Jachut

Genetics, age, exercise and not losing weight really fast seem to all be factors. However, your shape is a huge factor, I think. If you are apple shaped, the likelihood of tummy skin is just really high. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, lol. I got out of it relatively lightly but I'm left with enough sag to really dsappoint me, a backside that looks like a bag full of cottage cheese, but nothing bad enough to justify the enormous cost of plastic surgery (its more expensive in Australia and I have kids to educate and we desperately need a larger house. Apart from my boobs. And I really could tell before I lost a gram that that woudl be the case.

Why on earth cant you just say you've had a hernia surgery or gall bladder surgery or similar and that you are on a liquid diet? Who is going to argue with that? Personally, I told everyone I was having this surgery, and I would have had no problem going to a wedding and saying I couldnt eat becuase I'd just had it and was still on the liquid diet. What's to hide?

Yes, try taking out say .2. The teeniest fills can make a difference.

You're not on blood pressure meds are you? DH was suffering from this and has come off his medication. His bp was WAY low.

I cannot BELIEVE your doctor would ignore your symptoms! There is obviously something wrong and from the sounds of the restrictions to your eating, your band is not functioning properly - it may be slipped for example. I would strongly urge you to find another doctor, one who will listen to you and not ignore dangerous symptoms. How dare he be upset at you wanting to remove fill? From what you say its the most obvious and easiest thing to try. Surely your other doctors and specialists will support you in finding a lapband doctor who can help you?

Well.... it DIDNT happen to me and I eat a more carb based diet. I dont count protein, I dont do protein first and I probably eat 50 grams a day or so. I think its more a mix of generalised reduction in nutrition (as opposed to malnutrition, i think your body recovers and readjusts) and hormonal disturbance. I dont think protein has very much to do with hair loss in most cases - it could just as easily be zinc or iron for example.

Well, personally I think there's nutritional problems that can arise too - since what I see people eating (and this is not a high protein/high carb comparison or argument at all) is absolutely terrible. The biggest problem with the band outside of damage to your actual body (which is rare) is that banding, and the way people tend to want to use it - leads to the inability to consume entire food groups - and it CERTAINLY leads to the underconsumption (by a long shot) of fresh fruit and vegetables. I agree entirely that the risks of obesity far outweigh the risks of eating too little fresh produce, but I dont personally believe a diet of Protein Shakes, cheese, the occasional cracker and maybe a bean or two now and then is doing anyone ANY favours in terms of living a long, healthy cancer and disease free life. I have what I consider a loose band and I have to work extremely hard to fit these foods in, since they are more difficult foods, I find myself gravitating to the easier foods - often healthy foods, but not fibrous ones, and indeed to bad foods - for some insane reason, I find pastry easy, so I am always craving a meat pie or sausage roll for lunch (I'm an Aussie, lol). And the problem is, with a bandsters little stomach, 3 slices of raw carrot is NOT an entire serve of vegies. That woudl be my main concern.

I'm so glad your breastfeeding has continued! I found by 19 months with my third, I wouldnt have even had to nurse her on my sore stomach - I could have thrown her a boob from across the room, lol. She didnt even have to stop playing with her blocks!

Yes, you are putting your band at great risk if you do it often. A PB *does* involve heaving, well for many people it does (for me its a very violent occurrence), unless you've got incredibly slack valves that just let it gurgle back up. The whole action of pb or vomiting is your muscles working in reverse to eject food, and that puts your band at risk. You may be one of the *lucky???* ones who just opens her mouth and out it comes. If it happens more than occasionally, the two most likely reasons are a) you're not eating properly on continuing to eat things that just dont agree with you (chew even slower, take even TINIER bites) or :thumbup: you're just too tight. YOu can be too tight without reflux, heartburn, etc. The band was never actually designed to keep you entirely satisfied on half a cup of Protein only food, its a tool meant for a more balanced diet in smaller quantities, so you are really meant to stay loose enough to eat cereals, vegetables and fruits. If a lot of those foods are off your menu, you're probably too tight. If your band is at a restriction level where you never feel hunger, you're probably too tight. Think about your diet, are you unconsciously choosing slider foods - no not ice cream and Cookies, but have you severely limited your diet, always choosing yogurt for Breakfast, always taking the easy option for lunch? Does fear strike whenever you're eating out and not in complete control of the menu? If so, you're too tight. What the band should do for you is enable you to eat less than you did, but still eat a complete diet. Unfortunately, it never turns out that easy for most people and we nearly all need a little more control than is ideal, I think the band's pioneers were not fat people themselve, lol and took the overly simplistic view that just coz we were full we would stop eating. But by being tight enough to make pbing and sliming a regular event, you do run the risk of causing damage to your band AND to your body, your teeth and esophagus will not thank you either.

