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I feel as a taxpayer, within reason, I am entitled to whatever medical care I require. However I choose to pay private health insurance because I'm too much of a princess to have a baby in a public hospital when I could be sucking it up in a private one where I can have a private room, wine with my dinner, a private lactation consultant and put my baby in the nursery if I want to sleep. I want to choose my surgeon when I require surgery and my specialist for any other health problems and I want my health care right now, when it suits me and where it suits me. But I'm entitled to what I need through the public system too. However - obesity and smoking and even tanning related illnesses, where do you draw the line? In Australia, obesity is on the rise because we are following the American culture, living a similar lifestyle, all new manner of canned crapola is hitting the supermarket shelves every week, we like fast food, beer and watch more sport than we play. Yet our kids are also being raised differently, its no longer safe to send them out from dawn to dusk to play or let them walk to school. Phys ed in schools is sometimes non existent. Parents need to work and cant do the after school sport thing, so those kids grow up fat. Is it their fault? Here in Australia, the sun is so strong that most people have skin cancers removed within their lifetime. Most white Australians have considerable sun damage to their skin. Yet others insist on using tanning beds, possibly the most stupid, risky thing you could ever do to yourself, every bit as much a choice as smoking and then expect the public system to pick up the tab - where do you draw the line there? Smoking, nobody has to do it. So if you get lung cancer should you be left high and dry? If I break my ankle tonight playing basketball, is that my fault? Fact is there's lifestyle factors at play in nearly every disease westerners suffer. Choices all along the line, by ourselves, by our parents and by our governments affect our health. I dont worry about whether so and so next door deserves their open heart surgery. I'm just glad its there for everyone. But I dont see what's wrong with refusing entry to people whom you know are going to be a huge burden - because with someone who's gravely ill, not only are they a burden on the health system but probably unable to work and a burden on the welfare system as well. We have a responsibility to look after our own citizens, but we dont have a responsibility to take on even more liabilities.

Thanks for posting that! I needed to hear that today! I'm so glad to hear how well you've done. Congrats!! I'm so ready to do this! This is going to be the longest week of my life!

Ooh, and having "ganja" illegal is working so well for us here in the U.S. Yeah, right. Btw, does this mean you've stopped smoking? Of all the things we can do for our health, it seems that not smoking is the single most important thing, according to doctors. I will admit to having a fag about once every couple of weeks. I kid myself into believing that one cigarette can't hurt you. I also have the silly notion that one brownie doesn't make you fat.

I am not in corrections, but I too have a physical job. I am a licensed vet tech and have to pick up dogs and bend over and get on the floor to work sometimes. As of right now, I plan on taking a week, but will talk to the surgeon about it at my last appointment. I mean I will definitely have to tell my supervisor that I probably shouldn't pick up large dogs for a week or 2 after I come back and stuff.

We were told it take up to 3 weeks for the scar tissue to form that holds the band more firmly in place. Until then you could have some slippage if you get too crazy. Im 4 days post op, and know I couldnt have anything vigorous right now anyway, tee hee.

Thanks guys for all the imput. I've signed up with the "commit to be fit" program at the YMCA that I belong to and I'll be meeting with a trainer once a week. Just gonna listen to him and pray he knows what he's doing. LOL

Have you tried putting a paket of splenda in it - I did because it was the only way I could get it down. On the other note: give yourself time, it's only been a week. You'll get thru it. If you can drink milk, try muscle milk lite - chocolate, vanilla, strawberry flavors, not sure of other flavors. Or you could try whey Protein isolate, it comes in a few more flavors than just choco,van, strawberry.

