Jachut

I got three months out without a fill and I lost about 40lb in that time - half my excess weight. My weight loss slowed right down after that, to average about 1lb a week and then about 1lb a month, and it took me 2 and a half years in the end to lose 120lb (obviously I lost more than just my "excess"). In hindsight I could have gone longer and as it was, I only had tiny fills, building the restriction up very slowly over that first year. I had superb restriction - I have a 4cc band I really believe the older bands were much better than the newer in the earlier stages - with the surgicial swelling mine gave good restriction - better than I've ever achieved since with fills since it was very snug and I could only eat less than a cup 3 times a day and never had head hunger or even thought about food. If I tried to go that tight now, I'd have vomiting and reflux at night. It was just really easy - that weight loss was like magic, effortless and automatic. I went for a walk the day I got home from the hospital and exercised every single day, back to vigorous 40 minutes on the elliptical by week 3 and then by about week 6, I started running. So I was exercising, I was highly motivated, spurred on by fast results, it was a real honeymoon period. It got much harder after that. You do "diet" with the band. I mean, you cant eat crap just in small quantities and you do have to say no to a lot of your food impulses. You have to exercise. We have all failed at that before but we can all do it or getting a band wont make much impact. The difference with the band is that you can actually keep it up and if you do fall off the wagon, in general you cant eat enough to do much damage. You cant eat a cookie, think yo'uve blown it and then eat an entire pizza, a tub of icecream and a birthday cake! I've been out for lunch today, to a barbecue. I had 2 glasses of wine, a bit of salad, potato salad, a chicken skewer and a piece of the french stick, then I had a nibble at the cheese platter afterwards with a coffee. It was spread over a couple of hours and to be honest, I was embarrassed by my tiny plate of lunch - one skewer (lucky to be 50 grams of chicken), three small cubes of potato salad, a lettuce leaf, cherry tomato and slice of cucumber and a piece of bread the size of a cracker. It looked pretty funny compared to others' plates. Maybe 3 pieces of brie and 3 crackers and a date and a few walnuts. Probably less than 800 calories all up. But even to enjoy that, I only had a coffee and a small yogurt for Breakfast and dinner is a very small bowl of homemade Soup - even though truth be told, I could eat a normal dinner and will probably go to bed a bit hungry. I have to plan for it, and work around it to "indulge' but I feel exactly like I did in the old days when my plate was piled with steak, loads of potato, etc. I enjoyed it and feel like I had an indulgence. That's what's so great about the band. A day out, social eating but no real damage done. The only "cost" is that I have to economise on the other two meals and I went for a run at 7 am on a Sunday morning (ugh, not my idea of fun). And when DH offered me a wine a minute ago, I had to say no thanks. Two in a day is enough.

My band hasnt stopped me being a hard core exercise junkie. I've run, done bootcamp (the real stuff, hitting huge tyres with a sledgehammer or dragging tyres across the football ground kinda stuff), done Body Pump, Spinning, sandbag training, ab work, you name it, I've never had a problem with band or port and I've also never (touch wood) had an injury. The thing I struggle with most is spinning - it really upsets my knees and that's no impact. some high impact activity is important - it builds bone density in a way that cycling or swimming or the elliptical cant but you dont need a ton of it. it certainly wont affect your band or port if both are properly in place.

I've been banded almost 6 years and I was unfilled for 9 months of this pat year for another surgery. I've had trouble getting back to where I was - I've got more fill now (3.4cc) than I had taken out (3.2cc) but less restriction, very frustrating. My doc has been giving me 0.2cc fills and I'm going back on Friday and will ask for 0.1cc, so yes, you can have just 0.1cc taken out. I'm hoping this next fill does it - I dont have much left, although the tighter you get the more smaller increments make a difference, but I can eat a whole tuna sandwich (2 pieces of bread, a small can of tuna, lettuce)! There's not really a problem with that, its hardly a lunch that will turn me into a whale, but it just doesnt seem right. I always say to people to be careful with trying to go too tight because I've seen from years on here that once you unfill your band, it does tend to work a bit differently when you refill it. I know mine isnt leaking and its been seen on CT scan and xrays for my cancer treatment which I was able to show my lapband doc, and its all in place and fine. Its just different. Its going to take more to get good restriction that it did. Although that might be because I'm about 10lb lighter than when I was unfilled. And that's 10lb off an already very thin frame, so there's probably no fat round my stomach at all now.

