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I didn't have a bad week or weekend but I am still in this plateau phase. It has been 6 weeks and the scales haven't moved in that time. I have had a fill, and I go back for another in 2 weeks. I am eating so much less than pre-band you would think that the weight would be coming off. In fact when you look at it: 22 Feb - Band date - lost 9kg on Opti 22 Mar - start solids - lost another 4kg 26 May - 2 months later and I think I have lost 2kg all up I am doing all the right things - watching what and how much I eat, eating slowly, not drinking when I eat, exercising. I am wondering what more I can do and I am to be honest a little freaking disappointed!!!!

Hi all I am trying to convince my hubby to becoming a bandit since his cholesterol professor recommended a bypass, which my husband rejected outright. He doesn't want anything that's not reversible. The problem is there's no medical research or evidence they can find that the lapband will help with high cholesterol other than the studies done with patients who have had the bypass surgery. He is 47, overweight, has heart troubles and has had high cholesterol for many years that is not controllable with drugs. He has tried it all but they just seem to have a bad effect on his liver. Except for the weight, all these conditions are hereditary. I want him around a little longer! Simply, I would like to know if anyone here has been successful in reducing their very high cholesterol after having lapband surgery. Thanks in advance.

Thanks ladies. My DH has just joined the gym so we will see how he goes with excercise and how that affects his chol readings in a few months. He really doesn't want unnecessary surgery at this point as last year he had a particularly nasty foot infection that was not controllable by many drugs. He spent many multiple weeks in hospital on drips with some really heavy drugs after he developed a horrible multi-resistant staff infection that he picked up in hospital being treated for the initial foot infection! He has to be very careful about anything going wrong with his foot or any surgeries. Of course this has scared him. The other thing is that when he was in his 20's and at about 65kg he still had high chol. He is not convinced the LBS will fix his chol at all because of the hereditary nature of his chol. It will certainly help his weight and his heart and that is a positive I am pushing at the moment. But he has to make the choice! I am hoping at some point that he may 'come to his senses' and join me on the other side. He has seen my progress and has shown a mild interest but at this point, I think he is waiting for the 'success story' to happen (I am only half way there). Thanks again.

I always hated shoes as I have heel spurs and never felt like I was dressed up especially for work. My shoe collection consisted of entirely flat shoes or runners and I usually wore only one or two of the same pairs to work. After my loss, I have also lost 1/2 shoe size! Go figure! I also bought my first pair of heels the other day and not one ounce of pain in my feet even after wearing them to work 2 days in a row. People said I looked different, perhaps I was walking taller or more confident, I don't know, but I will be looking for more fashionable shoes in the future. I just have to lose a bit more around cankles (where the calf meets the ankle!)and my shins to look glam in a pair of stilletos!

Yes I feel satisfied now. But it takes about 15-20 mins for the message to get from the stomach to the brain to tell you that you are full. So you have to be careful or you could overfill yourself and end up throwing it up. Eating slowly I think will be the key for me. As yet I have to master that one! The head hunger is the worst of it. I find that I am still in the habit of picking things out of the pantry when I go in there because that's what I used to do. Or at my desk, even though I eat lunch at 1pm at 3pm I am still looking for something to eat. I have to stop myself every time and 'feel' the fact I am still feeling satisfied. I am sure once the mind is properly trained, that it will no longer be habit to 'inhabit' the pantry!

