gowalking

sounds like you are right on track and doing everything you should. Don't worry, don't compare and just stick with it. The results will be spectacular!

Welcome to the hair loss club lolo. It's very common and I'm one of those who is also battling this problem. As other posters have said, add Biotin to your arsenal of vitamins, add protein to your diet....speak with your nutritionist and he/she will help you decide the best way to do that. I also take iron...again per the nutritionist. It's not an overnight cure...my hair is still very thin...but the hair loss has stabilized and I'm hoping it starts to grow back soon.

Yes, keep us posted Gemma. Soon enough, you will be one of the success stories on this forum and helping to support other newbies as many of us are trying to do. We've all been there and can relate to the doubts, fears, and uncertainty..

I'm confused. You should be drinking almost immediately after surgery. Sips of Water, broth, ice pops, etc. Did you mean to say solid food and not liquids?

Hi Gemma. Alot of this is psychological. You have to be able to deal with the head hunger along with the physical hunger. I would truly suggest you work with a therapist to help you deal with your binge eating. Between the psychological help and the physical help that the band provides, you can likely do well. I have been very successful...more successful than anyone imagined including the lapband surgeon and my primary care physician ever expected. In fact, I was at my PCP today and she told me that there isn't one patient of her's who has been able to lose as much weight as I have. She asked me what I'm doing that no one else seems to be able to do. I told her that I'm not starving anymore. And because my hunger is not out of control, I can make good decisions. Good luck, don't expect to fail and do what you need to in order to succeed.

Hey Mark, I am so proud of you. I know how difficult it was for you to go forward without the support at home and I also remember how down you were such a short time ago. You look amazing and I bet mom is so very proud of you too. Great job my young friend!

I'm one of those lucky few who hasn't had any fills. Even Dr. Ren has no idea why I'm good without them, but I am.

I call bullsh*t on that. I have severe arthritis in both knees and hips. The only exercise I do is swim or dogpaddle in the pool along with some strengthening exercises. It's nothing compared to many of the other posters on this forum. And you can see by my ticker that since January, I've dropped 86 lbs. And I started with a higher BMI than you. Look at my tag...if you are compliant, you will succeed. Those who do not lose optimally, do not follow the rules. Find a lapband doctor. You do not want to remove most of your stomach without knowing exactly what you are getting into. The lapband can be reversed. A sleeve is forever.

Good for you Steph, really terrific. I know how you feel. I have enough cortisone in my hips that I was able to swim last week and not just dogpaddle after doing my water exercises. I felt fast and sleek in the water and not like the fat lumbering person I was 86 lbs. ago. And...best of all, I was moving! Hooray! Thanks for your wonderful post! You go girl!!

I feel your pain, I truly do. Between being ravenous on the preop diet, and also off my nsaids, I was miserable.and in tremendous pain. But it was all worth it now that I've dropped 86 lbs. and became a good candidate for joint replacement surgery....which I wasn't able to do before losing the weight. I have to have several joints replaced, but after it's all done, I expect to be mobile and in much less pain than I've been dealing with these last two years. Good luck and I know you will do great!

Unfortunately my dear you are in bandster hell. You just have to suck it up and use your willpower to stay focused until there is some restriction in your band and you are not so hungry all the time. It sounds like you are doing all the right things by drinking and finding other things to take your mind off the food so just know that you have to tough it out right now. Hang in there!

Same here...bouillon only. Progresso was OK once I was on all liquids...not clear liquids. But....you should follow your doctor or nutritionist's instructions as his/hers are the only ones that count.

No...it's not your pancreas that has to shrink, it's your liver. And he can absolutely tell if you cheated badly...if the liver is still fatty, he might decide to close you up without getting the band. I don't mean to scare you, but that's the reason for the diet, and those are the ramifications if you cheat too much. What you should do is make sure you get all the info you need, very specific post op foods to eat, and when to graduate to mushies and real food. You do not want to guess about what you can/cannot eat while you are healing. Make sure the doctor/office gives you everything you need to be successful. It's a real pet peeve of mine when newbies do not have all the info they need to be compliant. You are probably OK since it sounded like you didn't cheat badly but I would suggest you call the doctor's office and tell them what you have done and let them decide if you should still have the surgery or if it would be better to delay it and get compliant this time around. Good luck and remember...compliant bandsters are successful bandsters.

