Jachut

I went with board shorts - swim shorts in light material, like what surfers wear. Boardies are virtually uniform here in Melbourne, apparently in Sydney men still get around in budgie smugglers (speedos). Anyway, over recent years there has been a large number of board shorts for ladies, very popular now are hipster super short ones, but there's ones with more coverage as well. You dont need to cover them up, they're fine for streetwear too. I just wore them with a tankini top. I cant wear lycra boy short styles. If you're the least bit hippy like I am, oh my god, they make my butt look HUGE, at least 2 metres wide. They sit right on my widest part, the saddlebags on my outer thigh. I honestly look much better in a briefer bikini. Those swim skirts that Wheetsin's posted look great. I've never seen anythign like that in Australia.

I have to be careful with it. And I cant eat corn on the cob without loads of butter and salt so I tend to avoid it. But there's 10 cobs sitting in the fridge for Saturday lunch, lol.

I've read most of it standing in the bookshop, lol. I dont really agree with things like having to become vegan. But the attitude. It pretty much sums up what I feel about weight loss. Its how it is, its VERY SIMPLE. Shut your gob, move your ass. Just. Do. It. All the discussion in the world about how to avoid temptation, how to motivate yourself to exercise, etc etc, its all procrastinating really. In the end, you either do it or you dont, and the only person responsible for it is you. So yeah, I agreed with the attitude and that sort of self talk worked/works for me. I just finally thought, oh quit bitching and DO something, and I did. But I think a lot of recovering from obesity is mental and its not always beneficial to be so blunt and in your face about it. For a lot of people, the very first step in the journey is learning to be honest with themselves and facing their responsibility towards themselves. Many people start out playing the victim, or as excuse makers, and even when they have valid reasons to feel that way, it doesnt matter, they either get over it or they dont. But its like telling someone who's depressed to just brighten up, get over it. It simply isnt an effective tactic.

I was a terrible biscuit (cookie) eater, but really, I've found that my focus on running, and having goals like a half marathon to aim for REALLY helps with motivation to eat well. I want to fuel myself well, I need to have the right foods for energy and the lighter I am, the easier it is on my body to run. You cant just "create" those goals if you dont truly want them, I know, so I'm very lucky to have something I'm passionate about that makes me want to curb behaviours that dont help me achieve it.

what about the pharmacy? You just buy it in the pharmarcy here. Online?

I've got a funny story for you about that. I nearly had a punch up with an old bat at weight watchers once, she was doing the weighing and measuring. She told me I was 5ft 9. I'm not, I'm 5ft 10. I didnt like being called 5ft 9 becuase it meant I was even more overweight than I thought I was, lol. So I made her remeasure me. 5ft 9. Six freaking times, same answer, 5ft 9. So I was fatter and shorter than I thought. Great. Anyway, I assumed I'd shrunk an inch. Getting obese had compressed my spine or something. Anyway skip forward to a few years later and there I am in the surgeon's office having my first official weigh and measure. 5ft 9. Six months later, another weight and measure and WTF? I'm 5ft 10 again. I started rabbiting on about NSV's and said what a great health benefit, I've uncompressed my spine. No, love, she says (we call each other Love here). When you're at your heaviest you have a big bum. You cant stand straight against the wall to be measured because of your bum, nearly everyone leans back slightly. You havent grown, your bum's just not in the way of the wall anymore! ROFLMAO! Now if THAT isnt an NSV I dont know what is.

For stuff like McDonalds, its something I would let my kids have maybe once a month. When we do have McDonalds, its almost always in the food court at the shopping centre, so I'll get a coffee while they eat. And our Maccas all have McCafe's now, so you can get a decent coffee there. I dont think I've eaten the stuff for maybe 2 years. It just turns my stomach now, I never DID particularly like it, all the bad press, I just see my arteries filling up when I walk in the door, lol. So basically if they're eating something like that, I just dont eat. I eat later when I get home. The entire food court is like that to me now, the only healthy options are simply enormous sandwiches that cost you $10 to eat 1/4, the Chinese places, that stuff is full of MSG, yuck, I dont like McDonalds or KFC, Sushi from a food court is food poisining waiting to happen, horrid donuts that have been sitting behind glass for the entire day, I usually end up electing to eat nothing. McDonalds and stuff like that is always a treat for the kids, never a family meal for us anyway, and never was. Its always a lunchtime thing before a movie or something, I dont think I've EVER eaten it for dinner in my lifetime, come to think of it.