I dont feel thirsty like that often at all.

Gee, its rare to find people so deficient, what were you eating to be lacking so much? Have you had your thyroid checked? Nonetheless, its great news! We watched Limitless last night and I would LOVE to get my hands on a pill like that, lol. Imagine how much you'd get done - the ironing, the floors, the house would be organised, all my planning for a year of teachign would be done, the finances in order, nails done, make up done, hair done, school clothes ready for tomorrow, all the school notices done, oh my, it would be wonderful! I'd speed around a 10km run every single day, look forward to weight training, have a fridge and freezer full of super healthy food, I'd be so perfect I coudlnt even stand myself. You must feel a little the same. Its one of the things that prompted me to get banded, I felt like a fat lazy slob. I never got anythign done, I always needed a rest and yes, a gym session would see me exhausted on the couch for the rest of the day. Its wonderful to say goodbye to that lifestyle. And it will only get better as you lose - I got more done and got more exercise whilst having chemo than I did in my old life.

I'm building my way up to good restriction again after being totally unfilled for a surgery. this is what its been like for me. Every time I think "this is the one" and for three or four days it's great - I can eat good variety and reasonable quantity (as I dont need to actually lose weight now) but then it disappears and I have appetite, trouble getting from meal to meal without snacking, can eat what I consider HUGE meals (not really compared to others, there IS restriction there, but I can eat a whole sandwich for instance) and the satiation after a meal simply doesnt last. I'm really having trouble preventing weight gain, feel like I'm constantly on a diet and have to run 10kms almost every day to keep the balance on the favourable side. I've got enough control of my eating after six years that I'm not going to pile weight on, its taken me 9 months to gain 6lb, but a gain is a gain and I want to nip it in the bud. It wasnt quite like this after surgery - every fill took me to a good place, they did loosen after a few days but becuase I was much heavier and it took much less work to lose weight, I wasnt as aware of it or bothered by it. By the time I got to maintenance, keeping a steady weight was effortless - I didnt think about it, I had my daily routine around eating and exercise, and I enjoyed myself when I went out or away and broke that routine, then got right back to it. I never gained weight from these occasional indulgences. That's becuase I had the perfect restriction for me. Getting back to it is sure frustrating. But every fill lasts that little bit longer, and eventually you get there.

The lapband works well for most people when they work with it - but working with it isnt ALL down to you. You need proper restriction, which you dont mention..... have you had regular check ups and regular fills? Fills are essential, but you will find restriction wanes over time, so even after that first year or two, you'll often need a small top up once a year or so - I've found this even six years out. Others succeed because a) they have good restriction, they work with their band, c) they probably exercise regularly and d) their bands are functioning well. Is all that true for you? Even if you work and c) really well, without a) and d) results can be less than exciting. I saw my surgeon (or a doctor in his practice) every six weeks for the first six months and had a fill nearly every time. Then it stretched out to every three months, and then about once a year. I had my band unfilled this time last year for a big surgery and when I was able to refill again, I was going every six weeks again to get back to proper restriction. Have you had that sort of support and contact with your clinic? And if you have had that sort of medical back up and it still isnt working, some people are just plain unlucky and have these problems, others just dont do what they need to be doing to lose weight, either becuase they thought it was a magic fix and they shouldnt need to work at it or the band was just a plain bad choice for their particular eating issues and problems. Have you had any other problems like being too tight, vomiting, night time reflux, inability to eat solid foods?

