katieo

yeah, I reckon I will probably end up with a tuck but I hope my boobs look ok cos they are the only part of my body that i like at the moment!!!LOL Will probably go off to Belgium or Paris to get it done, its sooooo much cheaper! I hope everything is going OK with you Fay, I was concerned to read about your port problems:omg: Keep us updated on everything x katie

Hi everyone! Today I filled out a pre-op medical questionarre that was sent to me by surgeons office. I came across a question about my sleeping patterns and behaviours, I ticked that I snored and after looking up what somnolence meant, ticked that too and then we came to sleep apnea which I assumed I didn't have but when I looked that up discovered that I may be suffering from it as it appears to be a possible cause of the snoring and excessive daytime tiredness. In a way I am relieved that there is a reason why i get sooo tired and that it's not down to laziness but at the same time I am worried about my health and concerned that this may affect surgery. Anyone got any advice? X katie

christellini I'm fairly new here and yes I felt very confused when I first came here!! I'm sure we all do but just be reassured that you are in the right place hunni. Anything you want to know will be found here even down to the finer details such as "Do i have to takeoff my underpants before surgery!?!?" LOL I'm finally getting there now with the help of these guys! I've made the first step of contacting a surgeon! GOVERMENT HEALTH WARNINGS ON PLUS CLOTHING LABELS!!! And there was me thinking I was perfectly healthy at over 300lbs!!

Makes sense, after all our muscles in our faces are no different to our muscles in our arms, legs, tums etc are they? I've tried these exercises before but forget to do them after a few days(naughty me).

Crishell It's really great to hear from bandsters who are getting on well with their band, very encouraging for those of us who are awaiting our ops. Well done on the weight loss!!!!! x katie

I seem to have alot to say for myself today! One thing that I often think about is excess skin and droopy boobs and I know for sure i will have a lot on my tummy when I'm done. I know i should cross that bridge when I come to it but I can't help but worry about it. I would much rather be slim with abit of droopiness but just how much will there be is what is worrying me. Our American friends talk about plastic surgery ops they have had done as if they had simply gone to the dentist, it doesn't seem to be a biggy to them......but it is for me! It scares the hell out of me! Anyone had anything done?

I must confess that I am a smoker! I have read a few times that some surgeons will not operate on smokers and was wondering if this is the case for surgeons in Belgium and Paris in particular as it is likely I will be goingto one of these places to get my band put in. I want to give up but I'm worried I will eat even more, so I would prefer to do it when I have restriction. I am prepared to give up before surgery if it will reduce risks and make recovery better. Would love to hear your opinions x Katie

Hello everyone! Was wondering what everyone is eating now you have the band and do any of you drink Protein shakes? I don't really like the idea of living of these as they seem very artificial, I am aware that is important to get enough protein in so will drink them if I have to. I don't have a clue which ones I will have though. Also I am interested to know what Vitamin supplements you take as I worry I won't get enough nutrition and will end up feeling weak and losing hair!!!:nervous Saying that, I am pretty sure with my diet the way it is now,I'm not getting enough nutrients anyway but I want all of this to change. Having the band put it in not just about weight loss for me, I want to be healthy and have lots of energy. Bye for now xkatie

Oh thats excellent as I live in cheltenham, I wasn't even aware they had one here!!! What I'll probably do is go to the Cheltenham one most of the time but come along the Bristolone every couple of months or so. I can't wait to be able to actually talk, face to face with someone about the band as I don't personally know ANYONE who has had this done. Thanks Mrs D you have made my day, your a star!!!! X Katie

Hi Mrs D I would love to come along to a meeting but won't be able to make it this Saturday, do they run monthly?

Hi there! I would love to attend a support group in the Gloucestershire area, if there is one!!!!

Tell me about it!!!!! I was a size 16 before I had my first child but people made me feel like enormous, I hid my body in baggy unflattering clothes when i should have been making the most of myself. I would do anything to be that size again! I will get to that size........I've promised myself I will and when I do there will be NO HOLDING BACK!!!!!!

Hi there! Congratulations on booking your surgery! I was planning on having my op in Belgium but I quite like the sound of the paris hospital. A stay in hospital supervised by people who know what theyare doing sounds reassuring to me. I would be really interested to find out more about thishospital if you have any details to share. GOOD LUCK!!!!! xKatie

In the last 12 years I have lost a total of 120lbs hooray to me!!!:clap2: NOT cos I've put it all back on and more, a story we are all familiar with. I am having a band put in around August time but i am going on holiday in June and because of my huge body I am anxious about the plane journey,the pool, the beach.........actually the whole damn thing!!! In a way I regret booking it, but the little voice of wisdom within is telling me 'you cannot put your life on hold until the op' So i'm thinking, why not try and lose a bit on my own but I just can't seem to get into it. I have started working out which I will continue as it will give me a good start when I'm banded but when it comes to cutting back the carbs it's a different matter all together!

