Carriejess

Hello love How much is in your band? Are you finding it difficult because you are not restricted? How long till your next fill? If your head is not in the right place right now i think you have 2 options... 1) Just go with it and eat what you want within reason until your next fill. 2) Go completley hardcore until your fill...this normally works for me. Do slimfast or just make yourself thick soups to have etc Dont give yourself the option to eat anything else. I know this is drastic but its the only way it works for me. I need the band to control how much i can eat, if its not doing that then i have to strip it right back to basics like i did when i lost weight before the band. Of course i always used to put the weight back on again but you wont because its only until you get a fill. People say to me now 'as you have lost the weight now are you going to have the band removed' um NO, if i dont have restriction i will eat and eat and eat i know this because i still do it now if im not tight enough. Its OK to struggle, we have all struggled probably most of our lives so its going to take more than a few months or a year to learn to eat like thin people without a bit a plastic round your stomach. Just dont get too stressed about it, your band will work its just not 100% at the moment! xx

Hi Everyone Lots of new faces! Freckles...im finding it easy to maintain at the moment but im definatley not losing! I have decided that i want to lose another stone so i have changed my ticker accordingly. I have also just given myself quite an aggressive fill and made a massive batch of smooth vegetable soup to see me through the week! Im so glad that you were able to eat a reasonably normal meal and good luck! Im not on here as much but if anyone has anything they need help with or any questions please just pm me, i dont want to miss peoples questions if i have not been on for a while and there are 100 pages to read! xx

Hello All Today is my one year bandiversary! I celebrated by having my hair dyed black and getting a bob! Bit different from my celebrations of last year which always involved food in some way! x

Hello Just checking in to say i am flying to Gambia tomorrow....so see you all in a week! Be good!

Buying 4 bikinis for my holiday next week (last time i wore a bikini i think i was about 5) in a uk 10 us 8!

Most people go through Bandster Hell, i did but i did not gain through it. I have never gained although i have stayed the same weight for long periods. Just because you are hungry does not mean that you have to eat McDonalds just try to make sensible food choices. If you stick to that philosophy then even IF you do slip up occassionally it should not be enough to gain. Good Luck!

Yay I am at goal, its amazing to feel like a normal person...i dont track calories and eat what i want within reason. I am no longer obsessed with dieting or eating. Saying that though i would really like to lose another 7 pounds!

okey dokey here goes... CW - sorry i did not reply to your post and welcome to restriction land Freckles - are you going to get a defill? Are you losing? Rose - good luck with your fill, you wont feel a thing! mmm - dont worry about your gain, at keast you know that it will come off again Cathy - i agree with Garry, hopefully you are just healing slowly Anita - i went through stages of not losing anything and it is really irrtating but it will start to move Bev - thats amazing congratulations Just have a small rant about my port which is really close to my skin now and i keep laying on it at night which makes it hurt! Oh if only i could have afford to have it moved!

Goal in ten months!

Bobo - congrats on your loss, wish i could lose another 7 pounds in a month! Homecare - i know what you mean about being able to eat more some days than others....bands can be highly psychotic!

Lol flirting is good for the soul! I have not been to the tattoo but my last boyfriend was from St Andrews so i have spent alot of time there and in Edinburgh

I agree with you i have never thrown up a whole meal always just that last little bit that you knew you should not have eaten! Having ice or a drink with loads of ice in numbs your throat so its easier to eat...maybe you could try doing that before you eat so you can get a few more calories in Freckles? I wish i had PB'd my whole meal tonight as my freind owns a chip shop and i finally succumbed and ate a whole jumbo battered sausage and about 10 chips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing! But not a good start for my pre holiday diet, i think i could do with a small fill but i dont want to give myself one because of the plane journey....oh dear looks like i may have to resort to will power!

Stayed the same this week but i was not really expecting to lose...would have been nice though!

Hello to all you October 09 Bandsters. I had my surgery in Oct 08! Just wishing everyone luck and support on your thread! Carrie

Welcome to the thread! I booked through Bridget and i did not get much info from her either so dont worry. Sometimes the info you get from Bridget, Chris and Fred can take a long time as i think they are so busy. Most of the answers you are looking for can be found on these pages. You will need to do a low fat diet for 2 weeks before the op to help shrink your liver. Nothing drastic just a sensible healthy diet. You will get a pack containing info on what you can eat after the op when you go. You can look at companies like WLS who give fill packages in the UK for a certain amount of time, alternatively Dr Chris's assistant Fred does fills in the UK for between £90 and £100 each. Your local private hospital or clinic may offer them also. I paid the Hotel when i arrived, as long as you have confirmation of your booking it should be fine. Hope this helps x

Yo Peeps TIM - thanks for the compliment, p.s im only 5"4 Wishfull - glad your feeling restriction Mandy - hopefully you might feel restriction in a few days, sometimes it can creep up on you! Hope all those who have just gained a band are feeling ok x Anyone who has been on a plane with their bands have any advice for me. I am going to the Gambia next tues its 6 hours on the plane did anyone feel any difference? I will take a needle just incase, i dont want to take any fill out before i go incase i dont need to ?? And yes i just bought 4 bikinis (last time i wore a bikini i think i was about 5) today which i will be wearing!! And i have a new boyfriend!

Jackie - congrats 4 stone is amazing!

Hiya I am not sure to be honest i would ask BigSister or Gillian as they have their fills through them I do my own so i am not sure what would be best for you to do. x

10 months, i do not drink fizzy drinks at all anymore and i dont miss it!

awesome!!!!!!!!

Hi Dr Chris does have an aftercare service but you will pay each time you go i think its approx £100 a go, you can get fills from you local private hospital, prices vary but approx £75-£300 per fill depending on which doctor. WLS is the only one i have heard of that offers a package, there are lots of people on here who think they are great and the price seem s quite reasonable to me, bear in mind the amount of fills you will needin the first yr prob between 5-10 depending on how much they give you each time

You wil still lose after the op even though there is no liquid in it you still have a band restricting your stomach. Plus you have had surgery so there is fluid/gas restriction etc and you just will not feel like eating. You may keep some restriction after the swelling has gone down until you have your firts fill, normally 6 wks after the op. Your first fill will probably be a double fill (3ml) then you should have restriction again. There will be times when you feel that you do not have restriction, this is called 'bandster hell' this is the period of time when you will be frustrated, you may curse your band every day for not doing its job properly...this is when you need a fill. Everyone goes through this, it doesnt make it any easier for you at the time. Most people acheive there sweet spot in a 10 cc band between 6-9 cc's (this is the time when you will not need a fill for ages like me im at 7.5). You could be completley different, but you will continue to lose whilst you are waiting to get to your sweet spot. You will need to keep getting filled until you get to a maintanable fill level. For instance you may feel great restriction at 5 cc but then you will lose a stone and that restriction will go because as you lose weight your stomach shrinks as well and your you will need a fill to counteract this. It is not an easy balancing act but it will work out in the end!