I've never overcome it and I'm banded 6 years. I dont know how to stop trying to lose weight. I've been a steadfast "non dieter" in that I wont follow a plan, I wont log, I wont count calories, I wont low carb but I do consciously restrict what I eat on a daily basis and I stay away from bad foods, I feel guilty when I eat a lot or indulge in something fatty, I will move heaven and earth to get in six exercise sessions a week. I weigh daily and am only happy when my weight is down, and I've gone WAY past a BMI of 25, to get right down to 20. I've regained a little weight after having cancer and treatment for a year and still weigh less than when I was diagnosed, but I"m trying to lose 10lb at the moment. Its a sickness, and it can only be managed, I dont believe it can be cured or that you can recover. I am better at some times, worse at others - at the moment I'm worse due to the slight regain and am obsessing over it all again. I've never felt this way before but a major illness like cancer was like tripping a switch for me because I got a taste of being REALLY skinny and have had to deal with some regain, healthy regain but still hard. Most of the time I can tick along with a fairly good balance between just enjoying life and indulging the right amount, and keeping my weight steady, and I can live with that, I dont really think about being "cured".

I think you're well within your rights and dont owe anyone any truths. You've done the hard work, accept the praise. But I told everyone for exactly the reason you're saying. I remember when I was heavy, running into people who'd lost a ton of weight, or seeing my very heavy girlfriend embark on another plan and having success with it. It made me feel so damn worthless and miserable - other people could do it, why not me. I'd comfort myself with mean thoughts that they'd never keep it off (and they didnt) but I was still cut up over the fact that they could actually lose 20kg or whatever, and I could never lose more than about 5. So I'd absolutely HATE to think that someone else might feel so down on themselves over my success. Yes, it was hard work and I know that these people that know I'm banded think that it was magic, and dont appreciate what I've had to do to lose the weight. But at least they're not thinking that I'm amazing and they're hopeless. I also think its a marvellous surgery that works amazing miracles for people who are willing to put the work in. I want to spread the word! I dont want people to waste their lives trying to do something that statisically, just isnt possible

I didnt have to drink barium it was a clear fluid with the consistency of water and then they injected iodine into me via my arm. I drank the fluid over about an hour - it was at least a litre, eeeeew.

Lol, yes I tend to be only warm during a hot flush too. I went through being freezing, it lasted about 9 mnonths but gradually my body acclimatised to being lighter and having less fat.

There's also the harsh reality of feeling fat when you look in the mirror despite what you've lost. There's been many posts about "I've lost 50lb but I'm still fat". Thats because if you had 100lb to lose you ARE still fat, you're still 50lb overweight. But you shouldnt focus on that, you always had to lose that first 50, the ones that dont show so much, to get to the 50 that really make the difference. We have to learn to appreciate all aspects of this journey, to recognise all the small triumphs and to focus on how we feel and not just on how we look. Because even to lose 10lb is bloody hard work and a major triumph. 50lb will have done simply incredible things for your health and life expectancy! But the kind of weight loss that is noticeable and takes you down sizes and results in a gratifyingly quick improvement in looks is the last 20lb, not the first 20. sometimes even at goal and well below goal in fact, I look in despair in the mirror and think I"ll never be where I want to be, now I'm trying to fight aging! We really must learn to appreciate ourselves simply because we are each wonderful.

Dont you find too that healthy eating and exercise support each other? You dont want to undermine your hard work at the gym with crap food. And you dont want to feel sluggish and awful at the gym because you've got a belly load of bad food on board. I find I can slip off track and eat badly for days but overall, behaviour modification is not only supported by the band but how you come to appreciate how good you feel when you eat well and how awful you feel when you eat badly.

Personally, I think its both. We all know its possible to lose weight without a lapband simply with willpower. restriction takes the willpower bit away to some degree, but the behaviour modification sitll have to come from you. I think however that we must be realistic about what the band is doing - even unfilled. Overtime, nearly everyone will require some fill to keep the weight coming off. And statistically, behaviour modification or not, nearly every single person that loses their band regains their weight over time. It just is. So I am thankful for my band, I dont abuse it by making it over tight, I work hard on behaviour changes, but I hate to say that even after six years, behaviour modification isnt the whole answer. I had to have my band ufnilled for over six months - I didnt gain but I hung on by the skin of my teeth. I was able to stick to heatlhy foods and not go wild on McDonalds but the portion sizes increased, hunger increased, etc. And my body, that is now used to eating small amounts and running on under 1500 calories, now cannot cope with normal person amounts of foods - the 2000 or so I am *supposed* to be able to eat at my height, weight, level of activity - I cant. I am now forever dependent on my band because I cant afford to eat more than 1500 a day. And that's from someone who practiced behaviour modification - I ran, I did bootcamp (well I still run and do bootcamp), I ate good foods from all food groups and worked hard to shed the dieting mentality, I cut out counting, weighing, measuring and learned to listent o my body. Works well with the band - without the restriction fronm the band, my body tells me it needs more than it does. I dont mean to be negative, this is a very positive post and everyone is on the right track. But we need these bands and eventually most of us need fills too.

