Sunwyse

Checked the link but nothing happened. Does the cook book have both imperial and metric measures?

Its important to follow your own surgeon's guidelines. My surgeon has told me to have 5 small meal breaks a day - 3 meals and 2 snacks, to keep blood sugar levels evan. My dietitian has told me to have liquid 10 minutes before food or wait 30 minutes after. Obviously, there are differing opinions out there.

Hi Karen, thanks so much for that. Its kind of a theory of mine about the hair growth sort of 'returning to normal' once the hormones do. I'm looking forward to checking it out on myself. I don't know much about hair thinning with PCOS. Mine is so thick its annoying. I can't have long hair because it gets too heavy and clumps together. My scalp can't breathe, it sweats and that can't evaporate, so its stays there and causes itching and an infection *sigh*. I have heard from people on here that about 5 months or so after the thinning starts, the hair sort of sorts itself out and there's regrowth. I'm assuming it has to do with a rebalance of hormons. Possibly the drop after sugery causes and over reaction and hair stops growing for a bit (to replace that falling out), but it calms down and starts to grow again. Anyway, just a theory.

I joined curves last year. It was Ok, but I got quickly bored with the circuit - same way all the time and the reverse on Tuesdays. I also realised there wasn't really anywhere to go with it. I love doing weight training and that's just out with curves. If it works for you, that's fantastic. I hope you get everything out of it you want.

Australia is bringing in new obesity testing for 3 year olds, trying to catch it before it becomes an health issue. I'm very much against this. I just don't see it as being that big a problem with 3 year olds. Some people take it too far and think any baby fat on a child is bad. I'd prefer they wait until the children attend primary school at 5 and then make it part of an ongoing healthy lifestyle education.

Coffee is allowed on optifast, I've checked. Its because we aren't doing the optifast for weight loss, but for liver shrinkage. Not too much of it though.

MacMadame, thank you so much for all those links! I will be checking out every one of them. Just last week, I had a sister ask me why I let myself get this big. Yeah right, I let myself because I wanted to be short of breath, have aching knees and ankles, feel unsteady on my feet, like they are going to 'give' at any moment, have trouble finding half decent clothes and then grow in and out of the ones I do find, be the butt of jokes, have 4 year olds at my work lecture me on being fat from eating too much junk food, be inflexible and unfit.... the list goes on. You don't have to justify yourself to anyone. You know why you are getting the band. I told the psychologist my reasons for wanting surgery. I want to be fit and healthy and I want to be sexy!!! Its no crime to want to be drop dead gorgeous to other people. That's as good a reason as any in my book. The health will go right along with it anyway. I do tell everyone I'm having surgery. I've had nothing but support. I changed to a new job 2 weeks ago and everyone there knows cause I told them. They ask me how its going and when it is and what I have to do to prepare. They aren't being nosy, just interested. I've not been lectured once by anyone, not even family. Apart from the knowitall sister that is, but hey, she's younger than me, she's supposed to think she knows it all! lol You have support here. We know from first hand experience the struggle it is to try to lose weight and not be able to, or to get it off and not be able to keep it off. At the end of the day, your body, nobody's business what you do with it!

What I don't get is, I've done the diet and put on, diet and put on merry-go-round. Why on earth would I want to make someone else have to suffer that ride when I already KNOW it doesn't work?

WOW! $500 for 3 weeks? We pay around $50 for a pack of 21 shakes here (Australia), so 3 weeks would be just under $150 - that is if you have to have all 3 meals replaced (I do). Sorry to hear it costs so much there.

That has nothing to do with genes, its simply habit. They eat their way and of course, introduce their children to their way of eating. Patterns can be broken though.

If you go to ozband : ozband - oz support group for wls its a yahoo group for people all over Aus who will be/are being/ have been banded. There are also individual groups for each capital city. You don't need a yahoo email account now, just sign up with your own email account and you'll be fine. I will be in Melby over xmas for a week catching up with family (born and bred, now living in Brissy). Happy to get together for a coffee with people while I'm there.

Thanks for this info. Another thing I will be adding to my list of things to have before op, so I'm armed just in case I need them after.

No, that's definitely the same here. As I said its been my issue about my weight stopping me. I've been stopping myself, not anyone else. With the weight gone, what was stopping me is gone.

Acting has been an interest of mine all my life. I did get involved a few years ago, studying it at uni and also tafe (a college), but never stayed with it. I let my weight get in the way. I was way too self-conscious. I'm getting the band soon and I'm thinking now I might be able to give this a really good go. If I don't have the weight to stop me, then I might just be able to stick with it long enough to have some fun. I'm not expecting a huge career now, but to at least be able to work in the industry, maybe just teaching others, would be a blast. Anybody else been interested in acting at all?

