PATCHELTON

I too, love Trader Joe's. We have several here in Maryland. The Protein shakes I like, Worldwide, are sold there in 21g and 35g, but only in chocolate and vanilla. The Vitamin Shoppe sella only 35s but in all the flavors (strawberry, banana, and Cookies 'n cream--tastes like Oreos). They are a little higher than Trader Joe ($2.29 for the 35s) at $2.79 singly, but if you buy a 12 pack for $27.99 that works out to about $2.33 each. I have used their light string cheese as a snack, and Joe's O's, which are like Cheerios but have less sugar. I don't put sugar on it, just light milk and fresh fruit. You have to shop carefully, but you can find a lot of interesting and lapband friendly stuff there. As for nuts, I buy almonds, pecans and walnuts at costco. I get the unsalted kind that you bake with. I have eaten them since before surgery and recently went back. This time I took snack bags and counted 10 almonds, 10 pecans and approx 10 walnuts. Nuts are fat dense, and for some a little hard to digest, but the fats are the good kind, plus vitamin E, and Fiber. If you are used to salt it takes a while to get used to eating them without salt, but I like them. I filled all my snack backs and put them in the fridge, the leftover nuts that I didn't have bags for I put in the freezer. For those who like salads, get yourself some of those green storage bags (Evertfresh, Debbie Myers green bags). I buy hearts of Romaine in heads instead of cut up, and make variations on Caesar salad, using chicken or turkey, or ham, with a hard boiled egg cut up in it too for some extra protein. I buy frozen chicken breasts at Costco and cook them in olive oil or with Pam. The turkey and ham I get are already cooked, jullienne cut pillow packs I found at Mars. I also buy fat free croutons and light Caesar dressing. The green bags keep the Romaine until I can eat it all. A little off the Trader Joe topic, but thought I would throw it in for ideas. I also make crustless pizza, almost completely fat free. Please pm me if you would like the recipe.

I also love pizza, and realized I could live without the crust because I really craved the toppings. Try this: take a microwavable dish (about the size of a meal portion) cover bottom with pizza sauce (most are fat free and low sugar) then cover with toppings (I use Hormel Turkey Pepperoni, 70% less fat, and I keep Birdseye Pepper Stir Fry in the freezer--just 3 colors of peppers and onion chunks--I sprinkle them over the pepperonis). Cover with Kraft Free shredded mozarella or cheddar and nuke for 2 minutes to heat and melt the cheese. If you like other toppings, look for fat free or low fat. If you try it let me know how you like it. It satisfies my craving for pizza (and I used to eat an entire pizza for a meal, pepperoni, green pepper, onions and extra cheese). And congratulations on your weight loss.

You need to find a way to get your Protein Drinks in. You will make yourself sick if you only consume water and popsicles. Most bandsters are told to get at least 60g Protein in a day. If you can't face a Protein Drink you really need to call your surgeon's office. There are many drinks out there. If you don't like one, try a different one. I drink Worldwide Protein Shakes, low in sugar (1g) carbs (4g) and fat (1g with .5 sat fat) (available in all flavors--if you like chocolate try the Cookies 'n Cream--like drinking Oreos--at Vitamin Shoppe, $2.79 individually, but $27.99 for a 12 pack, about $2.33 each--Vanilla, Chocolate, strawberry, banana Cream and Cookies 'n Cream). Trader Joe carries vanilla and Chocolate in 21g and 35g, $1.69 for the 21s and $2.29 for the 35s--these prices are in Maryland). They are ready to drink. I take them to work and have them for Breakfast. If you like powders to mix, unjury (unjury.com) comes in Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Plain, and chicken Soup. Whatever you do please don't continue with just water and popsicles. You really need protein.

I am not on pain meds like you, but when my doc told me I could go back on all my meds I had to make adjustments. Any that could, I cut in half with a pill cutter. I take fish oil and Cosamin DS for my knee arthritis. Cosamin capsules can be opened and mixed in cold food (not hot) such as yogurt or applesauce. However my fish oil was a gelcap. I did some research and found a liquid mint flavored fish oil. One tablespoon actually gives me more Omega 3s than the 2 gelcaps I had been taking. Also Cosamin now has power packs, a packet with powder to be mixed in a bottle of Water, similar to Crystal Light flavors. I get my Cosamin and water at the same time. As for your time release med, check with the prescribing doctor to see if you can cut it and if not if there is an alternative you can take in a liquid or pill that can be cut. And after fills for a day or two you should cut pills. I didn't after my first fill because I was in a hurry for work, and the pill got stuck. I had my first sliming experience on the parking lot next to my car. The pill dissolved enough to pass shortly so it wasn't too bad. You just need to talk to your doc to see what alternatives exist for you. I was fortunate and didn't have a lot of pain post op. Good luck on your journey.

