Jachut

I have to admit I've thought about it. I'm 38 and dont have any crows feet or lines on my face other than two vertical frown lines between my eyebrows, which would be so easily fixed with Botox.

Put a dog turd in a paper bag, set it alight on his doorstep, ring the bell and RUN. When he opens the door, he stamps out the fire, lol. We had loads and loads of fun doing this as kids. Prawns hidden in the curtain rods? Phew!

Have you tried taking Evening Primrose Oil?. My sister was truly scary during the week before her period and it's regulated her moods amazingly well. That and looking after herself well.

Actually I was lucky to have a horrible tummy bug last week which cleared me out and saw me drop several kilograms, now I"m all raring to go again as suddenly I fit into a heap of clothes.

Just my personal opinion but I got banded to get away from all that crap. I have tenuate tablets here from about 1997 which I really must throw away. I'd rather lose weight with the band than risk a heart attack or stroke in the process. Those things had me vacuuming the house at 2 am. Awful. Xenical, well the side effects are enough to put me off for one.

I wouldnt worry about it. I had to clean my tongue too, since it was coated with a very fetching khaki coloured slime in the weeks post surgery.

Is it just me though, or would anyone else speak to their doctor when they want professional advice? I dont come here for that. And whilst I could say anythign I like about my doc here, since I"m in another country, I'm sure people would like to feel they can have a good ol whinge about something their doc has said or done or whatever without feeling we're being watched over by the ranks. I mean, the gesture of wanting to help out is sure appreciated but this is a forum of members of the general public, not a place to come for professional advice. I think people need this kind of chit chat and real life practical help from one another and they can actually go to their doc for the professional advice.

I dont think I saw anything inappropriate or undeserved in that thread - those statements where pretty darn inflammatory and more than a little stupid. I agree in principle though that doctors should be treated with respect and that the time they take to help people out should be appreciated. They dont have to post here. I dont think I've ever seen anyone be rude to any other doctor here. That was an unusual situation.

It can affect others close to us. My mother got very funny when she realised I was going to have it done. When she finally decided to voice her concerns, it was all about family dinners. What are you going to eat now? Not that I live with her, she's talking about special occasions. I think she somehow felt they were here "thing" and now I was going to be immune to it. That they type of food they cooked wouldnt be appropriate for me and she'd have to change. But it doesnt really work out like that. You wont be on liquids forever and you'll eat relatively normally again, just less. My DH decided to join me on the journey anyhow and has lost quite a bit of weight himself. Hopefully yours will come around as you get back to normal.

I had pretty good restriction all the way through to about a week before my first fill on Jan 19th, lost 9kg in that time, went back for my second fill Feb 10th (the first made very little difference) and had lost another 3. I now have 1.3mls in a 4ml band and have an appointment for another small fill next week but I dont know if I need or want it, I'll see by the end of the weekend if I'm going to go or not. I've lost another 2kg in the past week and a bit.

I've noticed a definite "loosening" but not too bad, and you might find it improves a bit over time, which is why they often say to wait 2 years from reaching goal to consider plastic surgery, not that many people probably do. I dont think I got quite that fat that it's going to be a real problem to me but I do cringe at the thought of what my poor old boobies are going to look like, having gone from C's to DD's and fed 3 babies for six years as well. Not pretty. Probably not a problem you'll have, lol. But its so not fair. It just shouldnt happen that way. But to be honest, if I end up with a wrinkly belly, I just plain dont care. I'm nearly 40, nobody but DH ever sees my belly anyhow. I've walked around with it fat for long enough, what's a bit of loose skin?

I wish I could give you the fellow feeling Lou, but I simply cant. I ate too much because I liked food, it was that simple. I wish I could empathise or understand what you're going through, but i just cant fathom it. I'm so blessed that my entire life has been functional and happy - weight problems do not always result from some sort of psychological pain. I sat around waiting for my epiphany for years, that magical moment when you suddenly understand why you overeat - and it just wasnt coming becuase it wasnt there to come, there was no reason for it other than it was a comfortable habit. I can only reiterate whether or not you find empathy amongst others here, which i'm sure you will at some level, that you have many other things to work on that are more important than your weight, you're right, the food is only a symptom, not the problem you need to be tackling. Its not that people dont want to understand on a deep level what you're going through, its just that lots of people ARE fat simply because of bad habits, crazy lifestyle and not because of any real underlying problem. We're not all walking round wearing our fat to hide something underneath, it doesnt mean we're not caring and willing to try to understand but I'm not sure that the average Joe can give you the support you need. I really hope someone here is brave enough to admit to having similar feelings to yourself.

