nurse535

There is nothing wrong with having ice cream or some other treat once in a while. It really is true that mentally when we think we "can't" have something it just makes us crave it all the more. I loved the Weight Watchers flex points plan for this very reason - you had your daily point allotment and then a chunk of weekly points that you could use as you pleased, either dividing them up over every day or using them all at once for a special occasion. It really helped me to not feel deprived and tempt me to "cheat" when I knew I had my extra points available and had a plan on how I was going to use them. Obviously, I couldn't make WW work for me completely and now I am banded, but I really liked their plan better than any other weight loss plans I've seen. You did great by stopping when you did and not going to DQ later! This is a learning process and you will get better and better at making choices and planning as time passes.

I have no personal experience with this yet since I was just banded yesterday, but I second what Melissande said, based on other posts I've seen, about drinking something warm prior to your meal. I've seen that suggestion several times and it seems to help most people who try it. I made a note of that in my notebook of tips I've made. Best wishes to you! I hope you find your sweet spot soon.

Thank you to everyone for your input! I had my surgery yesterday morning, so I'm about 36 hours post-op right now. My biggest complaint is pain in my arms and legs where I've been using those muscles instead of my stomach muscles! It's pretty well controlled by my meds, though. Yesterday I went out walking about 4 times just around my block, and so far today I've been up and out twice and am about to go walking again in a few minutes. I've been sleeping quite a lot but it's a very restful sleep and I do feel like it's helping me heal. I still haven't made my decision about the concert. I have until mid-afternoon tomorrow to make the decision, so I think I will just keep doing what I have been doing and then see how I feel tomorrow.

I won't have to drive...it's a concert type event but it's in a small venue. All I will have to do is ride, maybe navigate a bit, and enjoy the show

My first appointment was October 28th and after that I had appointments in December, January, February, March, and after my April visit (April 4th) they submitted to my insurance and I had the approval in about 2 weeks. I'm not having surgery until this Thursday but I had to delay it a bit because of scheduling conflicts. So my diet was not a full six months and if I had scheduled the surgery as soon as I could have, I probably could have been banded right around my official six month mark. I agree with the poster above that says to use the time to learn as much as you can - I did, and I feel so much more prepared than I otherwise would have been. The time went by pretty fast actually. If you can start doing any exercise now, it's also a good time to do that because it will help improve your cardiovascular health prior to the surgery.

Oh, I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting a loving relationship, it's just that I have 4 kids so it doesn't matter if I'm overweight or not, men aren't exactly lining up outside my door because they don't want the responsibility. But the reason it makes me laugh that my aunt says that is that it's so ridiculous that she'd think the ONLY reason I'd go through major surgery and take on the commitment of eating right and exercising would be to get a man! Sure, if the opportunity presented itself I'd be interested, but I'm doing this because *I* want to become healthier and feel good about me, not because I want some man to want me. There may be people out there who do have the surgery primarily hoping to have a relationship afterwards, and I don't have any issue with that...just in my particular case, it's not even on my mind and it's kinda pathetic that my aunt who thinks she knows me so well really doesn't know me at all!

Here are my opinions on Protein drinks: Bariatric Fusion: tried sample pack of powder ordered online, came with 8 flavors, didn't really like them much because they all have the same underlying flavor and it leaves an aftertaste. Ordered from bariatricfusion.com. Unjury: tried sample packs of vanilla and chocolate. Didn't like the vanilla, but the chocolate was tolerable. Probably would have been even better if it was very cold. I also have an unflavored powder packet but I haven't used it in anything yet. Ordered from unjury.com. Isopure: they have powders I haven't tried, but I tried the grape flavored Protein Drink which is tolerable but I plan to add a pack of grape flavored Hawaiin Punch (the sugar free packet kind you can add to bottled water) to the next bottle I drink because it does have an off taste due to the Protein Powder. I think the extra grape flavor will help. Bought this at GNC. They have several flavors available and even a couple of smoothie flavors but I haven't tried the smoothies. You can find info at www.theisopurecompany.com. Syntrax Nectar: Syntrax makes several varieties of protein powders. I tried the roadside lemonade flavor and didn't like it much. I plan to try it again in a different way, by mixing a smaller amount of the powder with some Crystal Light. The flavor was just too strong for me the way I tried it the first time. I have a packet of Twisted Cherry flavor that I am going to mix with some Cherry Limeade sugar free drink mix, so I'm hoping that will taste ok. It's not a way to get a lot of protein at once if the packets are divided, but if it can be mixed in and not very noticeable with other drinks I'll be drinking anyway, it's like a sneaky way of getting in some protein after the surgery when it'll be so important. Website is www.si03.com but I found the packets sold locally at a Hy-vee grocery store. Pure Protein Vanilla Creme and Chocolate ready to drink versions: I like the vanilla creme flavor pretty well, and can drink the chocolate flavor but I won't buy it again. This brand also comes in powdered form but I have not tried it yet. I found both ready to drink and powdered versions at Target and they have them on amazon.com as well. Body Fortress whey Protein Isolate powder: tried this in chocolate from Walmart. It's one of the least expensive protein powders out there and it's the one I like the best out of all I've tried. The taste is similar to Nesquik. it would probably be possible to add some sugar free Nesquik to it for an even better flavor. They also make a vanilla flavor but I have not tried it yet. One trick I've found that helps me is to freeze skim milk in an ice cube tray and then I use 4 cubes (they're about 1 oz each), 1/2 cup of milk and a scoop of Body Fortress powder to make a shake in the blender and it's pretty cold and creamy that way. The Pure Protein brand is not a Whey Protein Isolate which is what my surgeon's office recommends, but since I'm drinking the Body Fortress brand which is, I figure it's ok. During my liquid diet phase that I've been in, I'll have one Pure Protein Shake and three Body Fortress shakes in a day so I'm still getting the isolate in a larger amount. However, you may want to check with your surgeon's office to see if they have a specific type of protein they recommend. If you find a vanilla flavored powder that you like, you can also buy sugar free syrups and extracts in other flavors to add to it for variety. I have some mint extract that I'm going to try in chocolate! I don't know about how soon you can bathe and drive - I need to find that info out myself. Hope this helps!

