Jachut

I think its a very personal decision, your approach to weight loss. But to me (and I know many will disagree) I think journalling and following rules is just as dysfunctional as overeating. Human beings were designed with appetites, they were designed to listen to those appetites, eat when hungry and stop when not hungy. Now that's all been lost with the abundance of food we have available and the sedentary lifestyle. But I worked very hard to get to the point where I could eat what I want when I wanted and I really feel, that for me, until I could do that, I was simply swapping one unhappy lifestyle for another. I was not "cured" rather holding the disease in abeyance. So I dont ever journal, I dont think about what I eat and I dont care if I get 60 grams of Protein in a day or not. And guess what? Over time, I stopped wanting to eat chocolate for every meal. I learned that sometimes I really did want an apple or a salad. In fact most of the time I fancy healthy foods and the times I want something a bit naughty, then I darn well have it. I have tried this approach before and had moderate success with it, but the band controls the portion size - I never manged to lose much weight before, just to overcome my overeating for a while. So its definitely not *really* a case of eating whatever the hell you want, you have to really work at being sensible. Works for me anyway. I dont even know how many calories I eat a day these days.

When you want to get really serious later on down the track too, you can always set up your own circuits. OK, its hard with NO equipment but you can pick up a dumbell or barbell cheaply. I use my treadmill, but you could use a skipping rope instead. I have a circuit timer, I set it to ping every 2 minutes. I run for 2 minutes, do squat jumps for 2 minutes, run for 2, lunges for 2, run for 2, full body pushups for 2, run for 2, situps for 2, run for 2 chairdips for 2, run for 2, step ups on chair for 2 and so on, I try to go for about 45 minutes to an hour. Sometimes I lift a small bag of potting mix as a weight - 10kg or so, the instability of it will make muscles hurt that you never knew were there. This can be a really INTENSE top quality workout that will burn more than 500 calories - not for the faint hearted but of course, you start out with an easier version suited to your current level and build from there. I find it fun, I just put the ipod in my ears and go for it. Its a great way to combine strength and cardio and its that interval style heart rate through the roof sort of thing rather than slow and steady - which burns a lot of fat.

Even having a band its similar. I always lost weight better on 3 squares a day, NO Snacks, because I tend to snack on bad foods and I eat too much for snacks. But I've found eating by the clock, regularly is the only way to circumvent late afternoon cookie raids. I dont feel physical hunger but I get cravings. By the way, with regard to the energy or lack thereof, I absolutely cannot function on a low carb diet. I must must must have my wholegrain bread and cereals. My running and workouts really suffer otherwise. Plus they provide the bulk that fills me up.

I think its like anything be it Protein shakes OR food - nothing processed and packaged like that is ever going to be free of nasties. Its much safer and heathier to stick with whole foods. that article just confirms what I already think about Protein Shakes, they're just an expensive ruse. I dont ever drink them and I still have hair and muscles AND I lost weight.

I feel about them pretty much the same as I feel telephone salesmen. Pretty much annoying in other words. Yawn.

Bad bandster, lol. Its the drinking. I drank with meals for the longest time, it didnt bother me, but past a certain level of restriction I couldnt do it anymore (other than tiny sips of wine if I'm out). I cant even have a cookie with a cup of coffee sometimes.

I found I had a time where I was freezing constantly, it lasted about six months. Then I adjusted. I definitely feel the cold a lot more now, i need to wear more clothes. I enjoy summer so much, and I would never have thought I was hotter than the average person before.

Probably not completely. I would wear a short skirt or dress with confidence as my problem area has shrunk. My legs are very toned from lots of running, but my bum is still very very wobbly and its dimply, the cellulite is just not on my thighs anymore. I cannot believe actually how flabby my backside is for the amount of exercise I do, the only thing that would fix it is surgery, and I'm just really not willing to consider a full body lift - too expensive, too horrible to recover from, scarring just as bad as the problem etc. So I definitely have much less cellulite and flab, but I do still have it.

