JustWatchMe

Congratulations!

Heather, it takes time to recover from surgery, but as for me, I have more energy now than I have had in years. I'm 5-1/2 weeks post-op and I think it's the fact that my body has absolutely no junk food in it, I'm drinking lots of water every day, I'm exercising, and have lost a good chunk of weight. Everything feels better, and I have energy, finally. I sleep so well now. You'll bounce back, better than ever!

Way to go!

dink007, congratulations! Take care of yourself and keep us posted!

1-1/2 more days!

Liquid in, liquid out.

Today was an "off" day for me. It started okay, but I used my very late lunch break to run an errand and not eat. I could have had my Protein shake back at my desk, but by then it was an hour before going home, and my screwed up thinking told me to just skip it so I wouldn't be "full" when I got on the treadmill at home. When I did get home, I was so tired and dehydrated from not drinking my Water that I could barely motivate myself to get on the treadmill. For the first time since surgery, I cut my exercise time in half. I walked one mile instead of two and felt like a failure, which is ridiculous. Then I got on the scale to see the day's progress and didn't even enjoy seeing the number go down half a pound. Ate my Soup (too quickly since I was starving), followed by a glass of milk, and then just got totally bummed out. food, food, food. How am I going to handle food when I finally get to eat again this Thursday? I thought nothing could be better than going back on solid foods, and now I'm truly afraid that Thursday could be my bounce day. You know, lose weight like a champ, and then the first time you have something you like (like solid food in this case), send it all to hell by bouncing back up the scale? I always tell people who see my wedding photos for the first time, yeah, that's me. I was thin once. For twenty minutes. It's not far from the truth. I'm getting scared. I'm tired of this post-op liquid phase, but now I'm scared of moving forward. I don't think I can trust myself with real food. All the crazy thoughts going through my head the last few days, like how am I going to stay motivated to exercise, and how am I going to behave myself on vacation next month? How am I going to live a happy life without binge eating? Where am I going to find joy? I feel like this post-op period was so hard, but in a way, easy, because the rules and the goal were so clear. I'm afraid of eating enjoyable food again and gaining back what I lost. I know my head is messed up today, and there sure are physical and emotional contributing factors. I didn't drink any water today, just my morning Protein Shake and one cup of water at 4pm. I missed lunch and then intentionally skipped it once I could have it. I got on the treadmill dehydrated and undernourished, and couldn't even keep the pace I've been easily doing all week. Add to that a spat of sorts with my older daughter whom I haven't seen since January because she's abroad at college and it's just about killing me. And my younger daughter who returned to college today, flying back to school, of course not returning texts for hours. I was so out of sorts after my crappy liquid dinner that I just decided the safest place to be was bed. At 7:30pm. So here I am.

L Hartman, hope it's going well!

Mikee57, I remember that Laugh-In gag. Too funny!

Today is better. Thanks everyone. I can't believe I missed the support group meeting last night. While I was in bed feeling sorry for myself I could have been there instead. For some reason I keep getting that date wrong. Better plug those into my computer. TMF, I'm probably going to be on a day or two of liquids after my fill, but they know I'm going on food first. So 4 days of food then a fill, then probably liquids for a day or two. I'm okay with that. My nurse practitioner who does the fills actually was leaving it up to me whether to fill or not before my trip, so I still have to let her know my decision.

Yippee! What a wonderful achievement!

Enjoythetime, amazing photos! You're an inspiration!

Sure. I went back to work Monday following a Thursday banding, and my desk is stocked with Atkins shakes and a few other liquid brands. I also briefly brought Jello and pudding to work but mostly just the shakes. I get to leave the building at work, so I eat soup at lunch a lot of the time. Good luck!

Bsellis, you mean a work of art! Congratulations!

This totally made my day!

Potassium deficiency? Bananas, orange juice?

Mikee57, let us know how you like it. I was looking into getting one for my mom (and then borrowing it LOL) but I don't see them in stores. Where did you order from?

Congratulations!

Unjury chocolate online is my favorite, followed by Atkins dark chocolate. I mix Unjury with water, and it's rich enough for me that way. Good luck!

Enlist a pal to give you rapid, sharp karate chops in the area that hurts. A couple of times a day. This helped me immensely. Good luck.

I've got enough fat reserves for a few months. Mine says a similar warning. Just follow your doctor's plan.

I didn't have a clue what my banding was going to cost me and couldn't get an answer from my center either before I was approved. It all depends on your insurance, I was told. Once I had approval I just called my insurance carrier. They set my mind at ease by telling me my max out of pocket, which I could handle. My teeth almost fell out when I got the hospital bill later. Thankfully my insurance paid what they said they would, but these bills are ridiculous and do not reflect reality in any way. The bill is one thing, the "discount" for that insurance carrier knocks it down immensely, the deductible is applied, the insurance pays their part, and the rest is mine. My hospital required a credit card 24 hours before surgery and took my expected amount due. Nuts, but I had expected a bill so I was ready. As for purchasing products from my group, nope, I never had to do that. I only had to see their nutritionist (out of pocket but affordable) and their psychologist (covered). If you're not comfortable, think twice. You're going to have a long relationship with your team, and it would be best to trust them going in. Good luck.

My doc likes an aggressive weight loss in the first weeks post-op before introducing solids, and then does a first fill at six weeks as well. The cynic in me could say it helps his numbers look good, but the compliant trusting patient in me will say it helps develop discipline that I'm going to need while aiming for my green zone.

Love it! I'm "done" with you! (In the nicest way, of course!)

I'll check them out now.