lindseyann2u

Okay, now I'm excited. I just returned from my pre-op class, and met the other ladies in my "class." Several of us are having the surgery on the same day. I made the second big cash payment ($20,000 total). It seems real now. I was afraid I'd have put on a pound or two today due to the time of month, but it turns out I've lost 22 pounds altogether in just over a month. I wonder how much I'll lose when I switch over to the all liquid diet for the first two weeks. Well, I won't go on and on, but I'm just happy.

I like to take note of the benchmarks along the way . . . no more swelling ankles, looser seatbelt, etc. Here's one that snuck up on me. I had laundered and folded all of my summer tops and crop pants and put them away, when it occurred to me, I'LL PROBABLY NEVER WEAR THESE THINGS AGAIN! My surgery is in one week. So excited. Best wishes to all.

My doctor requires everyone to lose 15 pounds before she'll even schedule their surgery. And you have to keep it off. She says that if we gain even one pound, she will not perform the surgery. I'm scared about my pre-op appt on Monday, it's right right about the time of my monthly cycle. So, it's protein shakes for me tomorrow and Sunday. I'm down 19, so I do have a cushion, but I'm not taking any chances. The weight loss is important because it shrinks your liver, and makes it much easier for the doctor to access the stomach with the laproscopic tools (whatever they're called).

Just tinkering with my name ... putting it back in line. Wow, there sure are a lot of us. :car: 1st PattyPoo Nessa3678 brandymom1234 Mom_of_Chuy sanderro Holiwood Longhorn Forestcat 2nd lizzie_07 lindata KristinaDawnB lindseyann2u sconie pam726 5th DLW Hungryforchange wnt2lose 6th Wishes4444(Ann) Diva Inside ndmom kandiceb jetti vanessav 7th Goldie1109 susieq125 shadst83 Cota129 8th anw5102 dawndannae stranger138 needto ebrow39 9th Banded4Life neen7171 maccy mariaxoxo4u Kristin1031 10th Selisejohnson omlagirl jen6740 12th jrsyshoregrl684 suebob 13th CCFRA Princessannod1 14th lightenup! dream'n2bthin 15th RxTracy steph_cn Hopping to It- Danna 19th Mrs Smartypants 26th kuchiegrl1 27th 731Shawty Cherlita Julie-Ann 28th lukin puppy 29th Sassafras

I went to a seminar last December. Iactually started the procedure in March of this year. My surgery will be one week from today. Even though I am self pay, I still had to pass through a whole battery of tests, and I have to say, it makes me feel much more secure to know my doctor has such a stringent process. I had a medical problem that I had to resolve before going ahead, so I could probably have had the surgery two months earlier (just guessing) if that problem hadn't arisen. I've used this time to mentally prepare for the changes in lifestyle I'm going to be going through, so it's been a beneficial wait for me.

I should have said you BLEND the AmazeRX with water, not MIX. It definitely needs more than a quick stir or two.

I've been using AmazeRX, which I saw on an infomercial. You mix it with Water. The chocolate is extremely yummy and chocolaty. You can smell the cocoa as soon as you open the jar. I tried an unjury chocolate packet with milk, and could hardly taste the chocolate. Maybe I should have tried it with water. I plan to use the unflavored and chicken Soup flavored UNJURY Protein and the AmazeRX chocolate protein. Both brands are ordered throgh the Internet. The UNJURY is very fast and friendly service, shipping is very inexpensive, and you have lots of ordering options. AmazeRX is much slower, shipping is quite costly. I read here somewhere, people saying that since AmazeRX was advertised by infomercial, it was probably a crock. But, that's how I found out about lap band surgery, so . . .

I bought two hand held blenders by Oster. One for work and one for home. They're not too spendy, and a lifesaver.

Per my doctor, I'll have to give up diet soda permanently after the surgery due to the gas (I've already cut down from 6-8 a day down to one a day), but that said, the "diet soda is high in sodium" claim isn't true anymore. It used to be true, back when pop contained saccharine (also called, "sodium saccharine"), but diet sodas that contain aspartame are not high in sodium. It says right on the bottle of Diet Coke, LOW IN SODIUM, and there are 30mgs per serving.

This is why I need the band -- I can't lose weight on my own. . . I'm on my pre-op diet. . . I've eaten between 900 and 1200 calories a day for about a month. (This is down from my regular diet of about 3000 calories a day.) The first week and a half I lost 17 pounds -- okay, I know that's a huge amount. It's been almost three weeks since then, and I haven't lost a pound. And I'm starving! If I didn't have to keep the 15 pounds off for surgery, I would have given up by now. This is what normally happens when I go on a diet. I stop losing, so I quit. But, if I used to be able to maintain my weight at 2500 calories, versus maintaining now at 1000 calories, why should I starve myself? Only, now if I were to go back up to 1800 or so calories, the weight would come rushing back on, and I couldn't have the surgery. I just can't understand how I cannot lose weight eating 1/3 of what I used to eat. Oh well, I have less than two weeks until my surgery, and if I can keep the 15 pounds off, I'll have reached my first goal. Thanks for listening.

Hi everyone, I'm a self-payer, too. But that didn't speed things up for me one bit. I've been having medical testing and labs done since early March. Of course, in July, they discovered I had a Vitamin D deficiency, and that brought things to a stone-cold stop until I could resolve that situation. But, it helped me really get my head around the surgery and prepare mentally for it. And, Lindata, I have to disagree, I've heard it from many sources (including the dishy Donny Deutsch on CNBC) that 50, not 40, is the new 30, so 40 must be the new 20. It's all good. My surgery date is 11/2/07.

