Jachut

I do too - honestly.I dont like skinny as a body type for men and I tend to be turned off men who look like they spend hours preening in the gym - ie. a hot body to me just isnt that hot.
That doesnt mean I wont give those guys the time of day, I'm open to anyone, but if you were to ask me my type, I'd say older (40+), big and a little muscly but also a little pudgy - "comfortable" looking. That doesnt mean I'd be attracted to someone very obese though.
However, I will admit to being superficial - money is my criteria. Dont need a really rich guy but cannot imagine myself ever being with someone who wasnt a white collar professional.
So yeah, my type would be slightly older, successful looking, financially competent.
Some young skinny guy coming up to me, buffed to the eyeballs, I'd probably not take him seriously.

Its an odd situation isnt it? (sorry to hijack the thread but it may be useful info). What I am enjoying about being unfilled is how nutritiously I can eat - I mean its a miracle to me to eat a kiwifruit or strawberries comfortably - a big salad every day, part of the reason I'm not gaining is I've gone mad on those low joule fat free fibrous fruits and vegies that were much harder to eat with fill. Unfortunatly, I have a stoma at the moment and all that fibre with an ileostomy - lol, it makes for very loud noises at inopportune moments.
However, I've been given sheets from my stoma therapist about how to gain in the face of chemo and such and its all butter, oil, etc. I'm also being encouraged to include a lot of white bread, rice and Pasta to thicken stomal output. But I figure, and this stands for anyone whose a bit on the thin side - I may need some weight on, but I am NOT immune from heart disease and diabetes and loads of butter and full cream milk is still unhealthy or loads of refined flour is still unhealthy for anyone - fat or thin.
To the original poster - are you exercising? I know in my heart of hearts that the amount of running I do is giving me this stringy marathoner's body (not that I run entire marathons!). I really COULD cut down on the daily runs to maybe every other day without losing the good benefits of exercise but without burning so many calories. Trouble is, I really love running and I dont have the willpower to stop!
Denoument, I find I have gained great lifestyle skills that will keep this weight off in that I know how and what to eat and how to execise effectively. I believe i need just a *touch* of fill just to take that edge off. I am eating properly and in a controlled manner, but I'm back to finishing a meal and wanting seconds, or just a little bit more. I dont need fill to restrict calories, just a slight increase in satiety. I believe I could gain healthily and in a controlled manneer with some fill in my band.

Cant help with the cost issue but commiserate on being too thin. I'm 5ft 10 and currently 135lb and I look a bit awful at the moment. I have loose skin I didnt have 10lb ago and I look a bit like a 90 year old undressed. I've started dressing to hide my bones. But it is NOT easy to allow yourself to gain weight. Currently I have no fill becuase I had bowel cancer and have just been through a huge surgery, so that's what took that last bit of weight off for me, but its taken 8 weeks of no fill for my appetite to wake up. I've gained about 8 much needed pounds after intiitally losing quite a bit after the unfill through the surgical process but its darn scary how fast and easy those pounds have gone on in the last week or so.
What I'd suggest is a slight unfill and work your way down until you hit a happy medium, I'm about to begin the same process from the other end, I am happy to gain another 10lb or so but I want to control it and I dont want to gain 20 or 30!
My "secret" goal was always 140, at the bottom of my healthy range, but really, it doesnt look so flash. Yeah, my muffin top and thighs are gone, but so are my boobs, all my ribs show and I definitely look older.
The main thing to remember is needing to gain should really be a controlled process, not an unfill and a free for all pig out session. Hope you can manage to work in the necessary appointments to perhaps take your fill down a bit. You cant just "stop dieting" etiher because if you look at other people, its only tiny differences in habits - butter on sandwiches, full fat this or that, that odd biscuit with a cuppa or perhaps no exercise - that makes the 50lb difference between your weight and theirs. Gaining healthy pounds whilst maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits is a rather difficult feat and I've had many arguments with mn surgeon and stoma therapist who dont understand why i wont just head to McDonalds for a pig out.