Oh, I just opened the second link to the article in Snuffy's post, I hadnt seen that. It echos everything I think about this situation. Great looking girl. Terrible role model for the health of young women.

Great advice. I can eat anything. Some things are more apt to cause problems than others and require more care but overall, things coming back up again is a very rare occurence for me.

To be honest, no, I wouldnt assume the thinner girl was healthier. Not at all. I know that health does not always equate with weight and a healthy weight range is nothing more than a statistical average for height. Being a BMI of 26 does not make you unhealthy. However a) I'd argue this girl weighs more than she says she does and I have concerns about what she weighs given she's only 17. To reach a BMI of 26 after having been morbidly obese is a huge achievement and one to be applauded. To look the way they want to is anyone's right. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and to most people, that girl sure isnt ugly. But I wish you'd READ the posts before going off on a tangent about how happy you all are with your bodies. That's fantastic. I didnt say anything about anyone personally, but realise that you fit a different category becuase you've been morbidly obese. Julie, for example, you've lost tons of weight, you've done brilliantly. You've increased your lifespan, done wonderful things for your health, you're happy with your body - and mental health is every bit as important as physical health. I dont think its healthy to live a life obsessed with maintaining 165lb. But listen to what I'm saying. This girl is 17. She's quite significantly overweight for a teenager. As a teen, you DONT get to be ovrweight without bad lifestyle habits and choices, young bodies want to be skinny. To be overweight at 17 is statistically virtually a guarantee that you'll be obese by adulthood - that's not a bit of puppy fat she's carrying, she's hefty (even if she's gorgeous)! Look at her face, and her thighs, she's packing some serious weight there, beautiful though she is. Give her 15 years, a couple of babies and a full time job and she's gonna be huge, no doubt about it. To hold her up as a role model, as "normal" is irresponsible and wrong. She's not a 40 year old who's been previously obese, she's a 17 year old who would never have gotten to that sort of a weight without bad lifestyle habits and choices. She is no role model for health. It has got NOTHING to do with what I think is fat, thin, attractive or unattractive, nor what you think either. Its fact. Statistically she's a lap band waiting to happen. To roll over and accept fat as "normal" simply becuase more and more people are becoming that way is burying our heads in the sand and it is not fair to our children.

Oh, there's no recipe. I peel bananas and keep them in the freezer for this purpose, berries too. Take the blender, wack in about 200ml skim milk, a big dollop of greek yogurt, the banana and a weetbix or some All Bran, a drop or two of vanilla essence if you like it. If its a meal, you can even put a raw egg in, seriously, you dont taste it. Yummy. But much better with frozen fruit, rather than room temp.

I've got the same situation. My youngest sister has always had a minor weight problem, she's been very thin once or twice, but she and I have the same basic build and like me she's prone to gaining weight but has basically spent adulthood until her mid 30's within a spit of healthy weight. Like me also she appears to be packing it on now with 2 young children at home. She's gotten VERY hefty of late, she says she needs to lose 10kg (23lb) but seriously, its more like 20kg. I think she's understating it because she's intimidated by the fact that our middle sister is tiny and petite and whilst she's always had to watch her weight, she always had the comofrt that I was the fat one. Its a weird feeling that, and I went through it when my girlfriend lost a lot of weight. But I think she's getting desperate about it, and by the time her life sorts out, both kids are at school and she has time to actually devote to herself, she's going to be obese. And I think she knows that and doesnt quite know how to handle the reality of seeing me on a day to day basis. And I dont want to preach to her, but the truth is if she doesnt get control of it NOW, she's going to be lining up for a lapband in five years time too. Its hard. I try to steer conversation away from my weight and it helps that my mum has lost about 10 kg recently after a minor heart attack last November, and the focus can be on her instead.

Any medical professional, definitely. Never ever lie on any sort of medical/health form - even when joining the gym, if anything should happen that requires legal action etc if you havent been truthful you've not got a leg to stand on. Anyone operating on you or treating your health needs to know. Health insurance companies definitely need to know. I think you need to tell your family, in fact I really disagree with not telling your kids or your parents. I think they need to know it, its not something to be ashamed of and it could be important information one day, for example, if you're in an accident and are in a coma and they have to advocate for you! I think not telling those people is taking a lie too far. Anyone else, its none of their business if you dont want it to be.

