Jachut

I'm not a great dieter or rule follower, I knew for me to have a lifestyle I could stick with, it had to be reduced portions of ALL foods, treats included. I've eaten less due to the band's restriction, but worked really hard to get super fit. No mild workouts for me, I run and do bootcamp, an hour or so at least five days a week. I really believe the exercise has been at elast 50% of my sucess.

Yes, it does. I have maintained an even 68kg or so for about three years now, but over time, and with fill loosening somewhat, have eaten more, just enough more to maintain, not enough to gain. In a few weeks, I have to have a foot or two of my intestines removed. My band will have to be unfilled for this operation, that freaked me out a little and I decided I better start being really good, to practice for what I know I'll have to do for the period of time I'm unfilled if I'm not goign to gain weight. When I've returned STRICTLY to my band rules, 3 meals, no crap, I've suddenly lost another 3 kgs in a few weeks. I really probably dont need even the moderate restriction I have if I ate this way all the time. I now have a little leeway to gain a bit back when I'm unfilled, I'm now getting alarmingly skinny, but I dont want to eat rubbish to put it back on. I have always exercised regularly, running most days of the week too.

For me its a loud and violent coughing process and is quite like a real vomit without the stomach acid or copious quantity. I cant do it on purpose, at will or just because I feel I need to. I feel a premonition that something will get stuck, then I feel blocked - it can stop there and clear within a few minutes but if I feel a sudden sharp pain by my belly button, and start to salivate, I know its coming up. I can control it, meaning I can hold it down till I get to a toilet, but it comes up in a huge coughing gurgle. I do have to lean over and sort of tense to make it come up, but I couldnt do that if it was just blocked and not coming up anyway. But yeah, its loud, not discreet. I may be wrong but I would imagine that being able to just make it come up would mean your throat, pouch and muscles are kinda loose and stretched out .... they're supposed to hold things down and not let them up that easily.

Its not so much a matter of it irritating your band, its getting the food down that provides the fibre - fruit, vegies and wholegrains. Even with eating those foods, something like benefibre is a good idea.

Yes, it can become very noticeable. Mine is pretty out there, my only real loose skin though is my upper belly, which is from pregnancy, as I was never really that fat on my stomach. I have a pretty flat stomach and an almost six pack (sigh), so my stomach has not got a lot of fat on it. The flabby upper bit actually hides the port somewhat. I wear a bikini, I dont care. I'm 43, I dont need to the best looking woman on the beach, I'm just proud of what I've achieved and if my port showing bothers anyone, that's their problem not mine. Very few of us end up with a perfect body out of this. At some point you have to learn to love what youv'e got and just like pregnancy leaves marks on your body, so does weight loss. You're still going to look great and most of the time we do wear clothes.

Just an update - have gotten through six weeks of chemo and radiation feeling pretty darn good. Very very little nausea (just a mild bleugh feeling some days), absolutley no vomiting or diarrhoea, no need to unfill my band whatsoever. It does have to be unfilled for surgery though, eeek. But just the strain on your body, and not having a huge appetite during chemo, I have lost a couple of kilograms to hit 65, I thought it was my dream weight, right at the bottom of my healthy weight range but boy oh boy, I can finally say I'm damn skinny. Unfilling and regaining a few kg's will be a good thing. It made me realise though, how many little treats I ate around the basic healthy meals - I've been conscious of eating well during my treatment and when I eat exactly as I'm supposed to, well, I lose weight. I dont need to lose weight so I've obviously got too much restriction for maintenance. I'm healthy, feeling well and positive though and the treatment wasnt at all brutal. Surgery end of November.

The band hasnt ever taken away my hunger or the desire to eat either. I have no idea why I have been so successful with it, because things sitting in my pantry still call my name and I have every bit as much ability to eat inappropriately as I ever did. It simply stops me eating so much at one sitting, and that combined with me growing up and accepting that I simply could not eat every time the random urge struck, along with my running, has been enough to bring my weight to normal levels. However, now I'm facing having my band unfilled for 2 or 3 months, I do wonder if I'll find it is doing more for me than I think it is. Its very hard to know what's me and what's the band and perhaps you're not realising quite what its done, afterall, you did lose a lot and you havent piled it all back on. I definitely dont have the same sort of expeirence with my band that I've read about here, I havent ever really "felt" restriction, I eat way more than other bandsters do, I eat from all food groups and I only get stuck if I really break the rules - big bites, poor chewing, fast eating. But obviously weight loss can still occur under those circumstances. You havent had such a good run of it unfortunately, and I think considering a revision to a sleeve is probably a sensible option - we've had surgery and it just shouldnt be this hard. I could probably never fill my band again and keep this weight off but why the heck should I when I find it so easy with some Fluid in there? Likewise, why would you continue to struggle and impose such levels of self discipline when another surgery might release you from all of that? I wish I could help with the cost of it, but unfortunately nobody really can. I do think in your situation I'd be considering the same thing though.

