Jachut

Yeah, but back then all the skinny women (there wasnt a severe obesity epidemic!) would have not fit the beauty ideal, translate that to modern times and if rubinesque were the ideal now, then you'd still have a whole stack of people who had issues becuase they werent beautiful. And once upon a time beautiful white skin was prized, now who wants it? We want a tan despite the dangers. There's always something. Its just that women themselves are their own worst enemies, you cant blame it all on advertising. Its a chicken and egg thing of course, but to a large degree, advertisers are only responding to what people want to see. That's what fashion is in a nutshell - striving to fit an image or an idea, and not everybody will be able to achieve that.

Well I think the best exercise is the one you will stick with, and Curves is a supportive atmosphere that many people like. I had a few free passes and for me, I found it a bit lame. I'm pretty naturally athletic, and I love my running and if I were going to really get into strength training, I'd life the heavy weights with the boys in the gym, as I'm fairly comfortable in that sort of an environment. A 29 minute workout just doesnt really appeal and I like really HARD aerobic exercise, I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie. But if you have to make yourself exercise, you're not experienced in a gym or you never really want to put any more into it than you absolutely have to, or you just dont have the time, then its a great way for many women to exercise.

The thing is, everbody always goes nuts over this issue - and over fashion magazines and models and the like, but with society as a whole, people dont respond to "real woman" advertising. People respond better to beautiful models. So its not totally the responsibility of advertisers to just stop using unrealistic role models and hey presto! the entire problem is solved. Its not that simple. People throughout society as a whole have to be deprogrammed to stop responding to physical beauty the way they do. If they used someone ugly or morbidly obese to advertise clothing for 15 year old girls, it doesnt take a genius to see that that wouldnt work. Its trying to fight a culture that's always existed - physical perfection has always been prized and it doesnt make a difference if it involves being thin or not, the situation is always going to exist that most people dont measure up to whatever physical ideal is the fashion of the times.

I was tired too. I had only gotten to a BMI of 35 but for my body, it was about as much as it could take without beginning to break down. I have friends who are way more obese but much more active and healthier than I was feeling at a lesser weight. I had a really bad problem with chronic bursitis in one ankle - totally gone. My ankles/heels will always be a weak spot for my body, they were before I got fat. If I'm going to get injured from playing sport, it will be my achilles tendon, no doubt about it. But I can now run up to 50km per week and my ankles stand up to it. That is totally as a result of the weight loss, less burden on them and that has meant I can exercise more to strengthen the area which was getting weak from me favouring it all the time. I was getting so lazy. Because I was walking with a limp and my ankle really hurt, I'd even drive round to the bank on the top level of the shopping centre if I was on the bottom. I was avoiding lectures at uni because it hurt to walk up and down all the steps from my car. I didnt do any exercise, and the house was a mess. I needed a nap every afternoon - never got one, but needed it. All I ever did in the way of a hobby was sit on my fat bum at the computer. I didnt have diabetes or high blood pressure or cholesterol problems or anything like that becuase I actually ate fairly well - I just ate more calories than I burned, and I seem to pack on weight very very quickly when I'm breastfeeding, which I'd done 3 times in my life, and that did actually account for about 75% of my excess weight. So I wasnt gaining and gaining quickly, but I couldnt lose it and my body was not coping with the burden of 35 extra kilograms too well. So yes, I feel like a completely different person a year or so after my surgery.

Complete financial dependence, a mortgage, two leased cars and three hungry mouths to feed works for us, lol! We dont have time to think about "us" much, although we are lucky to always have had a supportive, companiable and stable relationship. But the intimate part of our relationship, whilst healthy, is not first and foremost on our minds these days. And I think that's key, to be able to keep that part healthy without it being the main focus. Because through this stage of a marriage or relationship, when kids are young, you're setting yourself up for your retirement etc, it just cant be the focus. So you darn well need to have other strengths besides just in the bedroom.

We were discussing this on another board, my opinion of plastic surgery is probably that the scars arent worth it but then I havent been left with sagging skin, so that makes a huge difference. If I had an apron and my thighs looked like they were melting, I would want plastic surgery, so I'm not against it in any way. But for me, I dont want to give the impression that I have this awesome body, lol, but I dont particularly look like I was once much fatter, I look like an ordinary 40 year old who has had 3 babies - the boobs are a bit saggy, my stomach is flat but not firm, and I have a bit of cellulite on my thighs. I can look great dressed and not many people see me starkers, so personally, there's no way I'd swap all that scarring - it wouldnt improve things one bit for me, it would just swap one thing for another. My boobs could use and might get a bit of work though, they're still Ecups after all this weight loss and I'd like a nice D. They need a lift also, so I very well may do that in a year or two when I finally get back into the workforce. I think PS is a godsend for people who need it, but I think the scarring is not insignificant and its major surgery and it does concern me how free and easy people are with it these days - obviously on a weight loss board there are many many people who would really benefit, I"m talking about 16 year olds having breast implants.

