Jachut

How do you even have fill in your band to be removed at this stage? its normal not to have any fill at all until 4 to 8 weeks after the surgery. I'd say you need absolutely nothing in there for now. But I'm afraid you have to learn to live without that warm, yummy full feeling. You need to recognise satisfied, which sounds like it would feel good, but it kind of feels nothing. Its simply not hungry. You go from that to painful full very quickly with a lapband. So you need to learn to stop before that happens. You will feel good about food again, and enjoy it, but you have to let go of the way you once felt about it and the way you once enjoyed it.

In Australia, we're encouraged to eat a high fibre diet. We're not encouraged to focus on Protein like you guys are. I find my band works BEST with high fibre foods like wholegrain breads, cereals, fruit and vegetables. Those foods fill me for a very small calorie load due to their bulk from the fibre, air and Water they contain, whereas it takes many more calories of protein to achieve the same effect. Now, we all know that protein will keep you satisfied for longer, that's very true. But it doesnt provide the same satisfying stomach bulk until you've eaten a lot more calories. So as long as your fibrous foods are nutrient dense and "worthwhile" - white bread and sugary cereal are not valid foods - then mixing them with protein and focussing on both food groups equally is to my mind a better nutritional bet than focussing on protein alone. Because I dont know about you but I didnt plan to become skinny just so I could look good whilst I died of bowel cancer. Fibrous foods do wonderful things for your health and you continue to need them banded or not.

I dont wait 3 minutes but I learned early on that for me, its the waiting between bites that's the important bit, that does far more for me to prevent getting stuck and pbing than small bites does. Chewing is probably equally as important, but yep, waiting between bites, letting it settle, go down, being aware that EACH bite has been handled OK, that's what stops me having episodes. I'd wait maybe 30 seconds between bites, to a minute though, 3 is a bit ridiculous. I'd also have to say that the rest of the world tends to view the American habit of cutting up food then switching the fork to the right hand and eating like that as incorrect table manners :smile2:(ducking for cover!) but it IS a problematic habit. When you eat like that, it does tend towards mouthfuls one after another after another, with a pause seeming "forced" or obvious. When you cut a piece of food off with your fork in your left hand, eat a bite, then cut another, you dont eat so fast. I find the pause easy becuase the way we eat, there's natural pauses to cut anyway.

this past week I had: leftover rattatouille Pasta a fresh, prepepared mexican salad - greens with an avocado dressing basically a gourtmet fruit greek yogurt (quite large) camambert and crackers leftover pork green curry Just dinner leftovers, a salad, cheese and crackers or things like rice cakes spread with avocado and a slice of low fat cheese, basic stuff.

First three letters of first name, first three letters of last name.

Our sizes are smaller here (although not our population any more!) and at five foot ten, I had to get under 180 to be able to walk into any mid range store. Some high end fashion I still probably couldnt wear at 150lb. I'm about Australian 12 (us 8) and can run into a 14 in smaller sizes. Traditionally, our stores have carried 8 to 14 or 16 (US 4-14) so anything above that I tend to consider "plus sized" although many places now go up to an 18.

They are notoriously inaccurate - and its logical. You can burn 750 calories in an hour of running about 10kms, there's no way you are as tired after an hour on an elliptical as you are actually running and moving your body weight along the ground. I'd think that 500 calories would be a safe guestimate as you're not actually moving anywhere and you dont have to leave the ground, that cuts the calorie burn considerably.

