Fanny Adams

Hang in there both of you. It is a scary decision to make and life will be changing dramatically for you. However, it WILL be for the better! It's been almost a year for me, and I just can't believe how different my life is and how much more I am enjoying it. I knew that I would feel more healthy and more confident when I lost weight, but I had no idea that it would feel THIS good. Whatever the ups and downs are for you over the next several months, keep your eye on the end goal and stick to your plans! It IS worth it!

Congratulations!! Well done!!

Believe me, Deana, I know how lucky I am. In a world where it seems most people I know have a poor relationship with at least some members of their family, my family has always stood out as unusual as everyone gets along well and all love and support each other - right out to the large extended network of aunts, uncles and cousins. No matter what else in my life might have gone right or wrong, I've always had that solid rock of foundation beneath me and that has made all the difference in my life. We remind each other of how lucky we are often and it always amazes new in-laws coming into the clan that there is so much love and easy friendships amongst us all. I don't think I've ever known another family like it. When I read other people's stories about how their mother or their siblings have been so thoughtless and cruel, I just want to cry and hug them. It seems so unfair that people get treated that way.

What saddens me most about this thread is not all the nasty comments that people make or the tactless attempts at compliments that end up just stinging worse than insults, but that for so many people, the put downs come from their immediate family. Family is supposed to love and support you, not humiliate and belittle you. I will be eternally grateful that my parents, brothers, daughter and other relations have loved me and supported me through thick and thin (literally). I love my family.

Good luck Damo!!!

You lost 11lb in one week and you think it should be MORE???? *boggles* How fast do you think you should be losing?

Where are all our Merry Losers? Are we down to just the stalwart few now? This poll has been up for a week and we've only gotten 7 responses (plus Steph's post to come). This is very sad!

Pears (canned, dried or fresh) are another good one. If you are still on (thick) liquids, try the juice. Personally, I eat prunes or dried apricots every day The constipation is caused by a couple of things - firstly, most painkillers will cause severe constipation, especially if taken over a couple of days. Secondly, your digestive system is used to much more "bulk" to work with and doesn't quite recognise that when it needs to move things along, because it doesn't know it is full yet. It takes a little time for it to adjust, but it will. Thirdly, if you are in the liquids phase, you're probably not taking in much fibre at all. You can help this with the juices - prune, fig, apricot or pear. When you switch to solids, try to get in one or the other in fresh or dried form every day and you shouldn't have a problem.

Hang in there Sunwyse. The first few weeks post-banding is a very emotional time, when you come to terms with having really "done this to yourself". Roll with the punches, try not to let things get to you and it WILL get better! Feel free to PM me if you need to vent about anything.

It looks different to me, at least I don't remember those flowers before. Maybe you just need to clear your cache to see the changes show up on your screen?

Oh... well sorry about the bad advice. At least my theory about the vaseline providing a seal was sound. I guess I was figuring that you would do that from a state of having gotten rid of the last UTI, so sealing out new bacteria from entering. I didn't think about the residual bacterias that might be sealed inside. Good luck and I hope you find the answer, Denise!

This is by far the most common query that newbie bandsters have. I had it and didn't know the answer at the time. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it and asked my doctor about it, and I think this is a sound explanation for what is going on inside of you. Don't let it get to you - it IS temporary! Most of all, don't let it cause you to give up!! ****************************************** It is highly likely that you will hit a plateau or regain a few pounds in in the weeks after the op. My theory on this is: * In the pre-op weeks, we saw big numbers as weight loss because we had switched from a solid to a liquid diet and most of the loss was not fat but simply emptying the digestive system. At any point in time on a normal eating regime, an average person will have 10-15lb of food in various stages of digestion in their alimentary canal. Us fatties probably had 20+! Real fat loss at that stage is probably only 2-5lb, the rest is fluids and undigested food. However, we believe the big numbers and get disappointed when they don't continue. * During the operation, they put you on an IV saline drip, which boosts your Fluid levels and Water weighs MUCH more than fat. This can take several days to a couple of weeks to get out of your system (see next point). * The internal swelling from the operation all contributes to fluid retention, which is boosted by the IV drip. Until the swelling goes down, you're going to hold onto that fluid. * As the swelling goes down, you start to move from liquids to mushies to solids. You will probably notice that you don't poop for quite some time post-op, which is a combination of the constipation-causing painkillers, the fact that you are eating MUCH less in volume, and that you are now re-filling your digestive system from it's previously completely empty state. This means that as you lose fluid weight, you are regaining solid food weight, and all the actual fat loss is disguised by those two. Some people will retain more fluid, especially if they're eating salty canned Soups (I know I did!), so they will see a gain. Others will lose more fluid than they are gaining in food weight, so they will see a slight loss. For others it will be equal or will go up and down day by day. In the meantime, in the background, I believe that if we stick to the diet plans, we are still losing real fat at the steady rate of 2-3lb a week - we just can't see it and judge it accurately because there are too many other influences. Once you get back to solid foods, a "normally full" digestive tract and get rid of the extra fluids, your scales will be much more accurate and should be showing a steady loss of 1-2lb per week.