I dont generally drink lots of Water with meals and never did but the thought of not having wine with dinner, ugh. That was enough to put me off banding altogether, lol. So I still drink it. It makes no difference to me. I also routinely have a coffee right after lunch and it doesnt seem to affect me. Following orders is usually best, but its not an absolutely set in stone thing that you will feel hungrier if you drink soon after a meal.,

They cant do an epidural for lapband surgery because they're working too high up on your body and they cant paralyse your muscles from that point without also taking over your heart and lung function with a machine. They can do it for a labour or caesar because they dont need to insert it at a point where it affects heart and lung function.

I need another category, lol. I"m not really swayed by others but I pretty much dance to my own tune. If my doc told me to do something that I didnt agree with (based on some research of course) I would ignore him, but luckily in Australia its pretty much about all foods in moderation and exercise. I wouldnt do Protein first if I were told to, as I dont think I'd get a balanced diet that way as I dont believe you need 60 or 70g of protein each and every day. I drink with my meals because it doesnt make any difference to me and I dont think it hurts to have a treat. I think bread and grain foods are an important part of a balanced diet. That's certainly not a majority opinion on this particular board, but that doesnt phase me. I found this board just invaluable in the research stage and I never would have gotten the band without the support and assurance that life was good after banding from people on this board. So whilst I dont really view it as a "resource" that helps me lose weight now, I hang around because its fun, and I care about how people on here are going and I realise how helpful those everyday discussions are to people considering the band.

Great start Susannah! How fantastic is this rain. The lawn already looks green again and I havent had to bucket 20 gazillion buckets of Water out from the shower today! We all shower with five buckets in the shower, virtually NO water goes down the plughole! Our garden is thriving and looks gorgeous but someone dobbed us in to South East Water as water cheats! We got investigated, lol. Then we got a big thumbs up for using our grey water on the garden.

Now that after a year I'm in a good routine and would call myself a "runner", physically and emotionally, I really NEED to run. I need hard aerobic exercise, it makes me calmer, more positive and it really works out crankiness, stress and that general feeling I get of being pissed off with the world in general after a day spent with the kids, lol. It is so therapeutic, I just want to tell everybody that working cardiovascularly that bit harder than walking to get that real "runners high" will bring rewards you just cant imagine if you think of exercise as just being hard slog. I hadnt been for a few days and have just had a run now, I was getting really cranky about it, and now I just feel so much better.

Feel - definitely. I want to be able to listen to my body, not have to "control" it in that way. I probably dont get enough Protein one day, but I will the next kind of thing. I take a multi to make sure I get what I need. But overall I eat what I want, when I want, however much feels comfortable. And its worked well for me to do it that way.

Whilst anything that becomes doughy is a "go slow" food - if I eat it fast I will have pain, but not a PB, I can and do eat bread. I try to avoid white carbs - crappy white supermarket bread for example, but I love good wholegrain seedy bread and bread like that is a healthy and valuable food in your diet, if you can eat it and you have your proportions right - not ALL carbs or NO carbs kind of thing. But I agree, if it turns out to be a food you cant eat, or if it gives you really bad pain to try to eat it, you really do forget about those foods pretty easily. Muffins for instance, man I used to love my Muffin Break muffin and a big latte in the morning. But they hurt to eat now, I dont block with doughy foods, they feel like I've swallowed ground glass. I just look at them now and thing, nah, not worth it. Ditto McDonalds and the like, it just does not taste good enough for me to be bothered wanting to eat it. A nice crisp salad that you can eat easily and you know is good for you miraculously does become more attractive.

No, I didnt have one either - my doc says that unless the liver actually needs shrinking, Optifast is not a healthy way to lose weight - and high protein/low carb is not really advocated here in Australia either. Its just the lesser of two evils if the liver is fatty. Its pretty much standard for all his patients to do it but I just happened to have had a liver ultrasound days before I first met with him, so I was lucky.

Yes! I know exactly what you mean. I too associate losing weight with starving myself and I often feel like some sort of imposter. I cant get my head around the fact that I am now not even overweight (!!!!) and only have a few kgs to go to my personal goal without having been miserable for the entire past year. I feel that I have overeaten because I've eaten to a point of satiety. I still eat "bad" foods on occasion. I exercise a LOT but it seems not to count because I love it. Its really weird - and just goes to show how skewed my views on eating were beforehand (and still are I guess). I do feel after 13 months though that my attitudes are changing permanently, 6 months ago it didnt feel nearly so settled in my head. So I can imagine in another year or two from here, that last trace of the fat me will be gone.