My fave spot in the world is Byron Bay - an enchanting mix of wealthy and hippy communities. Its a fabulous spot on the northern NSW coast, right on QLD, which you could easily combine with a trip to the Gold Coast. Spectacular scenery and a choice of top notch shopping and eating and 5 star accommodation or grow your armpit hair and eat lentils camping. I adore Sydney too, you must see the Eastern beaches - Bondi, Coogee etc, easy to do from the city centre, and the blue mountains region is great. Ferry ride on the harbour is a great way to see the Opera House and bridge, I was just in Sydney this past weekend,. In Victoria, south Gippsland and Wilsons Promontory, gorgeous. Can highly recomnend the Koonwarra Store just outside Leongatha for a very relaxed meal, the Prom has absolutely stunning beaches, and is mostly camping accommodation, but if you had a campervan, a tour of southern Victoria, from the great ocean road right across to south gippsland, wilsons prom and on up to Lakes entrance would be fabulous. I've done mostly the eastern part of Australia - I live in melbourne and have holidayed all up and down the entire east coast. Far northern queensland is a different experience again. Adelaide is lovely, and includes great wine growing districts, I've been as far up inland as Flinders Rangers - again a fabulous campervan trip, its amazing country. Havent been to the centre, but BOY all of that region will be stupendously hot in February. And sadly, I've never been to Perth. Up north at that time of year, from Qld up, its the rainy season and there are occasionally cyclones, climate wise, the southern end of Australia is at its best that time of year. Sadly, you wont see much Aussie Rules in February, its a winter sport.

DH has had chronic shoulder pain since before he was banded and nobody can find a thing wrong with his shoulder or neck. I am always saying it might be something else, like a hernia etc, but nobody seems to want to check it out! He's asked, but is always told, no its not that.

Bear in mind I'm maintaining now, but this is pretty much the same as what I ate to lose, its just that it got slower and slower until it eventually stopped and here I stayed. Breakfast was a small bowl of muesli morning tea was a pear lunch was 3 rice cakes with cream cheese dinner tonight is going to be fish and chips - not normal. We're going out, nothing in the house, no time to cook. Normally we eat a healthy meat and 3 veg type meal. I eat little bits at a sitting, but its usually up to a cup. I really only eat at morning tea time when I'm teaching and get a scheduled break, otherwise I go through. I tend to eat at about 4 pm - a couple of Cookies and a coffee, or somethign like that (I like a sweet treat every day!), but i've held off today due to the fac that we're having crap for dinner.

I wanted to ask that too WaistBand but I didnt want to sound rude or snarky or seem like I was picking a fight. But truly, whilst I agree with the sentiment abut her being negiligent in general, your argument is simply missing the most vital piece of the equation - said 14 year old MUST be on board and willing or you'll get nowhere. What you are suggesting she should have been able to do would in real life involve tying the kid up and locking him in his bedroom! However, I do agree, you've got much more control over an obese 6 year old - if he WAS back then, but its highly likely. Kids dont get to 500lb without a bad family diet and example, by and large. But they also dont go from normal weight to 500lb in the blink of an eye and by the time it creeps up enough to be of concern, often the pattern is set, the rot has set in and you cant turn it around.

That may be so, but the fact is there IS no help really, for food addiction. Nothing works. That's why we've all turned to weight loss surgery. That child, in another's care, will continue to be obese. He will probably continue to get worse. The ONLY person who can lose weight is the child himself. Its not as if he just needs to be educated that burgers are fattening. The mother may well be completely negiligent, and I'm not saying she isnt, but it sure as eggs ISNT a case of she should have done this or she should have done that. Morally, she should have TRIED to do a lot more than she did but in reality none of it would have worked anyway. We all know that. We've all tried it all ourselves. She could be the worst mother in the world, but the fact is that child was probably always going to be and always will be, fat. You cant hold her 100% responsible for it. I dont know whether you should take him away from his mother or not, there's many reasons why he would probably be better off. But getting thin isnt one of them, that wont happen.

Boy, I'm quite amazed that people who have been unsuccessful in controlling their OWN weight can be so adamant that this mother should be able to control somebody else's!

yeah, work for time, not distance because you get faster at whatever you do anyway. I reckon you cant beat things like running - and rollerblading with a stroller would be a GREAT workout. When I first started running, I pushed my then 3 year old in a stroller and it was really hard work.

Flying might well have been the issue if you're feeling suddenly tighter. I have lived in fear of this happening - so many times you need to be somewhere, and I am a teacher also, the worst thing that could possibly happen is that I get stuck right at the end of lunchtime and cant go back to my class! Even worse, I'm doing relief teaching at the moment, so strange schools and staff I dont know, how embarrassing would that be. Yet in almost four years, I've been stuck only twice where I needed to be somewhere and simnply could not dislodge whatever it was and had to let it bide its own sweet time. If I'm under pressure liek that, I plain dont eat. I know that I cant hurry myself up, so its safer to avoid it alltogether. Overall, I eat really well and regularly so missing the odd meal doesnt worry me.

