Jachut

I told my kids the truth. They were 10 and 8 at the time, my daughter was only 2. I feel that its important to acknowledge the health dangers of obesity and the importance of doing something about it, its something you could never hide from your family - the change in me has been huge. Our entire lifestyle is healthier, the effects of my surgery have flowed onto my husband and kids etc etc.

In the 12 weeks between surgery and my first fill I lost about 40lb, about half of my excess weight. I had remarkably good restriction after surgery, it lasted about 8 weeks, I was full of fresh enthusiasm and good intentions and I just milked it for all it was worth. Since then I've been a pretty slow loser, but lost it I have, its just taken a good year and a bit to lose the other 40lb or so. I'd still like to lose another 10 but at the rate of 1 or 2lb a month, that will take me until next year.

No I dont. I dont believe in Protein as the be all and end all of everything, to me its just one of the macronutrients we need - of the same importance as carbs and fats, not more. I dont count protein grams, I dont eat a ton of protein (probably average out 40 to maybe 60 grams most days for my 5ft 10, 168lb frame) and I have not had hanging skin, nor did I lose my hair. I think a well balanced diet, with plenty of the good fats can help, and taking a Multivitamin supplement is good insurance for everyone. I guess the only thing I could say that has perhaps helped is that I'm an exercise fanatic. I run looooong distances and I lift very heavy weights. I work very hard, at least an hour of really hard stuff most days. No namby pamby walking for me, lol. But I really think its luck of the draw. I also had 3 huge 10 lb babies and never got a single stretchmark, and I did not carry weight on my stomach but more, all over, stretched over a tall body. I also was overweight/ish most of my life, but not severely obese for more than about 4 years. Simple as that.

I just put that sort of stuff in the "yeah, right" category along with over the counter weight loss pills and any sort of cosmetic cellulite reduction treatment, lol. Its bullsh*t, pure and simple, I dont believe it. You can do anything with a bit of airbrushing. I've never wasted my money on quick fixes or a zillion crazy diets. When I really got serious, I just did it right!

For me - nothing. I do it often, not all the time. I dont down a huge glass of Water but I do sip coffee (breakfast time and lunchtime) or wine (dinner time)with a meal. Doesnt make me hungry sooner, spaces out the bites and helps avoid golfballs from eating too fast etc. I was never told not to actually. Although in general its also the practice in Australia.

Well you have to define "need" and want. I've lost 85lb and I dont need plastic surgery. Sure, I could look improved if I had some. I have a flat belly, but I'm kinda flabby in the backside and thighs. I say I dont have batwings, but then again, I dont have arms like a supermodel either. I'm sure if they got me on one to those makeover shows they could find things to do to me. I look like a 40 year old who's had 3 babies. Fine by me since that's what I am. But do I "need" it. No. I dont have lose skin hanging on me anywhere. I can wear sleeveless tops, or a bathing suit and look just like everyone else. People wont faint on the beach becuase I'm drop dead gorgeous, but with a bit of fake tan and a quick dash to the Water I can manage to not make people sick, lol. I'm OK. I'm healthy and strong and very fit and that's good enough for me. I dont have to tuck skin into my clothes, which is wonderful. I just dont look like losing all that weight suddenly turned me into a 20 year old again.

Oh, sorry, too busy to be here, lol. I've been hanging on the Rants n Raves board, conversing with possibly the MOST stupid man I've ever come across Apparently in America there's revolution! Black men are marrying white women, people are importing Filippino wives, young women are marrying older men and 11 year olds have 34C breasts! Whow, whoda thunk it? And apparently all us bitter old bitches are just jealous because treasures like him are being snapped up by young ladies that can do tricks with ping pong balls. Oh, and if things werent bad enough, there may even be a female president one day! Hop on over, its really happening!