Um, maybe I'm insane but I would consider nuts seeds and avocadoes a gazillion times over a better nutritional choice than Protein shakes. Much healthier fats in those than in meat, cheese and dairy foods. I'm not trying to stay thin so that I look good when i die of a heart attack.

You're early on and the belly fat will probably be the last to go, if you're more apple shaped, it will take a long time. Its reducing, but of course, you want it all gone now! Even for those of us more pear shaped, there's some stubborn belly fat that hangs around. Your routine sounds good, it depends on your fitness though. I'd be aiming to jog, then run, rather than walk - although any cardio will work - intensity is what really makes the difference. And its not as hard as it sounds, running 10k for me now is quite an easy, comfortable thing to do. It's .

Not weird at all - this has been the hardest part for me of the whole journey, after a lifetime of always trying to change myself and my body, suddenly I'm here. To be honest, I kept trying to lose weight, it took me a long time to realise I was there. It takes time but 18 months at goal and I'm starting to not be striving to see an ever smaller number on the scale. Sooner or later, we have to look at ourselves and accept what we see, and its funny how you can be so thrilled with your reflection on the one hand and still want to keep working on it on the other. I still have days where I feel I've only got hold of this by a thread, it could all slip away from me. I've got to work on not feeling that panic every time I have a day where I eat something not diet friendly (most days, lol). I've answered your pm by the way, just saw it.

You're the winner allrigth! 5K is a huge achievement! Once you can do that, you really CAN do any distance. However, I find, I do the longer distances for races but for my general fitness schedule, day to day stuff, fit it in between getting home from work and dinner or getting up in the mornign to run, 5 or 6 K is absolutely fine, enough to keep you fit and thin. Great work! For me, that was a much bigger thrill than getting into any size or pair of jeans.

I hear you on the boobs. End of the year, I'm moving on that. As soon as I know I have a job (about to finish my teaching degree) I will be finishing summer 2010 with a great rack. Have you looked into the botox neck lift? I have the teeniest turkey gobbler and the PS I say a year back about my boobs suggested it. No surgery, just botox. And of course, you dont tend to look like a stunned mullet a la Nicole Kidman when its your neck, not your forehead (and you can still raise your eyebrows when you realise Plain is breathing down your neck). Good luck!

I was 5ft 10, 245 lb when I got banded and Kirstie Alley at her heaviest was twice the size I was. I was nowhere near as fat as she got. Then again - it can be deceptive. You'd have to see her in real life. And she also has one of those faces, where she just completely loses any chin or neck when she gains which makes her look absolutely enormous, when in fact her body may not have been as big as her face led you to expect, if you know what I mean. On the other hand, I have a very heavy girlfriend who has maintained a fairly thin neck (and also has tiny, slender hands and feet) and that is also deceptive, you cant believe she weighs 300lb. If she hadnt been the JC spokesperson, i would have suspected she never said what her weight was and that it was just made up rubbish to fill tabloids. But in the position she had, I feel she did have a responsibility to be honest about her weight (and size).

Even with a band I've had to learn to graze a bit - if I stick to 3 meals a day I do lose weight. But I also get very hungry coz I do need more food than I can eat in 3 meals. I really NEED 1800 to 2000 calories to maintain.