Here it is: It is highly likely that you will hit a plateau or regain a few pounds in in the weeks after the op. My theory on this is: * In the pre-op weeks, we saw big numbers as weight loss because we had switched from a solid to a liquid diet and most of the loss was not fat but simply emptying the digestive system. At any point in time on a normal eating regime, an average person will have 10-15lb of food in various stages of digestion in their alimentary canal. Us fatties probably had 20+! Real fat loss at that stage is probably only 2-5lb, the rest is fluids and undigested food. However, we believe the big numbers and get disappointed when they don't continue. * During the operation, they put you on an IV saline drip, which boosts your Fluid levels and Water weighs MUCH more than fat. This can take several days to a couple of weeks to get out of your system (see next point). * The internal swelling from the operation all contributes to fluid retention, which is boosted by the IV drip. Until the swelling goes down, you're going to hold onto that fluid. * As the swelling goes down, you start to move from liquids to mushies to solids. You will probably notice that you don't poop for quite some time post-op, which is a combination of the constipation-causing painkillers, the fact that you are eating MUCH less in volume, and that you are now re-filling your digestive system from it's previously completely empty state. This means that as you lose fluid weight, you are regaining solid food weight, and all the actual fat loss is disguised by those two. Some people will retain more fluid, especially if they're eating salty canned Soups (I know I did!), so they will see a gain. Others will lose more fluid than they are gaining in food weight, so they will see a slight loss. For others it will be equal or will go up and down day by day. In the meantime, in the background, I believe that if we stick to the diet plans, we are still losing real fat at the steady rate of 2-3lb a week - we just can't see it and judge it accurately because there are too many other influences. Once you get back to solid foods, a "normally full" digestive tract and get rid of the extra fluids, your scales will be much more accurate and should be showing a steady loss of 1-2lb per week.

I think that was me, Sunwyse, and I'm going to go find it, copy/paste it here and put it in the post-op forum as a new thread as well, as this is by far the most common query that new bandsters have in their post-op period. I wish the doctors would warn us to expect this, so that people wouldn't get the 3 week post-op blues about it.

Hey Alex, someone in the Powder Room mentioned that the Powder Room topics are showing up on the Home Page, since the re-design. You might want to look into that before the prudes around here get their knickers in another knot about our frank and open discussions.

LOL! Some things are true the world over!

Just look at how that shirt is hanging in folds down from your boobs, instead of clinging around the tummy now - this is a really noticeable difference. You need to get some better fitting clothes now, to show off the new waistline! Also, to add to other's comments, no-one seemed to notice my weight loss for the first 25kg!! Yet, in the next 5kg, everyone was commenting and I can really see the difference in the last 7kg... Funny how that works out...

ABSOLUTELY!! Look at how much flatter your stomach is! And the love handles on the hips have gone. You're doing great, Blocka!

Not the same date, but the same doctor. He's great - bit brusque in bedside manner but very straightforward and highly skilled. Good luck with everything!

Greek yogurt goes well with savoury stuff - try grating up a little cucumber (skin and all) to put in it and making your own cucumber dipping sauce. Serve with sliced fresh salad veges (carrot, celery, capsicum) and you have lunch! YUM!

LOL! Jachut, if I ever make it into your part of the country, we're gonna have to "do lunch". Our tastes are so similar!

Being an Aussie, we don't get the heavy emphasis on Protein that the US doctors seem to favour. Most of our doctors recommend a balanced diet of all food groups. I love this because I would miss my veges!! I tend to minimise the really starchy (high carb) vegetables like potato, sweet potato and corn but I don't avoid them altogether. I DON'T touch chips or fries. I've gotten really into buying the gourmet baby potatoes and one of those boiled is quite enough for me, along with my greens and lean meats. I eat my fill of all other vege types - love broccoli, green Beans, zucchini, squash, etc for dinner. I have a salad for lunch almost every day, which consists of sliced cucumber, carrots, celery, red capsicum (sweet pepper), snow peas, beetroot & unsweetened pineapple, with a scoop of mixed nuts & dried fruit and 2 oz of cheese.

ROFL! Well you should have known you'd only have to ask around in here, and someone will draw you a map! :thumbup:

LOL! All kudos to Alex for his hard work and all, but that button is part of the standard software and has been there all along :thumbup:.

Ok ladies, twist my rubber arm (here let me help you). I think he's utterly gorgeous (that smile kills me) and he is a lot of fun. We have heaps of background in common - he was a high school English teacher for many years and I did my initial university training in that field 25 years ago. We have favourite authors in common, lots of things we both like to do, eg fishing, camping, etc. He currently plays in two band for fun - a bluegrass band and an electric band playing 80's style rock & roll. I heard him sing for the first time last weekend and OMG *swoons* he's really good! It didn't hurt that he sang one of my favourite songs too and nailed it. All of this, plus he is kinky as hell (as am I :smile2:) and quite possibly the sexiest man I've ever met. Most definitely the most skilled, if you know what I mean :thumbup:. He knows all about the band and the weight loss, and has been so wonderfully supportive. He's really fit but doesn't seem to mind that I am still quite a way from goal - he says he "sees the determination in my eyes and really admires that". He doesn't get pushy about exercise or anything - just does things like suggest "why don't we go for a nice walk" after dinner or makes plans for picnics in the hills and we go looking at the wildflowers (which are spectacular in Perth this year). I'm having a hard time believing that anyone this wonderful could be seriously interested in me, but he has been the one to push the "let's get serious" aspect and seems really keen. We both just seem to be in the perfect place in our lives to really make something work together. It's been a whirlwind rush but we are already starting to make long term plans for doing things together, so I have to believe it. Don't anyone pinch me because if this is a dream, I don't want to wake up!!