I like Worldwide Protein shakes. They are available at Trader Joe (Vanilla and Chocolate in 21g and 35g of protein, $1.69 each for the 21s and $2.29 for the 35s here in Maryland). The 35s are also available at GNC (priciest $2.99 each in Vanilla and Chocolate) and at the Vitamin Shoppe (singly $2.79 for 35g, but if you buy a 12 pack case for $27.99 it drops to $2.33 each). Vitamin Shoppe also carries all the flavors (Vanilla Cream, Chocolate Cream, Strawberry Cream, Banana Cream, and Cookies n' Cream, which tastes like liquid Oreos). I order them online when I can get free shipping for $49 or more--usually it is $99 for free shipping. If there is a store in your area you can get 12 packs for $27.99. I like them for grab and go, because I don't have to mix up stuff. They are low in sugar and fat, 160-170 cal for the 35s, and 2 a day would net you 70g protein. A little pricey, but I was banded 3/25/08 and I still drink one each weekday. On the weekends I make smoothies.

I am 63 and was banded on 3/25/08. My boobs look like two deflated balloons, and my butt deflated, but my penniculus (love that term--that is the roll on your stomach that will not go away except with plastic surgery) hangs on. I joke about it now, but I am not ruling out a tummy tuck if I can scare up the cash. I figure they can take the fat from my belly and fill out my boobs. I don't think I am too old to be perky:laugh:. Minor complaints aside, I now wear a misses size 12 (down from womens 22) and am off both cholesterol meds, one bp med, reflux med, and may lose the other bp med later. I also have pain med for my knees, but only use that occasionally. My cholesterol is 142, down from over 200, triglycerides 53, down from over 300, LDL 66, HDL 65. I don't think my numbers were this good when I was born.:thumbup: Many of these meds I have taken for 20 years or more. Oh, I need my arms done too (I have batwings) and my inner thighs could use a tuck. But I am not complaining, much. I may still be a hot mama one of these days, even if my cats don't care.:biggrin:

That 64 oz is your goal for Water intake. As long as you are taking in the types of liquids your dietician told you, you should be fine. As for Protein drinks, there are several things you can try. If you want strictly protein, unjury comes in a powder you can mix with milk or water(buy online at unjury.com). I try to mix with skim milk to get the most protein out of the drink. If you want ready to drink, Worldwide Protein shakes come in 21g and 35g in different flavors. Trader Joe carries both sizes in chocolate and vanilla ($1.69 each for 21g and $2.29 for 35g). GNC carries the 35s in the store and other flavors online but are the priciest at $2.99 each. Vitamin Shoppe carries all the flavors (only in 35g protein) in their store and online. It comes in Vanilla Cream, Chocolate Cream, Cookies n' Cream (tastes like Oreos), banana Cream, and strawberry Cream. All are 160-170 calories, little or no fat, 1g sugar. I don't care for banana flavored stuff so I haven't tried that but I drink Vanilla, Strawberry and Cookies n' Cream pretty much every day. Vitamin Shoppe charges $2.79 each, but if you buy a case of 12 the price comes down to about $2.33, so I try to buy 3 12 packs at $27.99 each. Online occasionally you can get free shipping for orders over $49 but mostly it is over $99, so it is cheaper if you live near a store. As an alternative, GNC carries a vitamin supplement called Ultramega, and they have it in a powder form, like the protein powders, but it has the full complement of Vitamins, Fiber and other stuff. The protein isn't as high, around 6g if I remember correctly, but it is sweetened with Splenda so the sugars are low. I mix it into 8 oz skim milk and that bumps the protein up to 12 or so. Once you can add food you can make smoothies. I put 2 scoops Women's Ultramega Vanilla, 8 oz skim milk, ground flaxseed flakes, ground cinnamon, and some frozen fruit (strawberries, blueberries--fruit only without sauce) and voila! A frozen smoothie. Delish! Frozen sugar-free popsicles as mentioned above are good for a treat too, and it is considered a liquid. I could have yogurt, too; it depends on what your dietician recommends. I hope this helps. Good luck on your journey.

