Jachut

Things will change with good restriction. YOur first fill may not be it, but it will make a difference, till then, practice what you know you should do but dont be hard on yourself for falling off the wagon. 15lb off is still 15 lb and its a good amount to lose in that space of time.

Quite the opposite actually - I feel like myself again. I guess I wasnt very fat for very many years, where I am now is what I have weighed for most of my adult life. Its more than I wanted to weigh and I wish I'd appreciated it and not dieted myself fat, but I never "saw" the fat me. On some level I knew about it, I felt awful about it and bad enough to seek surgery to fix it. But I still didnt see it when I looked in the mirror, I was in total denial. Now my reflection matches what's in my head and its a good feeling.

Totally disagree. We've never really come to a stalemate - all our decisions have been joint ones. If both of us dont agree on the same thing, we come up with a compromise. This goes for decision such as where we live, how we educate our kids etc. There is NO way one of us gets to make the decision with the other being totally happy. Doug has no "expertise" over me in any area. Just because he's an accountant for example, doesnt mean he has any more say in the family budget. The fact that we're total opposites can be problematic, but that's what makes things interesting.

Eat the good stuff first so you dont have room for the sweet things, or if you do, you dont have room to overeat them. When I get that head hunger in between lunch and dinner, I always want some sweet carb - Cookies or cake or something - I eat a banana and even an apple and after that I cant fit anything else in. OK, so that's 150calories or so but its better than the 400 I would have consumed if I'd eaten six or seven cookies, which I can still easily do.

Its incredible isnt it. In the months before surgery, I was at McDonalds for lunch literally every day of the week for a while there. Now the thought makes me sick.

I was going to say the exact same thing, that its fixable so dont panic about it. But I know that your health system can be extraordinarily difficult over there, here if its slipped, if it cant be fixed by an unfill you get a new one, no questions asked, no arguments, no qualifying, no cost to you. Good luck, and hang in there, you havent achieved what you've achieved entirely due to the band you know! Dig deep and keep that dedication strong.

That's what I look forward to. I can easily imagine not having had children through this stage of my life, but I cannot imagine old age without family around me. It would be a very lonely place. I look at my mum and dad and what they get out of their now grown family, and its worth every sacrifice you ever make. Same with my kids, I like having three because I know when I'm gone, they'll have each other.

I'm a big believer in all things in moderation and yes, I could eat a cheeseburger. My idea of moderation preband though, I now realise, was hardly moderation. We're having fish and chips for dinner tonight because the kids have basketball, takeaway night still happens in our family for practical reasons. I could have battered flake and chips but I probably will get Doug and I a piece of grilled fish and make a salad at home and let the kids have the fried stuff. You just kind of stop wanting it - whenever there is a reasonable alternative, I usually choose it. If there were no other option, I'd eat the fried fish and chips kind of thing. But there is so I'll choose not to. I'm lucky in that I dont have any real physical restrictions on what I can actually eat - I can do bread, pizza etc.

Fat is meant to be about 30% of total calories in a healthy diet - and try to make as much of that as possible good fats - from oily fish, avocado, monounsaturated oils, etc. Isnt it about 1gram of Protein for every 2lb of body weight for women, or somewhere thereabouts? Two fruit and five veg per day is what's recommended in australia and then I guess the rest made up of healthy carbs - breads, wholegrain Pasta and cereals, rice etc.

Yes, I consider having liquids for Breakfast too tight - but then again we cant always control what our stomachs do and for some people it has to be the payoff over getting enough help from their bands at other times. But I wouldnt personally tolerate it. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! I consider the right level of fill is one where you can eat 3 decent meals a day and get in 1200 calories or so. If that also means you can eat a Big Mac or half a pizza, well that's where a little self control comes in. Having your band so tight that you dont need any self control becuase all restrictions are physically imposed upon you is not teaching you anything and i really believe you're at risk of complications over the longer term. After initial fast weight loss, losing 3 or 5 lb a month is healthy, realistic and normal. Live with it. You'll keep your hair, you'll keep your muscle, you'll stay healthy and keep the weight off. If you dont lose weight on a reasonable calorie level, like 1000 or 1200, get thee off the couch and go out and move your mass. The answer is more exercise (even if you're already exercising), not less food. Carbs arent evil. A diet full of processed white crap is evil. So is a diet full of processed Proteins - deli meats and Protein shakes and the like. Our bodies need fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein, food that's in its natural state. If you have to take fibre because of the protein first rule then you're not eating well. That said, of course, we all have to do it our own way, there are exceptions to every rule, some people have special circumstances, yada yada yada.

That's true. I actually find baldness or partial baldness attractive too, for reasons I dont really understand. Note: I am not including combovers here!

It honestly doesnt make much of a difference to me. I dont tend to drink while I"m eating apart from a sip, as long as I get that full (or more correctly satisfied enough) signal to stop eating, I do. That's what does the work for me. Whether I then drink and wash the food through the pouch 15 minutes later does NOT make a difference at all to me, I know I've had my meal and I dont eat till the next one. Holding out between meals is not the problem for me, eating too much at a sitting was. So drinking or not drinking isnt really relevant. But even if you follow the rule 99% of the time but break it at the occasional meal out, so what? Its about managing your lifestyle, not adhering to rules. But its true, you cant drink a lot and eat at the same time or you'll probably end up PBing.

Kat, I made HUGE dollars on ebay making cloth nappies the entire time. Its big business! There's entire forums devoted to it and women call themselves "hyenas" and its ALL about getting your hands on a certain wool soaker or a First Class Baby hemp or a Little Caboose all in one or whatever. Its insane, you just wouldnt believe what's out there! Its actually a lot of fun and makes one very boring and tedious task into a hobby.

