Jachut

On the other hand I choose to beat myself up for a lack of self control and willpower, believing using the term "food addict" to be a major cop out and avoidance of responsibility. I really believe that for me - my bad eating habits stem from laziness, not caring about the consequences of indulgence at a particular point in time, and not being able to say no to overindulging in the wrong foods when the opportunity presents. I mean, do I gorge on lettuce till I feel sick or eat enormous dinners? No. But I gleefully lick the cake bowl until I feel nauseous and then regret it. That's not an addiction, its stupidity. I would hesitate to say there's no such thing as food addiction because I cant speak for others' experiences. But I know in my case and for many others, I'm just a piggy. I dont eat from the rubbish bin or eat til I vomit or truly binge.

The reason you cant get a straight answer is because really, there isnt one. There's no such thing as overeating or undereating on one isolated day at a time, your weight is the sum total of your habits over a long periods of time. And the bald truth is, if you eat less calories than you burn, over a long period of time, you lose weight, end of story. Doesnt matter if you eat carb or dont eat carbs, get 80 grams of Protein a day or not, get 30 grams of fibre or eat a lot or a little fat, or whether you make the deficit up entirely by dieting or by including exercise, if you eat less than you burn for sustained periods of time, you lose weight. In fact, its probably entirely strange for your body when you DO count calories and eat roughly the same every day since in more normal circumstnaces, some days you eat more than others. There's no such thing as a "perfect" calorie level for you.

Statistically, virtually nobody keeps their weight off if they remove their bands. Like you Spoiltmom, I know all about healthy food and like you, I eat less healthy food now I'm banded. It just doesnt appeal. My eating habits have probably gotten WORSE with the band, but I eat less. ive been unfilled for months on end and I know that I can swap to eating more but healthier foods and not gain. Whilst I was unfilled, salads and apples and wholegrain bread all tasted great again. But I can only do it for so long, by the end of six months I was desperate for a fill and starting to lean towards treats like muffins and pizza and mcdonalds. I was beginning to gain. Now, I've been forced to face this very issue. My band never felt the same after being unfilled and I've inadvertanly overfilled it, causing a pouch dilation (which is why I feel less restriction than I would expect) and lately, heartburn which is constant. I see my surgeon in a couple of weeks - I'm pretty sure I'm looking at another unfill - but no idea whether that will be a total unfill plus weeks of liquids (afterall, I might just be tighter right now because of the tummy tuck) or just a slight unfill, which will be no problem at all. I would get another band no questions. My clinic doesnt do the sleeve, but if I stay with them I'm covered for any revision with no out of pocket costs. I've had over six years with this band and it was only the unfortunate cancer diagnosis which disrupted things for me. It has worked so well for me I wouldnt hesitate to repeat the procedure. I'm less afraid of a sleeve than i was, afterall I'm managing all right with half my guts missing as it is, really what's a bit of my stomach? But its just not an option with my surgeon and I'm not sure being so slim that I could convince someone else to do it. So this time around, definitely another band. I would not fool myself for a minute that I could maintain this weight without something. I doubt I'd get as fat as I was, purely because of the amount of exercise I do, but I like being how I am now and dont want to change.

Well, you wont know till you try it, but it depends a bit on what your ideal weight (rather than your goal) is. I mean, if its 150lb or so, then you've got tons more to lose and your body will probably respond. It also depends a lot on how tight you already are. I've been down this road, getting tighter and tighter in the hopes of losing when you're already thin does not work. But you must have some to lose at 240, and if you're not already in the green zone, then a fill is definitely the way to go.

It takes a lot of guts (pardon the pun) to just get out there and do it, i used to run only once it got dark. But today i umpired three games of netball for interschool sports. Imgine how merciless 11 year old girls would be to a fat teacher huffing and puffing up and down a netball court trying to keep up with th game, but no, I am the "cool" teacher, even the "pretty" teacher. The reward for being brave and getting out ther is, eventually, huge!

Im 5ft 10 and 140lb, an aussie 12, which is about an 8 in your sizes

Ive just come off Iron pills and i will bet in four months when i see my oncologist i will be on them again. Now im aware of it, i realise i dont eat enough iron rich foods because my portion sizes are too small. The pills messed with my surgically altered bowels so badly i will opt for infusions next time, no question.

