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The thing with all WLS is that it is a tool and we have to choose to use that tool and show it who is in charge. With bands and sleeves they are both restrictive only procedures so they can only help control quantity not quality. There are many foods that are sliders as they are high calorie and easy to overeat but when the calories come from liquid there is nothing the surgery will do to help. I love wine. I don’t do hard alcohol or fizzy sugary drinks but a glass or 2 of wine at night helps me relax and sleep. But I also recognise that in terms of weight loss/ maintenance it is not a good habit. If you have a dependency problem then obviously you need to quit and get support from a group such as AA. If you don’t then there are other things you can do to cut back . Choose dry wine rather than a sweet wine. Have half wine and half soda water ( if you make your own you can control the amount of carbonation) Start by drinking only every second night. Then try to stick to only drinking at weekends. Dont buy the wine or buy less wine Hope some of this helps and that you get back to losing again

If only I liked bananas .........

Mine was from remembering when I thought I looked and felt good. It also needs to be within the healthy weight range, I don’t see the point of going through surgery and having a weight goal that is still classified as overweight I have found the Hall’s BMI calculator to be useful. It has better info than most of the other calculators.

I hadn’t really thought about those but it’s the fillers they add, which are often carbs, that make them bad for you

Thanks for that. Glad to hear things went pretty smoothly. My surgeon uses a 1 step process for band removal and revision unless there are major issues. As for the tape allergy , I know all about that

Interesting that we have similar timeframes! How was the revision. Is there anything I should know in advance.

I don't know too many highly processed protein foods, most of the rubbish seems to be full of carbs.

Wow, that is amazing

I am going to preface this post by saying that everyone on this site has or had an Obesity problem. None of us are perfect. It has been recognised that Obesity is a complex disease and that the solution is a complex one. Now one would think that this would be a safe place and a supportive community but so often people come across as "holier than thou". If someone is struggling the finger of blame is pointed at them - it is their fault, it is never the surgery , or the tool. They don't seem to recognise that sometimes what was once thought of as a fabulous new innovation that could help so many people may not be the great solution that it was initially thought to be. We get told that "luck" has nothing to do with our success. We also get asked "what has changed" or "what are we doing differently". So that set me thinking about what has changed for me and what I am doing differently. I got banded 9 years ago. At that time my daughter was away at uni and my son was still at school. I was working casually - now both kids have left home and I am no longer working. That means less time playing Mum's taxi and less time cleaning the house as it stays a bit tidier so I probably get less incidental exercise. When I first got my band I did a Bollywood class once a week. Other than that I did no formal exercise. I still do no formal exercise. I do belong to a bushwalking group and we do a bushwalk every fortnight. At weekends if the weather is nice I try to get out with my husband and or daughter and go for a bushwalk. I recently went on holiday to Vietnam where we spent 2 days trekking. When I'm at home I don't sit watching TV I sit at my sewing machine and am forever getting up and down to the ironing board and back again. I also enjoy taking my camera out and about to new places and taking photos. I am older, I have had a hysterectomy and my metabolism has probably slowed down. When I got my band I was happy to eat small portions and they would satisfy me. I found it easy to ignore foods such as chocolate . For example a steamed dim sim or a small tin of tuna with a couple of crackers would fill me up for lunch. I couldn't eat raw carrots or celery , corn was a major issue and there have been a number of occasions when I have been stuck on a lettuce leaf. Now I can eat a much bigger portion of tuna, a salad including lettuce, raw carrots and celery and still be hungry. If I went out for lunch with friends I might choose cake instead of lunch, these days I try to behave and eat the "proper" food. It is generally a case of either or - I don't do a main and dessert except on rare special occasions. When I was first banded reflux wasn't a problem for me. Now I am very sensitive to fills and the teeniest bit too much ( I have hardly any fill in) has me waking up at night choking on acid. The level of fill I have is so negligible that it may as well not be there, it certainly does nothing for my hunger. When I first got banded it freed me from the tyranny of trying to work out what diet I should be on. Lo carb, no carb, cabbage soup etc. Now I am back on that cycle of not knowing what works and what to do to lose the weight. But it is not just me that has changed. Research and science has also changed. When I got my band I was told that the pouch held the food for 20 minutes or more and that it trickled slowly through to the stomach. We now know that this is not how the band works. Surgeons have discovered that bands over time can cause oesophagal failure due to the oesophagus having to work so hard to push food through. Research has also shown that consciously or subconsciously people choose softer foods because they are easier to eat. That is a no brainer - if steak won't go down and makes you end up in emergency why would you eat it. But the problem is that those softer foods do not give the same levels of satiety. Research has also shown that for the majority of people bands are not a successful long term solution. If a person is one of the minority that is still having long term success then whether they admit to it or not there is a certain amount of luck involved. So yes we should all recognise what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong but we should also refrain from being so judgemental to others because we are not walking in their shoes and we do not know what they are experiencing

