Jachut

Oy Oy Oy! G'day Nedim, I'm Jacqui, banded 9 December at The Avenue Private in Windsor, Melbourne by Gary Crosthwaite. Like you I stayed overnight, went home in the morning, I feel great and have very little pain. The band is definitely working, I'm love love loving this feeling of fullness for hours and hours after I've had my liquid lunch - not the same type of liquid lunch as the old days though. I'm sure I"ll get hungry again in a few weeks.

I was told drinking is fine right up until you eat, then nothing for 2 hours after!!! personally I'm going to experiment with that. 2 hours seems a bit extreme.

sleep sleep sleep. I really got out of it remarkably well and seriously just about could have run a marathon the next day. But then I'm the type of pain in the bum who also thinks giving birth to 10 pound babies with no drugs doesnt hurt much either. I did of course have some pain though and on the first day it was quite a lot. But boy, everytime I had a good sleep I woke up feeling remarkably better. Sleep is very healing. Sleep and pain meds, keep up with them and take them before you need them.

OK - so I want to organise it that I can eat wholegrain toast and crackers, but no white fluffy bread, bakery good, cakes, muffins (my biggest downfall). Think I can swing it?

I think whatever suits you. I dont want to diet again but I think it's sensible to keep some sort of idea of your calorie intake, especially before you get to your sweet spot. For me, I'd go back to my regular (very healthy) diet minus all the crap I ate on top of it. I'll be doing Cereal and fruit for Breakfast, sometimes eggs, occasionally toast (please please may I be able to eat toast) probably crispbreads (if I can eat them) with various tuna/salad/cottage cheese toppings or thick, hearty Soup (with lots of solid stuff in and not a lot of liquid) and fruit for lunch and our regular family dinners, which were always fine. We may end up eating more mince than roast lamb now and I certainly plan to eat a lot more fish, but basically, Protein and vegetables, the occasional Pasta dinner. I'll also probably make more softer things like tuna and salmon patties that I didnt make before.

Yes, its given me a bit of a fright this week too (I'm on day 8). During the middle of the week, despite feeling fantastic after surgery, I began to feel really unwell, with leg cramps and fainting. I knew I needed to eat but it was very scary that I couldnt. What would have made me feel better was a large meal, but it wasnt going to happen. I wont be surprised if I'm tight in the mornings in future, though for me it appears to be only for a couple of hours, so my routine will probably involve getting up and having a cuppa and then Breakfast at 9 am or so. I'm concerned about falling into different bad habits - not eating breakfast, not eating enough fruit and vegetables etc. I think though the best thing about the band is the flexibility you have with it. It's YOUR decision. I am more than willing to trade off having to exercise a LOT in order to be able to be filled less and eat a bit more, I want a healthier life not simply a thinner one. I also wont be backward in coming forward if I dont want a fill. Just because its scheduled if I'm continuing to lose at least half a kilo a week I'd consider not getting filled at that point. I think you have to remain open to the fact though that things could be VERY different in a couple more weeks. I know I cant imagine having a fill now, but we will get hungry again and we will find we can eat more than is ideal.

Fantastic work. Even if you never lost another gram, you've just bought yourself many more years of healthy, good quality life.

I've just blended, not strained. I've been advised all along that fluids during the liquid phase must be able to pass through a straw, everything I've eaten would have passed that test but it's at the very thick end of it. I'm having plenty of water and clear liquids too but at mealtime I'm having something thicker. I've blended some weetbix (breakfast cereal) into my morning shake becuase I was actually fainting and in ketosis (I tested) from lack of carbs, I know many here are high protein diet devotees but to me ketosis is not a healthy state to be in and I certainly felt like utter crap. So I added some carbs. I also added carbs into my soups, cooked pasta or rice. As long as its all blended smooth it is my understanding that anything goes. I made the most divine lentil and vegetable soup last night and it even had a bit of cheese grated into it, melted and mixed through. When I had the pot on the stove, full of green beans, carrots, onions, lentils, capsicum, celery, spinach, tomato AND mushrooms I was thinking "I dont know if I should be eating this" but it cooked and blended down to the right consistency! I am trying, as close as I can, to emulate my normal meals: fruit, cereal and milk for breakfast, soup for lunch and dinner and in between I'm having water, V8, prune juice and the odd cup of coffee. No straining feeling in my tummy, no unpleasant events such as PB's, I'm just taking it slowly and carefully but since I added a bit more real food I feel human again. But my tongue is still all white and yucky and my breath has been better.

I made the most divine lentil and vegetable Soup last night, even had a bit of cheddar cheese grated and melted into it. After a week of almost Clear liquids, I nearly died of bliss! Otherwise my menu this week is not worth mentioning. If I never drink another smoothie again it will be too soon!

