tilly

christmas eve I was rushed to hospital with a strangulated umbilical hernia 3 hour op on christmas day, nothing to eat for 4 days, the surgeon cut away 2kg of fat and skin, I hardly ate for a month for the first time in my life I had NOOO apetite. did I lose an ounce? NO have I been able to lose an ounce since? NO I was in despair after doing so well with my weight loss before the op. I ate 1000 cals I ate 300 cals I ate 700 cals I ate 1500 cals I ate 2000 cals I did exercise ish I stuffed my face I cried this morning I got up and 7lbs off since I last got weighed on SUNDAY whoo hoo its moved again

sounds to me like you need a fill. when your at the right level you cant eat a lot, maybe a side plate of food, cant eat bread (most people cant anyway) and are very full afte a very small amount of food, say a weight watchers microwave meal or a tin of Soup. a good way Ive found to tell if my fill is fine is to take a good gulp of Water or coffee and if you burp right away or you can feel it taking its time going down then your usually ok.

hello from the UK and good luck with the op and the banding journey

Im so glad your feeling well and looking foreward to the journey to being thin ish lol good luck

OHHH good luck and see you when you wake up banded and looking foreward to a new life and a skinny one best wishes awwww good luck again

Im an absolutely fantastic singer, I can tell cos the neighbours keep throwing bricks through my windows so they can hear me better !!

considering the money the advertising industry pays for ads to go on TV,billboards, magazines,newspapers etc, surely they work. I would also say that they didnt make me want to go out and buy a particular thing, but I dont think these people would waste all that money if the ads didnt work. as for banning them, well, I still dont know about that question, but think about what you would put in your shopping trolly if there were no ads to tempt you or inform you,would it all be generic foods and all healthy choices? soap powder youve never heard of? cheapest perfume you could find, biggest and cheapest bar of soap? I still think better labeling on the package is the way to go so we can make those choices when were feeding our families, and even thats no use if there is no education about eating properly in the first place. best way to educate is by advertising and getting the info out there. then again, I doubt there are many overweight people who dont know about how to eat healthily, Im an expert, just cant do it, healthy food is in the main, boring, difficult to prepare and time consuming, chicken salad with alfaffa beans or a double cheeseburger?? I know what I would have if I didnt have this danged band lol

someone told me that if your having trouble dislodging the blockage, to take a drink of fizzy soda, it hurts but it brings the "lodge" right up only to be used in dire emergencys !! lol WHOOO HOOO OR SHOULD THAT BE COCKK A DOOODLE DOOOO I did the chicken thing and the chicken went !! thanks for the tip (the cat has left home) :nervous

Angel Eyes thats a full on PB lol awww horrible isnt it I went and ate some chicken tonight (I know I know) at 5.30pm its now 11pm and its still stuck, though its not a pb no saliva etc but its lodged and its going NOWHERE *sigh

my mum is 78 and was totally against me having ANY operation, so I got all the "why not try to eat less" (wish Id thought of that one) and so, I told her we were going away to stay with a friend for a few days and off we went, the afternoon after I got back from the op I rang my son and he went and told my mum that I was ok but Id had the operation ! she understood that I didnt tell her so she wasnt worrying herself sick for those few days, and never reprimanded me over it, in fact, when I got back she paid for the operation!!! I was also slated on the brit version of this site by a few people because I was going to belgium for my op, to the most experienced banding surgeon in europe, and he was also a third of the price than in the UK. I was told Id die on the table, if, like my british surgeon had suggested, I didnt lose 80lbs first, I was told I wouldnt make it home, I was told I would get no after care in the UK (true) but I go back to my Belgian surgeon for fills etc because hes GOOD. I cared not a jot and went anyway. what did they know?? they didnt know me or my circumstances, maybe it was just a coincidence that the only ones that slated me were the ones who couldnt afford to pay for the band but were having to wait for the NHS to operate on them, ( I was quoted 6 years wait) !!!!most of the other members were very supportive. you did what you had to do, and thats that, if your old enough to bring up kids, pay a mortgage, etc, then you are old enough to decide what you do with YOUR body. Its a bit stupid them not talking to you AFTER you had the band fitted did they expect you to go back to Mexico and have it removed. In fact, next time they criticise you, say "oh ok, well its $20,000 to have it removed if you are so worried perhaps you would pay for it to come out" watch them shut up jealous??? absolutely

companies, all companies are in the money market, not the food market, Ford isnt in the car market they are in the money market, if you see what I mean, and if these companies cant get at your cash to get you to buy "stuff" then sure as hec they will get you through your stomach. dont know about banning the ads, cos as soon as you go into a supermarket the food is there looking wonderfully appetising etc I think better labeling on food on the front of the pack and not in blue writing on a purple background in the tiniest font they can find would be a much better idea, so we KNOW what were giving to our kids and ourselves.

I couldnt sleep on my side or tum for about a month then It was fine I hate sleeping on my back so it was a bit of a nuisance at first.

