lellow

I am 5'4" and was 215lbs when I was banded and all I heard from everyone except my husband was how I didn't look big enough to be having surgery. It seemed almost like people were either insinuating that I was vain or lazy for wanting a lapband. But now those same people see pictures of me pre-surgery and almost ALL of them say that they didn't realise in hindsight that I was that big. Funny what people get used to. Now I'm 125lbs, those pictures make them realise how much weight I actually had to lose. And they also now realise how much work I put in to lose that weight. Vain and/or lazy? Yeah, right! Don't look at yourself from other people's eyes. That's my advice to you.

Hahaha I sooo get that now! I find they get in the way when I pick up my son, when I'm laying down and trying to watch TV, and they collect a lot of crumbs from the food I eat lol!! BUT I love them. They're symetrical, the scars are long but soooo thin and fading nicely even just 2 and a half weeks in, and the swelling has gone down to the extent that they actually are starting to look pretty natural. I took a pic this morning of them and they look like they've always been mine! The best part is that my poor empty saggy breasts are now perky and because I got tear-drop shaped implants, the nipples are high again! I have the boobs of a 20yo lol. Still a little sore sometimes on my right side, but that's probably coz I'm right handed so use the muscles on that side more (I'm guessing). Have started massage now too (thanks for the tip Mimi) and am using the silicone gel my surgeon got me to get religiously. And it's sooooo good to be able to sleep on my side again! So fed up with sleeping on my back! Only complaints (and they're itty bitty complaints) is having to wear 'the' bra for another 4 weeks - it's so hard to dress around! - and not being able to exercise for 4 more weeks, which is crazy coz I don't exercise formally much anymore, but not being able to go dancing or run after my son or go to Zumba classes is really cramping my style! But it'll be worth it, I'm sure! Oh and the other bit of news is that I reconciled with my hubby recently, who I split with 6 months ago, and he is LOVING the new 'enhanced' me lol!! He can't keep his hands off me and the new 'girls'!

Prior to my body lift, I could feel my port and see it when I was looking for it, yes. It didn't stick out much at first but got more noticeable the more weight I lost. After my lift, the port was repositioned directly under my skin. My surgeon basically said there wasn't anywhere to 'hide' it anymore. I was a little shocked at first at how obvious it was, but I just realised that no one seemed to notice it the way I did, so eventually stopped stressing about it completely.

My port is noticeable. With very little fat between it and my skin, I'd say it's about an inch in diameter and sticks out maybe half an inch like a small curved lump. I don't have a low profile port. I wear really nice clothes. I wear a bikini. I wear whatever the hell I want, and have never felt self conscious about my port. Nearly no one notices it (and I was single for 6 months and dated quite a lot, and not one guy even realised it was there). It's a small imperfection in a body that used to be almost 100lbs overweight. It just isn't a biggie. Don't worry about it until you get there. You may find, like me, it just won't worry you like you think it will. ETA: got this photo from my album and you can JUST see my port 'lump' through my singlet. And like I said, I don't have a low profile port and my port is located just under my skin after it was repositioned after my body lift.

Welcome Mike from a fellow sandgroper! good to hear your band is working for you so well. Good luck with starting exercise, and keep up the great work. :smile2:

BMI is defined ONLY by weight vs height and doesn't take into account muscle, bone density or any other factors. My brother is a personal trainer, one of the fittest people I know and is classed as obese according to the BMI. He is 42, has a body fat percentage of 18 and is muscular. The BMI doesn't relate to people like him. But barring these exceptions, the BMI is pretty spot on for MOST people who aren't working out all the time. I wouldn't worry your husband fitting into any BMI 'mould'. It's obvious that he's fit and healthy and that's all that matters.

