DropWt4Life

It took me 2 weeks. I tried at 1 week out, and felt a bit of pain from my sutures, so I waited. Man did my back hurt by the end of week 2!

I think there is a lot of mixed research out there about whether vitamins help or not. One thing is for sure though....No vitamin will work as well as the vitamins you get from food. Food has the vitamins in the state that they were supposed to be in, and in the combinations that help you absorb the vitamins the easiest. If your levels are good, and you are having them checked regularly.....You should be good. One thing that I would caution about is that not all vitamins are tested for in your blood work. They might not test for Lutein, Folate or Manganese in the bloodwork, but depending on what you eat, you could still be deficient in each of these. You wouldn't know it until you start having symptoms. Congratulations on Getting under goal!

I agree. I think that I will be weighing my foods for a long time to come. I don't have a handle on portion sizes yet, and even so, some foods are very dense and heavy. My stomach tends to tell me when I've had enough though, so that's a good thing.

Veterans, I would sincerely like to offer my gratitude to you for the value that you bring to the community. I love that you have chosen to stick around, because you definitely didn't have to. I have only been a member for a few short months, but I have already seen tons of people drop off. It takes a lot to hang around and answer questions, especially after many of you have reached your goals already. I can't stress how nice it is to hear from someone that has been through the things that you are going through. It also gives us a glimpse into WHAT COULD BE! When I joined this site, I had a lot of mixed thoughts about long term success. I had seen a few on YouTube that were still going strong years out, but most had videos about regain and needing new surgeries. Coming to this site, and reading responses from veterans like yourselves helped me to cement my position, so I will say THANK YOU! So, what do you do to maintain now that you have lost most or all of your excess weight? Any tricks to longevity? Anything that you would have done differently? How has your lives changed for the better? CHIME IN! (Oh yeah, I posted this in the General Weight Loss forum where everyone could see it. The Veteran's forum doesn't seem as active, so I wanted to put it here.)

I see you are going with Dr. Illan....An excellent choice. I had nothing but the most positive experience with him! You will be in good hands. Don't forget to take a usb drive with you so that you can get a video copy of your operation.

I couldn't have protein drinks for the first week. Clear liquids only. Be careful, because your new stomach might not agree with creamy protein just yet. If your doctor allows it on day 3, then you only have to wait 2 more days, so hang in there. You will be sipping on protein shakes in no time. Congratulations on the next chapter of your journey!

I didn't use Dr. Almanza, but there have been lots of negative reviews for him. I would do a little research on him. Oh yeah, it appears that Bill Yanez may have displayed tons of info on him. Good Luck!

I started drinking decaf at week 2. I still mostly drink it, although some days I have regular. I find that I have more acid reflux issues when I drink regular coffee. I don't know if it is more acidic or not. I heard that cold-brews don't irritate the stomach as much. Has anyone heard that?

I had a very positive outlook on life after surgery. I knew that my life would be different. I was excited to finally put an end to the failure of keeping weight off after a lifetime of regain. I smiled often, enjoyed time with my companion and sleeve buddies, and literally took every day one step at a time. I am now at the lowest weight that I have been in 20 years, and every sacrifice, every struggle, and every bit of pain that I endured has been totally worth it. Know that this is but a temporary situation, and things will get better! Your future self 1 or 2 years down the road will be glad that you did this for your health and well-being! Good luck ladies and gentlemen, and congratulations for joining the Loser's Circle!

Veggies and Premier Protein are my go-tos. Whenever I make salmon, I have to freeze most of it (I make a lot!). It will last me at least 8-10 meals spread out over at least 3 weeks. I don't eat any other meats that often, but I am always running out of spinach, onions, tomatoes, asparagus, etc. I don't get a lot at a time, because I want the freshest I can get without having to throw any away. Premier Protein has to be my go-to whenever I hit up a Costco.