While we aren't similar in age, we are in starting weight, so I thought I would share my stats with you. Starting weight 7/07 was 252. Had to do a 6 month diet for insurance, and lost 10 lbs on that as of 1/08. Surgery approved for 3/08 and started a liquid pre-op diet. Was on that 3 weeks instead of 2 because I caught a cold and my surgery was moved back a week, not enough time to stop and restart. Lost 25 more lbs on that. The rest of my weight loss has been post op. I had one fill at around 6 weeks, 3ccs, but had to have unfill the next day as water was giving me indigestion. Removed 1.5 ccs. Two weeks later in the office removed another .5 ccs, and I was doing okay. Doctor talked me out of a fill as I was still losing but at next appointment I talked him into a small one. I was still losing but my quantity was rising and I was hungrey sooner. He put in 1.5ccs. Checked my fluid amount and it was about 2 ccs. So I have about 3.5 ccs total. I have lost (by my home scale--doc's scale is about 4-5 pounds heavier) 94 pounds. I weighed 156 this morning. I hope that helps, and good luck on your journey.

I haven't tried anything to diminish the scars, but you might not want the larger scar to disappear. That is probably your port. Imagine your dilemma if the surgeon couldn't find it to give you a fill! :laugh:

I am not nearly as young as you, so you have youth on your side. I believe if I understand it correctly that your skin loses elasticity as you age. In my case, I am very near my goal weight (after only 7 months), but I do have some loose skin, and I think PS is the only thing that will rid me of it. I exercise regularly (started that before surgery) mostly walking outside in a park near home, and now that I am losing daylight during the week, I will be doing Water aerobics as well as Curves. The path I walk is about 2 miles and I usually do 2 times around, but now can barely get one in before dark. On the weekends I go for broke, and the last couple weekends because the weather was lovely, I walked around 4 times each day, stopping to feed peanuts to the squirrels and the lone chipmunk that I have befriended (bribed with peanuts). My legs have gotten seriously smaller and toned, but I still have some loose inner thigh skin. I also have a penniculus, that apron of belly skin that hangs down. At my age I don't care much about being hot and sexy, but I am not ruling it out either:tt1:. I also have loose skin hanging from my arms. I have watched a lot of PS shows on Discovery Health, and if I can afford it, I would at least like to have a tummy tuck. If I hit the lottery, a total body lift and a boob job (with self tissue not silicone implants) could be in my future. The skin will be hard to disguise when I go for water aerobics, but otherwise I can hide most of it in clothes. The world will not end if I have none of this, but I can dream.:smile2:

I just had to shower with Dial antibacterial soap.

I don't have a Ga plan, but I have Blue Choice from BC/BS in Maryland. They took 4 weeks from submission of paperwork to approval. I had to do a 6 month supervised diet prior to submission, so you could say they took 7 months, but I had very little out of pocket expense, though they don't pay for fills once you are out of the 90 day post surgery period. All in all, after reading some of the nightmares posted here, my approval process wasn't bad at all. I even used an out of network dietician and psych evaluator (paid them myself), since they were on the team that was doing my surgery. I feel for those getting an insurance runaround.

Congratulations on your success. My weight wasn't quite as high as yours (I was at a group support meeting and a post-op told me I didn't look like I was heavy enough to need surgery--at 252, wearing 2X or 22-24W, with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, reflux, knee arthritis and such, I beg to differ) but I didn't want to wait. I was miserable. I hope I don't have a slippage like you did, but it appears all has turned out ok. Keep up the good work, and good luck with the rest of your journey.:smile2:

If your sister in law is not supportive, tell her about me. I am 63 and was banded 3/25/08. My starting weight was 252, BMI 38, with HBP, sleep apnea, reflux, high cholesterol, knee arthritis, wearing 2x work clothes (scrubs) and 22W. I now weigh 160, wear 12-14 Misses, am off cholesterol medicine (2 of them) for the first time in about 20 years, have been taken off one of my BP meds (may lose the other later), my knees feel pretty good, and I will have a sleep study soon to see if that has resolved. I take one BP med, and I have pain med for my knees as needed (maybe once a week if that). My total cholesterol is 142 (was always over 200 before), tricycerides 53 (always 300 or more before), LDL 66, and HDL 65 (this is the good cholesterol--was around 47 before--the higher it is the better--btw I work for cardiologists). Keep your eye on the prize, your overall health. With my loose skin I may not give the guys palpitations, but I'm not ruling out a tummy tuck or more when the time comes. Heck, I could be chasing men at 70! Why not?:sad_smile:

I don't know if these are the same seminars, but obesityhelp.com has events around the country, with workshops and seminars, vendors and samples. Check their site for info.

