lellow

Hi lonestar5212, it's timely that you've posted this. I also only am able to eat 3/4 of a cup of food on average per meal, but lately have been getting hungry within 2-3 hours, which does not happen when I'm well-restricted. My next appt for a fill was supposed to be in Feb but this morning, I decided that I actually probably do need a bit of an adjustment, simply because I'm not feeling as restricted as I used to feel. So I booked myself in for a fill this Friday. I will be asking for a small adjustment only, maybe 0.25cc, just to bring back that restricted feeling. Perhaps you should also look at a small-ish adjustment, because it sounds like you're close to your sweet spot, you just need maybe a little bit to get there.

Everyone's made good points but just wanted to add my experience. I always believed that my excess weight was a result of me not having the will power to control my eating. But the honest truth is, you can have will power to portion control without the band for maybe 2 months, maybe 2 years, but to eat the portion sizes I eat now for the rest of my life? I'm sorry but I don't think I would have ever had the will power to do that forever. That's where my band comes in. What the band has done for me is this: It stops me feeling hungry all the time. I actually sometimes forget to eat! It won't let me eat too much. I can still overeat sometimes, but my 'over-eating' is still only a fraction of what my 'normal' meal was pre-band. I don't count calories, so I still eat fried chicken and creamy pastas sometimes, so I don't really feel like I'm missing out on anything. But I don't crave them all the time like I used to, I only have a little bit when I do eat them. Mostly, though, the main benefit of the band is that I don't love food the way I used to. I've lost ALL desire for carbonated drinks and ice cream and Cookies. My husband can't believe it. Hell, I can't believe it. But when I only have limited room in my stomache, I want savoury foods that will fill me, and not slider foods that sabotage me. And I am able to exercise. It's a lot easier to exercise when you're not so heavy. I have always exercised, even pre-band, but having lost some weight initally after the op, I found I was able to exercise more intensely, and for longer, because I wasn't as heavy. I went into the op half sceptical about whether it would work for me, but it's working all right, like no diet and exercise plan has ever worked before. I don't think I could have had the results I've had, or keep it off, if not for the band.

tutornmum, after some great weight loss at the start of the challenge, I've plateaued now for almost 2 weeks. I'm not sure I'm going to get to my goal of 12lbs loss by New Year's either at this rate. But that we tried and got as close as possible is better than nothing, and I think it's motivating to set ourselves targets. I'm still exercising and eating well but am not losing anymore at the moment. I figure my weight loss might be slowing significantly now. My next appt with my Dr isn't until February next year, so right now I guess I've just got to accept that I'm just not going to lose as fast as I did those first few months.

After a week of eating well (and sometimes forgetting to eat!) and regular exercise, I've stayed the same! Argh! I know that in the last couple of weeks, I've lost over 8lbs, so I guess I shouldn't be too upset about a plateau. But I am! Lol! Last week: 78.5 kgs This week: 78.5 kgs. Exercise: 3 X 35kms on the stationary bike 2 X 1 hour walks.

My size 14 jeans were too loose so I went out yesterday to buy size 12s. :wink: They're a little tight (think muffin top) but they do up no problems. The older guy my hubby works with is teasing him about how all the guys at work are now drooling after me now! LOLOLOL! My husband's arms overlap each other when he hugs me. Two ladies at work are having lapband surgery over Christmas because I am apparently 'a walking advert' for it.

Non-Scale Victory. :wink: Ro, what a great NSV! I have found a whole new love of shopping, too! You, girl, must look HOT HOT HOT!!

Yesterday was a bit crazy at work. It wasn't until I drove all the way home, and got out of the car that I noticed that my whole body was trembling. Only then did I realise I hadn't had anything to eat all day! I recall being hungry but telling myself I'd eat later when I finished whatever I was doing. I must have forgotten though. I had a small dinner and then this morning, I had GAINED 0.5 of a kilo! Obviously my body went into starvation mode or something!

Loss since start of challenge: 8.3lbs lbs to lose to get to New Years Challenge goal: 3.7lbs tutornmom, I hope your son's op goes well. And I believe you can do it, too!

Jachut, whether you know it or not, you're my inspiration, and whenever I get sore and burning and sweaty from exercise, I think of what you've achieved and I keep going. :tongue2: WTG on getting back to 70kgs matey!

I exercise at least 4 days a week (structured exercise) but since losing some weight, I've generally been more active. I don't put my baby in the pram anymore, I lug his 15kg around on a sling on my back. I walk everywhere. I play cricket with my teenaged son. I get active pretty much everyday. I think you can still lose with the band if you don't exercise. But I don't think you'll lose it fast, nor will you likely lose 100% of your excess weight. And if you're okay with that, cool. I want to lose 100% of my excess weight, so I exercised from 4 days post op. Less at first, but as I lost and got fitter, I exercised more.

Hi peoples! Since upping my exercise and watching what I'm eating, I'm losing faster than I ever have since just after surgery. I am getting close to goal though, so expect that I will slow down. Last week: 80kgs (176lbs) This week: 78.5kgs (172.7lbs) loss this week: 1.5kgs (3.3lbs) Exercise 2 X 1 hour walks 3 X 35km ride on the stationary bike.

Even with restriction you can eat around your band. Ice cream, cheese, chocolate and other high fat foods don't get stuck. Esp in times when you're either too tight or not eating slowly enough, and are PBing all the time, it's often easier to revert to soft, high calorie, high fat food that will slip past the band and give you that 'full' feeling you're not getting with harder Protein. So being so tight that you pb all the time can be as destructive as being not tight enough, and can cause you to gain weight instead of lose it.

I have lost 42lbs and still losing!

