Jachut

Ugh, I wouldnt even have fed my babies that stuff, let alone at it myself. Even the smell of baby food makes me gag. Seriously though, it's not going to hurt you, but its awfully bland and tasteless! And really, part of losing weight and keeping it off for life is learning to cook for yourself - healthy meals, not packaged stuff. Mushies really isnt hard - for example, once youre on mushie food, skinned tomato, skinned cucumber, avocado and chickpeas with a can of flavoured tuna is a great mushy meal -and how hard is that to do? Much more tasty too. Make up a good Soup with meat and vegetables in it, puree and freeze in smaller portions. You'll enjoy it a lot more and be able to get through it a lot easier without trying to live off tasteless foods.

Hmmmm, like I said, it depends on the intensity. I found interval training GREAT for weight loss and the value of running over walking made a huge difference for me too - I honestly dont believe that old work in your fat burning heart rate range for maximum fat loss. Baloney. Work harder and smarter, it works. But that said, you only need a relatively short session of hard work - 45 minutes is plenty. If you're just turning over the pedals whilst watching TV then you're not wasting your time, incidental exercise is a big part of our own personal metabolisms, most really thin people dont spend a lot of time sitting still. But by the same token, easy slow exercise isnt going to make the weight literally fall off you either. If you're tiny, 3/4 of a pound a week might be realistic. Honestly, I didnt lose any faster than that. I took 2 years to get my almost 100lb off. But everyone is different - you can only try it. Dont do it for a week or two and see what happens. You also have to think - is it realistic long term. I know I decided to run because I thought 8 kms a day would be great, but I dont have an hour and a half to walk that. I'm too time poor. I can run it in 50 minutes. Can you really continue with 150 minutes of exercise a day long term? But yes, I credit a lot of my success to running. It's definitely the make or break factor between losing ALL your weight or just the 60% average.

For me, I got home from the hosptial and we went out for a half hour stroll, and did that again that evening. In between I was resting. within a day or two after that I was doing two half hour gentle walks (about 3kms, not powerwalking by any stretch of the imagination) and my normal house work and day to day stuff, shopping etc. So on my feet a LOT of the day. I did stop and sit down and rest coz I got more tired than usual, but I basically tried to avoid beign a couch potato for a week and to be more "normal". But you must listen to your body, you've had surgery and eveyrone is different. I might add, I was a BMI of 35 and already of OK fitness when I had surgery so what I was doing was right for ME. Just avoid sitting for long periods. That gives me gas pains even when I havent had surgery!

I think as a general rule, you'd find a lot of trainers say that any more than an hour of cardio is really a waste of time. I know I've never really seen great returns for running for an hour and a quarter as opposed to fifty minutes and now that maintenance is the goal, not weight loss, I tend to do about 40-45 minute long runs. But if its something you ENJOY, theh its not a waste of time, other than things like my concern with running is that to run for an hour and a half every day would be enjoyable to me becuase I love it. But the levels of pain and injury I suffer increase a lot with that kind of workload. I'd be better to keep up my running and add weights. If you're mixing it up and doing cardio and strength training, then you could easily spend two hours or so a day working out, with a good run and some attention on chest/back one day/ legs and arms another kind of thing. And if you chose to walk for an hour on top of that, well how can that hurt? As long as you dont start to feel that you're overtraining - not sleeping, not performing well, getting sick etc. It depends on intensity too of course, yes, interval training, boy, I'm whacked after 45 minutes of that, no way could i do 3 hours. Or run a half marathon every day.

