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Congratulations on your decision. Trust me I know how hard a decision it can be. I guess one thing to keep in mind is that the more weight you can loose now the better off you will be at the time of surgery. I watched several surgeries on YouTube (not at all gross, no blood); which were really informative. You may want to check them out. It really shows you how important it is to shrink your liver (you watch them lift it out of the way with this liver spatula). Also the first one I watched there was this yellow stuff they were pushing aside I thought "What on earth is that stuff". Well it was fat. If that does'nt make you want to follow a presurgery diet nothing will.

I found this to be funny. While I am not dreaming of food; sometimes at night I think about hamburgers. Esp the juiciness that is released when you take a bite. I don't even eat red meat on a regular basis. I have'nt had a hamburger in a year.

Congratulations! I had an interview last week and found a skirt in my closet (Talbot's) that I forgot I had; though it would not have fit before. So a similar NSV. When I moved 3 years ago I gave away all my skinny clothes from the last time I lost weight. I did not want to pay to move/store them. This skirt and several other items were with clean Dry Cleaning clothes in the coat closet and thus got moved.

Well, I think it is important to listen to you doctor and Nut. What does suprise me is that they want you to have Slimfast which is relatively low in protein for the calories. Protein makes you feel full longer. I might ask them if you can consider Whey Isolate Protein ready to drink shakes or powder (and make your own). How long will they keep you on slimfast? Many doctors require a % of weight loss before the surgery. Mine required I loose 10% before they scheduled the surgery. I did get insurance approval 2 weeks after first consult. Many doctors have people do a presurgery liquid diet for 1-2 weeks to help shrink the liver. Mine told me to continue what I was doing as I was loosing on my own.

I definately think that TOM can cause restriction. The days before my first period post banding I stayed full longer than the days prior.

For a drink perhaps a pineapple/orange juice mix would be nice. Sure it has calories but it would give you something to sip at. I'm not a drinker either so not sure what I would do at such a function. If you are at a restaurant perhaps you could order an app that is more in line with your Diet needs. Chicken Satay or chili.

My doctor never said I could'nt have gum. Also since you can't drink after eating gum is very helpful in cleaning your mouth. You don't always have access to a toothbrush. I don't know if it's a generational thing but my mother (79) does'nt chew gum. She chews the gum until the flavor is gone and swallows it.

Four days post surgery I went back to the gym using the treadmill for progressively longer periods of time and speed (No incline, and the first couple days was only going 1.5 miles an hour). At two weeks I went back to swimming (moderate lap) and am now back to an hour a day. During TOM I prefer to do cardio. I have been able to do an hour on the eliptical (Level 1 prior to surgery I was doing Level 4). I could probably do a higher level just don't want to have any ab issues. I am 27 days post op.

My doctor wanted me to do this medically surpervised diet "HMR 500". Diet was made up of 5, 100 calorie drinks. He claimed that some patients were on it for "months" and had no trouble with it. Also claimed I would loose a pound a day. I was loosing weight on my own; but tried this stupid diet (cost a fortune). I became obsessed with food. Starving all the time; constantly obsessed with food. The drinks were giving me this numb feeling in the throat and I lost no weight in five days. I went to his office and the nurse told me to stop. Personally though this was the WORST possible diet to put a compulsive eater on. I think there just was not enough calories. I was doing an hour of cardio a day and my body refused to loose weight when it was only getting 500 calories. OKay off my soap box how many calories are you actually getting? How many grams of Protein? My nut said I should be getting at least 60 grams of protein (that stupid diet only had 50).

I really think you misunderstood. Maybe your doctor requires nutritian and psych appointments which the insurance will cover; but they won't cover the surgery itself. The more I think of it the more I think this may be your issue. Your policy either covers lap band surgery or it does'nt. I've never heard a company paying for the surgery but not the medical device itself. My insurnace is paying for the surgery, tests, and psych; but not Nut appointments for weight loss. They do cover Nut meetings for Cholesterol; so I will try to get them to code the appointments that way.

Many doctors require weight loss presurgery; mine was 10%. It could be that you will do the first program which involve weight loss. Also my surgeon required 3-4 group therapy sessions with a psychologist to discuss distructive eating habits (so that took a month). By the time you take the classes/medical tests into consideration it can take a while to get all the requirements done. FYI my surgeon would'nt even give a surgery date until you had completed all requirments including the weight loss.

I would try to get on and off the side of the bed that is opposite of where your port incision is located. In the hospital I had to use the left side of the bed and my port is on the left side. Made it hard to get up and down.

I remember one month preband where I plateaued for about 2 1/2 weeks but I definately lost inches in the hip area. Remember when you are losing weight you body will also lose lean muscle (esp. heart) if one it's not getting enough Protein and two the musle is not getting used. I notice when I use the elipical instead of swimming (which I prefer) my body burns more calories. I think it goes into panic mode. Also when I exercise it means I sleep a lot better and they say getting 8 hours of sleep is important to weight loss. Not sure if this applies to you but many larger gyms have ladies only sections. Some woman feel self conscious at the gym. Me I could careless.

My doctor required that I loose 10% body weight 30-34 pounds. My surgery had to be postponed due to another health issue. I ended up loosing 52 before my surgery. My doctor did not even schedule the surgery until my last consult with him so they could check your weight. One of the nurses commented that loosing weight is like unpacking a suitcase. The less fat there is for him/her to worry about during the surgery the easier it will be.

From your description it seems like you will do anything not to have that pain again. I have a really high pain tolerance and it was horrific. I think I had such a problem because all of my aunts and at least on of my uncles on my mother's side had to have gall bladder sugery. Genetics what can you do?

I am at the mushie stage and my doctor says 3 oz of protein per meal. I found that 1/2 cup egg beaters and 1/8 cup low fat cottage cheese made 3oz. I don't feel it fills me up as much as 3 oz of shredded chicken made with non fat yogurt.

I was able to drink broth no problem (8 oz). My doctor says at this staged I should have 3 oz per meal of soft protein. Calorie wise that is not enough for me. I am doing an hour of cardio a day and being at 400 calories a day is not enough. I have a cup of smooth soup and about 30 minutes latter have 3 oz of shredded chicken or tuna.

Fifteen pounds since 8/12 (26 days).

My surgeon said I should be getting 60 grams of protein per day and that I may need to have snacks between meals during the healing phase (for physical hunger not head hunger). I wonder if you are not getting enough protein. I bought some unflavored protein that I could add to foods if I felt like I needed it. I really enjoy chobani greek yogurt which is high in protein and non fat.

I had to have my gallbladder removed after I lost about 100 pounds when I was 18. I had horrible attacks but must say they did not include vomiting. My pain was more in my back. It was an incredible pain that made it hard to breath and I would lay on the bed in a fetal position. The attacks are'nt instant. It takes a while for the body to start digesting the fat you've eaten and that's when the attacks start. So it could be an hour or two after eating when you have an attack. I would eat 0 fat until you have an ultrasound of your gallbladder. Trust me when I say it is easy to not eat fat when you know that a gall bladder attack WILL happen if you eat it.

I think you should have a talk with the Nut. I don't think it is really possible to loose 13 pounds a week consistently. My surgeon wanted to put me on a preop diet for like 3 months that was 500 calories a day (crazy) and he said well you could lose a pound a day. That would only be 7 pounds. I did not loose any weight on his diet after 5 days. It was giving me allergic reactions so I stopped. I am 26 days post op and have lost 15 pounds (which I think is all fat because I had lost over 80 pounds preop so I don't think there was much water weight to be had.).

I am in mushy stage right now. My mother was visiting and wanted to get some stuff from costco. We went during the food promo time and they were baking brownies. OMG the smell nearly killed me. They were sampling their canned chicken breast with mayo which I can have right now. So I did but threw away the cracker. Tasted so good because I make mine with low fat Mayo and they used the real stuff. I did have the pumpkin filling of the pumpkin pie they were sampling. But only one (so about 1 tablespoon) so not that bad. I had a small dinner party the other day where I made chili (took out my growned turkey and tofu before adding the rest of the ingrediants); and also made nachos. Can I say how badly I wanted to eat those Nacho's really really badly. For me right now it's more about the textures. On Friday I can start having solid foods like apple! I had really cut down on carbs like crackers, breads, chips before the surgery anyway. But I miss being able to eat carrots and grapes.

You may want to consider the grabber things that people use after hip replacements (they have limited range post surgery for picking things up off the floor. You can buy them at many large pharmacies for about 10 bucks.

One of the members of my presurgery class got to much in his first or second fill and ended up having to go to the hospital by ambulance (he was to sick to drive) and had an emergency unfill. Personally I would rather get smaller fills and have to use will power than face that sort of response to an over fill. I have not yet had a fit (26 days post op). Personally I am looking at the band as a tool to help me maintain loss. I have always been able to loose my problem was regaining when I stopped being so diligent regarding calorie counting.

I think I have been lucky in that I am not hungry unless I have gone a long time (like 5-6 hours without eating). I am am hungry in the mornings after I wake up which I never was before. I had been on a pretty stricked diet for months prior to the surgery so I may not be the best example. My doctor did not put me on a surgery diet because I was doing my own: 2 protein shakes with one meal a day. I was a bit judgemental of people that went out for a real meal before their surgery. My mother came to stay with me and we went to lunch the day before surgery. I chose a place known for fancy bread and garlic/grated cheese/olive oil dipping sauce (since many people say they can't have bread post op); but we shared a side salad and lunch portion meal. So in reality I did not eat a whole lot. I'm kind of glad that I did because while I'm not terribly hungry my doctor is pretty conservative. After surgery I was on clear liquids (broth) 1 week, full liquids (tomato, soup, yoghurt) 2 weeks, soft foods (cottage cheese, egg whites) 1 week. Soo pretty boring. I have'nt gone of the perscribed diet and I have lost 15 pounds, 26 days post op. Keep in mind that day four I started back at the gym.