Jachut

Personally, I think its both. We all know its possible to lose weight without a lapband simply with willpower. restriction takes the willpower bit away to some degree, but the behaviour modification sitll have to come from you. I think however that we must be realistic about what the band is doing - even unfilled. Overtime, nearly everyone will require some fill to keep the weight coming off. And statistically, behaviour modification or not, nearly every single person that loses their band regains their weight over time. It just is. So I am thankful for my band, I dont abuse it by making it over tight, I work hard on behaviour changes, but I hate to say that even after six years, behaviour modification isnt the whole answer. I had to have my band ufnilled for over six months - I didnt gain but I hung on by the skin of my teeth. I was able to stick to heatlhy foods and not go wild on McDonalds but the portion sizes increased, hunger increased, etc. And my body, that is now used to eating small amounts and running on under 1500 calories, now cannot cope with normal person amounts of foods - the 2000 or so I am *supposed* to be able to eat at my height, weight, level of activity - I cant. I am now forever dependent on my band because I cant afford to eat more than 1500 a day. And that's from someone who practiced behaviour modification - I ran, I did bootcamp (well I still run and do bootcamp), I ate good foods from all food groups and worked hard to shed the dieting mentality, I cut out counting, weighing, measuring and learned to listent o my body. Works well with the band - without the restriction fronm the band, my body tells me it needs more than it does. I dont mean to be negative, this is a very positive post and everyone is on the right track. But we need these bands and eventually most of us need fills too.

Aw shucks. I just think you need to treat obesity like a chronic disease. I've reflected a bit on this lately when my oncologist told me that although we had such a great surgical result, I'm not cured, I will always be in remission. Obesity is the same. I feel like over the past six years I've had periods of remission and periods where I've fallen ill again - although these periods dont necessarily correlate with having lost or gained weight. For a good year or two, I ate what I wanted, when i wanted, most of that was healthy, I maintained fairly easily. I had some little lapses, got back on the wagon, lost the 4 or 5lb and went on my way. Getting cancer has thrown me for six, I was SO afraid of losing my band, of losing my fitness, I went completely over the top. I forced myself to run ten days after a major surgery, I restricted what I ate, I worked so hard I actually lost 8kg whilst unfilled, although a lot of that was probably just the strain of the treatment on my body. I was definitely indulging in anorexic thought patterns and behaviour. Of course as chemo finished, I was cancer free, the ileostomy (which quite literally was draining the life out of me, I cant see how anyone could be fat with a stoma) was gone, my body returned to health and that sick weight loss was regained. But its doing my head in. I am unhappy being 140lb again - for pete's sake I"m 5ft 10, I know how ridiculous this is. I am obsessed with one particular pair of jeans, I need to stay in them, but they're tiny. I could just buy a bigger pair (but they were $300). So to my way of thinking, I have defintiely relapsed. I am in no way fat, I'm still very close to the bottom of my healthy weight range. I eat healthy and exercise, but its not healthy behaviour at the moment. I have a fair amount of work to do to bring myself back to a sensible and sane relationship with food and exercise. For me that involves 3 meals a day of whatever I want, restrict nothing except for portions, exercise moderately and STAY OFF THE SCALES! This works for me but it takes time. By not weighing I learn to listen to my body again and not get involved in that how much weight did I just gain by drinking a cup of coffee type behaviour. I dont necessarily think any of this requires therapy for any one of us - as long as you can recognise your own dysfunctional thoughts and behaviour patterns and correct when you go off course. Of course it can be helpful to some people but I"m way t0o private/stubborn/sure I'm right to develop a productive relationship with a therapist. . I'm fairly sure as I get my life back on track post cancer (Hey! I got a teaching position for next year at a GREAT school) my relationship with my body and food will improve again. You can spend too much time inside your own headspace I think, you need to focus outwards rather than inwards sometimes. Then I'll be back in remission from obesity. that's my way of looking at it anyway.

Funnily enough, even though I dont have problems in general with bread - Subway bread - ugh. I can get some of it down but its a very risky food for me. Doughy breads are definitely harder. I watched my son down a foot long and was gobsmacked, I cant fathom anymore how somebody could eat SO much in a sitting, let alone so much bread. Do you really love Subway? I just dont get why people like it, but we all have different tastes. I really really want a meat pie today (an Aussie delicacy) and I know they're full of lips and assholes rather than identifiable meat!

