of surgeons getting on the bandwagon so to speak. Bariatric surgery sure is a moneymaker now and there's a lot of doctors out there that are doing them to make money, not becuase they give a rats about the plight of the obese.

Personally I would wait until lipodissolve has been proven before I let them inject me. Its so tempting, lose the fat without surgery, but I've heard so many warnings about it. Sigh. And sad to say, if you want your skin to maintain the most elasticity it can, you need to stay out of the tanning booth. It will not help, it ages your skin faster than almost anything. Everyone gets so sick of hearing the warnings, and I've ventured in too for special occasions, but you can sort of justify tannign short term, or just to get a start on a tan pre summer etc (even though its horrendously dangerous) but long term tanning will accelerate your sagging skin.

A lapband and a csection are nothing alike. I didnt even think a c-section hurt much, didnt slow me down for more than about a week, but the lapband, I was pretty good the next day, went for a long walk.

I would think that once you're on the list they'd still do you? But you might want to check. As a private patient, I saw my surgeon end of October 2005 and was done by 9 December 2005.

That's not really correct, you *can* get your Lap Band done through Australia's public system if you're willing to wait long enough and if you have a doctor that operates in the public system. Not many doctors do. To do so, you'd have to contact the hospital and see who they recommend, but just as a guide, the waiting list at The Alfred in Melbourne has been up to 7 years long at times. But cosmetic surgery is an entirely different matter, you'd have to convince a surgeon to give you an item number for the surgery and they're unlikely to because the need for a tummy tuck is not considered to be related to your health the way a Lap Band is. Its cosmetic, and you might get a portion covered (like about $100) but not much more. There's item numbers for things like breast reductions, but then you have to weigh up that the surgeon's taht do them are mostly private and will charge well and above the scheduled fee by thousands of dollars. To find someone to do it in the public system, you're going to again face a long waiting list. And even then, its not completely free, you get 85% of the scheduled fee back, so if your surgeon charges more, you're out of pocket. I would think that you'd almost always have to find a cosmetic surgeon in the private sector becuase of the nature of cosmetic surgery which means it will be done in a private hospital so if you have no private health insurance, you're up for well over $1000 a night for the bed as well. You just really cannot get cosmetic surgery done without private health insurance unless its some sort of urgent disfigurement or similar. When you weigh it up, waiting several years on a waiting list for your band and for any cosmetic surgery, having to pay for aftercare, etc why would you not just take out private health insurance, wait a year to qualify, have the surgery etc? It will cost you little more in the long run and you're not in strife if you need any revision surgery etc. And waiting the year, you'll probably get done a whole lot sooner.

It was just my goal to be able to buy anything that took my fancy, lol, in normal stores. Well, most of us cant wear absolutely *anything*, there's still some styles that I will never be able to do - skinny leg jeans for instance. But I can shop where I want and pretty much buy what I want now and even though I havent been fat all my life, I've never been able to shop this easily in my life before.

My body settled naturally where it is, the weight loss just kind of faded out. Actually, I'd like to lose a bit more, lol so I have the opposite problem but I seem to refuse to face the obvious - go get another small fill. I just dont want to be tight now, when I got all the way to a healthy weight without having to be. I figure what I lose now is under my own steam, without any more help than the band already gives me. So you might just find it slows and stops and if it doesnt, unfill. Its so true that we all have to find out own happy medium there. For me, maintenance takes no thought whatsoever, for others its harder to stop losing.

I'm really realising that to lose a lot of those pockets, it can be necessary to get right down to the bottom of your healthy weight range. Strangely, even though I'm definitely pear shaped, not an apple, and never had a huge stomach, I have a pocket of fat left on my upper abdomen too. I figure my healthy weight range is 63 to 79kg and I'm 70kg, there's still a fair bit of weight that I *could* lose. Its easier said than done when you're no longer overweight though, its very hard to budge it. I'm going to get a breast lift and I seriously think a spot of selective lipo will be included there. Its just a weird little pocket that sits front centre, upper abdomen. Not enough to see clothed luckily. Its hard, but a lot of those little things will only resolve right down close to your goal weight. You just have to keep going.

