AlienBandit

im a foreigner in korea so everyone calls us wai gug kins which means alien in translation. So since I was banded in korea I decided to be called alien bandit

So when ever I look at the nutritional info on a box in Korea everything is in k calories. What are k calories and whats the difference between them and regular cal? I swear my treadmill in Canada would measure how many calories I burn in calories and k calories ( for every 1 k cal it was 3 calories) so does the same apply for food? If so then wow food in Korea is fattening! If not then why is there a difference between kcal and calories is your working out but not in food?

I am 5'6 and got banded when I weighed about 210. Yes I didn't have a lot of weight to lose with a BMI of 33 ( I want to lose about 70 pounds) but I have PCOS which makes losing weight almost impossible for me. My knees were also starting to bug me. Working my ass of going to the gym 5 times a week and eating well would only get me to 195 pounds if I was lucky ( but it wouldnt stay off for long) The only time I lost a lot of weight was when I went on crazy starve diets were I would get b12 vitamin injections 3 times a week to help reduce my hunger and give me more energy. Once I stopped those diets my weight went back up no matter how hard I tried. I was able to lose 15 pounds once by myself ( no crazy diet) by working at a tree planter working 10 hours a day planting up to 2,000 trees a day for 2 months. Yes standing, walking, and carry hundreds of pounds of extra weight on my back only made me lost 15 pounds in two months! (I think thats terrible considering how hard I had to work) I don't think I should have to have that kind of job just to get to a better weight. I was also afraid of future issues I could get thanks to PCOS like diabetes and other heath issues so I opted for lapband while I have been living in Korea. Being over 200 lbs is considered really obese here where most people are tiny. So yes if someone is in the obese category according to their BMI then I think they should be allowed to get surgery. I am sure though I could never get it in Western countries just because you must have 40 or over BMI most of the time :S

Ok I know this is a strange question but can someone performing CPR on you hurt your band or your stomach because of the band? I began to wonder this the other day because of the location of where the band is and if someone doesnt know I have the band. I have kept my band a secret from everyone I know but I am always worried something could go wrong if I was in an accident or something and no one knew I had the band. I think I might get a medical alert bracelet. I know there are a few people on here who are nurses or might know the right answer to this question about CPR.

its not the band I am worried about because I know it can be replaced if something happens but I am worried about my stomach or area around it getting damaged ( ie if i have internal bleeding from the band being pulled or it ripping my stomach and if I am unconscious they wont know that I might/could have internal problems if they dont know about the band. Thanks for the input everyone

i'm starting the pouch test right now I just finished my first day. You can read about it on my blog :w00t:

i hate my stomach area especially my belly button being touched ( makes me nauseous) and I am also very afraid of needles ( the more i get poked the more afraid of needles I am).Anyways I always getting the numbing stuff in my stomach before getting filled. My doctor didnt want to use it last time but I said no way in hell will he ever poke me without it. I am too much of a baby when it comes to pain and I am afraid without the numbing stuff fill will hurt.

I flew a few weeks ago on a 6 hour flight. I didnt set off any metal detectors and was fine during the flight. I was even able to eat ( chicken and fruit) during the 6 hours in the air. Since my band is 8cc filled in an 11cc band I felt a little sore in the band area the next day I am assuming from the pressure changes while on the plane ( as I am have never had that feeling before). It wasnt unbearable but was a small reminder almost from my band that it was still there.

does anyone have the contact info of doctors who accept patients who had their fills in a different province or country?

Flying is easy. I was worried that I wouldnt be able to eat but had no problems. Don't be worried if your a little sore the day after the flight. I was able to eat during my 6 hour flight but the next day I felt a little sore in my band area. Airports always have things like little corner stores that sell band friendly items. I was able to get soft fruit, chicken salads/wraps, yogurt, milk etc. I travel often and I have never had a problem so far. Remember you can't take food items through your carry on items ( atleast where I am).

I know there are a few of us in S Korea and I was wondering if anyone wanted to have a meet and greet to get together with other banded expats. Any suggestions of a place or time ( weekends are probably best) just let me know :smile2:

YYYYAYYY I got the all clear from my doctor to go jumping. I asked him if I should wait and he said not to worry it would be fine. I showed him the video and he laughed and said he wanted to go too but one of his nurses said he would never do it because he is chicken. Maybe I can convince some people in his office to come and then if anything goes wrong a doctor will be right there lol :biggrin: I'm not going for a while I must plan everything first but I will post a video once I go

I have lost weight twice really fast in the past and both times i had a huge amount of hair loss. My mom also followed one of the diets with me ( both high protein low carb lots of veggies and fruit no sugar etc) and she also lost a lot of hair. Maybe some people dont believe hair loss comes with quick weight loss but I am living proof it can happen

so do the october bandits have a name? September are the sexy Septembers.... what are we?

Want to be Thin you must open the link as you only have it closed. try adding before the http

I did research on lapband for years ( almost 6) and even after all that research I still think of more and more questions. I cant imagine going into surgery not knowing all I did before the surgery. This site and you people are always a great bonus for help.

