insubordination

Stef, like you, I got a fill when I wasn't exactly sure. So far not good. I can only hold down liquids or a biscuit dipped in tea. Everything else comes up so far. I don't know whether to wait a week and see whether it loosens as it usually does. I have to pay $200 US for a fill or an unfill and I don't really want to spend that twice in one week. Maybe I need to give liquids a bit longer before slowly introducing food. I rang the doctor and that's what he advised.

Missy and Suzzie - keep plugging away. We're all only human and can't make perfect dietary choices every single time. chocolate is my dark master also.

Holli I am so proud of you. 100 pounds in such a short time is so amazing. What did you children and husband say? I have lost 70 right now but am (was?) gunning for 100 by my first bandiversary. Not looking good lately but I haven't given up.

I think a few icons are in order for this milestone.

:eek::thumbdown::frown:

Thanks BB. Very wise and what I needed to hear.

Suz, thanks for the tips on the anti-Ds.

Stef, you already are a trainer/motivator but don't know it.

I have to say that I've also been suffering from depression, though not from the season. I have recently had surgery, quit a stressful job, moved house and started a new job. All this upheaval had me crying regularly for no reason, not wanting to go out and generally sulking at home. It got so bad that I was having dark thoughts. Normally I snap out of a depression after about 6 weeks but I did not snap out of this one.

I finally realised I needed to see a doctor and, with great reluctance, I agreed to take some anti-depressants. They seem to be working so far (haven't been crying, sleeping better) but I don't want to take them long term. Does anyone have experience with this kind of thing?

Hey Stef,

I didn't know you were a moderator- cool. Your photo clears up any confusion about the ID change anyway.

NValicia - that's amazing. Congrats! I can't wait to reach that point myself. It's a way off yet but you are an inspiration for me.

I have no internet at home still which is why I haven't been posting. I have also booked and paid for my year-long round-the-world trip. I leave on August 4. Only stopping in the US briefly (it's too expensive). I'm going to NY, Boston and Vermont (to visit a friend).

Won't be checking in much. Have no internet in my new home yet (some tech prob). New job is OK so far.

I just wanted to echo that I also have been doing badly with the sweets lately. It seems that all I want is chocolate. Luckily, I haven't put on any weight (I certainly deserved to) but haven't lost any either. Since so many of us are going through the same thing, I figure it must be normal. My band is adjusted correctly I guess, so it's just me.

I'm sure our heads will get in the right place soon and our bodies will follow.

SM, that is a stunning transformation.

Thanks Stef.

Missy I am moving too, though not as far as you. I only have a one-bedroom place but it's still a freaking nightmare. Hope you get thought it OK. Note to self: Don't buy stuff.

BeckieT, I'm so happy your port revision went fine. Now the band can do its job better and the rest of us can breathe easier knowing that it's not tooo major. So glad you're 'fixed'.

Note for you guys: Don't try to eat dried apple rings. They will boogy in your osephegus all night havin' a NY party of their own.

Hey Blocka. You'll be happy you have that picture later. When were your banded because your scarring seems minimal?

Thanks CCW. I will try to change my exercise as I have been doing the same thing for months.

Congrats LMBA aka Irene. You've given yourself such an awesome head start too. You're going to lose so much this year, you won't believe it.

Is the pain after you've eaten or before meals? I agree you should ask your doctor. Sometimes I can feel the band 'squeezing' me but only when I'm incredibly stressed (or when I watched Apocalypto the other night). It doesn't exactly hurt but I'm aware of it.

I also do better if I stand up after eating but that usually means I have eaten too much or have not chewed well enough. I know I'm not too tight because other people talk about what they can eat and it's less than I can. Also, I pretty much never PB.

Of course, the fill will probably 'relax' a little and you might have a little swelling but if you are concerned, ask your doctor (I know you don't want to have any fill out but if the band is too tight, it can cause problems).

Wow, you've done that in such a short time. You look half the size and very pretty in those green flowers. Any advice for someone who's lost 30 but has around 40 to go? I'm getting mighty impatient.

Ashley, you have a BELT in the second pic and you're tucked in. 'Nuff said.

