Jachut

I've developed minor issues at seven years out - I need to be on nexium, but one 20mg tablet does me for three or four days, so I'm not on daily medication. But once that three or four days is up, I know I need to take another.
I get burning pain in my stomach, but no night cough, no reflux, nothing coming up my throat. I know I had developed a slightly enlarged pouch, my surgeon believes that's pretty standard for someone as far out as I am. I have also had chemo for cancer in the past few years, and took Iron tablets for months which burned my pouch and caused a small ulcer - I've also become wheat, lactose and fructose intolerant so my gut is pretty damaged by chemo and radiation - its impossible to say if my reflux is due to my lapband or not, but I do know its a lot better when I stick to my low fodmap diet.
Do I get the sense my band will last forever? No, not really. Its very different now to what it was five years ago, but its been so successful for me, I would replace it in a heartbeat.

Im sorry but I just dont understand why people get so judgemental and holier than thou over low bmi'ers. You've ALL been there and none of you jsut ate less, exercised more or were honest with yourself back then either!
As for cosmetic surgeries - well I am not ashamed in the least to say that vanity was my major reason for being banded. My BMI was 35, I wasnt sick. Nobody blinks an eye at breast enlargements or tummy tucks but have lapband surgery - a surgery which is likely to improve your health in many many ways even if you're only mildly obese - and suddenly that's wrong? Jeez, how hypocritical.
I just cant believe that people who have failed to control their weight gain to the point of becoming morbidly obese can then judge someone else's unsuccessful efforts and accuse her of deluding herself or being dishonest. Do any of you REALLY think if you'd just approached it in a different way you wouldnt have needed to be banded? How many freaking times did you diet and gain it back? And yet we STILL give out this advice thinking it will work?

Sorry to hear that you cancelled your surgery. I think there is a high chance that you will end up rebooking and that you will wish that you had not cancelled and wasted the additional time. You may lose without the band but most of the time we are unable to maintain that loss. Not because we are weak or bad or ......................but because of hunger which is at a level that is difficult to control.
I wouldn't. That money might give you a chef and/or trainer for a couple of months but once that time is up they would be gone whereas if you had gone for a band it would still be there.
Sorry that you were put off the band by the "not fat enough police", sometimes I don't think they realise how their behaviour comes across and they don't realise that what they are doing is as bad or worse than what many have done to them about being fat.

Great news that you've found your solution. The band sure isn't for everyone.

It's already been Friday here, nice lazy Saturday morning now!

It's already been Friday here, nice lazy Saturday morning now!

For me, it couldnt be described as fast by standards here, but I was ecstatic about 2-3 lb per week for a few months - never had I achieved that before in my life. I lost about 50% of my excess weight this way within six months, the rest took literally two to three years to completely lose. But I am not a calorie counter, i did it all on about 1500 a day and I exercised regularly - running an hour five to six times a week for the most part, now I do spin classes and strength training too.

The only rules I was ever given was to eat 3 meals, no Snacks, from all food groups, eat until satisfied not full and dont drink whilst eating. The theory being that if yoiu're losing, the calorie level is good, when you stop losing, its time for a fill to reduce calories a bit. It doesnt matter whether you're eating 1000 calories or 2500, whatever you lose on is right for you.
I lost weight quite dramatically at first, as I had a BMI of 35, 2 to 3lb a week was a fantastic rate for me and not something I'd ever achieved on a sustained basis before. I lost about 40 lb that weigh and it began to taper off and I began to get fills. After that for the first year I reliably dropped about 5lb a month, but it would come in spurts, nothing for weeks then 5lb all of a sudden. That continued on into the second year only some months it was only 3lb. After the second year, i was down to normal weight, but I continued to lose - but only one or two spurts that year over which I dropped about 10lb in total. The rest of the weight came off, suprisingly in year 5 when I returned to full time work.
All in all, I lot 120% of my excess weight taking me down to a BMI of 20/21.

