Fanny Adams

salad is not generally a slider food and is one of the best choices you can make, if you choose a "good" salad with a variety of vegetables. To me, chopped lettuce with dressing isn't a salad, although that seems to fit the definition for a lot of takeaway places. A good garden salad with cucumber, carrots, sweet bell peppers, celery, tomatoes, etc, in with the lettuce is usually easy to eat, because you can chew it up really finely, won't glug together in your tummy and get stuck like processed flours/breads, and will keep you feeling full for ages. I usually find I can eat quite a lot of salad, as it crunches down to be quite small when you chew it, and it is low in calories and fat and high in fibre to help you feel full - go for it! Mind you, a Wendy's chilli, lettuce and cheese dish isn't what I'd call a salad...

Your fears are natural and you do need to have a realistic assessment of what you are in for and make a strong commitment to working with this tool, not expecting it to do the work for you. Elcee's post was spot on and you should take that to heart. Speaking as a 2 year bandster (today is literally my 2 year bandiversary), I have not regretted this decision for a minute. It hasn't always been easy but it has undoubtedly been the best decision I ever made for myself. It is particularly easy to say that, given that I am currently posting from my hospital bed, where I am recovering from the plastic surgery I had 3 days ago (torso lift and boob job). I am utterly thrilled with my results. As for advice: Research, research and research some more. The more you know about the band and how it works, the better you will be able to use the tool. This is something I wrote for a friend in a PM a couple of days ago, that might help you also: "In all the reading I've done in this forum, and the years that I have been banded, I have come to the realisation that the best way to approach the band is SLOWLY and STEADILY. Don't think of it as something that will STOP your hunger. It never will. It is only a tool that will help CONTROL your hunger and make it manageable. If you try to get the fill so tight that you don't feel the hunger at all, you will be too tight, will have all sorts of troubles with PBing and getting stuck and will INEVITABLY switch to slider foods (icecream and chocolate mostly) because this will be all you can tolerate eating. That is a terrible place to be in. I know, because I've had two incidents now when I've overshot the "sweetspot" and been too tight. When that happens, you find you are still hungry because you are not eating real food and your body is craving nutrients. It keeps sending "feed me! feed me!" signals, which you can't satisfy because real food makes you sick. Instead, you desperately find yourself eating the wrong kinds of foods, because the hunger is strong, and not losing any weight because living on chocolate and icecream is no way to diet, even if the quantities are small... For me, the secret has been to keep the band quite loose. Forget all the talk you hear about people eating only 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup at a meal. That's a ridiculous way to try to live. Get the band to where you can comfortably eat at least a cup of food or even 1.5 cups and have no troubles with meat and vegetables. Forget all that business about "protein" too - our Aussie doctors tell us that this is a fad and they've been dealing with the band for many years longer than the US doctors. Aim for a balanced diet of meat, vegetables and wholegrains... you know, that old fashioned "sensible diet" thing that we've hated being told about our whole lives. If you fill up on lean meats, vegetables, fruit and wholegrains, you will find that the band will help to CURB your hunger, so that you are satisfied with small portions of these. The nutrients in them will help to curb your body's craving for good food and you will find that you can actually "stick to the diet". Don't try to kid yourself that you don't need to diet with the band. There are no short cut ways to lose weight in a healthy way - diet and exercise are what works. The band just helps us to STICK to the diet, whereas without it, the Hunger Demon that rages inside us all will defeat us sooner or later. " Good luck with whatever decision you make.

I'm doing great!! Can't get over how well I feel only 3 days out from surgery and I love my new boobs and flat tummy!

It was fabulous to meet you today, Lellow! Thank you so much for coming in and comparing notes with me I am amazed at how well I feel and how little pain there has been. You're right - Dr Allbrook is a genius! I am absolutely thrilled with my new boobs and flat tummy. I love what it has done for my thighs and bum too - couldn't be happier!