I have the list below of clothing that I just cleaned out of my closet - I live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Please message me if you are interested. I would love to swap for some size 18 clothes if possible but I know we are all losing weight and smaller size clothes are what we all need!!! Dress Barn – size 3X – burnt orange sweater with brown underlay ¾ sleeve Size 18/ 20 – brown tone paisley dress Dress Barn – size 22/24 sweater – burnt orange Dress Barn – size 22 turquious dress with black print and black shrug HIllard & Hanson size XL – red sparkly turtle neck sweater Lane Bryant – size 22 / 24 black cardigan sweater Old Navy – size 20 khaki pencil skirt George – size 22 / 24 blue long sleeve button up Size 18 black skirt w/ pockets – elastic waist band Size 2X black skirt Size 18 plum sport jacket Old Navy size 2X black tank top (qty 2) Size 18 Navy blue sport jacket Dress Barn size 22 / 24 wine scoop neck sweater with black underlay Lane Bryant size 16 black turtle neck dress Dress Barn size 22 /24 blue geometric pattern button up Dress Barn size 22 black skirt – below the knee with a while polka dot ribbon around waist Old Navy size 2X brown sun dress CJ Banks – size 2X floral skirt Dress Barn size 3X black and purple plaid short sleeve button up Dress Barn size 22 / 24 khaki color button up – ¾ length sleeve Dress Barn size 18 / 20 brown scoop neck ¾ length (this shirt fit me when I was wearing 3x) Size 24 – Brown plaid full length skirt Leslie Fay – size 20 navy blue dress pants Dress Barn – size 22 / 24 black button up ¾ length sleeves Size 2X plum shirt – short sleeve George – 2X black skirt Size 18 Jeans Leslie Fay – size 20 sport jacket – green with floral pattern LL Bean – size 20 khaki pants Hunt Club – size 20 light green pants Dress Barn – size 22 / 24 red button up ¾ length sleeves August Max Woman – size 1XL Light green cardigan Faded Glory – size 22 /24 pink button up ¾ length sleeve Dress Barn – size 2X long skirt – blues and green vertical strips – very summery Dress Barn – size 3x – sleeveless paisley shirt – wine, silver and black Fashion Bug – size 18 / 20 black floor length skirt Dress Barn – size 3X – cream colored shrug Lane Bryant – size 20 New with Tags – Sleeveless dress – black and gray colors – price on tag $49.99 George – size 2X Charcoal Skirt Lane Bryant – size 22 /24 gray sweater – never worn Other Items: Three 22 /24 swim suits: (1) one piece and (2) two piece Two old navy floor length sun dresses size 2x Three t-shirts size 3X Some pajamas

Wow! I needed to hear that! I'm struggling today as well. I"m only 4 days in, but today was a real challeng. I had pre-op appointments this morning that had to fasting.....no Protein shake. that was at 8:45. Then they sent me to another apointment at 10am. By the time I got home it was almost 1pm. Thats 19 hours without anything!! it would be that big of a deal two weeks ago, but when you are living on 600 calories a day I was stakey and starving. I broke down and ate my lean cusine meal for lunch instead of dinner. So now I know I will be hungry at dinner .....................and a shake aint going to cut it. Lesson learned: Don't let your doctor schedule things back to back like that!! This diet is such a mind game and when someone shakes your day up, its hard to keep your head in the game. I'm being positive one bad day doesn't undo everything else. I have lost 16 pounds since December. And 6 of them have just been from Sunday. 1 more pound and I will actually see the "teens". Hang in there friends. Xavier is so right!!! This IS the last diet of my life!!!!

Well, here I am exactly 7 days away from starting my liquid diet and I couldnt be more thrilled. I have actually gone without eating a few times before the actual diet to see what it would be like. The first time was for 3 days, the second was for 4. I managed it pretty well. I drank the shakes and they seemed pretty filling. You may think I'm crazy for being excited about not eating for 2 weeks but I really look forward to it. Now I'm not saying I won't be hating it later on into it, I'm just saying that I'm excited about the changes that I am about to go through. Plus, have you ever noticed how much better you feel when you are actually hungry? I'm also sure I will be pretty moody during this time, but I will try and control my anxiety for my Wife's sake LOL. Anyways, I just wanted to get on here real quick and say a few things, as well as thank everyone who answered my questions that I know have been asked numerous times. You were very helpful and greatly appreciated.. ( Why does this sound like a goodbye post ) HAHA!

