KarenIn

Hi I had Dr. Stanish at Methodist Hospital in Merrillville, IN. He did my lapband and two hernia repairs on August 4, 2008. To date I have lost 120 pounds. I would still like to lose 40 more pounds. Yes, I was on a high Protein diet prior to sugery, and lost 40 pounds of that 120 pounds in the 4 months prior to surgery. Follow the advise they give you to eat low fat protein and log everything you eat. I use sparkpeople.com to log my food and track the amount of protein intake daily. I have had a great experience with Dr. Stanish and his whole staff. It took me about 6 months to get my final approval. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions, and best of luck. :welldoneclap:

Welcome! You will get lots of support here. There is nothing like chatting with someone who is going through the same process. Best wishes for a very successful weight loss journey and new way of life. I had the Lapband in August of 2008, but I think you will find most things are similiar to the Realize band. I know a few here have the Realize band like you. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Congratulations Phyl! Doesn't it feel great to be moving in the right direction, and meeting those goals that seemed so unreachable before the Lapband? Keep up the great work. You help to motivate us all.

Hi everyone! I am very new to the forum, and just found the 60+ thread. I find alot of helpful information on the forum, but it nice to see some others in my age group. I am 60 and just getting ready for lap band. I meet the surgeon the day before yesterday, and now I need to finish the 6 month supervised diet my insurance requires. I am still working, but hope to retire in a few years. I want to be healthy, and able to do things to enjoy that retirement. I am looking forward to getting to know you all better.

caroleNY I sometimes eat a few almonds (8-10) if I think I am really hungry between meals. They are a good source of protein, and fiber. I buy bags of the the unsalted natural whole almonds that are available in the snack section of the drug store. Of course, you can't do this too often. Another thing I do is drink something. Most times I am really just thristy, not hungry. A cup of caffine free tea, or some Crystal Lite gets rid of what I thought was hunger. Good lucK to you.

Don Glad to hear of your progress! Keep up the good work. Yes, it is great to be a "losser". It's worth the work to feel better.

Patchelton Glad to hear from you, and congratulations on your successful weight loss. :thumbup: I have also lost over 100 lbs, and feels so much better. I hope that anyone reading this that may be considering the surgery gets some hope from on success,

I usually don't eat a salad and a meal. Instead, I make the salad my meal. I am able to eat peppers with the skins on with out any problem. A favorite salad for a quick meal is romaine lettuce, tuna, cherry tomatoes, with some red and yellow peppers. I top this with reduce calorie dressing.

Hi Everyone I have not posted for awhile. Internet problems, Yuck!! I am felling great! Down an amazing total of 70 pounds since August 4th sugery, and a total of 110 pounds with pre-op diet. I hope to hit my goal around my birthday this coming August.

Hi I'm sorry I did not see your post about salads until today. I had problems with my internet connection. Oh my gosh, I think I am a internet junkie, as I really missed by friends here. I eat salad often, and have no problems. I know I was concerned about the same thing when I was first banded last August. Like any food, try a little serving at first and chew well. I also try to add some type of Protein to my salad - meat, cheese, eggs- so that I get my alotted amount of protein in for the day. Of course, I only use a small amount of reduced fat dressing, and I buy dark greens instead of iceberg lettuce. The more color in the salad the better it is for you. I love red peppers in my salads. I find that the salads are very filling and very healthy.

Phyl! CONGRATULATIONS!! Hitting the 100# mark is certainly worth celebrating! You should be very proud of your accomplishment. I hope you are wearing that new jewerly now. WAY TO GO!!!

Joann: So glad to hear that your surgery and recovery are going so well. Keep in touch and let us know how your journey goes. Karen

Everything went pretty well. Everyone at the hospital was great! I ended up with an overnight stay because the doc repaired two hernias (surprise to me). Today is August 8th, and I am feeling pretty much just like my old self. A freind stopped by today, and said I looked so good that I looked like I didn't just have surgery. Walking really helped to get rid of the gas, and I found out it is very important to drink lots of fluids. I'll keep you posted. Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes. :tt2:

Don Down 24 pounds, already! That's great!!! Glad to hear that you are doing well.

twirl I was banded in August of this year and the first week or so you have to stick to small sips of liquids. It really does get much better. Yes, I can eat a half sandwich, and apples, etc. The key is chew, chew, chew!!! Hang in there!!

I am thrilled to say that as of this morning, when I weighted myself, I am down #100 pounds. I still have 60 more to lose, but I know that I can do it with the help of the band.

I am doing the happy dance today!! I am thrilled to say, that as of this morning, I am down 100 pounds!!!! I feel so much better that I have in years. I have not been this weight since the 1980's. As you can see from my ticker, I lost some before my surgery on a low carb diet. Good luck on your weight loss journeys to all of you, and have a happy holiday season. I am trying to remember that nothing taste as good a thin feels, for the holidays.

Joann I think you are going to do very well on you weight loss journey. It seems that you have done a good job of planning and preparing. It really helps to have the support of the people around you, as well. I will be thinking about you on Thursday. Please let us know how you did.

Doddie63 Thanks! That's good advise. I am so thrilled to see the family, that the food is only secondary. I love to cook, and this gives me a chance to please all of my thin kids and their thin spouses with some of their favorites. I will send home the fattening stuff with the one that is able to drive here. The other flies in, so that taking home leftovers won't work for him.

Twril I bet everyone here was frighten about having the surgery, and we are all over sixty years old. I was ready to back out about a month before the surgery. Yes, there is a period of two to four weeks when you are on liquids and soft foods; however it is a short time and the beginning of a better way to live. I follow a low carb diet, no refined sugar, no white bread, and no white potatoes or white rice. If I am correct, this is also a good diet for a diabetics. I am not diabetic, but my doctor suggested this diet because I was a confessed carb junkie. I truly do not crave the carbs now, and believe me I did previously. I thought I would never be able to make it with out my soft drinks! Talk to a few surgeons, because only they can really elvaluate your medical condition. I know for myself, I feel much better the more weight I lose.

Don Glad to hear that your surgery went well, and that you are doing well post-op. We are all looking forward to watching your ticker go down.

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, and were able to stay on your meal plans. I am celebrating Thanksgiving one week from today when my son, and my daughter come in from out of town with my three grandsons. So it was easy to stay on the diet yesterday; however, next week will be much harder. I am so close to losing 100 pounds I sure don't want to back slide now.

Welcome Babydear! I hope your surgery went well. Stay in touch. It's fun and a good way to keep on track.

Hi Skittles Welcome back! And, congratualations on you great weight lost! Sounds like we have a lot in common. I am also a widow, and have been for 18 years. I also have bad arthritis in my hands, back, knees, and one ankle. I had my surgery in August and with my pre-op low carb diet I have lost 96 pounds, with at least 69 more to loss. I can hardly believe how good I feel. Sure I still have pain form the arthritis, but it is much better and a lot easier to move less of me around. Sometimes meds for depression make you tired, so you may want to check into that. Keep in touch. I find it really helps me to "chat" with others in a similiar situation.

lkgrubb Hi It's good to hear from you again, and congratulations on the successful weight loss. You are doing awesome! I don't know about you, but I feel like a new person because I have much more energy. Keep up the good work!!!