Jachut

Oooooooh, it looks painful at the end there,lol! Well done, an incredible achievement and something most people will never do!

I think genetics is a big factor, its the same with blood pressure. I mean that guy did the twinkie diet, and lost 27lb eating 1800 calories of pure crap per day and his numbers all impoved with weight loss. But like your cholesterol, my DH's blood pressure has not come down at all with a 70lb weight loss. that said, for a lot of people, a high Protein diet is not good for them if it includes too many animal products and saturated fat. Just like a diet full of sugar and white carbs can worsen cholesterol. You'll have to try to source more of your protein from non animal sources as well as choose sensible animal sources - fish, lean chicken, and occaisonal lean red meat - stay away from cheese, eggs, deli meants, full fat dairy etc. Protein shakes are a good source of non animal protein. For the record, I eat a higher carb diet, not for any reason than I like it and I've lost weight easily enough and I have no desire to live a life without bread, rice and Pasta. I dont eat a lot of things like that, but I havent cut them out. I dont count protein, I've never drunk protein shakes and I dont eat a huge amount of meat, eggs or cheese. I've lost weight with no trouble - got to a BMI if 19 - and I've kept it off for four years now. So you can eat a diet to manage your cholesterol and still lose weight,

You have to like what you're doing at least somewhat. I mean, I have stopped kidding myself that I will EVER go to the gym and lift weights. Its just not going to happen. But I do love running. What I love about running: - you can set goals. Distances, times, fun runs, small goals (5K) big goals (half marathons). You can measure your improvement, you can do it in different places. And it was just a goal of mine. I never ever get over the kick of being able to say "I am a runner". To me, it was the ultimate of what losing weight is all about. And on that note - its about focussing and enjoying the outcome, perhaps even more so than the process. I plan to do a hard interval run on my treadmill tonight. I dont really "want to" per se, but I know I will and once I get going I will feel awesome about what I am doing and when I am finished I will feel GREAT. And I have accepted that its what I have to do to have the body I want. I look around the workplace, there's a few of us women between 40 and 55 and nobody is really obese but everyone has softened into middle age, and has big tummies and large breasts and thighs that want covering. They all sit at lunch in the staffroom with healthy lunches, salads, fruit and yogurt, rice cakes and avocado. Nobody eats crap. nobody brings chocolate for Snacks, nobody drinks soft drinks. I am the only one who is not fat and looks fit. I have a lapband and I'd say I eat more during the day than half of these people. The difference is my running. I wont ever stop! I've been through early menopause at the age of 43 thanks to chemoradiation and I have none of that typical round the middle weight gain and accelerated body aging. Bone density tests have shown excellent results (they were worried about me what with being only 43 and so thin) - that's thanks to running. I got through it with minimal pain - thanks to running. Anybody that doesnt exercise will live a substandard life as they age, its that simple. It keeps you young. Thin is only a small part it.

Youll be fine if you stick with your same eating routine. I had to be unfilled for nine months, I was definitely hungrier without the fill and wanted to eat more at a sitting, so I filled in the gaps with loads of fruit and salad - which were SO enjoyable as they were difficult foods for me. I didnt gain for six whole months - it started to go on slowly after that, I coudlnt help it, I just slacked off more over time. But I'd actually lost during the first six months and so I've ended up refilled but slightly lighter than when I was unfilled. However - its SO frustrating but I cant find a good fill level now. I was unfilled for a surgery, nothing wrong with my band, I had 3 cc ina 4cc band when unfilled and am now back at 3.4cc and can eat more than I could at 3cc!

I exercise mainly by myself at home - I run outside and on the treadmill, I go to the occasional body pump and spin class, I make token efforts at sandbag training. I am very motivated to run - I love it. I dont need a trainer for that, I even push myself HARD by doing interval training till I virtually fall off the back of the treadmilll. Then I front up again next day for more. But strength training, meh. I could REALLY use a trainer there, just for motivation. I know what to do I just dont want to do it and when I do do it, I often am half arsed about it and dont put in a lot of effort. I could get stupendous results with a trainer. But I cant afford one - oh, you can book a personal training session at my gym, but personally, I'm underwhelmed with the knowledge and professionalism at the gym, everyone you see is doing the same useless workout on the same useless equipment, I'm talking about someone who can get me really working with free weights. You know, the $100 a session type. What I did until the trainer unfortunately moved and closed the group down was a great bootcamp for a year. I absolutley loved it and it was small enough for me not to be invisible liek you are in Pump. I got great results from that, and I really miss it. I joined the gym when it finished but am not that into it - I think I'll look for another group. Could you do that? Share with someone or join a small group?

