Jachut

Hi, I'm from Melbourne.

Sorry guys, I never see these. I havent been on this page for ages.

Um, I'm 5ft 10, yeah, I eat a balanced diet that includes good carbs, I run for about 40 minutes to an hour a day, I find my body responds best to cardio so I do only minimal strength training - mainly some pushups, dips and core work, I loathe hoiking dumbells around. I just love to get out and run!

I was banded almost 4 years ago now and my one goal was to never diet again. So I dont. I dont count anything. I dont really know how many calories I eat, or how many grams of protein. I dont think obsessing about that stuff is all that healthy to be honest, it just keeps you in that good/bad mentality.

Hi Lellow, I've been locked out of here since forever, dont know why. I recovered brilliantly, its worth being fit, they let me out early and I was back running within 10 days. Managing the stoma and bag really well, and only have about six weeks with it to go. Didnt gain any weight with the unfill, dropped to 60 kgs, officially underweight. Slowly regaining a bit now!

I've maintained about 70kg, sometimes its 69, for quite a long time now.

I've definitely noticed though that the effect of the band has lessened, despite top up fills, I'm hungrier than I was although I cannot eat much at a time. So I'm kind of aware that it might get harder to maintain, I keep up my exercise and try to always remain aware of what I am eating. I find if I hit 71kg, that's my trigger, I definitely work to get back to 69 but its VERY hard to shift weight now.

J

I've just posted an album in the photos section of my post weightloss body. sorry, they're headless, lol, as they were for an online plastic surgery consultation - thinking of some lipo just to fine tune. so you can go and have a look at those, they're still on the first page at the moment.

I'll have to scan in some before photos, as I didnt get my first digital camera till after weight loss! And I never took official "BEFORES" so there's no bikini shots or anything, as if!! I'd have run a mile. And I promise to find a recent pic of me WITH a head.

The best thing you can do for yourself exercise wise is lose the self consciousness! My husband is so embarrassed to be seen exercising that he just wont do any (and he's not even more than a few pounds overweight). Good on you for having a go on the treadmill, stick at it and eventually you WILL be really running.

If you injure yourself, you'll be stuck at home doing nothing! So try not to feel embarrassed.

the only other thing I could suggest is that knees are very dependent on good balance between hip and foot muscles, the entire leg works as a unit. Knees are knees, and they do cause problems, but lots of squatting and lunging to build strength in the hips, glutes and thighs, together with lots of stretching of the hip muscles to avoid tightness gives you knees the best chance of not being injured.

I have absolutely no regrets, this was one of the best things I've ever done for myself.

if you're willing to use this as a tool, to put in the work and let the band HELP you to do that, then you're going to be a huge success. That would be my best advice.

Very best of luck with your journey.

Hi Gracie,

yes, I was very lucky but believe me, there's plenty of slack in that skin.

I tried on a really nice bikini the other day, the 14 top was great, but I needed a 16 bottom - anything that bites at all at the hips and i get the worst muffin top, lol.

I'm very thankful not to have an apron but the little bits are really annoying!

I've also got the beginnings of a turkey neck, nice!

There is an Australian Bandster chat thread - try searching it out, I'm not sure how to find the list of forums with this new format. But its pretty quiet, although there is a lot of us out there.

good luck for 18 December,its not far now!

Have only just seen this. Its pretty impossible to give constructive help from the other side of the world, all I would say is see your doctor which you are already doing.

I tend to get suddenly tight in the week before my period but its not consistent month to month, it happens some months, others it doesnt. Or have you had any seemingly minor stuck episodes that may have caused irritation?

Hope you've made it through the weekend OK and that its good news from your doctor.

Hey Juli!

I've got literally 8 weeks to go forever!! All the graduate teaching positions are starting to be advertised now, for next year, and I've so far applied for two, two very local ones.

At the moment I'm exhausted, teaching rounds for the last 4 weeks, so full time work, plus the uni courseload, (another 20 hours a week), 3 kids and DH is away this week at a conference, we've only had a sprained knee and a broken arm, as well as a case of almost-swine flu (lol, just really horrid flu like colds) to deal with. Anybody else feel like they're juggling too many balls?

I'm turning 42 on Saturday and feel about 90, lol. Have only been doing the quickest of runs on the treadmill.

Havent thought much about PS. Probably wont get any. When DH gets his bonus this year, I'd honestly rather spend it on a holiday in Fiji and put our way too small house on the market and buy something bigger.

Firstly, I'm banded not sleeved, and hang out a bit here to keep up with friends! Wasa invited me over. And I guess in this whole journey of weight loss we all have stuff to share.