I enjoy food more than I did before banding. I just dont gorge on it anymore. Saturday, we went out shopping in the morning, deli, butcher, fresh vegetables, wine. I spent Saturday afternoon making the most divine bolognaise sauce. I really enjoyed it for dinner Saturday night - I even made the Pasta fresh. I had a teeny tiny bowl. It was fantastic, I had a long glass of really good wine, that I also enjoyed. So nice. No problem. Previously, I would have done the cooking, eaten 2 huge bowls of the spaghetti, had 3 wines, and we would have polished off a block of chocolate whilst watching a movie. I was every single bit as satisfied, but not regretful. Banding has allowed me to explore and develop my passion for beautiful fresh organic ingredients, and cooking gourmet meals without being afrid of what it will do to me. I taste, I enjoy but I dont stuff myself. Its wonderful.

I think the fact that he thought i was pregnant would have gone over my head, I would have been too angry at the insinuation that a pregnant woman ought to be home where she belongs. I probably would have decked him, I dont suffer chauvenistic fools gladly. Look, that must be devastating, but you ARE doing something about it. You ARE beautiful on the inside and you're able to work on outward appearances. He will always be a dickhead.

All I've required is the support I'd want in any other venture of my life. It wasnt a very big op to get over, in fact my DH went fishing for 9 days about a week after I'd had my op, lol. I was fine on my own with 3 kids. And our family lifestyle hasnt changed a lot - nor has our diet, it was always good. I dont avoid foods, I dont "diet" so we eat what we've always eaten only I eat less of it. I really had a problem with portion control but I guess we do eat less takeaway and stodgy Pasta dinners than we used to, but still normal family fare. If anything, I guess its my passion for running that's affected my DH, he's now exercising quite regularly too although he's frustrated that he just cant keep up with me - he's a little overweight himself and would have to lose a bit to hope to get as fit as I am, but not having a band himself, its not so easy for him. Weight loss is a personal journey when it comes right down to it. Its really great to have your loved ones supporting you, but you have to do it for yourself. So I guess as the non banded one of a partnership, just be prepared to be loving, supportive and answer right when she asks "does my bum look big in this?".

totally agree Lucy. I dont know about anyone else but what got me riled and kept me going is the tantrum throwing becuase he's disagreed with. Want to post topics for debate? Yeah, great go ahead, but behave like a freaking adult when you're disagreed with, not like a petulant child. He's done 9/10 of the insulting in these threads because surprise surprise, nobody was that positive that a relationship with a wife from a compeltely different culture that you dont even know bar via the internet would work out. Yes, internet romances sometimes do happen. But 9/10 of the time they dont work. And if he's so darn illiterate that he cant put his message across without managing to insult nearly every reader (and display his TRUE feelings in the process, which are indeed racist, bigoted and sexist even if his initial posts were not) then maybe he ought stick to face to face conversations in the future. I've been on the receiving end and misunderstood on line before. But you know what? After initially doing my block and getting mad because nobody could see my point of view, I stepped back, thought about it and realised that maybe I was coming across the wrong way. And I apologised, and agreed to differ with people. This guy has behaved like a complete fool.

I slept on my side the first night, for an hour or so at a time. It did hurt a bit when I moved and it was a hard position to get into but I got a pillow under my side like you do when you're pregant, it was just such a relief to get off my back!

It is major, its very important to give your stomach time to heal. It doesnt matter what the solid food is, you need to stay away. The liquid diet is really hard but the only rules I had were that it had to be able to pass up a straw. There is no reason not to liquidise REAL food, you dont have to live on Protein shakes and juice. Make some decent Soup or something and blend it smooth. Put Pasta, meat and vegetables in it. It makes ALL the difference and it doesnt stop you losing weight either. I only found the liquid diet hard whilst I was trying to follow what people seem to do here - many people have Clear Liquids for a lot longer than I had to - once I stopped trying to live on V8 and Water and started having some real food, I found it very easy, honestly.

