Goannabanda

The kids (Bindi & Bob) were both with his wife in Tas. The late news showed them flying back to Qld. A post-mortem will be done in Cairns tomorrow, before Steve's body will be taken to Gold Coast to be reunited with his family tomorrow night. So sad.

Hi Pavarthi - you have had a rough patch! Hope your comfort level has improved now your fill is out. Hope that hubby's MS has abated too - that's nasty. PM or email me if you need a shoulder, coffee or a hand... ...I think I'm fairly local to you, and have a 5yo that likes to play with other kids...

75lbs down - you ought to shout it from the roof tops! Thats GREAT work, banded or not, and is worthy of celebration. Just keeping your band for 3 years is an achievement to be encouraged by. I hope that you get your "mojo" back! Plug into LBT and your local support network, medical team etc - we're all here to help and withness to your success.

Happy thoughts, good luck and prayers I'm sending your way. That Pitunia's sooooo gone! Will be looking out for an update...

Our dietician recommends SUPRADYN soluble multi-Vitamin for the first 6 week liquids / mushy stages. Once you're onto solids she recommends PLURAVIT, SWISSE, Centrum or other good quality Multivitamin and mineral supplement capsule. The SWISSE ones are expensive, and being large and may need to be broken in half to get them down. I am currently taking a chemist's brand multivitamin & mineral capsule. When I need a boost, I also take a BEROCCA Performance (soluble B & C complex with zinc and magnesium). I also swear by a daily dose of Probiotics for general wellbeing - I have one YAKULT or other fermented milk drink and / or about 1/3 cup of good-quality organic natural (or Greek) yogurt with about 2 teaspoons of honey on top. I am expecting to have to adjust the amount of yogurt post-banding.

G'Day Aussie Chick & Jachut - nice to talk again. Hi Jess - nice to meet you. Sorry to hear that you have a slipped band. Hope that it rights itself without further surgery. Your avatar pic looks great - and well done on achieving such a healthy weight. I dream of describing my weight as a two-digit number with a 7 at the start! I am going to need tummy / hips / chest fixed at the end of the weight loss, which scares me more than the band and all of its issues - I'll be looking to Jess and Aussie Chick for inspiration!! I have heard that there was a new generation of band out now - but that's all I heard until Jess said the new type's more flexible. I'm not sure what band I'll be getting in October - the existing band or the new one?? I'll ask the surgeon when I go and see him later this month for my final pre-op visit. Not sure I'd want to try the new one out until it was proven as better / more durable / safer / less likekly to slip etc. I am sooooo conservative I frighten even myself at times!

G'day fellow Aussies! Our section of LBT has been a little quiet lately - there seems to be a few regular Aussie LBT posters, but I am sure that there's many more of us lurking around... ...so, it's now time to show yourselves. How about a quick post onto this thread to let us know who you are, where in Australia you're from, your progress so far etc. You are welcome to include any questions / issues / information you have for discussion, or any support that you may be needing right now too - after all, we're all here to help each other! Okay - I'll start: I'm Anna from Aspendale. I hang out here at LBT most weeknights, and sometimes over the weekend too if I can get time. I particularly enjoy reading the Aussie posts on LBT - the Aussie perspectives are highly relatable, common sense, and refreshing to read. I'd like to see more Aussie involvement around LBT, and in our own little corner of the forum (one of the reasons why I started this thread). I am counting the days until my pre-op fast begins (16) and operation (30). I'm currently enjoying the last days of not concentrating on chewing every bite, but also wanting the banding to begin! Worried / working on strategies to deal with head hunger issues post-banding - this is one of my biggest concerns right now. Looking forward to hearing from all the other Aussies around LBT. So it's cheers from me, and good-onya mates!

Hi SharynP - welcome to our world - it's great to have another Aussie on board. Congratulations on your weight loss to date - wow, 18kg already - you must feel great! Where were you banded, and by whom? Do you have access to a local support group as well? I am counting the days to my op. As you're a bit ahead of me - I'm looking forward to hearing your experiences and chatting with you further.