As you are not eating a lot do you have energy for excersise and general living etc? I have two young kids and go to the gym 4-5days a week. I need energy. I have alot of energy and I am 2 weeks out. The first week, not so much and every once in a while I've done too much, but a lot more energy without caffine! Secondly how is life after the weightloss.? Do you still enjoy goong out for dinner/lunch/coffees etc? I just started back on food and I went out for dinner last night and lunch today with coworkers. Its a little odd at first, but nothing too strange. I just have alot of leftovers Most people with partners order one meal and they take a small portion from the plate for themselves. Saves money and you're not wasting it. Thirdly how slow do you really have to eat? Is it a pain? You have to be conscious about how you eat, buts its not extremely slow. Practice eating like this: take a bite of something, chew it as much as possible, swallow, put your utensil down for 10 seconds, pick it up again and then do it again. Do you miss not heing able to eat a lot? Do you still want to and you just cant? Or does soms of the desire disapear? This is where your mind plays tricks on you. I am absolutely never hungry, but I know I have to eat. Then again there were times when I wasn't hungry and I ate, like if I was bored, etc. I catch myself more now than I did preop. I am more aware of my feelings and this is a process, not everyone is perfect. Do you have to drink slow? Yes, I sip my water. If I noticed I took in a large amount I either slowly traffic it down or spit it out.

My 2 cents is in blue so no one get confused. So why do we hit those nasty plateau's??? That's one reason it's almost always easiest to lose weight at the start of a diet, and harder later on, Kimball says: "When you are very overweight your metabolism is already running so high that any small cut in calories will result in an immediate loss." Then, when you lose significant amounts of body fat and muscle, your body needs fewer calories to sustain itself, she says. That helps explain why it's so easy to regain weight after you've worked to lose it. "If two people both weigh 250 pounds, and one got there by dieting down from 350 and the other one was always at 250, the one who got there by cutting calories is going to have a slower metabolism," says Yanagisawa. "That means they will require fewer calories to maintain their weight than the person who never went beyond 250 pounds." WHAT TO DO... Eat More, Burn Better Of course, the diet advice we'd all love to hear is "Eat more and lose more weight!" But what really works is "Eat more often, and you'll lose more weight." Small, but frequent, meals help keep your metabolism in high gear, and that means you'll burn more calories overall. YEA! this is what we have all wanted to hear! here is a great link on revving up the metabolism... http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/make-most-your-metabolism?page=2 and here is some info I have gleaned from it. ""When you put too many hours between meals, your metabolism actually slows down to compensate," says Kimball. If you then eat a huge meal -- at the same time your metabolism is functioning as if you're starving -- your body wants to hold on to every calorie. While this won't make much difference on an occasional basis, Kimball says, make it a way of life and it can get harder to lose or maintain weight. Kimball's advice is borne out by the findings of a study that was presented at the 2005 annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine. Researchers from Georgia State University reported that when athletes ate snacks totaling about 250 calories each, three times a day, they had greater energy output then when they didn't snack. The study also found that snacking helped the athletes eat less at each of their three regular meals. The final result was a higher metabolic rate, a lower caloric intake, and reduction in body fat."" What GREAT news this is for US bandsters! I was taking things all wrong. I was practicing "self control" all day long only eating when my belly button was eating my back bone! GROWLING "Hungery, FEED ME" So to me lesson one is eat every 2-4 hours when I am feeling hungery It is ok. NO MORE GUILT FOR SNACKING! this was verified also on 2 other sites listed below... http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100096731 they said.... " 3. Eat. It may sound crazy to those trying to lose weight by severely restricting their daily caloric intake, but the problem with this old school of thought, explains Michigan dietician Julie Beyer, is that it actually slows metabolism. “Every cell of the body is like a flashlight bulb,” she explains. “When our bodies don’t get enough food, or fuel, every cell burns less brightly.” Recent studies show that eating smaller meals every three to four hours aids metabolism and weight loss. 4. Ditch the sugar. Of course, you still have to make good choices about what you eat. “When you eat sugar you throw your metabolic switch into fat storage mode,” says Lieberman, who suggests a predominately low glycemic index diet, meaning foods that, unlike sugars, are broken down gradually to help maintain an even blood-sugar level. 5. Don’t skip breakfast. It’s a fact that people who eat a healthy breakfast are skinnier than people who don’t. And try to think outside the box. A breakfast bowl of vegetables and brown rice is a great way to kick-start your metabolism for the day. 6. Include hot foods. If Mexican and Thai are favorites, you’re in luck. “Spicy food that has hot peppers in it appears to boost metabolism,” Lieberman says. 7. Drink green tea. “There are unhealthy things that can boost your metabolism, like a really strong cup of coffee, or nicotine, but I would never say go have a cigarette!” says Michelle Streif, a personal trainer in Nebraska. Nor overdo it on caffeine, which also has undesirable side effects. Instead, go for green tea, says Lieberman, which is known to stimulate metabolism longer and more effectively than coffee. 8. Don’t forget H2O. Staying well hydrated is essential to flushing the body of toxic byproducts that are released when fat is burned. Cold water may also give your metabolism at least a small boost because energy is required to heat the body." So what do we eat?? check this site out... http://www.ecosalon.com/boost-metabolism/ THis is a great site giving us the facts about PROTEIN! http://www.wellnessresources.com/tips/articles/how_protein_helps_weight_loss/ A little bit from it. I am glAD i LOVE EGGS! " Eating two eggs for breakfast has been shown to boost weight loss by 65%, compared to the same amount of calories from carbohydrates – like a bagel." "The amount of quality protein in your diet is the single most important calorie that influences your metabolic rate, favorably influencing weight loss. Quality protein also helps you sustain muscle during weight loss, improve muscle fitness, improve immunity, improve antioxidant function, build HDL cholesterol, and enhance insulin and leptin function – all of which contribute toward optimal weight management efforts over time." These are some great facts! I hope this helps others on thier Lapband journey as it has me. Good Night.:redface:

hi everyone im on my 5th day of my 2 week before surgery liquid diet and im having my surgery oct 3rd ....im ready to bust i wanna cry im so hungry... and feel liek no matter how many veggies or slim fast drink i drink im still not satisfied....and if i feel like this now is my surgery going to work? im so upset and confused and angry and im braking down emotionally i never new that i could feel like this from not being able to eat is this normal? does anyone know what i can do i called my nutrionist today and she said i could add egg whites or 3 oz of grilled chicken in my diet but to me thats not a big deal im so confused help me someone please

Don't stress over it. We all slip up from time to time. It's over now - move on and just try to follow your doctors orders as closely as possible. Happy Birthday!! Just think, by this time next year, you're gonna be *really* celebrating! Only a week to go - you can do this

WOW Carrie all of this good advice is helping me. We can do this. We are all in the same big boat. I had a co worker who started bringing big beautiful salads for lunch and I would bring dinner. We combined the effort and we would end up with little zip lock bags of everything to make the worlds best salad everyday. Lettuce, onions, mushrooms, corn, chick peas, tuna, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers,boiled eggs etc. You get the picture. Putting the salad together was part of the joy and not just eating it. Is there anything in the mountin you can incorporate into your lunch? If not leave it alone. As far as microwave dinners, there are some that have a good calorie count but watch your sodium for the rest of the day. I made some chili for this week and quick easy meal to prepare, transport and band friendly. Brown meat, add onions, 2 jars of spaghetti sauce, 1 big can of kidney Beans and done.

I had a fill a week and a half ago and I too just started to feel different about 3 days ago but now I can hardley eat anything I seems the first 2 bites hurt like hell and then if I wait a little bit I can eat a little more with out pain is this normal I am very concerned with this I have'nt had to pb it back up but I felt pretty close lots of times. I can drink Water or anything with no problem but food just hurts at first is this normal anyone!! I am just worried about slippage Carrie

No Kathy we dont have the patch here, I went to my GP last week , and asked about it. Pitty. Like you Parvathi, I am forgetful too, and forgetting pills made my mood swings worse. Add to that my PCOS and I am not a happy lady at the moment. I have gone off the pill, am awaiting my AF so I can go have an IUD installed (is that the correct term?) My GP perscribed Merina, she said it should make AF lighter, and shorter. So fingers crossed.