I lost 100lb and it took me about 2 years, I lost about 70 the first year, 30 the next. Slow and steady for me!

I wish I could just *love* my body, you know? We're all so stuffed in the head after being heavy that its really hard to view yourself realistically. Our sizes in Australia are different, but I'm about a US 8 at 5ft 10, so realistically, I know I'm not "big" but I feel so flabby. I almost wish I had more loose skin so I could justify cutting it off. Then again at 42 and having had 3 babies, I should be proud.

Sometimes i feel that way, sometimes I feel like I have the most enourmous, most wobbly ass in the world! Lol.

Thanks for the nice comments, and good luck with your own journey.

Jacqui

Oh god no, not on the beach today. Its FREEZING in Melbourne and i've stood on a school basketball court (outside) for hours with the grade 5's today!

You're right, thank you so much. I've agonised over this precisely because of what else that money could do and I SHOULD take a photo of the whole of me. I waver on this, one week I focus on all my faults and the next, I realist that no 42 year old mother post weight loss is ever going to look like Miranda Kerr!

At the moment, I am thinking its WAY more likely we'll visit Hawaii and LA with the kids next year!

Hi Jen, Wow, you're looking so pretty in your avatar.

Glad to be of service!

Lol, my biggest tip then is tiny avatar pictures!

You're very kind, thank you. I'm really stoked with how well the band worked for me, I wish it helped everyone as much as it has me.

I run lots and do strength training. I think exercise is very important when you're talking about really getting to a normal weight.

Thanks, congrats to you too! You must be feeling great.

I would imagine your knees will stop you doing much high impact? Walking is probably what you can handle now, but you could add some push ups and dips and circuit style exercises perhaps? Can you handle cycling - such as a spinning class or a boxing class? Swimming perhaps?

Whatever you do, take it easy on your knees. Anything that gets your heart rate up, you can keep up for half an hour or more, and doesnt hurt will work.

if you're eating slowly and chewing well and still pbing regularly, you're probably still too tight. If you have a little bit of fill out, things will settle and you will probably be able to handle more gain later. Its hard to keep the weight loss coming, after about 70lb in the first year, it took me an entire 18 months to lose the other 30. It was really slow.

Once you're eating properly and not eating much, the only thing you can really manipulate is how much you BURN. You cant just eat less and less forever, so you have to start burning more, if you're not already. for me, it took really hardcore exercise like running and circuit training, none of this half an hour on the elliptical or water aerobics stuff, lol. I had to work out till I almost made myself sick, nowadays that's an easy workout for me.

No, no further surgeries. That photo is tiny dont forget, lol, there's a bit of flab there, but I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out. Starting weigth was 250 or so, end weight 154, I'm 5ft 10. I'm an Australian size 12, so that's an 8ish in US sizes I think.

Just hanging out... wasa invited me over to help get thngs started.

sorry about your band, that sucks, but as you'll see from here, everyone seems to be very happy with their revisions.

I just went out one day and tried to run. I staggered 3kms and from then on I was hooked. It really was that easy. I gradually built distance by setting myself goals when I entered fun runs, I never made huge jumps but worked on 1 or 2kms at a time.

I guess I have always enjoyed exercise, I've always been reasonably sporty and enjoyed pretty good fitness despite my weight problems, so it just wasnt that hard for me to make it into part of my lifestyle. My attitude towards it was healthy, I was never thinking "I dont want to do this but I know I have to". One of my most compelling fantasies about losing weight was running and feeling the elation of that runners high again so it was always a positive experience for me.

It really is all in how you approach it. I dont view exercise as physical discomfort, I love to push myself and envision my body growing stronger.

thanks. God, I'm so ooooooooold, sigh.

That's great! Good luck with your journey!

OK, this is an easy one.

Take 2 large leeks, and slice. Wash well, but dont dry, leave the water in them.

Put some olive oil in a pot, and fry up about 1/4 cup of chopped bacon , add the leeks. Stir and then pop the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to medium.

Allow the leeks to just sweat it out for about 20 minutes, till they're soft. The water in them will steam them a bit. Then add about 4 roughly chopped up zucchini (courgettes) and enough vegetable or chicken broth to cover (I make the stock using Vegeta seasoning and boiling water). Simmer it till its all tender and then blend with a hand blender or in a normal blender in batches.

You can freeze some of it at this stage, when ready to eat, stir through some cream, natural yogurt, evaporated milk, whichever you prefer (I like cream, lol).

You can make this as thick or thin as you need depending upon how much stock you add.

I lost 100lb, in about oh, 2 years, but 70 within the first year.