In an ideal world, you do both. But I think cardio offers health benefits away from body composition and weight loss that are harder (not impossible) to get with strength training - especially the type of strenght training that most women will commit to. But strength training offers many benefits that cardio doesnt.
For pure weight loss, if you dont particularly care about having muscles, cardio wins. It torches calories and makes you thin. It also makes you not very muscular or strong but you will be very tough and have great endurance. I'm biased because this is what I value - I love to be able to run 20kms, I dont give a rats ass about being able to bench press a certain weight. I like being thin, I dont want more muscle than what I have. But I also know my bones are quite weak, and I'm not very strong and I really COULD benefit from strength training to protect me going into old age, keep me strong, agile etc. Too much running will probably end with more hip and knee problems than I would otherwise have!
But that said - to lose weight and get thin (and I lost 120% of my excess) I ran and ran and ran. And still do. Its the reason I get to eat 1800 to 2000 a day to maintain and never ever had to limit bread, Pasta etc. I also love it, so its easy for me. And I'm not flabby or completely muscle-less, just not what you'd call a curvy. Which at 5ft 10 suits me fine - dont want to look like a footballer anyway.
At the end of the day there's no point in comparisons - both have advantages, but both build different sorts of bodies and you can go either way really - its all exercise, and both will do you loads of good.

Logically, I know I should prefer inches, but the truth is I prefer to lose pounds. The reason is completely illogical, too. If I lose inches but not pounds, I start getting moody because mentally I really need to see the scale go down in numbers. If I lose pounds but I don't notice lost inches, I really don't care because I'm so happy to see the numbers on the scale fall and I know the inches will come eventually.
I know, it's totally foolish if not backwards thinking on my part, but it's the honest answer.

There really is no way of knowing, its a leap of faith.

There really is no way of knowing, its a leap of faith.

No to mention I had to unfill my band for a big surgery and it has never been the same since. I never got back the same restriction even at max capacity. It's much harder to maintain now and the only reason I can was that I faced the lifestyle chance/you need to work the band element very early on and have just sucked up the blunt truth that to be normal weight, you can't let your hair down at every social function.
It's just food. It's no big deal if you don't eat it. It's certainly not worth even your time for an unfill, just for a few mouthfuls of something. This oes become habit as you realize once the moment passes, you don't regret not eating something.

No to mention I had to unfill my band for a big surgery and it has never been the same since. I never got back the same restriction even at max capacity. It's much harder to maintain now and the only reason I can was that I faced the lifestyle chance/you need to work the band element very early on and have just sucked up the blunt truth that to be normal weight, you can't let your hair down at every social function.
It's just food. It's no big deal if you don't eat it. It's certainly not worth even your time for an unfill, just for a few mouthfuls of something. This oes become habit as you realize once the moment passes, you don't regret not eating something.

No to mention I had to unfill my band for a big surgery and it has never been the same since. I never got back the same restriction even at max capacity. It's much harder to maintain now and the only reason I can was that I faced the lifestyle chance/you need to work the band element very early on and have just sucked up the blunt truth that to be normal weight, you can't let your hair down at every social function.
It's just food. It's no big deal if you don't eat it. It's certainly not worth even your time for an unfill, just for a few mouthfuls of something. This oes become habit as you realize once the moment passes, you don't regret not eating something.

No to mention I had to unfill my band for a big surgery and it has never been the same since. I never got back the same restriction even at max capacity. It's much harder to maintain now and the only reason I can was that I faced the lifestyle chance/you need to work the band element very early on and have just sucked up the blunt truth that to be normal weight, you can't let your hair down at every social function.
It's just food. It's no big deal if you don't eat it. It's certainly not worth even your time for an unfill, just for a few mouthfuls of something. This oes become habit as you realize once the moment passes, you don't regret not eating something.

No to mention I had to unfill my band for a big surgery and it has never been the same since. I never got back the same restriction even at max capacity. It's much harder to maintain now and the only reason I can was that I faced the lifestyle chance/you need to work the band element very early on and have just sucked up the blunt truth that to be normal weight, you can't let your hair down at every social function.
It's just food. It's no big deal if you don't eat it. It's certainly not worth even your time for an unfill, just for a few mouthfuls of something. This oes become habit as you realize once the moment passes, you don't regret not eating something.

I've had to do it three times for surgeries - one of which was six weeks. And lthough I always take my running shoes and run on holidays, I just got back from Thailand where it just wasn't really possible, paradise but the beach was one of those steep ones you can't run on and the streets, packed with tourists, chaotic traffic, and very very narrow - just impossible. So again, no exercise for two weeks.
Believe it or not, it oes you good. Your body gets stronger in the ff droid. I lst no fitness in six weeks, you'll be fine for one.

