Jachut

No, what you really said was "breasts offend me so your child should wait till he gets home so that I dont get offended". My response is that I feel that is as inexcusably rude as me saying "you're fat and your eating Mcdonalds offends my sensibilities, so please do it behind closed doors". Its entirely politically incorrect, judgemental and offensive. And so is your belief that women should make their one year olds make do with something other than what they want so that you dont have to see a breast. Or so that all these men who dont have a problem with breastfeeding (except in YOUR mind) dont see a breast. Its rubbish pattygreen, complete rubbish. I'm not wound tight, my breastfeeding years finished long ago and I have NEVER been made to feel I was doing anything inappropriate - and I might add, I would seek out a quite/private spot where possible because the lack of distractions made feeding quicker and easier - a food court was not my first choice. I dont really have a vested interest in this. But your attitude is offensive, REALLY offensive actually. Especially since most of the time you cant actually tell whether a woman is feeding her baby or holding him on her lap. You say "is it too much to ask". Well, really, if its not your child, you dont have any rights in the matter so yes it IS too much for you to ask. You're not a relevant part of the equation. And in Australia at any rate, at 1 year old breast milk IS the main part of their meal. And the benefits of continuing to feed your child on demand until 2 were convincing enough to me that I would have completely ignored some old biddy who told me to cover up. Well, I did, my mother thought it went on a bit long. I didnt listen to her either. (.) (.) Cheers!

I'd say see how you go weight wise for a while. I've personally found this incredibly difficult to get my head around but I DONT NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT. I'm up to about 2000 calories a day and not gainign weight. I panick on a daily basis about how much food I eat, but really, the band did not change how my body functions, I"m 5ft 10, 150 lb and I exercise an hour a day - and by that I mean a good solid hour's run or circuit training with a 700 - 800 calorie burn. So really, 2000 calories is not unreasonable. It just seems so MUCH for a bandster. But gradually over time, its becoming normal and I realise my body can handle it, but this takes TIME. My advice would be dont fill till you start to gain (if you ever do). To stop trying to lose weight when that's been your whole life is not an easy process. To accept that you're OK and not to continue to try to change yourself is incredibly hard. It's taken me a good 18 months and its been harder than the weight loss. In answer to your other questions, yes the double chin will probably stay - you've lost weight, not become perfect. You will have problem spots and faults just like anyone else. Its connect with needing to be always on a self improvement project - stop trying to lose wieght, start obsessing with plastic surgery. Its the best reason I can think of for waiting the recommended 2 years - if you dont you can easily have five procedures in that time that you may later regret. Of course PS is much needed by many, I'm talking about obsessing about your double chin, getting that done, deciding you need a face lift, getting that done, thinking your boobs arent quite right, so many people just cant stop! And sadly, flabby skin is a fact of life after large weight loss that even PS cant completely rectify. Its better than being huge, and the world would be pretty boring if we all looked like supermodels. Believe it or not, people dont really see it, you have an overall aura or presence that people find attractive and people just dont focus on your flab like you do. Cut yourself some slack and give yourself some time, you'll get there eventually.

Hmmm, how would YOU like it if someone told you you were fat enough to last till you got home, that you didnt need to eat in public and offend everyone who doesnt like to see fat people stuffing their faces? I think you just *might* be a bit offended. What you are saying is really the same thing. Why should a one year old wait for their meal just so you are not offended?

In all honestly, yes I think it IS too much to ask. Throwing a blanket over your head is hot and stuffy for starters. I wouldnt want to eat with a blanket over my head. But what about feeding a toddler rather than a baby? How do you keep a 2 year old under a blanket? How do you stop a 1 year old pulling and off as he's distracted? How do you avoid a flash boob he turns his head without letting go, stretching out your nipple to a foot long? Really, if somone has a problem then the onus is on that someone to not look, not on the mother to suffocate her child under a blanket. And if someone cant differentiate between using breasts in a sexual way as opposed to a nurturing way, I'd say that someone has hangups and is somewhat of a prude. And I find it fascinating that its always other women that are the harshest - modern males dont seem to have a problem with it, its women.

High and mighty? Sheesh. How will breastfeeding ever become so normalised as to not even warrant thread like this if overly moralistic views like yours Patty keep being expressed. Once upon a time someone showing their ankles would have set someone like you off. But if women didnt say "who cares what you think, I'm comfortble showing my ankles" that never would have become entirely normal. Always being aware of the feelings of dinosaurs who have issues with the normal function of a breast is a great way to KEEP women (and breastfeeding) in the dark. If you dont like it, dont look, simple as that. It is a woman's RIGHT to breastfeed anywhere - sometimes you need to be judicious about it, but generally in those places you wouldnt take children anyhow. But feed my baby in a shopping centre or coffee shop? That is a woman's RIGHT. Absolutely. The stupid thing about this entire conversation is that people are so militant bout feeding babies. There's a zillion women about who would say they feel uncomfortable bottle feeding their babies in public because they feel scrutinized and even attacked by the breast is best brigade. Its nobody's business but your own how, when or where you feed a child that needs to be fed.

