Jachut

Well I certainly dont remember doing the pool guy. Wish I did. But then again, it may have been Arnie. Considering I've had my tubes tied and we dont have a pool, I'm not quite sure how I'm going to explain this to Doug.

Yep, I had that. It really hurt at times but passed within a couple of weeks.

Actually I think one thing people do need to be realistic about, is that banding is relatively new. Its only been done in Australia for a little over 10 years and much much less elsewhere in the world. The US doesnt even have medium term statistics let along long term ones yet. Its been around for well under a decade over there. None of us knows the consequences of having these bands in for 10, 20, 30 years or if they will even stand up to that length of time. We are all taking a blind leap of faith there.

Yet that's country specific. Statistics are nowhere near so depressing in Australia. I personally have met and known many bandsters online who have reached their goal weights and more than a few who have had their bands 10 years plus! That 50 to 70% of excess weight isnt quoted as regularly over here, probably due to population averages, general lower starting weights (Australia hasnt quite caught up to America in the obesity stakes yet), I dont know. There's also fewer people in this country and therefore fewer banded, so that alters the statistics, see what I mean? What percentage of total bandsters is your 600 - in a country as big as America, its miniscule, who says they're representative of bandsters as a whole? You cant know that, and that's why dissecting the terminology does change the picture. I'm not disputing the fact that people need to be realistic about the outcome they'll achieve with this thing, but you cant interpret statistics as if they're fact and it simply isnt healthy to go into something like this either blinkered OR with a defeatist attitude that means you're beaten before you start. And I've just started this whole argument going again probably, which I shouldnt have done, but this distinction does bug me. Its a real one. Ok, well I guess its just another agree/disagree thing, I've said what I think so I wont continue to restate it.

I do think that whatever feels comfortable to you is a good place to aim for. Averages are just that, statistical averages and when 3/4 of the population is fat, they dont really tell you very much. A certain percentage body fat is good to aim for, and really, in the long run picking a weight you can maintain is the healthiest option. It is not good for your body to yo-yo all the time, and it even places a hell of a lot of stress on your body to lose the weight most of us have. So your main aim must surely be to get to a good place and stay there.

Well yes, I agree with that. I just mean really that people dont have to assume they are going to be a statistic. They're derived from facts sure but they're really only a series of likelihoods.

Exercise? Yep, I did the "Aerobic 3" program on my treadmill which is a killer, hard hills and fast sprints - 40 minutes, about 5 miles, 500 or so calories burned. Protein - who knows? I dont count protein or anything else for that matter. I just eat normally and healthily. Water - yeah I had a fair bit today, dont count ounces or mls though. I had about 5 or 6 glasses of tap water, a bottle of water while out.

In my experience, exercise is the most powerful tool ever in preventing weight gain. I think it has more value in preventing weight gain than it does in losing weight. I hope you're better really quickly.

It is just wonderful having gym equipment at home. I've always loved the gym but getting there was such a problem. My prime time of the day to exercise is about 4, 5pm, I have the most energy then and I have the time to do it. I could never go to the gym at that hour because of my kids. I've never been consistent like I have been since I started running and bought a treadmill. And I"ve never had results like I've had since then either! Oh to have the space for a big weights station! But as it is the dining table has gone into a corner of the lounge room and the treadmill is taking pride of place in the eating nook in the family room, lol. We now have to sit down in the formal dining room to eat. I guess its away from the television so that's a good thing.

The vagus nerve has other functions too such as controlling heart rate, peristalsis, sweating, smooth muscle function, I cant imagine you'd want it cut unless the circumstances were dire. Its one of the most important nerves in the body.

I had plenty of restriction before my first fill (it only began to taper off the week before the fill, about week 5), and lost heaps of weight because of it.

It depends on the doctor I think. I cheated. I had an initial consult and my doc said to come back in about a month when I'd thought about it and attended an information seminar and give him my final decision (great, a $140 consultation for something I could have told him the first time I stepped into his office). When I went back he gave me referrals for the blood tests, the respiratory function test etc and told me when I'd had those, to call and schedule the surgery. I went straight out to the front desk and scheduled the surgery, THEN I organised all the tests. They were completed only about 5 days before my surgery, lol, but I wanted in before Christmas becuase I was impatient but also becuase it suited me time wise. So my wait time between the consultation and surgery was about 3 weeks.

I need to add some resistance training to my running. And more stretching. Today I want to do some upper body weights - I need a weight bench.

I could guess that your port has moved due to weight loss as you say and that your bra is irritating it? I have the same problem actually, with my running bra. I can wear it to run but when I sit down in it, it irritates my port which is quite easy to feel through my skin and I get that same burning sensation that I did when I'd just had the surgery. But its definitely outside my abdomen, its on the surface, most definitiely the port, not my stomach. Unfortunately with my boobs, no bra without underwire would still be good, lol.