Starting to feel it a bit now... oh well, I knew it was coming. I'm a tough old girl, so will manage :thumbup:

Hi Mimi. I had 4 drains but they took 3 of them out this morning, so they were only in there overnight. I think they changed the sheets partly because they were a bit mucky from when they took the drains out but mostly as an excuse to have me stand up. I only just managed it but hoping it will be easier tomorrow. However, as the anaesthetic is starting to wear off, I think it will actually be worse tomorrow. In all the ops I've had over the years (and there have been many!), Day 3 is usually the worst, as the anaesthetic is fully flushed from your system, they drop the drug dosages but the pain is still there and comes through finally... Oh well... it's been an easy run so far, here's to hoping it continues :thumbup:

Hi everyone. I made it through ok and not in any pain as yet, except when I had to get out of bed for thm to change the sheets. Standing up hurt!! Lellow, I'd love a visitor, but I'm in Hollywood Private Hospital, on Monash Avenue, just behind Charlie Gardiner Hosp. I am amazed at how flat my tummy is and I think the boobs will turn out great too.. Allie Morris - they sent you home that night???? OMG!!! I could NOT cope with that!

On my way to the hospital. Will check in with you guys in a couple of days... Good luck to you too, Kate!

On my way to the hospital. Will check in with you guys in a couple of days...

Can you believe it's been TWO years now? How is everyone doing? I'm doing great - heading in for plastic surgery tomorrow (almost 2 years to the day from the band!) and couldn't be happier about the results I've had so far. Cheers to the Merry Losers!

To all the December 2009 Bandits, from a December 2007 Bandit: Congratulations on making what will turn out to be the best decision of your life! Be proud of yourselves for having the courage to choose to regain your life. Good luck with everything in the future and welcome to the start of a healthier life! Best regards Fanny PS: If anyone wants to ask questions, etc, feel free to PM me.

LOL! Yes, it was Dr Bowater that made the comment about the BMI range, not Stephen Watson. I've had a couple of run-ins with him already over various things - don't like him! I'm kind of pissed off that Watson has handed over the "mundane" task of fills and general visits to other doctors in his practice. I saw a woman there once, who was pretty good, but each time I get Bowater, I come out really angry at him. I'm just going to ignore him and go with what Dr Allbrook (plastic surgeon, for our other readers) has said and he agrees that I'm a little off goal still but will reach it after the surgery settles in. I'm hoping to follow in your footsteps, Lellow, and lose the last little bit after surgery and hope that the skin doesn't loosen up too much with it. You mentioned once that doing it that way actually helped make it more comfortable for you - cross fingers that happens for me too.

At that level of fill (7cc in a 10cc band), you are probably best off going for 0.25cc changes up or down, rather than 0.5. It doesn't sound like much but it can make a WORLD of difference. It is really important too, to do the liquids for at least a day after the fill and for the remainder of any day in which you get stuck and PB. If you don't, you'll just find yourself getting stuck and PBing more and more often during the day, as your stomach swells in irritation after each episode. If you've just gone up 0.5cc and haven't let the PB/getting stuck go on for very long, ask them to take 0.25cc out. While you would probably get immediate relief from having the whole 0.5cc taken out, once the swelling goes down, you'll be back where you started and wanting restriction again. However, if you've tried to struggle through for a couple of days, the chances are that you are already so swollen inside that you need to get the whole 0.5 out to get the relief that you need. You can always go back after a couple of weeks when the swelling has gone and you are wanting more restriction, and get them to put it back 0.25cc (or less!) at a time. When you are honing in on that sweet spot, the adjustments need to get smaller and smaller to make sure you don't overshoot the mark and get too tight.

I think the larger you are up top, to begin with, the more you will notice the sag when the weight goes. I carried a LOT of my weight in my boobs - got up to a G-H cup (and probably should have been bigger if I had been fitted properly and bought the right bras). I'm almost at goal now and they have deflated to probably a D cup (not sure - still wearing my E cup bras coz they're new but they are baggy as anything). That might sound as though they're still big but sadly it's all empty skin flapping in the breeze :tongue2: I'm going in for the torso lift and boob job with implants on Monday because I really want my boobs back. I was an E cup before I gained the weight though, so I think that makes a difference - my whole self image has "big boobs" stamped all over it. The lift/reconstruction would have taken me down to a C - the implants will bring me back up to a DD-E, which is where I was when I was young and hot, hehehe. Now I can't be young and hot again, but I'm gonna have my boobs back!!

