wadeg7

I am 50 and have been keeping my calorie count between 1000 and 1200 calories a day. I have also been walking for 25 to 60 minutes a day. Presently I am losing about 3 pounds per week. Stick with it. My incentive every day to do my exercise is that if I do not exercise I do not get my evening snack. If I want it, I make myself work for it. It has worked for me so far. Good luck.

Plateaus are very common during your weight loss journey. I am 6 weeks post op and I went through a 10 day plateau. When the plateau ended I lost 7 pounds in less than a week. Be patient. It took most of years to put on the weigh. It is unrealistic to expect it disappear in days. For most of us it will take months and in some cases years to get back to where we should be. Good luck.

I had the same problem. It will go away in a day or two. I was told it was caused by the withdrawal of all of the sugars and carbs. Keep with it, it will get better. Good luck.

Hello Everyone Today I am 5 weeks post op and I am very pleased with the results. I had my first fill today and the process was very easy. I am now in the 200's for the first time in quite a few years. I weighed in at the doctors office at 299 pounds or a loss of 52 pounds. I am one third of the way to my goals. What I am most pleased I have been able to eat all of my favorite foods albeit in much smaller quantities. I would definitely do it all over again. It takes a lot of work, and you have to want to succeed, but it does work. Thank you to everyone on the message board for all of your postings. It certainly has been helpful to my journey.

Hello Everyone, just to clarify I have lost the 52 pounds after 8 weeks (5 weeks post op and a 3 week liquid diet). The weight loss was almost even during these 2 phases. As for the fill I would equate the feeling of the needle to a prick you get on your finger for a blood test. Nothing more than that.

I am 4 week post op yesterday. I am down 55 pounds including the weight loss I had as part of my 3 week pre-op liquid diet. I too am feeling much better with more energy. I have been eating about 1000 calories a day with a half hour walk every day. In my personally experience the bigger you are when you start the faster it comes off in the beginning. Enjoy it now as you will hit some dreaded plateaus where no weight will come off for several weeks at a time. It is a long process but you are off to a great start.

I am 4 week post op yesterday. I am down 55 pounds including the weight loss I had as part of my 3 week pre-op liquid diet. I too am feeling much better with more energy. I have been eating about 1000 calories a day with a half hour walk every day. In my personally experience the bigger you are when you start the faster it comes off in the beginning. Enjoy it now as you will hit some dreaded plateaus where no weight will come off for several weeks at a time. It is a long process but you are off to a great start.

Hi Everyone. I am 2 weeks post op just starting my soft food stage. I have been feeling much better and all my nausea and most of my gas issues have disappeared. The only problem I am having is that I am waking up with a gas pain in the middle of my stomach. Once I use the washroom or have multiple burps it is gone for the day but it is very uncomfortable when I wake up. I wear a bi pape machine at night for my sleep apnea and I am beginning to wonder if this is what is causing the excess gas because of the constant air being pumped into me when I sleep. Has anyone had the same problem?

Well folks I have just completed my first week post op. The pre op diet of 3 weeks of shakes went very well. I was down 27 lbs on surgery day. A week later I am now down 37 lbs so I am very pleased. The surgery went very well but my recovery was tougher than expected. I had 3 days of bad nausea and gas which I was able to eliminate with the exception of a little gas hanging on. Today was my first day of mushies and all I could get down a breakfast was a scrambled egg and 1/4 cup of oatmeal. It was good to have something other than liquids. I feel like I am finally on my way. Starting to finally feel normal again. Looking forward to my future.

Hey Everyone My recovery was going well until I flew back home from surgery. After 4 hours of flying and and one plane change I am feeling miserable. I had the dry heaves all the way home on the plane. I am tired and sore and my stomach is so uncomfortable. I am having a hard time drinking any fluids. Anyone ave any suggestions.

Hey Everyone I am still having hard stomach pains in the middle of my stomach. They come in waves, sometimes ok and sometimes cramping. On my second day the removed all the saline from my band as I was having dry heaves. That stopped the problem until I was flying home when I had the dry heaves again on the plane. For the last 2 days I have not had those issues but the stomach is really sore. I am thinking the vomiting probable strained my stomach and I am just swolling up. Did anyone have this problem?