She's beautiful, very beautiful. But she's not at a healthy weight for her height, she's about 84kg at 12 stone 8 which is at about a stone overweight. And I actually suspsect they're fibbing about her weight because she looks close to obese to me. I was about that height and weight in my teens and it was miserable, I was by far the biggest girl and I was bigger than most boys. But at 13 stone, I was nowhere near as um, rubenesque as she is, I had much less fat on my stomach, it was much flatter than that and her thighs are very meaty. I looked a lot more athletic. Different body types, sure, but I suspect that's not her real weight, I think she's probably closer to 14 or 15 stone to be honest. I've never thought that being fat means you cant be beautiful. Her body is womanly and lovely. But how she looks in a photo and how that bikini would look in real life is two different things too - I would think she'd be falling out of it if she actually tried to wear it! But my personal opinion is that she's fat, not curvy. And I would worry that to be that size at 17 means she's going to become obese as an adult. She's healthy now becuase she's got youth on her side, she probably wont stay that way. She definitely fits the norm these days though and I agree with Chickie that that's why so many people think a normal BMI looks too skinny. Lets not kid ourselves though, its different when you've been morbidly obese and you get down to that weight, but as a teen you dont reach a high weight like that without overeating and eating the wrong foods and being underactive, no matter what she says about her habits. Good on her for getting out there, showing that ALL women can be beautiful. But I think for the media to promote her has healthy is all wrong, its as damaging as teaching young girls that only thin is beautiful. That girl is well and truly overweight!

They're not really recommended like that in Australia. My surgeon told me to stay away from liquid calories like that. I think they taste like sh*t anyway, lol. I'd far rather make a smoothie with milk, yogurt, a banana and a weetbix.

1. How much weight did you have to lose and how long did it take you to get there? I wanted to lose about 85lb, it took me pretty much 18 months to do that, then I've lost about another 15lb in the last 6 months. Most of that 85 I lost in the first year. 2. What have you found to be most effective things to do to lose the weight? excercise? certain foods? any good tips? etc? For me, I eat a balanced diet, carbs included. I dont do Protein first. For me that is a moderate, sustainable diet for life, there's no diet to fall "off". I have treats occasionally. By far the biggest weapon is exercise, I run and I go to the gym. I'm really super fit these days, and I really believe that achieving that, rather than being satisfied with moderate exercise effort has been the key to success for me. I really put in with regard to exercise, to me a 4mile walk is active leisure, not an exercise session. That comes with time though of course, you have to start with what you can manage. 3. Did you lose the most in the beginning, over time, when? I lost most of it in the first year.

Yes, definitely, but I dont think you can eat too much without feeling it. You may not PB or be stuck, but you will feel uncomfortable. As long as you try not to eat until you feel stuffed, really full, then you'll be OK.

A hard exercise session definitely makes me tight, I cannot eat right after exercising.

I had a BMI of 36 when banded and I havent regretted it for one single minute. My life is normal, I eat normally, nobody would know I was banded if I didnt choose to share the information. The only thing is the old urges that arise, eat fast, eat lots, eat rubbish, it puts the brakes on that, big time. I just cant do it. But other than that, I eat entirely normally, I go out to eat and enjoy it etc.

First I set the top of my health weight range. But only "on paper" becuase the nutritionist told me point blank I would never reach any lower, that lap banders dont. I knew I was aiming for 75kg (about 170lb) as my first goal. I havent been fat all my adult life, I hovered around 170lb most of my twenties, I knew it was a pretty good weight but still a bit chunky on my frame (I'm 5ft 10). I knew 70 was where I'd want to get to. As I approached 72kg or so I realised that if my fat bum was ever going to go, I was going to have to get down to the bottom end of my healthy weight range, I'm a lot lighter framed than I ever realised. Those last 5kg have just dripped away at like 1lb a month, lol. Its taken aaaages. This mornign I hit 69.8!!!! I have never weighed under 70kgs since I was a young teenager. Now I'm thinking about 67kg (which would be somewhere in the mid 140lbs). Despite my arguing about getting "too skinny" in other posts, I am thinking that I really have to accept the shape of my behind and the amount of flab there, that I cant just keep losing and losing in the hope that it will disappear. Its not going to. I have cellulite, fact of life. Its either a lower body lift for me (which I really dont think I have enough of a problem to justify the expense, risk or pain) or just live with it. So my goal "might" be 67kg - I'm not sure, lets just see whether I keep losing or not. At the moment I'm in another losing phase. But I wont "try" to lose anymore after that and if I keep going, I'll have to consider an unfill.