Well, she's wrong! Where do these people get off really, frightening folk with supposedly black and white facts when in reality they dont know what they're talking about? There is nothing I cant eat if I really want to eat it. I dont eat celery because who really wants to eat something tasteless that leaves a bunch of wooly fibre in their mouth? But I can eat it, I did so the other day off a dip plate. I can eat ALL the foods you've listed. Every now and then something will get stuck and make me pb, but its a different food every time, and usually user error when I've scarfed something without taking my time to concentrate and slow down. Of course, its possible that one or two of those foods wont work for you, or you'll find others you cant really eat. Any doctor or nutritionist should warn you of the common ones - bread, Pasta, rice, red meat - but nobody should tell you that with certainty! For what its worth, there's also no right way to eat to lose weight. Plenty of low carbers here, they've done great. There's also plenty of the eat what you want just in small portions tribe and they've done great too! Its even possible to lose over 100lb and keep it off without ever drinking a single Protein shake! Some people exercise and lose lots, some people do no exercise and do great and some people eat under 1000 calories and exercise with dedication and stills truggle to lose. You need to find what works for you, and dont listen to anyone who tells you you must do it in a particular way.

I dont think it does. I'm thrilled with what I've achieved on that score, but I'm a dieter and always will be. I refuse to log, count etc because it makes it worse but I cant give up always trying to lose a bit of weight. I lost 8kg when I was having chemo, I was underweight and loved it. I've regained 5. I shoudl be happy, its healthy regain that I needed. But I cant stop myself from trying to lose it. I dont think you ever really get over being fat. I've done my best and my life is much better and I'm much less afraid of food than I was. I exercise becuase I love it and I love the way that it makes me feel and not to lose weight. I maintain a normal weight, even if I"m not a supermodel (I'm a perfectionist, nothing is ever good enough for me). I've learned to accept that as a big achievement and be proud of it. but will I ever be an effortlessly thin, totally normal person with a healthy relationship with food? I suspect not.

Very long thread..... was that pun intended Elcee

I didnt say it was healthy to starve, I merely stated that if you dont eat, you lose weight and eventually starve. I'm also no fan of eating below 1000 calories a day becuase you'll fight to be well nourished and keep lean muscle on your body. They question was do you believe in starvation mode, not what is the healthiest way to lose weight. But I've also never claimed my opinions should be gospel - they're just my opinions . I also believe low carb diets are nonsense and Protein shakes arent necessary. I think running is the bomb and everyone should do it. I think a lot of things that people are welcome to agree or disagree with.

I wouldnt feel compelled to say anything. My band doesnt stop me doing anything, I've never had any issues drinking and I agree, if by some slim chance I should keel over and be transported by ambulance to hospital, they're goign to contact your next of kin, who DOES know. The trainer is hardly going in the ambulance with you and they're not likely to try to give you and endoscopy at the gym, so there's no particular safety in your trainer knowing. Of course, say somethinig if you feel that way inclined. I like people to know so they dont think I"m some superhuman freak of amazing willpower. Its a positive story, a tool/surgery that can help people who think they're in a hopeless situation and if I think it will help someone I speak up.

I've had a CAT scan when I was diagnosed with rectal cancer. I drank the stuff, but it didnt make it all the way through my digestive system. The scan was clear enough anyway, but not as clear as it would have been with the contrast. I'm going in for my one year follow up CAT scan in November, when I rang to book I explained what happened last time. I simply have to fast for 12 hours instead of two, so that my system is pretty clear and it can get all the way through with nothing to hold it up. And I'm going an hour earlier to allow a bit more time. Interestingly they found the results hard to read because I'm not fat enough! There's no fat separating my organs, they all blend together in the scan. They found the rectal tumour during a colonoscopy so they were able to see it, but I have a uterine fibroid I didnt know about on the back wall of my uterous, back to back with where the tumour was, and because they couldnt see any space between my rectum and my uterus, they thought it was a huge,very advanced mass. It was bad enough, but thankfully it wasnt as big as a grapefruit! In a heavier person, there's fat layers that separate the organs and you can see more clearly apparently. I also had two MRI's, no problems there, and radiation and chemo, again no problems. Two surgeries no problems either. Colonoscopy preps are the hardest bit, I cant down that awful stuff in a gulp but have to sip sip sip.

I've never been able to eat bananas or cold hard boiled eggs without this happening. Occasionally it would happen when I really scarfed down McDonalds too.

I've never been able to eat bananas or cold hard boiled eggs without this happening. Occasionally it would happen when I really scarfed down McDonalds too.

What does it say about me that I got it instantly? She means can you, ah, swallow? In my opinion, its best to avoid it forever, just in case. I explained to my husband that it was very very dangerous to have oral sex once the band was placed. And anyway I've been married 20 years and I got a big diamond ring a few years back so i shouldnt have to anymore :lol:. And last I checked, lying on my back going through my shopping list and wondering whether I put the washing in the dryer didnt bother my band at all. My poor DH. He'd say I'm always joking at his expense and he's right. Only I'm not completely joking, lol.

