lellow

it is for some doctors yes. I was back on normal food in less than 2 weeks with my first surgeon. My second surgeon (for my replacement) was more conservative. Just follow your doctor's orders and chew slowly!

I have had all the surgery to remove the excess skin and to remove the 'lumpiness' and even then I'm ever vigilante, wondering if my band is working optimally, watching to make sure I don't gain a lb, freaking when I gain a couple, because that's how it started when my band started leaking, a couple of lbs here, a couple of lbs there, and before I knew it, I'd gained 35lbs. People were still saying to me, 'but you look amazing!' as if to say I should not be worried about those 35lbs. I had people tell me that they'd give anything to be a BMI of 27 (like I was then) when to me, it might as well have been a kick in the gonads. I worked hard for this, gaining 35lbs wasn't nothing, it was devastating. The scales were going the wrong way! So especially us oldies, we get it, we definitely get it. I hope your surgery will help you with some of how you feel, but mainly I think feeling like you can take that 5lbs off and keep it off is really what would help, and at our weight, even 2lbs is a struggle to lose.

Lol I'm getting cynical in my old age, I think.

See this isn't even about whether you're choosing good food over bad food, or about your will power over food, this is about whether you have put yourself at risk of slippage or even erosion. That's not about losing weight, it's about a complication so bad you could die. Saying 'I'll be good now, I'll just stay on liquids" to me isn't enough. I personally think you need to call your doctor's office and tell him/her what you've been doing. If he doesn't want to do any tests to see if you've damaged yourself, he might wish to put it in your notes in case you do start displaying symptoms of complications later on, that they can track the potential cause. Because if you had a kidney operation, you wouldn't then go out and binge drink two days after surgery, would you? This is no different. It really can be that serious.

I birthed 4 kids, 3 without pain relief, am covered in tatts, have piercings and have had multiple surgeries, but I still won't let anyone wax my bits!

I usually eat Protein for breakfast (if I'm not feeling too tight in the morning), and for lunch and dinner. I have protein first, veggies second (and with every meal) and if I have room I'll have carbs. Though I have meals where I'll only mainly have carbs (I'm Asian so I love my noodles), but I do that knowing that the carbs probably won't keep me full for long and I'll be hungry again shortly. I eat eggs, fish, shrimp, chicken, crab, mushrooms, beef, lamb, tofu as my protein sources all which easily keep me from feeling hungry at all for about 4 hours (when I have good restriction). So between meals I'm almost never hungry because of the hard protein I'm eating. And the added benefit is that your hair should come back if you increase your protein intake too!

That's what I love about LBT, there are people on here who are committed to this lifestyle and if you need someone to help, they're there. But don't expect them to coddle you, they will tell it to you straight, and if you take that support on board, you will come away with LOTS of incredible collective knowledge to help you every step of the way.

Support is so important, not just with the food issues each of us have had, but with motivation for exercise and lifestyle changes. People generally achieve more weight loss when in a group that if they try to do it solo. Having people to bounce ideas off, learn new things from, vent about your failures to, crow about your successes to, and who will smack you about the head once in a while actually makes the road easier if you're willing to walk it. That's why after 5 years I'm still hanging around this place: the friends I have made on here keep me honest.

Wait, are you EATING enough protein? Like hard protein? Coz that has the added benefit over shakes of giving you added satiety, and helps with hunger too.

Hahahaha *smack*

tmf, my doctor said to me when I was complaining about gaining 35lbs in 10 months that had I not learned all the good lessons from being banded, I would have gained ALL my excess weight back and more, he is convinced. When I started losing again just before my replacement, we talked about the possibility of living without a band, and I said, 'no this is too hard without a band' and it was. Losing 3lbs a month was demoralising, and one 'bad' weekend meant I'd gain. Yeah, no, I don't want to live like that.

The band works this way: hard Protein keeps you full for longer. Eat protein in the majority and the rest in other food groups, don't eat sliders like chips and Cookies and ice cream, and you're working WITH your band to manage your hunger. Removing your band isn't going to change your old habits or your poor relationship with food. In fact if I were to hazard a guess, it would make it FAR worse because you have nothing there to help with your physical hunger. I think I understand that you're saying that you want to lose, but fear that you can't work with your band due to the fear that you will damage it because you think you lack self-control. That's a hard one to solve, I expect therapy might be a good start because that's psychological not physiological. But generally speaking removing your band will probably make that far worse for you in the long run.

Because it seems completely clear to me, I often make the mistake of thinking it must seem obvious to others. So here it is: If you are over-weight and don't have a band, losing weight without eating well/exercising is damned near impossible If you have a band and don't eat well, don't exercise or have no restriction, you're pretty much as above If you have a band, don't eat well, don't exercise and have some restriction, you may still lose, but probably not much, and eventually you'll probably start regaining If you have a band, eat well, don't exercise and have no restriction, you might still lose, but slowly If you have a band, eat well, don't exercise, and have restriction, you will lose steadily but may not lose ALL your excess weight. If you have a band, eat well, exercise and have restriction, you now have the trifecta and have given yourself the best chance of success with weight loss. I am a realist. If I don't exercise, I don't expect to lose fast. If I drink alcohol, then I expect that I will have to burn that off. If I don't have restriction, I expect to GAIN. The responsibility of how well I do is in my hands. No one else, and certainly not the band's alone. People say the band is a tool, and this is what it means.