Aw shucks. I just think you need to treat obesity like a chronic disease. I've reflected a bit on this lately when my oncologist told me that although we had such a great surgical result, I'm not cured, I will always be in remission. Obesity is the same. I feel like over the past six years I've had periods of remission and periods where I've fallen ill again - although these periods dont necessarily correlate with having lost or gained weight. For a good year or two, I ate what I wanted, when i wanted, most of that was healthy, I maintained fairly easily. I had some little lapses, got back on the wagon, lost the 4 or 5lb and went on my way. Getting cancer has thrown me for six, I was SO afraid of losing my band, of losing my fitness, I went completely over the top. I forced myself to run ten days after a major surgery, I restricted what I ate, I worked so hard I actually lost 8kg whilst unfilled, although a lot of that was probably just the strain of the treatment on my body. I was definitely indulging in anorexic thought patterns and behaviour. Of course as chemo finished, I was cancer free, the ileostomy (which quite literally was draining the life out of me, I cant see how anyone could be fat with a stoma) was gone, my body returned to health and that sick weight loss was regained. But its doing my head in. I am unhappy being 140lb again - for pete's sake I"m 5ft 10, I know how ridiculous this is. I am obsessed with one particular pair of jeans, I need to stay in them, but they're tiny. I could just buy a bigger pair (but they were $300). So to my way of thinking, I have defintiely relapsed. I am in no way fat, I'm still very close to the bottom of my healthy weight range. I eat healthy and exercise, but its not healthy behaviour at the moment. I have a fair amount of work to do to bring myself back to a sensible and sane relationship with food and exercise. For me that involves 3 meals a day of whatever I want, restrict nothing except for portions, exercise moderately and STAY OFF THE SCALES! This works for me but it takes time. By not weighing I learn to listen to my body again and not get involved in that how much weight did I just gain by drinking a cup of coffee type behaviour. I dont necessarily think any of this requires therapy for any one of us - as long as you can recognise your own dysfunctional thoughts and behaviour patterns and correct when you go off course. Of course it can be helpful to some people but I"m way t0o private/stubborn/sure I'm right to develop a productive relationship with a therapist. . I'm fairly sure as I get my life back on track post cancer (Hey! I got a teaching position for next year at a GREAT school) my relationship with my body and food will improve again. You can spend too much time inside your own headspace I think, you need to focus outwards rather than inwards sometimes. Then I'll be back in remission from obesity. that's my way of looking at it anyway.

Funnily enough, even though I dont have problems in general with bread - Subway bread - ugh. I can get some of it down but its a very risky food for me. Doughy breads are definitely harder. I watched my son down a foot long and was gobsmacked, I cant fathom anymore how somebody could eat SO much in a sitting, let alone so much bread. Do you really love Subway? I just dont get why people like it, but we all have different tastes. I really really want a meat pie today (an Aussie delicacy) and I know they're full of lips and assholes rather than identifiable meat!

Well, she's wrong! Where do these people get off really, frightening folk with supposedly black and white facts when in reality they dont know what they're talking about? There is nothing I cant eat if I really want to eat it. I dont eat celery because who really wants to eat something tasteless that leaves a bunch of wooly fibre in their mouth? But I can eat it, I did so the other day off a dip plate. I can eat ALL the foods you've listed. Every now and then something will get stuck and make me pb, but its a different food every time, and usually user error when I've scarfed something without taking my time to concentrate and slow down. Of course, its possible that one or two of those foods wont work for you, or you'll find others you cant really eat. Any doctor or nutritionist should warn you of the common ones - bread, Pasta, rice, red meat - but nobody should tell you that with certainty! For what its worth, there's also no right way to eat to lose weight. Plenty of low carbers here, they've done great. There's also plenty of the eat what you want just in small portions tribe and they've done great too! Its even possible to lose over 100lb and keep it off without ever drinking a single Protein shake! Some people exercise and lose lots, some people do no exercise and do great and some people eat under 1000 calories and exercise with dedication and stills truggle to lose. You need to find what works for you, and dont listen to anyone who tells you you must do it in a particular way.