I will be having surgery on 29 October and taking 2 weeks off. I work in child care and the last thing I want to do is run around after children all day on a liquid diet.

Interesting point Mindy, I read a diet book once on the carb addiction and it is like an addiction. You feel low so have carbs, you feel good then you feel low so have more carbs. Give them up and you go through withdrawals.

What you meant is not what came across. I can not read your thoughts in the words, only what the words themselves me. Excuse me for following the rules of how English has been used for centuries. Terms like "these" people have always been used to connote an outsider, someone who doesn't belong and inferior in some way. Obviously, you don't understand how English is spoken. So sorry, next time I will include a lesson on its use.

My grandmother was larger, but I've never known her to be fat. My mother is a solid woman, the proverbial brick out house! One sister is, my cousin is. Father's side I have no idea, never met them. My other sister tends to take after her father's side, but she's noticed a little fat creeping on after having her baby.

Yes, you certainly can and do lose weight from there. Weightloss is an all over thing and last time I checked, my vagina was part of my body. I've never thought of getting a mons tuck. Interesting idea. Would I get it? Most likely not. As long as it works and my partner has no issues, then I don't see a reason to go it.

Excuse me. What exactly do you mean by "these" people? If there is something wrong with "these" people that they need to be singled out as "these" then why on earth bother having sex with one? I happen to be one of "these" people. I think I have quite strong morals thank you. I am a decent person who holds a job and pays my own way in life. I am responsible, caring, genuine and love to have a laugh. In short, I am a person. A human being. I happen to think enjoying myself and my life is more important than artificial morals laid down by some church people over 1,000 years ago. You re not visiting animals in the zoo. You are looking at doing something intimate with a third person in your relationship. In these matters its usually better to let the woman choose who that partner will be. I have to say though, that if you are that judgemental, then I certainly wouldn't want to know you.

Does anybody else see anything wrong with this picture? Honey, don't fake!! You are robbing him and yourself. So you can't cum! So what? Sex isn't about the orgasm. Orgasm is great and fun and all, but its not the be all and end all of sex. Sex is so much more. Faking it means you are saying its OK to lie to your partner.

I've had PCOS since I was 13 (41 now) and diagnosed at 22. Never had a cyst once. Hormones have always been spot on and have been told my ovaries (by ultrasounds) are pristine. What I do have is really irregular periods. Usually about 3 a year, can be one after the other or 2 consecutive and then 1 9 months later. Never a set pattern. I have excessive body hair and am overweight. I also have oily hair and skin, but never put that down to PCOS. I had chronic constipation for years, but again never put that down to PCOS. That was simply because I at the wrong foods, never drank Water and never exercised. If you think you might have PCOS go for a test. All I was required to do was an insulin test to see if I had diabetes or not, as women with PCOS are prone to getting diabetes.

Heather, boob size isn't related to weight. You will see well endowed thin women and you will see small breasted thin women. You will see well endowned large women and you will see small breasted large women. I have seen quite large women who would be a B cup. That's related to genetics. Of course, if you are bigger, then you are going to put on in the boobs as well, but being overweight doesn't automatically mean big boobs. As for the OP question, yes I will have surgery. I've already lined up 2 procedures I want done. I want to get my teeth fixed and I want to have a bit of a face lift. I'm definitely in favour of the breast lift, as I've been saggy since I was 13. No kids, just extremely rapid enlargement in that area. And If I got too small, I would consider implants. Though, I'd go to a C cup. Anything more is just getting too big again.

Can I recommend and online place? Its in Australia and specialises in larger sizes. Decent bras, made well in the E/F/G range sell for about $50.00 on average. There's one for $15.95 right now. Shipment wouldn't be that expensive and would actually be cheaper over all if you buy a few bras at once. I've owned a few pairs myself and they really are well made and comfortable. Anyway, just check it out for yourself. Lisa's Lacies Plus Size Lingerie Remember, this is in Aussie dollars, so it will be cheaper if you come from the US or UK. Oh and I don't know the people who own it, just like to buy from them

You can lose that much, you just need to stick with the diet restrictions you are given at the start. There are so many success stories on here, have a look through the site. At the end of the day, its up to you if you lose the weight. Gastric Bypass or Lapband, if you choose to eat the wrong foods, you won't lose the weight.