Sometimes when we have leftovers of this really good curried pumpkin and peanut Soup that I make, i have it for breakfast. I find cereal fills me up just fine, same as anything else.

Frozen dinners will be high in bad carbs. If it comes in a box from the freezer, it isnt going to be hugely healthy. Its fine to eat those things semi regularly, but you could probably think about things like salads that you make yourself, or cooking and freezing in small batches for lunches and dinners.

Lol, i can think of quite a few occasions when I wanted to say that to someone I passed in the street. Even now! I do some runs as interval style training and I will sprint as hard as I can for say 3 minutes and then stop to walk and recover. I must look like I'm REALLY out of shape during those recovery walks. I also tend to hold my breath and speed up when I pass people, then I have to stop coz I'm seeing stars!

I'm 'loose" rather than really saggy or hanging. I got out of it pretty darn lightly but I have enough jiggle to make me sigh a bit when I look in the mirror. It makes me a bit sad that I will never have my dream body. But I dont *need* surgery, and nothign hangs or waves in the wind, apart from my boobs, those will get done at some stage. I lost 100lb but I'm 5ft 10 tall and carried it very evenly. I never had a particular "problem area" I just got big all over. I think if you're apple shaped and had a big stomach, you can pretty much start saving for the tummy tuck. And, if it hangs before you loose weight, it will hang after.

Lol, I wish I could tolerate ANY of these garments. Even thin women have jiggle in certain clothing, everyone needs some good compression undergarments in their wardrobe. But they all make me feel sick, I cannot stand the feeling of wearing something so constrictive.

I think parental responsibility comes into it, yes, but I think obesity is a disorder that is not only related to the parents knowledge. This comes into it becuase there are such strong links between obesity and socioeconomic status, but to some degree, society as a whole is to blame. I have a son, who is almost 14 and is not 500 + lb but is definitely overweigh at 5ft 7 or so and about 180lb. I still hold out hopes he'll sprout - he shows all the signs of being very tall and has absolutely enormous hands and feet, and he has not hit puberty yet. So there's hope. BUT - as a parent, especially one who has battled my own weight problem, i know the ins and outs of good nutrition. As a fairly well off person and as a person who had the priviledge of an excellent education and who grew up in a fairly typical upper middle class family I also know what a good diet is and have the means to provide it. Which I do. I provide healthy foods, I cook from scratch, i do not feed my family take away food more than about once a month for meals, and for other special occasions, I do not keep Cookies, chips and chocolate in the house in the ordinary course of events and am more likely to make a cake from scratch for them after school than I am to buy commercial snack foods. My kids have NEVER had daily access to softdrinks, energy drinks or even orange juice - its Water or skim milk around here. We dont have dessert and I dont buy sugary Breakfast cereals. My kids are allowed to experiement with sports, but it is a rule that they must play one and they must STICK at one. They have played basketball for about 8 years now since they were little and they have tried out various other things on top of that. Fraser has 2 basketball games and a weekly training session per week and he has about 2 hours of phys ed per week at school, fairly reasonable fitness activities, unlike some schools. I also limit the PS3 to one hour a day. Yet he's much fatter than any of his friends and expanding. He has a simply enormous appetite He is lazy as all get out, if he's not playing his basketball, he's motionless on the couch. If he's not allowed to play PS3 or watch TV, he reads. He has zero interest in playing outside like his brother and sister. So: he has a big appetite, no real propensity for activity, a bad attitude regarding exercise (despite the example I set) and a genetic disposition to gain weight. What the F..k more can I do than provide a good diet, ensure some sport is played and limit sedenary activities? Am I supposed to crack the whip, scream at him for an hour every day to FORCE him to go for a run? I can tell you, that's what it would take. The task is not possible, I cant *make* him do anything, although of course I try to encourage him that a daily run would do him good. I believe giving children pocket money is important for a variety of reasons and I can and do lay down the law about what it is spent on. But I cant really know if he takes a few dollars and spends it on lollies at school. I've taken him to the doctor about this as he's asthmatic and quite unfit, I worry about the effect on his asthma. The doctor's advice is what you'd expect, eat less, exercise more but he cant give me any idea how to make a reluctant child do that. There's nobody that specialises in that. What more can I do? If he had hit 300lb by now, I'd be trying to get him banded. I think that's where we'll be in two or three years. But again, he has to want that. I also dont fall into the trap that I see a lot of parents do. As a teacher, I know we enforce healthy living practices in our schools in Australia and that we run fairly comprehensive educational programs on it. But it doesnt go far enough. We teach kids and parents that chips and cake are not healthy everyday foods for growing kids and that having lunch orders (our version of school lunch, usually involving chicken nuggets, pizza slices, meat pies etc )are not for everyday. There's token efforts made to make school canteens healthy - in Victoria schools are not allowed to sell soft drinks like Coke - but they sell flavoured mineral water, exactly the same thing! They're not allowed to sell energy drinks, but they sell a non caffeinated one, which is basically a soft drink - bubbles, sugar, etc. But its not called Coke, its an energy drink so its healthy right? Its just rubbish. So parents send their kids to school with a white bread sandwich full of Nutella or jam or whatever, with a couple of fruit sticks and muesli bar. Just a crap lunch but its not chips, cookies and junk food so people think that's healthy! I dont even fall into that trap and I still have a fat kid. I honestly dont think I could try anymore than I do but when a kid loves eating, hates exercising and doesnt particularly care about their weight or think they look bad coz they havent reached that age yet, there's very little to work with. THEY are the only ones that can lose weight. I think 555lb is the other end of the scale and that mother must certainly have been failing to raise her kid properly from a nutritional standpoint but there's such a huge grey area in between that I personally dont think we can hold parents entirely responsible. I feel for her becuase I can imagine its entirely possible she's worried herself sick over him, argued with him, tried to help him and now she's being judged harshly for what everyone perceives as HER failure.

