Jachut

I would insist dog and children are separated, and I dont think there's a lot else you can reasonably do in a family situation. I can understand someone not wanting to get rid of a cherished pet for a one off incidence, but I would not take the risk again, there are no second chances, and your daughter could have been scarred for life. So if she wont restrain the animal well away from the children for the time she has them, I would find alternative childcare. I entirely agree that childcare by grandparents is a blessing, my mum was always unwilling, much as she loves her grandchildren, to commit to entire days for their care, she's got her own life to lead and has done her time caring for young children. I always had to organise my own childcare. You cant insist anything in this situation, if you're not happy and secure with your children's safety then you have to find other childcare. But I personally would be seeing my mum without the dog, at my place. I wouldnt take my children near the dog again. i feel for you. We never had a dog in my family, and I'm not a dog lover. But my sister's DH always had a dog and they got one, and they had no babies until very late either, so they love love love that dog. When they want to visit from Sydney they want to bring the dog with them. My dad wont have a dog in the house and I wont have a dog in my house either (she asked if the dog could come here) and THAT causes enough friction, I can only imagine when its an issue of the dog actually going, it must be very emotional.

At the end of the day, its only too much food if you stop losing weight or begin to gain. it doesnt matter if you eat half a cow comfortably with your level of restriction, if you are losing weight then for you, you are not overeating. There is no medal for starving yourself either, if you can eat 2000 calories of healthy food and lose weight, and I can eat 600 calories of healthy food, who do you think is better nourished? The more food you can eat and still lose, the more likely you are to be meeting all of your nutritional requirements. Without a lot of restriction, your band will still let quite a lot of food thorugh and if it doesnt cause pain or overfullness, then you arent damaging it. You cant stuff yourself so full as to cause damage without noticing any sensations! I wouldnt worry, with restriction, you will eat less. You will get to the stage some years down the track where you look at a toddler's dinner plate and think that it looks like a reasonable meal!

Its also important to remember that once your'e obese, most of the excess skin has ALREADY happened. That's why you cant provent it. Our fat hides it, but you either have it or you dont, and its there already. Losing weight doesnt cause the excess skin, getting fat does. You will feel worlds better than you do now, whatever the outcome. YOu can fix it if needs be.

I'm maintaining now, and my restriction has eased a little over the past year or two so the main difference is I eat a bit more than I did whilst losing. Breakfast: small serve oatmeal/organic granola or an egg on half a slice of wholegrain toast Mornign tea: cut up raw vegies - cucumber, snow peas, carrots, sugar snap peas, red capsicum. I have this every single day, about a cups worth. Lunch: small serve of soup or tuna on crackers, maybe a small salad with a Protein source, sometimes a very small salad sandwich, occasionally dinner leftover, no more than a cup's worth. Dinner: nearly always cooked from scratch, very often a basic meat and 3 veg meal like lamb loin chops, mashed potatoes and steamed vegies or a roast, substitute chicken or fish for the meat other nights, or a casserole of some description, usually with veg also. I try to avoid the Pasta meals or anything not commonly served with vegies, becuase we need our vegies!

I've had my band five years, and it doesnt hurt to eat with it, nor did it at first, BUT there are definitely "sensations" at every meal. Once banded, you are always aware of the feeling of eating, or I am anyway, it becomes second nature to stop, wait for assurance that bite has gone down, before going on. There's multiple small moments during a meal where you wait for something to subside. That's as near as I can describe it. I have to be honest, it doesnt feel like eating before, and sometimes I looka t one of my kids shoving something down their face and wish I could enjoy something like a donut with such abandon, just once, but I wouldnt change it for anything.

Hehe, now I'm quoting someone quoting me, but I had to agree. You dont need FLOUR, just some good complex carb energy - lentils, Beans etc are much more nutritious than flour. I have found that it was just best to train myself away from 'sweet' as much as possible so I dont eat Protein Bars or shakes or stuff like that becuase for me, keeping sweet in my diet, artificial or not, did keep the taste for those foods going. And although I have a band, I've never needed very tight restriction with it to lose weight but the downside of that is that if I want to break out I actually CAN do a fair bit of damage. So for me it was always important to get my appetite stable and controllable. I'd also agree that enough good fat is important too. I dont restrict fat at all.

For me, I lost sizes very slowly at first. Perhaps its because I didnt have a "problem area" and carried the weight very evenly. I started out with a BMI of *only* 36 and I had to lose a good 30lb before I was down a size. Now, if I lost 6lb, I'd be down a size.

No way! I always knew what I wanted from it, but I learned early on to keep it to myself as various people (health professionals included) would protest that it was unattainable, unmaintainable, not necessary. What exactly, may I ask is unattainable about aiming for a weight within the healthy range for my height? It baffles me. It wasnt like I wanted to weigh 100lb at 5ft 10. I remember my girlfriend of similar height to me saying "but I'm 80kg (180lb or so) and I'm the same height as you". I love her dearly, but I was privately thinking "yeah, and you're a bit fat!". I didnt say it of course, but to me, if you can pinch a roll on your middle (deflated weight loss tummies excepted of course), you've got a fair bit of weight to lose.

