Retta1983

My husband and I are planning on trying for a baby this year (starting in a month or so's time) and although I am so excited and happy about the potential to start our family I feel like I'm really at the beginning of my weight loss journey and I'm worried about what will happen through pregnancy and then afterward. Does anyone have any advice? Initially I got the lapband because my weight was aggravating back problems and causing me pain in my joints and was so uncomfortable - I didn't want to attempt to go through pregnancy feeling like that all the time and felt worried that after having a baby I wouldn't have the strength to be the mother that I want to be. Now I have lost just under 25kg's and don't get regular back pain (it is rare now) and no knee or hip pain so it's a great step, as well as that my eating habits have changed, I have come to terms with a lot of the emotions that have plagued me and am actually enjoying the light exercise and stretches that are improving my core stability and improving my fitness.

I hope that things go well for you and you can be proud of the progress you make. I am in my 20s too and finally had the band after a year of considering, sometimes I find it rediculously difficult but returning to the basics, the food journal, just reminding myself of the changes that I have made and how much it helps. You'll get there! Believe in yourself :cursing:

I'm starting to get a little freaked out. some days i just don't feel like eating at all and feel sick at the idea - other days i feel like eating the whole time even though i don't feel the actual hunger and eat until i feel discomfort or pain. has anyone else out there been through this?

Hi there, I was banded in June and have lost around 14kg's now and am starting to have more trouble with keeping away from the chocolates, getting into shape and generally dealing with the fills and getting used to what I can eat. Seem to be getting sick all of the time lately! I would love to find someone to chat to who is in a similar place that I could share this journey with. Anyone interested? Retta

Thank you for the advice Christine :thumbdown: I will keep that in mind for today's shopping!

Thank you all for your advice! The chocolate is brought in by one of the other women in my team and she puts it by my team - - thus far I haven't told people about the band but think I will tell her about it and ask her to move the dreaded chocolate box and having someone at work know that i'm trying to lose weight will be an additional reminder to me (even if they never say anything) not to eat bad foods. I like the idea of having mints or healthier foods close by as an alternative to chocolate. Maybe yoghurt, a boiled egg or fruit would be good?

I just wanted some advice - - it's scary but despite my best intentions and even reminding myself how good i feel after exercise or when I have seen a weight loss I can't stop snacking and chocolate being so close at hand at work that seems to be what I grab while I'm sitting at my desk. Has anyone else encountered this problem and got any suggestions? I have lost a fair bit of weight but feel like I'm really going backward and need help to get back on track. I don't really know what to eat and am flailing - - any advice would be much appreciated!

I need help - there is so much conflicting information and I really don't know what I should be eating each day. I've had my fourth fill now so can't eat tough meats or bread easily but other than that things seem ok. i also have a problem though in that I have a serious underbite and find chewing a lot is hard (my dentist is suggesting jaw surgery to correct it so that I can use my teeth more fully to chew properly). But in the meantime I need to find a way to eat regularly food that doesn't require as much heavy chewing and that will fulfill my nutritional needs Does anyone have any ideas?

Here's mine (I have recently restarted it) Retta's ramblings

:smile: I'm starting to find things harder and harder. Have had the band for four months now and have lost 11kg's (that's 24.2 pounds I think), I was thinking about what I ate and seeing it reduce as I had my third fill - now having trouble with meat or breads in particular. I was into going to gym classes each week and doing a bit on my exercise bike but then I got sick and injured my neck as well and have found it hard to exercise again which leaves me feeling pretty depressed. Almost as if I need the exercise to feel at all good about myself and looking in the mirror I really don't see the changes in my body. Another problem has come up that I may need jaw surgery to correct, the dentist is worried that only four of my teeth connect when I chew (I have an underbite) and since my last fill I have found it very difficult to chew enough, eating is such hard work. I would be grateful for any advice . . .