I think you've been too tight, hopefully that's all it is. Its really hard to keep a proper mentality as to how much we shoudl eat. I feel like you describe, keep thinking I'm eating too much, maybe a fill is needed. But really, my weight is steady. We are not supposed to starve forever, just becuase you have a band doesnt mean you shouldnt be able to eat what a normal weight person will be able to eat! For me, 2000 calories a day at my height and activity level is very reasonable. In my head though, that's absolutely overeating - I mean I eat that much, but I think I'm a pig. You do not need to be tight to maintain, you have to at some point let your new habits and lifestyle take over and dont rely on restriction to eat reasonably.

I think really I did what Jack is suggesting - I found normal weight through a lot of cardio whilst eating normal amounts of carbs/protein and about 1500 a day. it suited me, I didnt find it hard, I love my running and it wasnt insane, just an hour a day (8 to 10kms). I dont do as well on more strength trainign workouts, I mean I do it because its good for my body, but my main focus was and always will be cardio. It burns insane fat for me and makes weight control really easy. I dont put on a lot of muscle, I dont have that sort of body, relying on having muscle to burn calories just isnt a good strategy for me personally. Then you could try the low carb route. I think the thing is, different things suit different bodies and you have to settle on what works for you.

You're not crazy, in fact this is probably the best possible way to get ALL of that last 60lb off. I started running at about 30lb down and I could not believe the difference not having that 30lb made to what I could do. I meant to start the couch to 5K and I ran the whole damn way! Well, staggered and shuffled but it wasnt a walk, it was definitely a jog. I was so elated by that NSV, I never looked back. If you start slow, run every second day, do not under any circumstances allow yourself to jump in boots and all so that you burn out or get injured you'll be fine. that was always my problem with exercise, I do love it and I was athletic and I would always start WAY too ambitiously and just not be able to keep going due to sheer exhaustion. Make yourself do it slowly and when you run make yourself run slower than your natural pace (its hard!) - this is how you build up a super aerobic base so that you can work on the fast stuff later. But all you need to run a 10k is a good aerobic base and you can build that pretty darn quickly. Very best of luck!

For me (I have an older 4cc band) it wasnt that way, it was more a matter of each fill caused me to fill up a bit more quickly which was just right for me at the time. I didnt have to find a 'sweet spot', I lost weight at 1cc for a while, and then that dwindled so I want to 1.5cc and that started off weight loss again and then a bit longer and that had dwindled. So as my body needed less and less calories to lose weight, I had a bit more fill, but I lost steadily throughout. I have been at 2.7cc for the longest time, but truth be told, when I eat carefully and follow the rules, as I have been doing lately (have to have an ufill for a surgery and have been being ah, careful), I've lost an almost alarming amount of weight taking my BMI down to 20. So truth be told, what I call my "sweet spot" or long term maintenance restriction is really only a level of restriction that allows me to eat small enough meals that I can afford to eat a lot of treats - wine, Cookies, chocolate *guilty shrug*. when I eat as I should, this is too much restriction for maintenance although I never have "tight" symptoms such as vomiting, getting stuck, being unable to eat foods like bread etc. So you really need to be honest about what you're eating and focus on eating the right things, not on eating only half a cup of food at a time. Its a fine and shifting balance and all about what you can manage, not about a number or a particular level.

Its completely normal to lose restriction fast with first fills, it happens less fast as you get closer to your ideal restriction.

Definitely, I go back once or twice a year. I've had top up fills and now I need an unfill for another surgery, I will go in in a week or two to discuss it - whether they want to unfill me all at once, or take me down gradually over the next month, what I can expect, how I should manage things, when I can be refilled. I want my mind put at rest over this, although truth be told, I think I will be absolutely fine with no fill. But that's what my doc is for, and I dont feel that just because I'm at goal I can forget I have a lapband inside me, I want it there, healthy and sound and part of that is keeping on top of things like regular check ups.

I've had my band for five years now, with absolutely no problems. Long term health, hmmmmm. Interesting issue. I have to admit, that having a band long term, I've tended to make really good food choices for meals, and then fit in the calories for maintenance around those meals - I dont limit butter, cream, carbs, biscuits, sweets but I get away with eating moderate amounts of them because my meals are small. That, in my book, is not great. Its a downside. I can eat whatever the hell I want with this level of Fluid in my band but what I should do is have less fluid and eat way more fresh fruit, vegies and wholegrains. I dont eat as much of those as I think is ideal. I have to unfill my band for a surgery soon, and I'm terrified, though realistically, I think I'll be able to refill it within weeks. But I have come to realise how dependent I am on it - I think Im giving it too much credit, but I am truly going to try to put back as little fluid as possible and really improve the amounts of fruits and vegies I eat. I do think long term nutrition suffers somewhat with a band, its just natural that you come to not fancy foods that block you up and those foods for me are the healthy ones. Over time, it is much easier to eat crap and I have always had to fight this, pretty successfully, but its still a fight. When my band is unfilled, do I want to go straight out and eat a big mac? Not at all. I cannot wait for a healthy salad roll! I cant wait to eat an apple easily again. I've worked very hard to improve eating habits and very hard to get extremely fit and make running a part of my life. I hope it stands me in good stead. Enough waffling, but having to unfill really makes you take stock of where you are at in this journey and I've just learned that it always pays to stay vigilant. Problem wise though, I've simply never had issues. I lost weight, not fast, but steadily, I got to a BMI of 21, I've maintained that for three years. Its been a fabulous decision for me and I'm even a little bit confident that I could probably do without it if it came to that. I think I've learned enough about myself, my eating habits and how to control them. In past weeks I've been scared of this unfill and I've even half wished I had a sleeve so that nobody could make me unfill it. It only needs to be unfilled in case i swell up or I need a nasogastric tube or something. But that's the only real downside.