I dont think it does. I'm thrilled with what I've achieved on that score, but I'm a dieter and always will be. I refuse to log, count etc because it makes it worse but I cant give up always trying to lose a bit of weight. I lost 8kg when I was having chemo, I was underweight and loved it. I've regained 5. I shoudl be happy, its healthy regain that I needed. But I cant stop myself from trying to lose it. I dont think you ever really get over being fat. I've done my best and my life is much better and I'm much less afraid of food than I was. I exercise becuase I love it and I love the way that it makes me feel and not to lose weight. I maintain a normal weight, even if I"m not a supermodel (I'm a perfectionist, nothing is ever good enough for me). I've learned to accept that as a big achievement and be proud of it. but will I ever be an effortlessly thin, totally normal person with a healthy relationship with food? I suspect not.

Very long thread..... was that pun intended Elcee

I didnt say it was healthy to starve, I merely stated that if you dont eat, you lose weight and eventually starve. I'm also no fan of eating below 1000 calories a day becuase you'll fight to be well nourished and keep lean muscle on your body. They question was do you believe in starvation mode, not what is the healthiest way to lose weight. But I've also never claimed my opinions should be gospel - they're just my opinions . I also believe low carb diets are nonsense and Protein shakes arent necessary. I think running is the bomb and everyone should do it. I think a lot of things that people are welcome to agree or disagree with.

I wouldnt feel compelled to say anything. My band doesnt stop me doing anything, I've never had any issues drinking and I agree, if by some slim chance I should keel over and be transported by ambulance to hospital, they're goign to contact your next of kin, who DOES know. The trainer is hardly going in the ambulance with you and they're not likely to try to give you and endoscopy at the gym, so there's no particular safety in your trainer knowing. Of course, say somethinig if you feel that way inclined. I like people to know so they dont think I"m some superhuman freak of amazing willpower. Its a positive story, a tool/surgery that can help people who think they're in a hopeless situation and if I think it will help someone I speak up.

I've had a CAT scan when I was diagnosed with rectal cancer. I drank the stuff, but it didnt make it all the way through my digestive system. The scan was clear enough anyway, but not as clear as it would have been with the contrast. I'm going in for my one year follow up CAT scan in November, when I rang to book I explained what happened last time. I simply have to fast for 12 hours instead of two, so that my system is pretty clear and it can get all the way through with nothing to hold it up. And I'm going an hour earlier to allow a bit more time. Interestingly they found the results hard to read because I'm not fat enough! There's no fat separating my organs, they all blend together in the scan. They found the rectal tumour during a colonoscopy so they were able to see it, but I have a uterine fibroid I didnt know about on the back wall of my uterous, back to back with where the tumour was, and because they couldnt see any space between my rectum and my uterus, they thought it was a huge,very advanced mass. It was bad enough, but thankfully it wasnt as big as a grapefruit! In a heavier person, there's fat layers that separate the organs and you can see more clearly apparently. I also had two MRI's, no problems there, and radiation and chemo, again no problems. Two surgeries no problems either. Colonoscopy preps are the hardest bit, I cant down that awful stuff in a gulp but have to sip sip sip.

I've never been able to eat bananas or cold hard boiled eggs without this happening. Occasionally it would happen when I really scarfed down McDonalds too.

I've never been able to eat bananas or cold hard boiled eggs without this happening. Occasionally it would happen when I really scarfed down McDonalds too.

What does it say about me that I got it instantly? She means can you, ah, swallow? In my opinion, its best to avoid it forever, just in case. I explained to my husband that it was very very dangerous to have oral sex once the band was placed. And anyway I've been married 20 years and I got a big diamond ring a few years back so i shouldnt have to anymore :lol:. And last I checked, lying on my back going through my shopping list and wondering whether I put the washing in the dryer didnt bother my band at all. My poor DH. He'd say I'm always joking at his expense and he's right. Only I'm not completely joking, lol.