OMG Argon, I love that. I'm going to use it. Sorry to say my boobs are a mess. It can be disguised. A good bra is the key and I can even wear a bikini with the right style top. I need something full coverage with a bit of side padding, any plunge style thing, the loose skin just spills out in the middle, ugh. But nobody would ever know, seriously. And only my husband sees them when I unroll them. Oh - I'm still a DD like I always was but about five back sizes smaller, so its a smaller DD - a 12DD is not the same thing as a 20DD at all. Nonetheless they're going to get fixed. There's a bit of a mess left of my backside too but I dont really care about my thighs or bum that much, everyone has a bit of flab there (well everyone who was pearshaped). Boobs are a bit more central to your self image I think, well they are to me. But they're also relatively easy to fix.

I do an awful lot of cardio exercise, being a runner, five times a week for between forty minutes for my shorter runs and two hours for my longer - its about 30kms a week give or take, my long run is 16kms, I try to do two runs of 8 and twice a week I'll do something on the treadmill, one of the programs that totals about 4kms but is more interval type training. I use the treadmill more when I'm really busy, and cant get out in the daylight to run. I fall a bit short on strength work, I just started working for Curves, so I'm doing that. I had a free memebership a while ago and dismissed Curves as too easy for me but now I've been taught how to do it properly I'm getting a GREAT workout. I love the fact that its half an hour. I just dont have time to go to the gym, I really cant do it with my schedule at the moment and I just workout at the end of my shift, I'm already there, and I just have to find once a week for the third workout. Its quite a hefty workout schedule overall though and I'm really having to dig deep to keep at it at the moment, I have lots and lots of study to do. But I know that I absolutely CANNOT let it slide, it must be a priority. That's the lifeskill we all have to learn, how to do those things we need to do within the context of our busy lives. I've been lucky that I was only studying part time till now and was basically a SAHM, but I've stepped up to full time, a part time job and I've still got to try to fit it in, but its SO worth it.

Dang! I'll have to check whether my accordian is better than yours.... Actually, I'd like a breast lift but preliminary advice is that a lift alone wont be enough to fill the empty skin (unless I want to go from a DD to an A cup!). I may need an implant on top of the muscle also. Not sure I'd want to do that - what about mammograms and breast lump detection etc in the future? Car sets, sheesh Kat, that's scary. I get lip from Eliza all the time becuase I make her sit in a booster seat in the car still -she's five (birthday in March). She's noticed all her school friends jsut sit on the car seat, or even in the front. Its law in Australia that children remain in a booster till they're 7 or their eyes are level with the top of the seat in front of them. How hard is it to use a foam booster seat for crying out loud? Its just the regular seat belt, not fancy buckling, but it just lifts her so the seatbelt works properly.

I never actually used carrier, as I went with a 0-4 car seat that couldnt be removed. But I had a beautiful new pram with each baby, lol, and then some. I think I've owned about 17 prams and strollers, I had a bit of a fetish. I once bought a new one the same as what I had simply because it came out in a new fabric. Dont even get me started on disposable diapers, lol. I love MY children the best becuase I never ever put one of those nasty things on any of their bums. So there. Do you reckon we could have a civilised debate on breast v bottle? My tits are saggier than yours because I was still feeding them when they could run to the other side of the room. Did you know the female breast can stretch to about 3 metres long? Well, mine can anyway. Or should we just get back to goal weights? That seems a nice safe topic!

