Jachut

You need to find a mystic tan booth - they're completely automatic. There's nobody spraying you. I've found it gives great results too, perfectly even. I'm saving money all winter, so that I can have one every week this summer! Mystic is the only one in Australia, but I think California Tan has them too? Google it. If I'm going to have a spray tan, I want it all over, just becuase but really, if its for a wedding and you dont have time to get to an auto booth, you could wear shorts and a tank top and justs slip the straps off your shoulders - get your arms, legs, chest and face done, the bits that show and not expose yourself at all.

Yes, I thought I was aging better than I really am too. You get over it, but its hard to come to terms with the fact that losing weight doesnt make you perfect. As to the rest of what you said, you sound very tight - why on earth would you keep getting fills if you're finding there's lots of foods you can no longer eat?

I wish, I left my libido back somewhere in 1995 after my first baby, sigh. I dont see it as a problem. Your husband is happy. Neither of you plans on acting out the fantasies in real life. Its not interfering so much in your daily life that you dont have time to do anything else. It sounds more like its just a new experience for you, more so than a real problem. Enjoy it.

Spot reducing isnt possible unfortunately, but cardio cardio cardio is the way to lose stomach fat. Particularly interval style workouts where you go really HARD for a minute, then recover and alternate. (have a look at www.cardiocoach.com). Eventually, your stomach will shrink but your proportions are what they are and if you tend to be apple shaped with relatively larger abdomen and thinner legs, you always will be, although that wont stop you looking great! Just like I have the opposite, things that fit my bum and thighs are gappy round the waist with inches to spare.

I buy organic :thumbup:

Weight management is only about calories in v calories out, obviously alchohol contributed to his daily intake of calories but he also eats too much for his energy needs. Simple. Regardless of what somenone else can eat, we all know those people who do no exercise and eat like a horse and are skinny, your own personal balance is what you have to find. You could gain weight eating apples if you ate enough of them and you can lose weight eating nothing but cream cakes. Health and weight loss are not necessarily strongly related. energy in v energy out is all it is.

Gallbladder attacks often come with gas and often you will notice your stools are different - pale maybe, you could have diarrhoea etc. then again, i suspect my gallbladder has been giving me a nudge or two lately and i've had no gas. Its different for everyone. The only thing that makes me think it might have just been gas for you is that you could bend over and make it go away. The pain I've been having, you do instinctively curl around abdominal pain as it tends to relieve it but NOTHING will make it abate until it suddently goes away on its own.

Personally I wouldnt feel comfortable eating artificially sweetened products in any quanity. I buy the normal full sugar, full fat versions and treat foods that contain a lot of sugar as treat foods. I'd rather eat natural or greek yogurt with fruit, than to eat fake low fat, artificially sweetened yogurt, sweetening drinks doesnt make them acceptable for everyday consumption and for freak's sake, if you want chocolate, just HAVE a small piece! I can feel the brain tumour growing every time I drink a diet coke, lol. I'm a bit paranoid and not entirely logical, we all have our dietary beliefs and foibles and for me its artificial sweetener and low carb diets.

Nowadays, my hair and skin are in great condition for what is normal for me - I've never ever had a problem with oily skin or hair, I tend to be quite dry and I do get a bit scaly at times. But for a while there, my hair was just snapping off, it was incredibly dry and i had to chop it all off much shorter. That all passed though.

Yes, this is pretty dangerous and must not be ignored. Not only can it damage the esophagus over time, but you can cause complications such as pneumonia from aspirating stomach contents into your lungs. You may be too tight, if this is a nightly occurrence, then you MUST fix it. You need an unfill. If its an occurence that occurs following only certain behaviours, then note what those behaviours are. I've woken up coughing precisely once in four years, but I've had a couple of nights where I've been uncomfortably aware of food sitting right at the top of my pouch, and unable to sleep deeply for fear of regurgitating it. Its ALWAYS after overeating (and not by a lot) at night, food too close to bed, and for some strange reason, whilst I can have a cup of coffee after dinner, my DH likes a hot milo (bit like activite) and this always causes me these symptoms. Till you fix it, sleep propped up a bit, try not to lie flat.