Well I just assumed that you threw up the lasagne. Pbing is productive burping, which is the food exiting the system. Some people can do it nicely, like a baby regurgitating. But my head spins round and I make a lot of noise. But even major pain and sliming (where you get a lot of saliva) is very dangerous for your band, particularly this early in. Its good that you're back to all liquids.

Myth. Eat little enough for long enough and you will lose weight. The less you eat the more weight you lose. Plateaus are not a reason to eat more. You just have to keep on keeping on and eventually they break. Otherwise people would never starve to death! Have you ever noticed that people who dont eat a lot arent fat?

Not generally. I get appropriately hungry - at mealtimes when I havent eaten for hours.

This is one of those times you're just going to have to see how you go. I'm sure your friend will understand. You just cant predict how good (or bad) you're going to feel. However, I did go for a walk of a couple of miles the day after my lapband surgery. And I had major abdominal surgery (eight hours worth) last november and made it to my grade six class's graduation ceremony four days later. Only for an hour or two and not for the dinner, but I got up and spoke and I was there. It was fine.

Absolutely nothing. I gave up dieting and ate what I wanted in moderation, three meals a day with portion control provided by my band. I ignored all the current "wisdom" (fads more like it) about calorie counting, carb counting, high Protein, calorie cycling, five meals a day insanity. I gave up nothing, but I rebalanced my diet. I still eat junk, just less of it. I began running. I did loads of cardio and a little body weight type strength training at bootcamp, I do body pump when I feel like it, a spin class if I fancy, whatever I feel like doing. I ignored all the current "wisdom" about strength training versus cardio, that running wastes your muscles and makes you skinny fat (pigs arse!), that you should only do interval training, that the elliptical will burn seventeen gajillion calories in only a minute, that you should only train in the fat burning heart rate zone. I'm just more active. Sometimes its more intense than others - occasionally I truly feel like sprinting! I particularly ignored all the hype and, pardon the french, bullshit to do with Protein shakes, bars, supplements, having this bar before a workout and that shake exactly seventeen minutes and forty seconds after, not one second more or less or it wont work. Wow - when I type it like that, I just eat and exercise like a normal person. Whodathunk it?

Do I detect some sarcasm? I've tested the limits of my band, for sure. I can say hand on heart I've never done the "I wonder what will happen if I eat this" kind of testing, but unintentionally I've overeaten and thrown up on quite a few occasions. None of us ever said we were perfect or indicated that you should be but come on - six days? Its worthy of comment because of the danger of what you're doing, not because some of us want to sound morally superior. It took me a whole year to have my first pb, you've done it after less than a week - sorry, but you're placing the success of your band AND your health at quite a risk. However, I think the newer bands are much more problematic. They may have less risk of slippage long term, but they seem to make the post op periods WAY harder than the older bands. I had superb restriction for about 12 weeks after surgery with my 4cc band - wasnt ever hungry, didnt think about food. It was easy for me. And I was full of new motivation. I find it so strange that gettign to the point of needing and having weight loss surgery isnt enough to get people even through a couple of weeks of hard core dieting. But perhaps that's just me.

Ooh, thanks for the recipe link, I'm going to make the kids chicken enchiladas for dinner tonight! To the OP, I think you might just need to SLOW DOWN. You need to control how fast you eat, perhaps reduce the size of what you consider a "meal" (It took me at least 12 months to believe I'd be satisfied by what was on my plate, before that I overserved myself every single time). Put what you think you'll eat on the plate and then take some away! Really really work on getting that meal down without scarfing it quickly. Its only if you can do that that you can really judge just how tight your band is. But personally, I find that unless I can get a proper meal in - and keep my band loose enough to do so - it doesnt matter how tight I am, I will go back to the chips, dips, Cookies and ice cream within an hour or two of the meal. Eating proper meals is SO important. If you've slowed down and you still cant eat a proper meal, you need some fill out. There is no level of tightness that will prvent eating bad foods like chips, it just wont work to get tighter and tighter thinking it will stop you doing this. Its why I dont snack. If I plan to snack, I eat less at mealtime to allow the calories and then I go all day without a single satisfying meal, they're all too small and after a day or two the cravings set in big time.

Its quite normal after a surgery on your digestive system, to a more or lesser degree, I mean with banding, your GI tract hasnt actually been opened up. I've had two major intestinal surgeries in the past year and the gas was terrible, I looked nine months pregnant I was so swollen and uncomfortable with it, but I didnt have it after banding. What's helped me - first off you've just got to let it out when it wants to come out, hard as that is but my surgeries have left me with much less colon so I've had continuing gas problems once past the surgical gas stuff - I take peppermint capsules and drink a cup of peppermint tea before every meal - works fantastically. I have to keep to tiny meals, which you will also be doing I guess. It really helps me to digest what I eat without the gurgles.

