Kbel

In my experience with the band, emotional eating is a hard but essential thing to tackle. I eat as a distraction/ punishment/reward/comfort/boredom-buster... you name it. The band is great for dealing with quantity but I have found it a real battle when quantity is not the problem but self destructive behaviour is. I think that it is really important to analyse WHY you eat and you seem to be doing that already. As many of the bandsters here say, the band is only a tool. It is not a miracle and does not put a band around your head and the reasons you seek comfort in diet pepsi or chocolate or whatever it is. If I could go back 12 months ago knowing what I know now - post band, I wish I had done more analysis of myself. Secretly I think I was hoping for a bit of a miracle and was buoyed by many of the great, positive people here and their stories BUT for me, the band wasn't the answer although it has forced me to face the hard questions about myself. In that, it has been a good thing. I hope that helps you in your decision-making. K

Vegemite is a 'concentrated yeast extract' spread that creates a love or hate reaction in those who try it. It is a bit of an Australian icon really and I am one of the folks who love a bit of it on toast! Vegemite is black and is usually spread thinly on toast or fresh bread. It tastes salty and is great with cheese in a sandwich. Cheese and vegemite sandwiches are a bit of a lunchbox tradition at school! Some bakeries here bake scrolls with cheese and vegemite between the folds of bread - YUM! There are similar products available such as Marmite and Promite but nothing tastes quite like Vegemite. It is very high in Vitamin B and is low carbohydrate and has some Protein. In Aus, we're always entertined by newcomers to Vegemite who spread it like Peanut Butter on their toast... definitely NOT recommended! Try it (but thinly)!

Fancy somebody thinking that WLS is cheating!!! This is harder than any 'diet' or 'miracle cure'. The band is jolly hard work. Ignorance isn't bliss, it is really annoying!

I am fat because:<o></o> - I hate my body with a frightening intensity and food is the method of destruction that I choose. I don’t smoke or do drugs or drink to dull the pain so food is the weapon of choice.<o></o> - I thought being bigger would be a cloak of invisibility that would help to protect me from the heartbreak and unhappiness of my thinner self. <o></o> - Food is my best friend and my worst enemy.<o></o> - I have become what I feared the most – as can happen. A tall teenager with puppy-fat self-consciously dieted herself into a big, self-destructive middle aged woman. <o></o> Twenty-three years is a long time to hate myself and I am so tired of it. I have discovered that the band is a tool and is not the answer… <o></o>

Sabotage. I started this process very positively almost 5 months ago but over the past couple of months I have found myself sabotaging my ‘possible’ success at every turn. Although my surgeon offered a couple of dietetic sessions as part of the surgical ‘package’ there was no psychological assessment and support and I realise now, that this is perhaps the most important issue. I don’t blame him – it is hard to understand that weight issues can be in the head as much as the stomach. Feeling full isn’t my problem so much as feeling deprived. I am desperately trying to work out... Why do I sabotage myself? Why do I turn back to familiar self-destructive habits? The band is a tool, I know that 100% but I’ve learnt that a tool is no good if you don’t have the ability to use it. I am stuck... in that old rut again. That damn old rut that has consumed more than half of my life! If the band is my friend why am I fighting it so hard? I guess I’m interested to know if anyone else has the tendency to deliberately undermine themselves and what strategies you’ve tried to address it. What do you do to sabotage yourself???... and what do you do to fix it? And here’s a question - why is the bad stuff SO easy to eat (and justify)? Kristen

I know exactly how you feel. Those comments: "Oh but you are tall and you can carry a bit of weight" drive me a bit nuts because they give me an 'out'. I too don't feel as big as I know I am although one slip of the digital camera and a photo in a bathing suit soon confirms it! Although, even then it is hard to reconcile that really fat person as me. As for the shopping - I can't wait to go on my first 'normal shop' shopping spree!!!!!!

I had a similar issue as my BMI was 35, like yours. I am also tall so on first sight the surgeon initially said I was unlikely to be a candidate… until he weighed me and heard my saga of yo-yo dieting and weight loss/gain for the past twenty years! A good surgeon will look at your dieting/eating/food-related history and assess these as well as the BMI. The band is the only proven method of truly permanent weight loss and although you may lose a bit over the next few weeks, what about the next few months or this time next year?<o =""></o> I had the same dilemmas – what if I just ate better and spent the money on a personal dietician and personal trainer? But you know, now the surgery is done and things start into a ‘normal’ routine – I know that I would have slipped back into old habits.<o =""></o> <o =""></o>There comes a point when good diet and exercise can’t do it all and can’t control those emotional eating times and ‘its-been-a-bad-day-binges’.<o =""></o> Your clinician should be looking at the whole you but not judging you on the ‘text-book’ definition of an ideal band candidate.<o =""></o> As for the last supper mentality, I did that in spades – eating all I could because I though I’d never eat ‘junk’ again. Bad idea in hindsight. Although it was enjoyable at the time – it does mean I have quite a few extra kilos to lose when I didn’t need to! Oh well… I guess its true that we only learn by doing!<o =""></o> <o =""></o>Good luck with your decision. <o =""></o> Kristen

Hi Amy, I was banded in late June and had similar (unexpected) pain too. Like Kathy said, the heat pack can work wonders and crushing your pain tablets will ensure that they go down well and that they are absorbed more quickly. It will pass but focus on the small steps in the meantime, an hour or two at a time so you don't become overwhelmed with it all. I found that I read lots of books, magazines and did crosswords and puzzles to take my mind off the pain and discomfort. Remember to congratulate yourself on taking such a brave step! Kristen

