Jachut

It has to be perfectly cooked, nice, rare and moist, which I cant manage, lol. I am not a good meat cook. things like lamb chops or steak on the barbie, I can eat it but its such a slow and careful process that I just dont enjoy them anymore. Roasts are OK, but not overcooked. The only steak I can eat and enjoy is if we go to Hogsbreath - those are SO tender. I use the slow cooker a lot - I tend to even cook a leg of lamb in there, or roast beef, because whilst it doesnt brown up and LOOK as appealing as from the oven, its very tender. And we make lots of stuff with mince. I made these amazing pork meatballs in a green curry sauce the other week, yum.

Brian Dennehy has one too I think. Not that he's exactly A list anymore, lol.

I have a perfectly functioning band and I'd have to say that I cope day to day with it brilliantly but it does involve multiple small discomforts and a bit of stress over eating in public. I can virtually guarantee I wont vomit in public but to achieve that I eat teeny tiny amounts and ever so carefully. The band WONT last forever inside you, sooner or later, the balloon will wear out. I think if you get banded, you must expect a further surgery down the track. Many dont agree, I know, but I think reversability is a valid advantage to some people. Some people really cant handle the deprivation and inability to eat and will try to eat around any surgery they have, at least with a band, if you decide you really cant take the lifestyle you must live to get the weight loss, then it can be taken out. I think that's very unlikely and would really only be an issue for a small percentage of people. However the adjustability is a MAJOR bonus. You can work your band just how you need to at any given stage of life. Pregnant? You can loosen it off and eat a bit more. Running your first marathon? Loosen it off to fuel your training. No worries about how to maintain, if you're keeping on losing and dont want to, have some fill removed. Feel you need more oomph to keep your weight loss going. Have a small fill. When you're old and your appetite has faded to nothing anyway unfill the band or remove it entirely. But all of that ONLY applies if your band functions well in your body, somethign that cant be guaranteed. Yes, the stats of erosions and slippages are low but as many here in this forum could tell you, sometimes people's bodies just plain dont like the band and they have all sorts of horrid everyday pain and problems that are not really reported in all the literature you'll find in your research.

It depends how tight you are and what you're eating. When you're breastfeeding, you need more energy than when you're pregnant, not unlimited amounts of food but you're body is workign pretty hard. Yet that's when I gained most of my excess weight - during breastfeeding not pregnancy and i dont remember being noticeably more hungry or eating a lot more. but you need to be loose enough to take in ALL the foodgroups during this time, you'll need some wholegrains too, not just Protein and vegetables and you need to be able to drink plenty. That said, i doubt that it'd be what you're eating making you feel emotional, that's to be expected to some degree during breastfeeding, its ridiculous how much we can cry and get angry etc. But do be realistic about how bad it is and whether you need to take action. If your doctor and your ob think you're eating enough you probably are. Oh, gosh, unsettled babies, they make us SO desperate and we convince ourselves multiple times daily that its sometihng within our control - that coffee we had, the tomatoes we ate, my baby is lactose intolerant, my baby needs chirporactic adjustment, we are just ready to jump on ANYthing that will settle them down. Most often though, there is no particular reason why a baby is unsettled, they just are and it does pass, this stage wont last forever. And its probably nothing to do with your breastmilk or what your body is putting into it becuase weaning breastfed babies and putting them on a bottle hardly EVER has the desired result. Is this your first baby? They really do grow up so fast and it is all behind you so quickly but I remember how desperate I felt in those early days with my first, its just a simply enormous life change and it does really knock you around.

I made lots of soup when I was on full liquids so that I could put in the nutrition I needed. I used lots of lentils, tons of fresh vegies, herbs like basil for flavouring, tins of tomatoes etc. I also put some meat and Pasta in there, blended it all up and thinned it with more stock to a consistency I could handle. That way I had the Protein, vegies and a little bit of carbs in there and I felt much better than living on processed liquidy crap like popsicles and pudding. I also made fresh fruit smoothies with milk and liquidy things like apricots and peaches canned in natural juice, I'd throw in a weetbix for some fibre or some natural bran. Milk has quite a bit of protein in it, you dont really need the Protein powder as well unless you particularly like it - I dont like the artificial sweet taste of them. Um, what else did I have - a glass of V8 a day for another serve or two of vegies, greek yogurt, prune juice. And lots of Water.

Well, see that's where I reckon the band or sleeve is great. This is your life, not a diet, so you go, you enjoy yourself, but the portions are small. YOu can sample different foods, and enjoy the break from everyday life and have a drink or two. You probably wont find you come back ANY heavier, and if you do, it'd only be a pound or two. Then you get back to everyday life and eating more in tune with what you should be doing most of the time. I think its a mentality peculiar to the obese, to look at things like this as something scary with an inevitable loss of control. People who have never struggled with their weight probably dont even think about it, let alone worry about it. I think that's a large part of overcoming obesity - learning to think like a thin person. Which is not "how can I continue to deprive myself in the face of temptation", but probably not giving food any real thought at all, focussing on the holiday instead. Enjoy your cruise!

that's a pretty reliable rule of thumb, but its not always ture either. I think it depends a lot on why you're overweight. I lost half my excess weight in the first 3 months (50lb or so) and I only had a BMI of 36 when I was banded. But I am healthy, active and really, despite having got fat, I have a pretty fast metabolism, I've noticed I have lost weight eating far more than many here, I lost all my weight easily on 1500 calories a day or so. I eat 2000 a day to maintain (but I did lose the second half of my excess weight very slowly). Whereas people with metabolic problems, people who are so heavy that they're very inactive etc, they often find that they dont lose as fast as they expect to. but 30lb in 3 or 4 months is excellent weight loss and nothing to worry about at all.