Just thinking aloud usually - but that's probably outdated 80's dieting advice. Total fat though I think. The thing is too of course, whatever style diet you follow, getting the weight off is going to be far more influential on your overall health than worrying about amounts/types of fat just now. I think I'm talking more about a life on maintenance.

Lubricant is a fact of life for me. Always has been.

Congrats! You deserve your success, you've been a very focussed and motivated bandster all along.

Hmmmmmm. There are certainly gluttonous and lazy thin people around. And there are obese people who eat reasonably, hold down responsible jobs, run around after their kids and lead busy, fulfilling lives. But there are plenty of fat, lazy people around. and plenty of thin people who are busy dynamos also. I think you have to deal with people on a person by person basis, their weight has little to do with it. I personally find lazy, dirty, unmotivated people pretty revolting and dont want to have much to do with then. I do judge them, certainly. But they can be thin or fat. However, the chicken/egg thing. Over my years on LBT I have come across SO many people with that victim mentality, that despite having had weight loss surgery simply refuse to take responsibility for their choices. It really makes me wonder what came first. Are those people fat because of the way they approach things? Or does being massively obese make you become like that through the sheer hopelessness of the disease? Because my choice in having weight loss surgery was I was going to do this and bloody well do it RIGHT. It would never enter my head to do this and then whine about not losing weight when I wasnt doing all I could to lose it. Because at the end of the day YOU decide what goes into your mouth and how much you move, dont you? So there IS a degree of personal responsibility for it. But in essence I agree, I certainly dont assume someone is fat because they deserve it due to being lazy and slovenly. Every second person in this country and in yours is affected by the lifestyle we have evolved to live through little real 'fault'.

My idea of a healthy diet contains as little saturated animal fat as possible. It doesnt include processed meat products such as ham, salami, deli turkey etc, it includes on a little lean red meat and chicken, more fish, and a lot of good fats from tuna, salmon, nuts, avocados and olive oil. It also contains a LOT of fibre and as such is more carb based than recommended in America for bariatric patients. Mind you, I'm not claiming I eat this perfectly! But I think that whatever the debate between high Protein v high carb, and whatever the studies say about the effects of Atkins style diets on blood chemistry, we know pretty well that a lot of saturated fat is a heart disease risk, a very big one and I would never eat a couple of eggs, cheese, ham and dairy products all in ONE day, no matter how small the portions. I woudl balance that out with a lot of vegies and personally, a few wholegrain products. And I've never seen or heard of a study that says trans fats are good for you, so I'd avoid processed foods as much as possible. If you cook from scratch, eat your limited fat in the form of good fats (because they ARE still fat and will pile on the pounds fast if you overeat them) avoid packaged and tinned foods, keep the salt low and avoid too many animal products, you're probably on the right path. But yeah, 30grams a day or so for a dieting female I believe is about the general aim?

Well I'm 5ft 10 and have settled at about 150. Its a pretty good weight I guess, I'd actually really love to be about 140 but here is where my weight seems to want to stay - well at least where it wants to stay given the balance of the long term lifestyle I'm prepared to live. At 150, and being basically a pear shape, I have a very lean upper body, well, my neck/shoulders/chest and upper arms border on scrawny, but I have a little excess flesh on the lower body still. I'm an Australian size 12 to 14 which is about an 8 to 10 in US sizing. I'd generally only need that larger size sometimes for pants, with tops and Aline skirts, I can wear an Aussie 10 (size 6). I really wouldnt call myself "thin" more just "normal" compared to everyone around me - I mean I still feel big because I'm tall. But I think my body image may be a little skewed too, I have never known myself as anything other than large, although looking back I wasnt overweight as a child and I never reached a BMI of above 36 before I sought surgery. So yeah, 150 should be easily achievable for 5ft 8, it'd be a healthy size but you really could go 15lb lower if you wanted to. And I found it was those last pounds that made the most difference :-)

there's nothing I truly cant eat. I can get anything down. but there's a lot of foods I've developed a bit of an aversion to, I just dont fancy eating them. Sadly, that's things like fresh fruit, Breakfast in any shape or form etc. Healthy things, whilst strangely easier to eat foods like Cookies are as attractive as ever. I find it very much a matter of willpower to keep choosing the harder to eat but healthier foods.