Hi everyone, I've just been scheduled for the 2nd. Excited and scared at the same time. By the way, I noticed lots of people have been copying the very first list, so that all of the names that have been added on subsequently weren't showing up. I tried to add everyone back in. Be sure to go to the very last list that was posted (for example, if you're posting immediately after my post, use my list) and copy IT to make sure all the names that have been added to the list after the first list was posted, stay on the list. Hope I haven't missed anyone. Not a bad list for Thanksgiving month. Good luck to all of us. 1st PattyPoo Nessa3678 brandymom1234 Mom_of_Chuy 2nd lindata lizzie_07 KristinaDawnB lindseyann2u 5th DLW Forest Cat Hungryforchange 6th ndmom 7th Goldie1109 susieq125 shadst83 MyLady 8th anw5102 Cota129 9th Banded4Life neen7171 maccy mariaxoxo4u 10th Selisejohnson omlagirl jen6740 12th jrsyshoregrl684 suebob 13th vanessav Princessannod1 19th Mrs Smartypants 27th 731Shawty Julie-Ann 28th lukin 29th Sassafras

Where do you get Unjury? Is it a mix? Do you mix it with water or milk? I use AmazeRX, which has 17g of protein and NO sugar. It tastes good, but I have to order from the Internet with a 10-day lag time for reorders.

Hi, I'm three weeks into my pre-op diet and have lost 17 pounds. My pre-op diet will last as long as it takes to get my surgery scheduled. Hopefully, I'll get a date in early November. (Scheduling snafu kept me from going ahead in late October.) Thankfully, my doctor doesn't require a liquid diet -- although I could do it. I did Optifast for 3 months once, not one bite of solid food (no cheats) in the entire time, and after the first 3 or 4 days I was never hungry. I eat an AmazeRX Protein shake for Breakfast, a green salad w/chicken for lunch, and usually a Lean Cuisine for dinner. If I have a snack, it is a low-fat string cheese stick or carrots w/peanut butter. I keep my calories at 950-1150. It's going pretty well, and I'm super-motivated.

You can delete this test if you'd like. Thx

I found Khaliah Ali's book to be very inspiring. It was the one of the things that helped me make up my mind to go forward. BTW - She looks GREAT!

Hi, I started my pre-op diet 20 days ago and have lost 17 pounds. And believe it or not, that includes a 7-day period where I didn't lose a pound. At 900 to 1100 calories a day, that plateau about killed me. But I stuck with it. (I've already paid $10,000 out of the $20,000 this is going to cost me, so I'd darn well better give up those maple bars.) My doctor told me at the start that if I gained even one pound, she would not perform the surgery, and the minimum I had to lose was 15 pounds. If I come in at 14 pounds the day of surgery it's my understanding the surgery wouldn't go forward. I have about a month until I'm banded, so I hope to lose about 10 more pounds. By the way, I feel extremely confident of my doctor. I'm glad she's serious about the pre-surgery weight loss. It is supposed to shrink the liver which makes the surgery much easier. My diet is one AmazeRX Protein shake for Breakfast, one SMALL green salad w/grilled chicken for lunch and a Lean Cuisine/Weight Watcher frozen dinner for dinner. I may add a low fat string cheese or carrots with Peanut Butter for a snack. I was eating a lot of fruit during the seven days I didn't lose anything, so I cut it out. I feel great to have lost my sugar cravings. The cravings over-all are there, but they're beatable. I submerge myself in travel and fashion magazines to keep me inspired. Good luck, I never dreamed I could I give up maple bars and a 30-year Diet Coke habit, and I did, so I have great confidence in others on this board.

I'm pre-band and am taking a prescription dose of Vitamin D. I am on it indefinitely, ever since my deficiency was discovered through tests for the lap-band procedure. It's a relatively small gel-tab pill, but I wonder if it will go down after I'm banded. It seems so smooth, I'd think it would slip through. Unlike regular pills, I don't think it can be crushed without losing a lot of the liquid inside. Does anyone have any advice?

I've sewn for a long time -- in fact I have a BS in Home Ec. I started quilting in about 2000. I'm waiting for a surgery date. I've been getting through all the tests and pre-op stuff, and it's taken months. My date should be in late October, or early November, but I have to prove I've lost the 15 pounds first. I've got 13 down my first week of dieting, and two to go, but no weight loss this week. Sticking with it though. Boy, you have less than two weeks before the big day. Good luck! I think it's going to be life-changing, don't you?

Hi, I've been lurking for several weeks and have found this to be an incredibly helpful site, so I decided it's time to join in. After months of tests and treatments, I've jumped through all the hoops and have been approved for lap-band surgery. (I had a two-month setback trying to get my Vitamin D up to normal. . . finally did so a couple of weeks ago.) I'm so excited. Once I got the go-ahead, I started on the 15-20 pounds my doctor says I must lose before the surgery. Lost 13 pounds my first week. Wow! Haven't lost like that since my 20s. Guess there's something to those 1000 calorie diets after all -- maybe it's not all about age and hormones. Well, just wanted to say hi! Lindsey

Hi, I love to quilt. Have a few in progress right now. I do machine piecing and quilting. I was going to quilt tonight, in fact, but decided to scope out LBT, because my surgery is getting closer and closer. I have had a problem with quilting lately, though, because my ankles swell so much while I'm sitting at my sewing machine. When you're too fat to quilt, you're too fat! What kind of quilting do you do? How long have you been doing it? Lindsey