I have often started one of these threads, but would stop after writing a bit because while the LAP-BAND®®® has helped me lose weight and now maintain my weight for nearly two years, it seems crazy to feel like a success. I started with a low-ish BMI (37) and losing 90lbs+ didn't seem significant enough to class me as a success, I thought! And I just felt that I was very fortunate that the band worked for me. Yes, I exercised - 40 mins 3 times a week when I was losing - but I didn't count calories, I didn't do low carb, I just got regular fills, ate when I was hungry and in time, my addiction to food diminished and I just lost weight. The band helped me with portion control, but more importantly, it stopped me thinking and wanting food all the time. Does that make me a success? You be the judge lol! It's funny but opposed to other ways in which others lost weight, I think, for me, not counting calories and not worrying about not eating certain food groups actually meant that I stopped thinking about food, and that was why, in my opinion, the band worked for me. Food stopped being an obsession. A lot of people ask me what I ate while I was losing. Well, everything really, just in much smaller portions. I ate the odd portion of chocolate sometimes, had an ice cream on occasion, but I ate everything in small portions, and as a result, didn't really ever feel deprived of anything. The mindset that seemed to work for me consisted of general guidelines that my (Australian) Dr gave me and ones I made up for myself. These included: Only eating when I was hungry. I often felt 'peckish' and would think of food, get cravings and feel like something naughty. But before I went to get something to eat, I'd ask myself if I was really hungry. If my stomache wasn't growling, I wouldn't eat. I'd tell myself I'd eat when I was really, truly hungry, and the funny thing is, when I really was hungry, I usually felt like something savoury and not chocolate or sweets or anything. Over time, the 'peckishness' seemed to stop. always eating just enough food to 'tide me over' and telling myself that if I was still really hungry in 30 mins, I could have some more food. In all the time I've been banded, I've gone back for more food just once after the 30 mins. Now I just automatically eat small portions, even when I could easily eat more. Exercising even if I didn't feel like it. I don't think anyone feels like exercising. But afterwards, I'd jump off my spin bike and do a little dance, and remind myself of how good I felt. I had set days that I'd have to exercise, and the only time I didn't do it was when I had the flu for a week. Otherwise, sore or tired or grumpy, I owed the bike the 40 mins and I'd do it, even if it was past midnight, even if I couldn't think of anything worse than exercising. No excuses. I don't exercise much on a formal level anymore, but being active has become very much something I just am now. Allowing myself loads of rewards for getting to mini goals: I think we are truly hardest on ourselves and we don't think we deserve to Celebrate our successes if they're 'small'. I wrote down all the rewards I would get myself once I reached this weight or that weight, and I made sure I rewarded myself. Every single bit of motivation helps! Telling myself that I wouldn't have to live like this forever - fighting the cravings, exercising like a demon, only ever eating when I was hungry, not indulging myself. That helped me with the will power side of things, feeling like it was just a temporary thing I had to do. Yet funnily enough a lot of the things I was doing are now habits that have become a part of my life. I now only eat when I'm hungry (and sometimes when I'm not thinking about it, I forget to eat!), I no longer have to fight cravings (just don't have many cravings anymore), I remain active and am quite fit in general. I don't have to fight to maintain because the band lifestyle has become my 'new' lifestyle and that allows me to maintain easily. Making sure I had regular fills - this I think is crucial. The band works best when it physically prevents you from eating too much. I have never been ashamed to use my band to it's fullest potential. It stopped me over-indulging yes, but it also had the unexpected effect of making me understand how little food I actually needed to survive. And taught me to eat to live and not live to eat. After getting to my goal weight, I had a lower body lift, and a week ago, I got breast augmentation. I still am a little stunned by the chick looking back at me in the mirror in the mornings, but I've never been happier with my life. I now surf, cycle, play soccer with my 4yo - I feel like I'm finally living the life I was meant to live. And as glib as it might sound, it just wasn't that hard to lose the weight in hindsight. At the time I was losing, it seemed so difficult and seemed to last forever, but in the scheme of my whole life, it was really only less than a year for me to get to my goal weight. The band was an absoloute godsend to me, and I appreciate every single day of my life since it was put in. Now can I also add the disclaimer that I am in no way advocating that my way of losing weight is the way anyone else should. I believe that band rules are there for a reason, and am all for doing whatever works for you. For me, it was more about mindset than particular details about diet or exercise, and the main lesson I learnt from all this is that you can re-train your brain to do the things you need to do to lose weight and keep it off. But I also know that without the band, I couldn't have done it, not on my own. In the end, the proof is in the pudding though. I have been big all my life and I now have a BMI of 21 and have maintained for 18 months. I don't care why it worked, I'm just grateful it did!

I actually think 4 days post op to return to work would be tough. The first three days are the worst but even the 4th day, you're pretty sore and sorry for yourself. I took two weeks off work and probably could have managed going back after a week (office job too), but even then it would have been a little bit of a struggle. Good luck!

Aw thanks Mimi! I haven't been shown how to massage them yet. My first post op appt is tomorrow and I will ask about that. They're softening up already too - not so hard and high and the skin isn't so tight, and the dressings where the incisions are are starting to get more hidden as the boobs 'drop'. I've returned to work as of yesterday too and except for a few idiots, most people have been respetfully silent about the obvious change in my physique. I suspect though that most people here are disappointed that I don't have porn star boobs and when dressed, I look pretty normal! I've posted bikini/bra pics of my post BA body in my private album too if anyone wants a look!

Yep I'm always cold. I still am, and I've maintained for over 18 months. In fact I recently went to Singapore and everyone was complaining about how hot it was, and I thought it was fine! I didn't even break a sweat most days! I have had my thyroid checked so I know that's not it. I figure I just don't have almost 100lbs of insulation anymore to keep me warm!

There are a few Aussie bandsters about, a few from Perth, but not all who are active. The whole site is pretty supportive tho, so don't just restrict yourself to the Aussie forums. Get out there and post. People from all over the world can be as a good a support group as those in your country/state!

Hey all, 3 days post BA and thought I'd post. Spent the last two days in a haze of oxycodone, and decided this morning that I wasn't going to take anymore so as to be a little bit lucid lol. The pain is more than manageable now so I'm just going to go it with panadol and nothing else. The boobs are high and firm, but quite symmetrical and the nipples are positioned nicely too. I can see that in a couple of months, I will have a rocking' rack! But for now, Im getting used to the new girls - they seem to constantly get in the way!- and am trying to find new clothes to fit the new shape. Am waiting for them to 'drop'. Any one will any experiences as to when this actually happened for them?

welcome! I am a Steve Watson patient and was banded by Steve in August 2008. You're in good hands with him. Congrats on your decision! My BMI was 35 on the day of surgery, and the band has been a godsend for me. Good luck with your appt and upcoming surgery. :laugh:

Lol I too think of my body as a canvas. Dressing up for me is something I really look forward to. It's a way to express myself. At work, where most people slob around in ill fitting clothes and ugg boots (WTF!) I wear designer clothes and 5 inch heels everyday. I get my nails done, I put on make-up, I dress to impress - not them, but me! I did that even when I was bigger, but the clothes I can wear now mean I can look the way I've always wanted to look. I remember when I had lost 10kgs. It felt like goal was so far away. But looking back, it happened relatively quickly. Keep in the mindset of looking forward, and not giving in to the despair of sometimes feeling like you've 'only' lost this or that much. I have a friend who got banded in July. She's lost 12 kgs so far, and often texts me if she's frustrated about a plateau or if she starts to feel like she's never going to get there. I always say to her - I lost about 3kgs a month. It felt like forever at the time. It took me ages, this didn't happen overnight. But one day, there it was, that number on the scale. My goal weight. Then I stopped trying to lose, and still lost another 13kgs over the next year! So hang in there, just pluggng away, and soon you'll be the one others are looking at to motivate them. :laugh: Enjoy your ball! And post some pics! ETA: wanted to also menton that whenever anyone tells me that my weight loss motivates them, or that I inspire them, I still get baffled. In my head, I'm just a chick who got the band, and the band worked for me, in conjunction with me doing what my Dr told me to do. I didn't do anything special - most banders can do exactly the same thing!

25!! Thank you! You've made my day! I have a 20yo daughter, she will tel you I'm definitely 40. :laugh: I used to hate shopping for clothes too. I also used to cry in the changerooms when nothing would fit. I have been a size 16 or bigger since I was in my late teens, and shopping in places like Supre, Jayjays and DJs were pipe dreams for me. I have always loved nice clothes, and always wanted to dress well, but clothes for bigger girls back in the day were just tents. There are nicer things for plus sizes these days but yes, being able to shop in 'regular' shops mean you've got such a great selection. You WILL soon be able to go shopping in places like that, and feel good about the stuff you're trying on. I wasn't even at goal when that started to happen for me. Just losing some weight and being able to get into sizes you couldn't get into before gave me such a buzz. In fact, when I was about a size 12, I went to a shop and wanted to buy a blouse but it was soiled and there wasn't another. So I just grabbed a different style off the rack and went up to pay. The salegirl asked me if I wanted to try it on, and I said no, I knew it would fit. She then laughed and said how lucky I was to be 'naturally thin'. I cracked up and told her that there was nothing natural about it! Clothes really were such a motivation for me. Also being able to run around with my 4yo, go surfing with my daughter and even ride a bicycle and keep up with my sons - those things I think keep me motivated to never put on the weight again.

Lol WrenBird, stop that now, you're giving me a big head! Believe me when I say I'm just a regular 40yo mum (who has heaps of tattoos, but that's another story!) I'd love to be there when you go for that first shopping expedition in shops where you would never have walked into before! You will love it!

