lellow

Morning all, hope you're all having a great start to the year! Last week: 74.8kgs (164.6lbs) This week: 73.5kgs (161.7lbs) Loss of 1.3kgs (2.9lbs) Exercise: 3 X 40min rides on a stationary bike 1 X 1 hour walk

I've been doing okay, actually, which I suspect is a combination of getting back to regular exercise, having good restriction, and an increased metabolism maybe? Starting weight: 169.8lbs Today: 161.7lbs Loss: -8.1lbs Lbs to go to Valentine's Day goal: 2.7lbs

searze, you sound like you're really feeling down about your progress, and I don't blame you. Bandster hell (the time between getting banded and finding restriction) shouldn't last this long. I hope Steven has some answers for you. I have kids too, the youngest is almost three. The only other advice I can suggest to you about exercising with kids is to try an do it after they're in bed. My regular routine is to hop onto my spin bike (like I mentioned, I bought it for $200 through DealsDirect.com.au, so really reasonably priced) and go flat chat for 40 mins until I'm pouring with sweat, but only once my youngest is tucked in to bed, which is at about 8.30-9pm. I do that 3 - 4 times a week, and I'm absolutely certain it's what's helped with my consistent weight loss. Of course when I started on it, I only managed 10 minutes at a rate of about 45rpm, but I worked up to 40mins at 55-60rpm now. With that routine, I was losing even when I wasn't restricted - about 3kgs a month. Now I have restriction (and am on higher intensity exercise) I'm losing about 5kgs a month. I know it's not always easy with kids to exercise, so I do empathise. I suppose you have to look at it this way: with the band alone, you will lose, but slowly. With the band and relatively intense exercise, you will lose faster. With the band, restriction and intense exercise, you'll be blitzing it. So look at yourself and assess your situation. And if you fall into the slowly losing category simply due to your circumstance (no restriction and not able to exercise with intensity, for whatever reason) then don't beat yourself up too much about your progress, because it IS progress, and that's something to be proud of.

Yep, me too. I'm a very happy bander.

My Dr is also of the 'no liquid calories' brigade, and I do as he says, most of the time. I still have the odd cup of tea, and sometimes a hot cocoa with skim milk if I'm at a cafe, but I don't do Protein shakes unless he instructs me too (eg after a bad 'stuck' episode or after getting filled). He, and most Australian drs, don't advocate any protein that 'slips' past the band, and expect you to have all protein in solid form. So, as you can see, Drs vary from place to place, from surgeon to surgeon. If he says no Protein Shakes, don't have any. Follow his instructions, and not what someone else is doing.

edel, I think that it's hard to quit smoking and quit food (I know because quitting smoking is still one of the hardest things I had to do) so please don't beat yourself up too much. Since you've decided to get back on track, I'm sure that ticker will start to go down again. ktork, congrats on hitting onederland!!

Amy, hell, you've had it tough, matey. That you lost when you've managing with a debilitating condition is an inspration! We're all made up differently too, and we all have our differences in how our bodies react to exercise and new ways of eating. Some of us start out with a half decent metabolism, and yet others with a really sluggish one that needs time to get 'revved' back up. So we're all going to go at different paces. And that's normal. The main thing is that we keep losing, and if you're losing, you're a success, no matter what.

I was banded five and half months ago and this band has changed my life. Yes I sometimes get stuck (not anywhere near everyday though) and I have vomited, too. But I tolerate most foods, I don't count calories - I just eat sensibly, and I exercise 4 times a week now. I am the lightest I've been in over 15 years. I have more energy than I ever remember having, ever. I am the fittest I've ever been in my life, and my risk of developing diabetes and heart problems (of which I have a strong family history, and was the reason I got the band) have plummeted. So as much as there are stories where the band has not worked for whatever reason, or has been a nightmare, there are as many, if not more, for whom the band has been a godsend. Yep, I'd say too that my only regret was taking so long to decide to get it done in the first place.

Hi All-Stars, I've posted in the cosmetic surgery forum but also wanted to let you know that I saw the plastic surgeon that my bariatric surgeon recommended this morning, and after a lovely long consultation, I'm booked in to have a Torso Lift on the 2nd of April. I had hoped that a simply TT would be sufficient, but as I have loose skin on my hips and back as well as my stomache, the PS suggested a Torso Lift for the best result. So I'm having a 'ring-bark' incision to remove the hanging skin from my tummy, hips and back, plus he's removing the skin on my upper tummy and is knitting my stomache muscles together, to get a trimmer look. So I'm on the countdown to the 2nd April now. I asked about having to be unfilled, and yes, I will be unfilled one week prior to surgery, and then refilled typically while I'm still recovering in hospital. So I'll be unfilled basically only for a week or two. The PS also reckons I easily have about 4kgs of skin to remove (about 9lbs) so this will take me to goal, or less if I'm at goal by my surgery date. So this is it, the last 'leg' to goal and the maintenance phase for me. Wish me luck, guys!

