honk

How long were you on blood thinners? I am being treated for a blood clot using blood thinners. I definately have trouble with feeling cold. This was a HUGE issue during the winter.

As mentioned earlier if possible change up your work out routine. I normally do lap swimming. When I do regular cardio; I think it totally confuses my body.

I do 1 hour of lap swimming every day. On days that it's more of a "hassle", get my drift, I do 1 hour on the elliptical machine. Elliptical's are good when you have knee issues. I have a reusable 32 ounce water bottle that I use when I do regular cardio. Since I am not on a liquid diet if I am going to exercise on an empty stomache I will either eat a piece of fruit, or a low fat string cheese.

As noted by previous posters the size of European meals is smaller than those in the US. My sister who is an average size person and has always eaten like a lap bander (Portions at her house are very small); had this to say about her last visit to Europe "Every thing was so expensive and the portions so small that I was hungry all the time. It was'nt until the fifth day that I ate a meal where I felt full". Based on this comment I would consider only being able to eat very small amounts a good thing.

If you HAVE to go to McDonalds order the grilled chicken sandwhich no Mayo (Mayo adds huge amounts of Fat and Calories.). Some stores will let you get a side salad from the $1 value menu instead of fries. Get diet coke (Yes I know after surgery you can't drink it but that is in the future). They also sell yogurt. Burger King also sells grilled chicken sandwiches. Wendy's has Chili. Also many convenience stores have Protein shakes in the refrigerator section.

I would try and look at the big picture. How have your meetings gone with your doctor? In my first meeting with the Nurse Practioner she said I needed to loose 30 pounds before my surgery. When I had my first meeting with the surgeon 2 months later I had lost about 20 pounds. After the examination he said the more weight I lost the better but that he believed he could do my surgery at my current weight. How have you done in general on your preo Op diet. You mentioned this was your first issue this week. How many weeks have you been on the diet and what other poor food choices have you made. My surgery had to be postponed for other reasons. At the pre op class the NP said to follow the doctor's preop instructions. She specifically said if we were allowed solid food to just be judicious the night before sugery. She mentioned someone who had a mexican food binge the night before the sugery but they still went ahead.

Hello. Since I live alone I may have it easier than some about only keeping "appropriate food" in the house. My personal food issue is carbs. When I had the preop classes they stressed shopping from the perimeter of the store. Guess what most process carbs live at the center of the grocery store. I used to have 3+ bags off open Snacks, not neccisarily potatoe chips, but crackers, mini rice cakes. I also LOVED Sweet Childrens Cereal. I figured it was very low in fat so I could eat it like crazy for dessert. The problem is it 's very high in carbs. So I don't keep those items in my house anymore. But I do have have a loaf of really good bakery whole grain bread in the frig. Occationally I will toast a piece and eat is with Benecol spread. Eating a meal after exercising is'nt the problem. I do it all the time. What I find to be important is planning what you are going to eat. I work from home and often into the evening. So, I go to the gym at noon and sometimes have brunch. I have egg white omlets my treat a pancake with syrup. Should I skip the pancake sure but if I do I will eventually say to myself "why do I have to always deny myself. Always!" When I get hungry but it's not time for a meal I keep Greek yogurt, and string cheese in the frig. I also buy chicken breast marinate it in low/no fat marinade and keep that on hand as well. I am preop. My doctor wanted me to do a special liquid diet that they sell at the hospital but I was allergic to it and I was not loosing weight. My surgery had to be postponed due to another health issue. I have been eating regular food and using whey Protein shakes. Since my first meeting with the program 12/28/09 I have lost 40 pounds. Not bad for will power and excercise.

My doctor says 2 weeks for swimming

FYI About Cobra. You would need to stay on Cobra until the next Open Enrollment usually Nov/Dec if you don't choose to go on the new employers health insurance when your husband changes jobs. COBRA could well cost you about $1,000 a month, I don't want to sound neg. just want to give you an idea of the cost of Family Cobra coverage.

I work in HR and this is what I would do. If your husband gets an offer (NOT before) he should say that he needs to speak with the someone who is an expert on the Health Insurance coverage; this might be the Benefits Manager in the HR department or they may put him in contact with the Health insurance company or companies the employer offers. He can then ask if they cover LAP-BAND® and if so what their requirements are. A recruiter probably won't be able to answer this question (I am a recruiter and until I looked into LAP-BAND® myself I didn't know that my employers' insurance covered it.). If he gets push back on why he needs to speak directly with someone he should just say that he has specific questions. My sister did this to find out if her Arthritis treatment would be covered by her husbands insurance, $5,000 a pop.

At my gym the water aerobics class attendees are a variety of ages; ranging from Mid 30's to 60's. I personally am not into classes to much like high school for me. I do however swim everyday. The other thing that I turns me off clases is that most of them at my gym don't use music. I have to have music to work out (thus my water proof MP3 player)

I am preband but I have some thoughts for your trip. When I brought my 77 yr old mother on a cruise; we did LOTS of walking. Just walking the ship is exercise. Also even though we did tours of islands by car we still did a lot of walking there too. I had a friend tell me I was the only person he knew that lost weight going on a cruise. If you are a morning person go to the pool before breakfast and either swim or do water aerobics. At the breakfast buffet ask if they have made to order eggs; if so ask if they have egg beaters or can make you an egg white omelate. For lunch we ate at the buffet. At the buffet you serve yourself and can decide how much to take. At dinner if you have formal dining you may have the same waitor for the week. In my opinion sit down cruise meals are small portions becuase they give you lots of courses. Pick what you feel comfortable with and stick to it. If you only order the entree and no app or dessert they may ask if you are sure. Say yes I'm fine and smile.