I'm so shallow in that clothes have always been one of the biggest motivations. I love beautiful clothes and shoes and I couldn't wait to shop anywhere I wanted, and look good in anything I wanted. Everytime I went down a size, I went shopping for new clothes! Lol! My wardrobe and shoe collection is now my pride and joy. I'm actually getting breast augmentation surgery tomorrow and today was mourning all the beautiful things in my wardrobe I would no longer be able to wear. Then I realised I therefore needed to do more shopping and perked right up! Lol!! Nothing beat that feeling of realising I could shop in any shop I wanted in the shopping centre, not just the one 'big girl's' shop!

Hey lasweet! Sorry I hadn't seen your post until now. Drop me a PM for sure, happy to chat if you want to. Well tomorrow is the day I get my rocking new rack!! My surgery is at 11am, and I'll be discharged the same day. By tomorrow evening, I'll have the breasts I want as opposed to the empty sacks I have now. :laugh: And in celebration, today I'm going out to buy the teeniest, tiniest bikini I can find! Lol!!

My BMI was 35 when I was banded. I had been overweight to obese my entire adult life. I couldn't lose the weight and keep it off on my own. The band helped me with that. I got told constantly prior to my surgery that I didn't need it. I wasn't 'big' enough to have it. It put so many doubts in my head, I delayed calling the surgeon for almost 18 months. And now I wish I'd stopped listening to the people who thought they knew better than me about what was good for me. I could have been at a normal BMI, running after my son, living a healthy life, 18 months earlier than I did if I'd just stopped letting other people tell me what was best for me. It's completely normal to have doubts. But make the decision for yourself. Weigh the pros and cons, and make your OWN decision.

I weighed myself everyday when I was losing, and now 2 years on, I still weigh myself everyday lol. It's become a habit, and I don't think it's a bad one. I was aware of daily fluctuations, but if the scale showed me heavier than the day before, I worked out harder that night. And I consistently lost as a result. Now I weigh myself more as a matter of habit. I can tell without weighing myself these days if I've gained a couple of lbs!

I drink. Always have. Not with carbonated mixers and no more than once a week or so usually. But I've never given up drinking.

This thread has been so interesting. I will say one thing from a chick's perspective though - if a guy is interested, he will reciprocate when you make the first move. Even if the first move is a subtle one on your part. When a guy is interested, he makes sure you know. I know a lot of the guys here have been saying that you need to be more patently obvious that you're interested, but my advice to you is this: one cute guy does not your worth make! There are plenty of guys out there, and your CONFIDENCE will be a large part of what draws them in. If I were you (and I have been you once upon a time!) I would concentrate on learning to love yourself, and feeling good about yourself, because trust me, that's what a lot of guys react to. I never had problems meeting men even when I was big because I loved myself. When I didn't love myself, they didn't care about me either. Funny that! And if a guy doesn't seem to be getting your signals, chances are it's coz he doesn't want to. Should that hurt you? Hell no! Coz he's only one person, and someone cuter and much nicer may be just right round the corner who will think you're the bomb. Believe that and you will be fine! Don't sell yourself short. Hunny, I'm 40 years old, and newly single (since May) and take it from me, it's not about your age, it's about you! This guy may be cute but no one is worth that much hard work. Look around, there will be more to come, and ones with whom you will have better results! Once you are happy within yourself, and happy with your life, they will come. Trust me. Make yourself happy first.

One of the things I learnt to love when exercising was rock music. Loud and with lots of angry yelling lol! Always pumped me up! Never really listened to rock before that!

How weird are people huh? Even today having lost all the weight I have because (in part) of the band, I still have people insisting on telling me stories about those people who got the band who didn't lose an ounce. And yet the statistics show that the majority of people who get the band lose approx 60% of their excess weight. And there are those like me, who lose more than 100% of their excess weight. The difference is, I'm not really 'news', am I? Not as interesting as the poor person who went through the surgery and didn't lose. I got to goal over 2 years ago and have kept it off. In fact, over the last two years, I've gone on to lose another 22lbs without even trying to. There are lots of success stories, many, many more, I suspect, than horror stories. It's just most people don't bother talking about success, but they do talk about struggling, and pain and lack of success a lot, it's only human nature.

Hell yes, I worried it wouldn't work. But I ate well and exercised and my band helped me with portion control. And it worked. Fewer calories went in then I was expending. Not rocket science. I lost weight! I don't think there is a bandster alive who doesn't worry that it isn't going to work. But assuming that your band works for you like it should, and you follow the rules, it will work. Simple as that.