I dont really believe Protein and only Protein is the answer.
I didnt noticeably lose hair but I've always been a shedder, I always leave hair all over the bathroom and plug up the shower drain, my brushes are always full of it, its amazing I have any but it never ever thins. However I do have a problem with frizz because I've always got little regrowing hairs sticking up everywhere.
Anyhow, I've always been lowish on Iron and last year was diagnosed with bowel cancer, a bleeding tumour had absolutely decimated my Iron levels. Then I had chemotherapy which didnt help. Long story short, band was unfilled for the surgery to remove the tumour (I'm all better, pathology all clear) and I have been eating much much better than I was able to with my band for the past five years. Way more salad, fruit, vegies, bigger servings of protein foods (which importantly include iron). Radiation therapy put me into menopause, no more periods. My iron levels have skyrocketed back to well within normal levels.
And my hair? Its freaking glorious, lol. No more shedding, its a miracle.
So I think Hair loss and shedding is probably due to generalised lack of nutrition, and I'm not sure it can be replaced with pills. My hair was never bad, it never actually thinned but the difference after eight weeks of normal eating is quite incredible. I still dont eat a high protein diet, I havent really increased protein but have greatly increased fruit, vegies and complex carbohydrates - bread is now a part of every day again. You need to mix and the interaction of natural wholesome foods to give you really good health, not a Vitamin pill or a Protein shake. You can still do that with a band of course, but maybe not with a very tight one.

Dont discount the fact that it may not be "running out of fuel", it may simply be that that's the level of fitness you're at. I've run up to half marathon distance since being banded and have never found that I needed Protein supplements, huge amounts of food or unusual amounts of Water to do it. I would run out of energy at about the 20 minute mark when I started running, then trained up to where I could run for an hour before boredom really got to me, and I keep my runs to about 45 minutes now. I've done less running, more bootcamp over the past year and whilst I'm stronger and have more tolerance to bursts of very hard cardio, my endurance has decreased a bit as a result of the change and 40 minutes or so of running sees me tired. If i went back to just running, that would change again.
It just takes time for your body to adapt and become proficient with metabolising and providing the fuel for exercise, that's part of true fitness, its not at all just about your heart and lungs. That comes with time and consistency.
But that said, i've never done a low carb diet for any more than a week or two at a time, cutting out carbs completely makes me feel like crap and I definitely cannot exercise well on a low carb intake. I do eat bread, oatmeal, lots of fruit and vegies and Pasta and rice. In moderate quantities!
As to amino acid supplements, I have tried Hornet juice before a run as its cheap and easy to get here in Australia and, yes, I do believe it does help slightly with keeping up energy,
Those programs too, I've found they're just too quick in progression for me, it took me two and half years of running to get to half marathon stage. Everyone's different but I'm not sure that its that easy to follow such a plan as an overweight person. As you lose weight you can do more and more and you really will find it hard to believe just how much extra work that weight on your body causes you. Take it at YOUR pace.

You've got to wonder what the source of those problems with the band is in a lot of cases - the erosion, slippage, pouch dilation.
I mean, the major problem with the band is that it is user driven. And in any group of majorly obese people, you are definitely going to find a huge percentage of people who simply cannot remain complaint in terms of what they eat, how much they eat etc. I really wonder how much user error is involved.
What I'd really like to know is what can *I* expect and how can I influence that?
I mean can a totally complaint person who works on developing good habits, incorporates a lot of exercise, eats the right foods and doesnt have their band tight - does not PB and have overfill episodes etc has regular care but not a lot of mucking around filling and unfilling their band expect to keep their band and keep their weight off?
Because that's my personal experience of banding and I'm not blowing my own horn and suggesting I'm morally superior because I've been "good" and done it "right". But it is blatantly obvious to me that not many people have such a smooth journey. And I wonder how much the fills and the tight restrictions and the PBing etc contributes to the poor outcome over the longer term?
It would be nice to feel safe but unfortunately I think we all took this risk when we decided to be banded, I dont see why you should be flamed for posting it, but yeah, people dont necessarily want to think about it early on.