All things in moderation of course, and that stuff is pretty darn soft, but I'd maybe wait. And of course, you know that processed mac n cheese offers your body nothing of any nutritional worth? All that food colouring, fat, additives and white carbs, ugh. Have a tiny bit if its what you love, I've found that eating what I want in moderation has worked brilliantly for me and there's more to life than being nutrionally faultless. But still, its a pretty yuck choice for just now in your program. Why not make a home made one, with decent ingredients?

I think its the best NSV out of all the possible NSV's! Congratulations. Perhaps I'm biased becuase I didnt need to ditch medications, or become mobile or independent again or anything really serious as a result of my weight. WLS surgery for me was a health decision yes, but more of a preventative one and was VERY much a cosmetic surgery for me. I wanted to look better and feel better about myself. The thrill of being able to wear whatever the heck I want has never worn off, and I doubt it ever will.

there's definitely more than one way to skin a cat, and if its not your thing, then there's lots of other great activities out there. but just a note for the would be runners, everyone says oh my joints wont take it. Well, you get the cardiovascular fitness developing VERY quickly with running, you can quite reasonably train from nothing to half marathons within 3 months if you're determined in that respect. But what takes the time is the strengthening of muscles, tendons and connective tissue to cope with the stress of running. It can take a year or more to build enough stability in your body to handle those long distances. But it DOES happen over time, its just a sport you have to start VERY VERY slowly at if you've got any issues. Not everyone can run long distances, but most people who want to include running in their regime probably can, given enough time and care. Its still what gets me on a long run. I'm quite sure my heart and lungs could keep me running all day now, no matter how far I run I dont get out of breath (unless I go really fast). That means my aerobic system works really well now. Anaerobic speed work is a different thing. But what limits the distances i can run is a) running out of fuel/energy and if I consistently go too far/too long I will get injuries.

Wow, that's an amazing achievement for six months! Congratulations, you're a star.

Congratulations! You were hot to begin with, you'll be dangerous once you recover!

To fit the contour of your stomach correctly, it would have to be on an angle, not perfectly horizontal, so that would be right. As to how much is in your band, if you've had no trouble with it, then its not too much for YOU so I wouldnt worry. Everyone is completely different in how much restriction they can handle. DH has had one fill where he bled everywhere, it was weird. It was his first fill, perhaps there was a small seroma there or something, its never happened since.

Anything I want. I am maintaining now and have been for almost 2 years but its only a little more than what I ate to lose - more "treats" like a glass of wine etc. Yesterday I had: breakfast: a bowl of organic muesli with some strawberries (small, about 2/3 of a cup in total). I generally carry my Cereal bowl round with my whilst I get ready for the day, takes me a while to eat in the a.m. lunch: a salad - lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, mushrooms, grated carrot, cheese and a can of tuna - ate about 2/3 of what I made. afternoon: 2 shortbreads and a cup of coffee dinner: glass of wine, 2 small lamb cutlets, 1/2 baked potato and about 1/2 cup steamed veges (broccoli, carrot, cauliflower). Went for an 8km run in the early evening.

I found I felt like that, I was devastated for a while with my "horrible" body and my "old" face. I was obsessed with PS for about 12 months, luckily we couldnt afford any, it was planned for about now instead, DH was very supportive (and I think he wants me to get my boobs done, lol). But now I dont really want it any more. I came out the other side of that funk, but its taken a couple of years. Its a HUGE adjustment, and its very very hard to come to a place where you're "good enough". Not having weight to focus on is really weird after a lifetime of being diet obsessed and trying to lose and I think most people simply switch obsessions for a while there. Now, i dont think its unhealthy to have PS for those reasons. I'd guess a LOT of the people that go on to PS are experiencing these feelings and quell them thinking after that tummy tuck, then they'll finally feel good about themselves. Many do, so its not a bad thing. But I also think many of those people, if they'd waited a few years, might have gotten more comfortable with themselves and never had had any PS at all. At some stage, you have to face that you are what you are. What you are now is healthier and no doubt more attractive than what you WERE. I've had to come to terms with the fact that yes, I actually AM 42 (gasp) and that my 30's IS gone and I didnt make the most of it by allowing myself to get fat. On the other hand, it was a good decade, a hard one, but there's lots of joy ahead. I'm a student teacher, and I was on prac recently, and it was my birthday - my students thought I was 20 something! So that just PROVES to me that we're way way harder on ourselves than others are. Do you look at other people and dissect them, criticize their wrinkles, analyse their muffin tops and tut tut about the exact shade of their complexion? No? So what makes you think others look at YOU that way? You cant force it and its a really really hard stage of this journey, but it is a part of it that you do complete one day. Focus on the positives, the more you practice it the easier it gets.

