EricaLyn

I haven't been banded yet, but I've put myself on a pre-surgery diet. So far I've lost 25 pounds and my body is totally not reacting the same way it used to when I'd lose weight. My stomach especially is acting goofy. I'm losing it in the upper stomach, but not at my waist (weird). My calves are going down, but not my thighs (again, weird for me) and my arms are going down (which they never did before). I think it's age! LOL I figure our bodies are just going to do it their way and we just have to work it. I'm a firm believer that our weight shifts. The last time I lost a lot of weight (10 years ago I lost 100 lbs), there were days when my stomach was out further than my boobs, then the next day, the stomach would be flatter and I'd be busty again. My family thought it was hilarious. Hang in there. Losing weight puts us in an awkward place - we're learning (and listening) to our bodies for the first time in a long time!

Ahhhh I see. I understand. Thanks for clarifying. As for the other posts about depriving ourselves...I agree, to a point. I am literally at the stage in my life/health that if I don't get this weight off, I'm not going to live. HPB, Type II Diabetes, Jacked Up Thyroid, Aching Knees/Back/Hips/Shoulders/Feet are taking their toll. I figure depriving myself of cake, pizza, Cookies, chips, fast food, soft drinks, etc. is the least I can do for myself, my husband, my family. I KNOW I'll be able to eat what I want in moderation after being banded, but I really try to take the stance that this isn't vanity, this isn't so I can be a hottie (which would be nice) this is about life or death. I want to be around for a long time (I'm only 37!) and this weight is such a monkey on my back. I get so ticked off when I think of all the wasted years! When I think about all the things I've bowed out of, declined, didn't do, hid from because of this freakin' weight. I'm sick of it. I want it gone. And if that means I have to stop eating pizza, fried rice and cream cheese (God, I love cheese!) for awhile (or forever - gasp!) then so be it. I'm so sick of my fat. Geesh! :tt1: This stuff is coming off!!!

My surgeon said it's because the instrument they use to insert the lapband isn't that big and isn't that strong. If you have a big, heavy liver in the way, they can't lift it with the little instrument. He said he has many times not been able to do the surgery because he gets in there and the liver is too big/heavy. They have to reschedule the surgery until the patient shrinks down their liver.

My wedding ring! It's spinning around my finger! It had gotten to the point where it was digging into my skin and making it red and it hurt! Now I'm sitting here typing and it keeps falling to the side. Oooo, I'm giggling!!

What I've done is get rid of everything I can't have after the surgery. Might as well start now. I had to tell myself why would I want to indulge myself now when in just a few short months I won't be able to. And why put on additional weight now when you'll just have to take it off? That's only making life harder. Also, I stopped by new clothes as well. I told myself that the last few shirts I bought for work were my last 26/28 and it was such a great feeling! I'm very concerned about shrinking my liver before surgery so I've been on my pre-surgery diet for two weeks now - basically six weeks early (I'm supposed to start it three weeks prior). I've lost 15 pounds and I feel great! The desire is still there sometimes to raid the kitchen (like last night), but I just kept drinking my Crystal Light iced tea and kept telling myself that I can do this!! You can do this too! You're having MAJOR surgery to help yourself. Don't sabotage yourself at the starting gate! We can do this together!

What does being a self-pay or insurance covered have to do with preparing for surgery? I don't get it. Shouldn't you prepare either way?

The reason for the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. A few bites of food isn't going to wreck the day. If you've restricted yourself from fatty foods you're doing a great job! Shrinking the liver is the number one goal and if you've been mostly on liquids (which it sounds like you have) you're doing great! Congratulations on the 17.5 - wow! You go girl!

Stressing out about your boo boo is only going to make it worse. Stress causes weight gain (I have a huge tummy to show for that!), so forgive yourself and move on. Drink a lot of Water, go for a walk, just have some broth for your meals until your appointment and you should be fine. You can do this!!

I weighed this morning and I'm below 300!! Thank you, God! 299 and shrinking! Wahoo!!

I weighed this morning and I'm below 300!! Thank you, God! 299 and shrinking! Wahoo!!

Okay. First off. Congrats on losing 14 pounds in a week! WOW! As for gaining weight (1 lb!), it might be your body's way of keeping itself in check. You lost 14 pounds in a week - a one pound weight gain isn't bad. When I've lost a lot of weight quickly sometimes my body has to regain its composure. Maybe it's that time of the month? A little water weight gain? Just a thought. I'm still floored by a 14 pound weight loss in a week. Rock on.

