Jachut

Although I wouldnt rule out that hormonally your body hasnt recovered completely yet.

I have read that too - that the changing fat levels affect your estrogen levels and other hormones too and can cause chaos for a while. All the toxins stored in your fat are also released.

That's so encouraging. I think its hard for our minds and our bodies to cope with constant food restriction and fast weight loss. Both need a break every now and then but that's where I fall down too. Well done on getting to a year!

Yay, that must feel GREAT! I've got my eye on Sussan and Witchery, which I havent shopped in since I was about 14 and my mother was paying!

None at the moment - its 8 in the morning here and I just have my dressing gown on. My underwear drawer is a sad and sorry sight. Ten pairs of plain cotton bikinis that were $2 each or something like that, most have a hole somewhere or other as they are getting old - like 5 years plus AND I'm still wearing nursing bras from my pregnancy 3 years ago even though I finished nursing at least 12 months ago, I have one underwire bra that fits poorly and a sports bra that's too tight. I just never get round to buying underwear - with 3 kids and a house taking priority it's low on the list but I'm fatter than ever and truth is I think I would find it hard to find any. The day I wear a full brief I will have somebody shoot me, I will NEVER do it. So I'm waiting till I can just go out and buy hipsters or bikinis again just in Target or Kmart. I'm not into fancy underwear but I would prefer it to be reasonably new, in good condition and not stretched and holey, lol.

Yeuch, I hate soy milk. I hate regular milk too to drink straight.

I'm not usually hungry at night - but that's generally because I have eaten my fill at my particular danger times - late morning (after which I dont want lunch) and late afternoon (because I didnt eat lunch) and then I eat my dinner which I didnt want anyway because I ate late afternoon. But I do like a coffee after dinner. When I've been dieting and I'm actually hungry after dinner I go to bed early, lol. I tell myself I can last for an hour or two because I'm going to bed anyway. Its when the entire afternoon stretches before me that I cant resist because I know I'm going to have to keep up the willpower for four, five hours. Oh, we eat late too becuase Doug doesnt get home till about 7.30. Would it be worth trying to delay dinner a bit if your daughter can last?

Such a mystery isnt it? I often wonder why I've been able to achieve such other great things in life that have taken enormous willpower and hard work and yet not be able to stop putting crap in my mouth. Um, yes, I thought that's what you were going to talk about, lol.

I'd buy stuff for the house. I've got the shits with it at the moment, I hate everything in it. We're ready for a bigger house, we've outgrown this one and I"ve really lost my mojo for it. I'm systematically replacing all the prints one by one, a slow process of 8 week layby's but who has money for that sort of thing lying around? We had Monet's from the 80's on the walls, bleuch. So - I'd go a nice new leather couch (well I"m planning on losing a LOT of weight, hehe) or maybe new bed linen or some cushions or ornaments.

I dont see why you cant pay a special premium on your health insurance and have it cover cosmetic procedures. I mean if you've got humungously big breasts or a very baggy saggy tummy after weight loss its not vain or unreasonable to want to fix that is it?

I was googling the other night and found these awesome Thailand getaway packages - tummy tuck, breast augmentation and lip to hips, thighs and one other spot of choice for $14,000 Australian - that included 3 weeks accommodation in a resort and covered your support person as well. Just dreaming. Doug said he'd never consider me having cosmetic surgery outside Australia but I know someone who's done it and she said it was exactly like being in hospital here, totally professional, awesome results. I'd be terrified of a tummy tuck - the scarring. But I havent seen what the scarring looks like long term. I'm just hoping and praying that my lack of stretch marks from 3 pregnancies, my smooth belly skin and relatively modest 35kg weight problem will mean that my tummy ends up OK out of this. I can even live with a bit of stretched skin but there's no way you'd do all this work and not fix a real problem is there? But boy oh boy are my boobs going to need some attention. And I reckon a bit of lipo too - I remember being 75kg and I was hardly model material then. I always had that hip and thigh thing going on. Cosmetic surgery is always self pay in Australia isnt it? Does even very stretched belly skin following major weight loss fail to qualify as a medical necessity?

We just watched Supersize Me the other day. OMG - that stuff is poison. I always knew it and have never been a big McDonalds eater. But its everything else too - all the other fast food and my goodness the stuff being served up to children at school was utterly disgusting. Its no loss not being able to eat it, that's for sure.