hillNicole34, Are you allowed soups on your diet or just broths? I creamed Progresso southwestern veggie soups and had lots of other cream based soups combined with a little unflavored protein powder to keep me full. I made sure that I was putting something in my mouth every few hours so I didn't feel hungry. I knew that I made rash decisions when I was hungry. It would be a good idea to continue to eat/drink protein shakes every few hours even when you are home. Number 1, that is how you stoke your metabolism. Number 2, you probably won't get hungry. Drinking tons of protein shakes does get tiring, but you've got to mix it up a bit. Blend different things into them so that they are always different. I loved to drink smoothies with Mean Green Juice blended with frozen berries, 1/2 of a banana, and vanilla or unsweetened protein powder. I still do. If you want a flavorful broth, get a few chicken bullion, boil them up with water, add some cilantro, cumin and a bit of rotel to it. Makes a great little tortilla soup flavor. If you are allowed on your plan, you can blend this up and have it all. I would add some half and half, and a bit of unflavored protein to it as well to thicken it up. Just count down the days until surgery. Two weeks is a drop in the bucket in the big scheme of things. Good Luck!

Congratulations on reaching that next level of your journey! I wish you the best of luck!

Fluffy....I just want you to know that although you have not had surgery yet....You are a huge inspiration to us all. I know in my heart that you are going to be super successful in your journey, because you've got it together. An excellent outlook on life. A positive mindset. Thanks for the post, and keep em' coming!

B-52. ....Welcome back to the community. My wife's friend had lap-band several years ago. She lost and kept off over 100 pounds, so I would consider that a success. She has had issues with her adjustments though, and has had spells where she couldn't swallow anything. She also had a time where she had no fluid in her band, and gained some weight as her hunger returned. She is now looking into getting VSG, because she doesn't want to have to keep up with the maintenance any longer. She has also had to change doctors twice as her old doctors no longer service the band. I do agree that many people bend the rules a bit too far, which can lead to a less than successful outcome. I have known people to disregard the pre-op diet, and have meals the night before surgery. I have also known someone to eat solid food as early as 2 weeks post-op. Luckily, she didn't cause a leak or some other issue, but she definitely could have. As far as having to answer the same questions over and over......It is less than ideal, but YOUR input is greatly appreciated as you have been there and done that. I CANNOT STRESS HOW INVALUABLE THE INPUT FROM VETERANS IS TO THE COMMUNITY. I wish that people would stay, and I am happy that OutsideMatchInside, Introversion, proudgrammy, shedo82773, Julie Norton, and others have chosen to stick around. I, for one, have answered several questions several times myself. I don't mind though, as I know that I am blessed to have experienced a little bit of success so far, and I wish that for everyone. I was a youth in crisis counselor in my former life, and I love helping people. Congratulations on your successful journey. A complete reversal of the surgery is just something you don't hear about every day. Maybe you can start a thread on how you eat 6 years out without the assistance of your band. I would be interested to find out.

My PCP just found out about my surgery a few weeks ago. I was self-pay in Mexico. I scheduled an appointment the month before surgery, but it got pushed back because he went on vacay. He was surprised, but is still doing my post-op blood work for me....And why not? All he has to do is sign the blood work order and interpret it....Almost free money.

Slightly increase your calories, and stay the course. It will break in no time. I’m a little jealous. I hit my first stall at 3 weeks out. You will still lose inches anyway, so just don’t stress about it.

I agree that some Mexico doctors might now give a plan. Mine sure did, along with all of my medical records, a video copy of my actual procedure, and a care package with samples. My NUT emailed me detailed copies of my pre-op and post-op dietary plan in advance of my surgery. It listed examples as well. It blows my mind that a doctor would perform ANY surgery on someone without care and dietary instructions.

I did 1 week clear liquids, 1 week full liquids, 2 weeks puréed foods. In my 5th week, I was allowed both, but had to be moist. As you know undoubtedly, all plans are pretty different. So....yes in short. Flaky fish qualifies as soft food in my plan.

When I was on soft foods, I would eat: 4oz of weight control oatmeal for breakfast (100 cals/5g protein) 1 Premier Protein Shake for morning snack (160 cals/30g protein) 2 1/2 oz. of tuna with 1 1/2 ounces of peas for lunch (90 cals/15g protein) 3 oz. cottage cheese with 1 oz. unsweetened peaches in juice for afternoon snack (100 cals/12g protein) 3 ounces of flaked salmon with 1 oz. spinach for dinner (185 cals/18g protein) Total - 635 calories/80g protein If I was hungry after that, I would have another Premier Protein shake for snack to bring totals up to 795 cals/110g protein. I still kind've eat like that now. I try to get in 850-950 calories per day though. I can eat a bit more than that now, so it helps.