Oh golly, brings back memories of getting new bikes 20 years ago and going out one day with my parents, my then 50is year old parents left DH and i for dead. I will never forget how much by butt hurt. I also find being a runner, my butt isnt broken in - I occasionally do a spin class and always get sore hands and sore but. Like a treadmill, a stationery bike is not like the open road at all. It will always be harder outside, significantly so. You've got wind resistance, friction from the road, and you dont realise the gradient of the resistence you set on a stationery bike is really peanuts compared to a real hill.

I've read a few things that say that ROSE procedure isnt terribly effective, personally, I'd think a band which can be adjusted to meet your needs at any given time would be an opiton more likely to work. But I've just read stuff on this and other forums, not seen hard proof or any data. A sleeve wouldnt be an option. But I've definitely heard of bands being done after RNY.

My weight never had anything to do with that, although given that both Doug and I have lost substantial weight, a lot more is possible. However, i suffer the curse of probably the vast majority of overworked, overtired mothers the world over. My libido is zilch. DH and I manage it regularly enough, several times a week and its always good, but I can honestly say I never ever ever feel like it. Its not even on my radar. Its been the same since I had my first baby. When I go to bed at night, I'm exhausted and I want to sleep. It doesnt cause problems for us usually, but I think DH would like to think I fancied him more than I actually do, and I dont blame him for that. Our relationship is secure but I could live without sex for very long periods of time. Weight loss hasnt changed that at all.

Wait till you have adjusted to it and you think that's a HUGE amount of food, lol. I constantly feel like I'm a piggie, like I've overeaten AGAIN. Then when I think about what everyone around me ate, i realise my perception has changed totally.

I think it does for me anyway. Although I tend to be a bit of a loner and very (sometimes overly) confident in my own knowledge and opinions. But I am by nature someone who researches pretty thoroughly and informs myself about things I decide to do. I appreciate the companionship, the debates and the general connections on here, but I dont feel I need "support" in that I need to be able to ask questions or seek guidance. I'm able to do that for myself. For others there's no substitute for face to face support, its just personality dependent, whether you need it or not. But I wouldnt feel like you're missing out on something and not realising it if you dont feel you particularly need it.

I'm a muesli girl myself...

Did you follow the link to the LiftMagic one to simulate injectibles and lifts on your face. I did the works and ended up like Jocelyn Wildenstein. Lets just lip fillers are not a good idea for me. Then I tried the breastlift and augmentation one, oh boy. I ended up with J cup saggy boosies. Looked truly awful.

Long term it wont matter, but its annoying if its uncomfortable in the short term. I tend to sleep 3/4 on my stomach, sort of on my side with my top leg bent. The most uncomfortable part of the surgery for me was having slept of the anaesthetic for 8 hours lying on my back. I was so over it and I was kind of wakeful and unable to sleep that night, uncomfortable on my side (whch I could manage to get to with the aid of some pillows) for more than a few minutes but really uncomfortable on my back. I ended up asking for sleeping pills. I was able to sleep on my side once I got home, it just took a bit of manouvering to get there. But what I never realised was how badly I slept when I was heavy. I thought at a BMI of 36 with no sleep apnoea or anything, that I was mainly doing this surgery to prevent myself getting fatter and having health problems in the future. But once about 20kg had gone, i realised how GREAT I was feeling. I had been waking up multiple times in the night due to back and hip discomfort, just due to the weight, as I had done during pregnancy. I sleep like a baby now!

Ha, I love it, lol. funny how although I'm already a healthy weight with a BMI of 22, I could lose 41lb and none of my bones show, nor do my boobs shrink!! Seriously though, this is probably a good way to visualise the effect of a little liposuction around the problem areas.

In some ways it wont be any different. You will fall into those behaviours again and again, I still do it now sometimes, 4 years down the track. I'm still particularly prone to that I'm going to start a diet on Monday so I'll live it up this weekend mentality. But this isnt ABOUT becoming a perfect person, its abut managing your problems and peculiar mentalities and issues around food with the support of something that gives you good portion control, so that when you slip up, you dont do the sort of damage you once did. Its about finding that SOME of those problem foods just wont be possible for you anymore and marvelling at how when you know they cause you pain, you stop wanting them. Its about trying hard every day and succeeding more of the time than you fail. But its also about getting real with yourself, stopping the excuses and putting in the hard yards. No time for exercise? Get up earlier, do it at midnight if you have to. Dont like exercise? Tough luck, do it anyway. Want that cookie at 9pm? Do something else, use all the same tactics. You wont succeed at this every day of the journey, but you need to appreciate all the little successes and realise that each one is valid, that if you dont exercise, it doesnt mean there was no point in having eaten well all day or that if you eat badly that day then why bother exercising. If you can just get past the slip ups and continue on with what you're doing well, you will have success.