I've had to start being VERY careful after my 6th fill, 18 months out. So much so that I'm going back for a slight unfill. Its giving me the sh*ts, I havent been able to eat dinner at all the last few nights, lunch is touchy, the only decent meal I've been getting in is Breakfast and then I nibble on stuff that goes down easily all day. Even though I havent PB'd, I figure I dont need this hassle when I'm already at a healthy weight, there's just no need for it. I had hoped to drop a little more but I can see I'm just going to start relying on chocolate or Cookies rather than healthy food, so I think I'd say I'm tighter than I really need to be at this stage. I managed the whole weight loss journey without more than two PB's though, it took about 4 fills before I was anything like properly restricted but I'd still lost most of my weight by that point. But

We need that popcorn emoticon here...

Oh Bjean he gave quite a detailed description of looking at an 11 year olds breasts in another post.

Aw shucks guys, I'm glad I seem to be of some help. Its just that that's what I wanted to take away from being banded. I wanted to weigh less, yes, but more than anything, I wanted to be free of that infernal obsession with food and dieting. I feel weird that so much of what I believe goes against what so many of your doctors tell you, but I honestly feel that losing the focus on dieting is what has helped me to be successful. No food is evil, you dont have to get the perfect "balance" of carbs/proteins/fats every single day to be healthy, if you have a bit of a binge, eat poorly for a holiday, or even for an entire month, its never too late to go back to moderate everyday decisions on eating and exercise, that as long as you keep getting back on that wagon, and you manage to stay there 80% of the time you will be successful. Its also really really easy for me to say that when perhaps I came from an easier starting point, lower BMI, I had a bit of a portion control problem but not a binge eating disorder or any other type of disorder, I've never had any mental or psychological problems, I grew up in a secure, loving environment, I just got a bit fat is all. But I cant say enough that if you need to get obsessive, get obsessed with exercise. It grants you the freedom to eat like a real person and still lose weight.

Exactly what Edie said. Getting results for the first time in my life made it easier and easier to keep going and then one day, WHAM, about 10 months out of surgery, I realised these new practices had become new habits.

<p>I've never been one to have problems with foods, I can in general eat anything, and I've only ever PB'd twice in 18 months. But I do worry about it in public eating situations, I"m always super duper careful.</p> <p> </p> <p>I'm not a teacher yet, I'm half way through my degree. I had full time teaching practicum late last semester and am going back in 3 weeks for more. For the first time in my banded life I found eating in public an awkward experience. For reasons unknown I was tight as a fish's proverbial every single lunchtime. I took Soup or cheese and crackers every single day and I even ahd trouble with the soup! I was just soooooooo careful - given that I didnt know these people at all. If I'd been in a work situation where I was a member of staff, I would never have hesitated to tell everyone I was banded. But I felt so silly, it took me literally the whole lunch hour to eat a bowl of soup! I know people noticed. </p> <p> </p> <p>If there's one limitation on my life as a result of being banded, its that being unable to eat in a hurry is darn inconvenient sometimes. I have to elect not to eat at all.</p> <p> </p> <p>At this stage of my banded life, I could get by on a good Breakfast, and somethign really really simple like a yogurt for lunch, perhaps a piece of fruit or a muesli bar after school hours have finished. When I go back in 3 weeks there's no way I will be even attempting sandwiches, Pasta etc, all things I normally eat for lunch with no problems.</p> <p> </p> <p>I think I was probably nervous about it and that made me tight.</p> Unfortunately PB's are not something that I could cover with a cough. When it has happened to me, its been a very loud and definite ralph, lol. Preceeded by 40 minutes of horrid sliming that I could never have hidden. I am most definitely not OK when that happens and could never pretend to be. But before you run screaming in fear, I've done it to myself when its happened. Its entirely within my control to prevent it and that's all I'm saying. Dont eat difficult foods, dont eat a lot and dont eat quickly in public and you'll be fine.