Exactly. Its not a case of willful ignorance, because I certainly dont deny people get good results with low carb. Its a case of not being gullible enough to believe it all, that THIS time they've got it right. But its also a case of well, so what if your blood lipid profile is great?How's your bowels for example. Not much point of having a great lipid profile if you die of bowel cancer from your totally animal based diet. Just the same as with high carb low fat, its not much good keeping your bowels healthy and giving yourself diabetes in the process. I reckon keep an open mind, be moderate about what you choose, whichever side of the fence you fall on, becuase exactly like sleeping babies on their backs, you'll be believing something else totally and passionately in another few years time. I dont totally believe in global warming either, for the record, lol.

I was brought coffee the next morning too. I was never told to give it up, I've drunk my normal amount ever since surgery. I'd rather have coffee than food!

I work, study and have three children. I tend to cook in large batches in the slow cooker, its expensive to go out and buy the ingredients, but once you portion it out into several family meals, its way better economy than stuff like cheese and lunch meat. We focus more on fresh vegies and we also eat a lot of things like lentils and chick peas (I have batches of lentil dahl in the freezer at the moment) and Soups like minestrone. I also do a great zucchini and leek Soup that costs hardly anything. The thing with healthy cooking is the time, more than the cost. Healthy food is only expensive when you buy in small amounts, single meals, expensive cuts of meat etc. As to the time, well I'm short on it too, but I manage most of the time to do it, and I manage to run daily too, its just a matter of having to do it. I devote a good part of a weekend day once every couple of weeks and that means i only have to cook a fresh meal a couple of nights a week. How long does it really take to chop up some vegies - carrots, celery, cucumber and zucchini, and throw a tub of hummus on the bench for you all to lunch on? Or to whip up a quick salad? Its a mindset and time isnt really a hindrance once you get into it. But I know what you mean, this failing to shop, failing to cook and falling to junk food at the last minute because there was nothing in the house was my WORST habit and probably the main reason I became overweight. It was realising that I was doing it to my family as well as myself that motivated me the most to change.

I find soda is WAY more bubbly and carbonated than beer. I can drink beer quite easily, soda makes me feel bloated full of gas. I dont like it anyway and I cant for the life understand how people actually like Diet Coke - tastes like drain cleaner!

Oh, I feel for you. My MIL has had bladder cancer, and is just completing her chemo after losing her bladder, uterus, ovaries, and part of her bowel. She has no signs of cancer, once all that was removed, the chemo was a precautionary measure, but boy it has been rough, and she's endured 6 months of virtual quarantine, her white blood cell is so low she has no immunity at all. Naturally, she hasnt been able to see her grandkids because kids are ALWAYS carrying some sniffle or other and she's gotten really depressed from the isolation. And of course, you jsut never know when its going to reappear. Hugs to your family and everyone else affected by this awful disease. cancer is a disease that is so common because we live so long now. Millions of years ago we were all eaten by wooly mammoths before we got to 40, so cancer wasnt a huge issue. Nor was heart disease. I guess there's a price to progress. My MIl is 80 and has taken the very positive view that although there is a very poor 5 year prognosis for bladder cancer, there's not that great a 5 year prognosis for being 80 either, so she's just taking it a day at a time.

I really dont go well on a completely empty stomach, like first thing in the morning. the difference for me between morning runs and early evening runs is unbelievable. In the morning, its hard, I feel like I'm running through waist high Water, i dont enjoy it and I'm slow. In the evening I'm light, fast and energetic and its a much more positive experience. I can also run further and longer. I *can* eat and then run immediately without getting a belly ache and I'm bad but I never drink during the average run - around 45 minutes. I drink afterwards. So it'd always be at least 30 mins after eating anyway.

I'd say you need a liver ultrasound to check for gallstones - but also, I've known/heard of a couple of people whose tubing has been touching their diaphragm, causing agonising pain and difficulty breathing. One of them that I know had another very quick surgery to shorten the tubing.