Jachut

Great post! Isnt it funny how the successful ones are able to state the downsides, problems and difficulties of the band in a matter of fact, non emotional way, but still consider it overall a positive, effective step in the fight against obesity. Whilst you have other types of people who feel compelled to get on here screaming THE BAND IS ALL A CROC DONT DO IT IT DOESNT WORK! Just proof that the real key to success is all within ourselves, its your outlook, your determination against adversity and challenge, your ability to remain optimistic and make the best of any situation. We cant prevent real problems that result in losing our bands etc, but many people cant even get past the fact that they actually have to choose what to put in their mouths. Well done, I bet you're a success in many aspects of your life.

Isnt it funny how the topic of diet is such an emotive one? We're all prone to getting defensive about our choices. I always feel compelled to argue the low carb point because I really believe its unhealthy and not necessary. Why? What does it matter to me what someone on the other side of the world eats? And likewise, why would someone care if I eat 10 slices of white bread a day? But they do. I think we do pretty well to discuss this without fighting, lol. Really, a lot of what you like to do is personality dependent. Some people love the discipline of calorie counting or food group watching, and whilst I consider it dysfunctional dieting behaviour best left in my past, for others its a healthy focus and the way they like to live. My mother lives on weight watchers, she just is so used to it and there's nothing dysfunctional or unhealthy about her approach to food, OR her weight. I like to eat what I want, when I want and not following ANY program has not caused me to eat around the band at all because my motivation is to be fit, healthy and thin and I look at a Mars Bar and can see that that will not help me stay that way. Kudos to all of us for finding our own path.

Keeping the weight off is really where the band comes into its own, that's for sure. This reminds me of Magda Szubanski, any other Aussies seen her Jenny Craig endorsements lately? I heard her on the radio, saying she's chosen Jenny Craig. The interviewer asked her if she'd considered a lapband. She said she thought about it but decided she'd rather learn to eat properly. I thought what a fking idiot. She obviously knows NOTHING about the band. I forgot about it but then she turned up on A Current Affair saying how she's already lost 10kg and how successful she's going to be. Honestly! Start telling everyone WHEN you've done it and WHEN you've kept it off. Kudos to anyone who actually does it but guaranteed she'll have egg all over her face this time next year. For the Americans - she was the farmers wife in the movie Babe. Statistics virtually PROVE its undoable. There's always going to be some amazing person that does it, but most wont and that's all there is to it. You dont get banded because you're too dumb to realise that you have to change your lifestyle, you get banded because you've finally decided to take decisive action for the last time. I simply dont know why someone without a band would be hanging round here talking about how to lose weight without one. Like Magda, tell us all about it WHEN you've done it and WHEN you've kept it off. I'll give you all the praise and admiration you can handle and it will be heartfelt. I will even tell you you're a better person than me becuase I sure couldnt do it without a band.

My doctors says this is the only good use for Coke. He said to always keep a can of coke handy for major stuck episodes. Take a few sips and let it go to work. We used to use it at work to clean the tarnished coins out of the wishing well so its pretty strong! At the very least, drinking something fizzy might actaully make you PB and get rid of it. Ack, there's nothign worse or more annoying than something stuck which just wont go away.

I dont know whether it will cost you anything, but if you go private there are advantages. Firstly, if you take out private health insurance, you'll have a waiting period of a year before you qualify. If you go public it could be five times longer than that depending where you are. If you've got insurance, you'll probably pay a once off fee of about $3,500 to your surgeon and that's all you'll ever pay, all your aftercare will be bulk billed. If you need any revision surgery (things like port revision, band replacement, etc) then that will be done quickly and bulk billed. If you're a public patient, you could be hanging round with a slipped or non functinal band for a long time till you get in to be fixed. If you decide to go private, take out insurance, dont go self pay - for the same reasons. The premiums you pay will be less than a self pay fee anyway, and you're covered later if anything goes wrong. Good luck, and I think it depends a lot where you are. In Melbourne, its quite hard to get banded on the public system.

Filling blindly is the norm in Australia, and I know it was probably because I had a BMI of 35 when I was first banded, and I sat on most of my weight problem, but my doctor has NEVER had to poke around, first go every single fill I've had. If they've done lots, they'll be pretty good at it. Dont be too scared.

