LindaD

Not banded yet, but we recently tried the KFC Grilled chicken and it was really good. Tasty and juice (I had dark meat) and I think from what I hear that will be acceptable after surgery once I heal and start solid foods. Also, El Pollo Loco is supposed to have really yummy chicken and maybe a few other things that might work. My last thing is the Japanese place at the mall food court... they have wonderful teriyaki chicken and I'd just get it without rice. (I have no idea what else right now, but I think non-breaded chicken will feature pretty big in my future. LOL)

I want to go skinny dipping with my husband somewhere dark and romantic and a little risky. I will buy ALL new underwear and bras... matching sets, cute ones. I know I'll spend a fortune on this. And I'm not sure when I'll get to these, but I want to FLASH at Mardi Gras and I want to sunbathe topless at a beach that allows that. (On good lord, I'm an exhibitionist trapped in a fat chick's body!!!)

I'm from May (scheduled for Friday of this week) and on my pre-op diet. My doctor requires Clear liquids for 2 weeks. Water, diet soda, flavored water, SF Jello, SF popsicles. Nothing else - no Slimfast or Protein shakes or actual food. Just clear liquids. I haven't been perfect the whole time. The first week I was out of the country on a business trip (but I did tell the surgical office this). I have had a small portion of protein each day the last couple days. Today, so far, I've been perfect. It's my intent to follow it to the letter for these last 3 days before surgery. But I'm so hungry.

My surgery is Friday so I'm on the pre-surgical diet which is very restrictive with my surgeon. I'm sooooooooo hungry. Two more days after today... And then the AFTER surgery hunger. LOL

It raises your blood pressure and heart rate.

My date is May 29th - Friday. I'm so excited! Been waiting a long time... To the original poster - there is a forum here dedicated to those being banded in May 2009 - you'll have plenty of company in that forum. Good luck!

OMG, I had to read that one out loud to my husband. :lol: I'm also gratuitously stealing that line "and I didn't stay at the Holiday Inn last night..." so thank you for that. LOL

I'm scheduled for next Friday, so right at the end of the month. That's me, the caboose - bringing up the rear. :lol And speaking of bringing up the rear, I'm hoping that the loss of weight will.... oh, nevermind. :wink2: I'm 35 pounds down before surgery and expect to drop 5-10 more with this no-calorie liquid thing I'm trying to follow. That feels like a good kick-start even before the surgery.

I think it can be either or both, so you'd probably want/need to clarify if unsure in a specific post. My insurance requires a 6 month physician supervised diet and exercise plan. So that is, of course, pre-op. Some people might call that a pre-op diet in that it's pre-op and a diet. LOL I think most of the time, it seems people are taking about the more restrictive eating sanctions that are imposed for 1-2 weeks prior to surgery. For many, it's a liquid diet but also can be a low-carb or a low-calorie. Surgeons seem to vary greatly on this.

My surgery is next week. I travel for business and I think that once I'm able to resume travel, I will always take Protein bars. I don't have too many worries about most of my travel, but I will need to go to India sometime this summer and I know many people struggle with getting sick over there with regard to food/water. I am going to have to be so careful because I just can't afford to be newly banded and sick so far from home. I'm thinking of eating JUST Protein Bars while there, and only bottled Water from reputable labels. I'm a bit worried.

Ideere, Have you talked about what he's feeling to make him act that way? Perhaps he's scared - maybe he's putting up walls because he's terrified that you will lose weight and find someone else. I'm guessing this is quite common. I think the dynamic of an overweight woman and her spouse is interesting. I often wonder if there are studies on it. I mean, it seems a pretty complicated 'balance' and when something like a major weight change happens, it upsets the whole balance. I don't mean that this is true for ALL couples where one is obese. But IF the obesity is a key part of the balance then it's going to make this change very difficult. If he chose you partially because you were obese (maybe he's attracted to that, maybe he thinks it will give him more security because other men won't pursue you, maybe he thinks it will give him more control because you will be insecure and eager to please, etc.) and you no longer are, that is a significant thing. It changes everything for him - in one case, his attraction to you, in another his security around being the "only man" who wants you, and in the last his ability to assert his will onto you. And - conversely - if an obese woman "settled" for a man who is less than she deserves, simply because she thought that was all she could get, then once she loses the weight, watch out. Suddenly, her self-worth goes up, she gains confidence and she re-thinks why she's with this jerk at all. Then the balance of the marriage shifts radically. I'm sorry about what you're going through. I'm merely wondering if his actions toward you are more out of FEAR than ill-intent. Good luck with it all.

I am a believer in low-carb in general. This amount of low carb - 20 to 30 grams a day - is VERY low, very restrictive. Great for quick weight loss and has the advantage of appetite suppression too (no carbs means no insulin released and it's proven that insulin is part of what drives appetite). I recently said that my version of low carb was about 90g a day and someone scoffed and said that's not low carb. But it really is. the USDA recommends 300+ grams a day. Many people eat WAY more than that without realizing it. I think most people aren't aware of how many carbs they are eating. I highly recommend a book called Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. It's not a diet book, it's written by a science journalist who researched the science around obesity and heart disease and such. It talks about what we know as fact and how much of what we think of as fact is just theory. It explores alternate theories (low carb being key) and shares information from many, many studies. It's fascinating. Low carb - SUPER low to quickly see results - can be easily achieved by staying BASIC: eggs and meat. Of course, there are other low-carb foods but if you're doing a short term thing trying to keep ultra-low, just have eggs and meat. Those are effectively no-carb or very low. Once you go beyond that, even in healthy fruits and veggies and add cheeses and dressings, you have to start counting. If you JUST eat meat and eggs, you don't even have anything to count, really. (By the way, when I say meat, I don't mean processed meat.) Thanks for the info in this thread on the liver-shrinking, though. That was a part I didn't know and needed to know. I appreciate it!

You're right in that I'm counting on the band to work as it's meant to. I understand it doesn't always go exactly right. I've been following the LapBand for about 5 years, and it's been over a year since I made my decision and put things in motion. I've been reading on this site for a year, and have read a lot in many other places. I agree that things don't always play out the way they're meant to. For now, I'm counting on things going as expected. I accept that they may not and will deal with that if and when it happens to the best of my ability. Good luck finding the right restriction.

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that concerns around how this all will affect my marriage haven't cropped up in my mind. My husband and I love each other deeply and I would say we have a very strong marriage. He's very supportive of me in this journey. At the same time... it's unknown territory. For example, he loves curvy/big women (me ahem). Now, he loved me 17 years ago when I was a 14/16 too - way smaller than I was when I started this journey. But what if I end up a size 8 and he struggles with the loss of curves or something? What if I get male attention that intoxicates my ego and I mishandle it, lose my level head? What if I'm so focused on my lap-band world, my weight loss, my diet, my support group, my message board, the gym, the pool... what if it becomes and obsession and he feels left out and develops different interests and friendships? What if my libido doesn't come back? What if the fatigue doesn't go away? What if losing the weight doesn't solve the problems I'm hoping it solves? It's scary because it's all unknown. If anyone has advice or suggestions, I'm all ears. I only hope that my husband and I keep the lines of communication open and work through whatever comes our way.

I think my doctor, like many, prescribe a one size fits all solution. I sat in the seminar with people who were 100 and more pounds more than I was. I'm sure there are many who have not worked as hard in the months leading up to surgery, as I have. I don't distrust his surgical skill or his track record. I am questioning the necessity, given that so many doctors don't require anything quite so extreme. If I had a surgeon who said "Eh, eat what you like up until the day before - go crazy!" I'm sure I'd question that too. These appear to be the two extremes. There appears to be a lot of middle ground. From everything I've read, the process AFTER surgery is quite different. I've had open surgery before where my intake was significantly restricted for a period after and I did fine. I'm sure I will do fine here too. I UNDERSTAND the necessity of it after surgery. What I'm questioning is the necessity of it before surgery. Why a ZERO CALORIE routine for 14 days when this seems so uncommon? I'm nearly into the 240s for my weight range and will surely be going into surgery with already having 40+ pounds off my body, not to mention the physical fitness I have worked up to these many weeks. I believe those are important to factor in here and I don't think they are being factored. This 2 weeks of zero calorie liquids is what is asked of EVERY patient, regardless of situation or circumstances. I'm merely questioning other views on it. Thanks for those who are contriubting to my thought process.

Good news - glad to hear happy post op stories!!

Hope all is well and you are healing!! I go next week and have not been informed about any magnesium or such. Is that something that is chosen by some surgeons and not others? My instructions are to follow the all clear liquid diet and then to have NOTHING starting the night before. Good luck on your journey!