Do you know, I got there quite a few years back now and wear mostly whatever I like to wear - although we all have some limitations and some things that just dont suit us. What is really really good though is not having to shop in fat stores. I still appreciate the freedom of being able to shop anywhere - particularly my one or two favourite designers and being able to go on holidays and fossick around in resort towns and stuff like that.
I'm not even taking my old bikinis to Thailand in a few weeks - can buy nice new ones there! I never could have dreamed of doing that with anything, let alone bikinis.
For me anyway, this was one of the BEST things bout weigh loss - I wasnt on medication, nor did I have any real comorbidities. But not being able to buy nice clothes was a truly dreadful dilemma!

I know that I have tended towards undereating for my needs since being banded (and that's without doing a sub 1000 calorie day, ever) and my body is seven years later showing signs of malnutrition (kidneys, Iron stores, energy and hormone levels, scary huh?) but sheesh, eating like a "normal" person is not an option either! I've been logging my days in an effort to eat more, not less! 1500 calories a day of healthy food (no shakes, all solid) is darn hard work!
Its the end of Term 3 for primary schools here in Victoria, Australia and Thursdays are our staff morning tea (two people put it on every week). Tonight we have a staff dinner to Celebrate end of term and are all going out to a pizza/italian restaurant tonigh
So I've planned out and logged my day - it adds up to 1000 calories for breakie, morning tea, lunch and an afternoon snack - generally my dinner would be sub 500 calories and I need to pad out with a soy latte and something else to reach my dietician set target of 1600 to 1800 (and amazingly I have gained NO weight from upping my intake, but feel loads better).
So I've planned 1000 calories and thought that a glass of wine and a slice or two of pizza will be great, my day will probably end up at 1800 or so. I've just sat in the staffroom and watched people eat with reckless abandon - cakes, Cookies, fruit, meat pies and sausage rolls, crackers and dip and a cheese platter - all knowing they're going out tonight as well! I would never ever ever do that now! It is instinctive that I make allowances today for tonight! Am I the sick one or are they?
These are by and large normal sized people - bigger than me, as I have lost perspective a bit and have gotten very thin and think I eat heaps! They dont exercise like I do either. So how on EARTH do they a) fit it in and not get as fat as a house?
Every now and then you realise just how much the lapband changes your lifestyle and your choices!

Its so true, the whole topic of diet is fascinating. I think my mum didnt speak to me for about a month after one conversation when I was considering the band. Funny how everyone encourages you to have other elective surgeries but freak out about lapband surgery - anyway, she said to me "why dont you do weight watchers (again) - it works for me every time I've done it". when I pointed out that if it worked so bloody well, she would only have needed to do it once, she got that face mothers get and started banging stuff in the kitchen, lol.
then there's other people's crackpot diets - one girl at work is on the Flat Belly diet - some garbage about eating whatever you like as long as there is a monounsaturated fat included in the meal - she's living on lean cuisines followed by dark chocolate. And she made a crack about lapbands (not knowing I have one) when speaking about it the other day.
I sat there thinking, all you need to do is eat LESS. That's as simple as it is. And lapbands help you to do that, end of story.

Its so true, the whole topic of diet is fascinating. I think my mum didnt speak to me for about a month after one conversation when I was considering the band. Funny how everyone encourages you to have other elective surgeries but freak out about lapband surgery - anyway, she said to me "why dont you do weight watchers (again) - it works for me every time I've done it". when I pointed out that if it worked so bloody well, she would only have needed to do it once, she got that face mothers get and started banging stuff in the kitchen, lol.
then there's other people's crackpot diets - one girl at work is on the Flat Belly diet - some garbage about eating whatever you like as long as there is a monounsaturated fat included in the meal - she's living on lean cuisines followed by dark chocolate. And she made a crack about lapbands (not knowing I have one) when speaking about it the other day.
I sat there thinking, all you need to do is eat LESS. That's as simple as it is. And lapbands help you to do that, end of story.