From hanging here for a few years, I'd say there's literally hundreds of surgeons that "dont get it". A surgeon is just a person, with his own personal life history behind him. Bariatric surgery is a rising field, its a great money spinner and many get into it for this reason. They may never have battled weight, never have been obese, never dealt with the issues of obesity before. You dont need to be an expert in any of that to place a lapband. My centre is the same, my surgeon was a general bariatric surgeon before getting into banding. He placed my band, he was a nice guy, he'd done enough bands to be very experienced in dealing with obesity, but I have only ever seen him three times in three years, the fills and general aftercare are managed by a team of doctors, my doctor is actually a sports medicine guy with many other interests and responsibilities outside his time at the clinic. But key is the lack of judgement. My doctor is whippet like, he's obviously NEVER had a weight problem, he deals with olympic athletes most of the time and not fat emotional women, lol, but boy he does a great job at it. That's what you want isnt it? Just some understanding, not judgement. Could you look for someone else?

This is a lapband support forum first and foremost. Everyone here has tried many times over to lose weight "on their own". Most have had moerate success at it a few times, some spectacular. Everyone has gained it back. Whilst everyone wishes you the best of luck with your journey, and understands perfectly the reasons why you decided not to go for the banddont expect people to like hearing things like "you're doing it on your own",anymore than you like hearing that really, you've got about a 1% chance of actually losing weight and keeping it off. Now, onto the exercise. I did what you did. I held myself back and went SLOWLY. And like chickie, along the way, I fell in love with running. Now I can run for hours. Unlike with dieting, with exercise, if you want to be dedicated to it, there's every chance you can be no matter what you weigh. The band has nothign to do with that. And it can only be good for you, so great work!

I didnt follow a program, I got banded to avoid that. All I did was portion control. I dont low carb. I couldnt live that way. And I dont believe the hype about it. Yes, the studies sound plausible but that's because people want to believe it. So too did all the hype in the 80's about low fat/high carb. There was TONS of "proof" that that was the way to go too. I really think high Protein will go out of fashion again, it didnt work in the 60's and 70's afterall, when everyone was doing Atkins. I tell you what does work for me though, is no longer eating 3000 calories a day of highly processed white sugary carbs! I eat good healthy food in its natural state meaning bread, crackers, processed cereals are not a huge part of my diet anymore, but unprocessed grains like rolled oats are. I get more carbs from fruit, vegies and nuts, I eat much more of the good fats and much less saturated fats (which is a huge downfall of the way many people interpret high protein low carb) and a lot of fibre and it's worked.

I think you did the right thing not saying anything. They MAY have been eating badly, or they may simply have been having a less strict day too, you dont know and cant assume what they eat all the time. Also, what you consider bad is not the same as what someone else considers bad. Most bandsters that dont lose weight dont lose it because they havent got the calorie levels right. For instance, we dont do Protein first in Australia. We dont focus on protein, we dont do low carb. I lost ALL my weight eating 1500 calories a day on a carb based diet. My bloods are all perfect, I'm as healthy as a horse and I have absolutely not trouble maintaining my loss. I lost to a BMI of 22. So whilst you (for example) might consider carbs "bad" it is patently obvious to me that you CAN lose weight on a carb based diet and that you DONT lose all your hair or fail to lose if you dont eat lots of protein. As long as you do what works for YOU, that's all you need to concern yourself with. Lots and lots and lots of bandsters dont lose weight because they simply dont have the discipline and self control necessary to work it. There's no "lesson" or "lecture" that anyone can deliver about what to eat that will change that. Just be glad you're not one of them!

Hmmm, how to say this without sounding mean? I dont expect anyone to "get it" either. Its fair enough if you dont want to eat carbs and like to follow a low carb diet. But expecting people to cater to that is a bit unrealistic, this is only about you and nobody else really gives a flying you know what, nor is family going to not enjoy their meals or husbands going to give up their ice cream. I think bandsters need to deal with their families and friends, not the other way around. Nor do I agree with all the obsession over "getting your money's worth" in a reastaurant, taking home containers of uneaten food, arguing about ordering off the child's menu (who on earth would WANT to) or trying to get senior's discounts when you're not a senior etc. Its all just dysfunctional food behaviour. Just eat what you can/what you want/keep the portion small, leave the rest. It seems so simple to me. I honestly wouldnt even think to post that someone had cooked me lasagne, I'd just eat a small bit of it, leave the garlic bread and never think about it again. Banding is not about obsessive diets, its about a new lifestyle and one meal of lasagne does not make or break a lifestyle. Sorry, that DOES sound mean. I truly dont intend it to but I just think its important to gain these life skills, not think that you can control the menu or proceedings to suit your band.