Dreamingsmall, I hope you get well soon! Continue being positive. We are all here for you if you need us!

Congratulations! You are almost there! It sounds like you are in for a lot of activity over the next month. Moving is always a high-stress event for me. I tend to eat crappy, because I am living out of boxes for at least a week or so. I hope you won't be doing any of the lifting in your move. You've got to tend to those sutures. I wasn't allowed to lift more than 15 pounds for at least 4 weeks. The distractions are nice though....Anything to keep your mind off of food is a plus! A daughter that drives is definitely a plus as well! Make sure that you have everything ready for your post-op, because you probably won't feel like doing anything at all for at least the first 4 or 5 days.

That is good to know. I can barely stay awake by late afternoon, early evening on weekdays. I'm fine on weekends, probably because I don't have any work related stress.

Whether they cancel your surgery or not depends on your specific situation. I would need to know more info. Did you start at 282, lose 6 pounds, and gain back 5, which would put you at 281? Did you start at 282 a few months ago, lose nothing up to August, and then gain 5 pounds to put you at 287? Either way, it depends on your surgeon's (and insurance) requirements. You need to ask your surgeon. It may be impossible for you to lose 5 pounds by Friday, but a super strict low carb diet will probably get you close. Less than 20g of carbs, and lean protein and veggies ONLY. I have dropped 7-8 pounds in 3 days that way. Again, I don't know your specific situation, but I would probably strictly adhere to whatever guidelines your surgeon/insurance has laid out for you. They will know that you are not if the scale continues to go in the wrong direction. Good luck to you.

I do not take gummy vitamins, because they usually contain lots of sugar and only have a small amount of actual vitamins included. For example....2 Vitafusion Multi-Vite Gummy Vitamins for Adults contain 3g sugar (the first ingredients are glucose syrup, and then sucrose). They only give you 100% or more of your recommended daily allowance of: Vitamin D (200%), B6 (200%), Folic Acid (100%), B12 (200%), Pantothenic Acid (100%), and Chromium (100%). By comparison, 1 ProCare Health MultiVitamin w/45mg Iron contains no sugar and 100% or more of your recommended daily allowance of: Vitamin A (200%), C (220%), D (750%), E (200%), K (150%), B1 (1,330%), B2 (710%), B6 (600%), Niacin (200%), Folic Acid (200%), B12 (16,670%), Biotin (200%), Pantothenic Acid (200%), Iron (250%), Iodine (100%), Zinc (100%), Selenium (140%), Copper (100%), Manganese (100%), Molybdenum (100%). You only have to take 1 per day, but I usually follow that up with 2,500 mg of D3, and 2,000mcg of sublingual B12 in the morning. I then have a Probiotic at lunch, and another multivitamin and D3 capsule at night to add more of the above as well as other vitamins like Lutein, calcium, Lycopene, Boron, Nickel, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, etc. I don't, however, think that taking gummy vitamins will make a difference in weight loss either way as a serving is only 15 calories or so.

Are you getting in your liquids? If you are refraining from drinking liquids for 30 minutes before and after meals, you are giving yourself 1 hour to drink liquids. If you are not drinking enough, you are going to get hungry way sooner. I make it a point to drink liquids for 2 hours between meals. I can easily drink 16-20 ounces in this time. I eat about 5 times daily, so I can get in at least 110 ounces including coffee and my the protein shake. I wake up at 5am every morning and go to bed at 10pm every night. I have coffee first thing with 1Tbsp of sugar free creamer. I eat breakfast at 630am, a snack at 9:30am, lunch at 12:30pm, a snack at 4pm, and dinner at 7pm everyday. Each of those meals/snacks are 200 calories or less. Most days, I top out at around 800 calories, but occasionally I reach 1,000. Anyway, water can help to curb your hunger. I just drink it all day long whether I feel like it or not.