I think you need to be more open to people and not assume that people are looking at you and judging you. People in general arent mean spirited, well not once they grow up out of adolescence, anyway. If you can shed the embarrassment, working out is so much more fun.
I used to only run at night when I was a teenager, under the cover of darkness. I simply dont care now, I go any time, anywhere, and I dont worry about what people think.
Classes and groups are so much fun, I have a great bootcamp group, its so friendly and yet there's me on the skinny end of the scale, another lady who is around 300lb but still plugs away at it every week and one lone guy, a really nice guy who comes with his wife. We all have our lumps and bumps, we all sweat like pigs and some even puke, lol and we are all of differeng ability. We've all bonded.
If you're open to it, it can make the whole experience so enjoyable. But being self conscious and shy makes you appear stand offish and people wont talk, and you wont realise that if they ARE looking at you, its probably to admire your courage and deternmination.

In the end, its how much you eat.
You can be thin and eat a diet of only rubbish. But you wont be healthy. You know that.
I have lost weight eating pretty much what I ate before being banded, including some bread. But I didnt eat entirely rubbish - I ate a good healthy base diet and then shoved in a lot of sugary carb foods on top of that. I've personally never had much of a problem with junk foods like Mcdonalds and KFC, I've never overeaten them or craved them unduly. But muffins, cakes, biscuits, that's another story.
So yes, I cut out those foods for the most part, but I do still eat them on occasion. If I go out for dinner, I'm not going to piss fart around ordering sauces to the side and quizzing the staff about whether there's butter in something. I just have what I fancy, and I dont eat a lot of it.
But my basic, everyday diet, what I eat 90% of the time is healthy. Its healthy, but I really dont believe in low carb Atkins style diets. I do eat bread and cereals and I eat good amounts of Protein but not HIGH Protein. So again, the next person here will tell me diet contravenes all their rules and I'll never lose weight. But I did and kept it off - so it comes down to calories in/calories out, I think.
Post op, I did exactly what I was told to do and ate really healthy foods too. I actually find it really hard to understand how just after surgery you can not be so bouyed up by enthusiasm, hope and determination that you find this period difficult. I found it really very easy. The hard part of wanting bad foods again came a lot later on. But everyone's different I guess. After the post op period, my doc actually HAS no real rules, the m.o. here in Australia tends to be eating a very normal everyday diet but only a lot less of it. Its about integrating the band into normal life, not about a bunch of rules that really swaps overeating for a life of imposed rules.

My biggest piece of advice would be to learn to love exercise. I am like a broken record on this, but I swear, if I did not run every day I would not have been nearly so successful in losing weight and I certainly would not be so successful in keeping it off.
I also think you need to remember that fills are for life - maintenance must go on. If at any stage after you reach goal weight you find you're hungrier, its time for a small fill! I recently had one and even my doc questioned me, I think he thought I wanted to try to get even skinnier but truly, I was just beginning to swing a bit up and down by 2lb and I wanted to nip it in the bud before it got out of hand. It worked brilliantly, I havent lost (it was only .1ml) any weight, but I have stayed back down at the lower end of my usual weight and my weight has stopped fluctuating. You need to keep seeing a doctor regularly and you need to fill when you begin to feel you need it.
My internal dialogue was all about "well, I'm at goal weight now, it's OK if I eat a little more" but in all honestly, its NOT OK. And I was not eating a little more than the 3/4 of my sandwich I can eat at lunchtime, I was eating the 3/4 of a sandwich and then chocolate all afternoon. Its very hard to fight the I've lost weight now I dont have to worry mentality but its the most important thing in the whole battle. Just as for weight loss, maintenance takes a properly functioning band.
Good luck. With perhaps a fill and renewed commitment, you can lose that weight again.