I think that's a good idea. That said, the whole you need to gain 25lb thing is a bit of a myth. Your baby needs nutrients, not calories. It takes very few extra calories to grow a baby, perhaps 250 a day in your third trimester. If you are taking in the nutrients your body needs during pregnancy, things will probably be just fine. In my third pregnancy, I gained no weight at all. I kept it completely stable BY DIETING. Moderately - weight watches, 27 or so points a day. With my doctor's blessing. I took a good supplement and I ate really really well because I was already about 210lb when I conceived and had had blood pressure probs resulting in induction twice before. When I had Eliza, she was a healthy 8lb and perfect, and I left the hospital 10kg (25lb) lighter than when I'd conceived. Mild fat loss from YOUR body wont harm your baby. But that said, you've actually lost while pregnant, which would indicate your energy needs arent being met. I'd consider a supplement like your doc suggests, I wouldnt curtail physical activity because it is so good for you, but supplementing calories AND nutrients might be a really good idea. You dont want to lose any more but it probably wont matter if you dont manage to gain much. But bear in mind, that without the weight of your baby, and all the extra fluids in your body now, you actually probably weigh a bit less than 142. You want a bit of condition on you if you want to breastfeed! Good luck, dont let it worry you though, once upon a time a much much smaller weight gain was considered healthy in pregnancy, the standards quoted today are just current trends is all.

Curves if fantastic if you do it HARD. Really work at it. Dont chat and giggle and push a few weights and it will work great for you. I use free weights and body weight stuff at home, but I've had a free trial at Curves. I use a lot more running in my circuits, I might do five minutes of squats, lunges, stepping up and down off a high box all with a barbell, then I might run on the treadmill for five minutes. My circuits are a pretty highly aerobic, but I'm very fit and when I had a free trial at Curves, I was able to get my heart rate right up there by working hard. Of course, I got told off becuase I wasnt in the 'right zone' but I ignored the instructor. They dont teach them very much (got a job there once, but couldnt do the hours they wanted). They'll make you take your pulse and keep in the fat burning zone. I just lied, lol. Basically the harder you work, within reason, the better, there's no need to slow it down and get your heart rate down as long as you FEEL Ok and are coping. Dont push yourself to the point where you feel ill though.

That's exactly what I would do - work my way into running. Its exactly what I DID do. I may not have been restricted budget wise, but I was/am timewise. I love love love running. Put on my shoes, out the door, its done. I love not being dependent on gym timetables and having to get places. I have lots of great running clothes etc but they're not necessary. I ran in old stuff for the first 2 years. You can do squats, lunges, push ups, core work like planks at home, you can use bottles full of Water as weights, google it, there's SO much you can do. I personally find it way less of a problem to motivate myself to do this than I do to get to a gym. I even do aerobic housework, lol. I set the oven timer and race around like an idiot doing stuff, to warm me up before I go out and run.

What would switching to crappy white carbs for dinner achieve? I tend to struggle more with dinner than any other meal too which is not the norm, far more people are tight in the morning and open at night. When I was barely eating dinner, I had a small unfill, got used to it for about 4 months, and then had the fill put back in and its nowhere near as tight on my second attempt at it as it was the first time. Dinner is a very nutritious meal for me, its often when I eat the bulk of my vegies and a good solid piece of Protein. Although tonight I had a bad time with it, we went fishing at a trout farm today and caught a 5.5kg atlantic salmon - I adore salmon. When they cleaned and filleted it for us, I asked for a small bit for sashimi. I made a soy/walnut oil/ginger dressing, finely julienned carrots and cucumber, and sesame seeds. Droooool, I was SO looking forward to it. First bite, instant pain. Had to put it in the fridge and wait an hour. It went down like ground glass, didnt enjoy it at all! I HATE that. Salmon sashimi is normally fine for me.

dinner is usually the meal I struggle the most with too - and that's unusual, its much more usual to be tight in the mornign and wider open at night. But dinner is important, well it is for me, becuase its often my most nutritious meal, when I eat a lot of my veges and a good solid piece of Protein. I found when I really wasnt eating dinner many nights at all, I was better off having a small unfill. I had a few months at the lower level, got more used to it and had the fill put back in and its nowhere near as tight this time as it was the first. Although I didnt do too well tonight, we went fishing at a trout farm today and caught the most gorgeous 5.5kg atlantic salmon. They filleted it for us and I asked for a small bit for sashimi. I was looking forward to it so much and made a special soy/walnut oil/ginger dressing for it, with julienned carrots and cucumber, one bite and I got blocked up, had to put it in the fridge and try again an hour later, and really sort of had to grit my teeth to get through it, didnt finish it. ARGH. I hate it when you're really really looking forward to something and then it just doesnt agree, normally salmon sashimi is fine for me. And of course, the rest of the fish was filleted and is already frozen! Personally I wouldnt switch to eating crappy white carbs for dinner, what does that really achieve?

