Psyched2

I was banded on 7/14 and have lost 18 lbs. Nobody has noticed yet, but the last time I lost a lot of weight it took close to 30 lbs for anyone to really notice. I was ok with it then, and feel I will be ok with it this time. I just hope it stays off!

Hi, the noodles won't hurt you, not sure about the egg roll. I ate cottage cheese and yogurt along with slimfast and optifast blended with fruit when I was as far along as you. I also ate sugar free jello and some diet pudding I found at WalMart. At three weeks I was to add canned tuna and chicken so you might want to think about that fairly soon. I am five weeks out and having trouble with some solids like chicken, but am ok with others. My port area is still painful to the touch.

I was scheduled for the bypass a year ago, but decided to go with the less invasive proceedure. I think I am now at the point where I won't be self sabotaging and will eat the right foods. I haven't had my first fill yet. I was banded 7/14 and have lost 13 lbs on the liquid diet plus some cottage cheese.and fruit blended into the shakes. The band is safer and in the end, the statistics between the band and bypass are very similar at the five year mark.

I blended in a banana when using the Optifast powder, or a few frozen strawberries with vanilla or strawberry Slim Fast high protein drinks. It seemed to make me feel better than the shakes alone..and tasted better.

I think most of us who have dieted have obsessed over food at one point or another. My decision to get a lapband and not postpone this serious move anymore came when I was taking a steroid to help me with bone pain from cancer meds this year. The steroid caused my blood sugar to go from 110 to 303 in one month. It didn't go down during the following months after I was no longer on the drug. My grandmother and one of my aunts had to have their legs amputated due to diabetes, and with that vision in my mind I know I can't risk failure. The health risks of obesity are real. When tempted after you know you have eaten enough, just tell yourself you can have "it" tomorrow. That works far better than telling yourself "never. Good luck.

Did they talk to you about the Madonna Complex in counseling? If not, that may be what the issue is about. It might be worth researching and talking to him about it if it is a new thought. Good luck Linda

Post op: I am drinking the chocolate optifast and was told by a nurse to add a half of a banana in the blender and it will taste better. I have been doing that and it seems ok to me. I also add frozen strawberries to the vanilla and strawberry flavors of slimfast low carb. I wasn't told to do that, but it seems ok. Don't give up.

If you are only 33 you will have better skin retraction than many of us in our 50s and beyond. I lost 112 lbs when I was 50. At that time I worked out 13 hours a week and kept to 1200 calories to lose the weight. I have then gained much back and now have had the lapband surgery. I did need a tummy tuck. My face wasn't too bad. I would have liked a thigh lift but never had it done. I agree that you need to have the weight off for a year before considering any plastic surgery. Your skin will retract some and you'll have a better idea of whether you will keep the weight off on a permanent basis.

Hi, I came home from surgery also weighing about 5 lbs more than when I went in. I called the office and they said it was probably due to the amount of fluid in the IV vs my output. I am happy to say the 5 lbs quickly went away and I have lost 7 more in the first week. Stick with it, your weight will come off.