Well it depends how you define "whatever you want". If you want to eat Mcdonalds for every meal, then there really isnt much point in band surgery, I agree. But if you want a healthy non diet lifestyle there is. America and Australia do the post band lifestyle VERY differently. In Australia we dont generally do the Protein first thing, and low carbing is not the craze here that it is there. Australian bandsters are encouraged to eat from all food groups and we're still sort of more towards the low fat high carb diet although the importance of a bit less carbs and a bit more protein is well accepted. But bread, Pasta and rice (good quality wholegrain ones, not supermarket rubbish) are staples of my diet - to many here, that would qualify as "eating whatever I want" and many would say "if you're gong to eat carbs like that why even get banded?". But truth is, a diet that contains a variety of healthy foods and lowish calories will allow most people to lose weight, carbs included. A good healthy diet, low in calories backed up by exercise certainly leaves room for the occasional treat. Occasional being the operate word. I look at my band as a tool to help me live my life better, and I choose to exercise a lot to help that along. I do NOT look at it like an enforced diet for the rest of my life. How miserable. Balance and moderation are the key, not swapping one dysfunctional eating style for another.

I dont low carb it. I eat bread, Pasta and rice regularly, and LOADS of fruit and veg and I go easier on high fat and high Protein foods. I've been very successful, at the end of the day for the majority of people its simply calories in/calories out. I know low carb can be healthy, low fat and high in fruit and veg but truly, when I read the "what have you eaten today threads" I shudder. I am truly concerned at the awful diets people have in the name of protein first. Some people eat barely nothing but processed meat, shakes and frozen meals and call a few Beans a serve of vegetables. Forget about any fruit. That's not healthy, whether carbs are the enemy or not.

When I first got it I used it heaps as I was unfit, heavy and embarrassed to run in public. As I got fitter, I ran outside more and more. Now the treadmill gets a better workout in winter, when its raining. In summer, it doesnt get used alot except for those 40 degrees celcius days when its just too hot to exercise outside. I run further distances now, like 10kms and I'd fall asleep and shoot off the back of the treadmill trying to run for an hour on it. But I make up circuits, run a bit, jump off, do squats, run a bit more, jump off for push ups etc. It got me out and running and it is a backup for bad weather or inability to get outside while its still light. I'd definitely call it money well spent!

Obviously your port doesnt show now? Mine shows anyway, not that I plan on being pregnant again. It would definitely pop right out with the pressure of a pregnant tummy behind it. But everyone is different. I find it hard to imagine that you're so tiny and light and yet it doesnt show at all. Hasnt your DH ever felt it, mine feels like a small rock!

Exercise is no magic cure all for obesity but it IS for everyone! We all NEED exercise for our health and wellbeing. When there's other reasons why we've become obese, we cant cure it with exercise alone, but exercise is never a waste of time. And like you say Kylie, you're toning up, that's everybit as important as numbers on a scale. Plus my dear, you are well and truly below obese now. It can get very very hard to lose past that point and it may take more than many people are willing to live with to attain and maintain a lower BMI than that. You've been a resounding success really. I know for me, it took me like an entire year to lose 5kg last year. Truly. And since then, I've been trying to lose more weight this entire year and not lost an ounce. I guess I'm lucky in that that happened to me at a BMI of 22 or so, but I think at least in my case, I have to accept that unless I want to really get into strict diet, weight training and all that awful boring diet stuff, then this is what I weigh. I run an hour a couple of times a week and I'm not losing, but that doesnt mean running isnt working for me, not by a long shot! But to lose anymore, after 3 years of running, I'd have to shock my body, do something different, take up weights, do the high protein thing. Y-A-W-N. I couldnt be stuffed personally. But that *may* help your plateau.

I think for me this has been the hardest part of the entire journey. I am a normal weight, I am even THIN but I still want to lose more. I lost all my weight so easily, it baffles me why I cant lose 6 kgs more. But you know, I think I sabotage it on purpose so that I never actaully "arrive" at that destination because I wont know what to do when I get there! Weight has been my focus for me entire life, I dont know how to not be dieting. Or at least trying to improve my body - I think that's why I enjoy running so much, it gives me the same focus, there's always things to achieve.

I can still eat bread, and rice, and Pasta. Its harder than some foods, easier than others. I can eat ANYTHING, its just a matter of how much work I want to do to get it down. You come to just not want certain foods (like pizza, the thought of it is revolting now).

You're eating too much. You need to stop before you get to that stage, which may take some practice. It can be hard to recognise "satisfied" but basically, if you feel more than a teeny bit full, you've overeaten.