What drives me nuts is people who dont understand they're in rants n raves! If you dont like it, dont read it, its simple. Go to another forum.
Ah, why not even "skip what you dont like and move onto things that are useful"?

The band really does require that you moderate your lifestyle for it to work. Some people simply cant manage to do this, and probably are just not good candidates for a lapband.
I've had great success with mine, but yes, it has taken work, willpower and dedication to exercise - all habits which after almost 3 years are pleasurable to me now because they make me feel good. So the willpower element has dropped away, I just dont want to eat like I used to.

Favourite - definitely upper body - shoulders, collar bones, neck and decolletage. They're very slender, and I think well defined collarbones look sexy.
Least Favourite - my backside. Saggy with cellulite, ugh. And I'm getting low in my healthy weight range so it will never go away.

Do you really feel that way? I guess I dont read every thread here, but I always felt that people who were struggling were treated compassionately even if it was tough love.
Personally, I'll always argue with what I perceive as a warped attitude - I'll always have something to say if someone posts that their band just isnt working and then goes on to display some spectactularly self defeating way of thinking. I always start gently but you can guarantee when you point out that someone might *just* be sabotaging themselves they'll come back aggressively and defensively and then it can become heated.
Its just that you can so often read something so clearly in what someone says that they just cant see themselves and if they COULD see it, you know it would be really helpful, but of course, they have to want to see it. I just figure if they're here asking about it then they are ready to accept constructive criticism, but its not always the case.
From my own point of view it would never be my intention to belittle someone who was struggling with weight loss. But having had a few A-HA moments along the way myself, I really do feel I've got some information to share that will be helpful to some people - and that simply offering sympathy and commiseration is not really a positive contribution.
I do think too that if the band was (like for ALL of us, lets face it) your last ditch effort, then if its not working, to go through a stage of being very anti band is probably natural, and getting it out of your system on a forum is probably helpful to some.
Is that what you mean? That if you come out and have a good ol whinge about it, like everyone needs to do at times, that you'll get a lot of argument, negative remarks etc? I've seen many threads that begin with "I dont want a lecture.... I just want to complain" and those nearly always are met with sympathy and compassion, by me too, outspoken as I am. Make clear that you just want to know that others are feelign the same way and you'll get the support you want, I'm sure.

Do you really feel that way? I guess I dont read every thread here, but I always felt that people who were struggling were treated compassionately even if it was tough love.
Personally, I'll always argue with what I perceive as a warped attitude - I'll always have something to say if someone posts that their band just isnt working and then goes on to display some spectactularly self defeating way of thinking. I always start gently but you can guarantee when you point out that someone might *just* be sabotaging themselves they'll come back aggressively and defensively and then it can become heated.
Its just that you can so often read something so clearly in what someone says that they just cant see themselves and if they COULD see it, you know it would be really helpful, but of course, they have to want to see it. I just figure if they're here asking about it then they are ready to accept constructive criticism, but its not always the case.
From my own point of view it would never be my intention to belittle someone who was struggling with weight loss. But having had a few A-HA moments along the way myself, I really do feel I've got some information to share that will be helpful to some people - and that simply offering sympathy and commiseration is not really a positive contribution.
I do think too that if the band was (like for ALL of us, lets face it) your last ditch effort, then if its not working, to go through a stage of being very anti band is probably natural, and getting it out of your system on a forum is probably helpful to some.
Is that what you mean? That if you come out and have a good ol whinge about it, like everyone needs to do at times, that you'll get a lot of argument, negative remarks etc? I've seen many threads that begin with "I dont want a lecture.... I just want to complain" and those nearly always are met with sympathy and compassion, by me too, outspoken as I am. Make clear that you just want to know that others are feelign the same way and you'll get the support you want, I'm sure.