Look, you have to be realistic with the headhunger and craving thing. Nothing will absolutely make that go away and you can over time get lazy and revert back to those foods. I'm no low carb fan but I do notice that when I lurch from carb filled meal to carb filled meal with simple carbs (think donuts, Cookies, vanilla slices) and coffee in between, I just get on a roll that I find very difficult to stop. The band STILL works for me, becuase my portions are small, and I run daily, so when i do this I dont gain weight. However, if I eat small and often - 3 to 4 hourly and I eat only low GI wholegrain carbs combined with Protein then I feel better, my energy level is constant, and the urge to eat bad foods really is managed better. I still get hit with the temptation and I find it very hard to stick to a routine like this - life, work, kids etc all get in the way but I've also found that as long as I'm pretty good about 80% of the time, then my weight stays stable (or kept coming off when I was losing). I lost well over 100% of my excess weight to take me well past the top of my healthy range and I've kept it off for about 2 years now. I'm not perfect, and I never will be, but its about a change in the balance of good v bad behaviours, not in sticking to a "diet" faultlessly. I'm going to Sydney next weekend for my sister's 40th, my parents are meeting us there and my other sis is coming up too. It will be a weekend full of booze, eating and celebrating, and coz we're staying in hotels, every meal will have to be eaten out. I dont fuss and fret about how I'm goign to stick with my program for these types of things - who CARES? I will go, enjoy myself, not eat past full and not get myself hopelessly tanked, lol, just do it moderately and enjoyably. Then I get back with program first thing Monday! Its really not so hard. You can do this with some effort!

Oh, that's good news. I'd be wary of a surgeon who'd want to band you without fixing it!

I dont know much about nutcracker esophagus either, but in my experience amongst peple I know, bands plus hiatal hernias can be a recipe for disaster. I personally would want that hernia fixed - is that not an option during the surgery? it just seems to me people with hernias are often the ones that cant take fills - they swing between being underfilled and not losing to being unable to swallow Water. I have a friend that had no end of trouble and was really unsuccessful with her band, they decided to replace the band with a newer model, went in, found a hernia. The surgeon fixed it, placed a new band and voila, text book lapband journey ever since.

I agree, one donut is a bit of a triumph and an indulgence every now and again doesnt kill you. I really think when you really want something, have it. The only problem I find with that theory is that occasionally I find I really want something mutliple times every single day and i do occasionally have to cut back and go cold turkey, lol. but I've found I never needed to completely cut out anything to lose weight, just change the balance ever so slightly.

whatever the timing, I certainly wouldnt call tuna and crackers a mushy food. Tuna can be quite dry and "sticky" in texture so unless its packed in oil or doused in mayonnaise (which kinda makes it a high fat food) thenn its going to be hard to eat. ON crackers, wow, surprised you managed to swallow it and keep it down. Mushy foods should be soft and moist. Especially so soon after surgery I'd really be focussing more on very thick soups, blended up things, pureed fruit and yogurt and staying away from stuff so solid for a week or so yet.

Dont get fills you dont need, there's no point. The more you can eat and the more variety you can eat whilst still losing weight, the better nourished you will be. And the looser your band, the less likely you are to have issues with it like reflux, things getting stuck, pb's etc. So whilst you are still losing, keep doing whatever you're doing - its working! However, the weight loss will probably come to a halt sooner or later. As you loose fat around your stomach, the band will get looser, your calorie needs will drop and you will need to eat less to have the same deficit per day and at some point, you may find you need to fill for that bit of extra help. But dont do it before you have to!

I telly you what though, it makes you realise how darn thin models and actresses must really be. I mean, I've always viewed a perfectly flat stomach and no lumps and bumps round the hips as what you get if you're at a healthy weight. Nuh uh. I'm 150 lb or so at 5ft 10 and as you can see from my close ups, yeah, I look fine, but I'm still pretty well upholstered. It hit me I would really need to be 10kg (25lb) lighter to be as thin as I thought I'd be at this sort of weight - which is underweight.

I try on clothes ALL the time! I love doing that. I'm a dedicated exerciser and I say oh, I"m addicted to running. I'm addicted enough that if the plastic surgery fairy payed a visit and granted me a full body overhaul at no cost to myself, I would probably freak about not being able to run for six weeks, lol. I dont like that thought. But I think I have that in a good place in my life, not really an obsession. What I struggle with that I want to change is wanting to lose MORE weight. I find it just so hard not to be constantly achieving new things weight wise, and to not be mentally focussed on trying to change my body. I've never been here in my life before and I am having trouble accepting that this is just my body now and I am ALLOWED to just eat for maintenance.