Oh, and by the way...good luck to everyone else!

I am another 6/16 surgery...really excited and ready for it. I'm not nervous about the surgery itself but I am slightly nervous about the next few months of adjusting to life with the band. I'm very optimistic about it, though. I struggled with the pre-op liquid diet but when I saw the surgeon yesterday he said I could go ahead and eat because of the severe headaches I was having, so even that has been tolerable now that I have had some real food again. I may be crazy but I'm even tentatively planning a little road trip for this weekend! The surgeon said there's no reason I can't go as long as I stop every hour and walk to help prevent blood clots from forming. And hey, it'll be cheaper since I won't have to buy meals in restaurants LOL!

You're lucky! It really depends on the surgeon and even then they sometimes give pre-op instructions on a patient by patient basis depending on overall health and BMI.

That's a great letter - very well written and very informative. I really like your approach. I've been fortunate that my family, friends and co-workers have all been supportive of my decision (to my face at least lol). I do have one aunt who thinks I am doing the surgery so I can get a man, which makes me laugh.

The scale is not always the best indicator of weight loss. There are a lot of reasons why you'll maintain weight or even gain it when you think you should be losing, but as long as the overall trend over time is downward, that's what counts. Usually experts recommend against daily weight just because of these normal fluctuations. When I was doing Weight Watchers, I weighed daily for the first few weeks because it had been years since I'd even had a scale, so I needed to learn what "normal" fluctuations were for me. It was good for me to know, because I can easily fluctuate 2 lbs up or down in a 24 hr period, so sometimes when I'd weigh on my official weigh in day and be up or be down more than I thought I should, I'd know to wait and see and usually it would even out by the next week. So, it's possible your body is retaining Fluid, or it's a hormonal thing, or because you're exercising more it's causing your body to hold on to more fluid while repairing muscles, or any number of reasons really. Use the daily weights as a tool if you must weigh daily, but if it's causing you to obsess too much then drop back to every 3-4 days or even every week. A lot of people on the WW msg boards said they'd get rid of their home scales entirely, or have a family member hide the scale just so they would focus on the healthy food choices and the exercise rather than the number on the scale.

I'm planning on wearing a casual sundress over a tank top that has a built in bra. I'll wear a strapless bra with it, but I thought the built-in-bra of the tank might be more comfortable than the strapless bra afterwards. With the dress I won't have to worry about waistbands rubbing incisions. I will also probably bring a zip up hoodie just in case.

My surgeon's office recommends 100% whey Protein isolate. I'm trying to understand the difference in protein isolate vs protein concentrates. The main difference seems to be that the isolate is more easily digested. During my pre-op diet, I'm supposed to have 3-4 Protein shakes daily along with other liquids. I haven't found a flavor of 100% whey protein isolate that I like yet, despite having tried five or six. I do like Pure Protein brand vanilla Creme, but it's made from protein concentrates. If I have one or two of those per day along with the others being the isolate, will that be ok? I've looked up info on google but there's so much info out there, some of it conflicting, and some of it geared towards bodybuilders rather than WLS patients, that it's hard to understand it all! Thanks in advance. (I start my liquid diet on June 5, procedure scheduled for June 16th.)