So far in a week yes. Start a diet, drop 4kg in 2 days, put 2 back on the next day. I've done exactly that this week. I'll end the week about 1.5kg lighter than last Friday when I was banded, despite having had a liquid diet all week. That's me to a T, I never have really spectacular early loses, it tends to be slow and steady. over time I think I'll lose faster simply because I'll stick to it week in week out.

I think everything in moderation is the key. So many people believe dairy is mucous causing, then there's high Protein low carb diets, high carb low fat diets, the Mediterranean diet, the Japanese diet, this diet that diet, you shouldnt eat fish because its full of mercury, fish prevents heart disease blah blah blah. And anyway, with a band you cant eat enough to go to way out on anything. I think the only real consensus is that fresh fruit and vegetables are vital for health and if you concentrate on getting those in and your source of lean protein, who has the space for dairy 3x a day as well as fish twice a week etc etc. You need some dairy for your Calcium so its a good healthy food if it's low fat and you dont happen to be allergic to it.

GPB isnt really that common in Australia and I was nowhere near desperate enough over my weight to consider it, that's major major surgery and I would never have done that voluntarily. I was healthy and relatively happy and the band to be totally honest, while I'm frustrated by my sore ankle, was more for vanity than anything else. I'm 38 and I want to be a yummy mummy! I have no other health problems and could never justify an operation like a GBP. The band is so flexible, if I cant live with the lifestyle it can be unfilled, it can be removed, if I have problems because of it it can be removed and maybe replaced, I havent changed my innards in any major way, the scarring is going to be minimal, there's less chance of really bad skin afterwards, I can eat enough and with enough variety to remain healthy as that too is in my control, it's my tradeoff between my food and eating lifestyle and how fast I lose the weight or how much I actually lose. Its my tool and I can use it the way I want to.

Firstly you've lost 16 lb in less than a month, that's great. But you also have to realise that you lost it the first week after surgery, days of eating very very little, as do we all, there's no way that weight loss is not made up of lean tissue, mainly Water and a bit of fat. As you're body has healed and you can take in more, your body puts its water levels back in balance and you wont lose as fast or maybe not lose at all. You havent done anything wrong, but nobody continues to lose like that. Secondly, maybe for you its necessary to continue to keep a track of what you're eating to make sure you continue to lose. I think the band could work wonderfully with things like weight watchers if you have trouble knowing what and how much to eat. So many of us have spent so long fighting with food that we really have no idea what to feed ourselves anymore. That feeling of fullness will probably come sooner and sooner for you as you're filled. As to the calorie levels per day I think you have to listen to your body a bit. I cannot live on 700 calories, I had fainting spells on the pre op Optifast within a day or two and then yesterday (day 5 for me) I had several fainting spells and really bad leg cramps. I need to eat more than that, end of story. I ramped up what I was eating with some more solid liquids - Soups with meat and Pasta in them and I had a commercial smoothie this morning, not one made with fruit and skim milk, feel loads better today. I think about 1000-1200 will be OK for me for this liquid phase but I tell you honestly, there is no way I could be exercising or running round living my normal life on this level. I know from past experience I can easily lose 1kg (2lb) a week on 1800 calories a day, I think I have a fairly fast metabolism and I still managed to outsmart it and get fat, lol. So go with what you feel. But my surgeon did point out to me to try to get in 3 meals 2 Snacks on the liquid phase so Breakfast lunch and dinner should be something nutritional with a decent snack such as a milk drink in between to keep the energy constant and water and the rest of it in between those. As to the shoulder pain, it's common but I've had none, I've really had no pain at all since the first day, but walking around is said to help.

I was thinking Jack's absence was notable. Definitely I'd nominate both Jack and Vines for the most sage with the dryest senses of humour!

That's an amazing weight loss, absolutely incredible. Just think, soon economy seats in a plane will be roomy! I remember sitting down at the shops to have a coffee with Doug when I was about 8 months pregnant, the chairs were fixed to the floor and I went to sit down and realised abruptly that I couldnt fit! Little things like that are really humiliating, it wasnt so bad as I was about to pop and can ordinarily fit but I'm really glad that the only times I've flown I've always had the whole row with my family so I can have a kid either side and share a bit of their space, lol.

Even a few days makes a difference to how much you can consume. Everyone's doctor recommends different things, for me it's fluids for 3 weeks but it can be anything at all and there's no restriction on amount. Its now day 6 for me and I can get through 2 mugs of Soup in about half an hour, without any feeling of fullness/stretching. Given that it's watered down and blended to nothing I feel I need those 2 mugs to get enough energy. Like I posted yesterday, the first few days I was a bit thrilled at not being able to finish a coffee, lol, but the lack of food caught up with me big time yesterday and I felt like death and had fainting spells. So it does pay to make the effort to get it in. My back is a bit sore too, I'm finding my tummy cant be bent over so I have to sit and stand up really straight and my back's not used to the proper posture, it wants to slump back into its correct position. Feels exactly like my back did after each of my pregnancies actually.

