jensmallwood

I started with the LapBand surgeon first.... while my insurance (and most) require a 6 month supervised diet done with your PCP, my surgeon's office also does 4-5 months worth of pre-surgery stuff-- nutritionist appointments, excercise seminars, psych evaluation. Those run concurrently while you are doing your PCP stuff. Also, it can't hurt to go to the surgeon's seminar while you are looking for a PCP-- you may not like the surgeon and need to look some more for another one. My surgeon's office also does a lot of work WITH the insurance companies to make sure of requirements, etc. So they may be of help to you. Good luck!

My husband is doing his 6-month required, doctor-supervised "diet" before getting the Lap-Band. My surgeon said that he has lots of husband-wife patients both get the band. But he never recommends getting it at the exact same time... because each of you will need some extra support/care during the first week or so. Do you have a scheduled date?

Congratulations!!!

I've been looking into the Heartland resort as well (since it is driving distance for me.) There are some "spa finder" type websites on the net, if you google for spas. I also typed in "resort spa" or "destination spa" which helps to get rid of all the day spas and hotel spas.

Yup- call your doctor-- I got nausea on day 4 post op and started dry heaving. I couldn't get off the couch it was so bad. My doctor called in a prescription for nausea meds, and it helped tremendously. (BTW, it went away completely the next day.)

Marmar- maybe off topic-- but respectfully, and IMO, people should know what their dollars are paying for.... I stopped buying Domino's pizza back in college because I disagreed with the owner supporting groups that used violence against doctors who provide safe, legal abortions. I think the most important thing about gym memberships is that they be really conveniently located. I took an exercise psychology class last year and the research we learned was that location was the number one indicator of whether someone used their membership or not. Another pro of using the base gym with the fit men-- you get to use the gym with the FIT MEN! Nothing wrong with a little eye candy to keep you on the treadmill!

I also almost always have leftovers from dinner for lunch. Right now I do measure/weigh them, but am hoping to be able to move away from that once I have restriction.

Jerry- you made me cry, too! What an inspirational story-- thank you for sharing it!

Thanks!! I love crockpot recipes that are quick to throw together in the morning! porter11-- you could throw any kind of Beans in there...black beans, cannellini beans, etc.

I'm just starting on solids tomorrow... so my plan is to track what I eat and how much, as well as my hunger levels so that I'll know when or if I need a fill. (I don't have restriction now, so don't really get "full" when I eat my small portions). When I do get restriction, I don't plan to count anything -- except maybe occasionally if I'm at a plateau or gaining and I need to figure out what's going on.

That's my question! :smile: I'm having my first fill in a couple of weeks, at 12:30pm. Normally, I would eat lunch at that time (or around that time.) I'm assuming that I will be only on liquids after the fill. Can you eat right before getting a fill? I would think that would be a bad idea and that I might get sick if I did. How many hours before a fill do you think I can safely eat?

I also had a hiatal hernia repaired during my band surgery-- I also didn't know that I had it. My doctor routinely fixes any that he finds once he's in there.

mskutz-- How much are you drinking? I assume you are on full liquids-- are you drinking Protein shakes, creamy Soups (I like the cartons of Pacific brand soups in the organic section of the grocery store). I'm just wondering, because if you're trying to stick it out on just clear fluids, or Protein Shakes and Water you may be not getting a decent amount of calories which could contribute to the hunger. AND, on fluids, don't try to just stick to 3 "meals" a day... at least that's what I was told. Anytime I got really hungry, I had something to drink... a shake, some Soup, a yogurt drink... it really helped (and I still lost 10 pounds those first two weeks.)

My favorite line from Finding Nemo: "Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...." Just keep at it! You'll break through soon. How long have you been stuck?

Congratulations! Very inspirational!

The *most* important thing about choosing an exercise routine is choosing one that you'll like and stick to. I LOVE group exercise, and that really motivates me. But I also love to dance and just got Zumba videos to do at home. I love to walk in the sunshine, and do that with my dog. Please don't feel that the only acceptable form of exercise is at the gym-- it might be right for you, or it might be a huge waste of money. You should include some form of cardiovascular exercise (walking, dancing, biking) and some strength training (which can be with weights, bands or even just body weight). Both can be done at home or in the gym (or outside). Try lots of different things-- I didn't know that I loved cardio kickboxing until I tried it. I didn't know that I HATED boot camp until I tried that! :smile: Just don't get stuck with a year-long contract at a gym that you can't get out of if you don't like it. Try out some dvds from the library--- free and you can see what you like/don't like. Exercise bands are inexpensive from a place like Dick's Sporting Goods. Good luck! You'll find your favorite thing!

Hooray! Congratulations-- EVERY pound is a victory in my opinion!!

I started taking short walks with my dog about 5 days out from surgery... but didn't start wearing my pedometer and going for big steps (10,000) until my 2 week post-op appointment. I was cleared to exercise, and so far have been walking, lifting weights(gradually building) and some pilates. I plan to start more strenuous aerobic exercise this week at the gym (3 1/2 weeks out).

Exactly! Only weigh everyday if you can truly believe this and not let it set you up for a bad day. If watching normal, everyday weight fluctuations makes you feel bad about yourself, save the weigh-ins for once a week. I'm on mushies now, and I weigh daily and my weight will go up .5, down .2, down.6, up .2.... (for example) but the trend is downwards-- Just *not everyday* is downwards. Chin up!!

I make sure to set my fork down between bites, and don't pick it up again until what I've already put in my mouth has been chewed well and swallowed. THEN I pick up the fork and put another bite on it. It has worked to really slow me waaaay down at each meal.

I'm so sorry to hear of your bad luck!

Glad you're feeling good enough for the beach!! Sounds like you are doing really well-- congrats!

Are you full on this amount of food? If you could eat more, I'd recommend bringing lunch and dinner up to 3 oz of Protein, and 1/4 cup of starch (whole grain preferably) and 1/4 c of veggies. I really don't think you can get proper Vitamins and minerals from 3 Tablespoons of veggies for a day. If you are full, you could add a real egg instead of substitute (egg yolks have fantastic vitamins in them) and cook it in a little heart healthy oil.

You know, I bought several books from Amazon that are either cookbooks for life after lapband or other WLS, or books about WLS with recipes added.... and frankly, so far, I prefer my other regular cookbooks! I use a LOT of recipes from weight watcher's cookbooks, and I love my annual editions from Cooking Light. They have great low fat/high nutrition recipes. I also use the recipes from Cooking Light magazine, which I get. Yes- some of them are too Pasta heavy or whatever, but not all. And even the pasta ones aren't off limits in my book (but would be to some people who are mostly cutting out grain-based carbs-- I think whole grains are important, and use whole wheat pasta).

I try to get in about 24 oz of Water between meals -- and I try to wait until fairly close to the meal since drinking the water seems to make my "fullness" go away. I drink a mug of 1/2 coffee, 1/2 skim milk before Breakfast in the morning, and may have a cup of tea or two sometime during the day. I also drink water during workouts. I try to stay away from the "add-ins" because of the sweetener. I try to only use sweetener about once a day or less... I have found over time that if I want to not crave sweets and sugar, I need to pretty much ditch the sweetener as well.