I went through the Centre for Bariatric Surgery too and highly recommend them. My surgeon was Gary Crosthwaite. The Avenue was a good hospital too, very nice. I find it fairly convenient to get to the centre for fills etc, although DH got a parking ticket. Where are you based? I know there are surgeons operating out of Peninsula Private and The Valley Private too which may or may not be more convenient. My out of pocket expense was $3,000 back in 2005, DH was done mid 2008 and paid $3,500. Everything after that is bulk billed so nothing out of pocket at all.

Yes, swapping like that is what I do. mac is right, you burn more of a proportion of fat at a lower heart rate but you burn less fat and calories overall and your body pretty much goes back to its normal resting metabolic rate the minute you stop. There's lots of evidence that working harder - at about 75% or 80% of your max heart rate not only burns more calories and fat overall but also cause an afterburn where your body is burning at a much higher rate for hours afterwards - and strength training also has this effect. Of course there's credible evidence disputing this too and you have to be able to cope with the workload. All I know for sure is it really WORKS. For me anyway, the extra effort pays off, but I've done more than my share of long, slow cardio with all the running I do - I can run at about 8km an hour and keep my heart rate under 130 for two hours at a time, or I can do faster, harder, shorter runs. I try to do both for balance, but when I first started running, all my runs were "anaerobic" in that my heart rate was HIGH, and I was SWEATING. Walking on the treadmill didnt cut it for me, that was already too easy to qualify when I was banded. But for the next person, it may be all it takes. The key is YOUR worklevel. Add in the weights and WOW, over the last six weeks, I've peeled off a dress size without actually losing more than a pound or two. I dont know why I quit the circuits and fell into just running - probably because my goals are all running related and to be a good runner, you have to RUN, lol, but the higher intensity work (sprints) and the weights have worked miracles on me over a very short period of time and at the moment I seem to be able to eat and eat and eat and not gain an ounce. In fact the more I am able to sneak in past my band, the more weight I seem to lose.

I think you're too tight too. Still, it is hard work staying on a well varied diet. I dont do protein first becuase I dont think protein is the only nutrient I need. I make sure I mix forkfulls and eat equal amounts of everything on my plate (I leave out starchy carbs from dinner though. I find I have to cook fruit to eat much of it, so I make fruit based "healthy" desserts like plain stewed fruit or apple crumble (reduce the sugar and fat etc) and have a bit later after dinner (and I will halve the size of the dinner I eat to fit it in. I truly dont think there's much advantage to getting in 60 grams of protein in your day when you've eaten no fruit or very few vegetables - you may not be protein deficient but you're STILL not eating healthily! Dont waste your stomach space on anything not worth eating. Be looser so you can eat more and more variety and exercise more to make up the difference if there's scope for that.

I find HARD cardio - interval training - sessions combined with HARD circuit sessions - where I use weights combined with running on the treadmill absolutely BLITZ my body. Seriously, inches just disappear. Doing your weights as a fast hard circuit, makes it cardio also so you get the benefits of both forms of exercise. Fat burning zone cardio is a myth, its pretty much been debunked by now. You need some of it as a runner to develop a good aerobic base (training your body to use fat as fuel) but if you really want to burn mega calories, raise your metabolism for hours afterwards and build muscle, you need to be working a lot harder than 65% of max heart rate. Trust me, if you want fast results, this is the way to get them.

Probably bit lazy, yeah. But nothing we're not ALL guilty of. But commitment to an exercise program means that you go whether you feel like it or not. Over time, the activity builds energy, i cant believe it but I NEED it to feel normal now. Just Do It is a pretty good motto to live by in the early days.

I dont know that it should be painful all the time - if it is always painful you're probably a bit too tight if you're sure you're eating small bites and chewing. But realistically, I think a lot of things will feel uncomfortable to eat and eating will never feel the same as pre band. I dont have a lot of pain but the only things that cause no sensation and feel like pre band are things like Cookies and chocolate. Most meals I will get a few signals to stop for a minute or two to avoid a bigger blockage. Sometimes I really feel wistful for the old days, I just want to read a menu, actually fancy something and eat it freely. But the price to me is well worth it.

Technically, restriction doesnt *feel* like anything. But you know you have it if you feel things get stuck a lot. But good restriction is different for different people. You can have good restriction even if you NEVER get things stuck if its restriction you can work with. You dont feel it, you just get full quicker and stay full for longer.

I just think, just in case, you know, research ever proved it dangerous, that it is probably better to never ever do it again. That's what I told DH anyway. And I told him, that after so long it may also be dangerous to HIS band - I mean he might pop something, lol.

I think you'll probably look a million times better than buying pants to fit your midsection and having enormous amounts of excess fabric in the backside and legs. It must be humiliating but its better to look your best no matter what stage of you're journey you're at. One day (soon hopefully) this wont be a huge problem for you anymore.