You have to take account of all the people who never get a fill, who have complications such as erosion and slippage and lose their bands, all the people who have metabolic problems such as PCOS or the like that really make losing difficult, people that may be unable to exercise or even be active for whatever reason, people that are older and dont lose as well, people that just arent compliant at all with eating well and exercising. Many people who are severely obese are really damaged for want of a better word in their attitude towards their eating and health and just dont understand, cant or wont follow what they need to do to lose weight. Particularly in a country like America, obesity is rife because of the nation's poor eating culture as a whole. Processed foods abound, quantities are enormous - did you know that an American small serve of McDonalds fries is equivalent to the large in Australia? Nor do those simply enormous buckets of soft drink exist here. Stuff like that, means people just do not have access to reasonable information and role models for good eating habits. It can be really really hard to change your life for the better in the face of those sorts of obstacles. If every person was able to follow bandster rules to the letter (whether they be Protein first like they are in the states or not) then the statistics would be a lot better. You dont have to be a negative statistic, if you educate yourself and make a commitment to really and truly change your lifestyle, to do what you know you should and work with the band you'll blow those depressing stats out of the Water.

You'd be hard pressed to actually find something of nutritive value in Jello. Its good for Fluid intake, but that's about it. You're better off with yogurt and cottage cheese and the like.

Cindy said it so well - those who do well were ready to really work at it. That was the scariest thing about getting banded - realising my days of using food as a crutch, or inappropriately, were over. I wasnt sure I could do that, I couldnt imagine what I would replace the empty space with. As it turned out, it wasnt too bad at all. But work at it I have. I'm not always perfect and I dont want to be - this is my life, not another diet. But whilst I have to do the right things to lose, I just cannot eat enough to gain - given milkshakes, ice creams and other easy calories were never a favourite food of mine anyway, so I've never had a habit with them. My bad foods were carbs - muffins, cake, Cookies. I cant eat those so easily, so I can eat them but not overeat them. If I have a little cookie binge, I usually cant eat my dinner, so it evens out even though that of course is not ideal. I have no fear whatsoever that I am going to regain the weight I've lost. But it doesnt come off without putting the work in. Luckily I love running, so getting plenty of exercise is pretty much effortless for me.

Lean Cuisines are a great alternative to takeaway or a quick meal but eating them for lunch and dinner every day is not healthy - you need fresh food, not stuff that comes in a box.

Plateaus are all part of it, dont go cutting things out on the basis of not having lost for 2 weeks. YOu'd be better to up your exercise or just wait it out, 2 weeks isnt a long time not to lose. You've lost 58lb!! Your body just needs a breather sometimes. Its not worth compromising your nutrition when really, your plateau will probably last as long as it lasts. At 1000 calories you dont have the room to cut out anymore without compromising the quality of your diet and 70 grams of Protein is more than enough. Did you know they dont recommend protein first here in Australia at all and people still lose weight and they dont all lose their hair. You're doing fine, the process is just a frustrating one when the weight loss stalls for a while.

I reckon to that you need to ADD a nice big healthy serve of something like some steamed veges - broccoli and carrots or something. There's just not enough fresh food in that menu - I'd just add it to the crackers, but then I am pretty active. If you must swap then cut the crackers and eat more veges.

That's exactly what it is like for me, only I am not prepared to try for "good" restriction. Due to being more able to stop easily when I've had sufficient, I've almost lost all my weight and see no need to go tighter to the point where I cant eat bread or other foods. I think long term, the more variety I can eat, the healthier my diet will be. I just think the lap band, to work effectively takes a very large dose of sensible management on the part of the user. I too can eat past satisfied, but I definitely cannot eat what I used to. In a year I've only once or twice eaten just too much and I've felt very uncomfortable and sick afterwards - not something I want to repeat. Some behaviours are just impossible, I simply cannot get down a McDonalds meal in 10 minutes in the car anymore, and that's a good thing.

Its weird because I was never ever told not to take anything in particular - even NSAID's. I'd still exercise caution though and probably wouldnt take aspirin when there's other alternatives. And if I need an anti inflammatory, I try to use a gel rather than swallow a pill. Hope you feel OK now, if there's no ongoing pain there's probably no cause to worry. It might even have just been a bit of heartburn.

You dont - but each and every doctor is different and has their own ideas. They dont recommend stuff liek that in Australia and the band is very successful here. I've lost almost to my goal weight just by eating what I want to when I want to (healthy choices of course) and I eat bread every day and dont avoid carbs. Certain people - particularly those suffering polycystic ovaries - do way better on lower carb diets and processed carbs like white flour (cakes, Cookies, white bread) are no good for anybody and best saved for very occasionally. But I eat plenty of wholegrain bread, oats, stuff like that, without them you're missing out an entire food group and many important nutrients, not to mention lacking fibre. You DONT have to cut them out to lose but it seems to be the fashion. I'd eat what I wanted personally and just nod and agree with the doctor, but that's perhaps not a responsible thing to advocate. I'm just glad I didnt get any instructions like that!

As far as I'm aware you dont get anything back from the $3,000 as that's the surgeon's "profit" - he doesnt attach a medicare item to it so you get nothing back - and then he just bulkbills you from thereon in.