Jachut

The fat around your stomach will disappear, its the size of your actual stomach that will matter in the long run. although for some people with a lot of visceral fat, surely the decision on which band to use must be forced to some degree?

I would only take NSAIDs for inflammatory pain, sometimes i might pop Nurofen if my ankle gets bad, or for a pulled muscle or something. But then I wasnt told not to take them. But they're not something I'd take all the time anyway, they can be risky. Normally for mild pain and for fever I'd take Panadol which is paracetamol. I dont think I've had aspirin since I was a child.

I havent been obese all my life, I didnt really put on much weight till after I had babies and hit my 30's. I remember what 75kg looked and felt like, pretty good, but from the brief times I hit 70kg I looked and felt fantastic. So that's what I'm aiming for. Its pretty much in the middle of my healthy weight range.

Well, I decided I didnt want jeans that come up to my waist, lol, I like lowriders. But that site is fab - I have a wobbleboard that I used to strengthen my ankle and I just got some fab new ideas about how to use it for my abs.

For sure, it has worked absolutely perfectly for me. Never had a pb, never had a single problem with the band. Its taking a long time to find restriction, but in that long time, I"ve almost reached my goal weight anyhow.

Well I wasnt sure, I know it now in hindsight. My biggest fear was that this huge urge to eat would remain, I thought I had "emotional eating issues" and that I would be physically unable to quell it. I found that quite frightening. But the urge to eat hasnt remained for the most part. I dont have "emotional eating issues" I just liked to eat and once you take the pleasure out of it - ie. you cant stuff your face full of huge mouthfulls of yummy doughnuts and they cause you pain - the desire has just evaporated for me, I rarely even think about it anymore. I still like the occasional doughnut or muffin but its a planned occasion, taken slowly and enjoyed and becuase its slowly, one is enough. I thought I was eating to fill some void but it turned out that my brain desired 20 minutes eating so it told my body to eat for that long, now that's one muffin, before it was four or five. I think if you're truly a binger, bulimic or a really emotional stuffer, then you need to seriously think about how you'll manage a band. I took a bit of a leap of faith, but I guess I was very lucky. I would have called myself a binger because I could eat four muffins in 20 minutes but I know its a long way off the problems some people are living through. You have to be ready to change too I think, because it still takes work. You cant be grabbing at straws, trying yet another method, you have to have thought it out, considered it, I had a "lightbulb" moment in this regard. I had been thinking about the lapband as punishment, a preventative for me ever eating the way I had been again, suddenly I realised that if I wanted to succeed, then lapband or no lapband I could never eat that way again anyway. Sounds obvious but in my mind I had been thinking, "if I dont get banded, then I still have the safety hatch". I realised I was kidding myself. You have to come to truly know that I think.

It does take time. I've had 5 fills to take me to 2.5 and I've just gotten moderate restriction, still FAR from what others describe but working for me, my weight has begun dropping again. Its very changeable though, more restricted some days, less on others, and I'm realising the importance of choosing foods that are less easy to eat, I honestly do way better with a sandwich at lunch because of the difficulty in eating it, I can get maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a salad sandwich in and it sits for HOURS. Eat a lean cuisine and yep, I'm full (and I could have eaten 3 at a sitting before banding) but it doesnt last that long. I'm happy though and not planning on any more just yet.

Can you swim or ride a stationary bike? Or do spin classes? Weight training is also important and its great that you can do it. I had heel spurs that were on the back of my heels (rather than underneath) when I was about 18 which I had surgically removed, very successfully. I'd developed chronic heel pain by the beginning of 2005 which is why I ended up having the lapband surgery, which has resolved it to the degree that its easily manageable now. Turned out to be a gait problem but I digress, point is I know how annoying and frustrating it can be to your exercise efforts. I could do the elliptical easily but then the pain wasnt underneath my foot. Weight training can be made somewhat aerobic though by making it circuit training, high reps, lowish weights, do an exercise for say 2 minutes without sets and rests and then move to the next one without rest. Every second or third exercise should be one that uses your body's large muscles such as squats or lunges, that will get your heart rate up. I did two circuits at the gym last week for a 40 min workout and I had my heart rate monitor on becuase I'd also been for a run. Although I'd cooled down to normal heart rate before I began the circuit, I was able to get my heart rate up to 140 bpm or so and I'm already pretty fit, so it can work quite effectively.

Took the words right out of my mouth Diva.