What a shock - I hadn't heard the news, stuck at work all day. I feel bad for poking fun at him in another thread now. How awful for his very young family. Although not a great fan of the image he portrays, the kids and tourists loved him, and he was a great environmental ambassador of the people. he did more to communicate environmental messages to the masses than most politicians or other activists ever could - and as an environmetnal professional, I am appreciative of that. I hope that the media circus focus on the positive things he achieved in his life, and less on the larrikin / yob Aussie image or controversial moments in his career.

Gee - what terrible news. Feel bad now for poking fun of him. Hope we didn't put a hex on any of the other Aussies we made fun of.

Sorry about the Minogue sisters, Daddo brothers, Home & Away, Neighbours etc. We joke that our TV will explode if we leave H&A or Neigh-bores onfor more than the opening theme song. hehehehe. Sorry also for being so smug about Aust. I know we're not as perfect as I like to think, but I truly love where I live. I respect others for feeling the same way about wherever in the world it is that they live. Dawg - I'll have an Aussie beer in your honour next w'end!

Cool! Your surgeon almost made your port scar go away by hiding it with your new BB (which is well healed now too). Does that mean that after your large weight loss, that the port scar has moved away from the port area? that is, it has no relation to the location where the port is stitched? I am ignorant. And curious.

I know I am off topic, but sorry - this is a bit of fun. Stop reading if you want to stay on topic. From Dawg: You must be drinking export Fosters - that's Americanised Aussie beer - not typical of the local brew at all. You can blame Paul Hogan (the Croccodile Dundee guy) for the shrimp on the barbie thing. We call them prawns, not shrimp. Yabbies are disgusting version of prawns that live in the river mud - and taste like it too, no matter how long you flush them out - blech! Most Aussies I know wouldn't waste a perfectly good prawn by BBQing it. Boil in some Water, serve with lettuce and 1000 island dressing & lemon, and an ice cold VB. Just lovely. Thanks. Don't worry - he's lived in England for about the last zillion years, so you're safe from him here. and from Jachut: No argument here - cringe - he's worse than Crocodile Dundee. Steve Irwin is a scary Aussie guy playing up to the tourists, although he is passionate about our natural environment, so credit where due at least for that. But he's still scary. We must be more liberal than you Americans, we don't get freaked out if someone has a "wardrobe malfunction" on national TV, or if we see a few white pointers (bare b**bies) or beached whales (bare b*ms that is - not overweight people!) down at the beach! Heck, even our national kids show (Play School) featured a story recently where the little girl had TWO mummies... ...although I must admit, THAT little effort from Aunty (our nickname for ABC TV - the public TV channel) had a few people's knickers in a twist! And finally, from libra: Come and live in Melbourne - we have a great climate (where else would you get four seasons - in ONE DAY???). We are also the cultural and cosmopolitan centre of Australia. We are also the HOME of THE ASHES, AUSSIE RULES (now, THAT's football!) and THE MELBOURNE CUP. Melbournians are a lot more multicultural and relaxed than many other Aussie capitals / major cities. We have the best food culture in the country, thanks to our multicultural and creative heritage. Our bayside city is a lot more elegant and refined than the brashness of Sydney with its harbour & icons, or the Gold Coast with its baubles and tinsel. Sorry I could wax lyrical about Melbourne for hours - I am a biased of course - but I just don't think that any other Aussie capital matches up. To us, Crocodile Dundee is an American movie. Not fair dinkum or true blue at all. If you like movies and want to see some really great Aussie humour, try and find these titles. They are all set in Melbourne, apart from Muriel's Wedding, which was set in the Sunshine Coast (near Gold Coast) and All Aussie Adventures (set in the outback). Muriel's Wedding Russel Coight's All Aussie Adventures (TV series) Malcolm Death in Brunswick CrackerJack (partly filmed near where I live) Kenny (current new release) He Died With a Felafel in His Hand Kath & Kim (TV series, filmed locally to where Jachut & I live) Find an Aussie to watch them with if you can, so you can have the jokes explained... ...and who knows, you might laugh so hard you forget to snack, get a great cardio workout and maybe even lose some weight, all while watching TV! Which is after all, what we're all here for, isn't it?!!?!!? Cheers!