Funny, but also true! I just wouldnt waste my money on a nutritionist - they're not medically qualified the way that a dietician is - and are prone to giving you advice based on THEIR personal beliefs and current fads and fashion. Ditto your doctor - he's a surgeon, not a dietician and what he tells you will be based on what's given clients good results, and what will get the best results for his clinic - so worth listening to, but definitely not gospel. I even went to a dietician recently - I was made to by my colorectal surgeon, who was worried that my weight was too low - and what did I get? A photocopied sheet. No personal consideration, no real discussion about what was and wasnt working with my digestive system since my surgeries, just a photocopied sheet of a low residue diet. I didnt even bother to point out I already had that sheet and had done the diet for six weeks following surgery, and that it wasnt proving effective for solving my issues. Why bother? You dont need a nutritionist to do well with a lapband. We are not idiots, we are perfectly capable of researching various styles of eating/diet and working out what works well for us. There's no magic to it, eat less than you burn and you will lose weight, but for many people, low carb works, and for others its not necessary. Personal trainers are much the same - get a good one that thinks along the same lines you do and they're a great support. But sifting through all the bad ones is quite a job. I wonder what your nutritionist would say about me - I eat bread, rice, Pasta, nuts, chocolate, wine. I eat 3 meals a day, not five. A personal trainer would freak that I do heaps of cardio and not a lot of strenght training. I'm open to trying stuff, but I have and a basic diet that is simply reduced in quantity and a lot of running are what work for me and give me the body I want (which is not a muscular one thank you all the same).

Hey B-52, you're the only other person on here that I've seen talk about cardio coach! I love cardio coach (and My Treadmill Trainer)! As to what I eat , yesterday Breakfast - small bowl of muesli lunch - tuna, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a bit of mayo on thin wholegrain bread afternoon - a cappucino dinner - steak, salad, a glass of wine and a few pieces of chocolate after dinner

You shoudl be up and out of bed within a few hours of the surgery - I was made to walk walk walk after a major 8 hour bowel resection last year, sheesh. Its not good for you to lie about. After lapband surgery, I was up within two hours and when I got home the next day I went out and walked a couple of miles - very slowly and gently. If you're trying to get rid of gas, if you can walk about for 20 minutes, half an hour outside, it works better than just moving about inside the house.

Mine is very obvious too - looks like a golf ball, and does show through anything that is fitted and light coloured. i can see the tubing as well.

Start getting fit now!

My advice when it comes to actually fitting into something (which aint necessarily the best advice for long term weight loss) cardio, cardio, cardio and then some MORE cardio. Run miles a day, spend hours on the elliptical, spin till your legs fall off - and make it all interval training, rather than slow and steady stuff. Works amazingly quickly.

Its also possible to gain pounds and not inches. I've regained about 10lb since having chemo and such and I've worked pretty hard in the gym to make sure I improved my muscle - i could tell by the look of my body I lost a lot of lean muscle. I've not gained size at all apart from the hollowness and gauntness in my face and neck.

Wow, that's a hard situation to tolerate. Hopefully as you lose and the band loosens you wont have these pain issues. I understand your desire to stick with the band regardless, I would feel the same. Losing weight was more important than anything for me.

I havent had to give up anything - but those foods listed as not tolerated, whilst I can eat them, they dont appeal to me so much. Its because they are difficult. Its one thing I think you have to watch with a lapband, I almost thing, hmmm what dont I feel like eating and then choose that! Because my tastes for fresh fruit, vegies, wholegrain bread, sushi etc has declined whereas my desire for slices, Cookies, Soups, and other such sliders has increased! Whilst I was unfilled a little while ago, suddenly a large apple seemed the most delicious thing in the world to me. Get filled again and wham, an apple, naaaaah. I ate loads and loads and loads of salad whilst unfilled, now I still eat it but because its good for me, not because I actually want it. We went to a barbecue yesterday and I like and can eat steak but it somehow doesnt appeal, I had a sausage. Now we all know that a small piece of lean steak is going to be way better for you health wise and calorie wise than a fat and rubbish laden sausage, but the sausage was much easier and therefore appealed more. Its a real trap. I can eat sushi but dont want to. Again, whislt I was unfilled, I had a ball with it, had it a couple of times a week, now I dont want it anymore. So you'llprobably find that whatever foods dont work for you, you wont miss them anyway, its easy to give them up. But you have to watch that you dont give up all the healthy stuff and start eating crap - eggs and yogurt and such are good for you, yes, but you need fresh fruit, raw vegies, red meat in your diet too.

I think you do whatever you find works for you! Even if it makes no logical sense. I was very successful with the band and the way people say that they're eating really low calories and not losing and that suddenly they eat a bit more and weight loss starts - I dont know, I find the less I eat/more I exercise, the more weight I lose. Simple, logical, what you'd expect. I wonder, did I find success relatively easy because my body works the way science says it should? Am I lucky that I've got a "normal" metabolism or something? I suspect so. I never dropped anywhere near 600 to 800 though, so I cant really say. Maybe I would have found the same thing if I'd eaten so little. You've got to appreciate true fat loss v weight loss too though. I do find I can drop a little weight wise if I dont exercise for a couple of days. But all that is is Fluid changes in the body - exercise damages your muscles (which is what makes them grow) and they attract a little Water and swell a bit.