I've started my pre-surgery diet a wee bit early. I'm supposed to start it 3 weeks prior, but I've started it about 6 weeks early. I've lost 12 pounds so far and I feel great! I'm a bit hungry, but that's okay. Nothing tastes as good as thin feels, right?! My pre-surgery diet, from my nutritionist, is a Slim Fast shake for breakfast, a Lean Cuisine for lunch and a Lean Cuisine for dinner (or variations on that theme). I can have Jell-O pudding (low/no sugar) and low-fat yogurt as a snack. Plus I have a no sugar fruit popsicle for dessert. I'm drinking a TON of water and Crystal Light Iced Tea every day. I'm constantly in the bathroom, but that's okay. I get a lot of exercise getting up from my desk and walking down the hall. I'm eating apples and bananas too and every now and then I eat a salad (with regular dressing - gasp/horror!). I can't go completely off the deep end! LOL Basically, I've stopped drinking diet soda and eating out. I'm limiting my carbs (no bread, rice, potatoes, tortilla's) and cheese intake (sigh - I miss cheese). My goal is to lose 10-15 pounds before my May 13th surgery (found out today at my pre-anestesia appointment that my surgery was bumped up by two days! I'm at 300 now (ugh), but the realization that soon I'll have a "2" as my starting number of my weight has me giddy. The other realization is that I'll never, ever be over 300 lbs again. Oh my god...I could cry. I am so happy.

I've started my pre-surgery diet a wee bit early. I'm supposed to start it 3 weeks prior, but I've started it about 6 weeks early. I've lost 12 pounds so far and I feel great! I'm a bit hungry, but that's okay. Nothing tastes as good as thin feels, right?! My pre-surgery diet, from my nutritionist, is a Slim Fast shake for breakfast, a Lean Cuisine for lunch and a Lean Cuisine for dinner (or variations on that theme). I can have Jell-O pudding (low/no sugar) and low-fat yogurt as a snack. Plus I have a no sugar fruit popsicle for dessert. I'm drinking a TON of water and Crystal Light Iced Tea every day. I'm constantly in the bathroom, but that's okay. I get a lot of exercise getting up from my desk and walking down the hall. I'm eating apples and bananas too and every now and then I eat a salad (with regular dressing - gasp/horror!). I can't go completely off the deep end! LOL Basically, I've stopped drinking diet soda and eating out. I'm limiting my carbs (no bread, rice, potatoes, tortilla's) and cheese intake (sigh - I miss cheese). My goal is to lose 10-15 pounds before my May 13th surgery (found out today at my pre-anestesia appointment that my surgery was bumped up by two days! I'm at 300 now (ugh), but the realization that soon I'll have a "2" as my starting number of my weight has me giddy. The other realization is that I'll never, ever be over 300 lbs again. Oh my god...I could cry. I am so happy.

My story...well, let's see. I'm 37 and I've been "fat" in my head since I was 5 years old. I was actually overweight starting when I was 12 - it took me from 5 to 12 to become what I envisioned in my head. I was 5 years old when my Grandma took me to Sears. I remember holding her hand and standing at the very tall sales counter and hearing my Grandma, with disdain in her voice, ask for the "chubby girl department". I remember the sales clerk looking over the counter and down at me and hearing her say, "I'm sorry, we only have a Husky Boy Department". I looked around looking for the chubby girl and then realized it was me. Up until then, I was tall for my age, but not overweight. I was crushed by my Grandma's opinion of me and really took her comment to heart. In school I was teased for my height and some kids did say I was fat because of my height (I still don't get the logistics of that). I gradually grew into the girl I saw in my head - an overweight person. Despite my mom's warnings to not play my "negative tapes" I did so constantly and eventually grew into an overweight teen. I've tried many, many times throughout my life to lose weight. I've been quite successful at times, losing 50 lbs on many occasions and at one time losing over 100 lbs. I exercised to the point of exhaustion (and fainting at one point) and resticted my calories to 500 per day (on the recommendation of a nutritionist). I'm excited and hopeful that the lapband surgery will be a great starting point for my final weight loss attempt. I know it won't be easy and the road ahead is long, but I'm ready now. I'm looking forward to returning to the opinion I held of myself before that fateful day at Sears when I was 5 years old. I was accepted, life was good and I wasn't body conscious. My Goals: 1. No more wondering if the booths are extra wide or if they can seat me at a table instead of a booth 2. Wearing jeans that don't have an elastic waist - bring on the button and zipper 3. Climbing the stairs from my parking spot on B level up to my 3rd floor office (that's about 5 floors) 4. Easily putting on my seatbelt on an airplane 5. Being okay with the middle seat on an airplane 6. Not having the person sitting next to me on the airplane have their arms resting on my rolls (I have airplane issues!) 7. Wanting to have my photo taken 8. Buy clothes in the Misses Department 9. Losing my pooch (second stomach!) 10. No more back fat 11. Pretty bras - not sturdy bras 12. To be promoted & taken as seriously as the skinny dimwits in my office 13. To not be the fattest person in the room any longer 14. To fit into my husbands race car and not have to say, "uhhh, no thanks" and watch his face crumble 15. To run and play and be around for a long time for my new nephew I'm sure my list will grow!