I agree, it can't just be gone. If it had slipped, they would still see it! I'd say the interpretation of the results is questionable. I know how you feel though, I had a perfectly functioning band that has never been the same since I unfilled it for another surgery - my colorectal surgeon insisted I unfill for the bowel resection and my lap band surgeon a year later said, oh no, we don't insist people unfill for surgeries unless they know they have problems with anesthetic because it often causes more problems than it prevents. Grrrrr.

Any sort of regular vomiting/inability to eat solids calls for an unfill - which may only have to be tiny. Of course any inability to drink is serious. And if you really and truly cannot eat any more than a couple of hundred calories a day, whether you're vomiting or not, you cant go on like that long term. Any sign of heartburn and reflux generally means overtightness too. Its a hard call to unfill. I really need to. I have a slight pouch dilation which my doctor was happy to just watch and see how it went, but I've started getting heartburn (particularly when I"m hungry) over the past month. We know that my band is tight but I wasnt feeling it because of the larger pouch, and that's a danger, no alarm bells ringing. I dont want to unfill, really dont want to but the stupid thing is, I know from past experience, that I will eat BETTER and probably lose weight and that the adjustment will only have to be tiny. I'm not vomiting, having no trouble eating things like bread, but it just doesnt feel "right" to me. I have a lovely new tummy after my tummy tuck, the last thing I want to do is scar it up again from a revision surgery! Unfilling is important because overtightness can lead to slippage and damage to your esophagus.

I've had my band since 2005, its coming up for seven years. I lost 130% of my excess weight and have kept it off, no real problems. What do you want to know? Ask away.

On the contrary, like Jean says, coming here is beneficial to me. Its certainly a good reminder not to ignore symptoms like heartburn and the enthusiasm and optimism of people just starting out is contageous.

Oh, wow, I will really miss Shirley. She was always so positive and determined. How awful for her family.

I went though chemo, radiation and two surgeries my band in place, but id already been banded five years when cancer struck. I had 5 FU and had three bowel obstructions during treatment, got skinny as hell, had a horrible menopause anxtreme anxiety and drpression. To be honest, for m theres no way I would gave added another surgery to my circumstances, i would say wait but if youre feeling physically and emotionlly strong, itd be possible to do. I might add though, i unfilled my and and it has never been quite right since.

I would assume you have a fairly low residue diet? No raw fruit and veg, no skins, avoid nuts, wholegrains, seeds, stick to oatmeal, white bread and rice etc. I was on my phone the other day when i responded to your post, i cant type on that thing, but the typical bandster diet might be hard for you. I need those and Pasta items, thy are bulking foods which slow down transit, absorb Water from the intestines, and give bulk to the stool to relieve diarrhoea and urgency and for me with no holding tank, they make the stool big and bulky enough that i can push it out, otherwise i go twenty times a day to oass ellets. The right diet also relieves that awful feeling tat you need to go when you dont or that you arent quite done when you are. On top of this. i also take a lot of metamucil to assist this. The band makes all that a bit hard - but i never did low carb and i lst weight just fine. Protein shkes and such always gave me belly rumbles and foul gas, ten times worse now, too rich for my system. I dont have flare ups like ypu do but chemo and radiation have left me very sensitive and a fairly bland diet is what i need. But it asnt affected my weight at all. On a good note like i said, little and often is how you should eat if youve got gut issues and the band akes this very eady, p,us what you swallow is well chewed (always the key to good digestion) and hits your system gradually.

Vegies? Fruit?

Obviously you survived the preop diet, lol

Kind of, I lozt my rectum and some colon due to cancer in 2010 when I was five years banded. I had an ileostomy for nine months and reversed that last july. It takes up to two years to normaluse, I have a long way still to go, swinging between diarrhoea and.co.stipation and a whole lotta other issues. The band helps in that I dont overload my system with too much food at a time but I also need a lot of soluble fibre to keep ghings going and I dont eat enough and have trouble getting metamucil or plain psyllium down, but those bulk forming agents are what I need.

Bellies in particular, many women already have a lot of loose skin from oregnancies but it is hidden by their obesity. If youve ever seen a very thin patient with anging skin, its JUST skin. Most people have a lot of fat too, but its those stubborn deposits that wont budge. But i dont think you can truly judge till youre at goal (not that you shouldnt do something about it before then if uou can/ want to ). I thought i had a real problem with loose skin under my arms and around the bra line and that all went away. I lso thought if i got thin enough my wobbly bottom would have to go but my BMI dipped to 19 and I still had a wobbly and saggy butt.

