anniedub

Glad you watched it, Harley! He (and in fact, that very program) is the reason I now have the lapband. I had been contemplating it for some time, and I was very keen, but my parents (well, my mother) was absolutely against it. As soon as you said "weight loss surgery" to her, all she thought of was basically having your stomach cut out (RNY? :smile2:), and she wouldn't hear otherwise. Then one fateful night, we were watching the TV and on comes this program about Mikey Robins. My family have always been a big fan of the shows he's been on (Good News Week, Live and Sweaty - very satirical humor). So my mum sees this thing about lapband. At the end of the show, she goes "You know, maybe you should look into that rubber band thing". Hello? Have I not been talking about this for 6 months? So anyway, it was that program which educated my mother about the lapband. Before this, anytime I talked about WLS she was virtually crying, begging me not to do it as it was so drastic and dangerous and I would probably die on the table blah blah blah. And of course, it's my MUM. I'm not going to just go and do something if she's having a nervous breakdown every time I suggest it. So thanks, Mikey Robins. Thanks. :smile2:

And so when you say a "protein shake", which I know a lot of you do, are you talking something like an Optifast? Or is this your own concoction? If so, please share the ingredients!

Very sage advice, Fenton. Anyway, I've made an appointment with my fill doctor for tomorrow and i'll discuss it with her. She's very sensible, not just gung-ho with the fills, and if I don't end up getting a fill it doesn't cost me anything. (Even if I do get a fill, it only costs me $10). So I'll see how I go! I'll keep you all updated!

But where's the fun in that? :behindsofa:

Ok, one last thing before I go to bed -- some advice from you Shamrocks. I'm thinking that maybe I need another fill, but i'm not 100% sure. Here's the thing -- I'm one of those people whose restriction varies quite significantly in the course of a day. In the mornings, I have perfect restriction. I don't get hungry AT ALL until about noon, but I make sure I eat something when I get up as routine is important. I normally have something like oatmeal, or maybe just an Optifast, and I'm having perfect portion size -- around 1 to 1.5 cups. I get gradually looser and looser through the day, and by dinner, I am always hungry. I can eat a pretty big portion at dinner time -- like 3-4 cups! But I always try to restrict it and "diet" at dinnertime, even though I feel like I could certainly eat more. So here is my main question -- do you guys think i should get another tiny fill to prevent the dinnertime hungries? Even if it means having to have a liquid Breakfast every day? Or do you think that if I got another fill, I would just be way too tight in the mornings? :behindsofa: Gah, stupid variable restriction!! :grouphug:

Hey, that last one was post number 100 for me! Woohoo! (Not sure why I'm getting so excited about this. Ah wait, now I know. It's 4.21am, I've been up all night writing a goddamn paper that's due on friday. Anyway, i'm going to bed).

Australia - We're nothing if not modern. (Hula-hooping had it's heyday in what.... the 70s? Next we'll be into roller skating and Xanadu fashion...) :behindsofa: Just kidding. We're cool!

Ha ha RUDE!! But surely, having lived in the States for so long, you have realized that it is the Americans who have truly butchered our beloved English language?? I thought maybe I'd better not say that too loud.... you and I are well and truly outnumbered on this site :behindsofa:

Even if you're not clinically BDD (which is definitely something to be relieved about!) you can still exhibit BDD traits. The same sorts of things will help you - talking to someone, counselling etc - but obviously you won't have as much of a hole to dig yourself out of. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Well, basically I'm telling people that I've joined Weight Watchers (which I have - i go to a meeting once a week, which is the only time I weigh myself. I just like the support of the group). Basically, I tell them that i'm exercising more and controlling my portions. What I selectively leave out is the fact that I have a little silicone band which is controlling my portions for me :behindsofa:

For those of you who have times when you're a little bit down, when you think it's all too much and you're wondering whether you should just stop trying, just take thirty minutes of your day to watch this program. This is "Australian Story", a TV program we have here in Aus which talks about Australian people, both famous and unknown, and the things they have done and been through. This episode is about Mikey Robins, an Australian comedian who had lap-band surgery in 2006, and exactly how his life has changed. If you're having a difficult day and you're starting to forget why you're doing this (and we all do sometimes), click on this link and watch the full program, entitled "The Biggest Winner". You'll remember why you started this journey, and you'll find the strength to continue. http://www.abc.net.au/austory/specials/biggestwinner/default.htm

Wow YoungNY, what a nasty old lady! I had a similar experience, which is actually what made me decide not to tell anyone other than close family that I was getting the band. About 2 years ago, my fiance and I split up. He was a foreigner living in Australia, and had to go back home to Ireland when his mother got terminal cancer. I was in the middle of university and I couldn't give it up, so we did long-distance for a while but we just couldn't keep it going, and ended up splitting. Hard times. Anyway, back in the days when I was contemplating the band, I was telling a work friend that I was thinking about it and my old manager (who is an UTTER BITCH) happened to walk past. She said "hmm, you're thinking about lapband? Maybe if you'd done it last year, your fiance would have stayed around." Man. I could have snapped her neck like a twig. Anyway, so I decided that if i did go ahead with the surgery, I wouldn't tell anyone. At least, not until I was at goal. So, I am 3 months post op and the only people who know are my parents and my brother. I feel bad "editing the truth", but you just never know what people will say, or think.