I "super-stocked up" on broth, juice, sugar-free freeze pops, sf jello, sf pudding, but don't make the same mistake I did. After two or three days of eating/drinking these things I had ODed on them. I also rented a ton of movies and bought many magazines, but I should have saved my money, all I wanted to do is sleep (especially the first week after surgery). Hope this helps!

Hi - my name is Jess and I'm a scaleoholic. There, I said it LOL. Its a nasty habit, I know, but I'm only up for quitting one thing at a time and right now, its eating bad foods I've been really good the past month. I've gone to the gym 4-5 times per week. I've eaten really well. I'm feeling pretty darn good and even a tad bit sexy lol. My weight has held steady for about a week now, but before that, I had been losing very slowly and steadily. So this morning, I step on the scale, as per usual and there it is ... I've put on 0.3kgs (a lil over half a pound). Now I know that's a very tiny amount and I know that weight fluctuates and I know that I've been working out, so quite possibly, I'm building muscle and last but not least, I know that dear ole Aunt Flo has been staying at my place this week and I've been bloated as hell. (Holy run on sentence Batman)! But it still made me feel just a bit, like crap. So I thought, why not share my crappy day with those kind people over at LBT heh. Soooooo .. if anyone else has read this and is having a crappy day and would like to vent, feel free to hijack this thread, as if you've made it this far, you deserve it We'll have our own lil pity party LOL.

I agree Water retention. I have found the scale is evil, just evil. I weigh once a week and usually on Sunday nights. It could also be that Aunt Flo is gettin ready to pay a visit. Don't get down on yourself -- Could be your scale is not entirely accurate. yep that it's it

As the Turtle Spokes-Model, I have to point out that some of us are model bandsters--following the rules obsessively and still lose next to nothing, certianly not the 1-2 pounds a week. Hell, I'm losing an average of 1 pound a month. But I'm still plugging along. I don't know where or how they determin the inital amount of "excessive weight." We have some people who put on muscle mass to the point where the amount of weight they need to lose changes. They don't need to lose as much weight because they have changed their metabolic rate, as well as their physiologies. This could partially account for the statistic that folks only lose 50-70% of their excess weight. It could also be that many of us start out with higher FFM (fat free mass) than folks who've never had a weight issue, especially if we are active. It takes more muscle to move us around than some 98 pound weakling. Also, this statistic is going to include people who've lost weight but could not deal with the consequences of being thin. Many of us are running for something and find that being fat is a wonderful shield and armor. Or we think it is anyway. I know the last time I lost weight I was freaked out by all the sudden attention of men. Freaked Out.

LMAO!!! I had that lump, and I tell you that it normally takes any where from 4 to 6 weeks to settle down. For the most part, I do have a slight lump, now, but since I am not going to be a swimsuit model anytime soon, I don't care much about it being where it is, right below my right ribs. hang in there...it'll go away. Linda

What the HECK is this baseball doing under my skin?!? Seriously, I'm two weeks post surgery...and when I stretch or raise my arms up there is this creepy lump under my skin. Yeah...I know it's the port, but can you tell me if it goes down at all...is it still just inflamed and healing? I just don't want to scare small children on the beach when my soon-to-be-formed six pack has a lumpy alien protuding out. ...I can just hear the children screaming now....oh, no wait, I forgot to to turn my son's night light on! Gotta' jet! Jon

Right after my first fill I felt the same way, it is now 3 weeks later and things are much better.When I first got the fill It took a while to drink my a.m. coffee. It takes time to re-adjust your habits. I had to slow down and take really small bites. I thought maybe I was too full then I reexamined my way of eating. It really is a lot less food. It also takes longer to finish a meal.

I just found this site the other day. I'am having my lap band surgery this Wednesday at Hurley Hospital In Flint MI. I'am on a liguid diet for 1 week before and two weeks after the surgery. I had to purchase the Liguid kit on line for 228.00. So far so good, its day four. Any advice for before or after surgery? Cheryl