Jachut

I changed mine upwards because I sat there for about 4 months, and I really thought it was where I was going to stay. As an adult in my 20's I sat at 78 to 79kg for about 10 years and I thought my body was telling me that's where it wanted to be. I was happy enough with it - I knew I may not be overweight going by numbers but was still a little too "fat" but I'd lost 100% of my excess weight and just scraped into my healthy weight range. That was about 3 months ago and I've lost 6kg since then, lol. Now I'm really going for 70kg. I do believe I can get there. But being "at goal" and no longer under pressure to lose has changed my attitude a lot and every new weight I get too I'm just really prepared to wait and see what happens!

I only lost consistently in the first five or six months, since then its been little fits and starts of weight loss, I have not since consistently lost every week. Its been more like 3 weeks at the same weight, lose 4 lb overnight, six weeks at same weight, lose 2lb overnight, one week at the same night, lose another 3lb overnight kind of thing. Lately, its coming off quite fast again, I really dont know quite why.

Its very motivating isnt it? I have found that plateaus for me can be broken simply by increasing the low level exercise. Like the last 3 holidays I've been on, I"ve come home lighter. Thinking about it, its 3 meals a day no snacks (I actually eat less on holidays, busy, entertained, no nibbling and snacking, despite more eating out) and the exercise - I usually run every morning still but do tons of walking around as well, much more than at home. It always works. And really, its just a return to what I should be doing.

Wow Bronnie, you're doing GREAT! You're almost there. I bet you're feeling fantastic!

So true. The key to walking is effort and speed. Even as a runner, I walk too. Not for a break from exercise but just for a break for my joints. The main reason I run is I like to be even MORE out of breath, for that endorphin rush. And I find with walking, its difficult to maintain the speed, I tend to slow down and end up strolling, have to keep picking up the pace again. In fact, when I'm really trying to lose - getting those very last kgs off at the moment, I run AND walk almost daily. If you walk right though, there's never any "need" to run.

I agree, its people I dont know. Family and friends, and people I have associations with from day to day, they dont treat me differently. But the way I get treated in public, you become so much more visible. Even the hairdresser is more friendly because she wants to do something funky and up to the minute with my hair since I'm not just another fat person begging to keep it long and boring to hide the chins. I would never have realised there was a difference in the way thin and fat people were treated although I havent been really fat for more than seven or eight years.

Lol, cant talk now, busy wrapping myself in foil.... I kept ONE pair of jeans. They just fall to the floor. But even still it wont sink in. I cannot believe, simply cannot, that they once fit me. Yet I remember wearing them clearly and I thought they looked good! This bikini photo, I dont think I allow myself to believe that's me. I think "oh, yeah but its a good photo, I dont really look like that". its a lot of headwork, that's for sure.

Oh, I wish! Wouldnt you love to have your 30's back again slim, fit and healthy. I really feel like I didnt get the most out of life for most of my 30's. Thanks for the compliments guys! I know its cliche, but honestly, if I can do it anyone can. I just get out there night after night, putting one foot in front of the other. Running has made all the difference I think.

Buy a rash vest! That will cover your arms nicely and they're perfectly acceptable pool and beach wear these days. Well in Australia anyway, not sure if they're still just something surfers were over there, but here, rashies on the beach are more common than not.

In a situation where I want to eat something sweet, I eat limited amounts of real sugar. I'm a bit phobic about artificial sweeteners and I think they're a bit like low fat products, they lull people into eating too many of those sorts of foods instead of good healthy natural food. Its just a matter of taste really though. I do have a bit of a sweet tooth when it comes to chocolate, lol, but I dont have sugar in coffee or tea, dont drink sweet drinks or eat ice cream or sweet yogurt ever so I dont worry about the small amounts of sugar that I do eat.

Someone mentioned this the other day, below her collarbone. I find the chest a rather strange postion. Isnt it visible? At goal weight I have no fat on my chest, I can count my ribs, and I can guarantee it would stick out majorly. And its also probably a part of our bodies we show a lot since few people could really say "oh, I have a terrible upper chest" or "oh, I have cellulite on my collarbones".

Because of course, I store things in my BBQ. Then again I do hide chips and snack foods in the microwave, lol, so the kids dont eat them all on the first day.

Oh easily last week, my third only in two years. I had calamari at the pub in Byron Bay. Littled did I know that my period would arrive next day so I was probably tighter than normal. I took a small bite, chewed well, then another. Had a sip of wine. At some salad. Then began to feel stuck. I can never tell at first how bad its going to be. Anyway soon knew I needed to walk around, so went to the bathroom. Stood spitting into the toilet, also had the runs a bit, totally miserable. Thought it would be OK. Went back out to the table. Nup. Back to the bathroom. Soon enough mum comes in looking for me, then my sister. I said I'm allright, just a bit stuck. Was burping, spitting, making horrid noises probably, lol. Had a very small PB. Thought that would be OK. Back out to the table. Nup. Back to the bathroom. In real pain now. Couldnt dislodge it, just a small PB, foam only. Everyone had finished their lunch by now, I thought I'd be OK to get home, so we walked back to the house. Through the main street with slime building up in my mouth, made it to the railway tracks by which point my legs were going weak and my vision blurring. I waved everyone else on (thank god it was only family) and ducked behind a bush. More spitting and trying to puke, no dice. Crossed the park in a daze, just focussed on getting back to the house, when I did I just bolted for the bathroom, didnt even shut the door before performing a spectacular exorcists style head spinning around barf that finally dislodged that first pesky piece of calamari. PB's for me, thank goodness are few, because when they happen they are MAJOR. And it always takes me five minutes to realise, when the food starts to move through the stoma, of course by this time I've put more food on top of it and made it really bad. I wish I could just swallow, and then know, nope, that's not going to work.