Well said. I would prefer it if my husband looked a little more like Harrison Ford did 20 years ago (its getting harder to pretend) but hey, he doesnt does he? I would prefer it if he were a little more buffed and were not an accountant. But he is isnt he? I was thinking about this all night. Sheesh. What a jerk.

I dont look at it. I find I gain more weight if I weight myself all the time than if I dont. If I dont I use my appetite as a guide to how much to eat - not that that's particularly reliable, lol. But - if I see I've lost a tad I think "great, I can relax". If I see I've stayed the same or gained a little I think "what's the point, this doesnt work anyway". Either way the outcome is comfort eating. But I know once I'm banded I'll be on the dratted thing five times a day for a while.

I'd never have a bypass - I'm overweight and yes its a health risk but I'm not obese enough and its not enough of a risk to do that. If I had to I could live with the way I look without too much drama as I blend into the crowd, plenty of people around as fat as me. And I do enjoy exercising and good food (just too much of it) so I dont have the comorbidities (yet) that others suffer. I just dont think my weight is enough of a risk for that kind of surgery. Even if losing my band meant I'd get back up to this weight again. Although I could afford another band if that was an option - I would probably do that.

Wow, how terrible. I would love my husband if he lost both his legs and had his face blown off. To not want to be with someone you've built a life with just because they now look a certain way is nuts. He's not worth it in my opinion.

Gosh, 11 days on clear liquids unbanded would have me climbing the walls - I cant even stick to a normal diet for 11 days, lol.

I've amazed myself (dont have a surgery date yet but it is likely to be late November, early December) that I havent felt this way. Because before I went to the surgeon I was stuffing my face every day - I've got a BMI of 35 and I wanted to be sure I'd qualify. I think that's cured me for the short term, I managed to lose 6kg then gain 2kg to just sqeak in. Now I've got a much more moderate appetite because I've had my fill of crap food for the time being. I'm working on changing habits from now till surgery - better food choices, less snacking, no binging. I'm eating enough to feel full and satisfied (and not lose weight) but eating well, I want to be as healthy as possible by surgery date. Dont you want to kill me? hehe. I do have these periods where I think "this is so easy why on earth do I have a weight problem" but they never last. But I have convinced myself that I will enjoy food MORE afterwards when it has less of a hold on me. So I'm not viewing this as an end but as a beginning.

Thanks, I'm collecting quite a lot of recipes from here.

And here I was thinking this was related to the XXXX thread! Magic Bullet? Fantastic name for a kitchen implement, lol.

I've never gotten into an argument online about sex, I'm a member of several Australian forums. It never offends me. Religion for some reason just isnt as big a deal to many Australians, it's not something that most people would discuss online or display in an avatar. What gets me into trouble is talk about money! Who has it, who earns it, how much you earn, how fair it is that you earn X amount for Y job, why I choose private schooling, why I want to live in a "classier" suburb than where I do now, why I'm proud of my new shiny car, that type of thing. I've learned that others are extremely defensive about the fact that our family income for DH's job is considered very high and that they do not consider the sacrifices or work that went into achieving it. They feel completely free to be incredibly insulting, or worse, to call us "lucky" as if we had nothing to do with it at all, and to call me a snob. Which I've never been. I've learned simply not to talk about it. I can get along with so many people on so many levels who are so different to me until they realise that yes, we earn a lot of money. Its insane. Its never been a basis by which I judge others but it certainly is a basis by which others judge me.

I've got a 2 year old, an 8 year old and a 10 year old and I'm trying to finish a university degree so I'm planning on oh, about 10 years!

I've never let my weight stand in the way of anything I really wanted to do, I've got plenty of self confidence and am never afraid to get in there and do stuff. Of course there's things I cant do - I want to run again, not just round the block but a good 10km run. Buy clothes easily. Cut my hair shorter - I'm sick of long boring hair, I want something funky but it would make my face look too chubby.

I really found I just had to push ahead, I was definitely second guessing and really made the decision not to do it, which I think I needed to make at that time. But I realised I was second guessing myself not because I was afraid I wasnt doing the right thing or afraid of the surgery - I was afraid of being successful. No more excuses, no more I'll start tomorrows, once the band is in, I have to do the job. That's very scary.

There are plenty of people around on Australian forums that have had their bands for nine or ten years with no problems. They're silicone which will not react with the body in any way and will not degrade so they should be fine forever.