It is what it's about, talking about experiences, which is why I have spoken to you straight. The fact is, to lose all your excess weight, you have to work at it, which you said you haven't really done, but still managed to clock up a pretty decent weight loss. I then said to lose the last bit, you're going to have to put in the effort. I then gave you related information from my own experience about how hard it really is without the band, having been on both sides of the fence recently. I also tried to put into perspective your fears about complications and how bad things can happen at any time, so worrying about it sometimes is worse than it happening. I addressed your post despite not quite knowing what you were concerned about to begin with and I may not have been as sweet about it as you might have preferred but I'm at work and posting during my lunch-break so my time is pretty limited. Yet I still thought to provide advice based on my experience. Take it or leave it, it's up to you.

This is what you get when you post in the Powder Room... :ph34r:

I'm a little confused by what your concern is exactly, is it that you haven't lost all the weight? Or that you think your band is going to suddenly cause complications? Or that you think if you try to lose those last 35lbs with the band that you'll cause problems?? Firstly, if you aren't exercising and you know you're not eating well, then I'm sure it's no surprise to you that you haven't lost all your excess weight. 60lbs while not eating well or exercising is pretty damned good if you ask me. If you really want to lose those last 35lbs, then you can use the band to help, but getting there will also be up to you. I have lost over 100% of my excess body weight, but Mis is right, you need to do the right things to make that happen. As for complications, yes sure I worry about it. Same as I worry about the complications that could arise from the broken tailbone I got this year. Or the IVF medications I pumped myself full of while I was trying to conceive my son, but until it happens, I'm not going to cause myself more issues by fixing what ain't broke. But that's just my own opinion. Lastly I actually DID have a complication where I had a leak last year that persisted for 15 months. I then realised how much I took my band for granted in terms of maintaining my weight for the 3 years beforehand. I gained 35lbs in the first 10 months of the leak while trying REALLY hard not to. Then I worked out and dieted to try to lose what I gained and only managed to lose 15lb in the next 5 months. So if you think losing 60lbs without exercise/eating well, and maintaining that loss for 2 years is disappointing, try working out like a dog, counting every calorie for 5 months and only losing 15lbs. That's what life without a band was like, and made it an easy decision for me to get my leaky band replaced with another band. Now, in 3 months after my band replacement, with getting fills and no formal cardio exercising and NO dieting, I've lost 12lbs already. So I'm not going to worry about how the band might cause me to be sick, I'm concentrating on how the band is helping get healthier.

CG you need to teach me how not to be scared of my boyfriend approaching my lady bits with sharp objects!..... ...oh wait...

Thought I might add that I can't even imagine waxing my legs let alone my lady garden . A little trimmer on the area and I'm done. Mind you, I can grow it out completely, and still wear an itty bitty string bikini without anyone seeing any of it, so maybe never having had to deal with an unruly bikini line may have spoiled me!

Ok, first up I'm not going to pretend that it's all ok, because it's a real possibility that you may have caused some damage to your healing stomach. I would suggest giving your surgeon's rooms a call and come clean. He may or may not be concerned, and would advise you accordingly. I don't think anyone who tells you it'll be fine, don't worry about it, would be someone I would listen to anyway. It may be absolutely nothing, but no one on this forum is going to know whether it is or it isn't based on your post.

Yeah I don't like being hairless down there. I am not hairy down there at the best of times (yay for Asian genes!) but I honestly don't dig the hairless look. I feel like I'm prepubescent! So I keep it prettily trimmed and neat and keep my lady garden protected by the dark forest.

Booked in for my next (and last) tattoo. I already have a tattoo on my right arm but want to convert it to a half sleeve. My tattoo isn't until February but I love the anticipation so I'm not too fussed!

Google. There are a few lapband sites for Australians but I wanted one that was big and had a lot of information in it from a diverse group of people.

I was 222lbs (BMI of 37) when I was scheduled for surgery and my doctor said it was up to me if I did a pre-op diet. I did one for 3 weeks. There was NO way in hell I was going to get cut up only to find that they couldn't do the surgery because my fatty liver was in the way. For my band replacement 3 months ago with a different surgeon (I moved states), I weighed 150lbs with a BMI of 27 and I was told I had to go on liquids only for 3 days before my surgery. At a BMI of 27, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had a fatty liver, but I did it anyway, because if they did end up not doing the surgery, I wouldn't have had anyone to blame but myself. I absolutely believe that the right doctor/patient relationship is integral to success with the band. So his instructions need to be the one you follow, not those of other surgeons who aren't the ones operating on you. I know it's hard, it's REALLY hard, but so many of us did it, so you need to believe that you can too. One day at a time.

To me, a band without getting the fills until you are in the green zone is like buying a bike and riding it without the tyres inflated. Sure you can do it, but why bother buying the bike in the first place? If you get good restriction right off the bat, then great, but if you don't have restriction yet you intend to continue without the band's help, I reckon you could have saved yourself those incisions, that pain, the cost and not gotten the surgery to begin with, you know? I have gotten stuck many times. If it was that bad, I'd have learned not to get to that point, but I guess I don't learn that quickly. Because it is a learning process and learning is not a bad thing. In fact, it's like learning anything new - you get used to it and after a while it's not that big a deal. I've lived with a band for 5 years now, when it wasn't working last year, I missed how it felt SO much.