Congratulations! Your starting weight was very close to mine (252). I lost 10 pounds on the 6 month diet my insurance required, and was put on a liquid pre-op diet that lasted 3 weeks because I caught a cold and my surgery was moved, but only by a week, not enough time to stop and start up again so I stayed on it an extra week. I found I do boring really well (the liquid diet is boring). Lost 25 on that. The rest is post-op. I don't think I ever would have been able to do this on my own. The band helped curtail portion size, and I did the rest. I always knew what to eat; I just ate too much of it (plus the pizza, subs, etc.) Now I eat healthy and the band is there to remind me if I am eating too much. I am really glad I did it. My surgeon is pretty happy with my results too.:sad_smile:

Breathe deep and then walk away. As a self confessed pizzaholic (my idea of eating pizza was to consume an entire 12-15 inch pizza with pepperoni, green peppers, onions, and extra cheese). I would stand in the doorway of the office kitchen and wave the scent toward me (really). I tried the front triangle (about 1/3) of a slice once after surgery and the dough just sat in my chest. Then I got to thinking, what I really crave is the toppings. So I dreamed up a crustless pizza. You can't use it now, but post op when you can have real food, it may help. Take a microwaveable dish, cover the bottom with pizza sauce (Ragu Homestyle has the least sugar). If you like pepperoni, cover the sauce with Hormel Turkey Pepperoni (70% less fat, and part of the Protein source), then add your favorite toppings. I keep Birdseye Pepper Stir Fry in the freezer. It has 3 colors of peppers and onion chunks and that is all. I cover the pepperoni with the peppers and onions, then top with Kraft Free shredded Mozzarella fat free cheese. Nuke for 2 minutes and enjoy, all the toppings, almost zero fat, none of the bread, and you have cheese and pepperonis as your protein source. I pack it and bring for lunch at work. Good luck on your journey, and hang it there. It will be worth it.

Welcome, and congratulations on your loss so far. Keep up the good work.

I wanted to be the first to tell you that you look hot, but someone beat me to it. Congratulations! I have had an amazing journey as well. While my knee arthritis might not go for a 5K, I might be able to walk you to death:laugh:! I added walking to my trips to Curves in January (on weekends as it was dark by the time I finished work). I walk in a park near where I live that has a 2 mile nature trail. When daylight savings arrived I began stopping each night on the way home, walking twice around. I am now losing daylight and can barely get around once, but will be instituting my backup plan--Water aerobics 2 days a week, Curves 3 days a week, the park on weekends. This past weekend I did 4 trips around both Saturday and Sunday, around 8 miles each day. Not bad for an old lady:thumbup:! I don't walk particularly fast, and I carry peanuts for the squirrels (a little passive weight lifting). They love to see me coming. I shake the bag and they come running. I even met a chipmunk (named him/her Chuckie) that comes to the same spot and I save the single peanuts for him/her. Chuckie stuffs one in each cheek and another in the mouth and runs off to stash them. About 2 minutes later, back again for more. I am a cheap date; they entertain me and make my walk more pleasant. I also meet lots of dogs (some who like peanuts too). Keep up the good work.:wub:

Now would be a great time to try the chewables you will need post op. I use Twin Labs Calcium Citrate with Magnesium and D (60 wafer bottle--4 a day dose) available at Vitacost.com for $7.67 each, $4.99 shipping for any size order. I order about 5 bottles (plus Twin Labs liquid Fish Oil for my Omega 3s) so I only have to order every 2 months and it all comes for $4.99. I actually paid $17.99 for it in a Healthy Options store, so this is a great price. You can also try Bariatric Advantage (bariatricadvantage.com) for their Calcium Citrate. I am pretty sure it comes with D. Citrate is the better form of calcium (absorbs better than carbonate) and the Vitamin D should be D3 or cholocalciferol.

