elcee

Please , leave out the even if your 48 bit. It is good to feel sexy at ANY age. We are certainly not old or past it at 48. I'm the same age as you (soon to be 49) and I love looking sexy. I love my friends telling me how young I look. I love being able to wear my 22year old daughters clothes. The thing that makes any person look their best is probably high self esteem and feeling good about themselves. Feeling great makes you look great. ENJOY

Never thought of naming it but maybe Porteous

This has nothing to do with what you eat or how much you work out. It has more to do with where you were carrying the weight before, your age, how elastic your skin is etc. I have spent most of my life with double or sometimes even triple chins. They are now all gone , however the skin on my neck is looser than I would like it to be. Yes it could even be the beginnings of a turkey neck. But I am almost 49 and I figure I can't look like a 20 year old for ever. And I would swap the double chins for a turkey neck any day! If you do know of exercises that prvent or fix it then please let us know!

Being able to save money by doing your own pedicure.

I have never had the misfortune of experiencing that. I can eat sweet stuff and still feel fine. The only exception was after my daughters Deb which was alcohol free so we had to drink cordial, woke up the next morning with a headache worse than a hangover.

I am sure that they are both effective. The Realize band is marketed as a low pressure band. What I have noticed from reading this board is that typically people that have a Realize band need more fill before they feel restriction.

Go to a different Dr. This may not be band related. It could be an ulcer, gall bladder problem etc etc.

Now that explanation finally makes sense. Are you able to post a link to the video?

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I am an Aussie and as far as I am aware Aussie Rules is our local football - AFL! Have never had any of my Dr's explain things this way before. Not sure what you mean by food feeling as though it is sitting on top of the band. I think that may be how it feels if I have eaten too much or too quickly. There are lots of studies about how the band works. The latest theory is that some kind of pressure on the vagus nerve is what makes you feel full but I think the theories are just that - just theories. None of them seem to have conclusively worked it out yet. Maybe the reason you are hungrier is because you are eating sliders and if this is the case taking Fluid out so you can eat more satisfying foods should help. I certainly don't time myself or eat 1 bite per minute. What I do do is try to make sure eat bite is sitting comfortably before taking the next. Sometimes I go too fast and it is uncomfortable which is a signal that I need to slow down. I still don't believe that each bite goes through the band within a minute. If it did then how come sometimes I can PB hours later? Think about it - when you get stuck you don't normally just bring back the one bite that got stuck - it is more normal to bring back a lot more too. However thinking about each bite seems to be fairly sensible. Try it and see what happens. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't

I have never read this before but it is really good. Thanks for posting it.

No, you need to follow your Dr's instructions exactly. And make sure that you keep it dry. Antibiotics and other creams are unnecessary and can impede the healing process.

I had a low BMI and seemed to do OK. I didn't have a lot of pain and what I did have was easily managed with the meds. I felt nauseous for a while but I think that was because of all the sweet stuff. As soon as I was allowed to have some Soup I felt much better. (To me sweet stuff is not a meal whereas soup is ). I went back to work a week later but I only work casually. I did just look back through my diary to see if I noted any other problems and interestingly approx 2 weeks after the op I was driving home from a full day of work along some horrible quiet, windy, country roads when I got pulled over by a cop. He told me I went over the white line a couple of times and he thought I was DUI! I thought I was driving fine(probably trying to avoid potholes) but maybe the effects of anaesthesia and the op and work meant that I was tireder than usual!

If the pain is in your side i would think it is unlikely to be a slipped band, the pain from that would be felt higher up. It could be a pulled muscle, it could be a stitch from your port or................ As Kara say's the best way to get peace of mid is to talk to your Dr.

A bit worrying that he recognised you with your clothes off.........

WOW. That is amazing - you have done so well.

Why should having a band stop you eating food from different cultures around the world? It doesn't choose what you eat - it is designed to help you feel satisfied with less. I eat italian, chinese, thai, mexican whatever , the band doesn't stop me doing that. I used to be the world's fastest eater. I was always finished long before everyone else. I also didn't think I would be able to slow down but guess what once you have your band you do and it doesn't bother you because this becomes your new normal. I probably still eat a lot faster than many bandsters I know but It's a lot slower than previously. I finish after the rest of my family, not first. It is normal to be scared before surgery. But you shouldn't go into it unless you are fully ready. The thing to be aware of is that the things that you are worried about now will not even bother you in a couple of months time.E.G You won't regret not being able to eat a huge meal because you will be satisfied with a small one etc

I don't think a perfect body is achievable without plastic surgery even for those who haven't had WLS. Look at all those actors,models etc that you see in mags and on screen. You will be hardpushed to find one that hasn't had some kind of plastic surgery and then of course the images are digitally altered and airbrushed as well.

Have you thought about the complications if you don't have it done. There is a far bigger risk to your helath from being obese than there is from having a band. Maybe you should research how many people die from obesity related conditions and then check out how many die from band complications. I think the results will be quite an eye opener.

You have already identified your problem and you already know the answer. Stop eating sliders and go for the correct foods which will fill you up properly and allow you to lose the weight. It is hard. No one said that it would be easy. You have done wonderfully so far and would be considered to be more successful than the "AVERAGE" bandster. Remember the band is only designed to help you lose 60 - 70% of your excess weight. Maybe you should give yourself a break for a couple of weeks and by that I don't mean eat anything and everything in sight. Enjoy what you have achieved so far, work at maintaining that and then refocus on losing when you feel you have the energy and committment. It isn't like it is a race. There is no fixed date by when you have to lose the weight, this is for life.

I'd love to join you but I can't. I have a band not a sleeve! It is strange though how if you say that you don't believe in God/are not religious people look at you as though you have two heads. I personally can't understand why so many people still believe in a God of some kind. I suppose for many he is a source of comfort although I can never understand why people praise Him when something bad has just happened to them. I can see the benefits of belonging to a church - Instant sense of belonging, being part of a community, social events etc. I swear belonging to a church would make it so much easier to make friends especially when you have moved as much as I have. It's also weird how people think that Christians are the only ones with moral values. I mean they are always referred to as good Christian values. Well I don't count myself as one yet I still don't believe it is right to kill, steal , be cruel etc etc. and I like to help other people when I can.

I thought you'd been at the Chardy!

You don't have to be single for it to be non existent. Just "old" married and busy!

If I meet a friend for lunch I usually have lime and soda or lemon,lime and bitters and it is not a problem. Sometimes when i am thirsty I have a ginger beer - very thirst quenching, but I have to drink it really slowly. Champagne works sometimes and others it doesn't. Just don't try drinking it and eating biltong and dry wors . It IS NOT a good combination.

Eat what you want and leave the rest on your plate. If they comment then you can tell them why if you want to. Tell them it was delicious but that you CAN"T eat any more. If they have a problem with that then that is THEIR problem not yours.