Yes they do. As you lose weight, you not only lose the weight on obvious parts of your body, you lose the internal fat too. So just like how a belt gets loose around your waist, the band loosens around your stomach and needs to be tightened back up. Otherwise we could all simply be filled to our magic sweet spot in one fill and left that way forever. You also loose tiny amounts of Fluid by evaporation too.

I know EXACTLY what you mean and it was my main problem prior to banding. I didnt get hungry like others seem to have, but I could eat till I was full and STILL want something - usually its a fair whack of sugar that satisfies it for me. I still suffer with this to *some* degree, and I think I always will. I can manage it a lot better with a band because I know that I cant continue to eat in the hope of dampening the craving so a piece of gum, a cup of coffee, cleaning my teeth or a small piece of something sweet like chocolate is usually ample - and obviously the emphasis is on small. Overall calories are much lower so I lost weight and keep it off. I really dont kid myself that I'm ever going to be some perfect eater who doesnt suffer inappropriate appetite. The band wont work miracles. But it really does help you deal with it and keep it in control. Just as an example - our favourite weekend lunch used to be a pie from the bakery (meat pies are to Australians what, I dont know, hot dogs are to New Yorkers) followed by somethign disgusting like a couple of custard tarts or donuts or massive cream cakes. A couple!! sheesh, I cant even eat a whole pie now, let alone a cake afterwards. We switch to party pies (little mini ones) followed by a sweet biscuit. Perfect nutrition? No. An everyday food? Definitely no. But a big improvement on about 2000 calories and 80 grams of fat? definitely yes! Its about management, control and making good decisions and the band really helps you with that.

What you're missing is that people CAN and do have restriction without a fill for quite some time. Like I said, with 2.7 ml in my 4ml band I still cannot replicate the kind of restriction I had with NO fill for 3 months after surgery. Its not simply to do with making the mental adjustment because you had the surgery. The OP herself says that she cant eat as much as prior to surgery. she does have restriction, she's simply asking whether this could possibly last and she'll never need a fill. That's possible - but unlikely. But suggesting someone didnt need the surgery is a bit rich. How about we say that WHEN the person has lost all their weight and WHEN they have kept it off for a good 20 years?

Actually, it evened out a fair bit for me with weight loss. My downward facing nipples are now upward facing ones (well almost, lol) too. They're just way lower than they should be, lol.

Well, everyone's different, that's the thing. The amount you should be ingesting may be different to the amount you CAN ingest. I think the thing is, you really have to eat according to what your body can handle, and whether you're hungry or not. I could probably only eat that much at that stage but over following weeks, I loosened up till at 12 weeks I could eat pretty normal amounts of food. So whilst nutrients may have been low there for a while, it evens out over time. And just FYI, there's no emphasis put on Protein at all as the one and only nutrient you need here in Australia, and we're not all keeling over . But the truth is, as a bandster, its probably going to be impossible to get the full amount of everything you need all the time, so supplements are a good idea. But really, its a lesser of two evils - you're far more likely to die from complications of being massively obese than you are from not getting quite enough Iron, protein or Vitamin whatever.

Are you serious? You would voluntarily have a general anaesthetic whilst pregnant? I would think (hope) finding a doctor to do that would be virtually impossible.

Yep, I've got it too. I assumed it was dodgy and clicked no, but it hasnt gone away.

Oh, I dont know, see I just wouldnt get offended by that. I also wouldnt say it, I agree. But I figure, if I"m going to put my ideas out there, people are going to have opinions in return. I wouldnt go up to strangers in the street and tell them I was getting my husbands name tattooed on my bum (yes, Its got an O in it), without expecting at least one to say "ooh, yuck". You do need a thick skin to survive cyberspace I think. People will say the most incredible things when its not to someone's face. Heated debates are different, some of those get nasty, and I've certainly said things that I later thought I shouldnt. But usually in those situations, the argument is actively sought.

God, I wish. You'll obviously have no problem getting a six pack.

Most people will need fills. But I went 3 months before having my first, before hunger started to creep in. And even with fills, I have NEVER been able to replicate the superb restriction I had in those first 12 weeks. Whilst you dont need one, you'd be silly to have one. But bear in mind, as you lose fat around your stomach, the band loosens. As you say, its working for you now, well the likelihood is your stomach will get smaller (due to less fat padding) and it wont continue to work for you. You'll need to get a fill to maintain the same restriction, not necessarily to increase restriction. But you're on the right track. You're realising that the weight loss comes from you, not from the band.