Variation on HarleyNana's veggies: Slice any fresh mixed veggies (mushroom, eggplant, capsicum, thin sliced potato, onion are a great combo) and toss in olive oil and herbs a la HarleyNana. Then just cook straight on the BBQ hotplate - mmmm - they get the lovely grill taste as well as the herbs - it's like they've been dressed with a BBQ sauce. Push aside the eggplant skins if they get stuck.

Sandybells - you mum's story is really sad, and frightening. Thanks for pointing out the extreme and dangerous health issues that bulimia gives rise to - in addition to the obesity. Bulimia and its issues is a whole other story to the secret eating issues outlined in this thread. Does bulimia have an aspect of secret eating to it, as well as the secret purging? I am ignorant. Sorry. It may be worth starting a new thread about bulimia so that you can get some insight and support specifically related to that eating disorder. There's bound to be many others around here who can provide insight to your mum's problems and support you. I am sorry, but personally I don't have any support to offer with respect to Bulimia, as I don't know anyone (that I am aware of, that is) who suffers. I hope that you find people, either in this thread or another, who can uplift you and your mother. Hugs to you.

All the best TrishS - I'll be looking out for your post when you return from surgery. Hope band is healthy and in place, and no more complications for you.

We don't have too many drive-thrus over here in Oz, mostly just the standard fast foods on every other street corner. I remembered today that apart from Cookies, chips, read etc, I used to sneak lots of little bits of "staples" from the pantry too, that I forgot about - Peanut Butter, nutella, hundreds and thousands, drinking chocolate, condensed milk, even drank topping right out of the bottle. Several times I've eaten the whole chocolate drive box that was sent home. One of the worst was when I was about 18, I ended up eating TWO whole boxes of chocolate bars over about two weeks - cost me 80 bucks for those 40 bars of crappy chocolate!!! Should have spent it on Lindt Lindor Balls and enjoyed it more instead!

Way to go Diva! Two celebrations in one day! Enjoy!

BBQ / OVEN FISH Make a double thickness foil parcel to hold a whole fish. Fill the cavity, and over & under the fish with washed stalks of parsely and dill (I use about 4 to 6 of each, more if a large fish), 1 thinly sliced lemon (skin on) and 1 thinly sliced onion (rings). Close foil tightly. Cook gently on BBQ grill, or in oven until done. Discard trimmings. Enjoy steamed fish with whatever salad or vegetables you like. Works great with trevally, snapper, roughy, butterfish etc. Also works well with fillets of firm textured fish - salmon, blue grenadier, swordfish etc. RISSOLES Mix about 500g - 1kg (1 to 2 lb) good quality low-fat beef mince with one packet French Onion Soup powder (the kind that makes up 1 litre (4 serves) of soup - not individual cuppa soups). Shape into rissoles / small patties about 1/4 cup each. Chill 30 mins before cooking. OPTIONAL: Add any or all of the following: a splash of Worsestershire sauce, tomato sauce, garlic, minced parsely, 1 egg, 1 minced onion and some breadcrumbs (enough to restore texture if egg & onion are added). I used to always add these things - but now don't usually bother - the plain burgers are yummy enough.

We are setting up our own home fitness centre (aka torture cell! LOL!). I am interested to see what equipment / arrangements other LBTers have at home. Our idea is to make it a really cool, "set up" place to hang out in our home, that we can use during the week to supplement our existing exercise habits - gym/pool membership for me, field hockey for DH, cycle / walk for family on weekends. We figure we work hard enough during the week, that we deserve to have our own special, motivating exercise place right here at home to help make keeping ourselves healthy and fit just a little bit easier. Now, spending money on a LapBand is another reason to take this more seriously. Got to get a return on the investment! We have the luxury of a newly carpeted and painted spare bedroom to use (3.5m by 3.5m or 12ft by 12ft), which this wekend I am going to clear out of junk (yipes!). When we moved in here 2 years ago we planned to set our fitness centre up, it's just taken longer to get the moving boxes etc out of the room, and to finish clearing up after our washing machine flooded the house a few months back. We already have a York 2000 Home Gym, fit ball and yoga mat. I thought I'd get a couple of 3kg free weights for myself, and some heavier ones for DH (the nice rubber-coated ones). We also have a York 2000 treadmill, which we plan to upgrade to a motorised walking machine, or maybe a cross trainer - so that's going on eBay, unless someone on LBT wants it (you have to come and pick it up from my place - I am in Australia!). We are thinking of hiring for starters, as this would be a big investment, and we'd want to be sure first. I am going to work with my fitness trainer from the gym to develop workouts that would be suitable for use at home. DH may do the same, or may do his own thing - that's up to him! For motivation, I thought I'd put some exercise diagrams / charts on the wall, and some inspirational type quotes / pictures. For starters, I'll print some from the internet - any ideas where to start looking?? We'll add a small TV and radio for entertainment, and I guess away we'll go - anthing I missed???

I'd often rather listen to the telly while I do other things, than sit and watch it, so the things I do might not suit you, but they might prompt you with other ideas. Early in the evening I often do chores - laundry / dishes / tidying up / paperwork etc. Added bonus of extra calories burned by moving around / standing. I also like to use the time to organise the family schedule - menu ideas, shopping / gift lists etc. I use ideas found from www.flylady.com for getting organised. I am not really fanatical about this or anything, just like to have a general idea what I have to get done on my days off so I don't miss things etc. If I am not too tired, I like to do jigsaws or work on my scrapbooks. If it's been a hard day, I like to catch up on the the weekend papers, junk mail etc. Lately, I've been plugged into eBay and LBT. I can see the screen if I turn to the left. hahaha We are setting up a spare room as a fitness centre to use during some of our TV time. (aka torture cell! LOL!). Hope these ideas help!

OMG! I hope that I didn't kill this thread by adding too many quotes in my last post. I feel like I among friends here. I just called by to see how all my fellow brave secret eaters are going today... ...anyone???

Congratulations!! I'll be tuned into your advice & progress - I hope that I will be in your position by mid-next year. Fingers crossed that all goes well for you.

I was surprised at how many people were there - about 30 or more. It took me a while to get into it - as I was feeling a bit shy. Anyhow, met up with tolmc and tarajane - an unexpected treat to meet them. I can honestly say that this was the first weight loss group I've EVER been to that served FOOD!!! This LGB culture sure is DIFFERENT to ANY other weight loss support / culture I've EVER experienced. Since talking with Liz last weekend, I have felt amazingly calm and in control. More free - like a huge mental burden has been lifted off. I am getting very excited about surgery - counting the days to Oct 5th. Doing okay with 2 Optifast meals per day. Decided not to do the third one until last 2 weeks. Some local gals didn't do it at all (or cheated - completely), so I don't feel so bad after all. Still need to make more of an effort to sit in the sun!

I was surprised at how many people were there - about 30 or more. It took me a while to get into it - as I was feeling a bit shy. Anyhow, met up with tolmc and tarajane - an unexpected treat to meet them. I can honestly say that this was the first weight loss group I've EVER been to that served FOOD!!! This LGB culture sure is DIFFERENT to ANY other weight loss support / culture I've EVER experienced. Since talking with Liz last weekend, I have felt amazingly calm and in control. More free - like a huge mental burden has been lifted off. I am getting very excited about surgery - counting the days to Oct 5th. Doing okay with 2 Optifast meals per day. Decided not to do the third one until last 2 weeks. Some local gals didn't do it at all (or cheated - completely), so I don't feel so bad after all. Still need to make more of an effort to sit in the sun!