My story...well, let's see. I'm 37 and I've been "fat" in my head since I was 5 years old. I was actually overweight starting when I was 12 - it took me from 5 to 12 to become what I envisioned in my head. I was 5 years old when my Grandma took me to Sears. I remember holding her hand and standing at the very tall sales counter and hearing my Grandma, with disdain in her voice, ask for the "chubby girl department". I remember the sales clerk looking over the counter and down at me and hearing her say, "I'm sorry, we only have a Husky Boy Department". I looked around looking for the chubby girl and then realized it was me. Up until then, I was tall for my age, but not overweight. I was crushed by my Grandma's opinion of me and really took her comment to heart. In school I was teased for my height and some kids did say I was fat because of my height (I still don't get the logistics of that). I gradually grew into the girl I saw in my head - an overweight person. Despite my mom's warnings to not play my "negative tapes" I did so constantly and eventually grew into an overweight teen. I've tried many, many times throughout my life to lose weight. I've been quite successful at times, losing 50 lbs on many occasions and at one time losing over 100 lbs. I exercised to the point of exhaustion (and fainting at one point) and resticted my calories to 500 per day (on the recommendation of a nutritionist). I'm excited and hopeful that the lapband surgery will be a great starting point for my final weight loss attempt. I know it won't be easy and the road ahead is long, but I'm ready now. I'm looking forward to returning to the opinion I held of myself before that fateful day at Sears when I was 5 years old. I was accepted, life was good and I wasn't body conscious. My Goals: 1. No more wondering if the booths are extra wide or if they can seat me at a table instead of a booth 2. Wearing jeans that don't have an elastic waist - bring on the button and zipper 3. Climbing the stairs from my parking spot on B level up to my 3rd floor office (that's about 5 floors) 4. Easily putting on my seatbelt on an airplane 5. Being okay with the middle seat on an airplane 6. Not having the person sitting next to me on the airplane have their arms resting on my rolls (I have airplane issues!) 7. Wanting to have my photo taken 8. Buy clothes in the Misses Department 9. Losing my pooch (second stomach!) 10. No more back fat 11. Pretty bras - not sturdy bras 12. To be promoted & taken as seriously as the skinny dimwits in my office 13. To not be the fattest person in the room any longer 14. To fit into my husbands race car and not have to say, "uhhh, no thanks" and watch his face crumble 15. To run and play and be around for a long time for my new nephew I'm sure my list will grow!

I've done Curves and Water aerobics. My vote is for water aerobics. I got toned FAST and the weight kept coming off (I had hit a plateau). Curves was great, but the hours never worked well for me and there was never a spot in the parking lot, which translated into there wasn't a spot available in "the circle". This thread has renewed my desire to get into water aerobics again. I'm off to call my local Y!

I carry the majority of my weight in my stomach. At my heaviest I was a 28 on top and 10 on the bottom - a tomato on toothpicks! I know this probably sounds moronic, but hey, it works for my sister and for me! Do twists. I stand in front of my TV and twist. Not my lower body, but my upper body. Suck your stomach in and twist. I'll do like 50 twists at a time and try to get in at least 200. Some days are better than others. It's amazing how effective it is. You can do it anywhere - in the elevator (when you're alone!), in your office, bedroom, etc. Sometimes I try to do it again just before I go to bed. My husband is in the shower and I'm twisting. He doesn't know I do it - if he did he'd probably call me Chubby Checkers. LOL Anyway, that's my two cents!

I too am a fast eater. My entire life people constantly say, "slow down!". Grrr. I hate that. I've been trying to take smaller bites and to slow down. I haven't mastered the not drinking while eating task though. I think I just need to not pour myself a glass of Water or iced tea when it's time to eat. That may cure it. Also, I guess I'll have to ask the waiter/waitress to remove my water glass before the meal. Remove all temptation.