I am going to chime in on this pity party! :party: I too was banded on 22 Feb...I have lost ~28lbs (or 13kg) and was disappointed with my 1kg loss last month. I had my second fill last week and at last have some restriction. I am eating far less than I was last week before the fill and I am satiated for a lot longer now. I just wonder how long that will last! Plateaus should be spat on, they are a curse for us bandsters. I was hoping to lost 3kg last month but hey, 1kg is a loss and not a gain. And it will be a loss forever, and I am not grieving that 1kg at all! However, these pity parties, cannot go without recognising the fact someone is in need, so let's have a group hug: ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( HUGS )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) After that tight squeeze, my motto is to get back on with it. OK, let's feel a little more pity and move on. Turn the corner, do what we have to to make ourselves feel batter. But don't eat for the sake of feeling sorry for ourselves. This month, I am determined to lose 3kg. I am going to work my butt off (my DH says I have less of a butt, meaning I am less of a pain in the butt to him now!!!), but I am going to ride the stationery bike at least twice per week after work in order to work off more. I already play netball twice per week now, but I need to step it up a little more. Of course I will only be on the bike for 5 minutes each of those nights so I will start slow. I have set myself a goal of getting to 18kg lost before the end of June. The single biggest loss I have had is 18kg with WW a few years ago before I fell pregnant with #3. So that is my mini goal! I have 6 weeks to lose 5 kg which could be a push, but hey one must set goals, even if they are a little unrealistic. I hear you, I feel for you, I am with you all the way RSG. We are all here to support eachother during our good and bad times. It's just a bad time at the moment, but it's only temporary. And a good friend once told me a long time ago which is my motto: The grass is not greener on the other side, it is just a different shade.

Hi all Today I went for my first fill. Thank god for bulletin boards and email lists where you can get so much information. I was not at all worried today due to the wonderful support and knowing what to expect from people here. Well it went fantastically. Firstly I want to say that I am so blessed by having been referred to the Centre I go to as they have the most wonderful staff. I didn't see my surgeon today, but I did see the other surgeon who was there when I was banded. He remembered saying hello to me, but apparently I was drugged up. I honestly don't remember him! He was just wonderful for the fill. He sat me down asked me how I was, then told me about the process. 2ml in today, another 2 in a month, then slowly from there if I still need some. He did tell me that they do put some in during surgery, so I now have 4ml in a 12ml band. He double checked by withdrawing what was in there and then added the whole lot. There was absolutely no pain, no discomfort and he lived up to his name of not hurting anyone. I was really suprised that I felt absolutely nothing, it was wonderful. Then again they do this all the time, so they should be expert at it! He did mention that I would have the tightness in the chest area much like indigestion and much like what it was like soon after surgery. I have had one 10 second burst of a little bit of discomfort up there, but nothing else. I will stay on liquids until tomorrow lunchtime. I am ecstatic. This is the fist day of the real life after banding. This is when I hope to feel some restriction and the fun will now begin.

Hi all I have had my second fill and it went just as well as my first. I asked how much they would put in my band and the surgeon said that he would feel the resistance in my band (via the port as he is filling it) before making that decision. As there was no resistance, he put in another 2ml. I now have 6ml in a 12ml band and I am happy to say that I have felt restriction. Over the weekend I didn't feel hungry at all, opting to pick if I felt peckish. I was absolutely satisfied with a toasted sandwich for lunch yesterday and didn't feel like much for dinner despite having it cooked for me for mothers' day! I hope this continues. I saw my nutritionist on Friday also, and the only thing I need to change is that she wants to see me have a solid Breakfast rather than the Up-and-Go as it slips through the band too easily. So I am to have Cereal or porridge, toast, yoghurt and/or fruit for breaky and to hopefully see if that will do me through until lunchtime! Even though I only lost 1kg over the last month, my doc was very proud of my progress. Even though I am not, I am counting it as successful nevertheless as it is a loss and at least I didnt' put on!!! I mentioned to him that I was very concious of how much I ate and that about 15-20 minutes after eating I felt satisfied. I was sort of hoping that I would feel satisfied as I was eating, but he explained to me that it takes that long for the brain to register it is full. He said that if I was still eating and I felt full then, then maybe I would have eaten too much - something I don't really want to feel! So I have to change the way I look at things and approach my eating now. Eat something about 1/2-1 cup then wait 20 minutes to see if I am satisfied. If so, don't have any more! I continue..... How's progress with everyone else?

What a hoot Josh! You have done so well. Keep up the good work, you are a lot of an inspiration.

BatKitty I am interested. Depending on the dates of course (I turn 40 on the long weekend and I am trying to organise a trip away with three of my gf). Don't know when that will be though, so put me down as a tentative.

Unfortunately eagerbandi, the rumours are true. Optifast sucks!

