SageTracey

I thought about doing the one bit, but I was worried that I wouldn't want to stop. Hopefully as I get further on this journey I will be able to handle just a mouthful, but at the moment it's all or nothing.

A fill is the process of add saline to the band so that it tightens around your stomach and makes you feel full on smaller portions. Fills are done by injecting saline into the port - quite painless, quick and easy process. In terms of finding a surgeon, start by talking with your GP and ask for a referral.

It works. I'm late 40s, husband is early 50s and no weight problem. Since losing 90+lb, like is sweet

Happy birthday. Sounds like you have really be re-born this year. Congratulations and keep up the great work.

If your body had been in starvation mode you wouldn't have been losing weight. Sounds like they are working to a formula but you know your body best. I'm all for following a doctor's rules but if you were in starvation mode, you would have broken out of it in two months and started losing again. Check out some of the discussions on this topic on myfitnesspal.com They are very helpful.

I was at my Lions' Club meeting last night and dinner was served. Main course was a stodgy oversize serving of lasagne with a slice of lettuce and tomato that was supposed to be a salad. I ate the salad and a lapbander sized portion of the lasagne. I had been for a 30km bike ride earlier in the day so knew I had a few calories in reserve. Then out came dessert. Usually it's fruit-based with whipped cream and I can just push the cream aside. No such luck tonight! It was a massive portion of baked egg white and sugar, aka pavlova, smothered in whipped cream and topped with chocolate. Well that just wasn't happening! Three different servers tried to place a dessert in front of me and three times I managed to say no thank you. What a relief not to have undone all the good work of my bike ride. And the roof didn't fall in just because I said no thanks to a dessert!

I've read it here often that the lapband is one leg of a three-legged stool. The other two legs are diet and exercise. We need to keep them all in balance in order to achieve success and stay balanced ourselves. I've been surprised to discover how much I am enjoying exercise as my weight comes down. It was really hard getting started when I was heavier, but now I find myself rolling out of bed before the alarm goes off so I can have a few extra minutes on my morning walk. And checking the weather forecast on weekends and days off to see if I can get in a bike ride. I'll never be an athlete as such, I'll never win a race etc, but I am exercising at last. Yesterday I heard a speaker (business, but it resonated with me) who said: "You can have excuses or you can have results but you can't have both." Good luck with your journey.

My surgeon's office phoned to postpone my appointment for my second fill. Fortunately I was able to reschedule, incredibly it was just later on the same day. When I got to my appointment, my surgeon explained what had happened. He had been called into the operating theatre by another, less experienced surgeon who was having difficulties fitting a lap band. My surgeon took one look at the patient's liver etc and said, this patient hasn't followed the pre-op diet, we cannot safely proceed, so the surgery was stopped. The patient didn't get his/her lap band because they didn't follow the pre-op diet and shrink their liver. I think that's a really good reason for you to slog it out with your pre-op. I'm glad I did mine. Good luck.

Screeden - you took the words right out of my mouth!

Could also be low blood sugar. I got dizzy too post-surgery until I learnt to eat the right foods at the right times to prevent it. But best you speak to your dr.

Football season is just wrapping up here in Australia. We're down to just four teams in the run for the premiership, Collingwood, West Coast Eagles, Geelong and Hawthorn. I don't barrack for any of them but think it could be Geelong this year.

Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi! Yeah, I'm downunder too. I was banded in April this year and have lost 41kg (93lb). I started at 149kg. I have had health insurance (HBA) forever and was able to have my surgery very quickly. I was about $1,000 out of pocket in total. so far my journey has been pretty easy. I've followed the rules about eating, not drinking with eating, exercise etc. There are times when my head thinks I want to eat but my band has made it possible for me to stop at healthy portion sizes. I'm also tracking my calories and exercise on myfitnesspal.com which has helped me understand that I need to consciously decide what I am eating and how it will fit into my overall daily allowances. I still make poor choices from time to time but now I have a better understanding of the cost of those choices. Good luck with whatever decision you make. Feel free to friend me on myfitnesspal.com if you want some support. User name is SageTracey. cheers Tracey

Congratulations Trish, that's so exciting and what a wonderful achievement!

Fantastic!

So sorry to hear that Roz. Best wishes for moving forward.

You could wash it with Dettol or some other antiseptic then be sure to keep it dry and clean and until you can speak with your doctor. Disclaimer: I have no medical training, this is just what I would do. And if it gets any worse, get medical help.

Pre-surgery I would avoid doing too much on a day where we were going dancing so that I wouldn't wear myself out. Yesterday I suggested we pack down the camper van. I suggested a bike ride and pushed hard for 18km. And then went out and danced and danced the night away. Woo hoo!

I believe I hit the green zone when I realised I only needed smaller portions to feel satisfied and then wasn't hungry again for at least three hours. Ive had thee fills, but it is different for everyone.

Hey Nic, that would be a question for your doctor. Good luck. I went private in regional Victoria and was only $1,000 out of pocket, plus it was only about eight weeks from my GP referral to surgery.

Have a look at myfitnesspal.com where you can log your calories in a food and exercise diary. It will keep track of your net calories so you'll know where you are up to. They also have a great forum with lots of great help, just like here. Feel free to add me as a friend - I'm SageTracey there as well.

It's Walk to Work Day in Australia today. I live about 25km from work so I decided to add some extra time to my morning walk this morning. And for the first time ever, my DH got out of bed and walked with me. He has to travel 100+km to work today so he defnitely wasn't walking! We had a lovely walk and chat, although I did have to keep hurrying him up as my heart rate wasn't getting high enough! I drove to the town where I work and remembered that I had to drop my car into the garage for a road worthy check. The mechanic offered me a lift to work but I knew it was Walk to Work Day so I said no thanks, I'll walk. Five minutes into my 20 minute walk and it began to rain! So I managed to walk to work after all, just turned up looking like a bit of a drip! Anyone else walk to work today?

It's time to stand up for yourself, remember why you started this journey and what you wanted to look or feel like when you reached your finish line. Think about how you felt when you were at your heaviest and then how you felt at your lightest. Which did you prefer? Why? Can you remember some of your NSV's and how great those moments make you felt? Take one step forwards and you are back on your road to success. Don't wait for tomorrow to start, do it right now. Decide to make a healthier food choice or take that first exercise step. You know you want to do it. After all, isn't that why you posted here?

That could just be the anasthetic....or the realisation that you have made a major life change. Scary, but just keep reminding yourself of why you went down this path and what you will achieve in your life as a result.

Welcome Lisa. Good luck with your pre-op diet. I was so excited to get a quick surgery date (less than a month from getting my referral from my GP to surgery!) that I breezed thru the pre-op diet. I'm from Australia so I was wondering what vignette is? all the best Tracey

Hi Deb, Good luck with your appointment. Hope you don't have to wait too long for a surgery date. Are you also in Victoria? Cheers Tracey