I know that I have tended towards undereating for my needs since being banded (and that's without doing a sub 1000 calorie day, ever) and my body is seven years later showing signs of malnutrition (kidneys, Iron stores, energy and hormone levels, scary huh?) but sheesh, eating like a "normal" person is not an option either! I've been logging my days in an effort to eat more, not less! 1500 calories a day of healthy food (no shakes, all solid) is darn hard work!
Its the end of Term 3 for primary schools here in Victoria, Australia and Thursdays are our staff morning tea (two people put it on every week). Tonight we have a staff dinner to Celebrate end of term and are all going out to a pizza/italian restaurant tonigh
So I've planned out and logged my day - it adds up to 1000 calories for breakie, morning tea, lunch and an afternoon snack - generally my dinner would be sub 500 calories and I need to pad out with a soy latte and something else to reach my dietician set target of 1600 to 1800 (and amazingly I have gained NO weight from upping my intake, but feel loads better).
So I've planned 1000 calories and thought that a glass of wine and a slice or two of pizza will be great, my day will probably end up at 1800 or so. I've just sat in the staffroom and watched people eat with reckless abandon - cakes, Cookies, fruit, meat pies and sausage rolls, crackers and dip and a cheese platter - all knowing they're going out tonight as well! I would never ever ever do that now! It is instinctive that I make allowances today for tonight! Am I the sick one or are they?
These are by and large normal sized people - bigger than me, as I have lost perspective a bit and have gotten very thin and think I eat heaps! They dont exercise like I do either. So how on EARTH do they a) fit it in and not get as fat as a house?
Every now and then you realise just how much the lapband changes your lifestyle and your choices!

I know that I have tended towards undereating for my needs since being banded (and that's without doing a sub 1000 calorie day, ever) and my body is seven years later showing signs of malnutrition (kidneys, Iron stores, energy and hormone levels, scary huh?) but sheesh, eating like a "normal" person is not an option either! I've been logging my days in an effort to eat more, not less! 1500 calories a day of healthy food (no shakes, all solid) is darn hard work!
Its the end of Term 3 for primary schools here in Victoria, Australia and Thursdays are our staff morning tea (two people put it on every week). Tonight we have a staff dinner to Celebrate end of term and are all going out to a pizza/italian restaurant tonigh
So I've planned out and logged my day - it adds up to 1000 calories for breakie, morning tea, lunch and an afternoon snack - generally my dinner would be sub 500 calories and I need to pad out with a soy latte and something else to reach my dietician set target of 1600 to 1800 (and amazingly I have gained NO weight from upping my intake, but feel loads better).
So I've planned 1000 calories and thought that a glass of wine and a slice or two of pizza will be great, my day will probably end up at 1800 or so. I've just sat in the staffroom and watched people eat with reckless abandon - cakes, Cookies, fruit, meat pies and sausage rolls, crackers and dip and a cheese platter - all knowing they're going out tonight as well! I would never ever ever do that now! It is instinctive that I make allowances today for tonight! Am I the sick one or are they?
These are by and large normal sized people - bigger than me, as I have lost perspective a bit and have gotten very thin and think I eat heaps! They dont exercise like I do either. So how on EARTH do they a) fit it in and not get as fat as a house?
Every now and then you realise just how much the lapband changes your lifestyle and your choices!

I know that I have tended towards undereating for my needs since being banded (and that's without doing a sub 1000 calorie day, ever) and my body is seven years later showing signs of malnutrition (kidneys, Iron stores, energy and hormone levels, scary huh?) but sheesh, eating like a "normal" person is not an option either! I've been logging my days in an effort to eat more, not less! 1500 calories a day of healthy food (no shakes, all solid) is darn hard work!
Its the end of Term 3 for primary schools here in Victoria, Australia and Thursdays are our staff morning tea (two people put it on every week). Tonight we have a staff dinner to Celebrate end of term and are all going out to a pizza/italian restaurant tonigh
So I've planned out and logged my day - it adds up to 1000 calories for breakie, morning tea, lunch and an afternoon snack - generally my dinner would be sub 500 calories and I need to pad out with a soy latte and something else to reach my dietician set target of 1600 to 1800 (and amazingly I have gained NO weight from upping my intake, but feel loads better).
So I've planned 1000 calories and thought that a glass of wine and a slice or two of pizza will be great, my day will probably end up at 1800 or so. I've just sat in the staffroom and watched people eat with reckless abandon - cakes, Cookies, fruit, meat pies and sausage rolls, crackers and dip and a cheese platter - all knowing they're going out tonight as well! I would never ever ever do that now! It is instinctive that I make allowances today for tonight! Am I the sick one or are they?
These are by and large normal sized people - bigger than me, as I have lost perspective a bit and have gotten very thin and think I eat heaps! They dont exercise like I do either. So how on EARTH do they a) fit it in and not get as fat as a house?
Every now and then you realise just how much the lapband changes your lifestyle and your choices!