bassriley

For me, I tried to go ahead and focus on eating the foods that I knew that I would need to eat after surgery-lean Proteins, whole grains, etc. I didn't worry at all about portions as I knew that they would pretty much take care of themselves post op, I just focused on eating the right foods. Except for the night before starting Optifast. That night, I had pizza, wings, beer, and ice cream. Since then, I have had an occasional slice (I can't believe I'm full after one slice) of either cheese or chicken pizza. No wings or beer or ice cream since surgery. Optifast is good, bad, and ugly. The good-I lost almost 20 pounds in the two weeks leading up to surgery. I was very good at being compliant with Optifast. No cheating at all. The bad-it tastes terrible, for the most part. The vanilla shake in my opinion was the best, and the tomato Soup was tolerable. When you're in the middle of it tasting so bad, remind yourself-it's only 2 weeks, it's only 2 weeks. In the middle of it, it can seem like forever, but keep telling yourself that it's only for a very short period of time. The ugly-my bowels. I don't know if I'm typical or not, but my bowels did some really funky things during the Optifast period. I don't say all of this to scare you about Optifast, or to try to talk you out of it, because I'm honestly very happy that I did Optifast. But it's important to be prepared for what it's like. Make sure that you have support, that the people around you won't try to sabotage you, and that you keep telling yourself "It's only 2 weeks." Now that I'm down 78 pounds, there is no doubt in my mind that all of the hard parts of this process were well worth it. Just keep focused on the end result. Good luck!

Thanks for asking this. I quit smoking in January in anticipation of this surgery, and since January I hadn't had a single cigarette until after surgery. Since my surgery 3 months ago, I have had probably half a dozen cigarettes. I know, I shouldn't, but periodically I just fall off the wagon. I hadn't heard about a connection between erosion and nicotine, but that is perhaps sufficiently alarming to keep me from picking up another cigarette. I hope so, anyway.

Wow, being a chef must be tough. Good luck!

Welcome Jon. Where are you having your surgery? I live in South Jersey and had mine done at Christiana in Newark, DE. I'd imagine you're having yours done in Philly? Anyway, congratulations and welcome. Keep us posted. It's a great decision. Go Phils! Bryan

Before surgery I was on the Optifast liquid diet for two weeks. Awful stuff that did all kinds of weird things to my bowels. But I lost 19 pounds in those two weeks. I have to say that my opinion of all the pre-op requirements has changed since I've had my surgery. My insurance company required a six month structured program to get ready for surgery. I was at first really annoyed by it and thought it was a waste of time. But I have to say that looking back it really did help me to make sure I was ready to make all of the changes that I had to make so that the band could work for me. So for me it was worth it. I hope it is for all of you as well.

Tonight's a bit of a celebration. First time since surgery I've had any alcohol. One glass (five ounces) of cabernet. 100 calories, more or less. Tastes good.

Hey Goat. Welcome. I think most of us ask "what have I done" at one point or another. My first words in the recovery room after surgery were, "Oh sh*t, I can't get out of this now." But now seven weeks out I know that it was the best decision I could have made and have no regrets. Hopefully you'll have the same results. Good luck! Bryan

Beer was the hardest part of this whole thing for me. I REALLY miss beer. But not as much as I miss the 62 pounds I've lost so far. The Phillies are going to the World Series, and I'm going to have to watch them without a single beer. Not easy. But worth it.

I agree with Bruce. I don't go to meetings for two reasons. First, the meetings in my area are on Saturdays, and that's family time for me. Second, I'm not interested in a group of women talking about their weight. For me, the Men's Room is my support group, and it works pretty well. Keep us posted about how you're doing. Bryan

I had my first fill about a week ago (4 cc's), and it made a big difference for me in terms of managing portions, etc. So definite ask for a fill. Hopefully it will help. Good luck! Bryan

Beer was one of the hardest parts of deciding to have this surgery for me. I'm a homebrewer, so beer is an important part of my life. In fact it was almost two years after the first time I saw a surgeon that I finally decided to have the surgery-all because of beer. Now that I'm 60 pounds below my starting weight, I definitely think it's worth it, but it is a hard choice. Good luck!

This morning I ran a mile-hadn't run since college (now 17 years ago). So, I'm thinking I'll join you in this training.

I was also very impatient. But I will say, looking back I'm glad I had the time it took to get ready for the surgery-I needed the time to really be ready. Keep in mind-you've got the rest of your life-a few months won't make a huge difference. But it is hard to wait. I'm having my first fill tomorrow, so I'm excited to see if I start to feel some restriction!

