Jachut

For me, it depends on the time of day, I really probably only do eat 1/2 a cup most nights, but during the day I can eat a good portion of a sandwich for lunch (a bit more than half of something small, like just tuna in 2 slices of wholemeal bread, not a huge Fred Flintstone style triple decker!). Amazingly, everytime I go out for dinner, my band behaves very well and loosens up for me to enjoy a little more than unusual but not a whole lot (must be the wine, lol). For breakfast I normally eat a bowl of cer4al that is average. Compared to an "ordinary" person, I'm a small eater. But not so different that everyone notices. I dont know how better to say it than I just dont eat a helluva lot, but I do eat "normally".

Tell me about it. I also loathe really overly girlie stuff too.

You have to start with what you can handle, of course! But an hour of hard exercise per day isnt excessive when you consider how sedentary our lives are these days. Devices to do everything and all of that. I fit that in with relative ease these days and if I'm busy well on those days I do less. I highly recommend building up to it though, you'll get great results if you do.

Yeah, productive head spinning around barf-o-rama would describe it better for me. That does indeed sound like one of those icky wet burps we all have from time to time. That's happened to me when I wasnt banded.

Dont know if you mean me? (how embarrassing if you dont, roflmao!!!!) Anyway, have lost 40kg, its taken almost 2 years, no I didnt follow any special diet plan, I just eat probably 1/2 of what I used to but I eat ordinary foods and I do eat out and allow myself treats etc. I run for an hour probably five days per week. I really believe exercise is the secret weapon in winning this battle. hope that helps!

We're not told protein first here and so I dont really eat that way. I just eat less than what I used to be but a totally normal diet, I eat carbs and I eat fat (hate low fat products, apart from skim milk). And I've lost all my weight. Not that I'm saying my way is the right way, just that its another way you can do it and still lose weight.

Yes, I had a tiny hint of it after my last fill (3cc in a 4cc band) six months ago. I was a tad worried about being that tight becuase I really do think it makes you prone to complications. But I've lost a bit more and its loosened up and I never have even an inkling of it anymore.

Erk, how awful. Dont worry, you wont get it back again, gastro is usually viral and you've had it now so you wont catch that particular one again. And thankfully for we adults, we've been exposed to so much, its pretty few and far between. As for an unfill, if you're getting down more and more then chances are you'll calm down inside and be OK. If its not substantially better in a week say, then perhaps think about going in.

I am more focussed on running shoes, and I also wear an orthotic, but it depends entirely on your feet. I cannot recommend Brooks shoes highly enough, but then again the Asics Kayanos are also excellent shoes but they feel like crap on my feet (they're too narrow for me), so Brooks may not suit you. But Brooks and Asics are very good brands and will have a shoe suitable for walking. Adidas apparently has really beefed up its line too and is no longer such a "fashion" shoe but a more serious sports shoe.

Obviously at goal I can see it now. But I cant help focussing on the bits that arent perfect, I cant see myself as compared to anyone else and I cant remember the old me. When I see a photo I'm completely stunned, I actually for the first time in my life am not only thin but have quite a good figure (your frame of reference is quite different at 40 than it is at 20, lol) and am generally well and truly more fit looking than the people I'm photographed with!

Actually ellipticals over and above ALL cardio machines are notoriously inaccurate, they overstate calories burned substantially. I've read about it before, its something to do with how you're not actually moving forward but the machine assumes you are kind of thing. Anyway, sad to say, you dont hop on the elliptical and burn 800 calories in half an hour.

Hi Susannah, I'm really sorry that you're struggling with this, its quite confronting to achieve what you always thought you wanted and for it not to make you entirely happy. I think the counselling is a fantastic idea. Its a chicken and egg thing, I mean did you become overweight in the first place because of the way you think about yourself or can you simply not break the habit of despising yourself as a fat person? Its a great idea to get some help with that. I'm glad that Anna was able to support you, sometimes it really does take a woman to understand this sort of thing, just as I'm sure we dont quite get all the issues men have with weight loss. I guess that there's sometimes a few different facets to this journey, the weight loss is only a part of it. But you've achieved a huge amount, dont think of it as over now, there's some other bits to work on, that's all. Some face to face support with your pals could be good too - and I did promise Phili that I'd get together with her after my holiday, should we organise a coffee? Then we can have another one when Meredith is down, lol.

I know, moral judgements aside, its simply the HOW of it that is so fascinating. I've barely taken a bite and both my sons have finished their dinner! People just dont even take the time to taste things. It really does go to show I think that eating is simply a survival mechanism to us. All the niceties around it, those are all cultural things that we've tried to impose, but it doesnt deny the fact that our bodies just want food and they want it now. And they will eat whatever is available - becuase we are not evolved to know that there's food just around the corner again. People that arent fat, arent banded and eat nicely, dont overeat and dont bolt their meals, they probably wouldnt have survived a million years ago, lol. It'd be us, rolling around in drooling agony after eating an entire bison that would survive the eight weeks until another one came along!