Pretty much like banding, lol. Ask anyone who's had an unfill. We were chatting about this the other day. Doug was surprised that I really dont consider my band "permanent". I fully expect that something will wear out or break down in the future, and my recent tiny unfill and the return of my appetite is quite scary. I thought I'd learned portion control and healthy choice, but when you get that old appetite back, you get a wake up call.

Its really hard how fickle the band is for women isnt it? I dont find consistency with this but just about every pb I've ever had has happened in the week before my period started. Back earlier this year I had a few months of horrid periods - bad PMT, bloating, bad skin, awful pain. And then my band suddenly tightened a lot, not to the point of not being able to eat but it lasted about two months and I felt I didnt need to be that tight to maintain so I had a slight unfill. The unfill made very minimal difference, then like you say, about a month later, it suddenly loosened up and I can now eat entire sandwiches, have had to really FIGHT not to gain weight. And coincidentally havent had an awful period since, just normal, pain free ones. I'm getting another fill next week too as I'm sick of having to work so hard to maintain, my appetite is quite high. But I too am worried about what happens if I have no room to get a bit of pre period bloat. But I guess I could still eat, it was just half cup portions etc.

Well, I found every spot a sweet spot in that it was right for me at the time. But longer term, the fills that have lasted for me have been around 2.9, 3cc in my band. I had a small unfill back in June down to 2.7cc because I suddenly got very tight - more to do with my hormones than the band I suspect - and was just a bit uncomfortable with how little I was eating. Nowadays I can eat entire sandwiches on thick bread, wide wide open and having to work VERY hard to maintain. I'm going back next week to go back to 2.9, as I think overall, that is my perfect level. It took me about 8 fills to get to that level, fills dont cost me anything, nor do they cost most people anything in Australia, so we tend to go slowly but surely in very small increments. I wouldnt ahve been been able to handle two big fills, as I was nice and tight at each stage until I lost weight and the band loosened.

Minute amounts can make a difference, I went from being really tight at 2.9 to so wide open I can eat an entire sandwich on THICK bread at 2.7. Its amazing. I'm going back to 2.8 next week, lol. Sometimes you just tighten up, which is what happened to me, 2.9 had been fine for me for absolutely ages. You wont necessarily be too tight again at the same fill level.

I agree with Jack. I just dont worry about it, even devoting this much time and energy to thinking about what you DONT want to eat is not a normal way to think about food. Yes, we eat a little more on the holidays due to all the celebration meals. So what? I just go along, have a little of what's on offer, try not to drink more than a glass or two of wine and make sure I continue to get a good run in most days. At worst I may gain a pound or two, very unlikely for me with a lapband. Most likely I will simply stay the same. When I was losing, I continued to lose. Its basically fresh healthy food - its not like a 10 layer three cheese lasagne - its meat, vegetables and some trimmings. Dont eat a lot of it, have just a taste of Christmas pudding, avoid all the nibbles before and after and dont drink too much and there's no real problem, it turns into just an ordinary meal. And dont eat leftovers for days, just get right back on your program.

I seem to be in the minority but every fill worked for me. At each stage it gave me enough restriction to keep losing. It would slightly decrease what I was eating and slightly decrease my appetite enough to keep on losing (albeit slowly). I just dont understand why you need max restriction right off the bat, when you can lose on much less restriction early on.... but I guess everyone is different. I guess early in the journey, I probably lost well on like 1800 calories a day, later on it needed to be 1400 so I needed more restriction, but there was no need to drop to 1400 right away when I could lose on more. So yeah, every fill was fine for me, I had another when it waned and I stopped losing but every spot was a sweet spot.

Yes, fruit and nuts of some description are high on my list of Snacks. Fruit on its own is very unsatisfying if you're very hungry, a piece of cheese or somethign with it does add that satisfaction factor. Green apple with Peanut Butter is yummy too!