I wasnt as low as 30 though almost there now. I was 35. But to answer your questions, I've done great. I've lost 14kg (30ish lb) in a tad over 2 months which to me is super fast and more than I've ever lost in my life before. It's been easy. I had good restriction for five weeks post surgery and then had to dig in and find some willpower, just had my second fill and I"m not sure how that's gone yet. I thought it kicked in last Friday but since then we've all been spewing and pooing our guts out in this household - a bad case of gastro all around. So the lack of appetite (which is how I feel restriction) I thought was a result of the fill might just have been from being ill. We'll see over the next few days. I think doing it at a low BMI for me was good because my eating habits had not gotten that bad yet. I was overweight and out of control but I havent had to work too hard to bring myself back into line. Nobody would know that I have a band when I've eaten out but like you I just dont know whether that will be the case after more fills. However I"m not sure I"m ready to keep getting filled just yet, I'm still considering whether I'll go next week for my third. Not sure I need it and not sure I want it. 3-5 bites per meal, well maybe I'll come around but at present I'm not prepared to go that far. There's no way you're not sacrificing your health for weight loss at that point. I feel so much better the slight problems I was starting to develop have disappeared and I dont really care if I lose weight really really slowly. Within the scope of our culture, and of my social and family life, eating out and special occasions are important to me and I dont want to not be able to participate at all. I did quite fine on Saturday night with friends over - 1 glass of wine and a dinner about 1/4 the size of everyone elses, a taste of dessert. I've still lost over the weekend. In Australia it's becoming common to band people with BMI's as low as 30 because statistically once you've become obese, you stay that way, and more likely than not become more so. BMI 40 is kind of arbitrary and a bit silly, the problems exist way before then.

Oh boy I find it really hard to believe in this day and age anyone would design a tanning bed to allow you to stay in longer! Its all about shorter shorter shorter. Last year I went to the solarium to get a tan for a special event - I could easily get addicted to tanning beds, but generally stay away because I would prefer not to look 70 at 40. And 2/3 of Australians get skin cancer in one form or another in their lifetime anyway without making it even more likely by going in tanning beds. BUT - I got a glorious deep tan in about 12 sessions of 6 minutes each! That girl has gotten something wrong somewhere, surely. With the strength of today's beds there's no way you'd need 20 minutes - or even if that bed does require it, you have to build up to it.

Oh yes the hugs. My DH has lost 14kg over the last 12 months, a good part of it since I had surgery. I used to get my boobs uncomfortably squished by his belly when we hugged, lol. Not anymore. My boobs are smaller and so is his belly.

I think when you're new online it's harder. I'm such a sad nerd, lived most of my life online and made heaps of friends online over the last few years, and at first that was through an unmoderated publci forum, so boy I've learned a few things about arguing on line, lol. I'm not easily offended now. I did send a PM or two myself though just to say I hoped I'd not offended somebody - and to lend support. Sometimes I think there's some things not appropriate to say to everyone. That's not bitchy or backstabbing either - just a private word of sorry, hope that didnt offend, but I get where you're coming from.

I think perhaps the band might be your friend in the future Lou but obviously now, you have an awful lot of work to do in other areas of your life. You have your band in there now and can bide your time until you are well enough to work with it. But you need to be seeking other avenues of help well before that. Being fat for a while longer, well is that really so bad if you can just concentrate on getting yourself to a point where you can even look at the whole situation without it all getting into such a terrible tangle of emotions? Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I wouldnt be putting the pressure on myself to change physically until I felt mentally stronger. I know you're seeing somebody and I hope it gradually starts to bear fruit for you.

Might it depend how you eat it. We only really eat in in bolognaise sauce or chilli.

Oh, I remember that news. I knew before each of my babies was born too and I loved knowing. But it was extra special when we had our unexpected third pregnancy to find out it was a little girl after two boys. Congratulations!

It's shaping up very busy for me, I'd have to say I just cant do this week. If you do get together have fun and I'll see you next time.

At the moment I"m relying on classes at the gym - Body Pump and Circuit. They're appealing at present time, I get pushed to work harder than I ordinarily would and they're short and sweet - over in an hour. At other times I've enjoyed doing my own thing in the gym more, but I just go with what I feel like. I go for an occasional walk but find walking more than anything aggravates my ankle.

I think everything in moderation is fine really. I mean in the 70's, it was high Protein diets, during the 80's and 90's it was the high carb, low fat diet now they've realised that hasnt worked we're back to the high protein diet. What next? I dont think a diet high in processed carbs is good for anyone though. I try to stick to wholegrain ones - oatmeal, brown rice and avoid eating bread much at all. Last night we had friends over for dinner, had a nice barbecue, but I didnt take a baked potato because I knew I wouldnt fit it in. But I didnt worry about the noodles in one of the salads. Most days I eat carbs for Breakfast - muesli, oatmeal etc.

Well I think I kind of offended a week or two back by saying this op was a cinch, but I'd rate childbirth (natural) about a 7, a caesarean about a 9 and lap band surgery about a 4. For ME it was really really easy and I had very little pain. I came home the next day and never took any pain relief at all.

Technically as long as you weigh yourself in the same spot it doesnt matter anyway. But I actually line the scales up with particular bathroom tiles, step on in exactly the same way and rest slightly towards my heels when I weigh, lol. That way I get the lowest possible weight - stark naked after a wee first thing in the morning. Never with wet hair!

Plenty of fresh fruit and veges too and take your Vitamins. I really think lack of energy can be a sign of being a bit too tight - you may not be PBing or having pain but if you cant eat enough to feel normal perhaps that's something to think about. Of course it might only be necessary to pay more attention to the quality of your diet, not the quantity.