Statistically its not very likely that you will be able to maintain with an unfilled band. Hunger simply returns. I've not found I needed to loosen mine, I simply gradually stopped losing till I reached a stable weight. Over time, my band has loosened itself a little bit and I've got a quite good restriction level for someone on maintenance - for example today we were at a basketball ref training course where we were fed - fresh fruit for morning tea and sandwiches for lunch. I dont have to panic that I *cant* eat anything, you dont want to live forever in that sort of situation. So whether you loosen a little or not depends on what sort of tightness you have now and whether you continue lose past where you are happy. The way i see it, there is no medal for managing without the band. I have one, I'm darn well going to use it to live the longest, healthiest (and slimmest) life possible. I figure I'd be mad to unfill it and gain weight.

Mine has become very visible and easily felt, but it hasnt moved. I dont see how losing weight would make it "move" in reality, although yes, it does seem to move in relation to the scar.

I've been running around a basketball court practicing hand signals all day - enough to make me think I'm tired but in reality not much more than incidental exercise. So.....I really should do something tonight. I think it'll be just a treadmill run.

whoa that's expensive! More common in australia is between 3,000 and 4,000 as a private patient with minimal wait. You just have to fit onto the surgeon's list, which might be a month or so, but 1 year? I'd go see another surgeon. That fee generally means that all your aftercare (and any revision surgery) will be totally free to you as it will be bulk billed.

Yup. And whilst I lost weight easily just by cutting portions, eating sensibly and cutting out junk, that doesnt work for me now EVEN with exercise measures as double sessions - such as a 10km run in the morning and a boot camp DVD with my son in the afternoon. Even with regular strength training. I would definitely have to officially DIET (a 4 letter word) on 1200 a day to lose any weight now. I lost easily on 1500 or more prior to this. then it was near enough is good enough, now it would take sustained, perfect eating behaviour.

I had a bad spell in the first year after banding and it turned out I had developed endometriosis - its in my family but I'd escaped and suddenly to get it at 39, 40 my doc said it must be hormonal disturbance caused by the weight loss. I had a laparoscopy which cleaned it all off my bowel and I've been absolutely fine ever since.

I've been mixing it up a bit - I've read Fraser (my 13 year old son) the riot act. He had a shocking game of basketball saturday, he could barely keep up, he was obviously having trouble breathing (he's been slack with his asthma meds) and is having a dry spell as far as scoring baskets goes. So he just gave up and even cried. We have GOT to get him fitter. He's 76kgs (he's only an inch or two shorter than me so he's not tooooo bad yet) but he's well on the way to being obese and his physical condition is appalling. He has no motivation to do anything, he's inherently very very lazy, thank god he's academically quite gifted becuase he puts no effort into school work either. soooo... this is relevant, I promise .... we bought some Tae Bo dvd's and the Aussie Biggest Loser boot camp one. Brutal, lol. I found muscles i didnt know I had, I did the whole of each DVD, Fraser did a solid half an hour and was obviously shattered so he stopped then. He's been good - even enjoyed them. I also had Eliza begging me to ride to school, so fit in a couple of 8K runs as well and my normal circuit routine. I've been kinda tired, wow, wonder why? Speaking of circuits, its time to switch it round again. My body responded really well to the sandbag weights, but the benefits are waning now. I'm moving onto more Body Pump style stuff - got a 4DVD pack of Jari Love's ripped series coming in the mail $20 on ebay YAY and a $10 aerobic step that as $9.99 on ebay - double YAY. Whilst waiting I"ve done a few Body Pump classes at the gym - i'd rather do them at the gym than at home but I just cant make it to the classes dependably round my schedule. I found my first one disappointingly easy - I hadnt done one for probably 2 years and have a hazy memory of burning pain in the thighs, lol, but I could squat and lunge all day these days. Note for next one, need heavier weights. Doing Cardio Coach on the treadmill tonight - Pump is supposed to be a cardiovascular workout too but I doubt my heart rate went over about 90 - I didnt break a sweat. Tomorrow I'm starting a baskeball referee course for the McDonalds Hooptime which is a school kids comp - I'm going to ref a few of the littlies games during the school year.

Yep, I'm still loving my new smaller boobies. I dont regret the shrinkage one little bit. But when I search out pics of post bariatric breast lifts, they all look kind of weird and squarish and still have no volume on the top. I want the more rounded look that an implant would give but I definitely dont want the size, I'd like to stay a C cup. Everything hangs nicely, men dont gawk at them, but its enough to make good cleavage, its the perfect size. I think I"ll give the huge norgs, lipstick and blonde hair a big miss thanks all the same. I way prfer being dark and interesting.

Fast and aggressive fills are a risk factor too. I know its frustrating and you want good restriction but you really have to sneak up on it.

I dont think the occasional artificially sweetened drink hurts at all. But would I replace all water with Crystal Light. No. Tap water is free, it tastes good (well it does in Melbourne, what little of it we have left) or you can have bottled water and I just think you're better to train your taste buds. Why have something that's been tampered with with artificial ingredients if you dont have to?