There's people around in Australia still going strong at 10 years. I dont know anyone personally though, apart from one lady who has had a revision to the newer band due to slippage.

I would take nuts or yogurt probably. Eating on the run is quite hard. A lot of the times I just done eat, and get by on coffee. Not that that's great health practice!

I think listening to your body is what you need to do at this stage, dont eat till you feel really full. Proper restriction will come with a fill, just do all the "diet" things you would previously have done, avoid the fat etc and liquid calories and you should be right. I dont measure out food. I'm sure all of our pouches adjust to one degree or another. But I just try at all costs to avoid feeling stuffed. It does happen from time to time, lol, and then I get the major worries over it. But overall, I eat till "satisfied" and that's what you need to aim for.

Not only can yu do it, you can exceed it. I now weigh exactly what I did when I got married almost 17 years ago. I got out the photos the other day and I actually look better now. Exercise makes a big difference here. I am significantly thinner at this weight now than I was back then because I have more muscle and less fat. I had a much chubbier face and body back then, although the weight was a low point for me and I was thrilled with it at the time. I held it for the honeymoon and that was it, lol.

Gosh, no, I'm a crusty old married 40 year old, lol. But I get lots of male attention these days and I'm not exactly averse to it, tee hee. Except when Im running. The honks, yells and being stared at at the traffic lights give me the shits. I only want to be looked at when it suits me!

Lol, I was in a tutorial at uni the other week and we were doing group work. Something was mentioned about fluoride in the Water (totally off topic) and this girl, gorgeous 20 year old, says "oh, you Melbourne people all have such great teeth becuase of the fluoride in your water. I've got a headfull of fillings because I grew up in Brisbane". I said "yeah, I"m 40 and I've NEVER had a filling". She says, lol, "Oh my god, you're 40? Wow, you dont look 40. YOu look amazing. I wouldnt have thought you were a day over 35". Gee... um.. thanks? Lol. It was meant to be a compliment so I took it as such. But I guess when you're 20, anything over 30 is crusty.

I've done a lot of study on mulitple intelligences too, as a teacher. I'm linguistically and intrapersonally smart, those are by far my biggest strengths. Spatially, I'm useless, never trust me to park your car, lol! I will drive around for hours looking for a drive in spot rather than parallel park at the kerb on a busy street. I'm the one that never overtakes on country roads and gets stuck behind a tram for kilometres because I cant trust myself to pull around it and make it through the gap. I've average number/mathematical ability. Nothing too flash.

I've never had a problem, never been too tight. I do get hungry, but not inappriately so. I still have some bad habits, I do eat out of boredom, when I'm not hungry. But the band still helps with that. I'm slowly gaining control over that, I do it much less often now, but when I do, I cant eat as much as I once did. I get hungry more often if anything, because I've only eaten a small amount. I've never regularly been hungry at mealtimes before! But a small amount satisifies. It really does help over the longer term. You arent supposed to never get hungry again. But I will point out that many people say they were starving all the time and that's why they ate so much. I never was. I ate just because, not in response to hunger. As to being too tight, well I've never been, I think some people are WAY more sensitive to fills, tend to swell and are more sensitive to some foods. I tend to have a cast Iron gut, but I also think that the amount of exercise I do helps a lot. What people describe as their "sweet spot" where they can eat 1/2 cup, I think of as WAY WAY too tight. I've simply never needed to go that tight to lose since i burn lots of calories in exercise. Its all down to you and how you choose to use it, but we all have a lot of doubt and fail to appreciate just how much the band helps!

I've read some interesting articles lately about how good milk is after a workout. In some studies (and you have to take everything with a grain of salt of course) the participants who drank skim milk after their workout in preference to Protein drinks, sports drinks or Water lost more fat and gained more muscle than the others. It doesnt hurt to give it a try. Apparently milk has the optimum proportion of Proteins and carbs for recovery and is absorbed by the body the best.

I was missing her too...

Me too. I think its our culture to a large degree, we do celebrate everything with food but we dont HAVE to overeat when we do it. I've learned I dont have to have a huge meal, dessert and 3 glasses of wine just because its a birthday dinner. But I think its really important to pass that on to the other members of your family too. However its something I'm struggling with with my family because the kids have the influence of all their peers and simply dont care about their health or the threat of getting fat at the moment. I have to be tough sometimes. And other people think we're weird health freaks simply because I dont let them have McDonalds three times a week and we dont have soft drinks in the house!

That first month is hard when you're on such a restricted diet. But long term, my social life involves food as much as it ever did. That's our culture to a large degree. I still enjoy it. I just eat less of it than I once did. I used to do things like think "Oh, I'm going out for dinner so I will start my diet tomorrow". Then I'd stuff my face with junk all afternoon as a last fling. Then tomorrow would never come. Now I just think "oh, I'm going out for dinner". Doesnt matter where it is or what it is, dinner is a moderate affair that doesnt derail my weight control efforts. Living life with a band really is not limiting at all after you've healed up and returned to a normal diet.