That's great. It also makes you realise that hiding in big baggy clothes fools nobody doesnt it? The minute I started wearing stuff that was a little more fitted, people started raving about how thin I'd gotten. I really hadnt, it was just that they actually hadnt seen the shape of my body for quite a few years. I realised this once when I saw a girlfriend wearing a kaftan, lol. She always wore really tight stretchy clothes and was quite a big girl, we used to cringe (and yep, have a little bitch) about how she should dress properly for her size and age, then one day she walked into dinner at a restaurant wearing a big flowy shirt. I was the first one there and I honestly didnt recognise her, she looked at least 30kg heavier. I ditched all my "fat" clothes then and there, never wore anything huge again.

Nine times out of ten you'll find when someone eats that amount of fibre, they are eating lots of fresh fruit, vegetables and wholegrains - ie. a high fibre, low fat (and yep, high carbohydrate) diet. Good carbs that is, not processed rubbish. That's why their weight is lower. Yes, there's more of the intestinal broom effect but its basically the diet that is the key. You cant just take Metamucil and eat crap and have the same results, lol. Pity. But it prevents bowel cancer, regulates blood chemistry, high fibre carb rich foods are good for you!

Well there's a few Aussies around but I havent spotted many Kiwi bandsters at all anywhere. Maybe you're a trendsetter! Good luck with it all, hope you're settling down to the journey OK.

A disgruntled sandwich shop employee puts a razor blade onto your sandwich. The razor deeply cuts your mouth and tongue numerous times, and you nervously choke to death on your own blood Well, I knew there was a reason why I dont like sandwiches.

I think that losing weight is 80% about what you eat. You can indeed lose weight without exercise, its harder keeping it off when you're sedentary though. If you're in pain now, dont put the pressure on yourself to do anything more than you're comfortable with. You will lose the weight without it. The main benefits of exercise as I see it are: - it makes it much harder to gain weight when you do go off your program or get to your goal weight. Most people who are successful in keeping a large weight loss off for good are regular exercisers. It makes you feel positively euphoric if you get to the point where you can really work out hard, its just so good for your mood and your outlook and your coping with the stresses of everyday life. It has positive effects on your blood chemistry, your body's ability to burn fat for fuel etc. For me personally too it gives me a focus other than what I look like. My running time has inadvertantly become my meditation/affirmation time, I spend that time listening to music but the thoughts in my head are all about how strong I feel, how my body is a well honed machine, what I am going to achieve, that probably sounds really really daggy but its what it does for me and I'm positive that that makes a huge difference to how I approach this journey. Its toned me up and I've gotten incredibly fitter and made huge achievements I never thought I would and all of that motivates me to lose weight to improve my performances, which is much easier to do than thinking "you fat pig, you're going to lose that weight and punish yourself for being so out of control". Which is where a lot of our thought processes lie at the beginning of this journey. Being able to get all of that out of exercise is something to aim for for sure, but I think its personality dependent, lots of people just go through the motions, do it becuase they should and never get that kind of joy out of it. Hopefully you will eventually but for now, stick with what you can do, and build up slowly.

Yeah, I dont think you can believe anything you read. I mean, Demi Moore has been pregnant in her mid 40's for about 30 months now, Tom is actually the father of Katies baby and Britney is kicking out Kevin!

I guess the only consolation is that on the whole, people will merely think you are ill and feel sorry for you. I know the occasions I've seen someone vomit in public, yes, its kind of fascinatingly disgusting, like a car crash (you dont want to look but you cant help it), but you dont really think badly of the person, you just feel glad it wasnt you!

Hehe, Tellymelly, I gotta have that bra. I couldnt run without it, I'd knock myself out. I also find yep, I need proper wicking running gear because I run on the treadmill inside a lot of the time. Its winter here, the heating is on, it gets really hot! I throw open the sliding door and the treadmill has fans on it, but it still gets really hot. I have 3 kids though. The washing is horrendous, its like a full time job.

Good luck, you're right, you cant live like this long term. But what a great month for you, and that's weight you wont regain so at least you have achieved that, but after an entire month you must be going crazy.

I've read it often enough to truly not be afraid of a PB whereas I'd do anything I possibly could to avoid vomiting, I hate that panic when the nausea hits and the cramps start and you know that you're going to vomit in a minute. I usually whimper and cry like a baby. I hate it even worse when you dont know what end its going to come out - I always choose the wrong one, roflmao!! I truly wished I could just PB and get it over with last night, my little episode lasted about 40 minutes. I had the most violent hiccups but nup, nothing. What got me was that it was fine going down, it was only 15 minutes later when it obviously started going through the hole that I began to get uncomfortable. That worries me - if you dont get a warning as you're eating, what on earth could happen in public? So I guess I"m still a PB virgin but like any other kind of virgin, I guess I've done everything but the final deed, lol.

Well you learn something new every day. I would have thought coffee cake meant coffee flavoured cake too.