On the other hand, to me its NEVER time to stop losing weight, sigh. I really cant see how thin I am until I see a photo. For me, hitting the bottom of my healthy weight range was the sign "enough" and that I shouldnt go any lower. But I did dip a few lbs lower whilst I was sick, and I"m almost ashamed to say, I really liked it. My ideal body type, what I wanted to achieve and what I think looks good - is thin. As long as its healthy. So its up to you. Its entirely personal, and determined by your body type. I've seen people walking around and thought "I wish I could be as curvy and womanly as that", but they are generally people with a body type that is fairly short, but quite muscular, and they can carry a covering of fat that looks amazing - firm and curvy. I'm 5ft 10 tall and built to be skinny - any extra flesh on me does not create curves, it creates unattractive flab. I dont have the muscle to flesh it out. How does one have curvy hips and breasts yet still have firm thighs and a flat stomach? I sure cant, lol. So I go for the elegant clothes horse look. Works for me. I'd suggest take a good look at your body type and be honest. You cant work against it. You cant decide you want to be curvy if you're like me, staying at a size 10 just wont achieve that. Likewise if you're lucky enough to have muscles and shape, you cant decide that you want to be a swimwear model look alike. The healthy body weight range will accomodate both goals.

I find it really motivating to have goal clothes hanging in the wardrobe to try on week by week! I remember one particular pair of jeans that I thought I would never get into, I thought at about 75kg I'd had my run, that was going to be where my weight stayed. I've still got them and they fall off now, quite literally. I didnt just buy indiscriminately, I picked things I really really wanted to wear - its hard to tell with sizes and seasons and where you'll be at what time, so some things I never ended up wearing, but it was motivating just the same.

The strangest things can be hard, often there is no rhyme nor reason to it. I can eat bread - easily at that - but really struggle with yogurt. And pureed fruit is MUCH harder for me than fresh fruit. I can eat a raw carrot but tomato does me in. Its so weird.

I think if you're a snacker, thats fine, it doesnt actually matter when you eat the calories as long as you dont eat too many overall. But personally for me, once I start eating I want a whole meal, lol.

I used to be very scornful of the runners and gym bunnies in technical workout gear - "get over yourself" was what I thought. But I'm all over that stuff now - its so much more comfortable. I could no more go for a run in old trackpants and a big tshirt than I could in stillettos and a cocktail dress. Its such a shame that they dont really make the high quality gear for larger sizes, because I think you need it more than ever. when I was larger, i wore a proper sports crop top - not just a Target one, one with good compression support AND an underwired bra - both for support and the crop would prevent the underwires of the bra chafing on my flabby underarms. I liked a tighter fitting cotton camisole under a tshirt for less jiggle factor, but I always had to wear proper exercise tights. I havent jumped on the compression garment bandwagon, I serioulsy cant bring myself to pay $130 for a pair of running tights, but I always went for technical wicking fabric and good "hold". Nowadays I'm just as comfy in running shorts - but I love the ones with little bike shorts sewn into them. And I cant even wear a Tshirt anymore - too hot! I work too hard to have any sleeves, the less on top the better, although I draw the line at just a crop, urgh, dont want to see that on a 43 year old, lol. It might feel rather exposing to wear tighter exercise gear and it may feel a bit showy too if you're a beginning exerciser but it makes so much difference to your comfort.

100% happy and 100% successful here.

Everyones already said its meant to be forever, but in truth, its likely the balloon part will wear out and youll need a new band - thats what my surgeon says anyhow. As to the port, im five ft ten and a size 8 and yes it sticks out and is very visible. Im getting a bit long in the tooth for a bikini anyhow so it doesnt bother me.

One thing I find hard to fathom is how darn hard it is to lose weight when you're not overweight! You're probably finding similar - you weigh a lot less than you did and it doesnt fall off quite like it did when you were really obese. I've gained a couple of pounds once or twice and had to work VERY hard to get rid of them again, even when I went and had a fill. Exercise is crucial at this stage of weight loss. You must find a way to fit it in - it needs to be fairly intense too. You can do this. Dont let a setback wreck what you have worked so hard for. Its simply a matter of gritting your teeth and getting on with it.

I couldnt agree more. I have to nix snacking, period. That doesnt mean I dont cave in quite often, but I can easily, and I mean easily eat over 2000 calories a day if I snack and pick high calorie slider foods. I gain weight if I do that. So even as someone who has maintained for a long period of time, its keep the fills up, stay in the green zone and dont snack. If you stick to 3 meals, you get to eat well 3 times a day and you wont be hungry. It doesnt mean I dont still want to eat but I just have to use willpower. I succeed often enough that I do maintain my loss.

Every fill took me to a sweet spot, its more that it would wane over time. I ahve an older 4cc band and I had restriction immediately. I've had about 8 fills this year because i had to unfill my band completely for a big surgery and chemotherapy, but before that, a tiny top up fill of 0.1cc or so was all it took - I probably had about six fills in the first year and then a top up every twelve months - you do lose tiny amounts of fluid over time.