I was banded at NYU. Dr. Ren-Fielding.

Haha Rose. Sounds like you and I follow a very similar plan.

I don't know that there's a 'typical' diet but for me, I eat alot like if I was on Weight Watchers. Basically, I eat 3 oz. Protein, 1/2 cup veggies, and 1/4 cup carbs for lunch and dinner, Breakfast is usually oatmeal, cream of wheat, eggs once in a while and toast with Peanut Butter as well. Both eggs and PB are protein and I try to get in at least 60 grams a day. I usually have to also consume an envelope of Protein powder in Water to get my protein up. I also track all my food in myfitnesspal. I try to stay around 1,100-1,150 calories a day. I've been doing this since being able to eat regular foods and I was banded 8 months ago with a loss of 86 lbs. so far. Hope that helps you some.

that's a wonderful NSV and just you watch....those jeans will button up before you know it!

I just saw your ticker Lauren. It looks like you've already lost 40 lbs. so maybe that's why you don't have to do a pre-op diet. Good luck with your surgery!

Congrats on your upcoming surgery. Follow your pre op diet to the letter this last week. You don't want to wake up and find out you weren't banded because you did not follow the diet. It's rare, but sometimes the doctor will not band you if your liver is still too fatty. Compliance pre and post op is the key to success. Good luck!

You are not failing if you are doing all the right things. Sounds like you are so don't stress it. I have bad joints as well. Can you join a gym or Y with a pool? I swim and that works great for me. Also..tell your family to stop asking how much weight you lost. Their queries do not help even if they mean well.

Get a bunch of Progresso soups and strain out the veggies/noodles and drink the broth. It's better than just Herb-Ox type of broths. Those were awful.

Check with your work benefits also. My company pays a total of $300 yearly for gym and other fitness/weight loss plans.

Well, howdy neighbor! I'm just across the river from you living in the West Village. I grew up in Canarsie and Gravesend so I know South Brooklyn well. When I was a kid, North Brooklyn was a bad area...not like now. Holy Mackerel...I remember when Williamsburg was a sh*thole and now it's an exclusive neighborhood. Have fun shopping!

Hi ButterFly. Get out of the house...take a walk, go exercise, swim...whatever. If you focus on positive behaviours, you can avoid the self sabotage. That's what I did yesterday. I made the mistake of getting on the scale mid week and right after a bowel movement...sorry about the TMI. But suffice to say, I dropped a pound and a half in that half a week. Of course yesterday when I weighed in at my regular one week interval, I put back a pound. I knew it was likely Water weight or even just a regular fluctuation but that's when I decided to go for a swim even though I usually swim on Sunday mornings and not on Saturdays. I felt so good after that swim that it was easy to forget about the number on the scale and just focus on the long term goal. Not sure where you live, but here in New York, it's a beautiful day. Go out and enjoy it even if your weather is not so good,

Don't presume anything right now. If you love chocolate, you likely will afterwards as well. What you should be able to do is have a taste of it and feel satisfied rather than go crazy. Yes, some of us find we lose our taste for certain things but it's usually something that's really no good for anyone...like greasy, fatty processed fast food. Chocolate is a wonderful flavor and you shouldn't mourn the loss of anything until you have to...if ever. One example I can give you is chinese food. I used to eat it alot. Boy did I love an eggroll and lo mein and all of it. Well...now I almost never eat it. Why? Because it's so laden with sodium that I don't want to eat it. It's just not worth it to me. So...I have homemade teryaki chicken once in a while with packaged fried rice...1/4 cup only by the way. This way I get my craving for the taste with minimal damage. If you are compliant and follow the rules, you learn to make good choices and not being hungry all the time makes it possible. Good luck!