Do you really feel that way? I guess I dont read every thread here, but I always felt that people who were struggling were treated compassionately even if it was tough love.
Personally, I'll always argue with what I perceive as a warped attitude - I'll always have something to say if someone posts that their band just isnt working and then goes on to display some spectactularly self defeating way of thinking. I always start gently but you can guarantee when you point out that someone might *just* be sabotaging themselves they'll come back aggressively and defensively and then it can become heated.
Its just that you can so often read something so clearly in what someone says that they just cant see themselves and if they COULD see it, you know it would be really helpful, but of course, they have to want to see it. I just figure if they're here asking about it then they are ready to accept constructive criticism, but its not always the case.
From my own point of view it would never be my intention to belittle someone who was struggling with weight loss. But having had a few A-HA moments along the way myself, I really do feel I've got some information to share that will be helpful to some people - and that simply offering sympathy and commiseration is not really a positive contribution.
I do think too that if the band was (like for ALL of us, lets face it) your last ditch effort, then if its not working, to go through a stage of being very anti band is probably natural, and getting it out of your system on a forum is probably helpful to some.
Is that what you mean? That if you come out and have a good ol whinge about it, like everyone needs to do at times, that you'll get a lot of argument, negative remarks etc? I've seen many threads that begin with "I dont want a lecture.... I just want to complain" and those nearly always are met with sympathy and compassion, by me too, outspoken as I am. Make clear that you just want to know that others are feelign the same way and you'll get the support you want, I'm sure.

Oh, do I *have* to, lol. Not been a perfect bandster today!
OK - I had bircher muesli for Breakfast.
Followed by a piece of toast an hour later.
Followed by (hangs head in shame) a big fat piece of lemon coconut slice and a cappucino for lunch.
Argh. Talk about carb overload. I'm going for a small fill this arvo and really have just let my hair down today, lol.
I am eating for maintenance at the moment - I'm at a normal weight but I would like to lose a tiny bit more, hence the fill.
I promise to eat some vegetables tonight!

Seriously, I'll probably get flamed for this but my view is that Protein bars and Protein shakes are really just a "healthy" way of eating around the band. I dont consider them healthy foods, they're manufactured, pften sugar laden (and if not, artificially sweetened) and the risks of eating too much soy based foods are quite real also if you're choosing soy Protein isolates. People sometimes seem to use these foods much as I tend to fall off the wagon and eat crap like biscuits and chocolate - because eating real food can be hard work and I cant always be bothered. OK, so maybe eating a Protein Bar is a better choice than eating cookes, well, it definitely IS but its not a better choice than eating proper food.< /p>
Its entirely possible to meet your protein needs without eating Protein Bars.

Oh boy, big hair. Stylish, not. Erk. I used to use a can of hairspray at a time.
And I had a book that had instructions for about 50 different styles of eye makup involving about five colours each, gawd, is it any wonder I wear virtually NO make up now?
I dont remember that show though, but SheSmiles does so it must have aired here. I remember more fondly bands like Wham - and those Tshirts are all the rage again now here, and Australian bands like Skyhooks, Cold Chisel, Australian Crawl, oh, remember Human League and Duran Duran? I saw Tears for Fears in concert too. And I loved Style Council.

Wow, that's a long way so soon after major surgery, you're one determined lady!
When I did the 14.4 kms the other week (about 10 miles) I couldnt eat for an entire day. I had to do liquids. I cannot eat after a very intense session, which is why I try to time my sessions for the afternoon when I tend to get that mindless I just wanna eat something feeling.

I really truly do not believe all the hype about Water. Everythign you eat contains Water, as does everything you drink. As long as you get enough, it is NOT necessary to gulp 8 extra glasses a day and there's plenty of expert opinion that will back up my opinion. Water is like everything, Protein included, you need enough but any more than that is just wasting your effort, money and time.
Of course you need to stay hydrated but if you urinate regularly enough and its not dark then you're getting enough Fluid. It doesnt have to be plain water. You dont have to guzzle gallons of it as long as you're hydrated enough.
Of course I'm talking from the point of view of not eating high levels of Protein, you need extra when you do that becuase of the risk of kidney stones.