Greetings from Maryland! It is never to early to start researching. I was banded in March and I have been coming here since November. You can learn a lot here. Read all you can. If you can, start going to the Lapband support group at the hospital you have chosen. I started doing that last summer. You will meet people at all stages of pre and post op, hear about their issues, and ask lots of questions. The better informed you are, the better decision you will make. I felt like I could almost do the surgery myself by the time I had mine! You can get lots of tips here, so ask away. Good luck on your journey.

Haven't heard of Celebrate. My dietician recommends Bariatric Advantage or Pioneer. I take Centrum chewable (they come in silver too) and for Calcium I use Twin Labs Calcium Citrate with Magnesium and D (citrate absorbs better than carbonate, and D3 or cholecalciferol is the best form of D to take), available at $7.67 for 60 wafers (4 a day dose) plus $4.99 shipping for any size order at vitacost.com. I order about 4 or 5 bottles to squeeze the shipping cost. I paid $17.99 for it in a Healthy Options store, so I thought it was Christmas when I found this online site. My dietician poo-poo's Centrum but my followup bloodwork showed no deficiencies, and it is less expensive than some. I got it at Target for about $12 for 60 (one a day).

I have Blue Choice insurance and they required the 6 month diet too. I think most insurances are doing that now. Use the time well, and it will fly by. Visit here, read the good/bad/ugly, read books (The Lapband Solution and The Lapband Companion are two good ones, available at amazon.com), start going to support groups now. You can learn a lot by talking to people in all stages of pre or post op. I went to the seminar and started going to group last summer, and was banded 3/25/08. I even had a post op tell me I didn't look heavy enough to need surgery (at 5'7" maybe not, but I was 252 lbs in size 2x scrubs for work). I am still 5'7" but I have lost 90 lbs and my 2X is now a baggy large (as soon as money permits I will be a medium) and my clothing has gone from women's 22 to misses 12-14. I am off cholesterol medicine for the first time in about 20 years, and I take one less BP med (I may lose the other one later) and have stopped my GERD med. I will be having a sleep study in the near future to see if the sleep apnea has resolved. Take full advantage of all the resources available. Use this time also to get your head around the changes you will have to make in your eating. You can do it. Good luck with your journey.

I have Blue Choice (BC's HMO) and they also required a "documented 6 month weight loss attempt" and I used the dietician on the bariatric team. Met with her once for initial weigh-in, and discussion of healthy food choices. She told me they didn't care if I lost weight, I was just not to gain any during the six months. After that meeting I weighed myself every two weeks (I work in a doctor's office so I did it at work) and email her the weight. I didn't work very hard at losing, and I was honest about my weights, and managed to lose 10 pounds. They would also accept Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, anything like that which was documented. You could use two different 3 month attempts even. Of course their customer service rep told me I would probably be denied and have to do the 6 month diet all over, because the dietician was out of network. He was wrong. Out of network just means out of pocket, at least in my case. The psych nurse and dietician were both out of network. I paid them and was approved. I was put on a pre-op liquid diet and lost 25 on that. The rest has been post-op.

I work in a doctor's office and we are all the time having luncheons. I stopped taking dessert long ago, and it is rare that I eat any of the sweets unless it is fresh fruit salad. Often there is a tossed salad of some kind, and if the entre is chicken that is not fried I might have a little of that. Mostly I carry in my own food that I can eat so if the luncheon is nothing I should eat, I skip it. As for going out with friends I don't pay any attention to what they order. I usually get an appetizer and salad, or just salad, as I can't eat a full restaurant entre. When they take drink orders I order Water (which I have always done even before surgery) and just leave it sit. That way I don't have to explain to the waitress why I am not drinking with my meal, and if something happens to get stuck I have water to try and dislodge it. I loved pizza, and someone at work asked me if I couldn't have it occasionally, and I said probably but it is like giving heroin to a junkie. I make crustless pizza (sauce, turkey pepperoni, peppers and onions, and fat free Kraft shredded cheese) in a microwave dish and nuke for 2 minutes. That way I can enjoy it, skipping the crust and having the toppings I enjoy. I keep my eye on the prize. I am off cholesterol meds for the first time in about 20 years, and wearing a 12-14 Misses (down from Womens 22). There isn't a junk food out there worth throwing all that away.