vegasgirl44

losingit! My nutritionist suggested another plan that actually had some real food on it, but since I have to lose 16 lbs and want surgery soon, he suggested I do the liquid protein. And yes, I also got the Isopure fruit drinks yesterday. I bought 3 different flavors, but haven't tried them yet. I know they pack a whopping 40 grams protein per bottle, but I'm worried about actually getting TOO much protein. I'm supposed to have 60 per day. How do you take the Isopure? Straight from the bottle? I heard another lady say that she mixes half a bottle with crystal light or something to that effect. I'm interested in how you and other people balance out their protein. I did stock up on sugar free jello and popsicles for a switch. Thanks!

islandgurl, it sounds as though you are not sure this is something you want. You have to be absolutely certain that this is what you want, or you won't even enjoy the entire process. Let me tell you, I went to my first seminar 10 years ago at 36. I decided I wasn't ready to lose all my hair and give up Coke. Then last year, I scheduled 2 times to go to the seminar and backed out twice because something "more important" came up. Then in December, I visited my family in Oklahoma, and my brother had had surgery last April 07. He had several co-morbidities and weighed about 450 lbs. It probably saved his life. I sat there at 320 and felt like a failure in the room, but still not ready to take the plunge. Then a few weeks ago, I just had that straw that broke the camels back, went to the seminar, and never looked back. And now weeks later, I'm still gung-ho and I won't find out my surgery date until this Tuesday. I went to that seminar ready to have my hair fall out and give up Coke, and then was excited at the prospect of having the LapBand. It felt so right to me. I never felt more sure about anything in my entire life. And that's what you need to feel. That you don't care anymore about what anybody thinks about you but YOU! Because deep inside, it's all about YOU, not anybody else. Your mother has given you a gift. A wonderful gift. If you decide to take the gift, then that is your decision. She is not going to make you take the gift. I know that if I had a daughter, I would do the same thing if I could. She won't stop loving you if you decide not to do it. And, if you decide not to, don't worry. Revisit the idea a little down the road, and in the meantime, go to some support groups. I believe they will help you put things into perspective better for you. By the way, I would not be able to do this if I had not asked my mother to cosign my loan, as I am self pay, a single mother, and just finished school with a $40,000 school loan under my belt. I am so grateful that she will do this for me. Be happy and good luck to you! Bonnie

My nails are acrylic pink and whites and are pretty short. They are attached to my nailbed with what seems like cement, and I will NOT take them off. LOL!

Well, I just had my first protein shake with the Isopure chocolate mix-1 scoop, skim milk, and ice. I'm thinking for lunch, I should add half a banana or some cottage cheese to give it some substance and body. The hard thing is going to be getting down the water. I don't even know my surgery date yet, but I figure it's going to take a while to lose 16 lbs, so I better start now. I can feel caffeine withdrawal on the horizon. :party:

A gentleman in another thread mentioned a book called "Weight Loss with the Adjustable Gastric Band"...I forget who the author is. I was actually going to go out and purchase it myself.

meganmatters, what do you mean you had to take off your nails? Yikes!

I asked my HR lady a few days ago about that. I didn't want to tell her what I was doing either, but I told her that I was going to be having surgery and if I could use my extended illness bank or my paid time off. I would rather use my EIB, since I have tons of hours built up and it's never really used unless you are out sick for a while. Anyway, she said as long as I am an inpatient as opposed to being an OUTpatient, admitted overnight, then my EIB would pay after 5 days. Honestly, if I take 5 days off, I'm still confused as to where the days would come from. And is it up to the doctor to tell you how long to take off? I guess I will find out on Tuesday when I go for my surgeon consultation and find out my surgery date. By the way, I am self pay.

OMG! Emily, I want to know how you are doing. What are you drinking exactly for your preop? It's been several hours since you posted. I start my liquid protein diet tomorrow. It almost sounds like you have some other issue going on. Either that or you are horribly constipated. Any news yet?

Hi, I'm just like you! We could almost be band buddies. I will find out Tuesday when my surgery is and I have to lose 5% of my body weight, which is 16 lbs. So, tomorrow, I'm starting my liquid diet. I've stocked up on all kinds of goodies (:biggrin:) for the start of my diet. I've got Isopure in Dutch Chocolate, as well as the Flavored protein drinks. I've ordered some of those Whey protein bullets I've heard so much about, as well as some vanilla and cappucino protein mix isolate. I've also got myself covered in the sugar free jello and popsicle department. I'm psyched up and ready to go! My dietician recommended I start soon, so I am. I'm hoping that I can surgery the first couple days of August. Let's keep in touch. Bonnie:wink_smile:

Tracy, I know, I spent a long time too. It was very annoying to create this sparkly banner and then not be able to paste. I know that for the ticker, there was different keys to use depending on where you were going to put it, but on this site I used, there was only one choice. But I know other people on this site used Sparklee.com also and it worked for them, so what the heck? I'm just not that computer savvy, I guess. LOL!

