AmandaBelle75

I think the Lipton Cup of Soup would be fine. I haven't tried it yet but I did buy some. It has 150 calories, 1g sugar and 3g protein. Looks like that's what I'm having tomorrow night for dinner. Yay!

Well tomorrow is the last day of my old eating habits. I start my liquid diet Friday morning. I do believe I will have my "last meal" at my favorite mexican restaurant. I am excited about the journey I am getting ready to go on and about getting my life back and I can't wait for the day when I feel comfortable in my own skin again! I'm prepared...I think. I have a ton of Atkins shakes (in all flavors), sugar free popsicles, sugar free fudgesicles, sugar free pudding, crystal light and gatorade 2. I still need to get some sort of broth but I'm not looking forward to it, however in about 2-3 days, I may think it's the best thing in the entire universe. Maybe I can con my mother-in-law into making chicken and dumplings (at her house) and bringing me the broth. I could totally deal with that. Fortunately I have a wonderful and supportive family. My husband will be traveling out of town on Sunday for work but my teenagers have totally stepped up and said "Mom, we will cook so you don't even have to look at or smell the food." I love those kids. They are the best! I keep telling myself I can do this. I can do anything for 10 days! Man, I wish Wal-Mart sold willpower to go along with all my liquids! Wish me luck! ~Amanda

Ok, so I started my liquid diet today. I have never been big on eating Breakfast, especially before 10 or 11, but today I woke up at 5 a.m. (like always) and by 7 a.m. I was hungry. I know this is totally in my head. I'm trying to stay focused and busy so I don't think about it. How did you all do during your liquid diet? Were you able to stick to the strict liquid diet or did you have a moment of weakness? I am really determined to be honest with myself and stick to it. This is the first day of the rest of my "new" life. You all may need to remind me of that in a few days. Ha! ~Amanda

Well I did really great the first 30 hours and then I was so hungry that I'm pretty sure if you heard a rumbling noise on either coast it was my stomach here in the midwest. I started feeling a little light headed as well. So I did eat a couple bites of grilled chicken breast. Not anywhere near a meal or anything, literally just a few bites. I was fine after that. I woke up this morning not hungry at all. My husband made me a Protein shake about 11 a.m. and I wasn't hungry again until around 3 p.m. I had a shake and then I took my sons to the lake and we came home about 8:30 and I was hungry so I had another shake. According to the scale I've lost 2lbs so far. Not too shabby! I really felt guilty after eating that chicken though but I'm not going to beat myself up about it too bad. I at least made a healthy choice. I wish I could turn off my brain. I think that why I have failed at diets so many times is that I didn't really ever want the food until I knew I couldn't have it. Crazy isn't it? I just keep reminding myself this is just temporary and it's all worth it to be healthy. ~Amanda

Shannon, Thanks for your honesty. I'm so glad to hear you are doing well! Keep up the great work!! ~Amanda

I am on a full liquid diet. I can have Gatorade 2, sugar free popsicles, sugar free jello, protein shakes, broth and crystal light. I could also have milk, yogurt and cottage cheese but I don't like any of those things. I just started my liquid diet today. 9 days left to go!

I am an LPN in Missouri. I start my liquid diet in the morning and surgery on the 30th.

I start my liquid diet tomorrow morning. I'm trying to keep a positive outlook on it and not think about what I'm missing out on and look at everything I am going to gain. I will be taking a chewable vitamin from Optisource. My nutrition recommended it and it's for post bariatric surgery. I bought it at Walgreens. Hopefully that helps somewhat. I'm sure it will be a rough 10 days but I am determined not to cheat. I will take a nap, watch a movie, write down what I'm looking forward to and remind myself it's only 10 days and I can do anything for 10 days. My future life depends on it. I wish you the best of luck! If you need moral support send me a message and I will cheer you on! ~Amanda

Thank you!

Thanks for the tip! I will put it on my list. It sounds way better!

They submitted my paperwork to the insurance on Tuesday afternoon and I received a call at 11:30 Wednesday morning saying I was approved.

Congratulations! I got my approval call last week. Super excited for you!

No. I just had to see a nutritionist for 3 months, have a diagnosis of obesity for 2 years, proof of attempted weight loss for the past year and a mental health exam. Since I had been to the doctor numerous times regarding my weight the diagnosis and proof of attempted weight loss were easy. I also submitted a letter from my personal trainer. My first consultation was January 16, 2012 and my surgery is April 30th.

I received a call from my surgeon's office this morning at 11:30. I'm approved! It was a lightning fast approval as they just submitted my paperwork yesterday afternoon. Surgery will be on April 30th.

My surgeon's office called and said they are tentatively scheduling me for April 30th. We are still waiting on insurance approval but don't forsee any problems as I meet all the guidelines and have met all the pre-op requirements. I am getting nervous one minute and excited the next!

Kelly, I am so glad you added me! Look forward to going through this journey together and hopefully we can keep each other motivated. Looking forward to it! Amanda

My initial consultation was January 16, 2012. My insurance required that I do 3 months of nutritional counseling and have a psychiatric evaluation. I just had my last nutrition appointment this past Monday. I was really dreading the 3 months of nutritional counseling but I am so glad now that my insurance required it. She has really helped me and I don't know that I would be successful without it. She really taught me a lot not only about food choices and portion sizes but really showed me what to do after surgery to be successful long term. Since following her diet plan that she put me on I have lost 7 lbs, my husband has lost 20 and my daughter has lost 11. We feel so much better. I was even able to give up sweet tea which was my biggest vice! Prior to my initial consultation with her I was drinking 700-800 calories a day with all the tea I consumed. Yikes! I plan on continuing to see her post op as well to help keep me on track. My surgeon's office was supposed to submit my paperwork either today or tomorrow to my Federal BCBS plan so hopefully I will hear something back soon. Fingers crossed! I consider myself lucky that it has only been a 3 month process thus far. My sister, who has Medicare, started her journey a month ago and she is scheduled for either April 26th or May 3rd. Her process was much easier than mine.

I won't actually start the diet until 10 days before surgery. My nutritionist just went over everything and gave me my meal plan because I won't see her again until after surgery.

I went for my final nutrition appointment today. We went over my pre-op diet and I will be on a 10 day full liquid diet which is way better than the two week clear liquid diet my sister has to do. I will be able to drink crystal light, water, Gatorade 2, broth, protein shakes, sugar free jello, sugar free pudding, sugar free fudgesicles and yogurt, milk or cottage cheese. Too bad I don't like yogurt, milk and cottage cheese! Darn it! I am waiting on the psychiatrist to submit her report to my surgeon so they can then send everything to my insurance for approval. I have met all the requirements so hopefully the approval process will be quick and painless. Wish me luck!

Thanks for the tips! I will definitely give them a try for sure!

Hi! I am from Southeast Missouri and I am looking to get my lap band placement either last week of April or first week of May. Trying to find a support group or a lap band "buddy" in my area.

A 30 lb weight loss! Woohoo! Congratulations on that! I'm sure I will have a ton of questions as this progresses.

Teriners- Who was your doctor? I am traveling to Festus to see Dr. Kurzweil. I have my last nutrition appointment on 4/2. I'm so ready to get to my surgery date! I would love to go to the support group meetings but I am 2 hours south of Festus.