Sorry I missed this earlier, Caz. I'm at Argyle Diamonds (and sadly, no, they don't pay me in diamonds :nono:). Hey Lou, welcome! Schmack is right - the docs like to sneak up on restriction gently. If they fill too fast, your stomach will rebel and you'll get stuck and PB lots - not a nice feeling. Hang in there - it will come! Welcome Tegan. I was done by Stephen Watson too - maybe I'll see you in the waiting room one day . It is more effective, Lou. It's hard at the beginning to pace yourself, because we want so badly to lose the weight. But we all know, having been told over and over all our "fat days" that the healthy way to lose is slowly and steadily. That's why I got the band. I knew that I had to restrict my eating for at least 2 years if I was going to reach my goal and there is just no way I could face 2 years of dieting on willpower alone! The Hunger Demon would never have let up and 15 years of trying had proven to me that I couldn't defeat him on my own in the long run (short battles, yes, 2 years - no way!) So I got a secret weapon in that battle and guess what? Two years later and that Demon has been SLAIN!! :tongue2:

You go for it, Danni! One of the things I love about the band is that it is possible to get back on the wagon again, after having fallen off, and to keep right on going. Good luck and feel free to ask any questions :tongue2: PS: Don't forget that 25kg is a WONDERFUL achievement and proof that you can do it!

That's what I was thinking!! And I was wondering how the hell you crochet one of those! I worked it out eventually... not that I'm slow or anything :tongue2: Me too!

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. I'll be in hospital for 7 days - apparently with all the extra work, it's going to be a pretty severe trauma and recovery will take a while. Oh well - "we must suffer to be beautiful" as my mother (and Hans Christian Andersen) would say...

I just read heartfire and Kat's posts and both times was thinking "la-probes - what the heck are la-probes??" It took me ages to read it as "lap-robes", LOL! Never heard the term before but I can figure it out...now! :smile:

Thanks Mimi. I just re-read the thread myself and it's fun to see how the excitement has been building. I also realised that I had forgotten to say that I discussed my boobs further with the doc and he has agreed to put in the implants now. It feels like all the weight that I've lost since our first consult have come off my boobs and the E cups are really baggy now (down to a DD at least, more likely a D). That means that after he does his cutting and dicing, I'd have been left at a C at most and I DON'T like that idea. I figured if I had to go through all the pain and all the cost (especially down time at work, as I'm a contractor and if I don't work, I don't get paid), it would be silly to do that and know in advance that I won't be happy with the results. So he's putting them in and we're aiming to have me back up to a DD to E, only with the girls up where they belong, instead of flapping in the breeze like empty socks when I take my bra off.

ROFL!! As always, Jachut, you make perfect sense and I love the way you tell it like it is! Thanks mate. I'm going to keep aiming for my eventual goal of 65 (after the op) and see how happy I feel then.

Time to ressurrect this thread, as I'm only days away from surgery. I didn't lose all that I was hoping to, but my lapband doc says that's a good thing, as I'm already below their recommended goals for me and that the surgery will take off another 5kg. My personal goal was 70kg, so I would end up at 65kg after the surgery has settled. My lb surgeon says I should be at 72kg at the end, so I'm almost at that now and the surgery will take me under the 70kg mark for sure. I dunno about the lb surgeon's numbers. 72kg is a BMI of 27 which is still considered overweight in most BMI charts. I had a big discussion about it with him on Monday, when I had my fill out for the op, and he says the latest research says a BMI of 27 gives me the best chance of a long healthy life... I dunno... I don't mind where I'm at now (except for the loose/saggy skin and droopy boobs) but I can still see lots of room for improvement. I'm kind of hoping for Lellow's result - that I'll continue to drop just a little after the op to get to my true goal. Whatever, ready or not, the op is coming up on Monday and I'm going for it!

Yay for you, Lellow! I'm coming right up behind ya! I've got my op with Dr Allbrook next Monday and I'm hoping to do as well as you have from it.

Hehe - my honey is a skinny white boy and man o man, "surprising" is an understatement!! :thumbup:

Hi everyone I'm getting a bit nervous now - only 1 week to go until my PS operation! I get all my fill taken out on Monday, which I am very glad about as it really has been way too tight this last month and has been very uncomfortable. I've been struggling through, wanting the weight loss but of course have fallen into the old trap when the band is too tight of moving to slider foods, chocolates and icecream, coz that's the only thing I can tolerate. I would have had it loosened but I've been away on site every week and haven't been able to get in to see the doc, so just been "toughing it out" till now. I really hope I don't suddenly pig out to the max once all the fluid has gone - scared about that :thumbup: I'm really hoping to hit 72kg by the day of the operation. Not quite sure where I am at right now - I was 73.9kg on Monday but I've been at site all week. Hopefull I'm down to 73 and honing in on that 72 goal... *chews fingernails worrying about the big op*