It's great that you were honest even though it delayed what you wanted at the time - you will be far more successful with the lap band now that you have been working on the emotional issues involved with your weight. I don't agree that everyone must have binge eating issues or we wouldn't be overweight. I don't go on binges where I eat massive quantities of food, although I do eat more than I should. Maybe it's a matter of definition of binge eating and I'm misunderstanding. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why people are overweight, ranging from emotional reasons to our current culture and availability of food and lack of hard physical labor, etc....etc. I've also been reading a book called Mindless Eating that offers some psychological explanations for our eating habits, and by psychological I mean things like perception and expectations of meals rather than things like depression and stress that trigger us to indulge. This book was recommended to me by both my lap band surgeon and the psychiatrist I've consulted with and I can see why, because it's been very informative. I hope your Quest for surgery is successful this time around!

Looks like a lot of people on here have surgery scheduled for May and June! My surgery date is Thursday, June 16th. I will start pre-op liquid diet on June 5th.

Best wishes!

Great post....thank you for sharing. I want to be the one writing this info in a couple of years, with a success story like yours to tell!!

It must have been so disappointing to be so close to surgery only to have it cancelled! I'm so glad it's going to happen for you this time. Even though you ended up gaining your weight back, the fact that you were able to lose so much is impressive and a really good indicator that the lap band will work for you. You already know how to lose the weight, and now the band will help you keep it off. Have you asked your surgeon or primary care doc if there is anything you can do to help make your veins more accessible? I know being well hydrated helps. You could also ask the surgeon for a dose of anxiety medication when you arrive for your surgery, so you can be more relaxed when they're trying to place the IV. The anti-anxiety med wouldn't help open your veins up but it would at least make it easier for you to tolerate. Best wishes to you!

I haven't had surgery yet, but I can tell you that when I underwent general anesthesia for my gallbladder surgery, I was emotional and tired for several days afterward. I would wake up feeling fine and then a wave of fatigue would hit and I'd have to take a nap. This was better within a week. My surgeon's info says not to worry about "eating" the first few days, but to focus on getting enough liquids through sips of Water, popsicles, ice chips, etc. I don't know how long the dermabond lasts, but the bruising should go away within a week or so. I'm almost 5 years out from my gallbladder surgery and the scars have faded a lot. Congrats on having your surgery! Hang in there. Before long I bet you'll be feeling better than ever.

Hello everyone! I'm Kelly, from Kansas. I found out last week that my surgery has been approved by insurance and have a surgery date in mid-June. I'm really excited now that I know it's really going to happen! My history: I've been overweight my entire life and have never successfully lost weight and kept it off. Since 2008 I've been yo-yo-ing up and down - 37 lbs down, then gained 49, then lost 26, then gained it back...I'm sure many of you know the routine. I decided to look into bariatric surgery and see where that path took me. I didn't get my hopes up because I know insurance can reluctant to approve bariatric surgeries, so it was great when the surgeon's office called and said I had been approved. I feel I am a good candidate for the band and hope I'm right about that! I want my life to change. I want to know what it feels like to be thin and have energy. I'm tired a lot and I hate it. I'm hoping losing weight will help change that. I know I will miss certain foods but I believe the results will be worth the sacrifice. I want to be able to be more active with my kids. I'm nervous about the 2 week liquid diet phase my surgeon wants...I think that is going to be very difficult. I'm worried about throwing up after being banded, because I really hate throwing up. It seems like most people only have that happen if they eat too much, too fast, or don't chew things well enough. So I'm hoping if I'm extra careful I can avoid that. I hope I am not one of the few people that have complications with their band. Overall though, the things I have to look forward to so far outweigh (haha no pun intended) the things I'm nervous about that it's worth taking a chance and make these changes! I joined a gym in February but haven't been able to go much due to a foot problem I was having, but that is getting better so I'm going to get back to it. I have a trip coming up in a month and I know we'll be walking a lot, so the exercise will help me prepare for that, too. The next few months of my life are going to be exciting!

Hi Marcy! Wow, 30 lbs already is fantastic. My surgery date is June 16th. I am on vacation May 28-June 4, then it's liquid diet time, then surgery day!! So less than 7 weeks away!

Good luck with that liquid diet - that's the part that scares me the most! If you come up with any delicious shake ideas, please share them. My surgery date is in June but I've been buying single packs of different types of Protein shakes to see which ones I can stand. I tried one from GNC and that was a NO-GO lol. I think your idea about the sugar free syrups is great. Is your liquid diet phase just one week? My surgeon wants 2 wks but I'm going to have to alter mine down to 12 days due to being on vacation the first 2 days of the liquid diet phase. I figure considering there are some docs who only require 1-2 days liquids, it will be ok to cut mine short by 2 days.