Well, you wont get an argument from me, I coudlnt agree with you more. I think eating half a cup three times a day is ridiculously underfeeding yourself and setting you up not only to be totally dependent on having a tight band forever (leading to increased risk of problems) but also probably to be quite malnourished over time. You'll get skinny and wasted looking and lose a lot of your lean body mass. If you focus on Protein to avoid this you'll get nowhere near enough of other major nutrients. I have always taken the view of LOTS of cardio, some strength training, a daily limit of more like 1500 calories and be satisfied with slow, steady weight loss instead of seeking spectacular 100lb losses in a year. the other thing I've noticed as a fellow runner ande exercise enthusiast is that I cant function without good carbs in my diet, and I do not feel good on a low carb plan. I will say though that many people simply find themselves unable to lose without cutting so dramatically, and really, who could blame anyone for doing what they have to do?

I really only drink wine. I drink both white and red but stick to white when I'm out as red wine makes my teeth go grey, it looks really ugly, lol. I dont drink any spirits and I've never been into cocktails - too fattening, too expensive. I can be tempted into a Baileys or Drambui late at night too.

I'm getting on for five years, never had a single problem, never been overfilled and probably pb'd 10 times in total.

Its a personal decision who to tell. Personally, I tell if people ask becuase I do feel sort of bad about people thinking I had this amazing willpower. In one sense, I guess I should give myself credit for that, because like you I'm a runner and that's not an easy thing to become or maintain. Its down to pure hard work and discipline. But I love it so much I kind of feel like even that is "cheating", lol. Eating wise, I could never ever have done this without a band, personally I'm very reliant on the portion control it gives me. I'm not a disciplined eater, and I just cant/wont "diet". I dont want people to think that I could do something that they cant and feel bad about themselves for that. So I do tell. But I still dont think its "lying" to not tell. I havent told anyone here at work, but I've never told them that I lost 100lb either- they think I'm just a naturally normal weight person.

Yes, I'm down in Australia 5ft 10 and 150lb, size 12 to 14 on the bottom, and 10 to 12 on top. That's about a US size 8 or so, in general, and its definitely not teeny tiny. Its just normal size to me. Its about what most people are. Its thinner on me at 5ft 10 than it is on someone at 5ft 5 obviously.

I've not encountered any real negativity - but I have encountered some people who are "funny" around me and they dont even know i have a band. Sadly, its fat women, who are often the first to cry discrimination against themselves, that exhibit a mean and jealous attitude. I'm not allowed to join a general conversation about body insecurities, for example, without eyerolling of the "what would YOU know" kind. Because they think I'm a naturally thin person. I cant leave lunch or dinner on my plate because apparently I do that just to show them up. Its not blatant, and nasty, its more of a you can tell what people are thinking. These are not close friends, just part of a wider social group, it doesnt bother me at all, but I definitely think that people who ARE comfortable with their own bodies (thin or fat) and their own lives and achievements are generally tolerant of and supportive of others' choices.

I dont believe in global warming either, lol.

Sounds like you know the right things to do - how to eat etc. It might very well be genetic, I'd hate to be on permanent meds too but at least these days we're able to recognise the risk and act on it, unlike it the past when you might have suddenly had a heart attack at a young age.

When you're normal weight and your body is fit and strong, exercise is an absolute joy. It just feels so great to run. I love to push myself really hard. I love to work hard enough to get the endorphin rush, its the best stress relief, it makes me feel great about my body, the benefits are soooooo much more than just losing weight. I dont even NEED to lose weight and I still exercise hard for an hour most days of the week, just because I love it and it keeps my weight stable. As you lose weight, it really hits you just how hard you're asking your body to work to carry all that fat around. Obese people are not always weak and unfit, they puff and pant becuase they're working ten times harder than normal weight people.