That is simply appalling. Even done out of love, it is appalling. I know that for me, I wasnt a girlie girl as a teen. I'm five ft 10 and I was a little overweight - maybe 14lb overweight. Because I wasnt cute, pretty or petite, my mother worried for me, only out of love and concern that I didnt fit in, because although I was a happy kid, and had friends, I was teased mercilessly as a young child because I was so tall. I was called fat although i wasnt, not in the least, but I just wasnt 4ft tall and 80lb. It broke my mum's heart. She had me on a diet by the age of 11. Honestly, it started a cycle that I think resulted in my obesity where it need never have existed. I truly dieted myself fat. I learned to hate a perfectly normal, healthy and yes, attractive body. Just becuase I didnt fit a mould. How I came to adulthood and overcame that, ended up with a perfectly healthy and realistic self image and no body dysmorphia is beyond me, but I was able to see clearly that I needed to lose weight but I did not need to be perfect. I love myself now, not being silly, I mean that in a healthy, normal way. I love my body, its not perfect but I have no need, now that I have treated it with respect by getting fit and losing the weight I needed to, to go and cut it up, add bits, suck bits out, etc. Its a 40 year old healthy body that's born 3 beautiful children and I'm happy to spend the rest of my life in it. That's a fluke, its got little to do with what I went through as a teenager, I absolutely cannot imagine what it would be like to be truly obese throughout those years. Its bad enough just not being the pretty one. you sound similar. Like there was nothing at all wrong with you other than not fitting the stereotype. I really feel for you, what was done to you was wrong. I hope that it was done purely out of love, misguided as it may have been and that overtime your relationship will be OK.

Arms down they really DO look fantastic. I hope you get to love them unconditionally, lol. Its a big change to your body to do something like this and I think you need to allow a little time to get used to it all. Nothing is every going to be perfect. But those boobs are darn close to it! do you really want them bigger? They just look so darn perfect as it is.

I've just read this entire thread - now I want a bike too! I have absolutely nowhere to store one though, we have a carport, not a garage, and the kids bikes are chained to the posts, and we keep one car in the driveway and only one car under cover as a result. The shed is full of lawnmowers and camping gear etc. We really really really need a new house, w'ere bursting the seams of this one. Isnt it funny though, I'm not the least bit embarrassed to be out running in the daylight, being seen by all and sundry, not even with a pair of DD's on my chest, lol. But the thought of a motorist driving behind me laughing at my (normal weight) backside puts me off. Not to mention I'd feel so nervous riding on the actual road. All the main rounds round here are 80kms/hr and they also are rather unmade, there's big rocky shoulders or ditches at the sides an definitely no dedicated bike lanes.

I've been to a couple of chinese banquets. You will NEVER be able to get through all the food, lol, but what I've done is just a bite or two of each course and skipped one or two entirely. Let them serve it up and just dont eat it. I have no shame or embarrassment about telling people I'm too full. Simple as that. Just say it. "I'm a bit too full, I'm going to sit this one out". Its easy. You dont have to say you are banded.

How about YOU wake up and get real? These "controversial" topics you are bringing up, why can you not realise that they're old news, they're not controversial or some fantastic new fodder for debate that we've never considered before, that life has been like that for a loooooong time, but its your spin on them that we're all reacting to? You said nobody here knew how to debate, well a debate is not when everyone agrees with you. In a debate, rational, sane people come back with solid evidence for why they believe what they do, they dont go off into a frenzy of name calling and insults. I'm happily married with 3 children, have been for 16 years. You've 3 divorces behind you. Does it not occur to you that perhaps I just might know something about maintaining a healthy relationship?. At every turn you have indicated a complete refusal to acknowledge the very basics of what makes a relationship tick - and when pressed on this you just go on a rant about how jealous and unenlightened we all are. Think about it dimwit, maybe, just maybe YOU had something to do with those 3 failed marriages and maybe, just maybe you are repeating the same mistakes with your attituded towards your next relationship. White/black/Filippino, dont you get that it doesnt matter? Dont you understand that its the attitutudes YOU are expressing that have everyone riled? Not the subject matter at all. I couldnt care less about mixed race marriages, its so not an issue to me that it doesnt even register on my radar. I'm not jealous, good lord, dont you realise what a complete lunatic you are making yourself look? I think, as per the other post, perhaps compassion is required here. You're either completely nuts or you're abusing some substance or antoher. You cannot be for real. I hope you get some help.

Oh Boy. Sigh.