Too bluddy roit mate! We need ta tell em ta shuv orf. *giggle*

Everyone's fat burning heart rate zone is the same 210 - age, etc etc Wrong again. That formula is completely inaccurate. Fit people can burn more fat at much higher heart rates. The talk or exertion test is more accurate. Even if your heart rate is 177 if you can talk (not necessarily hold an entire conversation!) and you're not killing yourself and you can do it for 1/2 an hour, then you're not working "too hard".

You havent gotten yourself knocked up have you, lol?

Our neighbours are all feral, we really really HAVE to move next year. This has become a really high rental area, where in Australia its still more common to own your own house. So the houses have all gotten run down, the gardens gone to ruins, etc and its full of feral people. But anyway, next door has a roofing business and the truck comes delivering crap at 4.30 am, that wakes us up. Over the road she delivers local newspapers so they get delivered at sparrow fart once a week too. Then we have this weird guy next to them who spends his life standing out the front of his house staring at us. But overall, I'd say its US who are the bad neighbours, lol. The amount of screaming, crying, and kids fighting that comes out of our house, roflmao! they must think someones being MURDERED in here. Oh, but the kid that climbs over the back fence and lets himself into our house (he's 5) gives me the shits too.

Its when people assume you've never been fat, that's an incredible feeling. Bask in it, you deserve to!

I've deleted this because it really should go in rants and raves - and its also not fair to call attention to one thread where one person said something when I'm not having a go at that particular person at all, just the practice in general. I was talking about calling normal weight "skinny" or "anorexic" or "sickly looking". It really bugs me and I think its a bit dysfunctional.

I could have started running without a band, for sure. And I would run without a band if I ever lose mine. But it took the band and the noticeable effects of losing 14kg to make me ABLE to run. And to keep seeing results, well that kept me running. And now I'm totally insane and addicted and I love what it does for my body. So even there the band helped. Without the band I would have found it exhausting for little reward becuase I wouldnt have had the eating under control at the same time. I've always either exercised or eaten well, never both together.

Yes, I'm thinking weight regain or lack of loss after you've had surgery would be enough to make anyone seriously depressed. As would finding out all your issues are not resolved by weight loss. You're not suddenly stunningly beautiful with lots of money and great hair and men wanting to date you. YOu're just you, only thinner. If you werent happy with you in the first place, that's a hard thing to face. Or realising you never will feel "perfect". You still see the fat person or you still dont like yourself, that'd be awful. Or more importantly losing your only coping mechanism for dealing with things you cant face - food. So those stats dont really surprise me at all.

Oh, trying on a dress the other day (and buying it) and having to model it for all the ladies in the store because it was new in and they hadnt seen it on anyone. The lady said, no, surely you dont need a 14, you'll need the 12 (which I did, lol) and then they're all sighing and saying Oh, I wish I was as tall and thin as you to be able to wear something like that! That was awesome. And the freaking thing was only $99. Its true, you pay soooooo much more when you have to buy plus sizes. And when it comes to evening wear everythings disgusting nanna clothes anyway. And yes, I bought a pair of high, thin heels to go with it. I know they wont bend under my weight, lol.

First thing in the morning, last thing at night, every single day. I dont think its necessarily a bad or destructive habit. If my weights up a pound or two or the same for aaaaages I know to watch it and try a bit harder. If its down then I'm motivated to try even harder. Its a winner either way.

To lose weight, you need long slow exercise with your heart rate in the fat burning zone. OK, now I know a lot of people believe this, I think its a load of crapola. Even though every personal trainer you ever go to will spew it out at you. Its true to an extent, I mean your body burns the most PROPORTION of fat at this rate. But you burn much more fat overall if you work harder. OK, we've all got to start somewhere. So if that's what you can handle at first, fine. But the real truth is if you work harder, you'll be able to do way more in the fat burning zone eventually. I can stay in this heart rate zone running now. Which means I will burn TWICE as many calories (becuase I cover twice the distance in the same time) as the person who stubbornly insisted they must not let their heart rate get higher or they'd "stop burning fat" - no you wont stop burning fat, the mix just changes. If you can run for an hour a day without it exhausting you, without it injuring you, with it being a pleasant experience, just like a nice long walk is, you will have turned your body into a fat burning machine. YOu wont put on weight again without really trying to. Oh, and aerobic exercise doesnt perhaps build a LOT Of muscle, but I can tell you it does build some and it tones the hell out of what you have. I dont do much in the way of strength training but I have legs like steel and my upper body is nicely toned from the arm motion and my abdominals are super duper strong and flat.

Yes, I had some strange feelings like that early on but your body does settle and you get used to it and it goes away. Now however, real hunger, when you're stomach is growling, that's quite painful for me. I start to get cramps, really bad ones. I have to have emergency food in my bag because I have to eat right NOW or I'll be writhing in pain.