I think you have to pick and choose between what you spend a lot on and what you will buy the cheaper version of too. Everyday clothes, and work clothes, since I dont have to do high end corporate, Target and chain boutiqes/jeans stores are fine by me. I am not into labels at all, I just dont care as long as the garment looks right. I dont want them to last 10 years, I"m really not into investment dressing, or buying classics for the wardrobe. I dont care what it is, it will be ridiculously outdated in 10 years time. Cuts change, styles change, you cannot wear the same jacket for 10 years and look up to date. If I can get a formal dress for $59 instead of $259, I will, who cares what's on the label. How many times do you wear it afterall, and honestly, you cant even tell the difference. I'm like it with a lot of furniture as well, we have some antiques that we'll keep forever, but for bedroom suites and couches, rugs and prints, etc I dont WANT them for 25 years. They're outmoded and embarrassing after 10! So I wont spend lots of money on them. Shoes, hmmm, dunno. Target here is probably different to Target there. I've got several awesome pairs of boots from Target, but their flatties and casual shoes look really cheap and tacky but nor would I ever buy a $200 pair of shoes - unless they're birkenstocks, lol. I wouldnt buy jeans at Target generally either, they're not cut well for me, and too short in the legs. Bathing suits - not to disagree with Bjean because we're in different countries but I consider spending $150 on a Seafolly bikini well worth it. The top actually supports and lifts the bust, it holds me in, the suit is double lined, the fabric is chlorine resistant, its cut properly and straight, the quality is just there. Chain store bathing suits, ugh, they look horrid on me, my body looks like two pigs fighting under a blanket and my boobs hang out the leg holes! Ditto bras and underwear, I pay top dollar for those becuase they really affect how your clothes hang. And running/sports clothes. I'm not into cute matching outfits for every day of the week, but I find sometimes Im forced to spend for the features I want. YOu cannot buy a decent pair of running shorts in Target, you need proper running shorts, not any old cotton shorts. But I wont spend $150 for Skins when I can get lycra tights in Target for $15, lol. And I dont care what I wear on top, any old singlet will do. But its got to be a decent bra.

Well, I believe I weighed 8lb once, lol. That was 40 years ago! As an adult, I've been 71kg (1bout 156lb) for oh, five minutes, and then hovered around 160 to 170lb for most of my 20's (I'm five foot 10). It was only really after my second baby that I began to gain, and after my third, despite gaining NO weight in the pregnancy (in fact I lost) I got up to 113kg - about 245 lb.

Nope. Surprisingly, I've only been told here that I'm anorexic. By peopel who've never even clapped eyes on me. IRL I look quite normal, could probably lose a little more in fact. People who didnt know me before just assume I've never had a weight problem. People who did know me before say I look great, I must be really happy with what I"ve achieved. Nobody's ever said I'm TOO thin.

I've lost 120% of my excess weight.... You can do it if you want to. Its not even that difficult. Its not like I did anything really special to do it, I just exercise regularly and eat properly. No harsh dieting, no strict low carb, nothing. I just eat less than I used to and move more. I think that the exercise was key. I do exercise very hard, six days a week, but its part of my lifestyle now. But even that, if I have to take a week or two off, I dont stress. Its just about climbing back on that wagon after every fall, or obstacle. Many people dont even *want* to lose 100% of their excess weight. They're quite happy to just be healthier.

Actually, you can spend a lot on clothes, but I'm really enjoying chain boutique shopping, lol. Places here like Sussan, Jacqui E, Portmans and even Target have great clothes that dont cost a bomb. I had to buy clothes for teaching rounds and with $700 I've got about 15 outfits, and I barely had to go outside Target to do it. I tend to go to the expensive stores, spy a look and then go and find the same pieces for half the cost in Target and put a very similar look togehter. I got all nice funky stuff like skirts and long boots and have a very nice wardrobe put together. Of course, all different boutiques, but the point is, when I had to buy plus size I had to pay through the nose for it and could barely find anything even vaguely fashionable.

