Allison0927

my nutritionist said that one of the men she counseled spent the 30 days before surgery (not sure which type) going on a "farewell tour" of all his favorite restaurants - including several buffets. He gained 30 pounds before surgery. Not sure what happened for him after surgery. All I can say is I think you will find that a lot of people did at least one, two or 3 "final meals" right before starting the pre-op liquid/limited diet. I know I did - but 8 months and more than 100 pounds lost later - i know it didn't hurt anything. Just don't go overboard!

i know EXACTLY what you mean - i just started shopping in the regular section myself and every time i walk in a store now i have to stop myself from going straight to plus size. No one would undrestand that but us - but you are right it is a SURREAL experience - hard to get our minds wrapped around the new reality. i was at a thrift store yesterday and just for the heck of it bought 2 pairs of size 10 jeans (i started at 276 am now 169.6) - thinking i would just lose more weight and eventually get in them. I brought them home and both pair fit - a little snug but totally wear-able. I could not believe it. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!

i want to know about it too - i'm about 30 pounds from goal and will be starting the PS rounds soon thereafter - and that one's on my list after TT, breast lift, and brachioplasty.

i was gonna say the food looked awesome but obviously way too much and i could never get down all that bread/pizza crust if i tried - but it was pretty to look at (food porn LOL!!!!)

wow sounds like a great evening - wish we had the same closer to my house in Ohio LOL - have a great time everyone!

did he actually finish all of it?

bread/pizza crust are the biggest things i cannot do - other things are hit or miss depending on time of day, time of month etc.

i am 30-35 from goal too (haven't decided goal for sure). Isn't it great to get near the finish line????

you will find that a LOT of our surgeons gently if not firmly tried to steer us away from the band. There are a lot of people that lose little to no weight from not following the rules - and this makes their (the surgeons') own personal statistics bad. I know only 2 people with the band - myself and a friend. We are both successful. It all depends on YOU and your choices as to whether you'll be successful.

Great news - welcome to bandland!!!!

i felt like that too - but here i am today and i'm one of them - you will be posting the same after your surgery some day!

CONGRATS ON YOUR BANDIVERSARY AND YOUR EXCELLENT LOSS!!!!!!

Yep i would try to get the port flipped right and start filling the band - you may find after that - that this is the right WLS for you - either way best of luck and sorry you went through that

i'm not a huge kanye west fan but his song STRONGER is a great work out song

my surgeon put me on 800 per day - i've stuck to that most days - but really your dr./nutritionist should be setting your calories- according to most on here 800 is on the low side - most seem to do 1000 per day - with 60+ g of protein.

ate them every day (1x or 2x) with steady weight loss the whole first 4.5 months when i had no restriction - especially the cheese pizzas and pastas. Now, I would only get a few bites in and have to stop - but i could "work on one" over the course of any evening - a few bites here, a few bites there until done - hard to keep heating up but i've done it.

No worries - with enough fills you will not be able to eat too much - then you will just have to make sure you are not drinking calories in between meals. You'll be ok - and 5/6 pounds a month for a year could get you to 72 pounds in a year and 144 in 2 years - which is PERFECT pacing!

It's all fluid - happened to me too - took a few days to gradually go down.

One "reward" idea is a salon trip - cut color style - then maybe a pedicure and/or manicure - that is sure to brighten your day - then be sure to go out with friends that night so you can show off your look! Hit the thrift stores in the meantime for clothes that fit - i went the other day for the first time since my 100 pounds off and got 10 shirts/sweaters plus a bunch of brand new hair accessories and a really awesome denim jacket for spring that fits perfect - all for 43.00 - well worth it!!!!

BEST OF LUCK - JUST RELAX AND I PROMISE EVERYTHING WILL BE OK!!!!! POST US AFTER AND TELL US ALL ABOUT IT!!!!

my dr. tried to talk me out of lab band too - but only because i was a 47 BMI and he had seen the majority of his patients not lose enough on lap band to justify the surgery - my mind was made up though and there was no changing it - i love my dr. but i'll always harbor a little mistrust due to that initial conversation. 8 months and 100+ pounds later we are both thrilled with the results and haven't looked back. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!! Us bandsters will welcome you on the other side!!!

For anyone offended by my post - I want to say this. Clearly I am a PROPONENT of exercise. I said that not exercising has had little to no bearing on MY weight loss and that it worked FOR ME. Obviously I and everyone else in the world knows that you have to exercise to be healthy. The original poster - unless I read it wrong - was (rather angrily) stating that you HAVE to exercise to LOSE WEIGHT. That has not been my reality - I may not be healthy, I may not be toned but I have lost a lot of weight with little exercise (on average 1-2x per week for an hour each on a treadmill). I should have completed my post with the following: I sit on these forums day in and day out - and I see people complaining the band is not working for them or they are not losing weight - and the minute someone starts digging a little deeper and asking questions we find out that the person is exceeding the surgeon recommended caloric intake (we've all seen multiple posts like this). The person is not following the rules, is eating sliders/junk whatever the case may be. And I think to myself - weight loss is about CALORIES. Exercising helps burn calories - but in the end you can exercise all day and if you're eating way too many calories - more than the exercise is burning - then you will not lose weight period. I am a "bad bandster" for not exercising that much - but I will say this for myself - I religiously stick to the caloric intake recommended by my surgeon. That is often a difficult thing to do and took a ton of discipline in the first 4.5 months when I had no restriction - but was still losing. I'll end with YES YOU NEED TO EXERCISE AND SO DO I. But to say that there will be no weightloss without exercise isn't accurate. Again, you may not be healthy, you may not be toned and a lot of other bad stuff may occur without exercise - and maintenance of weight loss once at goal may not happen without exercise - but weight loss is largely about calories. So if you are going to exercise be sure to keep in mind calories (surgeon/nutritionist recommended - whatever that is for you). BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!

my surgeon said no alcohol for 4-6 weeks after banding. Then thereafter in moderation (which i admit i sometimes go overboard). There's something about alcohol and the healing stomach that they are concerned with. When you said you may try wine soon i just thought i'd share in case your surgeon had rules on when you could have your first "nip".

mine was 3 protein shakes a day - and one lien cuisine per day - i did it religiously for the 14 days - lost around 11 pounds or so - you can do it!!!!!