Day five, and I woke up weak and shaky, felt like my blood pressure was very low. Silly me drank my morning coffee first, then couldnt get in my shake, it took me 3 hours to finish it. I feel a bit lethargic, lacking energy and a bit achey from the gas today. But hey, I'm down a few kilos! I'm really really tight though, much more so than yesterday. Nevertheless I went shopping, since it cures everything. I found these great ice pack containers - shake containers, salad containers, and a dip and cracker/vegetable container, all contain their own special ice ring so you can transport the food. So fabulous for when I have to go to university - previously on uni days I just skipped lunch and probably went through the McDonalds drive through or to Muffin Break on the way home. Now I can take a perfect bandster lunch. I bought Doug a set too for work. I also bought an AWESOME stretchy crossover dress, the kind that would look really great with some nice bootleg jeans and stillettos.

Hmmm, I do feel a bit better today, I made more effort to take in more calories, things that would stick around a little longer. I dont have high blood pressure so am not on any meds. I did actually faint at lunch time and rang my surgeon, he said I needed to get more into me, not to worry about choosing low calorie or low fat, not that I really was but it was easy enough to choose some Soup with meat and Pasta in it, that kind of thing. Feel loads better today but I think I have to slow down a little. I was on such a high I've just rushed ahead like a bull at a gate.

I've got the same burping issue - sometimes it just evaporates, I dont find it terribly painful I just feel like I might not look 6 months pregnant if I could let it out. Other times if a bend in the middle and then straighten up and open my mouth, this amazing looooooong burp comes out! I dont have to do anything, it just comes up, lol, a bit like a fart in the bathtub. I can no longer burp on demand though, not that that was a skill I was particularly proud of.

We have a cat, she's my pet and really only responds to me and Fraser (my oldest son). My husband feeds her every morning, but she'd never choose him to sit on, the minute I sit down she's there jumping into my lap. I love cats. I'm not a dog person at all. They give me the heebie jeebies.

Yes, I definitely feel a sense of maximising that early faster weight loss. I know it'll probably take me a year to lose between 30-40kg but early on, that first 20 I think is going to be faster and easier and I intend to maximise that.

Day 5 for me too, I was on clear liquids for day 1 only until my barium swallow and for part of day 2. Since them my routine has included: Optifast shake blended with fruit and yogurt for Breakfast mid morning - my soluble Vitamin and Iron lunch - either another Optifast shake or egg flip blended with fruit throughout the afternoon I fit in a glass of prune juice and a glass or two of V8 dinner - soup blended with skim milk, still working on pumpkin and leek, will make up some vege soup tomorrow, might make up some meat broth today to get some Protein into it. I'll also fit in a cup or two of coffee and plenty of Water - about 1 litre. Its taking a lot of work to get through that but I'm managing, MUCH tighter today though. I've just finished the shake I made at 7.30 am almost 3 and a half hours ago.

My first experience of this this morning. I cant get much down at all, I woke up feeling shaky and weak, I definitely needed some calories. Stupid stupid stupid me wasted my space with a cup of coffee and now can only drink 1/4 of my egg flip, when I desperately need some energy. What was I saying only a week ago about hanging onto my coffee habit for grim life? I'm realising very fast that it's a waste of space. Yesterday I definitely had a larger intake of nutritional fluids over clear, perhaps I went a little overboard, perhaps I'm going to be tight in the mornings, who knows?

Yep it could be that. Preband I tend to get the burps when I eat out and talk lots while I'm eating.

Already in 4 days I've had to resist the urge to hurry several times. As I'm on liquid that means gulp the rest of my shake, coffee, juice, whatever I'm drinking. People are waiting for me and I'm slow slow slow. For me eating out is about social contact - I mean the food's great but I've accepted that no longer for me can it be as important as it was. If I sit at the table and sip a glass of wine and get through 1/3 of it and eat 3 bits of whatever I've paid for (doggy bags are against the law in Australia), then I dont care. I'd rather catch up with my friends than miss out alltogether. But I guess I'll be choosing very very very carefully. I'd imagine when your out too you need to remind yourself to concentrate very hard on what you're eating as its easy to get carried up in the conversation and forget about it. I have no intention of giving up my social life and I"m glad I have supportive friends and family, nobody is going to mind me eating like a sparrow. They all know.