It can be covered if its done under the public system and you go on a waiting list at whatever hospital you've chosen. The wait can be years and years though. When you're done that way, you're only charged the scheduled fee and of course you get 85% of that back. When you choose a private surgeon, of course you still get 85% of the scheduled fee back. But his fee will be WAY above the scheduled fee. I know quite a few people who have been done under the public system and paid very little. Williamstown hospital in Melb had a very short waiting list, months and I know of quite a few bandsters done in Perth quite quickly. But the Alfred has a waiting list a few years long, I believe its down to about 2 or 3 now, when I was banded it was 7! All the people I know qualified as morbidly obese with a BMI of 40 or more. A lot of private surgeons wont touch self pay patients becuase of the situation if revision surgery is needed. The spend all their savings on the band and then dont go for the required follow up care or have the money for revision surgery. Whereas if you take out private health insurance, wait the year to qualify, most surgeons charge one out of pocket expensive of several thousand and your fills and follow up care are free forever (bulk billed) - so although you have the wait, it doesnt end up costing any more to do it that way AND you have PHI to cover all aspects of your health. Well worth thinking about.

It depends what the junk food is - I certainly cant eat pizza or fish and chips or Chinese food any more easily than healthy food and in fact they're harder and I desire them very little these days. But I really have to work at eating properly when hungry. My bandster rule is "wholegrain carbs first". They work better to fill me up, keep me full and energise me than Protein does - although of course i eat protein foods too. But they take WORK to eat and if I'm starving my first instinct is pick something easy - chocolate, biscuits, etc. Those foods go down SO easily!

To a degree it does nosedive. part of the reason why many people never get to a normal weight is that for many previously obese people, they'd have to STARVE to maintain a normal body weight, they'd have to eat way way less than someone who'd always been that weight eats. At any rate this was what my surgeon said at the information session. Whether that's because they're metabolism was shot in the first place and that's how they got so fat or whether its as a result of living on a calorie restricted diet is not known but its probably a combination of both. One thing for sure, even without any slowdown, your new normal weight body will need far less calories than your old fat one did. Its part of the reason why we need our lapbands forever. Its very important to focus on changing your body composition as you lose though, more lean body mass means your metabolism will be higher. After the surgery my surgeon urged me to try to get in 1200 calories a day to avoid that superfast weight loss that consists of Water and muscle and not much fat.

No, dont worry, I think you've hit the nail on the head. The band is a great tool but only for people who are ready to really commit to a change in lifestyle. For true binge eaters, bulimics etc it can be a very difficult tool to manage, and for people who really dont understand what they should be doing to lose weight and keep it off for good, its not a great tool either. It makes you lose weight simply because you eat less but that only takes you so far. IF you are ready to really commit to sensible diet and exercise and understand that it will still involve hard hard work, blood, sweat and tears, then its for you. But nor do you need to be perfect! Basically I find the band works in such a way that I have to do what I always had to do to lose weight. But my motivation can wane, the detail can slip and I maintain, I dont gain. Then I can get going again for another spell, eat perfectly, exercise just weight and there goes more weight. Then I'd maintain for a while. I'm great at maintenance, suck at dieting, lol. I can eat well and exercise but I'm not much on calorie counting, food tracking, etc. So I had slowish loss but I got there - about 120% of my excess weight is gone now.

I eat a reasonable amount of food - I'm not too tight - and I eat a lot of fibrous carbs which do take a fair bit of energy to digest, keep me feeling full, dampen down the cravings. High Protein just doesnt work for me, I get lethargic and start craving rubbish. I dont believe that eating hardly anythign gets you very far in the weight loss game, you need to be nourished to have the energy for the most important part - exercise. I run for about an hour 3 times a week and 3 times a week I do a half hour gym circuit (which is like Curves) and then a 40 minute program on the treadmill - usually a combo of high incline walking at fast speeds and running. And I always fit in a walk or something active when I have the opportunity. I often go for a walk with Doug at night for maybe 5kms or so.