Crushbro, that's a hard question to andswer as we have all had different experiences. But 2 months post band, I can say that I am so glad I opted to go down this path. This is my experience: 2 weeks pre op, I did the optifast and I was strict to the point where I had nothing else but the shakes or the bars. I did one night of stir fried vegis, then thought I was cheating by doing that so I stopped! Silly me. In that 2 week period from memory I lost 9kg. So far to date I have lost 13kg with another 17 to go, but my goal weight will be reviewed when I get close to 70kg if that's possible! I had my first fill 4 weeks ago and it was a godsend. The previous 3 weeks before that I struggled in bandster hell being so darned hungry that I could literally eat a horse! After the fill (which was a breeze for me but not for others) I had momentary restriction and from day to day it changes. I can still eat large amounts but I am very aware of getting things stuck or overfilling, that I might PB or have pain like the other stories and cut down on what I eat. Funnily enough, I feel full 20 mins after eating, but not whilst. I am having my second fill on Friday and expect another 2cc in my band which would take me to 6cc in a 10cc band. They expect that between 7 and 7.5ml will be around the sweet spot for me (from their experience). So third fill won't be another 2cc but it will be at a slower rate. It's good to do things slowly otherwise you are changing from one lifestyle to another very quickly and it would be hard to adjust. Not only have I lost 13kg, but I have lost so much bulk. The scales might not have moved much in the last month, but my clothes are definately looser and fit better, and I have even invested in new clothes. People can tell I have lost weight but typically won't say it to me but others! Only my husband, kids, two good friends and my workmate knows I have had the band and I am so glad that I didn't tell many people. I don't want to have to justify the fact that I don't look any different 6 months down the track! My doc said that after fills the average weight loss expected per month is between 2 and 2.5kg. The scales have not moved this month, despite the fact I am eating way healthier foods and I exercise by playing netball at least twice per week. Again, another one of those crazy things that happen to me! I have been hit in the port site quite a few times playing netball. Mine sticks out some days and hides others! It feels to me like a baby's foot in there some days (I love and miss that feeling so I can always go feel my port to remind me of when I had the three kids!). My scars are still pinkish, totally healed, but just waiting for them to fade. My biggest problem is my thighs and my butt. I have no stomach per se to lose. I have lost weight in my arms and my legs and most importantly in my butt. A noticeable difference, but I am going to have to work hard at it. My progress pics are in the Photos section if anyone cares to look! I would post them here if someone would care to tell me how! I wish I had of taken them differently especially the pre-band ones. I have the oddest look on my face so you will have to ignore that! I still have a long way to go but I am being very patient at this stage. I am at least content at the moment especially as I look better and because my self esteem has sky rocketed. I hope you have a good outcome. You will feel better soon, and be on the mushies and loving it!

You look really happy...and darned hot!

Hi Lita Don't be in too much of a hurry to get to solids. There is still some healing that needs to occur with your band placement that is vital. Any solid foods too early may jeopardise your healing process. It is only another 7 days.....

I have hit on a great recipe I found on the reverse side of a mountain bread packet: Roast pumpkin and Ricotta cheese Pie Cubed pumpkin pre roasted in the oven until cooked (about 200gm) 3 spring onions chopped spinach slightly steamed and drained of excess Water 100ml cream (you can change this for ff variety if required) 200ml milk (light ok) 1/2 cup ricotta cheese crumbled (I use fetta - much tastier) 3 eggs Layer 3 sheets of mountain bread in a quiche dish. Brush with water between sheets. Put in pumkin, spring onions and spinach around the base. Mix cream, milk and eggs and pour over the top. Cook in 180 deg oven for 30-40 mins. Yummo I too look at the American recipes and get totally lost. What in the **** are pork grits?

Batkitty Good luck tomorrow. I hope it all goes well. When do you feel like catching up again for a coffee? My shout!

Hi Lita The breathing exercises were the worst for me! It took about a week before I could do it properly. The physio gave me a contraption that I had to suck the life out of to lift three balls. My god it was difficult, but I got there and I am glad I persisted. I didn't have any gas, but I had mild shoulder pain but I never took pain killers for it. It did last about a week and then voila you start to feel alive again. There was no hunger from me for at least three weeks after surgery. You may or may not feel the same. Keep up the good recovery.