My final straw came when I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. I've had extremely high blood pressure since I was 22 (I'm 37) and I've been medicated out the wazoo for it. At the same time I was diagnosed diabetic I was told I have a slow thyroid so now I'm on HBP, Diabetes and thyroid medicine. Somehow I could live with the HBP, but the diabetes diagnosis corked it for me. A few years ago my PCP (who's also like 130 lbs) asked me if I'd considered Gastric Bypass. I burst into tears. At the time I'd lost 100 lbs and I felt like a complete and total failure. I too thought I could lose it on my own. My last attempt was Medifast. I lost 30 lbs, got sick and was diagnosed with a white blood cell issue (now resolved) so I had to go off the diet and promptly gained back the 30 lbs, plus 20 lbs more. Right on. Crap. While I didn't want Gastric Bypass (not interested in rearranging my interior), LapBand seemed doable. I figured I could live with it, even though my eating habits and life would completely change. It took me almost three years to make the decision, but like I said, last year when I was diagnosed with diabetes I knew what I had to do. I have a peace about it because I want to live. I was married almost two years ago and the thought of not being here on earth to spend time with the love of my life breaks my heart. I can't leave him alone. I have to do this for me. For him. For my nephew who was just born. For my family. I'm so very tired of being fat. Of wondering if I can get the seatbelt to buckle on the plane, of wondering if I'll fit on the ride at Disneyland, of opting out of rides because the bar comes down too tight on my stomach, of the elastic and not button/zipper jeans, of asking, "Do you have a table - we don't want a booth" at a restaurant, etc. etc. etc. Unlike you, I rely on my faith and prayer. I can't speak for you obviously, but I know that this is the right thing to do. My insurance company is a stinker and they approved my surgery the first time around. I feel I've been blessed with an awesome doctor at my PCP's hospital, a team of nurses and a surgeon who doesn't judge and who has been supportive and caring and a PCP who feels that this will prolong and probably save my life. I feel this path I'm taking is an answer to prayer. So many tears have been shed, so many prayers have been prayed asking for guidance, help, support, acceptance. I feel this is an answer to prayer - the answer that I need. My body hangs on to fat. My mind hangs on to fat. I know more than anything else, I need to let go of my "negative tapes", as my mother calls them, and to start playing more positive, loving tapes. It's an emotional time. So much is wrapped up in our weight and self image. There are days I don't even look in the mirror. That has to end. I'm scheduled for my pre-op appointment tomorrow and on May 15th I'm banded. I know it's not a cure-all. I know I'll have to bust my butt to get this weight off, but I believe that in the process of trying to lose it, I'll be shedding the old girl and watching the new woman come alive. I think she was there all along. Just waiting to get out. I hope you make the decision that is right for you. I believe we know our bodies best and that only we know what is right for us. Everyone's story is different - I'm hopeful I'll lose weight like crazy after being banded - if I don't - that's okay. My body will react the way it was created - the way it was meant to react. I'm looking forward to the new me. I hope you find the new you too. Whatever path you take! Take care!

I'm not telling anyone at my office. I told them that I needed to have a minor surgery. Period. End of story. I'm not going to deal with my co-workers asking me a zillion questions or the daily judging. I know I will be losing a lot of weight, but with the Lapband, it'll come off slowly, so for all they know, I'm just dieting (which I am!). It's personal. My work isn't an extension of my life, therefore they don't need to know about my life.

I live in Kirkland, Washington and work in Seattle, Washington.

After reading all these posts (I haven't been banded yet) the thought comes to mind that weight loss is a freakin' hard thing to do. In saying that, it's a struggle. I'm not expecting a magic cure (although if it were offered I'd take it!), but I know that it will still take an incredible amount of will power to get this weight off. About 10 years ago I lost 100 lbs with diet and exercise. It was SOOOO hard! I had to push myself every day and it was never easy. I'm gearing up for the same thing. I have to do this to save my life. If that doesn't put the burning urge in you, nothing will. Screw the tuna fish sandwiches, pizza, ice cream and pie...death is not an option. I've been trying to walk again and it's horrible. I go for 20 minutes and then come back home. BUT...I'm out there huffin' and puffin' all the way. As I was coming back home yesterday after my walk I was pretty down on myself for being such a slow poke and it's like God said, "I know it's hard". Wow. Okay. It's hard. So what. Most things in life that are worthwhile are hard. Then the thought hit me - I'm out there very overweight and I'm still walking. Okay. And then another thought - it's like I'm a normal weight person carrying two 50 lb bags of dogfood (the other 30 lbs are divided between my legs dragging 15 lbs of dogfood - lol). Imagine going for a walk carrying huge bags of dogfood. That's crazy! When I put it into perspective I felt pretty proud of myself. We can do this. The weight might not fly off, but it didn't fly on either. Hang in there. Keep the faith. =)

I live in Kirkland, WA. I work in downtown Seattle though. You're going to Mexico for your surgery? How exciting!

Question - is having pudding bad? I'm confused by that statement. Thanks.

What type of protein shake do you use? What would you recommend? I have surgery coming up on May 15th. Thanks.