I think its one of those stats like "you only lose 60% of your excess weight" - its completely within your control. My DH is banded also. He got banded at a BMI of 36 and has gotten down to a BMI of about 29 or so. He's fine with that. He's not into how he looks much. Like a lot of men, he thinks he's fine how he is now and isnt motivated to do much more. Health risks down, check, buy clothes in normal stores, check. Fit in with the blokes, check. What else would he want? Were he a woman now, lol, well, we're always making sure we're thinner than the woman next to us, that we can fit into THIS latest fashion craze, that our nails, our hair, our make up is perfect. We're much vainer creatures by and large and probably willing to put ourselves through a lot more to get that "look" we're after. That's a generalisation of course and in no way does it apply to every man or every woman, but its also generally true that women do tend to be more compliant with doctor's advice and instructions by and large. There'd be no actual physical reason why the band would work better for a female and of course how hard you want to work is entirely within your control.

My weight loss just got slower and slower and eventually stopped, so I never did anything, I just kept the same restriction level. Over time, you lose Fluid from the band too, so twice in the two and a half years since I hit goal I have had a tiny top up fill. I definitely need some restriction to maintain, but it isnt tight restriction. I also have kept exercising just as much as when I was trying to lose.

I definitely cycle through various levels of restriction, sometimes its good for weeks, sometimes its as if I can eat anything at all. Vomiting episodes can creep up and surprise me too, but for me, its nearly always user error, eating too fast etc. Restriction is a fickle thing and if for a while there's foods I cant eat easily, I just go with it. Its just how it is with a band. It changes over time, I can eat things now I couldnt imagine eating six months after surgery, yet I have three times as much Fluid in my band as I did back then. As long as you're able to generally eat well, lose weight or maintain if that's where you're at, eat something from all food groups and have energy, feel well, then there's not really any need to panic over what you can and cant eat at any given time. You also need to remain aware of whether you've vomited because you cant eat that food today and it caught you by surprise or whether you're so tight you're having trouble keeping foods down.

DH is having this trouble too, but the thing is, he's tried stopping the medication (with doctor approval) twice now and his BP shoots up high again after a couple of weeks, not REALLY high, 140/90 or so, but high enough that the doctor wants him medicated. Weight loss hasnt solved his blood pressure problems unfortunately, some people will have high BP no matter what they do, but with DH he's lost the weight purely through restriction and eating less and not through exercise, so I think that would really make a difference. So... at the moment he's in a dilemma, too high without medication, too low WITH medication. He's trying half a pill a day as he's already on the lowest dose of Micardis. I'd definitely think about trying without the meds and seeing what happens.

I dont really. Whole foods, in sensible portions, with good balance between the macronutrients, with only occasional treate. That's really all there is to it. There's no "system" or "secret" out there that will really, at the root of it, be any different to that. I really believe it has to come from YOU. That said, any self help books tht help you understand your mental processes have to be a help. But I'd put back any book that had menus or recipes in it.

Google Josh Henkin or sandbag training. For people like me for whom the mere mention of sets, reps and dumbells makes their eyes roll back into their head, its a great way to do strength training without the boredom and all the mental energy it takes to organise your routine. It gets your heartrate soaring, it makes every muscle in your body hurt, it will transform your core miraculously (I have a *just* visible six pack and I never ever do specific abdominal work) and its very functional fitness, you're training your balance and stabilisation as well. That means you can run without hurting your knees. I find it great fun and I love anything that makes me see stars and want to puke and you really can have a workout that leaves you trembling and really worked within 20 minutes. For cardio, I do like to use that as relaxation time and just listen to music, but I also use cardiocoach a lot. You can find that at www.cardiocoach.com. I find these programs really good for boosting fitness when I've slacked a little. I do enjoy my twice a week people contact at bootcamp or boxing too, we've become quite a close knit group. I'm not really into dvd's, I have a couple, but the cheesy music drives me nuts and I find they're just not hard enough, I cant bag a television (even though we have two) and I dont have the space, falling over kids schoolbags, cats, even kids! I've looked hard at Insanity, very tempted, that looks like my kind of thing, but its the tv/space/time issue for me. Often by the time everything is done and I have 'free' time, its 8pm bnoth tv's are being watched, etc.

If you're not walking because you're not feeling quite recovered and energetic, then no, you're not being lazy, you're being sensible. if you're not walking becuase its 100 degrees, that's a *little* lazy lol! Its that all summer here in Melbourne, if I let it stop me, I'd never get any exercise. But I'm joking a little, when you're overweight and not very fit, its a lot to ask of a healing body to sweat it out in the hot sun. Dont go out in the middle of the day in that sort of heat, that's nuts. You have to wait till its cooler and the sun's in a bit. Get up early or go at dusk. But its all about when you're ready and strong enough.