I went out for a walk about half an hour after I got home from hospital (but I have a band, not a sleeve). I walked for half an hour twice a day for the first couple of weeks, then at about week 3 I went back to the gym to do a pretty vigorous elliptical workout (40 minutes or so, using Cardio Coach) and at about 3 months, I tried running, I was hooked after that. Generally I run 6 times a week, I do three 7km runs, and a 10km run and usually two fairly tough interval sessions. A couple of times a week I do some basic pushups, dips, crunches and other abdominal work after my run but I find overally my body responds really well for cardio and doesnt like to gain muscle - I tend to feel fat and bloated when I do weight training, it just doesnt really do it for me so I dont bother. I think I'm being honest with myself when I say I've given it my all on about three periods in my life (and i'm fairly knowledgeable, I've got detailed anatomical knowledge and a lot of sports knowledge too) and my body jsut plain doesnt really respond to it. I have a naturally ectomorphic body type, and I will probably never build much more muscle than I have. I work pretty hard, I run fast and get my heart rate high, I like the adrenaline rush. That's for maintenance these days, it worked to get my weight off but my weight stays steady now, hate to imagine what I'd have to do to lose!

No, I want to like fish as its so good for you but I just cant. I like atlantic salmon and I like things like canned tuna but as a family we never eat fish for dinner becuase its just plain freaking awful, lol. DH loves to fish and he brings it home and I cant even touch the stuff, the bones etc gross me out, I'm afraid of band problems from swallowing a bone, it tastes just like salt Water, its just awful. I do not get why people rave about fish. DH was so excited to catch a big snapper and stuff it and put it on the barbecue whole and everyone raved over it and to me it was just - meh. What's the fuss?

Lol, i bet the fly is like 12 inches long and they come right up to your navel! But what a great achievement, I have one or two really old items that meant a lot to me, actually that were things I wore when I got "thin" and they are WAAAAY too big for me now.