Hi everyone, I just had surgery 10 hours ago. Dr. Cobourne and his staff were excellent. It went so much easier than I expected. I had the normal anxiety go into surgery, but when the weighed me and I realized I lost 27 lbs in the last 3 weeks it put me in a great mood. The next thing I know I am waking up in the recovery room. I was pretty groggy when I woke and I had quite a bit of pressure in my stomach. It was not painful, but a little uncomfortable. I didn't need any pain meds just some Gas-X. I got to my hotel by 11:30am and slept the rest of the afternoon. Now I am feeling pretty good with just some pressure in my stomach. No shoulder pain just a little stomach gas. I hope this post will help those who have not had it done yet. I like most of you have heard horror stories about surgery day and I want you to know that not everyone has a difficult surgery. Hopefully this will give you some assurance. Now the hard begins ..........

Well everyone tomorrow is the day of my surgery. I have just completed my 3 week liquid diet with absolutely no cheating. I am very proud of myself as I could not imagine that I could do this a year ago. I even took my wife out to lunch at Popeyes ( it is her favorite chicken ) and I happily had my shake. She has been so supportive of me so that was the least I could do. I am ready to change my life forever. I have no fear of the surgery and have accepted the fact I will never eat like I did before. My only concern I have is that I may not be able to eat some of my favorite foods ever again, even in small quantities. If that is the case I have accepted that is the price I must pay to get healthy again. My goal is to lose 150 lbs, and I have already lost 25 lbs on the pre-op so I am off to a good start. I know the hard work is beginning, but I love my family and I am determined to live a healthier life so I can be around a lot longer for my family. Thank you to everyone who have shared their experiences to prepare me for my journey.

I am having my surgery Wednesday June 12th in Toronto and am flying back home on Friday June 14th to St. John's. It s a 3 hour plane ride. This was planned based on the recommendation of my doctor. It seems to me f this ok it should fine several weeks after.

I am on day 12 and I have found it. To be much more of a mental challenge and less physical. I too am on a 3 week liquid diet. I rarely feel hungry, but do have cravings from time to time. I also find my sense of smell much keener now. When I get tempted I drink more water and it helps a lot.

Thank you all for your replies. It really helps deal with the uncertainties. As a parent of two grown sons I can really appreciate the comparison to children.

Hey Everyone, I am less than 2 weeks away from my surgery and have spent the last hour reading everything negative I could about life with the lapband (call me a crazy). I recognize complainers are always more vocal than satisfied people so I take it with a large grain of salt. The only major concern I have is what you can eat after you have gone through the healing stage. I have read that some people can eat very little in the way of foods. My expectation is that I wll be able to eat much less and have to avoid a couple types of food, but should be able to eat most foods if I eat slow, chew a lot and eat a lot less. For example I used to eat for breakfast, 4 scrambled eggs, bacon, and 4 slices of toast, and a large glass of milk (I guess that's why I gained so much weight). My future expectation is that I could eat 1 scrambled egg and a slice of whole wheat bread or some oatmeal. For most people s this reasonable. I realize that everyone is a little different but I am looking for the most common results.

Hi Everyone. I am on day 11 of a 21 day liquid diet in preparation for my surgery. With the exception of the first day, it has not been nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Today however I feel very tired and a bit down. Is this a common experience? I have been perfectly clean on this no cheating what so ever. Any thoughts?

I am having my surgery the same day as you with Dr. Cobourn. I had to do 3 week liquid diet (I think I have 3 weeks because I am a bigger guy). I am on day 11. See you in the recovery room!

Thanks everyone for your comments. I am getting 57 grams of protein drinking the Slim Time shakes. My surgery is scheduled for June 12th in Toronto. I think the one advantage of the 3 week diet is that I will appreciate food more when I have it again.

Hello Everyone, this is my first post. I am scheduled for my surgery on June 12, 2013 in Toronto. I will be travelling there from my home in St. John's, NL. This is big change I am looking forward to and so far I have been able to stay positive. I am a fifty year old man who has struggled with my weight all my life. Ten years ago I lost 127 lbs on the Body for Life Program going from 340 lbs to 223 lbs. Unfortunately I returned to my old ways and have gained it all back and a few more as well. I can tell you it feels a lot heavier at 50 than it did at 40. Right now I am on day 6 of a 21 Liquid diet using Slim Time and Ensure Protein shakes. I am coping pretty well but the only problem that I am finding is getting that bad taste in your mouth from just the shakes. I am wondering if it is ok to chew sugar free gum (5 calories, 2 grs of Carb for 2 pieces) to help eliminate the taste in my mouth. I have been brushing more, but I work around people a lot and I do not want to have bad breath. Any thoughts?

Thank you everyone for your advice. You have been very helpful.