Ive just reread his entire thing. Some of it was a long time ago! Im pissing myself laughing, my god i was a self righteous ****! I still believe protein shakes are crap food but why on earth did i care so much what others ate or did? And what was i doing that i had all this time to pissfart around on the internet spreading my gospel? Lol!

I had a tummy tuck four weeks ago, its really not a painful as youd expect. Here, its an operation they keep you in hospital or four nights, so i had pain relief, hospital bed, meals brought to me which made it heaps easier. I needed no pain meds from day three. What it does d o is slow you up. I admit my daily routine is pretty full on, i work on my feet full time as a teacher, i play taxi to three kids, hubby doesnt walk in the door ill 8pm so I do all te cleaning and cooking, i run, do spin classes and there is no way i am up to full speed yet. Im not in pain but i swell up, then cant walk upright and theres just no way i could run yet. I went back to work today and it was fine but im swollen and hunched over now.

Yes, from my doctors. Yet, im a teacher and today we got our school photos back, there me in the stff photo, just a face in the crowd, not big, not small, just normal. Ithink it freaks people whn they have known you heavy.

Going back to ork tomorrow at four weeks. Every day ive woken up hoping to feel lots better and every day has been the same. Theres not a lot of pain, not at all but tightness, discomfort, numbness and swelling. Every other major op Ive had has been a quick recovery with measureable improvement from day to day, this is ooooo slow. Happily, the last few days have brought that s ort of improvement, i even put in an hour at the gym on Friday. I cant run yet, it just doesnt feel right but the bike and elliptical at full pace were fine and i will try a spin class in the next few days. The swelling finally appears to be abating, except for the pubic region, and it feels like the inguinal hernias are worse than ever, m PS assures me he did fix them but Fluid accumulates at the site and mimics them, i sure hope so. The other problem is funny, but having ll your girlie bits lifted raises your pubic hairline and its now higher than most of my knickers!!! I think im going o be investin in a little laser treatment lol, i wax anyway bu still. Oh, and now my hips, thighs an butt look huge to me! My waist is really tiny,iwas aways pearshaped but im much more of an hourglass now and its taking a bit o get used to! Dh reckons i need muc bigger boobs to balance

Do you mean visible from the outside, that your upper belly is fatter thn your lower? That wont be pouch dilation, pouch dilation is not visible apart fro under xray. Your stomach is not a huge organ and it is partly behind your ribcage, its not going to bulge out.

I hope your hubby is doing well Cyndi, its a challenging journey and takes a bit to put behind you ( so to speak, lol ) and get on with life again

Ugh, how annoying. I've had four surgeries now in the last 15 months - oh and two colonoscopies - and each and every single fricking time I've been scheduled for afternoon surgery AND when I get there, I still have ended up waiting four hours or so. It really gets my goat. Its hard enough to fast and go without Water - but its the going without coffee that REALLY gets to me. And the anxiety and boredom of waiting. The first time, I was having a huge bowel resection for rectal cancer and I knew I would be getting an ileostomy too so I was going to wake up after eight hours of surgery in mucho pain with a stoma and a bag, but it was going to be life saving. I cannot tell you how anxious I was, I was out of my mind, and I had to wait until about 4pm to go into surgery and they didnt even think to order me a pre med to relax me a bit. I was pretty delerious as I'd also done a bowel prep the day before so I was dehydrated to the point of dessication. that's happened to me with colonoscopies too - not only dont you drink and eat but you do the prep so you can actually be very sick by the time they take you in. And try downing the cup of coffee and sandwich you get afterwards with a lapband when you're that dehydrated, ugh. actually, come to think of it, I was first on the list for my band surger and in and out by 9 am, THAT was a good experience! Sorry, this isnt about me, lol. You cant do a thing about it, if possible try to sleep in and waste away as much of the morning as you can. We went for a gentle walk the morning before my very big surgery, went and did some errands at the shops, visited, anything to fill in the time. And I hope when you actually get there, you dont have a long wait. Even get a massage or something luxurious to relax you and take your mind off (if you're anything like me) being ready to KILL for a cup of coffee? And after all is said and done, your time WILL come. The bright side of it is that you will come out of the anaesthetic later in the day and sleep it off overnight. It was pretty ordinary having such an early surgery, sleeping off the anaesthetic during the day and then climbing the walls at night - couldnt get comfy, sick of being on my back, hospital noises and disturbances, nothing on the television etc. At least you will wake up the next morning a lot more normal.