My first instinct is to say yes because in primary school I was teased for being fat, I was called "Fat Nash". But looking back, I actually was not fat at all, far from it, but I was very tall, often the tallest in any group - class, softball team etc. And I wasnt skinny, but definitely not even overweight. By mid teens I *just* broke into the overweight for my heigh category, with a BMI of around 26. Again, nothing serious, but when most 15 year old girls are stick thin and either underweight or very low in their healthy weight ranges, I stood out. This was 25 years ago, these days with the size of teenagers, I'd actually be one of the thinner ones in a lot of groups. In my 20's I wasnt fat at all, I got down to about the weight I am now. Looking back, I always had a little bit of chub, nothing major, but (and my 12 year old son is there) you could always see the potential I had to become obese. I'm quite fine boned but I just dont have that firm, muscular look even though I'm fit, I was always a bit fleshy and prone to gaining.

Neither and both. When I eat, I choose a reasonable portion and I try to make sure its most often nutrient dense food - healthy stuff. I dont count anything, calories, Protein or carbs.

Sorry, I disagree. Complex carbs are what fill me up, keep me full, give me lots of energy. I need those AND Protein. To cut one out doesnt make me feel good. And if you're eating properly, you shouldnt have to take Metamucil or add Benefibre to anything! Protein is not magic either in that it somehow miraculously "preserves" muscle. You WILL lose muscle as you lose weight, you need to exercise to preserve and create muscle. Protein is a building block and as long as you get enough, there's no real benefit in eating a lot extra and the recommendations you see for 80 to 100 grams for women are way above what is actually required. I agree with Wheetsin personally, I think the recommendation for high protein has a lot to do with the fast weight loss it produces much less to do with what is actually healthy all round for the human body.

Hmmm, sharp pain (like appendicitis) or dull pain, cold sweats and contractions like when you have bad diarrhoea? Since being banded, I've had a couple of bouts of terrible diarrhoea like cramps (without the diarrhoea) although they are associated with going to the toilet, its just normal. It seems to come on just before my period starts. The pain is quite honestly worse than labour, it brings on the shaking legs and cold sweats. We've been unable to find a cause. My doc referred me back to my ob to check me out for endometriosis but nada, even though both my sisters suffer from it. Just one of those things. Its just happened twice, and its probably just irritable bowel brought on by hormones. Can you notice any pattern to it?

I agree with Just Banded, I think certain people handle carbs differently. The low carb thing is definitely an American custom, its just not practices here as strongly, although of course plenty of people try low carb diets, its not a standard post lap band diet. And Australians by and large do well with the lap band. I know you need Protein, but I personally think 80 to 100g a day is overstating it for most women, and I find that wholegrain, low GI carbs are the foods that really fill me up and make the band work the way its supposed to. When I eat a protein heavy meal with very low carbs for Breakfast or lunch, I will be looking for food within the hour, my body just doesnt run well without the energy carbs give. I dont know, I didnt get morbidly obese, I got to a BMI of 36 and it was quite hard work to get there, I wouldnt say I "gain weight easily" by just looking at food, I had to really let my eating and exercise habits slide to do it. I'm not one of those people who could say "I dont know why I'm fat". And when I changed my habits, I lost weight very easily. So perhaps I can burn carbs where the next person cant? Anyway I definitely DONT believe the whole population is walking around with their insulin levels going crazy all over the place. Most people can and should eat good quality carbs. Its very important to realise that what is good for weight loss (or for muscle gain for that matter) aint necessarily the best for your overall health. There's a lot of risks to your health by going protein heavy, not the least of which is the risk of overdoing the saturated fat, your kidney health or predisposing yourself to bowel problems from lack of fibre and substance. Guzzling processed soy based Protein shakes in huge quantities worries me, there's a lot of credible research highlighting the dangers of oberconsuming soy products. Moderation in all things is my motto.

I held my babies plenty, but I couldnt cope with doing the grocery shopping, paying the bills etc without the pram. Sheesh, I had no hands free. But they still got held lots. And breastfed for 2 years each, so I dont think putting them in the pram to do errands deprived them of much. And they're all very kissy cuddly now, even my 12 year old son.