Sounds great, I'd love the room for a weights station - I must be honest, I loathe free weights and I just dont think I'll ever get my arse in gear and stick with them. I have several good free weight DVD's though which I think add LOADS of fun to weight work - Gin Miller's Bella Strength, I have one of Jari Love's ripped series and you can also get a lot of ones from Cathe Friedrick - www.collagevideo.com or just google them out. I think they add up to a much more efficient workout. The ones I have rely on a barbell, they have great sets at Aldi at the moment for $89. You'd need a DVD player too I guess and an aerobic step to use as a bench. We have a treadmill that we bought back in March, BEST thing we ever bought. I clock up miles and miles on it, I run with music, so it could be anywhere for me, but Doug likes the telly, so its in our family room, at the expense of the table and chairs. Of paramount importance when we move is finding a home for our treadmill, lol. If the treadmill wont fit, the house wont do. We bought a Nordic Track C2050 which was about $4,000 by some amazing miracle we were in Rebel Sport when they were clearing floorstock, and got it for $1600. Its awesome, has great programs, and is gym quality with a big wide running track and most importantly it has fans in the console so you dont sweat buckets when you're on it. I swear the treadmill has made all the difference to me, I just could never stick with the gym although I love it, I just dont have the time and am hampered by the kids school routines and having a 3 year old home with me, odd lectures at uni meaning I couldnt go in the morning when the creche is open etc. I can fit in 45 minutes on the treadmill at whatever time of day when its just at home.

Well I think I may go against the grain since I seem to eat more than many bandsters. My very occasional mental jottings put me at about 1200 to 1500 calories a day. I eat carbs and I strongly disbelieve in the virtues of high Protein diets. Have I lost you yet, lol? Today I've had Breakfast: bowl of Just Right with skim milk, a mandarine Lunch: leftover chicken curry (chicken, spices, stock, spinach, lentils) and rice - about a 1 cup serve in total dinner is going to be spaghetti bolognaise (about a cup serve again). This is a pretty typical day although dinner is not often Pasta, more often a basic meat and 3 veg type meal. As Snacks I might eat fruit or I might eat a cookie if I fancy one. I occasionally have a glass of wine. OK, so my loss is slow, its only 4 lb a month or so, but I'm not to far from my goal weight. The think I think is helping is I run regularly. I dont fart around when I exercise, its HARD and its high intensity. I'm fit, I can cover 8km or so at a time and burn a good 800 calories per session, five or six sessions a week. I've had to build up naturally (its taken 9 months), but you just dont get those results walking 3km around the block. That running for me still has my heart right right in the middle of my fat burning zone - that's the goal, to get to the point where you can exercise at that level whilst still burning fat, and if you never push beyond that level at first you wont get there. Its the biggest tip I could give, aim to move WAY beyond walking, Water aerobics or other gentle forms of exercise which are a fabulous, wonderful place to start but will never allow you to reap the weight loss rewards of something like running. It may not be your sport of choice, but there's other alternatives, spin classes and the like.

Well its only lunchtime Wednesday here and I STILL have to cut 500 words out of this blasted essay. Dang it makes me sound smart though. Too bad I dont even understand it myself. I'll have a wine once the sun's over the yardarm though.

I had problems on the liquid diet, those stupid Protein shakes are not fuel for my body, even though the seem to work for lots of other people. I need carbs pure and simply or I cant function. Once I ditched them and started blending up real food to liquid form I never looked back. I can eat plenty enough not to get low blood sugar.

I might add much as I'd really appreciate an explanation from the mod in question, I dont really care to come across information such as this in the guise of you having care for members Fitter. That was motivated by spite, pure and simple. Nasty nasty. Doesnt paint a pretty picture. Doesnt surprise me either.

Curiouser and curiouser. Love to hear the explanations for THAT!

Honestly, people who are not MO or close to it just have no freaking idea what it is like. I dont know why the band helps so much. I told myself a thousand times that if I just followed the principles I wouldnt need the band. I need it. And something that was once a huge problem in my life has ceased to be a problem. I dont thing there always has to be a cause that you have to get to the root of through therapy, I just plain liked eating, so I did a bit too much of it. I like spending money too but there's more of a hard stop on that, in the form of Mr Accountant Husband. I could have spent my life in therapy and I doubt I EVER would have solved my weight problem. Half an hour under anaesthetic and its pretty much beat. Easy choice if you ask me, and I'd have a go at any medical professional who failed to be supportive of MY decision.

Hmmm, what have I eaten today...? Breakfast - a piece of wholegrain toast with crunchy Peanut Butter lunch - a McCain Healthy choice meal - a vegetable tagine thing with brown rice, normal small serve that you get with those meals. And an orange. dinner tonight is in the slow cooker as I type, fragrant chicken curry (with lentils and LOADS of spinach in it) with more rice (but only a tiny serve). Yesterday I wont mention, ugh. Mainly chocolate. Day before: Breakfast - Allbran with canned peaches Lunch - a chicken and avocado sandwich on wholegrain bread Afternoon - a tim tam and a cup of coffee (you dont have tim tams there you poor things) Dinner: chicken stirfry - chicken, mixed Asian vegetables, blackbean sauce, hokkien noodles. Those are average days for me. They usually total about 1200 calories (serving sizes are small but I eat real food). No hair loss, slow weight loss, feeling great! I also dont believe Protein has anything to do with hairloss, I think its more to do with sudden calorie restriction and overall malnutrition. YOu need to eat a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. I get nowhere NEAR the amount of protein a lot of you seem to eat, and whilst I had a few months of increased shedding a while ago, I have no real hair loss.