If you cant bend down, its probably surgical pain. I'm surprised too at what your eating and very surprised that you actually can eat it! Just to be contrart, i feel full the same way i always did, with chest discomfort if i really overdo it.

Well...... every day I guess. I mean, I've worked hard on not seeing foods as "good" or "bad" and if I want a hotdog for lunch, I have it and I dont consider it cheating or a treat. However, that's not as easy as it sounds, becuase I did have to work long and hard to get to the point where I didnt want a hotdog every day. This happened somewhat naturally with the band - hamburgers, fries, hotdogs, cake, muffins, anything too bready, they're all really difficult to eat with the band for a lot of people - I can eat them, but even for me, they are tough to chew and swallow, lead to multiple moments of discomfort during the eating, fill me up to the point of discomfort and if not eaten carefully make me vomit. Appetising, huh? Over time, you just dont really fancy those things anymore. Just the very occasional "wow, I feel like a hotdog, think I'll have one". My taste has changed to much easier, and luckily healthier foods. Cookies, wow, wish I couldnt eat those easily. Those for me are a specific "treat" which I will only have once in a while, certainly not every time I think of it. They're something I overeat every time, there's no such thing as one for me, if I'm going to eat them, its going to be major calorie damage, which is fine, but just not very often. I dont schedule a day or meal for treating/cheating. That's dieting behaviour, I left that behind forever. I'm of the firm belief and my body seems to believe it as well - that all that matters really is calories - weight wise that is. I want to be healthy and fit too so I eat well for that reason.

I tend to get majorly off track when I try to diet. This year has been hard, I was sick, having chemo and I got right down to 130lb (I'm 5ft 10). Being as dysfunctional as I am, sigh, I loved being officially "underweight". I was so happy the day I saw 59kg on my scales. OK, so I'd lost half my colon, had an ileostomy and was majorly dehydrated with severe diarrhoea, but dammit, I was officially SKINNY. I was unfilled at the time too, I worked SO hard to keep that weight. But as nature tends to dictate, I got better. Chemo finished, my body returned to health and a little (healthy) weight crept back, I got back to 140lb. I panicked. I began to diet very strictly. Dieting never ever ever works for me. I even gained a pound or two more and my old cycle of binging/starving has returned. Eat too little and only "good" foods, restrict fat, exercise a bit too much and sooner or later your body cries out in protest and you begin to lose the willpower, cave in to chocolate cravings and such. Through this time I've been completely refilled and it still hasnt helped. The answer to me, and I've done it this past week is to STOP dieting. Accept the weight gain, stop trying to lose it in a week, just take a moment, a deep breath and start eating normally. Enough at one meal to get you through to the next. Eat raw vegies, sure, but not as your sole source of nutrition. Say no to anything between meals, but anything goes for a meal - if I want a hotdog, I have it. That squashes the annoying nibble cravings - the Cookies, chocolate chips. It works for me. I am staying off the scales for a couple of weeks because when I dont see instant results I tend to go off the rails again. I'm back to just running rather than gym for a couple of weeks - long distance running for my body cuts fat incredibly well, weights and gym dont work nearly as well for me.

Lol, I agree, I hate the feeling of wearing them, likening it to punishment for being fat makes me giggle. I figure if something I want to wear shows rolls and jiggles, then I'm probably too old to wear it, sigh. To me shapewear is for that once in a blue moon really special dress and not for everyday. I have this annoying roll of back fat, a muffin top, its bizarre. Perfectly flat stomach, never hangs over my jeans but the back fat does. Solution - jeans that fit and dont squeeze the fat, not shapewear to squeeze into a pair of jeans a size too small. Although I do have a couple of tanks and I can wear those comfortably - under a really fitted Tshirt, they smooth EVERY body, not just cuddlier people - seeing your navel through a tshirt is never a really good look. Sadly though, they are never going to actually improve loose skin, they just camouflage.

I'd take your doctors advice as to the timing of it, but if you've got a huge liver and have had gallbladder problems, its a pretty good bet that your obesity is behind it. These are clear signs of the effect obesity is having on your health and you can bet your bottom dollar that there's other problems brewing away. Your heart disease risk, your cancer risk, it'll all be well elevated. So I'd still definitely plan on doing the surgery, its just a matter of when. And you know that since your liver is already enlarged, that pre op diet is very very important to shrink it. Its depressing but take it as a sign of how much good you are going to do for yourself and use it for motivation.