Hehehe, Andy, I'm no teenager, but I *CAN* tell you about busy. I work full time, ahve three children and am out four nights of the week at football or basketball training and the weekend is a haze of driving kids to social events, the actual football and basketball games, swimming lessons, grocery shopping and TRYING to catch up with family or friends occasionally. I never waste an opportunity. I began my banded life running long distances, my plan was that I knew that once I returned to work I would have only short bursts of time to exercise and that has proven true. So I am now fit enough to make half an hour really count, I can run 6kms in that time and burn 600 calories or so. I do sandbag workouts - meaning I hoik a 20kg sandbag through a range of full body exercises, breaking for little sprints on my treadmill, but that could just as easily be breaking to jump rope for 2 minutes. Google sandbag training and have a look, its SUPER intense and will really work up a sweat and burn mega calories in as little as 20 minutes. Walk wherever you can, as a student, that should be fairly doable. Break it up, if it has to be 20 mins in the morning and 20 at night, then do that. Where there's a will, there's a way and if its only 30 minutes, you just do it and its over and done with. The trick with short periods of time under 40 minutes is focus on INTENSITY. Make it count!

My youngest was 3 when I got banded. That is well and truly old enough to understand that you cant lift for a while and that you are sore. I had surgery on a Friday and of course had my DH home during the weekend. Then I was lucky that my parents are nearby so Doug took her to them on his way to work on the Monday Tuesday. I explained to my daughter I couldnt pick her up but I was easily able to kneel or bend down and let her climb onto me. I wasnt so sore that she couldnt snuggle next to me or sit on my lap. It just wasnt a problem. And I only had my parents look after her for the simple luxury of having a nap during the days whilst the anaesthetic wore off, it really wasnt a big surgery and I coudl have coped without that. I was back to full speed within three or four days anyway.

This is ridiculous - ONE fill? I've read about many US doctors who do fills by fluoro doing this for each of many fills, but the trouble is that just becuase the fluoro shows that Fluid is passing through, it makes no allowance for later swelling and extreme tightness - as in restriction appeared just right when the fill was done but by the time you get home you cant even swallow your own saliva. This risk of this is huge using this method. You might get great restriction in one go, some people dont swell and this works for them. But as pointed out above, as you lose the fat around your stomach and as fluid naturally is lost from the band over a long time, you ARE going to need another fill in future. Sneaking up on restriction is the only way to go. Small fills at a time AS you need them, trying to get it all in one go is not the way the band is designed to be used and I wouldnt go to a doctor who was trying to say that it is acceptable practice.

Well, I will say that after the way you questioned a certain someone the other day in that rather offensive post about "bedding hotties", there's a decent, moral guy inside there and as a parent, I'd be VERY proud of a man as young as 25 being able to think that way. You're also amazingly eloquent and I am always surprised to be reminded of your age becuase you have the air of a much older and more experienced man. Those are things to be proud of. I cant help with your specific problems, but always remember that everyone has good points too. Nobody is a "failure". Just like it doesnt matter if you're fat or not, it also doesnt matter if you're a doctor or not, its what's inside that counts. Still, I really hope that there's ways to sort things out and fulfill your ambitions. But I wouldnt call you a failureand if you were my son (thankfully, I'm not QUITE old enough!) I'd be very proud of you.

That IS a low carb diet, even if its a bit more carbs than you were told to have. Just use the next 11 days to do what you're doing without the juice and you'll be good to go.

This is interesting, because it IS hard to see how its band related, but I've been having issues all year and I'm almost five years out. I'm having a colonoscopy in a few weeks to check things out. I have constant low grade diarrhoea meaning, not copious like when you're ill but an urge to go that is really just a wet fart, sorry for that lovely description. A bit of bleeding and every day after lunch, huge bloating and gassiness. The surgeon thinks its "inflammation". I notice diet affects it. I can manage it with an excellent diet - high fibre, every day I eat prunes and some pumpkin seeds and lots of vegetables, if I slip and go back into sugary foods and too carby a diet, I'm awful to live with because the gas is absolutely foul. I'm not a lot of help, but I would say at 5 weeks out, I'd still be thinking its just a matter of adjusting. You've had a markedly altered diet over the past few weeks and are moving onto solid foods, its going to affect your system.

I just dont get how you can call it a sweet spot if you cant eat anything! You're too tight and you will no doubt end up eating lots of those unhealthy slider foods. YOu should be able to eat solid food and if you cant, you need an unfill. But make sure you're eating right - slowly and chewing well.

You have to be careful not to blow things out of proportion. Many more people die from childbirth every year than from lapband surgery and virtually none of us stop and even consider the dangers of childbirth at all. If you dont lose weight, the odds of you dying of a complication of obesity are extremely high.

If advil here is the same as there, its ibuprofen, which is a NSAID. They are not recommended with the band and truthfully, they're horrible for unbanded people too. They're a stomach irritant and can actually be pretty dangerous when taken regularly. Like anything, sometimes the type or intensity of pain warrants it though and my doc said that if you REALLY need an anti inflammatory short term, then its probably OK. However, on occasions I've taken one on an empty stomach, the pain and burning was truly awful, always always always take it with a lot of liquid to wash it through your pouch as quickly as possible or it will feel like its eating through your stomach lining. food helps, but then if you need it to act fast, this is obviously going to markedly slow absorption.

Never more than one poke, and no numbing either. It truly doesnt hurt at ALL.