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Generally toasted bread is easier to eat than untoasted. Try making a toasted , open sandwich, use grainy bread and eat that with a knife and fork. If you want a wrap I would suggest that you nibble at it rather than take bites. Eat very slowly and stop if you have any discomfort.

Some of these men are unreal.Do they realise they won't die if they have to go without for a couple of days or weeks?

I don't see why it should be a problem.

A couple of years back my sister had symptoms that she thought were MS, she used to drink diet drinks by the gallon. She has now cut them right back and her symptoms have disappeared. I think that it is always better to eat the real thing than a substitute if you can and remember that with all things we need to practice moderation. Sugar is natural - artificial sweeteners aren't, ditto butter/margarine etc. If you are trying to cut out sugar it is better to find healthy natural foods to replace it with than to turn to substitutes that some scientist has cooked up in a lab rather than been prepared by a chef in a kitchen. I worry about Stevia. It is the current "next big thing" but who says that in a couple of years time they won't find some problem with it? I think the best approach is to stick to natural foods and if you have to have a little bit of sugar or stevia or equal then fine. The problem comes in when you have any of them in large quantities. Too much of anything is bad for you - people can even die from having too much water!

It is easy to imagine that the grass is greener on the other side. If you have not been successful with your band then the sleeve may seem like the answer to all your prayers. The reality is that if you have learnt how to cheat your band then you will probably do the same with your sleeve. The same rules for healthy eating apply no matter what surgery you have. I don't know why you think you have failed but if it is because you are snacking and eating candies, chocolate,crisps,milkshakes etc then in all likelihood you will do the same with the sleeve. You probably need help to discover why you eat what and when you do and you then need strategies to stop the non hungry eating.

She looks awful, that is not attractive. Having your ribs move closer together and having to go to a Dr to check her organs are still OK proves that this is dangerous. There was a reason people stopped wearing corsets on a regular basis - they were bad for you. This girl is sick and needs help, the problem is that she is getting the attention that she obviously craves so she is not likely actually get help.

Gigi you are right. Mis you are not there yet so you probably don't realise it but there seems to be a point where it is difficult if not impossible to achieve the correct balance between having enough Fluid for restriction but not enough to cause reflux. It seems that most of the long term bandsters have had or are having an issue with this - Lellow, Jachut, myself and quite a lot of others ( I can't remember all the user names). I developed some reflux at the beginning of the year (out of the blue), ended up having a partial unfill and have since been refilled. I now feel literally no restriction except on rare occasions. I can easily eat things that previously I couldn't and I am struggling with hunger. Yes some of it may be in my head but the waking up hungry part certainly isn't.I am going back to my Dr at the end of the month and am hoping i will be able to get an effective fill but I will have to wait and see. The worst part is that 3 years ago when I was first banded there were a number of people that were talking about this issue.Quite a few of them were choosing to revise to the sleeve because of it ( I am not sure how that helps because as far as I am aware most sleevers have to routinely take an acid reducer).Obviously as a newly banded person I didn't want to hear about possible future problems. I'm not sure what the solution is, hopefully they come up with something.

That makes sense, I always hear people going on about it and tend to think "really". To me it just sounds like another diet.

It is normal for your levels of restriction to change. Sometimes they change because of hormones, TOM, weather, how well hydrated you are ............ the list goes on. It is certainly normal for them to change the further out you are from surgery. I also think it is normal to be worried about that and about potential weight gain. Even if we are told presurgery that the period after surgery is about healing not weight loss we skip over that part in our excitement. It is important to remember that this is a process and it takes time. In the same way that you didn't gain overnight you also won't lose overnight. Stick to what your Dr has told you to eat.,make healthy choices,do some exercise, and the weight will come off

Theoretically we should be happier with inches. Inches are what take up the space, pounds are just a number on a scale that shows our relationship with gravity, but I think we all want that number to be as low as possible and we fixate on it.

You haven't eaten for 2 weeks and you can't drink either? Don't you think that is an emergency? I would far rather go to ER and let them help me than do nothing and risk dying from dehydration.

I don't really care that what I post on LBT isn't private. If some person decides to dig deep enough and discovers I have a lapband then so what? I don't think they will be able to use that information to steal my money, put me in jail or refuse to employ me.

I eat rice and pasta without issues as well. Granted I don't eat a lot and I do tend to mix it with my other food. Curry and rice tastes so much more normal than curry on it's own. And no potatoes, rice and pasta are not high in calories although everyone believes they are - it is the stuff that you add to them that is generally high in calories.

Some of them sound yummy but I wouldn't consider them very healthy - icecream, rum, vodka!!!!!!!

How did the quote get in there, it appears to be from another thread?

I swallow a krill oil, CoQ10 and Multi vitamin every day- they are all huge and they go down fine.

You probably still have some of the meat stuck. Until it moves you won't be able to eat or drink . You can try sucking on some crushed ice, this helps to reduce swelling and may assist the item to move. After it's moved then baby your band with liquids and very soft foods for a while. If the item doesn't move you may need to go to your doc or ER for an unfill - if you can't keep fluids down you will dehydrate.

So true. I think it may have been me that made the comment over in the other thread. A lot of people think that the band will help them to eat healthily and unfortunately it won't. They have their bands really tight to try to stop them eating "bad" foods. but chocolate, crackers, milkshakes, crisps etc will still go down easily.

I think you need to do what is right for you. The fact that you have the confidence to go forward and make all these positive changes is great.

You do not need to unfill to fly, in fact according to my Dr air in the band will swell and cause problems whilst saline won't.So in other words it is better when flying to have Fluid in than for it to be empty. I have flown many times since being banded and have never had an issue. Many of those flights were long haul Australia - Africa. If you are concerned then request a special diet in advance. I ate the plane food and surprisingly didn't have any issues. Keep hydrated, stay away from the alcohol and you should be fine. And if you do feel slightly tight whilst in the air it should resolve when you land. I would advise against unfilling for any reason other than being too tight. It is way too hard to get back to the green zone afterwards and you may find that you regret it.

Are you not English speaking? Both of these questions have been answered for you already, a number of times. If you are in the liquid stage then blending is cheating, if you are in the normal food after band stage then blending is cheating in fact the only time that blending is not cheating is if you are in the mushy stage.

You have a great attitude - that should help you to achieve success.

Stop drinking the shakes, you don't need them, and see if your acne clears up.

The original pic has definitely been photoshopped, it actually looks like a pic of some kind of rock formation that has been overlaid over the other pic. Now as to whether or not there are ghosts I am not sure what I believe. In the cold light of day with other people around Then no I don't believe in them but stick me on my own somewhere dark and yes I do! If there are ghosts then what they are is also a subject for lots of debate and speculation. Are they really the souls of the dead or are they maybe some kind of recording on time?

1lb 2oz - OMG that is tiny.