If you gain overnight, its water/bloating, you physically cant gain 1.5lb of fat overnight, unless you binge out by 5000 calories or so, not very easy with a band. So its nothing to worry about. Alcohol always does it to me, but it disappears again.

I've had two that have "stuck" for longer periods, my third (about 1.6ml) was good for months, but in that time I started running and whilst I didnt drop that much actual weight, I suspect that the 5kg or so came from my internal fat stores, I lost my restriction very quickly and really began from scratch after that. That was in about May and I've just had my sixth (7th?) fill up to 2.5ml and I'm just finding goodish restriction again in that I can still eat anything but not big quantities. My restriction has always disappeared within a week of the fill but this time its hanging around. I dont want more for now, in fact just cancelled an appointment with my doc for this afternoon, but I'm sure than another 5 kg off and I'll be needing a hefty top up again. I was a lower BMI patient to start with and my doc reckons this is why I can tolerate so much Fluid in my band - he said 2.5ml and still being able to eat bread is not what he usually sees, but I dont have a lot of abdominal fat left now, I'm sitting on what I still need to lose. So in some ways losing restriction is a good sign in that you know you've lost a good whack of that dangerous visceral fat, the stuff that puts you at risk of all the nasties.

Yup, its a bit disheartening when you reach the end of that easy ride, I lost about 50lb before that happened to me. You need to exercise and to be serious about it to keep weight coming off and you need to crack down a bit on what you eat and even THEN you may find its very very slow. But every lb is a victory! I dont waste my time worrying about how slow its coming off, I'm just glad it is!

As long as you're all healed up it wont hurt your band. Its important when you lift weights or do situps to breathe normally - banded or not, its not a great idea to increase your intraabdominal pressure by holding your breath and straining and its not the most efficient way to do the exercise either.

Interestingly, yes about a three weeks ago I had an episode of quite concerning pains which lasted about a week, it was after my fill, so I kind of put it down to that but by the end of 5 or 6 days I was starting to be a little concerned. Also one night I was woken out of sleep by a really awful stomach ache, a really deep one which I knew was my band, I wondered if it was reflux, it could have been such an intense burn that it felt like an ache iykwim. I sat up for a while, tried to go back to sleep but it wouldnt go away until I ate a carton of yogurt. However, now you mention it again I realise its all just stopped, no more stomach ache, no more stabbing port pains. Just one of those things I guess, if it hangs around I'd see your doc but I suspect stuff like that just happens with no real explanation.

I just think this is a LIFETIME'S eating habits you're developing now and very very few people, even normal weight ones, eat perfectly. Its easy to get hung up on this but really, near enough is good enough over the long haul, you WILL eat the wrong foods at times. My personal approach to bandhood has been no rules. I eat what I feel like eating, when I feel like eating it and over time, my choices have become predominantly healthier. But today I ate chocolate and lollies the ENTIRE day. My period is due in a day or two and that's what I felt like and I felt a bit sick by early afternoon but who cares? Tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that will be much better and 80% of my days are really really good and I"ve lost a ton of weight. Dont be so hard on yourself. That initial motivation does not last for anybody. The BEST thing about the band is that it is always ready to work with you when you decide to make the effort. It sounds like getting to the right fill level may help you too. Just decide you're going to do better tomorrow and take it a day at a time and it WILL work. But be realistic, dont expect to be perfect and dont beat yourself up when you're not. YOu have all the time in the world to get the weight off and all the time in the world to enjoy your new self.

I've lost my sweet tooth, sweet and rich things like chocolate, I like them but they make me feel sick very quickly now, a few bites is all I want of them. I never liked chips much but look out if you put a bowl of chips near me these days - salty crunchy things are way more tempting to me now.

Ooh, good luck. I'm doing a Bachelor of Primary Education, I love being a university student! It sure beats working, lol. Although I get very stressed about fitting study in around family responsibilities and I should NOT be here right now, gotta do an essay on "examining the intersection of gender and ethnicity in the novel Looking for Alibrandi and assessing how the novel links identity with the two". G-r-o-a-n. Due Monday, 1500 words, I NEED TO FINISH IT!!! I've found being a student amazing compared to last time I was at uni back in the late 80's. All my lectures are streamed now which means I can download them and pop them on my MP3 and listen to them while I make beds, cook dinner, whatever. I rarely have to actually go to uni. I do whatever units I can off campus too so even the tutorials are online. What I have found is that as an adult, with anything humanities based, your life experience adds so much maturity to your work, its very easy to get good marks when you're being assessed alongside 18 year olds. You effortlessly bring a depth to your writing that earns you very high marks.