Jachut

Sigh. I may well consider a breast lift myself, lol. That's precisely what I mean Sammee. There are more important goals than physical perfection to be considered, although for sure, achieving what you want to physically is important. If I get to 160lb I think I'll be trying to focus on what I've gained, not what I still have to lose, I just think that's a healthier focus is all. And if your body has decided 160 is it, then there's so many things to Celebrate. If you want to work harder and lose more than that's great too. I simply am making the point that you have to decide yourself when you're finished. That elusive "perfection" doesnt exist as beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore it doesnt matter one whit if you're happy at 160lb or would be happier at 140 - that's your decision. As I said, you're finished when you decide you're finished. Maybe I didnt say it as well as I could have. I dont know, I value my body for what it can do, more so than what it looks like. Its born three beautiful healthy children, its fed three beautiful healthy children. It can run, it can perform some functions darn well, it even has some special talents, I've been a state level softballer and netballer in my day. Its a great body. What it weighs is not a patch on what it can do in my opinion. I get that some people are more fussed by what their bodies look like, but you can gain a whole new respect for yourself and a whole new level of peace if you learn to think about yourself from a different perspective. Those are the kinds of things that I consider it healthy to think about when deciding your goal weight. So Newsho I'm sorry you seem to find everything I say these days offensive, but not everybody is focussed entirely on what they look like, and you're smart enough to know that.

Hmmm, well you're weight is always changeable so you're not "done" till you decide you're done. But you do have to think about how much more work you're willing to do to get to the weight you want. Afterall it sounds like you've worked very hard and that more progress is going to require a change of tactics and probably harder work. And I guess you have to really think about what you want to achieve in terms of physical perfection too. How much does it really matter? I think people set themselves up for a lot of disappointment with unrealistic goals, particularly with the hope that plastic surgery is going to make everything all perfect at the end. You're still just going to be an average person who some people find attractive and some people dont. Is it really worth the work to lose more? I'm not saying you shouldnt lose anymore of course, but you need to be sure you really want and need to. You're a healthy weight now, and really for many women, no matter what they weigh, they'll never ever be happy with their lower bodies!

Hi, I'm in Narre Warren, I had mine done through Gary Crosthwaite at The Avenue, I didnt have to do any of that either. I saw a dietician who was just a door or two down the street from the surgeon, but he referred me to her and I paid for the consultation as dieticians arent covered by medicare, nor by my particular private health insurance. No psych consult at all - in fact somewhere on the internet I found a study by Prof. O'Brien through Monash uni stating that psych consults are believed to be pretty much a waste of time in the banding process. Not much help if your surgeon wants you to have one but interesting nonetheless. I did see a respiratory physician too - all in the same place on the day of my final visit with the surgeon prior to surgery, and covered by Medicare. So.. like elsewhere in the world, each doc is different in his/her requirements I guess.

Hehehe, my maiden name was Nash. Many overweight people have fatty livers, its not at all uncommon.

Not yet, I'm at 2.5 but it seems very hard for me to achieve restriction in the sense that others talk about it, not that I really want or need to anyway as I seem to be able to work with what I have. I said this to the doc the other day, that I assumed I would have a larger stomach because I'm tall and big and he said not at all, that you can never tell, and whilst he couldnt remember my particular insides, I had a BMI of 35 which he said can often equate to most of the body's fat stores still being under the skin and not visceral. I certainly hadnt developed a huge belly by that stage. So some people's physical make up simply makes it harder to get good restriction. Its bizarre isnt it? People talk about not being able to swallow their own saliva at 1.6 and here I am eating bread at 2.5. I just found that I had to sit and think about what the band is doing for me. The restriction is there allright, since I can certainly stick to eating way less than I did, I now eat slowly, etc. Instead of thinking "where or where is my restriction" so that I can eat 800 calories a day and lose weight fast (not that that's automatic either) I decided to be thankful for the chance to work with what I have, to still enjoy a wide and varied diet, to be able to go out and eat with friends, and to never have to worry about pbing and sliming AND still get to lose weight. You've had fantastic weight loss, you're halfway there! Its working!

