mindwing

I am just starting also, and my surgeon requires the 6 month diet. I don't think Medicare requires it, but it is still needed. :crying: I actually have lost 25 pounds during the last 7 months, but I wasn't going to the doctor every month. I have mamaged to go see my pcp every month for the last three months, so I am hoping that fills the requirement. The visit this month will be the one to request the surgery, I have a list of requred tests for the surgery, and hope to get most of them ordered by my pcp as soon as possible. Most of them need to be done anyhow, as it has been years since I had them. I am hoping some on the list won't be needed.:cursing: I am currently drinking Protein shakes twice a day and having Soup for the third meal. My Snacks are the current issue, though most days they are yogurt or string cheese, or fresh fruit. Sometimes I have Cookies or candy, though. I am working through that and by the time I'm ready for the surgery I hope to have those gone also.:thumbup: I am looking up great recipes to try- some real gourmet stuff. Good Soups and vegetable drinks. I plan on enjoying the small amount of food I will get to eat. It helps with the head hunger, too.:thumbdown: mindwing:shades_smile: Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

Wondering how everyone is doing so far. I am doing fairly well, but I'm not trying the caloric restriction some are trying. I have several months to wait before banding--like maybe 6 or more. I did blow it totally yesterday because my husband and I went out to eat. It was the first time we have gone out in about 8 months-- maybe more. It felt great. Today we are again pigging out on a pizza. But tommorrow I put on the brakes again, and will go on a liquid diet for one week. Then I will return to eating like a bandster again. I still have not seen the surgeon, but in two weeks I will meet with my pcp and he will write the letter of reccommendation. I feel like the ladies in the comercial that stand outside the stor going "Open, open." I want it to happen yesterday. But I need to be patient. mindwing

This site has directions for eating after you have recovered. Susan Maria's Basic Bariatric Eating Plan - Susan Maria's Before & After Help Other places on her site talk about the liquid diet. She also wrote a book called "Before and After" which deals with all kinds of bariatric surgery, including the lap-band. There are lots of recipes, also. Her site isn't as handy for bandsters as this one because so many of the people posting had other types of bariatric surgery. But the dietary info is good. mindwing:shades_smile:

I found the EAS whey on Amazon.com for about $42. They carry an unflavored EAS Protein that runs around $37 for 5 or 6 pounds. They also have a great selection of DaVinci's sugar free syrups.:embaressed_smile: They deliver quickly, also. I also found daVinci's sugar free syrups at bodybuilding.com - and it was like $1 cheaper per bottle. They also carry a protein named BSB (?) Dessert that cost around $15. I bought the chocolate coconut and use it as a treat once or twice a week. It is really tasty. Next month I will buy two more flavors.:cursing: These guys deliver even faster than Amazon.com. I got my box 4 days after giving the order, with regular shipping. mindwing:shades_smile:

Kathleen, Your diet sounds good to me. I wonder if your headache is from stopping caffeine. Did you stop sodas or coffe? Those headaches are horrid, but go away in a few days. I always just had a small amount of soda or tea every time the headache came and in a week they were gone.:tongue2: Another tjhing is you might not be getting enough Protein. I am trying for over 100 gms of protein a day so I can build muscle. That keeps me from being fatigued. I add extra scoops of protein to my shakes right now. I also am adding ground flaxseed and a scoop of fiber to each shake. Of course, I started with small anounts and built up to that. I also have two shakes a day, but I still add fruit to them. I know fruit will be a no-no once I get banded, but we have the fruit coming off our trees now, and I can't affford the flavorings yet. By the time my surgery comes around I will have the flavorings on hand. I use profibe, which I get at Amazon or puritans pride. It is a soluable fiber and does good things for cholesterol and the arteries. I can get it elswhere, but at 13.66 a jar, I'm content. mindwing:shades_smile:

Couldn't you put the quiche in muffin tins and have 6 individual portions? I used to make quiche that way, and it was handy. mindwing

Hi RM, I realize the band will help me with the hunger. That is why I'm not worried much about portion control. The 6 small meals a day will fill me, or I will eat a bit more. I am just getting my body used to the foods I need to eat and breaking all my addictions to empty carbs and such. Learning to sip, sip , sip and chew my food well is another thing I want to do before the surgery. I do hope to lose some weight, but my main goal is to build muscle. 12 years ago I went on a similar diet and got really excited about exercise. I'm not strong enough to enter a contest like I did back then, but I am using the same principles to build all the muscle I can. It would be nice to add 30 pounds of muscle to my bod, but I will be content with whatever I get. Kathio-- my heart goes out to you. I have so been there. It is so hard. These diseases make such a difference in our lives-- and some days it is all we can do to tpe something on a computer. Maybe we can PM each other? I can't find a way to pm you on this board, but it is probably because I am new and can't find the right button. Hang in there, girl. We will both make it to bandland. mindwing:shades_smile:

Hi Ann, I do understand how hard it is to exercise. I tried for years to get a program started I could keep up. Finally I put the weights next to the head of my bed. Of course, at first I couldn't use them. So I did the weight lifting exercises without weights. Then I used the five pound weights. It was a good choice, even though I can't do much. I do it on the edge of the bed and do a good arm workout For leg exercises, I draw large cirles with one leg and then the other. Then I do various leg raises. It isn't much, but I am consistent. I do it two or three days a week, and if I miss it one week, I start again the next. At first it was hard,:tt2: but I grew stronger and now I enjoy it. The best thing is my knees don't get any strain. And since I exercise in the morning before leaving the bedroom, I don't forget to exercise. If I left it to later, I'm sure I would conveniently forget to exercise. LOL:laugh: I am really looking forward to getting my band. But I am glad to have time to build muscle before getting the surgery. The more muscle I build, the higher my metabolism will be. I hope to learn a lot from the people on this site. I'm just beginning a very long journey. mindwing:shades_smile:

Hi restless Monkey, I was really healthy up until ten years ago. I was fit and my muscles were tight.The I caught what seemid like a flu that refused to go away. I tried so hard to grit my teeth and work through it. But I just kept getting sicker until I was practically bedridden. I spent months in bed thinking if I could only get rested I could get up and look fopr another job. Finally I admitted to myself that this wasn't just being tired, that I really wa sick, and I applied for disability. Even then I wasn't too bad in general health. The CFIDS/Fibro made life difficult, but I seemed okay. Three years ago I caught MRSA in one of my legs, and spent three months unable to walk at all. It was the beginning of the end. I lost so much muscle tone that I had trouble breatheing, and things got worse. It wasn't until I got on the Lyrica that I saw any improvement. I can't imagine having to pay for the surgery myself. I'd just have to go without if that happened. Congratulations on getting your band. I hope you have great success with it. I don't mind waiting as long as I keep building muscles. I figure the more muscles I have when I get the surgery, the more weight I will lose. mindwing

Hi, I have a BMI of 68.3. I weigh 408 and I am 5'5''. So I fit into this forum. It is nice to be able to talk to others who understand some of what I go through. I also have CFIDS/Fibro, sleep apnea, advanced COPD, and High Blood Pressure. Which translates to mean I sleep with a machine and have an oxygen line attached to me all day (my leash). I also have no stamina and spend most of my time either in bed or on my chair. I look a lot like Jabba the Hut with a neck and legs. I am not banded yet. I decided I wanted the band a month ago and have been researching it. I found the only place in our area that takes Medcare, and next month I should have all the paperwork ready for mailing to them. Then it will be about 8 months before they give me a date.:tt1: For years I wasn't interested in bariatric surgery. I knew it took effort and exercise to make it work, and I wasn't able to do either. I was very sick and had a hard time even getting up. Every time I started an exercise program, I had a flare. The oxygen didn't make it so I could exercise, and neither did the sleep machine. They did make me feel better, and I was up more and making a few meals.:thumbup: In Feb my docor put me on Lyrica. I am one of the lucky ones that it works on. Within a week I started doing gentle stretches. Then I started with five-pound weights. After a few months I started on leg exercises. My doctor's scale says I lost twenty five pounds so far.:biggrin: Now I am trying to eat like a bandster while increasing my exercises. I can't walk or do any aerobic exercises, but I will work with weights. I eat six small meals a day, and avoid soda, caffeine, starches and sweets. Most of my food is Protein shakes, meat, and goodies from our garden. I'm getting a motorized chair in a few weeks, and that should make my life easier. The I can leave the house and go out to the garden, or maybe even go to church. Now the main thing now is to get the paperwork done right and make sure every line is filled out and every t is crossed and every i is dotted.:tt1: I figure I will get banded sometime next year- maybe early summer. I look forward to getting to know all of you during that time, and learning more about the banded life. Thanks Froggy for starting this group. Mindwing:shades_smile:

Hi Kathleen, I am in the position you are in- with eight months to go before I get a date. I started out exercising 6 months ago, and about a month ago was ready to go on a diet similar to post-op.:tt1: Actually, I may not be going as strict as you are. I'm not planning on cutting portions quickly yet. My body adapts to a cut in calories so fast, and I want to save that for surgery. But I am eating the right things- two Protein shakes a day with meat and veggies for two other meals. I am still eating a few things I won't be able to post op- bread once ot twice a week, fruit from our garden and meat. But I hardly eat potatoes anymore, and I don't drink diet soda or coffee- no caffeine at all.:tt1: I don't eat out, so that isn't a problem. I crave something sweet almost every day, but the cravings aren't bad most of the time. When they start to really get to me, I eat a candy bar-- very slowly and with relish. :biggrin: I won't be able to eat them much longer, so I am going to enjoy every bite. I only eat one about once or twice a week, so it isn't too bad. I've already lost 25 pounds- mostly from the exercise. :thumbup: Buy the time surgery conmes around I hope to lose more-- maybe 50 lbs. I should be eating right and just have to cut portions. I hope my exercise means I'll have lots of muscle to burn lots of extra calories so I can lose well after surgery. I have 230 pounds to lose, so I can't see any way to do it without the band. I can diet and exercise for a year or two, but I have chronic Fatigue and fibro, and it only takes one flare and i start eating sweets and sleeping most of the time and gain the weight back. I'm not likely to be able to go five years without a flare- and that is what it would take to lose my weight now. Tell us your plan for the next few months. What are you planning to eat, and what will you do if you get a bad day and eat too much or the wrong things? mindwing

I think I'm off to a pretty good start- I am off the caffeine and diet sodas. I only eat fast food once a month, so it isn't likely I will miss it. I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit from our garden- mostly stirfried veggies with meat. I also drink one or two Protein drinks a day. My big problem is that I cannot walk more than a few feet. I have Chronic fatigue, and can't do any sustained exercise. So lifting weights will have to be enough. I do it three days a week now. It takes me almost two hourd to do what a normal person would do in twenty minutess or so. I remember- before I caught Chronic fatigue I used to do even more in about twenty five minutes. I am basically housebound, and should be getting a wheelchair in about a month. That should make it easier to get around, and should give me a chance to increase my activity. I hope to go out and garden. Ride the chair to the garden, get up and harvest or weed, then use the wheelchair to move again. Too bad the season is ending soon. mindwing

Hi, My name is Leona, and I live in Clearlake, CA. I have been studying the band for several weeks, and am currently filling out the initial paperwork. I have to go to SF for the surgery, but fortunately I can do all the prep work with my personal GP. Once medicare approves the surgery, I will have to wait 6-8 months. I have chronic fatigue, fibro, advanced COPD and a hiatal hernia. I have already lost 28 pounds since January, and now weigh 404 lbs. I cannot walk, but I do weight bearing exercise three days a week. I plan on buying Protein Drinks and going on a diet similar to the band diet now. I hope to lose 40 lbs or more before surgery, and really build my muscles. The big thing will be to avoid a flare. Wen I get one I can't exercise and get depressed and crave sweets. Once I get the band, the damage of a flare will be minimized- though I still want to avoid one. Looking forward to meeting others and learning more about the band. Leona waiting........

I wonder if you have read the book, "Before and After", by Susan Leach. She has a lot of recipes and suggestions for people who have had WLS. The information is for all kinds of weight loss, not just the band. I haven't bought the book yet, I am waiting until next month. I don't get banded for 6-8 months, but I want to get eating the recipes now so when the surgery comes I will just be reducing the amounts. I go to her website to find recipes. I also am trying different Protein powders to supplement my diet- I have a high protein need and sometimes just get a strong meat craving. since you aren't getting the band removed for a while, it might not hurt to try the recipes. mindwing

I'm a newbie and researching. But I have heard that some people have to go without their CPAP machine the first week or so because it can stretch out the pouch. I can believe that because ever since I got my machine, I haven't had a single episode of Gerd and I burp up a lot of gas first thing in the morning. I have to wait to see how it will affect my first week once I do get the surgery. Leona.

Hi TQUAD64. I just joined yesterda and I am from N CA too. I am really big- 400 pounds, and also waiting to hear if I can get the surgery. I am further behind in the process than you- just filling out the first set of paprs and seeking insurance coverage. Welcome. Leona

Hi cristalrosebud, I just joined myself. I have been sudying the band and finally decided to do it. I start my paperwork in two weeks-- long process when you are on medicare. haha! I live in CA. Hope you get your questions answered. Leona