Goodness I feel good to hear that other people are struggling too - not that I want others to struggle but at least I feel slightly less terrible about how I've been doing. This week I am starting to really think about what I'm eating again, although today I haven't felt all that interested in food lately I've been obsessed with food - what I should eat and try and push myself to have (not sure why). I feel better for feeling that little bit hungry but know that after days of a lot of hunger I'm going to have a lot of trouble. I have my second fill on Friday and hope that will make a difference - although I'm a little afraid after reading what other people have said that I won't see a real difference for a few fills yet. Wish it didn't take so long to get to proper restriction!

I am so happy to have found this thread, i've had one fill which doesnt' seem to have made me feel at all restricted and have been eating what feels like way too much . . . even though i concede that it's much less than i ate pre-surgery i'm still so disappointed and frustrated with myself. i have my second fill next week so i'm hoping i will feel something mroe and the restrictions on what i can eat will be more visible to me. meanwhile i'm trying to deal with my food problems in a different way, i went to hte gp who prescribed me medication to help calm my anxiety (which I usually medicate with pizza and kfc) and referred me to a psychologist who specialises in eating disorders so hopefully that will be a good path to head down while the band slowly helps me manage the physical problems of my eating issues.

Well I got banded on June 13, so third week in for me. i'm eating mush food now and just biding time until the solid food phase, I really find it hard distracting myself between meals and not snacking as this was always a big problem and find often that i feel tightness from eating a little too quickly so am working on slowing down. How are you two doing?

Yes I agree, I feel quite enchanted by how eager everyone has been in giving advice. I'm excited to feel I can say I'm able to look into having a lap band put in late May. Have to call the surgeon to see if he wants me to make another appointment before then once we're back at work on Tuesday. I feel nervous, excited .. . and also a little scared. Mostly because the idea of losing all this weight and no longer being really fat is something that I just don't remember, it's foreign to me so pretty scary but I think that the change is gonig to be incredibly positive all around. I'd be eager to hear about other people's experiences during this time and right after the surgery! xx

thank you all for your advice. bears lots of thinking about! i'm 120kg's now and my biggest issue is my back. other things - anxiety, depression, knee pain . . . those things are bad but with my back i have serious pain and some of the bones are already deteriorating and the weight is making things worse ansd worse. makes me feel that i need the lap band for long term weight loss, that it will help me no end in my health but that at the same time i will keep working on my anxiety and depression because that's so important and could hinder my future weight and state of mind so much. the surgeon i saw was supportive and advised ways to cope, along with teh support of my psychologist, gp and psychiatrist i feel that i have good tools to get me far in this journey. it's going to be really hard work every step i know, but just imagining what life could be is pushing me and pushing me. my husband looks so afraid for me in my constant struggles and is supportive of me when i make moves to improve my health. he will be supportive of the band but is afraid of the idea of me having surgery and worries about possible complications, but we'll get through it together. there's always going to be worries i know - but not doing anything and getting even bigger and more unwell is way scarier.

Hi, Well I'm 25 and weigh 119kg's to date. I've been overweight since i was 12 and have jumped between acting ok with my weight and dieting/exercising to extremes so that i've lost weight but ended up sick. i'm not proud to say but there's been self-harm and very scary stuff going on in my head and it seems the only way to settle my depression and anxiety is by eating. my dr suggested a lapband because my weight causes aggravation to my scoliosis, knee joint pain, and general comfort. i'm newly married and we want to start a family but i'm terrified of what pregnancy would do to my body as it is now. so i am considering lapband as an option but going on some anti-anxiety medication and getting regular counselling so that i can deal with my head as well as my body. my husband is unsure about the whole thing and i find it so hard to communicate why i think that's the option rather than bumbling through diet and exercise, it's so emotinoal to share how i feel living this big, with the overwhelming anxiety and upset and how much i feel that i let everyone down simply by being me. but then i have a creeping doubt . . . is the lapband going to be the right decision?