Keri, it sounds like you are doing really well and facing the challenges straight up! I was banded on 27 June and am still on the liquid phase which is pretty excrutiating - Soup is losing its allure, let me tell you! I have been getting hungrier – I put that down to the swelling subsiding. My first dose of hiccups last night redefined ‘discomfort’ too! Despite liquids only I have lost less weight than I expected to – bummer! I find FitDay to be a great help too, it just needs a conversion feature for us metric/kilojoule folks! Kristen

Hang in there! My dietition suggested including a variety of 'textures' in the liquid phase. She said that the mouth (and brain) are bored by the same textures and tastes when used over and over. I am still trying to work out exactly what she meant but If you can try some alternative textures through fruit juices and shakes and even Soups - perhaps that will help. Experimentation helps, is all I can say (10 days of liquid to go!). Kristen

Hi,<o =""></o> I was banded on Monday 27 June and am feeling almost back to 'normal' after a week of discomfort. I have been walking a little but I am interested to hear advice on exercise. <o =""></o> I am a gym goer and I walk the dog and that is about the extent of my usual exercise regime. I enjoy the gym (when I don’t feel like I’m the only one in a baggy t-shirt) and I am a member of a new (t-shirt friendly) gym which opened last week. I usually do weights classes (Pump) and cycling classes but my Dr. has said no go until about 4 week post-op. Is this generally the case?<o =""></o> <o =""></o>Also, given the port location, issues of stretching etc, what are the do’s and don’t? Is Yoga/ Pilates okay? Weight training?<o =""></o> <o =""></o>Any suggestions or anecdotes about timeframes for exercise and what to look out for would be very much appreciated. Also any advice on how best to hydrate during exercise would also be great to hear.<o =""></o> Many thanks - this board has been a real life-saver! Kristen<o =""></o>

I was told that it takes about 3 weeks for the gas to completely leave the system. The main pain is supposed to subside after a week or so. (I am looking forward to that) I have been using a wheat bag heat pad on my shoulder for the pain there and that seems to help quite a bit. Welcome to the club! Kristen

I was banded on Monday and it hurt quite a bit! Thank goodness for kind nurses and painkillers! That said, the pain I feel today (Thursday) is so much less than yesterday or Tuesday - the body is amazing like that. It just doesn't remember pain! I know that tomorrow will be even better and the benefits will be worth every 'ouch'! I figure that if I can survive leg waxing, eyebrow plucking, period pain and a broken heart or two then this is a piece of cake! Kristen

My band procedure is less than 36 hours away! This week I have been thinking a lot about all of the things I can do to replace the time that food (eating it, obsessing it, gorging on it) has always taken up in my life. <o =""></o>I have a few ideas – all those things I have put off for too long - the projects that sit in the bottom of the wardrobe, my gym membership and losing the TV remote. But I am very interested to hear what others have replaced food with. <o =""></o>I have no doubt that I will still obsess but it would be interesting to know how you have distracted or redirected yourselves. Counting down… Kristen

Hi, I have posted a few questions since discovering this wonderful forum a couple of weeks ago but I haven’t yet introduced myself. My name is Kristen, I live in Melbourne, Australia and I will be undergoing the lap band procedure on Monday morning. It has been great to read so much here and see that my fears and trepidations as well as my questions are not unique. My journey has been a 20 year one and fraught with the usual array of tick-the-box issues associated with a screwed up relationship with food/eating and self image. Suffice to say that the diet rollercoaster has brought me here and I am determined to get off it… or at least onto the kiddie size ride. I suffered a back injury in 2001. I was at the peak of my fitness and thought I had the whole thing beaten. Unfortunately the injury has persisted, ended my gym addiction and changed my life. I now weigh 118kgs (260lbs) and feel every one of them. My BMI is 37 and my body fat is 50%. I am incredibly nervous about Monday’s operation and what the future holds but it is tempered with a combination of excitement about the challenge. A bigger challenge may turn out to be family lunch tomorrow when I plan to tell my Mum (who carries a 50 year eating disorder or two of her own!). Anyhow, that’s me in a quick nutshell. I am very glad to be here and so glad to have found you all. I look forward to the journey knowing I’m not doing it by myself. Kristen

Thanks Angie, I will think of you on Thursday too!!! I have such butterflies in my stomach right now but, like you, I know the rewards will be worth it!

Hi, I am booked for a lapband on Monday 27 June. I have been very postive and strong about my decision but last night I had my first appointment with the dietitian and now I am wondering whether I should go ahead... I have no problem with the interim liquid diet/ mushy food diet etc. My concern is with the long term implications. I understand that sacrifices have to be made but I am keen to know how people cope with the smaller portions. How much can you REALLY eat? What about going out for dinner? Special occasions? Any comments, feedback welcome as I am feeling rising panic and realise that I really don't know enough about what my life/ lifstyle will be like in the future. Thanks Kristen Melb, Australia.

Hi, I am 10 days away from my surgery and full of questions. I understand that water/liquids should not be consumed with meals (when I am at the solids stage) but neither my Dr or Dietition actually explained why. Why? Also, why are carbonated drinks a no-no? I can guess, but I'd be interested to know what effect they have... and lastly, does that mean my long-standing love of champagne will be over?

I am incredibly heartened by all of your encouraging responses. I spent most of last night on a deep dip on the emotional rollercoaster – lots of tears and tantrums. I guess it is normal to have the ‘pre-op jitters’, I just didn’t realise how hard they would hit me. I am still nervous. Is such a reaction the norm? The tears? These feeling of failure tinged with cautious optimism? What about telling people? So far I have told only my partner and sister. I am wary of telling others (even my mother) for fear of judgement I guess. I assume everyone is unique in how they approach this issue but I am interested to know. Apologies for having so many questions but I felt enormous relief (and emotion) when I logged on this morning and read all of your supportive words. I haven’t known anyone who has had the op done. Kirstie, I think I will put that saying: “nothing tastes as good as losing weight feels" above my desk.