My doctor also likes HMR. My surgery had to be postponed do to a seperate health isssue. My doctor did'nt bring up a presurgery diet until I asked him. I exercise every day and am losing weight using my own food choices. When I went in for my last presurgery appointment (or so I thought) the doctor was irritated that I had'nt been doing HMR 500 (as in 500 calories a day). Since it had been addressed to me as being voluntary, I was loosing weight (had lost the amount they told me to loose) and it was expensive I choose not to do it. After being berated I went and bought $125 worth of HMR. Keeping in mind my surgery was only 10 days away and I had already moved to having Protein shakes 3 meals a day (about 750 calories). The HMR was nightmare for me. First it was causing a numb sensation at the back of my throat (This can be a sympton of serious food allergy. My brother has life threatening food allergies and that is one of the signs he has eaten something he should'nt.). I became obsessed with "eating". I was to have 5 shakes a day and would be hungry 30 minutes after "eating", constantly counting the minutes until I could eat again. I was day dreaming about food. I had not been doing these things previously. To make matters worse I did it for 5 days and lost 1 pound. This was less then I was loosing making my own food choices. I met with the nurse practitioner and told her my issues with HMR and stopped using it. From my support group at the doctor's office several people were put on this HMR diet for several months. MONTHS!

I think the key to going on a cruise is exercising. You can choose to be very active. I cruised on a very large ship and it was a journey just to get from my room to the dining hall.

While I know you don't like cow's milk here is a list of some items I add to my Protein drinks. I am presurgery. Using a miniblender I mix: 3 Milk Ice Cubes (fat free milk) Approxemetly 1/3 cup 3 fruit flavored Water ice cubes (The carbinated non branded clear fruit flavored soda water sweetened with nutrasweet. Usually 50 cents at grocery store) 2/3 cup fat free milk 2/3 cup frozen fruit (pitted cherry's, bananas, strawberries, etc.) 1-2 teaspoons Fat/Sugar Free pudding powder 1-2 packets Stevia Add water for correct consistancy Other flavoring options sugar free chocolate syrup Sugar Free Davinci syrups

Trina, based on what my doctor lists for post op I would be concerned that you could be causing damage. At 2 1/2 weeks he said to be on soup and scrambled eggs. Chicken and cake would be a problem. I don't want to seem mean spirited but you could be causing yourself problems. Since I have sweat cravings I understand that issue. Could you try fat/sugar free pudding as a substitute?

I was told I could go back to swimming 2 weeks after the surgery.

At my pre surgery class the Nurse Practioner mentioned that larger people don't get the same amount of support from the operating table as thin people. This can lead to nerves getting pinched because there is a lot of weight pressing on them. So some people wake up to numbness in the arms or legs.

Instead of eating peanut butter I eat honey roasted peanuts one at a time and savor each one. I feel I eat less since I am chewing and eating them one at a time. I am preband so don't know if I will be able to do it after.

I asked my surgeon about NSAIDS and he said they were'nt a problem. I will ask the Nurse Practioner though as she sometimes gives me different answers.

Program fee is right. I went to a info seminar for the WLS group for Lowell Hospital in MA. They said that there was a $400 "program fee" not covered by insurance; $200 due at first appoint and $200 the day of the surgery. Their explanation was that this covered them doing information meetings, hand outs, etc. Since the meeting was held at the hospital and I'm sure the hospital owns a copy machine I was not impressed. I had researched several local surgeons and had chosen this facility because it was marginally closer to my house. I called the WLS group at the next closest hospital 45 minutes from my house and they did not have a program fee. If at all possible find another facility. I think they make more than enough money on this surgery and should not be able to add a mark up as if it is a car.

Hi. I can tell you what I have been doing and perhaps it will be helpful to you. In attempt to help a knee problem I started swimming 16 months ago; and am up to 60 minutes a day (moderate pace). My first consult I was 329. I tried to stay at 1200-1500 calories a day. Pushed my swimming from 5 days a week to 7. Second Consult 39 days later 317. Continued diet for 6 days and then started a voluntary liquid diet. 2 Whey Isolate Protein drinks made with fat free milk, ice cubes, 2/3 cup fruit; plus lunch chicken and two veg. I did voluntary liquid diet for 13 days. Third consult 304. My doctor really likes a premeasured diet called HMR which is 5 shakes a day 100 calories each:angry:. I have done two days so far. I have to say that if I don't loose a pound a day I will not consider it a success as I have been loosing pretty well eating real food.

I saw several recommendations on YouTube by banders for Hamilton Beach Single Serving Blender. I have no connection to this company My sister bought it for me for my birthday. Great price $15.

I prefer the elliptical because it does'nt bother my knee. If you have good balance I would suggest swinging your arms as if you are running. I think that action burns more calories than holding on to the moving handles. I do have short arms so I find holding onto the handles difficult.

It does sound like the Carbs in your Protein Powder is on the high side. In Gold Standard brand there are 3 G of Carbs for 24 g of Protein.