Hilary

Not sure about the number of calories but under 900 is not much is it. I am doing Optifast too and am on Day 8 today. Okay up to today and suddenly feel really hungry most of the time - tried the water etc but nothing last for long. Making a huge soupy type stew with tomatoes, eggplant cauliflower( and its stalks cos I've just about run out of vegies) to see if that will fill me up for the evening. Yes we can do this. Good luck.

All the very best WOWOX7, Woodsy, momto3, Mommamare, nancy52, AnneElliot, ovahkummer & SuzanneG for your surgery.

Yes all the best to all of you being banded on the 3rd.

Glad to hear you are now going ok and home. Let the others around you pamper you and wait on you, and make the most of it while you can. Congratulations and Happy New Year!!

:clap2:Hi Poodlecamper I am on my 5th day of Optifast, and will be doing it til my op on the 10th. We can choose three meals from the shakes, bars, Desserts and Soups and add to that the vegies and/or fruit that Optifast say we can have, and jelly and miso Soup if we wish. Drink plenty of Water as soon as you start feeling hungry and you should be fine. Danna from Sydney recommends that if you like diet drinks mix diet coke with the vanilla shake and it tastes like a spider drink. Have yet to do this. Good luck with it. :eek:

Happy new year to all New Years Knockouts and all the best to you who are in surgery over the nexr few days.

Good morning from Aus, Chrisann, and all the very best for your surgery today. Will be thinking of you and looking forward to hearing how you are doing. Happy new year too!!

Hi Amy, congratulations on your weight loss so far. I too have just looked at your blog and it is inspiring so I have added it to favourites. I would love to start a blog but have no idea how so will content myself to reading others. All the best,

:faint:Gwenn I am sorry I misspelled your name in my last post. Sincere apologies!!:faint:

Hi Gwen, I am in Adelaide, South Australia. We have had a heatwave since just after Christmas and it looks like it will go on till at least next weekend. Yuk. Makes me feel very lazy, but fortunately I have a wonderful friend I walk with who is still insisting we walk tomorrow if it is not too hot at 7am. She has been really supportive of me through this, as has my husband and several other friends that I have told. Haven't told everyone yet as not sure about the need to. By the way I spent a week in Atlanta in January of 1990 at my husband's cousin's house when they were working over there for a year. Loved it. That sounds like a long time ago now but it seems like just yesterday. I will be staying in two nights following the op which apparently is standard according to my doc. Yes let's keep in touch and happy new year to you and yours.

The 10th is going to be a great day for bandiing - there are about 6 of us for that date now!! I am doing a two week pre-op diet which is okay though sometimes it is frustrating watching the rest of the family eating real food!! I have been freezing small portions of food over the last few days for blending and including in Soups etc for after the op. If it cools down over the next few days I may make some Soup but at the moment it is just too hot here (40 deg celsius or over 100F) to do anythihg but the most essential cooking. All the best for your journey.

Tomorrow is the day I start my pre-op diet, on Optifast, for two weeks. YaY!! I haven't gone crazy over Christmas but certainly have not done without either, so hope I will not find myself craving food. I am planning to keep myself very busy with craft and doing my long overdue tax during these next two weeks. I am feeling very excited about my op date on the 10th January.:clap2: Hope you have all enjoyed Christmas. :hungry:

Thanks Charlotte for your encouragement and all the very best to you too. The pre op diet we do is basically just Meal Replacement bars and shakes with a few extra vegies, and very limited fruit to have with it. I think it is basically low carb, low Protein and low fat, and it's bearable so long as it's only for a short time as 'the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak' as they say!! Good luck for the 10th too!

Hi Tara Jane Yes I know who you are!! How was your Christmas after your long holiday away. I bet your little granddaughter was so excited to see you again and have Christmas with you. I have to admit I am getting quite excited about having this surgery. I did go through a very apprehensive stage for a couple of weeks and thought of pulling out but managed to do some very strong self talk and also take on board another friend's advice that has settled me down!!! Today we had to go to mother and father in laws for lunch and there I was with my cup of miso soup, optifast choccie bar on my plate and then a plate of salad while they ate all the yummies. Still I survived and then escaped off to church before they produced cakes and afternoon tea. Happy new year anyway!!

Day 4 on Optifast has gone fine too and already I can see and feel the weight coming off around the tummy area - could wear a pair of previously too tight pants this morning. Yay. My dh is also doing the Optifast to support me and just having a cooked meal with Protein in the evenings. I will try your idea Danna of making spider drinks with the vanilla and diet coke as it sounds yum. Nothing was said about the Tony Ferguson plan so I may leave that till after I am banded to try. How are you doing? Are you finding banded life okay? This Friday I go to see my anaesthetist. The days are passing fast!! Only 10 days to go but who is counting?

Hi Thistledo and Saleel, I am also from Australia and being banded on the 10th January, so am on day 4 of the Optifast which is actually going okay. My dietitian said I don't need to fastidiously measure a cup of green vegetables (and other allowed vegies) so I have been filling up on that too. I don't mind the choccie bars, which are very filling, or the cappucino shakes, and the berry bar is quite acceptable too. Hated the gloopy chocolate dessert and not so keen on the chocolate shake. Had an interesting time with the chidken Soup (which tastes okay) as I used the blender on it to make sure I had no lumps and then microwaved it hot - big mistake, it was already a bit frothy and it boiled over and I had white chicken soup froth all over the microwave! Tastes nice though with some tomato paste in. I also discovered that when I feel hungry in between meals to drink lots of Water and it makes me feel full again. Oh yes I live in Adelaide and will be banded by Dr Bessell. I love this forum and find lots of useful information on it, many super helpful people, as well as some lively and sometimes entertaining discussions. All the best both of you in your preparation for the band. It wil be interesting to keep track of each others' progress.

Well almost end of my second day of Optifast today and feel great. Had my evening chocolate food bar, and earlier (mid afternoon) had my jelly and a bit of fruit then at 5pm a cup of miso soup. Still have my green vegies to eat a bit later and then that is me done for the day. When I feel hungry I have a couple of glasses of water and feel full again. Those smoothies sound wonderful Chrisann, shame we don't have those Smoothie King places in Australia. All the very best for your imminent banding too.

Chrisann, Gingerbug thanks for the encouragement. We will get there and then soon this strange diet will be a mere vague memory of the past. Have a great day.

Being banded 10th Jan in Adelaide, South Australia. Keep strong!!

Thank you comepickmeup. I have my great niece's first birthday party tomorrow and will not eat their meal of course but have promised my niece to have a taste of birthday cake (It will only be a taste though and I will see if I can carefully put the rest on my son's plate!!) I think you were very brave and did okay having to start the day before Christmas. Well done. When and where are you being banded?

I agree that would be a good idea.

Good luck Wowox and 4jin with your pre-op diets. I start mine on the 27th December for my surgery on 10th January. I am feeling positive for the surgery and can't wait to want to go clothes shopping, and not feel so bloated all the time.

All the best Chiquita. Merry Christmas.

I agree it would be good to be "named". Have been having a think about it, then looked through the J section of the dictionary but didn't really get anything astonishingly brilliant come to mind. Anyway here is my offering: January Jesters (or JJs) Jolly January Jesters (or JJJs) Jubilant January Jesters (or JJJs) January Jewels

All the best for the 31st Dec! You could stay in touch if you want with the January group.