Well said as usual. Its just so important to give food its proper place. There's no problem with eating chips, occasionally and in moderation, but you have to first concentrate on what you need - and even their our own personal philosophies differ. Really, and I mean REALLY think about whether you want something. I'm a no restrictions eat what I like kinda dieter, but I dont eat at every whim. If I really truly want something, I can usually distinguish that from just grabbing and shoving it in my mouth - which after five years banded I am still prone to doing. No food is truly bad or evil even if its not nutrionally fabulous. It only becomes bad when you let it have power over you.

I really need to include wholegrains to feel full for a long time. They fill that stomach space (my band isnt tight) and give me lasting satisfaction - Protein and vegies just doesnt cut it for me. I need to add bread, Pasta or rice. Luckily that's not affected my weight loss at all.

Oh, of course it does. I just thought since we're being so superficial, I'd admit to my own personal preferences - wealthy looking guys are more attractive to me than "hot" ones. One person's 10 is another person's 2, isnt it? DH does happen to be a CFO, but we've never been rolling in it, far from it, sigh. 3 kids, private school fees, a mortgage, if I were in this for the money I'd be loooooong gone. It is definitely about the entire package to me. But if you're talking initial attraction, I probably would go for the guy in the suit every time.

We shall see, my band will have fill in it only for a few more weeks and then I have to empty it in preparation for a major surgery - and it will probably have to remain unfilled for 4 months or so. I am "hoping" like heck that my appetite doesnt pick up, I honestly cant tell anymore whether I rely on restriction (my band is pretty loose, I mean I can eat bread) or whether I have just settled with eating habits that suit me and keep my weight stable. Either way, I will be out running the minute I am recovered enough to do so and I am making more effort to count calories so that I actually know what I am eating calorie wise - it seems to be about 2000 a day. I figure, SURELY I can stick to 2000 a day without fill. At the moment, I do that by grazing, I figure if my meals get bigger then I ban in between meal eating. That is just ONE rule to stick to. Either way, I'm scared sh*tless but I think I'm probably understimating myself and overestimating my band.

Just get back on track and put it behind you, this stage is very hard. At least cruskits chew to mush, you would probably be right eating those, they're pretty much a mushy food. I can eat about 10 cruskits with butter and vegemite!

I havent heard of it specifically, but five years out my band is still a changeable thing. Restriction varies day by day, week by week and month by month.

I think this is spot on, people just arent used to seeing anyone who isnt at least a bit overweight these days. I look at teenage girls and think I almost drove myself mad trying t lose weight because I thought I was huge (and compared to my petite pals, at a BMI of about 28, I was big enough for doctors to be concerned) and these girls now are fatter than I ever was and they are NORMAL. They're the same as all their friends and they dress to show off their "curves" which to me are not curves at all but rolls of fat. Like Lellow, I go by what people who never knew me as overweight think. Most people would say I'm lucky to be naturally thin (ha!) but they wouldnt ever describe me as really skinny or suspect that I have an eating disorder.

I do too - honestly.I dont like skinny as a body type for men and I tend to be turned off men who look like they spend hours preening in the gym - ie. a hot body to me just isnt that hot. That doesnt mean I wont give those guys the time of day, I'm open to anyone, but if you were to ask me my type, I'd say older (40+), big and a little muscly but also a little pudgy - "comfortable" looking. That doesnt mean I'd be attracted to someone very obese though. However, I will admit to being superficial - money is my criteria. Dont need a really rich guy but cannot imagine myself ever being with someone who wasnt a white collar professional. So yeah, my type would be slightly older, successful looking, financially competent. Some young skinny guy coming up to me, buffed to the eyeballs, I'd probably not take him seriously.

With a bowel prep its clear liquids so no, you wouldnt do Optifast that day. Stick to clears - Water, broth, apple juice. Its not strictly necessary for band surgery because they dont actually do anything to your bowel but different surgeons like different things.

I lost 120% of my excess weight (meaning I went right down past the top of my healthy weight range to lower in that range) which just about doubles the 60% statistic. Did I work ridiculously hard? No. I just eat sensibly and well (I dont low carb, so that's not strictly necessary) and I get an hour's hard cardio most days. That's all I've done. You'd be surprised how many people get banded and then wait for it to work. That's why the statistics are so depressing. If you're willing to eat properly and exercise, there's no reason you cant get to your proper weight.