I know how you feel, though Im not depressed about it Im fed up to the back teeth, I have lost over 100lbs in a year am I happy?? NOOOO cos I wanted to lose 200lbs in a year !! never mind, it will come off its just a pity it doesnt come off as fast as it *^&**&&*^* goes on isnt it ?

bread rice Pasta unless I chop it up tiny, meat any kind even cooked to death with gravy is still impossible, anything with a skin, tomatoes prunes etc I dont eat anything I cant break with the side of my fork and I stay pain free even yoghurt is a bit gloopy and you have to eat it slowly can eat rice pudding though but not ordinary rice

Ive been banded for a year and have gone through all the above, Ive had a pulling sensation occasionally but not a clue what it is, I suppose its an "alien" body inside us and will now and again be able to be "sensed" the fills, well, they are a case of hit and miss until you find your "sweet spot" some people only need 3 to get there some need 15 its all a case of how your tum and band react. Ive had a couple of fills that did nothign whatsoever and a couple that have been marvellous, I think im possibly at the sweet spot now but cant really be sure. dont worry, once your fills get right you will be fine

I have looked at these pictures 3 times now, all 18 pages of them and am totally gobsmacked at everyone, you all look sooo fabulous and pretty and much much younger in a lot of cases. we should make them into a best selling book !!!

tell you what is really nice without bread indulgence is wrap a burger in a couple of crisp lettuce leaves and eat like a burger in a bun, honestly its really nice if you can eat finely chopped tomatoes on it as well, all the better I dont miss bread at all not one jot so Im very lucky that way

My mum used to say to me, slow down slow down and I thought she was just being a nag but once I got the band and after many episodes of pain I realised I had to slow it down and chew and taste my food the pain went, its amazing how fast we eat isnt it dont know about the timer but try chewing one hundred times and that should do it eventually it becomes habit as the fear of the pain is always lurking in the background so keeps you in check

BREAD !!! arrrrrrrrgh the pain ohhh the agony ahem, sorry nope bread is impossible for me

Its a new experience for me to buy 4 cream cakes and then, a few days later find them at the back of the fridge and have to throw them out!!! they would have been gone, 2 of them on the way home and the other two later on in the day. But throwing food out is a whole new thread !!! lol

get your plate sit down, close your eyes and keep them closed take a bite of your food, put the fork down, keep the eyes closed remember and chew, lift your fork, take another bite chew keep going you will find that you wont know how much youve eaten, but you will be full up and will think youve eaten a lot and cant eat anymore now open your eyes you will see that youve eaten about half of what you normally eat :hungry: this is because your brain is now concentrating on the food not on what it looks like or subconsciously telling you to clear your plate. as soon as you open your eyes you will want more even though a second before you were full, dont eat anymore put the plate in the kitchen and wait a while the feeling of fullness with come back right away try it its really amazing

if you drink during the meal, it will wash the food into your big tum much faster leaving you feeling hungry, it could also mean that if you have some food lodged and are about to PB the weight of the liquid on top of the lodged food will make the PB much more painful and last longer wait for half an hour after eating to drink. its much more productive and helps you lose weight much faster Ive found. dont worry, you will be so full after eating that you wont be particularly bothered about a drink. good luck let me know how the eating with your eyes closed worked

I have been asked this question many times, and as far as Im concerned they may as well have asked "why cant you just cough and cough and get better on your own instead of taking anti biotics for that pneumonia !! the band makes a small tummy at the top and leaves a tiny hole leading into your big tummy. the food goes into the small one and slowly slowly lets it drop into the big one and then gets digested as normal. so the feeling of being FULL is there very fast and stays there for a long time. THis is new to me because I never ever felt full. didnt know what it meant unless you talk stuffed to the gills like after christmas dinner. Now I feel full faster, longer and no longer think of food all the time. Im back in control, and can go for 5 -8 hours without even thinking of eating, in fact, I eat like a thin person eats, slowly, and enjoy the taste of the food (or not, as the case may be) Yes it would be far easier to not have the surgery and just eat smaller portions slowly and carefully but that doesnt mean that you wont be still hungry and thinking of more food as your digesting the tiny portion. the band is an exellent tool to help you lose weight if you use it properly and follow the rules, so ask your husband just how much hes paid for power tools, cars, and all the male paraphenalia they have to make life easier for the male species, you only have to go into a DIY super store to realise that there must be vast armies of men somewhere thinking of how to make life a breeze . ha ha shh dont tell him I said that

yes, I was so weak that I couldnt even lift a cup of coffee for myself on day 3 after the surgery, it took about a week for me to recover and feel normal again, then again, normal for me at over 400lbs was in a constant state of exhaustion anyway lol, but it goes, also hardly eating doesnt help. Ive found that if I get a time when I feel weak or tired, a few tins of slimfast over a day or so sorts me out, the effect is immediate for me. within half an hour of drinking a tin of it Im full of energy again, no doubt its the carbs. your 18lbs off is amazing CONGRATULATIONS

that the loose skin only forms where it forms, imagine if you lost weight off your head as I have done and you had loose skin hanging off your forehead over your eyes ! or bingo fingers !! or bingo knees, shins and calves-- even bingo toes:nervous also, isnt it great that the weight comes off each side, it could just as easily all come off one side when you think about it!! theres a lot to be thankful for when you consider the alternatives isnt there:clap2: