Catherine55

I haven't heard of this before, but wanted to say welcome! And, congratulations on your decision. I hope that everyhing goes OK with your surgery -- if your doctors aren't worried about it, I would expect that it's probably OK. Hang in there! Catherine

Don't stress. . did you eat anything salty yesterday?

How great is that!?! Congratulations on your NSV!

Looks like you got your answers! Best wishes for a safe surgery and easy recovery! Catherine

Not everyone needs it. My dr. has a 45/45 guideline. .he says that if you are 45 YO or more, or have a BMI of 45 or more, you will very probably need skin to be removed. He told me that I probably would not need it.

So far, I'm down 46 lbs in 10 months. My rate of loss has been slower than some, but it's been pretty steady -- around 1.4 lbs per week. I've also lost 21.6 inches (!) during the past 10 months! I am plateauing a bit now because I started a hard core workout program (www.PurePowerBootCamp.com) four weeks ago and have been building more muscle. But, while I've only lost about 2.2 lbs during the last 4 weeks, I have lost 1 inch from my waist and another inch from my hips, so it's still going well! (Though I do get frustrated with the scale.) Congratulations on your surgery date! I have before & after photos sprinkled through my blog, if you're interested. Best, Catherine

I can't eat most breads either. But, this is great because bread is one of the foods that helped me to get to my all-time highest weight. I'm really happy that -- because it's so hard to get down -- it has lost much of its appeal for me. I can have the occasional cracker, well-toasted bread product, or part of a crusty roll, and that is fine with me.

I'm curious about the mixed feelings, too. I'm 10 months post-op and my feelings are uniformly positive. I hope that won't ever change! Catherine

Just follow the rules the best you can and try not to gain any weight (don't worry about losing right now). I put on 5 pounds during Bandster Hell (was during Thanksgiving for me. . oops!) and I lost it all and much more once I got to restriction! The most important thing is to follow your doctor's instructions and not get too upset if you aren't losing (or even gain). You're on your path to getting thinner and this is just a little stop-over in that process. Hang in there! Catherine

I have a few good ones, but I think the best one was being able to go shopping -- in normal sizes -- and feeling great about how I looked. It was the first time in many years that I was able to go shopping without being totally disgusted with myself about how I looked and how much weight I had let myself put on. I had another one this morning. . . my size 16 banana Republic pants (the ones that I just dreamed of getting into when I first got banded) are getting too big!! WOO-HOO! :wink2: Catherine

OMG -- that is hysterical!!! Well, I guess it's time for some new pants! That really is the funniest NSV I've heard! :crying:

Yes -- my goal is to lose 75 lbs. I'm down 46 at this point. There is no way I could have been perfect on a diet for the 9 months that it has taken me to get to this point. And, even if I somehow had managed to lose this weight on my own, I am sure (based on my past experiences) that I eventually would put it all back on again. I am so glad that I made the decision to get banded. It has taken me off the course of getting fatter each year and feeling terrible about it. Feel free to check out my blog if you are interested. Catherine

These are so great!! Also, thanks, Mim! It's so nice to get positive feedback on my blog. :wink2: And, it's so interesting to see how close our stats are -- our band dates are almost the same, and so are our start & current weights! Catherine

(NSV = Non-Scale Victory)

On the slow weight loss front -- I think that a lot of the complaints we see are from people who are newly banded and are in Bandster Hell. I knew at the outset that my loss with the band would be slow and steady -- but I had no idea that there would be a few weeks where I would have no restriction and be able to eat what I wanted at the outset of this process (aka Bandster Hell). As for slow loss, I get a little frustrated now and then that the scale does not move more quicky (I've lost about 1.4 lbs per week on average), but then I remember that the scale is moving and remind myself to look at how far I've come. I'm down 46+ lbs with 30 more to get me to goal. Catherine

Mashed potatoes (what a treat that was after the liquid diet!); Poached salmon; Soup and all of the things I'd been eating on my liquid diet (cottage cheese, FF/SF Jello pudding, etc.); Soft cheeses (a bit too fattening. . but at least finally there was something for me to nibble on at cocktail parties!) That's all I can remember at the moment. I'm a little surprised that your doctor has ground beef on there -- I know that some have a hard time getting it down. Best wishes, Catherine

Deekel -- I agree with the advice on the site. I have been lucky in that everyone I've told has been supportive -- but, I've been very selective in who I told about my surgery. Also, I did my surgery in Mexico (Dr. Rumbaut -- great doctor!), and I definitely left out that information until after the fact. Going to MX for this sounded insane to me before I researched my doctor and the hospital, and I knew that my dad and a few friends would have freaked out (and freaked me out as well) if they knew that ahead of time! Catherine

food doesn't have to be expensive. The best thing you can do for yourself is stock up on healthy things at the store and bring your food with you. That is cheaper than eating out and you can control how much and what you are eating better that way. Here are some food ideas for you: Soups tuna salad turkey meat (cold cuts) chicken breast (you can cook it) refried Beans (watch the fat content though, but good for protein) cottage cheese eggs Good luck with this -- hang in there! Catherine

What a great post! I want to add a complaint -- I'm not getting enough wear out of my flats! See. . now that I've taken off 46 lbs, my feet no longer kill when I wear heels, so I've been wearing them much more often! My poor flats only get taken out half as often! :wink:

I found the post with the photos and food list! Chronicles from Band Land: Week 1 post-op: What I'm eating

Congratulations!! I put photos on my blog of all of the things I bought for my liquids diet. Feel free to take a look (it's at the very beginning). The things I most enjoyed were: Soups, which I'd blend until they were very liquid; cottage cheese (thinned out in the blender with skim milk); Yogurt; Fat Free/Sugar Free Jello pudding (chocolate); FF/SF ice pops; baby food (I bought an organic brand); and Isopure Protein drinks (the Gatoraid-like kind). Best wishes for a safe surgery & speedy recovery, Catherine

My best shake idea was (from my Dr.) to drink those Isopure Protein drinks that taste like Gatoraid instead of Protein shakes on my post-op diet! (Not sure if they would have been OK for pre-op diet.) I really hated the shakes and just could barely stand them, no matter what I mixed them with! :bored: Still, it's important for us to get our protein, so I was choking them down until I found out I had the other option!

I'm getting there!