Last night, when I went out to dinner with the girls, I wore a pair of Australian size 14 jeans (US size 10-12) which I haven't been able to fit into in three years. HELL YES! And my ass looked goooooooooooood........ We went out and hit the clubs afterwards, and I saw an old friend I haven't seen for six months - last time I saw him, I was at my heaviest. He ran up, grabbed me around the waist, PICKED ME UP AND SWUNG ME AROUND, OLD-MOVIE STYLE. Then the best part? His opening line: "Damn girl, if I wasn't married...." My ego hasn't had a boost like that in years! :thumbup::tt1:

MSBoss, you're definitely not behind. You were banded on the same day as Fenton and I, and look at the disparity between our losses! Every person loses weight differently, and whatever you have lost so far is a GREAT ACHIEVEMENT. 48lbs in 3 months? Would you EVER have been able to do that pre-band? NO WAY! I used to get disheartened by other people's weightloss, and think "Why aren't I losing that much?". But then I remembered how much I have lost, and celebrated it. So give yourself props! You're doing your best and you're achieving amazing results! :thumbup:

No such thing as too classy for hula hooping. Hula hooping DEFINES classiness.

Yep, people are definitely starting to notice that I'm 35 pounds better looking :thumbup: With the people you see everyday, it takes longer for them to notice. Those people you see only occasionally notice very quickly. I've just come back from a month working away from home, so I hadn't seen my friends in a while. I normally see them pretty much every day. They'd noticed and commented a bit before i left, then after I came back (having lost another 10 pounds in the month) they were like WOW. Still, I've got another 50lbs to go before I get to goal, so there'll be a whole lot more WOWING going on in the near future!

Yep, well and truly addicted. Every time an email pops into my inbox saying that a thread i've subscribed to has a new post, I'm back on. Then i'll look at some old threads. Then i'll read some blogs of "big losers". Then i'll update my own blog. Before I know it, it's 5.30pm and I haven't done any work...... like today, for instance! Dammit!

Same thing.

Hi Abby, You may be suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder. It is quite common in women. It can manifest in exactly the way you describe - being slim, but seeing yourself as fat. There are lots of ways it is shown - being good-looking, but seeing yourself as ugly, even being very overweight and seeing yourself as skinny. It can cause a lot of problems for your self-esteem. Having someone take photos of yourself as suggested is a good idea, as it can help to see yourself "in a different way" to how you would be in the mirror. There are lots of different things you can do to build up your self esteem, such as self help programs. Talking about it with others is important -- a friend you trust, or a counsellor. You CAN improve the way you think about yourself, but it won't be instant. You need to do the work. But as with everything, admitting a problem is the first step. Good luck, PM me if there's anything else I can do (I used to work in mental health), but the best thing you could do for yourself is find a counsellor you can talk to face-to-face, one who specializes in body issues. Annie.

Don't worry Aphrodite, you are only a couple of weeks out. Once the incisions are closed up, start using vitamin E cream or oil. Massage is the most important thing to stop keloid scars forming. All surgery incisions feel very "hard" in the first 2-4 weeks. The same thing happened to me, i freaked out because i thought i was getting keloid scars, but 3 months out and my scars are just fine - getting better every day. Hope this helps - just do what you can, with Vitamin E or Cica-Care strips (if you can afford them), and all will be good.

Yep, there's DH (dear husband) DW (dear wife) DD (dear daughter) DS (dear son) BBW (Big beautiful woman - yeehah!)

And just to be a bastard, I thought i'd let you all know how much i LOVE WiiFit! Especially Hula-hooping, yeehah!

Aha, that makes sense. Meanwhile, I'm LOVING the weak US dollar. Aus-US currency is almost at parity, hasn't been anywhere near there for 20 years! I'm contemplating buying some US shares while the going's good!

So are you going through the public system? If you're "category 2" with a waiting period... I've never heard any of that before! Is your surgery covered by medicare? Maybe the surgeon's just using some crazy new terminology Are you excited? It's great to know that you're on LBT, getting all the info. I wish i'd found this site when I was still making up my mind, it would have made things a lot easier! I only found LBT 2 days before my surgery!

Yay for Aussies! How long have you been banded? Who's your surgeon? And what side of town? I'm in Indooroopilly.