You're in a tough situation, searze. I feel for you. I felt restriction at 6ccs, so can only imagine how frustrating it is for you. I have heard of lapband patients though who have had no restriction one second, and then with their next fill - bam - they're restricted. Hopefully that will be the case for you too. Exercise-wise though, what sort are you doing? Is it strenuous enough that you're working up a good sweat? I started out on a spin bike I bought off DealDirect doing 10kms at a slow pace initially, and have worked up to riding 35-40kms three to four times a week now.

I had my first consult with my plastic surgeon today and am now booked in for a Torso Lift on the 2nd of April. I will need to get completely unfilled one week prior to the surgery, and while I'm recovering in hospital, my bariatric surgeon will visit and refill me. I can commence walking as soon as I'm home from my week-long stay in hospital, and work up to my regular exercise regime over the following 4-6 weeks. I'm being ring-barked, plus having skin removed from my upper tummy, my stomache muscles knitted together and lipo on my mons area to remove any fatty deposits that have remained there. My surgeon says he usually asks weight loss patients to wait until their weight stabilises, but in my case, my loose skin, he believes, has more to do with my previous pregnancies, which has been exacerbated by the weight loss, so he's happy to do it now. So the countdown begins!

Searze, how many fills have you had? When you see Steven, do you tell him about not having any restriction? I was also banded by Dr Watson, but on the 1st of August. It may be worth giving his rooms a call and telling them that you're struggling. Aside from that, though, I know how hard it is to stay motivated and eat well when you don't have restriction. But I was losing consistently even when I didn't have restriction, and that was from exercising 4 times a week. Are you getting any exercise?

It's my first consult with the plastic surgeon my bariatric surgeon has recommended. I am nervous and a little excited! I was initially unsure that I really needed this surgery, but lately I am 100% certain I want to do this. I hate that despite losing over 80% of my excess weight, and being only 10lbs from goal, I still look big in the belly area due to all the excess skin. You can see my ribs when I'm naked, but the bottom half of body looks like it's a horrible melted mess! Plus in hot weather, I develop angry, sore welts in between the folds. The only thing I worry about is that he'll want me to be stable for longer before he'll do the surgery. I don't really want to wait to get this overhang off! I guess I'll find out soon enough though if, and when, I'll be able to have surgery.

hi searze1 just click on mrswal's ticker, go through the steps, then copy the code that comes up in the end (the one that starts with [url=.... the others won't work) Then come back to this site, do into your User Profile, then edit signature, and copy and paste the code into your signature. :wink2:

mlp, two days post surgery and I felt like what have I done to myself? But tomorrow you're going to feel 50% better, and in a week, you're going to be almost 100% back to normal. In a month, you're going to wonder if you have a band in you at all, because you feel just like you did before you were banded. That's about when you're ready for your first fill! Hang in there. It gets better from here on in.

You legend!

Hang tough, matey. I was someone who had a coke a day for the last 10 years. I haven't had a drop of anything more than iced tea in over 5 months, and all my cravings for soda are completely gone now.

Sorry Cher, were you speaking to me? Or someone else who's posted previously? I'm wondering because I was banded in August too. If not, it's cool. Just checking.

In that case, yes I think I agree.

Lol! I think I was too shocked to process it properly at the time, but later when I told my DH about it, I have to admit to getting a bit emotional about it. :wink: Also made me feel a little better about what I considered to be my massive upper arm 'wings' and horribly melted-looking tummy, because I obviously am a far worse critic of myself than others are of me!

If you have thrown up, you will find that your stomache will be quite sensitive, which means even something that would normally slide will come back up, esp if you've only taken a bite or two. So I would say try just liquids for 3 days, then move to soft mushies for a day or two, then try to move to something more solid. Don't be tempted into moving to mushies too soon - you may have irritated your stoma and it will need some time to settle. And even after three days of liquids, when you move to mushies, chew chew chew, and eat very slowly. If you're doing that on day 4 and you still can't hold anything down, I'd then be thinking of an unfill.

Really? My brother has been a personal trainer for over 20 years and he reckons I have kick-ass endurance now, and thinks it's great that I have worked up to 40mins hard riding on my bike. He's been the one encouraging me to do the couch to 5k so we can run together when he visits.

Salads (as in vegetables alone) make me hungry within a couple of hours, so it may not be anything to do with restriction that you're feeling peckish again so soon after a meal. I find Protein (and sometimes carbs, though I know US banders often don't do carbs) fill me up much better than a salad, and for much longer. Don't get me wrong, I still eat veg, but not on it's own as a meal. Unless it's something heavy like cauliflower or broccoli. But to answer your question, I felt restriction immediately after each fill. Then after a couple of weeks, the restriction eased as I lost weight. Maybe try having lean protein instead and see if it keeps you fuller for longer?

Oh god not at all, Katy! You're a legend and I don't think anyone can dispute that!

40 mins at 55-60rpm on a spin bike will burn 500 calories. A spin bike class - which is an hour - will burn closer to 800 calories.