OK, I give up! It's just a bunch of words. Crap! I'm hopeless at technology. But I thought it looked pretty cool and I'm glad everyone likes the name August All-Stars! Yeah!

Hi All, I went to Sparklee.com and created a pretty cool banner, but for some reason, I can't paste it onto my signature without it showing that there's an error and too long. I'm going to try to paste it here. If it shows up and you all like it, then we can see how to paste it or re-create it. If it shows up and everyone hates it or thinks it needs tweaking, feel free, I'm new at this. If it just shows up as a bunch of words and symbols, just forget I posted this message. LOL! <a href="http://www.sparklee.com"><img src="http://img701.mytextgraphics.com/sparklee/2008/07/12/b389c5db2c0ccc697471c8fa9fcb5406.gif" border="0" alt="free logo - Free Glitter Text Words Generator | MySpace Glitter Text Word Name Graphics Maker | Cute Happy Birthday Comments | SparkLee.com" /></a><br /><br /><a href='http://astore.amazon.com/buy.nintendo.ds.lite-20'>Pink Nintendo DS Lite</a><img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/CIMP/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTU4OTI4MDgwMTcmcHQ9MTIxNTg5MzUxNTIxNCZwPTc*MzIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.jpg" />

clayverde! thanks for the response. All the posts I've seen and I've never heard of Nectar. I'm going to check it out. I did order the protein bullets in fruit punch and I'm looking forward to trying those. And I never would have thought about the milk idea. Ordinarily, I would never drink milk alone like that without a dozen cookies to go with it (LOL!), but I'll try that. I do agree with the ice and straw thing. I'm a big crushed ice, blender and straw person. I'm just feeling so overwhelmed with all the different types of protein mixes out there and ways to mix them up. So, thanks for the ideas!

happy days! That is fabulous! How much water are you able to drink a day, are you exercising, and what drink are you using---if you don't mind me asking? And thanks for the reply!

I am supposed to lose 16 lbs before my surgery, which should be scheduled when I go to my consultation this Tuesday. My nutritionist put me on 3 protein shakes a day, with a salad (or should I say lettuce leaves only). NOT Slimfast. Must be at least 20 grams protein, and no more than 150 calories and 5 carbs per drink. He suggested the GNC whey protein mix. Does anybody have any good ideas for which is the best tasting mix and what does it mix best with? I did order the whey protein bullets online yesterday, so waiting for those to come in. Also, I weigh 320 at 5'7"....how long do you think it will take me to lose 16 lbs drinking 3 shakes a day like that? Any ideas?:confused2:

Tally, that is the reason for the weight loss before surgery. Apparently, the liver is the first thing to get fat and the first thing to slim down when you lose weight. Hence, the reason for the pre-op weight loss. Plus, I think it's just a good thing for healing purposes and to get in the right mind set. I'm starting my liquid pre-op diet on Sunday. My doc requires a 5% weight loss prior to surgery. That's 16 lbs. I have no idea how long it will take to lose that much on liquid protein. I'm guessing 3 weeks?

I love the idea of the stars with the All-Stars. I think keeping it simple and fun is a good idea. Yeah!

I used to work for ARDENT. HeeHee!

Thank you. I figured it out FINALLY! It seemed really easy, so I don't understand what I was doing to begin with. LOL!

Just wondering. Do any of you guys have a history of DVT or pulmonary emboli, or any co-morbidiities that would require these injections? Now you have me curious! LOL!

Yes! Take pictures! And something else I found in another thread somewhere. Take precise body measurements, probably fully naked. Because when you are stuck on a plateau for who knows how long (and many people do) and get discouraged, you will need that encouragement of lost inches to keep you motivated and excited. So, measure, measure, measure!

faithmd, I just bought that Oster attachment mini-blender thing. It cost me $13. Have you used it yet? I've had the Oster for a while, was looking for something like the MajicBullet, and saw the Oster thing. Do you like it?

edel, when you figure out how to do the ticker, let me know. both my boyfriend and i spent a long time trying to figure it out. i've done it before, so i don't know what's wrong. Boohoo!

MoonandStarzz, It's hard to tell from the post, but you almost sound a little upset at the fact that there will be a vote. I'm sure everyone thinks your banner is delightful, which it is, but it's got YOUR name on it. Are you implying that we should all have a banner like yours? Why can't a name be picked for the group and STILL have the name banner? And then you say that you haven't shown the other "siggy" yet. Are you afraid that someone will steal your idea? Why don't you share with the group? My opinion is that you don't want to be part of the group and you want to be your own entity and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But many people. from what I can tell of the site, like the idea of a fun name. My suggestion is to the majority....pick a name you like. If moonandstarzz feels like sharing, so be it.

I think I suggested this in another thread somewhere. I'm not sure if my surgery will be July or August yet. Will find out next Tuesday.