Parvathi

What a fantastic NSV!! The price makes it all that much sweeter hehe. Congrats

Thanks Dr. Hekier And great to have another Doctor on board here!

*laffs* sure as heck feels like it! I don't think I'll ever get used to having Christmas in the summer time. I want my snow .. waahhhh heh. East coast Australia is 14 hours (currently) ahead of EST - if that helps anyone.. (ie if its 8pm in NY, its 10am here).

Don't have any advice, but let us know how things go after your appointment tomorrow.

I take a Multivitamin daily, as prescribed in the lil information book they gave me post op. Took a while to find one I could take, as I wanted one specifically for women, but finally found one that's easy to swallow (no getting stuck), with a few extra herbs and stuff for things like pms pain, stress, etc.

One of my dearest friends asks me for an update almost weekly. This morning he asked if I had any regrets, how hard its been, etc. He's going to start checking with his insurance company this week to see if he can ge covered for it.

I just started exercising a few weeks ago. I don't enjoy it (by no means get an adrenaline rush as some people describe), but I had hit a plateau and wanted to get off it. It worked, as when I went back to the Dr last week, I'd lost 4kgs/8lbs. The weight loss has slowed a bit now for me though. I'm hoping that I'm just gaining muscle now and will lose some more soon. I'm trying to go to the gym Mon - Fri before work. I don't make it there everyday, but I do try. I find that I just don't have the energy after work and will make excuses to get out of it if possible lol. It's beginning to be a habit for me though, which I'm thankful for. My program (which my trainer set up), is like this:- Monday/Wednesday - 45 min weights training: 5 min warm up on bike 2x10 of bench press on 12.5kgs 2x10 of seated row on 23kgs 2x10 of dumbbell crunches on 4kgs (each) 2x10 of fitball squats with dumbbells (4kgs each) 2x10 of leg press on 32kgs 2x10 of lunges with 4kgs dumbbells 2x20 fitball crunches (for abs) 2x20 arm/leg (opposite) lifts (for abs) 2x20 medicine ball twists (for abs) 2 min cool down on bike stretches Tuesday/Thursday - cardio: 15 mins free runner 15 mins exercise bike 15 mins treadmill I can mix these up with different cardio machines if I choose, but these are the ones I like so far. Friday - 45 min session with personal trainer; varied week to week.

LOL .. I was just thinking of bringing this back up this morning. Fantastic Okay, so I've updated my stats, special for this thread, without weighing in at the doctor's office, but going by my home scale (which generally, is exactly what the dr's scale says anyway). I've been on 94.5kgs/208lbs for the past few days, so figured its safe enough to trust it. Watch it come back to bite me in the arse though hehe and me put on 2kgs :/ So that puts me down 24.5kgs/54lbs since March and half way to my goal weight!!! I've went from a size 22 to a size 16. I'm feeling really great, although a bit tired, but that's not the band's fault. I have my 6 month post op visit with my surgeon next Thursday, so I'm quite excited about that.

I still enjoy food. I look forward to dinner and deciding what we're having, even when I'm not hungry lol. But I don't obsess over food like I used to. I'm satisfied with a small handful of chips, rather than the family sized bag. There are so many other things in life, I'm now realizing, than just food. The band has opened up a whole new window for me

I still don't count calories unless I hit a plateau ..and then its only to review to see what I need to adjust.

Hi alatina, I'm one of those people that the restriction doesn't kick in til a few days later. If I get adjusted on Monday, I'll feel it on Thursday. I usually have to stay on liquids/mushies for about 2 days after that. By the next Monday, the fill has generally settled in for me. It seems like a big inconvenience and my hubby reckons I'm crazy for waiting it out lol, but I know that if I go get an unfill, I won't have the restriction I need. I can usually get by with veggie and chicken soup (sometimes it needs to be pureed), which atleast makes me think I'm eating healthy. Make sure you get your Multivitamin in and I hope the fill settles down for you soon

Wanna come take my dog with ya? LOL .. the poor thing is sad cause I didn't get a chance to walk him today :/

I took a whopping 2 weeks off, but I'm a big baby LOL. Luckily, I'm able to work from home on the laptop when need be, so that's what I did for the second week. Just make sure to get plenty of rest and don't push yourself too hard. Our bodies hurt for a reason - they're telling us to take it easy.

Hey fee I see you're in Melbourne too. Which surgeon/clinic are you using?

For me, its definitely the happiness and healthiness that counts. I haven't lost as much as some people, nor have I lost as much as I wish I had yet, but I feel great and I'm able to walk down the street with my head held high, looking people in the eye. That's something I haven't been able to do in years! I've even had a couple of guys hitting on me lol, which was a shock! Everyone is different and as such, we'll all lose at our own pace .. and that's okay. Some people have also added on muscle since the sugery, as they feel motivated enough to exercise. For some of these people, the scale may not be moving, but they may be losing inches. My doctor said when I went to see him this week, that what he tends to go by (loosely) is:- 1/3 excess weight lost by 6 months post op 1/2 excess weight lost by 12 months post op 2/3 excess weight lost by 24 months post op For me, that would have meant that I needed to lose 16kgs/35lbs within the first 6 months. I was luckily able to do that (its not been quite 6 months for me just yet). But I think that if I had started lifting weights earlier, I might not have hit that mark when I did. My weight loss has definitely slowed since starting the gym a couple of weeks ago, but my pants fit sooooooooo good right now hehe

Gotta agree with Kathy on this one. Ten days post op, just sip sip sip. I'm almost 6 months post op now and while I can't get much water in early in the day, from mid afternoon til I go to bed I'm drinking like crazy. I can generally get in a good 6 big ole Dixie cups of water in from the time I eat dinner until bedtime. You're doing just fine

I've been banded just under 6 months and I ove my band. Here in Australia, banding would be considered the 'gold standard' among weight loss surgeries. That said, its been practiced here for quite a while longer than in the US. There were a couple of reasons I opted for the band, over RNY. The main reason, being the risks I read about when looking into RNY. I'm a huge lover of life and so not ready to give it up yet. The lap band, in my mind, was a much safer alternative. I wanted to lose weight gradually (albiet, not at a dead slow pace lol), to give my body time to adjust, my skin time to pop back into shape, my head time to get used to becoming thinner and to accustom myself to eating properly/healthy. I liked that the band was adjustable and/or fully reversible. I never intend to have it removed, as its become almost like a best friend lol, but I like knowing that if I needed to, I could. The only real con I can think of for myself with the band, is having a port lol. While it plays a very functional role and I wouldn't get rid of it for anything, my husband looks really grossed out when I say, "my port hurts!" hehe. I have a friend's mom who had RNY. She lost 150 lbs in 7 months and hit goal. She's estatic, loving life and has already had her tummy tuck to remove the excess skin. While I would love to be skinny practically overnight, I know its not the right option for me. Everyone has different priorities and different reasons for choosing the method they choose. Ultimately, its your choice. Do your research and good luck in whatever path you end up taking And if you have any questions, there's a good many of us who practically live on this board now lol...

I've always used Dove, cause its the only soap I've found that doesn't break me out. Loopy - you're right, the bodyshop rocks But I'm not sure if they have that in the US? Think the closest thing to it there would be Bath & Body Works...

After surgery, I was told to breath deeply, about 15 times, twice an hour (every 30 minutes). I'm a smoker, so it hurt a lot during the first few days, but after say 3 days or so, the breathing exercises really did start to make a difference.

I ran into that same problem. For headaches and such now, I take the minicaps, as they're so much easier to swallow. For my Multivitamin, I take a powder form that you mix with Water, juice or in a smoothie. It tastes horrible in water LOL, but in a good Protein smoothie, I can handle it.

Congratulations, Margo! Glad you're doing well

We eat out a good bit too. I've found that I can eat nearly anything, in moderation. The only food I've really had issues with to date is gnocchi. I'll never ever try that again LOL, even though I love it. The first few weeks (probably 6 weeks to be honest) were the pits for me. But you move on. You learn what you can and can't have and you remember to chew chew chew.

I had the disolvable ones, w/ the ends sticking out, but it took several weeks (about 5, cause they were still there when I got my first fill) before they went away altogether.

Just tossing in that I concur with what everyone else has said lol. You're doing fantastic!! I barely lost anything before my first fill. Keep exercising and keep your chin up. Before you know it, that weight is going to be falling off faster than you can buy new clothes

Sorry to hear that :/ Trust me, it gets better. Mine's a bit deep as well. After the first go though, the doctor knows where to find it better and you'll be better mentally prepared. Before long it'll be second nature And as ya shrink, it'll stop being so deep lol.