I stayed overnight because my doctor told me to. I live alone and would have had to take a taxi to the bus station then take a bus out of town and then a city bus to get home. With two dogs at home I didnt think I could survive the first night so I had someone take care of them while I was gone. I was self pay but didnt have to pay for the overnight stay it was all included in my surgery price. The next day I still had a lot of gas in me and the doctor wanted me to stay another night ( for free) but I didnt have another dog sitter lined up and I had to go to work ( yes 1.5 days after surgery I went back). I'm glad I stayed over night. It gave me a chance to recover and if I had any problems there was always a nurse not far away. I also saw my doctor the day after my surgery so if I didnt stay over night i would have had to travel another 2 hours the next day to see him again and that wouldnt be worth it.

hahah that is one of many things I want to do. Now that I know I can fly in a plane without any pain i plan on jumping out of one ( with a parachute of course) and I want to do diving with sharks etc. The list goes on. You only live once gotta make the most of it :thumbup:

I live by myself and only told a co worker at each of my schools in case anything medically went wrong and I needed a Korean translater. It was interesting the first few days trying to do everything by myself. My stomach was sore ( felt like I did a million sit ups) and it hurt if I moved my stomach too much( ie bumps on the road in a car hurt when I took a taxi). Stairs arent too bad. It is hard to reach down though. I had to train my dogs to run up some stairs and then jump to me so I wouldnt have to bend down so much ( their just little 4 lb each dogs). I slept in my own bed and luckily it is right next to my bedroom door because I needed to use the door to pull on to get up out of bed. I didnt tell anyone else. I have no family here so it wasnt hard keeping it from them, I didnt even tell any of my friends ( just avoided them the first week post op). It really isnt that hard living alone post op you just need to take it slow.

I want to buy an Elliptical but dont know what kinds are good. The challenge for me if that I have to find a good kind in Korea. I dont really know what features would be good to have so if anybody has any tips that would be good. I go to a gym near by but there arent any elliptical s there so i want one so I can get off my ass in the morning without going out in the cold. What kinds do people recommend. How big are they? Are they loud? Thanks

I live in Korea and I have only seen ellpiticals online. They arent sold in stores that I can find and the local gyms dont have them. Thats why I was just wondering what kinds people use or have at their gyms that they like. I can search for the brand names here and then have the machine shipped to my apartment. Sadly no testing before buying :rolleyes2:

i just spent a while 2 weeks eating out because I was on a backpacking trip. Though I never took my food home that I didnt eat, there was a huge difference in how I used to eat. Ok so two examples and ones bad I know So Mcdonalds yes bad I know one day I had no choice. Before surgery I could eat a whole adult meal no problem with a drink. Now two months after surgery I could never even dream of eating even a burger so I opted for a kids meal ( with choc milk to drink later). chicken nuggets seemed ok. Since I ate so slow by the time my friend was finished his normal meal I was no where near finished mine ( 1.5 nuggets) so he ate my fries while I finished my nuggets. Four nuggets and I wasnt hungry for some time after. Another example while traveling last week. I was at a place in Thailand and most of the food was fried or involved a bun or rice. I got the pad mai or something which is chicken bits, bean sprouts ( I think they're called) egg, noodles, crushed peanuts in an olive oil kind of sauce or something. Before surgery I could def eat it all and still be hungry but now after surgery I simply picked around the plate eating small bits of the Protein and vegetables and ate a very small part of the noodles. My meal happened to be so delicious that all my friends ate it too which somehow made me feel more full ( because the plate was almost empty). Just to note no one knows about my surgery even though i just spent 24/7 with some friends for 2 weeks. I thought eating out would be hard but it is so easy. Plus you live in an English speaking country where you can ask for things on the menu to be changed ( ie no rice) where in Korea even if I asked the waiter wouldnt understand why I wouldnt want something included in the price I pay.

So I have an 11cc band with 7cc in it total. I am going to the doctors again in a few days for a check up and maybe a fill. The problem is I cant decide whether I need a fill or not. See I can also eat anything with very little trouble. I eat when I am "hungry" or so I thought. Recently I went on a backpacking trip and since there weren't many choices for eating I didnt eat much ( didnt pass many restaurants or places to eat lots of bus train etc traveling.) and I wasnt really hungry. Whenever I ate it was because my friends were dying of hunger but I didnt really feel the need to eat but I would anyways ( simply because places to eat were few and far in between). I only ever got small things to eat and never finished a meal. Back home though is another story. I can eat forever without feeling uncomfortable. My stomach is never hungry now that I think of it but yet I still eat. So should I get a fill so that I will feel uncomfortable if I eat too much or should I stick it out and stay the heck away from food ( maybe a zapper that will hurt if I touch or go near the fridge etc to keep me away)? This is something I will talk to my doctor about too but I am wondering what others think.

I hope you are ok and that things go better for you. The first little while after surgery can be hard. I had a tough time but survived. As for a lifetime of this, it won't always be hard. I just finished a backpacking trip with friends (2 months afters surgery) through Asia and no one knew about my surgery and I survived the whole trip traveling to different counties with different foods ( sometimes not sure what things were) and I have had 2 fills already (8cc in an 1 cc band). Best of luck

terri dont worry it will get better. My doctor kept checking on me after my surgery because he said everyone usually regrets the surgery because of the pain and discomfort after. It will pass and soon you will be so happy and on your way to being more healthy. The first few days can be hard but seriously listen to everyone here. Walk more even if it hurts. It will help with the gas pain. I did this journey all by myself and only think of the positive outcome no matter how much pain i am in. I only worry about omg what have i done when it comes to trying to figure out how to tell my family about my surgery as no one knows. My first few days I was never hungry or thirsty and couldnt even tell when I had to pee my stomach was so uncomfortable. Stay strong and positive