Sadly, you just have to keep plugging away at it. Its really hard. If you're sticking to that calorie level, I cant see that you'd need another fill - unless you're finding you're getting really hungry sticking to that? But you cant eat less than that. Exercise is the key. It doesnt make the most amazing difference on the scales immediately but its so important over the longer term. You just have to be consistent at it, you'll find that you'll change shape even when you dont lose weight. And perhaps shake up your food intake, six small meals a day? Just doing something different can help break a plateau. Recently I've been eating very very little for dinner, a 200 calorie or less dinner, and eating more during the day and its very very easy (I'm not a nighttime eater) and the weight has started pouring off me again, its going down on the scales every single day at the moment.

In Australia, you need to get a referral to any sort of specialist from your general practitioner so that you can get your Medicare rebate - we get 85% of the scheduled fee of most medical costs back from the public health system. So the GP's role is to refer you - that may occur in a situation where a GP raised the issue of his patient's weight and suggests banding or like me, when I went to the GP and said "I want a referal to a lap band surgeon". I knew who I wanted to see. The GP may or may discuss the pros and cons of banding, but on the whole its not their business or role, and its not up to them to agree or disagree with the procedure, that's up to the surgeon, so the GP will generally refer anyone who asks. Other than that, well it depends on people's individual relationships with their doctors but there would be absolutely no need for a GP to be involved. I have to go back and renew my referral to my surgeon as its expired after 12 months, but other than that I wouldnt even mention my band to my GP unless it happened to be relevant to a problem I was seeing him for.

Do I read this right - that there is a nearby doctor who could unfill you but he is withholding treatment in order to force you to have an upper GI? He should be encouraging you to have the GI but unfill you immediately for some relief! I'd be jumping up and down and doing headstands insisting that I get unfilled and that I would have the upper GI when I could afford to do so and remain unfilled until that point in time. You're risking your band by continuing to irritate it. If I had to I'd drive the 12 hours to your own doctor. 2003 is a long time ago, anything could have happened since then. You really will need to have your band looked at to ensure all is OK in there, as soon as you can afford to.

We have a fellow up the end of our street who has a towing business, and he was a real problem. He had a huge old noisy tow truck that he'd roar down the street in at 5.30 am, and he really went fast too at all times of day. As we live in a quiet cul de sac and there's always kids out playing in the street, this was a huge problem, it was only a matter of time before he collected someone. Anyhow somebody must have complained to the council or spoken to him directly because he's now extremely considerate, he idles down the street early in the morning and drives very carefully at other times of the day. So you never know, people dont always know they're bothering you and may be only too happy to tone it down a bit if you ask nicely.

There's plenty of people around in Australia who have been banded for 10 years. However it was made very clear to me by my surgeon that there is no longer term data, they simply do not know whether the band will last us our lifetimes. Silicon supposedly does not degrade and is non reactive in the body but who knows.

I've often wondered about this, whether you need an unfill. I guess try it, because of course, you can always get a bit put back in. You're so sensible, not wanting to just add empty calories. Good for you. And I wouldnt want to give up the exercise either, it does way way more for you than just help you lose weight.

I've just had my fifth and I can still eat almost anything but I've noticed my appetite has dropped again, much like after surgery. I'm not getting as hungry. But none of the previous four fills made much difference to me. I'm now up to 2.5 in a 4cc band.

Youre port is generally a little bit away from the actual scar, they open you up and slip it down under - its rarely right underneath it. So what you're feeling is no doubt your port!

Well said Vines. You summed it up perfectly.

I thnk most people eat a lot less than what they will average later on, immediately after surgery, so you're probably doing as well as your new band will allow for the moment. Long term, I think going below 1000 to 1200 depending on your size and build is a bit risky - whether or not you believe in starvation mode, you wont be getting all your nutrients in if you eat that little long term. Most females need 1200 a day at the very minimum. Unfortunately for some people that stops them losing weight satisfactorily, so I guess if you find you really need to eat that little, you have to eat extremely carefully. I'd rather do more exercise and eat more. I have lost so far on about 1600 to 1800 calories a day but I really did reach a point where I wasnt losing anymore on that, despite running five times a week, a good distance too. So I've recently cut back to about 1400 a day and its literally falling off me again, yippee. I guess I'll have to think about 1200 in another couple of months to get to goal. I'm tall and VERY active though, so I guess I can get away with a bit more. To me, I guess I dont aim for fast weight loss, I aim to eat as much good healthy food as possible and still lose weight. So I have something up my sleeve for when the weight loss stops and so I get as much nutrition as possible.