Hmmm, sharp pain (like appendicitis) or dull pain, cold sweats and contractions like when you have bad diarrhoea? Since being banded, I've had a couple of bouts of terrible diarrhoea like cramps (without the diarrhoea) although they are associated with going to the toilet, its just normal. It seems to come on just before my period starts. The pain is quite honestly worse than labour, it brings on the shaking legs and cold sweats.
We've been unable to find a cause. My doc referred me back to my ob to check me out for endometriosis but nada, even though both my sisters suffer from it. Just one of those things.
Its just happened twice, and its probably just irritable bowel brought on by hormones.
Can you notice any pattern to it?

I agree with you entirely Krystal and I am definitley going to try this one out. I would eat this and enjoy it too. In moderation I dont see what's wrong with it, its very dependent upon what else you've had to eat that day.
I dont want to come across as arguing with the high Protein low carb message every single time (but I know I do, lol), becuase really WHATEVER way you want to do it is the perfect way for you and it does work!. But I do feel moved always to point out in these threads that you dont *have* to do low carb to lose weight, the eat everything in moderation diet works very well too. I hate the idea that people might actually believe that you absolutely cannot eat carbs or that people might be browsing this site from Australia or elsewhere in the world where we're not advised to do Protein first and think that being banded means a life on Atkins. It just doesnt if you dont want it to.
Potato is a good healthy food, packed with Vitamins and minerals. Lasagne overall is a pretty calorific high fat dish so best eaten in moderation, but a small piece of this and salad for dinner wouldnt phase me. I've actually made lasagne with eggplant before instead of Pasta and it was delish!

It doesnt come off in the wrong way, like I said I"m entirely happy to be proven wrong. What matters is that we all get healthy. But the thing is I dont believe you can be sure you're correct either. None of that, absolutely none of it has been proven without a doubt.
I agree entirely with you that insulin dependence and diabetes are a different kettle of fish, as are the entire group of people that fall into that metabolic disorder category, PCOS, hypercholesterolaemia, insulin resistence etc etc and there is much research supporting the fact that a decrease in carbs (mainly high GI carbs) is the way to go for these people.
None of what you say is any more supported than what I lean towards believing. Sure, get on the internet, you can find plenty of info to support both sides and you always always have to question the quality of information you find online. If you search out information on the glycaemic index there is plenty to support the fact that its not carbs per se but the type of carbs that matter and that is open to debate as well.
I dont for one minute wish to say that I am 100% right, I just wish to point out that there is plenty of room for debate on both sides of the argument.
There's loads of people around who will swear that low carbing works for them, good luck to them, if its the way you want to do it then that's fabulous. I personally dont wish to take the health risks inherent in a low carb diet but that doesnt make me right. But my ticker below is proof that its entirely possible to lose weight and become healthy without cutting out carbs.
You can also espouse the virtue of a high Protein diet for inexplicably improving blood chemistry and cardiovascular event risk and completely ignore the effect that a basically low carb diet has on bowel healtth. Its the same with other food fads, you can find PLENTY of information supposedly irrevocably proving that dairy causes mucous build up and is diabolical for humans - but that hasnt been proven either yet.
I just think we all have to do what makes us personally feel best but it alarms me that people think Protein shakes are a substitute for food - a canned, processed product in place of food the way nature made it? That's maybe my own personal bias I know but I dont think 1 or 2 soy based Protein Shakes a day as moderation - a couple a week is moderation!

Those bands can be great and will work just fine if you're consistent. Also think about using body weight exercises like tricep dips and push ups as well.
With those bands, you can loop them round things and work your upper back as well or your chest just buy turning around. I sometimes use them outside, loop them round the pergola post and I also loop one over the pergola's overhead beam and pull down for triceps. There's loads of ways to use them and I actually prefer them to free weights you have a kind of stabilising you have to do through all planes of movement, which can give you faster results.
I've even found that just running regularly has toned my arms quite considerably from the arm motion.