NoMoreYoYo

I use Stevia and it is a good alternative to artificial sweetners. I use the liquid Sweetleaf in my coffee. My DH doesn't like it as much as regular sugar (he does not have a weight problem) but he now makes ice tea with half the sugar he used to and makes up the difference with Stevia.

I went to my ob-gyn to get a recommendation for the surgery for my insurance requirements. Also for a checkup and Pap smear (it's been 4 years since my last visit). He was very positive about the lapband and said he had seen some very good results with his patients, so that made me feel better. He definitely did not try to talk me out of it. Oh - he said he would give me the recommendation for the surgery, so I am one step closer. Have the seminar on the 16th and surgeon consult sometime after that.

I am so happy for you and hope to be where you are in a couple of months! My seminar is Jan 16 with Dr. Garth Davis so I am just starting the process. Do you have a pre-op diet? Was there a requirement to do a medically supervised diet for x months beforehand? I have 6 months of Weight Watcher weigh-ins from last year for my insurance company (BC/BS PPO) so hopefully that will suffice. I am also on a CPAP for sleep apnea so I should qualify for surgery. Please check in after your surgery to le me know how it went. Btw, Friday is 1/4, not 1/5 - the reason I know is it is my birthday :biggrin1:

Why can't you drink liquids with your meals? How long before/after do you have to wait to drink something?

I hope to be banded in March, but I don't have a surgery date yet - still working my way through the process.

Happy Belated Birthday! I will be 49 in Jan so I am not far behind you. My seminar got pushed back to Jan 16 because of needing an "in-network" surgeon, then I will have my doctor consult and start whatever tests are required. I am already on a CPAP machine and endured the 2 sleep studies already so I won't have to do that. Hopefully, I can get off my machine some day. I rarely go to the doc either and it has been 4 years since my last Pap smear and 8 years since my last mammo, so I made an appt for Jan 6 with my ob-gyn to get up-to-date and get a letter of recommendation for my insurance company before the seminar. May as well get as much out of the way as possible while I wait. I figure on being banded in March also by the time I attend the seminar in mid-Jan, wait for the next doctor's appt (2-3 weeks), wait for my insurance co to approve (3-4 weeks, hopefully no longer) and then wait for a surgery date. We'll see.

I wish we would get a Trader Joe's here in Houston! My Dad is always bringing me stuff from there when he visits me from Las Vegas.

I am hoping someone else has used Dr. Marvin and would like to reply. I am looking for a doctor who accepts BCBS PPO and he is on the list. TIA

I am not "over 50" yet, but I am not far from it - I will be 49 in Jan and not banded yet. Just starting the process. I will probably be hanging here some once I do get banded because I have a lot of the same issues with the S-L-O-W weight loss. I used to lose it so quickly when I was younger! It gets very discouraging and I will probably be back on this thread looking for some support from those who understand how difficult it gets when your metabolism has slowed down. It is inspiring to see those over 50 who have succeeded - it gives me hope I can do it too!

Good luck tomorrow! I can't wait until I am where you are at.

You have come to the right place. Thin people don't have a clue. I know - I was one years ago before kids and I didn't understand, either. Boy do I ever now! I have only discussed it with the 2 women at work who have had gastric bypass. They understand exactly where I am at and why I am doing this. I am just starting the journey, but I will not look back. Go to my seminar next Thu and expect to make an appt with a doctor before I leave. My Mom would probably still be here if she had been able to have this done and she would be very supportive, I know. I am not telling my Dad because his girlfriend is a thin, silly health nut. Nothing wrong with eating healthy, but she is goofy and obsessive about it and I don't want to hear her lectures.

I haven't been banded yet, so I can't speak from experience, but when I had my tubes tied they filled my abdomen up with gas to keep my other organs out of the way so they could do the surgery. The gas has to make its way out of your body cavity and it hurt in various places as it did. Since it isn't in your stomach, taking antacids didn't help - you just had to suffer through it until it was all gone. Don't know if they do that with the lapband surgery or if that is what you are experiencing - just a suggestion. Btw, my surgeon didn't tell me about the gas - I had to find out from a friend.

I am weeks away from surgery, but I was wondering if the Optimum Egg Protein would be ok. I have a large tub left over from the last time I did Atkins and it hasn't expired yet.

Hi everyone - new member here. I have been researching lapband surgery for a couple of weeks now. Been considering some kind of bariatric surgery for a couple of years now, but after watching the people at work who have had gastric bypass and all the problems they have had I was scared to do it. After reading about the lapband, I feel comfortable with this method. I am going to the free info seminar next Thu in Houston. I talked to our HR lady who had gastric bypass 4 years ago and she said our insurance (Anthem BC/BS PPO) was good about approving people as long as they meet the requirements (which I do). I will be 49 in January, I am 5' 2" and I weigh 100 pounds more than I did before I had kids (my oldest turns 23 on Christmas Eve). I have been yo-yo dieting for the last 20 years and I am sick of it and tired of being hungry all the time and a slave to my hunger. I am so impressed with all the support and information on this forum!

Good luck on your surgery Monday, smww! What a great birthday present! My birthday is Jan 4th and I will be 49. I swore I didn't want to be "fat and 40" but that didn't happen. Now I am hoping and praying that a year from now I can celebrating NOT BEING "fat and 50"!

I am 100 pounds over my college weight - that was 25 years ago and I have been yo-yo dieting ever since. My DH and I went on Atkins - he got thin as a rail (didn't have much to lose - just supporting me) and I was in ketosis the entire time and lost 15 pounds in 6 months. I showed him the ketostix in case he didn't believe I wasn't "cheating". I have done WW, too - lost some weight but always gained it back. To do that, my entire life had to revolve around planning, shopping, cooking, weighing, measuring - a royal pain in the you-know-what. Before kids, I was thin and only had to do what your mother has to in order to keep my weight under control - cut back a bit. I never could understand how people could get so big. Well, now I know. I thought you had to spend all your time eating to consume enough calories to stay big, but I did not understand about metabolism or chronic overeating which stretches your stomach out so it takes a lot more food to feel full and satisfied. I am signed up for the info seminar next Thu, so I have taken the first step in this journey.