It depends entirely on my mood. I can crave baked goods like cake and biscuits or I can crave chips, lol. I very rarely actually crave chocolate, although I like it. I loathe ice cream *shudder*

Havent posted here for a few days. Thursday I had a day off. Friday - slow 5km run on the treadmill Saturday - a very fast 8km walk with Doug Sunday - a fast 5km run on the treadmill I think I"ll have another day off today, my ankle is sore. I might go and get a massage.

As of this morning, I have lost my 9 year old son's bodyweight!

Mine's on my waistline too but most of my pants, jeans etc are midrise and barely come up to my navel so I never even feel my port. You can wear a lower rise without your bum crack showing, lol.

I think the best thing to do is realise that since every doctor has their own odd little rules and beliefs, that they cant ALL be right. So you proceed slowly and cautiously and work out what is best for YOU. I could handle salads very early on and there's no reason in the world not to eat them, they're good for you and going without fibre isnt. You get the general drift from reading on here, you get to learn the pros and cons of all the practices - for me drinking near mealtime makes not one scrap of difference, so I do it. I dont believe in the Protein first thing so I dont do it - and I'm not malnourished and my hair isnt falling out. I certainly CAN eat carbs and lose weight, maybe the next person cant. So figure out which beliefs sit well with you and work out your own routine. Listen to your doctor for guidance but dont be afraid to discount or ignore certain things he/she says.

I'm not from WA so I dont know what's over there, but on a national level, I cant think of much that's harder than finding a formal dress in a large size. We have My Size and 1626 and Sara (which David Jones have started stocking and I noticed they had one or two nice dresses there) - you can buy Sara online through Eizibuy which is a NZ company. She'd need to do a google search and find it, I'd also just google plus size dresses or something similar and see what comes up because there's bugger all in the shops to be honest. You're only real hope would be a big department store like Myer and even that's chancy. I managed to get a dress made just from a local tailor from a commercial pattern with a 3 week turnaround, that was pretty darn easy and would be my recommendation. Otherwise, I'd honestly say it'd be easier to buy something once she's in the states, more choices, more sizes etc. Its very limited here.

I havent done a diet like any of those since my teens, back in the 80's. I did the Scarsdale diet a few times, and remember Limits? (or maybe they were an Australian thing?). Hey, great idea, lets replace an entire meal with a sweet cream filled biscuit! They never work as everyone knows. Although for the last week or two, Doug and I have been using up the boxes of Optifast sitting around in the cupboard. I'm eating a good Breakfast, a good lunch and a healthy afternoon snack and just having an Optifast shake and a big bowl of steamed veges for dinner, I'm still having 1200 calories a day or so, and finding that really really easy since I dont get hungry at night anyway. And finally my weight is moving again. We'd been eating too much Pasta and rice at dinner time, so I think this is a reasonable alternative, although it could just as easily be a small piece of chicken, fish or meat as the shake I guess, but we're just using them up. So teensy tiny 200 calorie dinner is working for us!

I'm shooting for about 148-154lb (67-70kg), I"m 5ft 10. This is based on the fact that despite always thinking I was "big boned" that actually isnt true, I was always just heavy. I know from being that weight in my 20's, that at that weight I have about 24% body fat. Sure I could maybe end up a few kilos heavier this time based on the fact that I now exercise a lot more and probably have heavier bones from being much heavier. But somewhere around the bottom of my ideal weight range is good for me.

In a way, I mean obviously people that stop eating get very skinny. But if you try to lose weight that way you dont do your body any favours. Losing fat and preserving as much lean tissue as possible requires you to eat properly and exercise quite a lot, the right way. If you want to lose all your muscle tissue so that your metabolism is stuffed for ever (because of course a body without as much muscle burns way less calories) they the way to do that is to crash diet on low levels of calories. So no matter what your body and your metabolism will keep ticking over if you eat very little but it wont be as healthy a body as someone who focuses on losing fat by eating properly, eating enough and exercising. And you'll never be able to eat as much as that person without gaining weight either. And you could quite easily weigh a lot less but have more fat too.

salad goes down well and easily and I can eat large amounts of it, as I can steamed veges. But the way I see it, that's not a problem anyway, they're so low in calories and so high in all the good stuff your body needs. As long as it feels like its going through and not building up and stretching your pouch - ie. you're not eating past fullness, I"d eat as much as I wanted of these sorts of things. They're nothing but good for you. Just avoid the fatty dressings.