Dont know, I've never lost this much weight before. I never ever did any better than losing 7kg and regaining 10.

Wheetsinm, you WILL make a great mother, because you're one smart lady. You're funny and you've always got something spot on to say. If you bring those qualities to parenthood, it doesnt matter in the least that you dont turn to custard at the sight of a newborn. Your kids dont need to be oohed and aahed over, they need firm, practical love and guidance.

My BMI was 35 and I think my results have been fantastic. I've lost 32 kg so that's probably 70 lb or so, its taken me a year to do that. Not the fastest loser on the block but not the slowest either. I have about 15lb more I'd like to lose but like many people, I"m struggling with the last bit. Being a lower BMI bandster was helpful in that I had not too many health problems yet and I was able to exercise pretty vigorously from the get go. I didnt have to take months just to build base fitness, I already had it. Like you, my main reason for being banded was preventative. I didnt have the problems YET. I didnt want to ever have them. At 38 I felt it was a good time to take positive measures. It was truly only a matter of time before I was morbidly obese. The band was the best thing I've ever done for myself. I've never suffered any fertility or indeed pregnancy related problems so can only offer my sympathy, but no practical advice.

Personally, I think it depends on what you're trying to achieve. If you're paying a trainer, they obey him, lol. But for me, muscle building work is just a necessary evil and I keep it to a minimum - some weight bearing compound exercises like push ups, tricep dips, ab work, squats and lunges. I have no interest in hoiking up a dumbell to scult a bicep and I dont particularly want to look cut or muscular either so I love my cardio. I love it, it will always be my priority and the rest I do just to maintain a healthy muscle mass on my body. And I dont believe cardio "wastes" muscle either, my legs and behind are testimony to that. A year of running has made me much denser and more muscular than I ever was. And the core strength I've gained from it is a real eye opener too, I'm significantly stronger. So really, just doing ANYTHING is what's important

Hehe, I'd find the worst one I could. Same as how I seriously considered carrying weights in my pockets since I had a BMI of 35.

Wow, that's fantastic news, hardly a wait at all. Its only a few weeks away!

On the subject of parenting, we all do it our own way. I think disposable diapers are one of the evils of the world and breast is best, but I dont think everone has to do it that way. I wish people would educate themselves on cloth diapers, big squares and pins are the old way of doing it, its a new world out there now. But everytime the topic comes up, I only have to say "we did cloth" and all the disposable people come down on you like a ton of bricks, accusing you of being judgemental and denying there's anything bad about dispsoable nappies for their babies or the environment. When all I ever said was "we did cloth" and I didnt even instigate the conversation!. Or "we breastfeed". Similar, the minute its mentioned in conversation, when you didnt even bring up the topic, every bottle feeding parent present launches into a tirade about how judgemental breastfeeding mothers are! It really annoys me. The best thing is that there's CHOICE for us now, thank goodness if breastfeeding isnt possible or doesnt work or if you simply dont want to do it, there's a healthy viable substitute for your baby. I've never made judgements on that but it seems the very act of breastfeeding deeply offends some people who feel so defensive about their own choices that they have to jump in and start an argument where there was none to be had.

Pffft. It's annoying but it does tend to work that way. Dont worry, as you have less to lose even a kilo becomes noticeable.

That's got to be the worse feeling in the world - when you felt great but later look at the pics and want to slit your wrists. Its happened probably to all of us so many times. I found it got better almost immediately though - I'd see a pic of me and yes, still a bit to lose but looking SO much better and I dont cringe at all when I see pics of me now.

I think its the biggest lesson to learn. Thin people arent thin because they have no problems, they just handle them in a different way. Sooner or later you'll work something out, I'm sure. Till then, I guess its a pretty steep learning curve, hope you feel a bit brighter in the next day or two.

I didnt have any great maternal urges either - I never wanted any kids till I was about 25. I woke up one day and BAM, it was all I could think about. I had to wait 3 years till Doug was ready, it was agony, lol. But we had Fraser and then 11 months, 1 week, 2 days, 4 hours and 3 seconds later BAM, I was ready for the second. It just suddenly took me over again. Ah, the third was an accident, lol, but we wouldnt be without her. But in between, nada. No interest. I've never wanted to hold other people's babies, or been really gushy over kids. Yet I'm studying to be a teacher! I feel passionately about education and helping ALL children to have the best chance possible, but it comes from a social sense, not a gooey maternal one. I think that's why people can be rude or incredulous when you say you dont want any children though, its can be such an overriding, illogical bioligical urge. At least that's how I found it.

I couldnt agree with you more! My DH looks horrified when I talk about a breast reduction - I'm a 32E, but I'm five foot 10 so they dont look "huge" on me, you wouldnt call me very big breasted. But they "feel" big enough - I cant just walk into a shop and buy any old bra I feel like. Doug always points out stuff in the lingerie catalogues and says "why dont you get this " - off on a tangent but I dont understand lacy lingerie either, WHY is it a turnon? Its scratchy and itchy and you could spend your money on way better things, if you want to look good, like a pedicure, or getting your hair done. I always say to him, read the info, they stop at a D cup! So I dont understand why he looks horrified when I talk about losing size and transforming two saggy old E's, or more correctly an E and a DD into a couple of pert C's or D's. To me it would be a huge improvement, and I'll probably do it when I'm back working in a few years. To Doug though, the size is all that matters. And to Doug, he's the same. He believes everyone with enormous pert breasts has real ones. C'mon you idiot, in nature that doesnt happen unless you're a genetic freak!