I've never found the various gu's and gel's I've tried to do all that much for my performance to be honest, but what DOES make a difference is eating a wholegrain based diet. If I keep my body carb fuelled, I can run long distances with maybe ONE gel (at 100 calories) to get me through if its 15kms or so. I dont find I need sports drinks, Water is fine for me. I simply dont do a Protein based diet. It makes me feel crap, I have no energy and I run out of oomph very fast if I try to put in long running sessions. It does not suit my body and that's all the evidence I need that its not the be all and end all of weight loss eating. I eat carbs and they make me feel healthy and energetic. Overall, I eat stuff like oatmeal or wholegrain bread for Breakfast, I eat bown rice and brown Pasta, I eat lots of fruit and vegetables and I try to eat a slice of bread or so a day if I'm preparing for a longer run. I can eat bread though, I'm lucky. And if I couldnt I would unfill a bit so I could - because there's less calories in good quality carbs than there is in a zillion shots of a sports product during your ride. Carbs are fibrous and airy and take up room in your tummy for much less calories than protein even though gram for gram the calorie count is the same. And I find because I burn it off, I can afford to eat it without it affecting weight or weight loss. In short, carbo load. The standard bandster diet is not a great diet when it comes to talking about sports nutrition for endurance events. It is not what athletes would eat. And no amount of expensive products is going to make up for it.

Satisfied full feels the same to me as it always did. Overfull though - MUCH more uncomfortable, i even find it hard to breath and have an asthma like urge to cough - in that its not productive or mucousy but tight and irritated.

I never thought I'd pass up on a low cut dress for an occasion - becuase it showed that I have no cleavage and my chest bones stick out, lol.

But would you really eat 2 entire tbspns in one go? I find one more than enough for a sandwich or a piece of toast. Or just to eat :-) I think its worthwhile in moderation - incredibly healthy fats in nuts and the Vitamin E it contains is very beneficial for you too. But choose good quality organic Peanut Butter, not supermarket crap full of additives. I have found, with the portion control of the band, I simply do not have to worry about fat or even calories (must be the running). I make sure the fat I eat is not saturated fat, but I dont limit it. And my bloods etc are all perfect. Life's too short to not eat peanut butter!

My DH didnt lose. He kept trying, but the thing is, our family diet WAS very healthy to begin with and DH is a very healthy eater - he honestly has the slowest metabolism you could imagine and he sits in the car for about 2 hours per day and a desk for at least 9. He gets no exercise. I got fat on what I ate in ADDITION to what I fed my family, lol. So to be 250lb at 6ft 3, he really did OK, not to be much fatter. So his eating habits really did not change and he didnt lose. Eventually he got banded to and has enjoyed a very slow but dependable weight loss, however he needs to eat less than I do to lose weight. But he does no exercise still.

I agree, couch to 5K if you like structure. You *might* find it happens for you like it did for me. I went out to start C25K, and when I reached the end of the first jogging section, I didnt need to stop! So I kept going. And going. It was a very slow, strange shuffle and I was breathing like a steam engine, but I could keep going. I ran 3kms (what's that 2 and a bit miles) that night. That as my benchmark, I did that 4 times per week from then on. Then I bought a treadmill and I began to get on that daily, I trained for a 4K race, then a 5K, then a 7.5. After the first 4K, I took it back outside and alternated with the treadmill (the softer treadmill surface helped a lot) and nowadays I use the treadmill once or twice a week and run outside the rest of the time. Intervals is a good way too - I do interval training now, and I run so hard that I must walk in the recovery sections. But early on, I was stubborn as stubborn. It wasnt a run if I walked even 2 step! (that's a bit stupid, but just me). Good luck! Running was always my BIGGEST goal in losing weight. It was what I wanted to achieve.

My MIL is dealing with chemo at the moment - the anti nausea meds are incredibly effective, she's had not one single bit of nausea and has in fact gained a bit of weight. She still has all her hair too. I'd unfill my band I think. Getting well now is what's important. Best of luck.

To lose 100% of one's excess weight would mean that that person lost enough weight to take them to the top of their healthy weight range, or a BMI of 24.9. I am about in the middle of my healthy weight range at 150lb, with a BMI of 22, and its about 120% of excess weight lost, given my particular healthy range. But I could say at the same time, for example, that I've only lost 95% of what I wanted to lose, if I wanted a BMI of 21!

See I would argue these arent "rules" they're practices particular to the United States. We are told to do none of those things in Australia! So like you say, rules can be doctor specific. Well chewed, dont drink with meals, dont overfill your pouch, those are sensible rules to follow and pretty universal. But the rest of it is really personal preferences.