As in, I've lost enough weight to have lost her. Today I hit 55 pounds lost, which is how much my seven year old weighs. Puts weight loss in perspective when I look at her and imagine carrying her around with me all the time. No wonder I was so damn tired. My blood pressure is completely normal now without medicine, and I feel better than I've felt in years. Of course, it's also great at work now that people are starting to notice my weight loss and make comments. Wow-this was the best decision I've ever made!

The more I talk to people on this boards, the more I realize that my surgeon must be exceptionally cautious. Both caffeine and alcohol are on his "never again" list. I gave up my 5-7 cup of coffee per day habit about two months before surgery, and now four weeks past surgery I still haven't had any. I also haven't had a drink of alcohol since the second week of August. Having said that, I don't anticipate being a tee-totaller on either caffeine or alcohol. I won't be drinking either in excess, but I can't accept that I can never have these things again. Having said this, the one thing that is nice is not feeling like I have to have coffee first thing in the morning. It's nice to know that I can survive without it, which I didn't necessarily feel was the case before I gave up caffeine.

Congrats. You look fantastic. Gotta be a good feeling. It's inspiring to see people make it.

One of the things I find most surprising is how much variation there is with the advice given by various doctors. Some (like mine and, maybe like yours) seem overly cautious almost to a fault while others sometimes seem (to me) almost not cautious at all.

I've been on a liquid diet for five weeks now (2 weeks pre-op and now 3 weeks post-op). During that time, I've been routinely consuming no more than 1000 calories per day-often a lot less than 1000 calories. For four weeks, I was losing weight like mad, and now in the past week my weight loss has pretty much stopped. I've been reading various places that after a little bit of time on very low calories, you're body lowers metabolism to preserve energy which stalls weight loss. The problem is, I'm finding it hard to increase my calories much on a liquid diet without blowing all of the rules and having high calorie liquids. So, these are my questions: When you were on the liquid phase, how many calories did you typically get per day in liquids? How do I increase my calorie intake without blowing all of the rules that they taught me during my pre-op work with the dietician? Thanks, Bryan

Something I've recently discovered that may be of interest for any of you who, like me, love margaritas. You can order surgar free, zero calorie drink mixers at www.bajabob.com. They are made with Splenda, so they're probably pretty good. 1 jigger of tequila=70-80 calories, so you got an 80 calorie margarita. Not bad.:rolleyes2:

My surgeon told me that I could never have a drink again, period. I've read enough about banding to know that while this may be his opinion it is not the generally held opinion (even the Lap Band web site says that an occasional drink is no problem). I have pretty much accepted that beer is a thing of the past, which was a big hurdle for me because I'm a home brewer, but with the carbonation it wouldn't be good for the band. But wine or liquour in moderation I don't anticipate being a problem. However, I'm now 3 weeks out and haven't had anything and don't know when I will have a drink again. The big thing for me that I'm worried about is the calories in alcohol.

I'm actually amazed that you guys are eating all this stuff so quickly. Two weeks out I'm still on full liquids, and will be on full liquids for two more weeks. Then I'll be on purees for two weeks. So I'll be six weeks post op before I begin any solid foods at all. Maybe my surgeon is overly cautious? Bryan

Your feelings are normal. I think that all of us struggle with the "I'm a failure" piece when we decide to have surgery. For me, I was able to reframe my thinking to realize that far from being a failure, I was being proactive and choosing to make a difference in my life and health. Whether to have surgery or not is a decision only you can make, and you have to be prepared for the major life changes that are involved. For me, I can tell you that I'm two weeks out from surgery, and I think it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. But it took a lot of emotional, mental, psychological, and spiritual work to be able to make the decision. It also was almost two years from the time I first started considering surgery to the time when I was finally able to decide to have it done. I would suggest that you find a good therapist to help you with the emotional work that is involved in this (if you don't already have one), because truly it is an emotional ride. Good luck-I hope you make the right decision for you. Bryan

Voted-hot pic. Good luck.

I'm the Director of Pastoral Care at a pediatric hospital in Delaware. I also have a private psychotherapy practice. My most important job, though, is I'm dad to two beautiful little girls.

Hey guys, So, today has been one week since my surgery and 3 weeks since I started my liquid Optifast diet to get ready for surgery. In the 3 weeks since I started the liquid diet, I'm down 29 pounds. I also had lost 10 pounds prior to starting Optifast by trying to make some of the changes recommended by the dietitian, which means I'm down 39 pounds from my all time high wait from July of 304 pounds. I'm no longer using my CPAP machine, and I'm no longer morbidly obese. I know that I still have a long road ahead of me, but right now I feel like I am envisioning a life that I truly never thought I would have again. I'm actually even thinking of trying to train to run a marathon-eventually. It only gets better from here! Thanks for letting me brag. Bryan:thumbup: