leftover_eidoes

It gets a lot easier! Dont worry, your in bandster hell right now there is a light to the end of the tunnel and theres a smaller person waiting at the other end.

Hey guys, Im a tax agent in Australia, Australian taxation rules are obviously different to America, But if any Aussies are looking at this forum heres the go: You can claim Weightloss surgery as a tax deduction, but not cosmetic surgery. Basically any surgery that you could claim on private health insurance (even if you dont have it) is tax deductible. In that sense, any expense that you have thats medically related you can claim as a tax deduction. This is limited to however to prescription drugs, you can claim them, but you cannot claim things such as bandaid and panadol. The threshold for medical expenses for the 2010 financial year was 1500. This will be going up to 2000 in the 2011 financial year. You can 20% as an offset for any amount of this threshold. THis is a non-refundable tax offset. Hope this helps =)

Hey guys, I am, as well as many others, struggling to keep motivation. I dont know whether is a self sabotage thing or if its im just sick of my life revolving around weightloss, or it constantly being in the back of my mind. I want to loose all this weight and I can see the skinny person slowly apprearing *Minus this fat roll and that big ass* I know the benefits of exercise, drinking lots of Water, Protein, Vitamins etc. I just cant seem to consistently do any of them. How did you guys get into these routines? was it a whole sudden shift or was is a gradual addition to your routine... I just dont know if I will be able to do either... Should I make myself a list and aim to do all of the things on the list by the end of the day? Help =( My surgeon didnt really give me any rules, and the fill doctor is even suggesting that I should drink while eating, So I dont have much support there. I love my band and have lost 33kilos (66lbs) with it. Im going for a fill on thursday... I just need to know peoples secrets...How do you stop yourself from eating what those evil boys have put in the fridge. Do you put photos up of your ideal size? What keeps your motivated? Should I make a graph and draw a line of what I want to be doing every week (1-2lbs, .5-1kilos) and then draw my actual? Is it just not letting weightloss be in the back of your mind but absorbing everything you do? Ive suceeded on diet before - but always put the weight back on. I need help =(

Hey Guys, I thought I would share mine. Im about half way but loving my lap band. First pic of me I think about 11kilos (22lbs down) at my engagement party. 2nd pic is a week or so ago.

I keep a diet book... food & Exercise one and I record my calories in that. as for that block of time... Its like we always complain that we dont have enough time, we're too busy etc etc... and then we're stuck with this block of time at the end of the day that we cant do anything with! Youre not supposed to exercise 3 hours before you sleep, if you drink Water 3 hours before you go to bed you'll be up peeing all night and the block usually revolves around the final meal of the day. I would get a book... If your bored... Or If you have stuff to do but find your eating during it. I would definatly suggest what Annie said with the Stress ball... Its like we're quitting smoking... we need to keep our hands busy in order to break the habit. I love your idea Annie! Stickers! I never thought I would get so excited about stickers! I just read it and my mum bought be a thingie of stickers (shes a strange lady...) I laughed at her for it.... but I just looked at my calorie book and I gave myself a sticker for each day I was at or bellow my calorie limit... I got really suprisingly happy about doing that! I sometimes Knit... and I dont sit infront of the TV to do it because if you do that your getting the subliminal advertising for food in the background... Best of luck =)

I know a lot of bandsters use her DVDs and I just wanted to post up about her. I love her XD I did her when I started this whole journey but I slacked off for some unknown reason *self sabotage?* But I ordered this 2 days ago https://www.totalfitnessdvds.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1007 So Excited!!! I was just wondering if anybody else has done these? and what they think of her? I've done the walk away the pounds for the abs and I love it! It incorporates strength training and cardo. What more could you ask for? and I lost A LOT of weight when I was using it. But its got the other two with it (plus i lost the CD for the abs one) I live in australia so I specifically order these ones and I have a computer that has been locked to region 1 DVDs just so I can use them.

Hey Guys, Ive always had this problem so its not weight related but since im starting to loose weight I want to fix up skin problems that I have to make my slimming face, prettier. My fiance has a huge problem with make up. He HATES the smell of it. If i have hugged someone who cakes on the make up and then go near him (even hours later) he can smell it on me. He has a very sensitive nose.... Bastard. So I need a fix for my skin problems that is natural and will keep my skin in the best condition it can be. I currently cleanse, tone moisturise and exfoliate. But thats about it..... I have dark circles around the bottom of my eyes which are my main piss off right now... How do you girls get rid of these? Also I have uneven skin tone.... is this just a case of finding the right skin care products? Thanks guys =)

Thanks guys for all your help! Im doing a liquid/mushie diet for as long as I can muster, not being too strict, but Ive got some yummy Soups lined up and im keeping optimistic about everything. We shall see how it goes in a months time. By the end of August if Im still in the 110's (kilos that is, 242lbs) I'll go back to the Dr. and talk to them about what I've been doing and we will go from there. But I am loosing at the moment... which is great Im keeping up the fluids and having Soup is great for doing that lol. Ill kick in the exercise next week/this weekend and we shall hopefully see my pouch and my waistline shrink. Im not giving up. I have come too far and at 40% of my goal... Theres no going back!

Hey Guys, I know I should probably be talking to my doctor about this but I would like to post it here to see what you guys think. I have a problem, I think with my Band... and I think its because i either need a fill or have stretched my pouch. I dseem to be able to each too much... but not able to eat antyhing in the morning.... I can drink a cup of coffee with success though... Im able to eat later on in the day and I think that if I have a drink of Water before hand Im able to eat alot more than I should. Should I be getting a fill or is it that I have stretched my pouch? If I have stretched it... is there anyway of shrinking it back in, like by having liquids/mushies for acouple of weeks? I know its kinda vague but yeah... help would be appreciated. or recommendations on what I should do... should I go back and get a small fill? i think im at about 5cc in a 7cc band. sometimes i can eat things, other i cant, i can eat certain foods but not others....

I dont have stomach pains... but its going strange at the moment... Im not able to eat solids very well right now. having alot of trouble. just in the last 2 days... my band is going strange.. ive decided to go on a liquid diet... plus I dont know, but i have heard that somehow your band is linked to TTOM... which Im going through badly at the moment since i skipped my last period (im on the pill so it was purposeful). I dont know.. I think play by the rules, no naughties... Up side I lost weight this morning which i havent done for 2 weeks and been struggling to get down for the last month. So me is happy.

Hey guys, my surgeon never gave me any rules... and neither did the dietician... its just been off of here that I have heard about the rules etc. My assistant surgeon is saying you can drink while eating, my dietician is saying you can drink up to eating but wait till 30 mins after before you drink again. I was just wondering, what are the rules that your surgeons/dieticians gave you?

Hey, To the above: My surgeon has a very large support base, I dont think I made that very clear in my intial post. I have a dietician which is always available, fill doctors that would come in on weekends if need be and access to a counsellor and personal trainer. What my surgeon doesnt do though is set down specific rules. they give guidance, not rules, suggestions not limitations... I was just wondering if I could find out from you guys the hard fact rules that your surgeons gave you so i oculd adapt them to myself. I have lost 26kilos in 7 months, I am extremely happy with my success and so are the team at the surgery. I read the article given above and I thank you for sharing it with me. However Im starting to see why my surgeon doesnt approve of giving hard and fast rules as to what I should/shouldnt be doing, If i had been given that set of rules at the beginning.. I would have be setting out to break them... *sub-conciously*. Anyway, Each to their own and I find the way Im doing it at the moment is giving me the most sucess.... Best of luck to everyone... was just asking what everyone else was abiding to.

Hey Guys, I bought some unflavoured Protein powder from GNC..... it says to mix with milk or Water or soy... I initially got it to mix with mashed potato or something but it doesnt taste very good with it... does anyone have any receipes for Protein shakes using the unflavoured protein poder?

Hey guys, i lost 8 1/2 out of my 10. Im happy with that.

Would like to just start off by saying I love my surgeons office. Right with that out of the way, I was talking to a friend of mine whose mum has a lap band too. And she was talking about another lady who is stick thin after the surgery and looking unhealthy, she went on to say that this lady had been banded by the other surgeon that services my area. He basically does the surgery sends you on your way and is only interested in getting good results so he can onsell your success. Anyway she told me that this lady had a starting BMI of 33! Yes 33! No obesity related diseases just wanted a quick fix god her problem. I was horrified! Apparently this surgeon just makes up a condition, lies to the health insurance and all for his own benefit! It was just a cosmetic surgery not the life saving life changing surgery we know it to be. I was just wondering, is this common? I live in Australia where the band isn't hugely popular but most ppl know someone who has it. Is it more common in the states, that ppl can easily get this surgery just to fill the pockets of the greedy doctors who don't care about your health.

Ok I think I need to clarrify something: I dont think ANYONE should wait untill they are 150lbs overweight before they have this surgery and I definatly know that I couldnt loose even half of this weight by myself. I meant this post to be more of a complaint towards doctors doing this surgery to people who havent seriously tried dieting and who look at this as a quick fix. Doctors that Band every individual who walks through their door whether it is the best operation for them or not. I do believe however, that the Gastric Band is a fantastic tool for obese individuals to loose weight and keep it off. I agree with the above that Diabetics with lower BMI's should get this surgery as it is harder for them, and more important for them to loose weight. I know that this could be alot of gossip. But this is coming from a close friend of mine, whose mother has a lap-band and who is close to this other lady who has the band and had a low BMI starting weight. What I meant about the " love my band alot but if I was smaller and didn't have 150 lbs to loose, I wouldn't have got it just because it was a quick fix" statement was that if I, personally had a lower BMI, of below the 35 mark, I would have done it by myself. But I have never been that low in my teenage life being 100kilos at the age of 13. So I guess I cannot say this with true Honesty. This surgery For me, was the last resort of dieting and exercise attempts for the entirety of my teenage and adult life. I wish I had got it done much sooner and at a lower weight, but I wouldnt have got it done if I had started at a lower BMI. I feel that if you have over 30kilos (66lbs) to loose, than this surgery MAY be an option. Of coarse I am not part of the medical industry, nor the insurance industry. And I do not know this person intimately, so I do not know what her history with diet and exercise have been. All I was meaning to discuss with this topic is the disgust I have with doctors who do this surgery to anyone who walks through their door, regardless of whether it is the best option for them, just for the profit. and then fill them up to an uncomfortable amount so they loose weight very very quickly so that they can onsell their success to others. I'm sorry if your offended, but thats my opinion and I'm allowed to voice it. If you do not agree with it, then thats ok.

A lump in the breast is a bit of an extreme comparison. you cannot exercise or change eating habits in order to get rid of it, it needs to be treated with surgery no matter what the size. A person with a smaller bmi could and should look at other altrnatives, there is the gastric ballon, or prescription apetite or weightloss aids. If you were taking diet pills to loose weight and that was damaging your heart you can still do that with the band.

I'm sorry if I offended people but as I see it, the lap band is a last resort for people who are killing themselves with their weight who have those primative earges to eat as much as they can for the period of starvation that never happens. Not a convenience. There are other surgeries or mechanisms out there for weightloss for those who do not have a bmi of 35 or above that's why the restrictions where put on it. And sure it could be a grape vine thing but I have heard alot pf negative stuff about this dr. From my own personal gp who referrred me to my surgeon and from bandsters done by him. I'm not going to back down from my opinion here. I love my band alot but if I was smaller and didn't have 150 lbs to loose, I wouldn't have got it just because it was a quick fix. I feel this is an abuse of the system and will lead to heavy restrictions and negative media. I feel and so do the medical engineers designing this technology that only those with a bmi of 40 or above or 35 and have a obesity related disease that can be measured not guessed should have this surgery. It's like having a sore knee or a broken knee and getting a knee replacement.

You wont be disapointed! its fantastic! It reduces the appearance of scars and uneven skin tone. It does not reduce excess fat... i dunno if it helps cellulite... I used it fr about a month post surgery, then stoped and then started again and it doesnt matter how little you put it on it will work, you just will get slower results. Love it!

Hey Guys, I just wanted to confess my love for bio oil! I havent used it for reducing excess skin (i have a bit around my lower belly / apron) so I cant speak for it in that area. BUT when it comes to my surgery scars... This stuff has made them look soo much better. I am 4 months out of surgery and have 5 scars. they looked big and as if they were going to stick around for ages. I can actually see the difference of before and after because one of the scars on the far left side doesnt really get much of the bio oil when i put it on my belly, i always forget it because of the shape of my belly. And its much darker than the rest. I just wanted to share my love for Bio Oil...... I LOVE YOU!

and one more to get the spreadsheet onto the next page http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AsgpZlc1QKD1dGt0ME5VODNUaVZzODFONW1kZEhMX0E&hl=en