I think for al of us, after some time complacency starts to slip in and we tend to 'let go' of the reins a little, only to find we're slipping backwards. It's okay and completely normal, I think, as long as you recognise when you're doing it and get back on the wagon. I also think it may be a good time to think about another fill, esp if you are eating close to normal portions again. I could not eat normal portions even if I wanted to, so if you can, you need some fill, I reckon.

I am today sitting on a BMI of 30 exactly. By my Dr's chart, this means I'm now overweight and no longer obese! I don't know why I'm so excited about it, but I am!

Pineapple juice almost always induces an instant asthma attack for me! But in a worst case scenario, it might be worth trying. Thanks for the tip, Lis123. :smile2:

Everytime I get stuck my stoma seems to get irritated for a few days and I can't hold anything down if I try to get back on solids right after an episode. So now if I get stuck, I go back to Optifast for 2-3 meals right after, then ease my way through a mushy meal before trying solids again. It usually works well and gives any irritation time to subside. I had an episode yesterday that lasted over 4 hours (I felt wretched) so am on Optifast today. Give it a go, it may help while you're waiting to talk to someone.

Dec 1st: 79.9kgs (Yay I broke the 80kg barrier!!!). Less today but will take yesterday's weight as a progress point. Loss so far as of yesterday: 5.2lbs. Only 6.8lbs to go!

I think that if you're not exercising and eating anything you want, you're doing well to be losing instead of gaining (which is what would be happening without the band). The band is doing it's work, it's helping you lose. If you want to lose faster than that though, then you will have to exercise, and you will have to watch what you eat. If you don't want to do that, you will likely still lose, but not as quickly, is all. First thing I'd do if I were you is think about getting a fill. It will help with suppressing some of your appetite. But to properly suppress your appetite, you need the right kinds of foods and not foods that will 'slip' past your band. Secondly I would try to exercise regularly. I don't exercise every day, but I do exercise at least 3 times a week. I work fulltime, leave the house at 6.30am and don't get home until 6.30pm. I cook dinner, then spend time with my family, then at 8.30pm, I put my kids to bed and Mondays, Wedndesdays and Friday, I jump on the stattionary bike and cycle for 35kms before settling down to study (I'm studying at university part-time too). I also walk an hour both mornings on weekend. Two things I wanted to point out: not long before I was banded, I also posted about how I wouldn't have time to exercise because of my other life commitments, and Jachut replied to say that as busy as life was, this was something I had to do to to make this work for me. I've taken that to heart. It wasn't always easy to do, but now exercising is a part of my routine, just like working or studying or being with my family. The second thing: I spent the first 2 months hating every minute of the exercise I was doing. I complained to anyone who would listen how much I hated it. I hated sweating, and being so tired, and my legs burning and resented the time it took away from my 'life'. But after a while, I realised that exercising wasn't as hard anymore ( esp as I was losing weight), exercise was a great de-stresser from work, I started looking forward to my 'me' time on the bike, and I was developing huge amounts of energy. I would NEVER in my life believed I would get addicted to exercise - not me, not the person who used to break out in hives at the thought of breaking out in a sweat! Yet here I am looking forward to my bike ride tonight (what the hell happened to me? Lol) Exercise is a habit you have to develop, and like all habits, it takes doing it over and over again to learn to enjoy it. But if you persist, you eventually can learn to enjoy it. So if you start today and stick with it, in 2-3 months, you will very likely be doing it because you want to and not because you have to.

I could eat both until my 2nd fill. I had rice for my mushy stage and didn't have an issue at all. But now I can't eat rice at all (or anyting made with rice) but can still eat Pasta easily (even al dente). I'm not quite at my sweet spot yet but definitely have good restriction. I can eat bread in small amounts, pasta without problems at all, and egg noodles slip past the band easily, so I have to monitor how much I eat of it. I can't tolerate rice noodles at all.

You look amazing, liquidbluegal. Look at that tummy shrink!!

Lanette, anyone can join! Welcome! I've been on a 5 day plateau since my terrific weight loss early last week, despite exercising solidly and eating very well. I need to start moving my behind even more if I want to post a loss this week! I desperately want to break through the 80kg mark, but have been sitting on 80kgs exactly for 5 days. Argh!!

I suppose the bright side of that, Jachut, is that you never really take the weight loss for granted, or stop being disciplined.

I do exactly the same thing that Jachut has suggested (maybe it's the way Australian Drs teach us to work the band?). I don't portion control. I don't count calories. I eat until I'm satisfied (which happens before 'full'. 'Full' would make me pb) and I am generally satisfied after not a lot of food. If I were consistently needing more food to feel similarly satisfied, I would see my Dr for more fill. In fact one of the 'indicators' of needing more fill, he keeps telling me, is not feeling satisfied for as long with the same amount of food.

I still grab clothes that are 2 sizes too big for me to try on even now when I go to the shops. I still look into the big and tall boutiques when I walk by, but forget to look in the 'regular sized' clothes shops. I think my head looks far too big for my body. I still think I looked more 'in porportion' when I was heavier, despite liking being a smaller size in general. I am surprised by my reflection in shop windows, but when I look at myself naked in the bathroom mirror, I still see fat. I still feel self-concious sometimes in a crowd. I still play the funny girl to my family, because I was always the funny, fat one, and my sister was the beautiful skinny one. I don't know how to take on any other role. I still expect not to fit into seats, and still avoid sitting in stiff plastic chairs. I don't want to give away all the clothes I can no longer wear because I still believe that one day I'll probably need them. I am now close to average-sized for an Australian woman, but still almost always feel like I'm the biggest person in the room, before my brain catches up and reminds me that I'm not. So I want to know: does that mindset change at some stage or after some time? Do you eventually stop feeling like you're overweight? Or will you always feel the awkwardness and discomfort of being 'fat', even if it's beginning to only be true in your head?