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If you are an apple shape you will remain an apple shape albeit a smaller one. When we lose weight our basic body shape stays the same. I hate the fact that even at goal I have a stomach but I love the fact that I have amazing legs so I suppose we have to take the bad with the good.

After a while you will learn what it feels like once the bite has comfortably gone down. This is what you should be looking for before you take the next bite. Piling 1 bite on top of another will get you into trouble.

You look fabulous, I'm jealous of the skinny waist!

I have had my band since June 2009. I hit my goal of 50kg and maintained there quite easily for a couple of years. I have regained approx 4kg over the last year. I believe 1 of the reasons for this is that over time the band becomes less effective. It becomes easier to eat things that were previously difficult and the band does not control your hunger as well. Whilst some people believe that this can easily be fixed with another fill that is not always the case.There seem to be a lot of people that encounter reflux a couple of years out and usually the solution is to remove some fill. Drs then become very cautious and like to ensure that they do not go past a certain level that they believe will trigger the problems again.So it can become a balancing act between too much and not enough which is when you have to really think hard about what you are eating. However my weight is still within the normal range so technically I am still considered a success. I would just like to be a bit thinner but for 50 I don't think I look too bad, especially not when I compare myself with others the same age. I am forever being told that it is normal to gain weight during menopause, for a long time I denied that was true but maybe there is something in it. I have never been a great 1 for exercise and was lucky enough to lose all my weight without having to do much but i now concede that exercise may be the only solution. I purchased a fitbit last week and that is extremely motivating, I am currently averaging about 15000 - 16000 steps a day. Hopefully I can keep it up. I think the bottom line is that the band has helped me to achieve a weight that I would not have been able to maintain without it. I feel great, hopefully look great and am really happy that i had it done. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I am also happy that if at some stage in the future they come up with a newer better weigh to keep the weight off i will have the option of revising.

And yes if you flush each mouthful down then the receptors at the top of the stomach do not get the chance to receive the signal that you have had enough.

It sounds as though you are ignoring all the guidelines that you have been given and are still expecting the band to do it's job! If you are going to ignore what you have been told then don't expect miracles, it's not a magic wand. Stop looking for full the way you did preband and instead look for satisfied. Stop expecting the band to stop you eating things that you shouldn't , it won't happen. In fact the tighter yourband is the easier it becomes to rely on high cal sliders instead of healthy Proteins and veg.

And remember Wikipedia is not the most reliable source. Anyone can put stuff on there. Although it is popular it is not a proper encyclopaedia.

I love the stuff. I quite often have it as a quick lunch or dinner as well!

WTG Jenny. Sounds like you have achieved your goal.

I eat homemade muesli with greek yogurt. very similar to Jachut.

Depends where you live. In Australia 1/2 of a small/side plate is the usual recommendation.

I know I am going to get shot down here but I do not believe that 1 cup is relevant. It used to be the recommendation when it was still believed that the food sat in your pouch for 20 min or more - therefore if you ate more than that you would be too full and get sick. However it has now been discovered that food passes through in approx 1 min.So if you are eating at the correct speed and allowing your food to pass through eating more than a cup of food is NOT going to stretch your pouch. In Aus we are not normally told to measure in cups , the usual recommendation is to eat of a small(side plate). Approx 1/2 plate should be Protein and the other 1/2 vegies and healthy carbs. I personally think that the calorie content is far more important than the volume. You could have a salad (leafy veg,tomatoes,cucumber etc) which on its own could fill a cup. It would be very healthy and low in calories but would not be sufficient to fill you up. You could also eat a cup of meat - that would be far higher in calories . Also compare red meat/fish. You can eat a far bigger piece of fish than you can meat for less calories.

It could be your gall bladder.

People are forever moaning about OH but sometimes I think LBT is as bad.

1 year ago I would have said exactly the same thing. I lost easily and was having no issue maintaining. I thought that people that whinged and moaned etc were just using excuses. Now I have a lot more sympathy. The first couple of years are EASY - after that it gets so much harder. Things that were difficult to eat become easy. The band does not give you the same feeling of satisfaction. You eat what you are supposed to but get hungry again soon afterwards. Simple solution - get a fill as obviously if this is happening it means a person is not in the green zone. Well it's not always that simple. For some unknown reason reflux rears it's ugly head, when this happens Dr's unfill or won't fill past a certain point. But that shouldn't be a problem should it, because by now we should have the good eating habits down pat? Well it is a problem. I know what I should be eating and that is what I eat but then I get hungry again. When the band is not controlling your hunger it is like it was preband. What makes it worse is that you know how good things can be and you desperately want to be back there. To me the weeks after surgery weren't bandster hell - they were easy. This is bandster hell! I don't think I'm alone with this problem. A lot of the long term successful bandsters seem to have the same issue.Some of the names have slipped my mind but I know Jachut is one. There seem to be a number of these threads atm, B52, yourself to name just 2.I understand where you are coming from but I promise you it is not quite as simple as you try to make out. Please stop "preaching" at us and keep your fingers crossed that you are lucky enough to always remain in the zone.

crackers,popcorn. Heck even nuts are a slider for me

Everyone has a predetermined shape. If you are pear shaped now you will be pearshaped when you lose but you will be a smaller pear. There is nothing you can do about it, there is no diet that will enable you to choose where you loose!

I also thought this was a troll.

Try sucking crushed ice. It can help to reduce the swelling from trying to throw up which may allow the item to pass through. It's not instant but it can help.

My Dr told me that I was allowed some low carb veggies once per day. I wasn't allowed cheese, eggs or anything else that could generally be combined with veg to make them more interesting. I just stirfried them with a little soy sauce and that was it.

I'm glad that it's your weight loss ticker you are talking about and not the one in the centre of your chest!

Who is going to ask about the scars. That isn't something a stranger should do as that would just be downright rude - tell them to MYOB. If it is a friend that is close but hasn't seen your scars then you might want to share the truth but obviously only if you are comfortable doing so. You probably imagine that your scars look worse than they do , i doubt they are so bad that they could scare someone.

Some of the signs and symptoms would include heat, pain , swelling, difficulty breathing etc. It all depends where the clot is. Why do you ask, do you think you have one?