lellow

I know. I feel like a complete loser for giving in and having some :tt1:. But I also know that the hunger worked against me, which is why I can't wait to get my band. Hunger has always been my enemy, and I'm hoping the band will be the weapon against my enemy. If I could do this by managing my hunger then I wouldn't need the band. The hunger is terrible to live with long term. You might be able to for a while, but very few people have the kind of willpower to live with it forever. So if there is something that will help with the hunger, why not arm yourself with that weapon? My dad, when I told him about the surgery, said you don't need surgery, just eat less, as though if it were that easy, I wouldn't have done it by now. :tongue_smilie:

Well done Vegasgirl44! Hearing that you're doing so well gives me that shot of motivation I need! You're doing great! Posted the same time as you cutiew. I agree I keep telling myself that if I can do this, life after the band will be a breeze surely! I cheated too yesterday and had a handful of potato crisps that my son was eating. Felt awful about it after so won't be doing that again. Esp when it didn't make me feel any less hungry!

Thank you for the welcome! I will start working on a banner, I'm so excited about joining all of you! Yes cutiew I'm on Optifast for 2 of my 3 meals at the moment. I see my Dr on the 23rd and may go completely on Optifast then but for now I'm already struggling on the diet I'm on. I'm only in day 2 of the diet though so I'm hoping it's going to get better. The good news is that I've lost almost 3 kgs already, though I suspect it's probably been water more than anything. Is anyone else on a pre-op diet? Perhaps we can sit in a corner rocking back and forth together! Lol!

Hi everyone! Are you accepting Australian banders-to-be? I'm getting banded on the 1st of August and would love some moral support from others who are being banded around the same time. Plus I love the glittery banners!

I just called Dr Watson's receptionist to pay for my 1st appointment and was discussing with her about how I was going to start the Optifast-only diet on Saturday and she had a look at my details and apparently she doesn't think I'm required to do a full 3 Meal Replacement because my current weight is 'only' 95kgs (haven't heard that one many times in my life!!). She has instructed me to replace 2 meals only as of this Saturday and then if Dr Watson wants me on a Optifast only diet, I can do that for the least week between my 1st appt and my op. I told her I actually started today replacing 2 meals with Optifast and she reckons this will likely be more than sufficient for the op. Quite happy with that. The Optifast shake this morning didn't satisfy me for very long at all, and I was starting to worry about managing it for 2 weeks.

Good luck sim!

Good luck for the 23rd ozscot, that's the date of my 1st appt with Dr Watson. I hope your op will be soon too. Thanks for the reassurance that I will survive the Optifast. After my initial concerns about it, I am now chomping at the bit to start. I haven't tried the Vanilla yet and I hope I like it (seeing as I have 21 satchets). I don't really drink coffee so am not sure that it would be a flavour I'd like. But at worst if the Vanilla isn't so great, I'll try something else, anything else. Lol! If you're starting on the 23rd, I'd have been on it for 6 days by then and will let you know if I'm ready to chew my arm off yet! Well I've completed all the hospital admission stuff and have done my blood test (10 vials! eep!) so now it's waiting until it's time to start Optifast. I'm portion controlling now so the Optifast part of it isn't too much of a shock to the system.

Thanks Sunwyse, that's my biggest worry, that I will be well enough to attend my training course. Silly considering surely surgery should be my major worry? Lol! Well I got my instructions and by this time next week I will be on an Optifast diet. I went and bought my first box in Vanilla flavour today, and wonder how I'm going to manage on that for 2 weeks. But I know if I want the surgery I've got to do it. Anyone else starting Optifast at around that time?

Thanks for the encouragement, emma and Rastis. I said to my DH today that we may have to walk during lunch (we work in the same building) so from tomorrow I'm taking my trainers in to work and will walk for the full 45 mins. Rastis, I agree, maybe I shouldn't look at starting big. A walk is still exercise, and I will try to do whatever I can whenever I can. Are there any support groups in Perth for banders? To exercise together or even exchange tips and encouragement?

Ok cool, that gives me some ideas on the kind of things I should stock in the fridge for post op 'meals'. DH will be looking after my 2yo and I kinda want to make sure I don't leave him having to look after me as well. Also got my uni exam results today and I did really well. After the news yesterday that I also have an op date, I must say things are already looking up.

Thanks for that info, ozscot. I will have to wait to see if I'm on a pre-op diet when I get my instructions in the mail. I am also worrying about the kind of stuff I'll be eating post op, and whether I should be preparing anything as my DH is useless at cooking. I read somewhere that you are on clear liquids for the first few weeks, but what sort of clear liquids?

Thanks Sam and Chickie! I'm not on Optifast at all atm, though Dr Watson's receptionist did tell me I'll be getting instructions about all the things I'll need to do pre-op, so it may turn out I'll have to. Is there anything else I might need to do before the op? Blood tests? Xrays?

Hi bella, I'm also new to this forum, and am waiting on my 1st appointment with the surgeon. I'll be watching your progress with interest!

Rastis, wow that's a spin out! I'm really encouraged by your success. I worry that I will be one of those people who won't lose weight at all, even with the band. Though portion control has worked for me before, so I don't know why I think that. I guess I've been overweight for so long the idea that I might not be one day seems surreal. Nat, how can you tell if you need a fill? And can you decide whether you want a fill or not? The lightest I've been in the last 10 years is 86kgs (and even then only for a couple of weeks before I broke a bone in my foot, had to stop exercising and started gaining again). I'd like to get down to 60kgs though I was 65kgs when I was 18 and I would be happy with that weight to be honest. :biggrin: It seemed completely unachievable and nothing more than a pipe dream for so many years! But looking at what you wonderful ladies have achieved, it's starting to sink in that with the band and some work on my part, it may just work after all. I am interested though in how much everyone exercises? I enjoy exercising but I started back at work this year, so I work fulltime and I started uni part-time this year as well. ATM, I leave for work at 6.45am, get home at 6.30pm, cook, clean, spend time with my hubby and kids, then when bub goes to bed at 8.30pm, I start studying and won't finish until 10.30pm. I am wondering when I will have time to fit in exercise. I cycle and walk on weekends but during the week, I barely have time to breathe let alone exercise. I'm worried that my lifestyle means I'm setting myself up for failure IYKWIM. Any suggestions? Anyhoo, I'm currently waiting on the call from Dr Watson's rooms now. His receptionist reckoned she'd call me first thing this morning. I've faxed my referral letter to him already at his request, so am keeping my fingers crossed that he manages to find me an earlier appointment. Thank you all you ladies for coming into this thread and providing support to someone you don't know. You have no idea how much I appreciate being able to talk to people who have BTDT!

Cherry and emma, so nice to hear of more of Dr Watson's patients! And with such great results! I emailed Dr Watson over the weekend actually as I had concerns about the timing of the op (which I assumed would be sometime in Sept/Oct). That's the busiest time at work for me, with a few training courses scheduled, and as I'm also at uni, it would make it pretty close to the pointy end of the semester as well. Well he replied to me to say he might be able to get me in earlier! He was excellent about understanding my time constraints and offered to find me an earlier time if I wanted. How wonderful is he?? :thumbup: I have been in contact with his receptionist and have provided him with details regarding my height/weight/medical conditions/health fund etc and am waiting to hear back from his rooms tomorrow morning. I'm wonderfully surprised at how quickly he responded and how easily he listened to my concerns. I haven't even met him yet and am pretty sure I've found the dr for me!

Thanks for that info, ozscot. I am pretty sure I'll manage the pain. Right now I think the worst part is the waiting for something to happen. I have always had a pretty good body image, and never really worried about my weight much, which is probably why dieting has never really worked for me. I quit dieting about a year ago and accepted that I would always be overweight. And in that decision, found a certain freedom in not constantly watching what I ate. But now it's a health issue. I have a 2yo I want to be around for for a long time, and my family has so many health issues it's just a matter of time for me. My younger brother has recently found out he has type 2 diabetes, and it's so out of control at the moment that the Drs are saying his days are numbered if he doesn't change and soon. He's on masses amounts of pills atm. My sister is showing indicators too and my mum's diabetes is controlled by very strict diet. My dad had to have a quadruple bypass 4 years ago from heart disease. For a long time, I thought if I wanted it badly enough, if I wanted to be around for my son, then all I would have to do is eat less. I already exercise a fair bit. But eating less is not so easy for me. And today, after months of not caring what I ate, succumbing to my hunger and having two pies for lunch had me in tears because yet again, because with having made the decision to have the surgery, I've become aware of how little control over what I eat all over again. That's why I can't wait until I have the surgery. I need some help getting some control back. I've found inspiration in your stories. I guess I need to hear this will work. So as long as there are those of you out there willing to chat to me, I'm willing to chat back. So thank you for replying, ozscot and nat. I appreciate it.

Thanks Nat! I'm glad to see you're a happy patient. I'm a little nervous about the op, yet also paradoxically so impatient to get it done already. Can I ask: was the op painful? Mind you I've done had many laproscopies and done many cycles of IVF so can take quite a lot of pain, but would like to be as prepared as possible. Also how long were you laid up after the op?