Hiya uk bandsters and future bandsters! It's great to have our own thread, I will still visit the other threads as they contain a wealth of really useful info but I have to say when it comes to discussions about supplements, Protein shakes etc I get a bit lost as some of the products are not available here in the UK. Another thing I find is that we have different issues affecting us, one example is the fact that the lapband op itself is not as common here as in the states and people just don't know enough about it. Quite often US bandsters will talk of their family, friends and colleagues being banded but I don't personally know anyone in my home town that has a band and in real time I don't have anyone to share my experiences with. x katie

beversman you go girl! you are doing soooo well!!!!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

OMG!!! You have just basically described ME!!!! I could never get my head around it until i discovered that I was trying to hide behind my fat for fear of unwanted attention(bad childhood experience) Hope you don't mind me commenting, i was just looking for Uk bandsters and came across your journal, it brought a tear to my eye. By the way I have asked one of the moderators if we could have a proper uk thread under local support because i feel we need it.

telly I am not saying that working out once a day and counting calories is obssessive or wrong. I am working out once a day myself but I have made a personal decision not to count calories because it doesn't work for me. What works for me is eating healthily with an occasional treat. However I would say if you are working out intensively for over four hours a day at 300lbs, cannot sleep at night if you have gone 50 calories over your daily limit and are checking the scales every few hours that is kinda obsessive. No one is labelling you hun! You're weight loss is amazing! I was simply expressing my concerns.

Yvonne you have done really well considering you have had no fill!:clap2: Imagine how the weightwill come off with restriction! By the way everyone, I am going to contact a moderator to find out if we can have our own uk thread under this category.

Hiya everyone!! Tazzamaraz I'm with you on the 'needing to save every penny'! When and where do you hope to get your op done? I should have enough by August which would be a good time for me to have it done with the kids being off school, I will find the liquid diets easier in the summer with all the steaming hot weather we have (NOT!!!!!!!!). I reckon I will be going off to Belgium to have mine but I am interested to learn a bit more about the new band that is adjusted by computer rather than having a port and fills. Sounds better but I bet it'll be expensive. patbb Where is the hospital you are having your op done?The name doesn't sound familiar but then I am new to all of this! xKatie

jachut WW points - tell me about it! When I first discovered I had a binge eating disorder I was told to have a break from dieting, stop monitoring every crumb I ate and just focus on taking care of myself but i had been with WW soooo long that I automatically worked out the point value for everything that went into my gob! It was hard work stopping! marys I really feel for you hun, it must be very upsetting for you because if your anything like me you pinned all of your hopes on the band. I am aware that it might not work for me but it's worth a try! I truly admire you for keeping going :clap2:

We all have them! Mine is crisps/potato chips, I could eat them all day everyday and never seem to get fed up of them. I recently tried a system for over eaters which entailed making all foods legal. You have to make sure you have enough of these foods in your home so that youfeel secure in that you can eat them whenever you want, the idea is that once you've eaten as much as you like the 'forbidden fruit' doesn't taste as sweet and you then give up your obsession with it and then are able to listen to what your body wants. Crisps were a big problem for me and still are. When I tried this system I went out to buy a huge box of them and within a few days they were all gone!!!Needless to say this didn't really work for me,I didn't give it much of a chance to be honest because I put on weight. The plan wasn't just about losing weight, it was about combatting obsession with food which should inturn make you lose weight but I'm to heavy to risk putting on any more. Anyway back to my obsession with crisps, they are sooooo bad for me not just because of their high fat content but also because I eat so many of them that I just cannot face proper meals. I never feel hungry enough to enjoy anything nutritious. I am going to cut them out for a while and see if things improve.

We all have them! Mine is crisps/potato chips, I could eat them all day everyday and never seem to get fed up of them. I recently tried a system for over eaters which entailed making all foods legal. You have to make sure you have enough of these foods in your home so that youfeel secure in that you can eat them whenever you want, the idea is that once you've eaten as much as you like the 'forbidden fruit' doesn't taste as sweet and you then give up your obsession with it and then are able to listen to what your body wants. Crisps were a big problem for me and still are. When I tried this system I went out to buy a huge box of them and within a few days they were all gone!!!Needless to say this didn't really work for me,I didn't give it much of a chance to be honest because I put on weight. The plan wasn't just about losing weight, it was about combatting obsession with food which should inturn make you lose weight but I'm to heavy to risk putting on any more. Anyway back to my obsession with crisps, they are sooooo bad for me not just because of their high fat content but also because I eat so many of them that I just cannot face proper meals. I never feel hungry enough to enjoy anything nutritious. I am going to cut them out for a while and see if things improve.

Oh one more thing! as if i haven't already said enough! kebsa, I totally agree when you say there are two sides to every story and that is exactly why I posted this thread, I wanted opinions from both sides of the coin and i really apreciated your input.

puddin I won't mention any names but you certainly were not one of the bandsters I was thinking of!!!! The way you lost your weight was clearly the right way for you and obviously was not unrealistic or you would not have reached goal. I have a few people in mind who's stories are very similiar to each other's, they started off at over 400lbs and have lost 80 - 100lbs extremely fast. At over 300lbs they are exercising intensively for hours on end which I believe at such a high weight is dangerous, they weigh themselves a few times a day and when their weight loss begins to slow down(which is only natural) they are very dissapointed and begin to worry about failing. At the same time they are annoyed that they have worked their butts off in the gym for 'nothing'! This indicates that they are not enjoying what they are doing so therefore it isn't sustainable but the obsessive exerciser blames him/herself and we all know where that gets us! kebsa I don't feel that you are at all obsessive, you don't have any choice but to be extra careful given the situation and I take my hat off to you for working so hard to do what it takes to get yourself where you want to be!:clap2: I journal too because it helps me to make sense of things, it's what has helped me discover why i have a problem with food and I will continue to journal probably for the rest of my life. Even if i ever get to the point when my weight is not an issue i am sure there will be other issues to work through. I hope i haven't upset anyone posting this thread, I posted it because it is an issue that concerns me. I am not criticising anyone who counts calories, weighs themselves and enjoys exercising I am just expressing concern for those of us who are taking it all a bit too far. x katie