Vegetables and complex carbs are an important part of a healthy diet. It’s the overprocessed , far removed from their original form carbs that are the problem.

Wow, that’s worrying

I am lucky, he's a great guy and I trust his advice. He isn't the guy that did my band initially. I swapped as this surgeon is closer to where I live and when you go for a fill or anything you get to see him not a team member. He always talks and explains things and is happy to address concerns.

I was a fussy eater as a child, I would eat tinned baked beans or spaghetti for breakfast! Loved fish fingers, wasn't a fan of a heap of veg. Mum remarried when I was 7 and Dad would make me sit at the table and finish what was on my plate and I think that is probably what triggered my weight issues but really who knows. I kept getting told to think about the poor starving children in Africa. I'm not sure how my eating everything helped them and I'm sure at least once I offered to put my food in an envelope and send it to them. I still have nightmares about peas. I can't stand the things. I would cover them in tomato sauce and swallow them whole as that was the only was I could get them down. I also hated cheese and was forever been told how healthy it was. I am now happy to eat cheese but only the mild varieties. I can't stand blue or strong cheeses. As it is so full of fat and calories I think I would have been better off still hating it. I was plump from about age 9 or 10. I got told it was puppy fat and I would lose it when I was older and so began my life of yoyo dieting - Injections, pills, hypnosis , Beverley Hills, Cabbage soup I've done it all.

I'm in Aus so things are probably a little different. I saw my surgeon in Sept at which point he suggested the revision and I was given all the info and costings. I then went home to think about it. Contacted the office to find out what the process is and was told I need to see the surgeon again - app made for 29/10 and the dietician 30/10. I am hoping that I will then be given a date. I have been for a preop consult already. I had an ECG, was asked various questions, had my feet and armpit checked ( they could have warned me about that prior to the appointment). I have been given a referral for bloods to be done 3 weeks prior to surgery.

My surgeon has told me that a sleeve is not an option. Too high a risk of reflux .

That’s good to hear

Wow!!!

Good to hear.

I do remember a couple of weeks after I got my band my husband decided to bake muffins. He's lucky he is still alive

Most of us probably thought never again after we gave birth to our first child but lots went back a 2nd time and a 3rd etc. Having major surgery is no different. At the time all you can focus on is the pain and how awful you feel but it doesn't take long before you forget all that when you see the rewards.

How did you go @2shea? Hope it all went well

I’m hoping to be doing the same soon. Have an appointment with my surgeon on 29/10 when I should be given a date

Mainly interested in hearing what people eat . Not in the immediate post op stage but when they are further along. What foods are ok, what are difficult etc.

Wondering how many Aussies we have in here as I suspect that guidelines here in Aus are different to in the USA. I was banded in June 2009 and I know at that stage food recommendations here were very different to in the US. I am now looking at revising to RNY. It would be nice to be able to compare experiences with other "locals". When I got my band I belonged to a local support group and that was great but the group no longer has regular meetings. Also most members seem to be struggling or have had their bands revised to a sleeve. So if you live in this vast land jump on and lets share