CD it must be incredibly tough to have X-mas on a boat surrounded by great food. Sometimes weight loss means a life change too (I recently changed jobs and have booked a RTW trip for August). If you really are thinking of trying something new - do it! Didn't you say you had an 'off-season'? Try a new job then. There are plenty of things you can do.

I know this is rude in any other circumstances but look at your arse in that first side shot compared to the last one. Amazing. I'm afraid you're no longer famine resistant however.

Look at your back and your hips!! Look how your arms are closer to your side!!

Good point! Your arms rest on your sides now. Also, your body 'lumps' change shape as you lose as they re-distribute and eliminate. I know mine have.

The best thing is Suzzie, you are in proportion and losing weight evenly all over which probably means no PS. The end result is going to be amazing if 382 to 305 is 6 months is anything to go by.

Hahahaha

She knows I'm banded. Drove me to the hospital.

She's just like that. If I'm not on a diet, she'd never give me a choc but if I'm on one, she bombards me. Sick but she can't help it.

I guess my challenge is not that she gave them to me but what I'm going to do with them. I haven't thrown them out yet.

My mum gave me 8 (!) bars of chocolate for Christmas along with fruit pies and bags of nuts.

My brother (half) joked that she was a gastric banders worst nightmare.

This page has been really inspiring. Feebs, congrats on hanging in there despite the slip.

Great advice. You also need better restriction Sades. I struggle to eat one nectarine unless I cut it up and chew it really well.

Today I bought a brownie from the bakery. I ate about 1/8th of it and pitched the rest.

Was in a cafe last weekend and some young, thin tourists came in for coffee. They asked for a brownie with ice-cream and 4 spoons. They split it.

My mother (who was eating a whole brownie at the time) and I looked at each other and thought, "Aaaaah, that's why we're fat and they're not." I'm sure they enjoyed their shared brownie much more than anyone ever did with a tray of them in one sitting.

I was banded by Dr B Jen. Had no probs but it is busy and on the $$$ side. Good for people who need a lot of extra services(dietician/psych/physio) and have time to go to the appointments. I was lucky that I work only 10 minutes away. Now I've moved, I'm finding it hard to go to my last few appointments.

Feebs 50kg in one year is my dream. I've lost just on 30kg in 6.5 months. I hope I make it to 50. I've heard the loss slows down a lot later however. How frequently to you get adjustments?

I'm going to play devil's advocate here. Your problem is your perception of how your friend should be thinking. She's not at the place you are yet and won't think the same. I say change the topic and forget the rebuttals.

I have learnt this because I've haven't eaten meat since I was 13. There's just no point in putting across your thoughts/feelings/knowledge to people who are not ready/not interested/disagree or don't want to hear it. You come across as a zealot. Wait until they ask you and even then, don't go on about it.

If she wants to be MO, make excuses or believe in diets, it's OK. Sure you'd prefer that she read about the band and felt the same way about it as you do but she probably won't so just focus on other aspects of your relationship.

Do you remember when people sat you down and talked about how you must lose weight for your health? That's what you'd sound like to her.

If the issue is about your post-op diet (should you be on mushies?) then don't have the cake or, as someone suggested, moisten it with milk or icecream and stir.

If you don't have the cake now, you'll stubbornly make up for it later. Now if the issue is that you think that you shouldn't be eating cake because people who have weight loss surgery are irrational for even considering it after going to great expense and trauma, then I have another opinion (I'm verbose today- sorry).

Some bandsters go on diets and count calories. Maybe it works for them but I just read posts about a bunch of people on a diet and beating themselves up when they transgress and have wheat. It reminds me too much of failed diets. I don't buy into that mentality anymore.

Maybe certain personality type (left-brained) concentrate on the calories-in/calories burned and the scientific side but out personalities always get in the way. That's why we got fat.

I'm glad I'm not one of them. That's not why I got banded. It just drives me nuts if I try to count calories eaten and calories burned. I don't want to think about and plan cake a week in advance.

I just focus on choosing healthy food with the nutrients I need to get through the day and the rest falls into place. I don't feel guilty if I eat chocolate but sometimes I question whether it was the best choice to reach my weight loss goals.

I say have the cake. Cakes shouldn't have a special power. They are just sitting there being cake. They're not sinful and, as someone said above, it's only a regular diet of cake that will get you in trouble.