Well said Kat, its all about reaching the point where NOT doing it is scarier, until then you're not ready. And its hard to have someone else suggest it to you when you've not considered it yourself. However, even pizza and McDonalds can fit into a healthy diet when you learn what reasonable portion size is and if you dont eat it every day. I have not eliminated one single food. Reading this board frightened the sh*t out of me because of all the high Protein diets everyone does, and all the shakes! I dont think that's a healthy diet and I dont want to eat that way, so much so that I decided not to have surgery. Till I joined an Australian board and realised that that was not the only way to work a lapband. I dont do ANY of that stuff. I dont have shakes, I dont measure, count calories or fat or protein. I eat whatever I want but I've learned to eat small quantities and not eat all day. My diet is more *normal* than it was before I was banded. I occasionally eat take away food, I occasionally have a piece of cake, I drink small amounts of alcohol quite regularly and bread, cereals and Pasta are regular items in my diet. Its really not hard or weird or different. Its how you should be eating anyway, for the sake of your health.

Simple answer is you probably wont. In fact, when you consider what a lot of obese people eat - mountains of nutrionally worthless empty calories, their diets can actually IMPROVE although they're eating 1/4 the amount. As for the hair thing, well there's enough people on here suffering hair loss while drinking Protein shakes for all they're worth to prove that protein is not the definitive answer to hair loss. There's also zinc, Biotin, Iron issues etc. Balanced diet, moderation in all things, its really the only way to ensure you get a bit of everything and dont miss out on any nutrients entirely. Red meat for example is a great source of iron and zinc that protein shakes simply arent - and even when they're added, there's simply no way supplements can match the synergy between nutrients in their natural form, you cant supplement the phytonutrients from plant foods for example, and we really dont understand how all these things work together, so its important to eat your protein as well as drink it etc. There's not much point getting enough protein if you're lacking badly in Vitamin c for example. So you have muscles but your teeth fall out? I dont quite understand the logic in it. I'm not anti protein at all but I just dont accept that its the one and only thing that matters in our diets and I think that thinking you can focus on it and supplement everything else is dangerous.

We probably all need to come to some form of moderation in the end. The fact is both high Protein and high carb have been done and neither worked because at the end of the day, people arent compliant with either - they eat too much junk food and dont do any exercise. Basically, if you cut out the junk and empty calories, the sugar, and excess fat and you move more, you will lose weight. After that, its just down to what you believe is healthier and what makes YOU feel best. There's certainly plenty of people with bodies that do not handle carbs well and who lose better and feel much better on higher protein diets. Others of us run better on carbs. We're all different. Personally I find protein foods heavy and need to eat them in moderation, whereas carbs and fibre fill me up and make my band work like it should - stay full for a longer time etc AND I have noticeably more pleasant runs where my energy lasts until the end. I just think people should find what works for them and not believe it all hook line and sinker because there's loads of outrageous claims and very little true scientific evidence on any ONE perfect way to nourish the human body. And even doctors and nutritionists get in on the fads.

I dont like a lot of milk on my cereal anyway, usually I do the 1/2 cup cereal 1/4 cup milk ratio. I like the crunch too. And most of the time when I eat cereal, its muesli, so I might have yogurt instead of milk.

My doc has no real instructions other than to be cautious. For me, I have always been able to eat, I dont swell after fills generally. But its one of those things where you have to listen to your body, some people do need to let things settle with liquids. I think you need to be careful for a week or two actually, since fills can kick in at odd times.

I'm not convinced that feeling fuller longer means its healthy to eat more Protein than you need though. I generally feel fuller longer an eat less becuase I feel sick from all the rich food in my system, it makes me nauseous and gassy. Getting enough protein is important, its how much is enough that's the question. There's lots of good evidence that a *slightly* higher proportion of protein in our diets is good for weight loss and not detrimental to other areas of health. But I dont understand why it suddenly becomes the wondernutrient after surgery either. It simply isnt approached that way here, and people in Australia arent all failing with their bands or ending up with no muscle either. By all evidence, the band works just as well on a carb based diet as it does a protein one. But that needs to be GOOD carbs, not supermarket bread and frosties! Protein is like all other nutrients, its broken down in the body into forms that the body can use. Its not magic.