Amaara

Neveragain, I am glad you are back and better than ever! ~~Amaara

I am glad to see this post! I would like to continue Byetta after surgery as well. It cuts out those hounding "EAT EAT" voices like nothing else. And yes, I am a veteran low carber. ~~Amaara

Sadly, I have never been able to cross my legs a day in my life. I cannot imagine the job I would experience if I could do that. ~~Amaara

Yes, good luck! I know job hunting can be nerve-wracking. ~~Amaara

I can relate. Of course, we cannot strike at the root of the problem until and unless we come clean that college is not for everyone and it should not be used as a "union card" for most professions. On an semi-related note about the decline of the academy, see 02138 § A Million Little Writers It is not just students who are gaming the system. ~~Amaara

Patchelton, I am in the same boat. I have been doing the 6 months with a nutritionist, and have lost nothing. Before I saw her, I lost 10 pound, but that does not count. I have greatly increased my exercise, and am now walking 3-4 miles a day for 4-5 days a week. I know I need to do more, but this is a start. My surgeon wants me to lose 15 pounds before the surgery. Since I have not lost any weight so far, I am a bit concerned. The office wants to schedule my surgery, as my six months is almost up. I am hoping for January. I need to see those 15 pounds gone! ~~Amaara

Thanks, Danna! Yes, I have a dietician. She hasn't been terribly concerned with my diet. I have another appointment with her on the 15th of December, but I want to do something in the meantime. The surgeon wants me to lose 15 pounds before my surgery, and I have not done that. I am not yet scheduled for surgery. ~~Amaara

Is one type of liquid diet preferable to another? I purchased Umjury in preparation for after the surgery, but I was wondering if I should do Optifast or Medifast before the surgery. My thinking is that these have added Vitamins and minerals. Would a simply liquid Protein be just as good? ~~Amaara

Hi everyone! I am not officially booked in January, but it looks like that is the month I will be banded. I would like to lose enough weight to get off my BP and diabetes medication. I am currently 274 and 5'2-- I would love to loose 100 pounds. I have lost 10 pounds in the past year-- 10 hard-fought pounds. It seems silly, but I am very proud of them. After doing a lot of research, I have decided that the band is for me. I have also convinced my husband finally. I was glad that my insurance has required six months of supervised weight-loss with a nutritionist. That has really helped me get my head around the idea of being banded. Looking forward to getting to know everyone better! ~~Amaara

How do you LC when beef and even chicken are hard to get down? I am not banded yet, but I would love to go back to LCing after the band. However, I keep hearing that I will never be able to eat steak again, for example. Do you eat mostly eggs? Thanks! ~~Amaara

Hi Dianne! I am also considering Dr. Moon. How do you feel about him now? I wish this thread had gotten more comments... ~~Amaara

Hello, everyone! I am a 35 year-old mother of a 3 year-old toddler and wife of a wonderful man. We lost our second baby at 37 weeks of pregnancy due to pre-eclampsia. It has been 10 months since, and I have been trying to lose weight so that we could TTC again. I have not been successful. My primary care physician is strongly encouraging me to have gastric banding. There are many reasons to consider this. I am diabetic and hypertensive, and I know that WLS is the only proven way to lose weight and keep it off. I am also not getting any younger—I have to lose weight quickly in order to conceive again. On the other hand, after researching the procedures, it seems that WLS is mostly a surgically-induced eating disorder. Do I really need to risk surgery in order to obsess over every calorie, puke when I eat too much, and eat fewer than 1200 calories for the rest of my life? I know this seems facetious, but I am seriously asking this. Like many people here, I have been fat all of my life. I am 5’2”, and the lowest I have ever been in my adult life has been 175 pounds. I got to 175 pounds by eating a low fat diet and jogging three miles a day. If, after being on a diet and exercising so dramatically in my early 20s I was still at 175, that seems to indicate that I am one of those people who will have to consume a low calorie diet and exercise several hours a day for the rest of my life. I can live with that. The question is—do I need surgery to do this? I am looking forward to reading everyone else’s stories, and to learning more about this tool for weight loss.

Maria, thanks an immense amount for your help. I have been reading as much as I can in the past four days. Do you know of any links to studies done on long-term effects-- 10 and 20 years out from WLS? These boards are an amazing resource. ~~Amaara