Dr. Oz (the dude who is on Oprah) says that an eating routine is good for our bodies. I read that in his book "You on a Diet", I think. My husband is a type-1 diabetic (all his life) and he knows that his blood sugar is stable when he stays consistent. He tries to do the same breakfast and lunch most days, but changes it up for dinner. This repetition is also often recommended in the diabetes circles for good control. However, whatever your pattern is, it should be nutritionally comprehensive, or as close as possible. And of course a multivitamin and such can help supplement. I know it flies in the face of a lot of what we hear out there on nutrition, this approach. It's always difficult for people (even us, ourselves) to feel comfortable when we're doing that. But my view is to question and research - read opinions from those who support and from those who oppose the conventional wisdom. (My own belief is that our experts are still learning an awful lot and so many of the things we've learned or are even currently told are not necessarily FACT... if it doesn't resonate with me, whatever I'm told, I research and question and assess for myself.)

I haven't had surgery yet (next Friday!) but I've been losing for the past few months and I'm 32 pounds down. I've been exercising almost daily and here are my NSV's -- I can see and feel muscular definition! Mostly in my arms and legs, but even in my abs when I do a crunch! I had to move the seat in the car forward. On the recumbent bikes at the gym, my butt fits in the seat now! (Before, it was uncomfortable because the seat has a back that isn't adjustable and so I always felt like I needed to scoot back but could not.) I'm wearing my wedding rings. (That's a big one.) I'm wearing clothing I haven't worn in a very long time, down from 24s to 20s. I even wore my Eddie Bauer size 18 jeans a couple times. I'm sleeping better - I must be snoring less, I think. And no reflux at night lately.

Fen-Phen (or Phen-Fen??) was a combination of phentermine and fenflouramine (sp?). The second one (fenflouramine) has been taken off the market. Phentermine was FDA approved in the US in 1959. I've been using it to help me drop weight before surgery. It's very effective, but everything I read indicates this is only a short term thing. Like most drugs for weight loss, it loses its efficasy over time. When you go off, your appetite (and the weight) will return. For me, the drug is a wonderful way to drop the weight now in order to reduce my surgical risk. But it's the band that will help me keep my appetite at bay and feel full on a reasonable amount for the long run. The pill can't do that.

I started posting on this site over a year ago, when my journey started. I got discouraged at the process, and stopped posting while working through it all. I switched surgeons and things started moving well. I now have a surgery date - May 29th. So... things are moving forward!! Anyway, just wanted to join the May group. I'll be banded late in the month so will look to many of you for what's happening and how you're coping. Thought I'd say HI. I'm Linda. I have 5 daughters, I work full time and travel for my job. Life is busy and hectic and I'm ready to reclaim my health and fitness!! Nice to meet you all.

I'm told Protein first too. Then other veggies. And then hopefully I will feel satisfied and won't choose to eat additional things, even if I CAN tolerate them. To me, this jives with what I believe about nutrition. I believe the focus on carb-laden foods for the past few decades is what has been contributing to the obesity epidemic. So I'm looking forward to going low-carb. I'm not going to count exactly. I will eat from the types of foods that are acceptable (meats, veggies, etc.) and if I have tiny amounts of other stuff, I'm not going to stress over it. I am counting on the Band to help keep my appetite in check. If I have the value of that, I am confident (hopeful?) I can manage to stay fairly low carb with good portion control. I've been doing it for weeks now, using an appetite suppressor (and lots of exercise).

I know it's considered 'bad' to weigh in too often. I too weigh myself every day now. But I don't stress too much about normal fluctuations. Here is what I know about ME -- If I'm not getting on the scale, it's because I'm hiding from the truth. So when I am getting on, it means I'm expecting to be rewarded by the results. It's a good thing when I climb on every day - even if I don't see actual results every day.

My daughters are 4, 7, and 12 (plus 24 and 26) and they all know. My older ones have known for quite awhile that I'm working toward the surgery. Now that it's scheduled, I've told the little ones too. My 7 year old is chubby herself and I know she worries about her own weight. That was the part that was particularly difficult for me. I tell her we just need to be the healthiest we can be and that I love her just the way she is. I worry that she's thinking "Well, then why do YOU need this surgery?" She didn't articulate that, exactly. I told her that once you're a grown up and you have gained SO much weight, it's much, much harder to successfully lose the weight without some help from the doctors, and that's what I'm getting is some help. I told her that if she keeps working with our family to be healthy now and all her life, hopefully she'll never have to face this same problem that Mommy is facing. I've also told them that the experts are learning more and more about proper nutrition and what causes obesity every year. That some of what they used to think ends up being wrong and it is partially because of that bad information that so many people are struggling with obesity now. (I'm referring to the message behind the book Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes as I am a big believer in his hypothesis on nutrition and obesity, etc.) I don't think I said TOO much. I wanted them to feel free to ask questions. My 7 year old asked the most questions. The other two were either "Cool, whatever." or "Can I watch SpongeBob?" so they didn't ask much.

I'm a few days after you - May 29th!