anglov

Ok, if I counted correct I am 46 days out from my day of destiny. I am looking for advice on how to prepare. I am getting together a list of "To Do". So here is what I have so far. 1. Get exercise room ready. I am painting a spare bedroom and turning it into my exercise room because let's face it, this bod is not going out to sweat in public. Treadmill and ellipitcal awaits me. 2. Trying different protein flavors and concoctions to find what I like and stock up. I already replace one meal a day with a protein shake. 3. Make and freeze homemade broth. 4. Stock up on Vitamin Water Zero Please help me finish my list.

My surgeon said nothing 15 min before and 45-60 min after. I always drink with my meals this is going to be really hard once I am banded. By the time I think about I have already been slurping my water during my meal.

I weighed myself today and I am down another 2 lbs. for a total of 10 lbs. I feel good about that. The biggest change has been no soft drinks. I drink flavored water only. I am making more healthy choices. Not always but mostly. I was really craving tacos. Well taco meat that I put on baked scoops. I finally made it tonight and it was ALOT. I am stuffed and miserable but my craving is gone. I had a protein shake for breakfast and smoked chicken for lunch. I still haven't gotten this whole eating without drinking. That I guess is my next task to master. It's hard to imagine not drinking while I eat. I get so thirsty. :thumbup: I try to have one protein shake per day instead of a meal. Breakfast is the easiest for me. I do trade off and occasionally have an egg for breakfast. Protein, protein, protein. Protein and low carb. Got to get into the habit now. I found a food journal on bariatriceating.com and a few good recipes but was confused. Some of the recipes had 12g of FAT per serving. I expected it to be less fattening. I started a binder for my food journals and recipes collections. Getting it together a little a time. BAND DATE 5-12-10:thumbup:

Well this is what my dad said. He said get the picture downstairs and you should look like that. Well that pic is of my when I was 17 in my prom dress. I will be 40 this year. I flat out told him I want to look healthy. I chose to tell people and with that comes the negativity, I know. The group I work with eats a lot and I mean A LOT! They would notice if I was losing weight and not eating like normal. Plus for me it is more motivation to do the right thing so I can show them I will succeed. Plus there is one person at work who didn't tell people and actually started saying it was her "new diet" and all the exercise she does at home. Turns out now people are finding out it was the band and yes she had a large part in following the guidelines but they felt lied to by her. I am not going that route.

I started a new group called "Banded in Kentucky." If you live in Kentucky please consider joining the group. Support is key. Sometimes hearing from those nearby that are going through the same experiences you are helps just a little more. Maybe find new friends who will be your lifelong friends. After all, we have a special "band" well bond.

That is awesome! Once a Kentuckian always a Kentuckian. My band date is May 12th. I am so excited.

Why is it that people think when you are doing something life altering that they have an automatic right to speak their mind? I just can't imagine opening my big trap and blurting out things that I know would hurt and then be shocked when it does. This morning my Dad said very hurtful things to me. Even when it was pointed out that it was mean and hurtful he argued, to the point of yelling, that it was not hurtful but true. At first I thought people at work were supportative but now those fake supporters have been talking about me behind my back. They say I am just lazy and taking the easy road out. They say I am going to fail again. The surgery won't help. They know people that it didn't work. Well did they know whether or not the person actually followed the many guidelines? I only ask that you don't assume anything about me because you obviously don't know me. I wonder, are you talking about me because you are jealous that I have the guts to say YES I NEED HELP and I am taking this giant leap forward? Don't judge me. I do this for me not you so stop making this about you and your obsessive negativity. :tongue:

I had my father say something to me this morning that was beyond hurtful. He said I needed to take the picture downstairs and that is what I need to look like. The picture...is of me when I was 17 at prom. HELLO>>>>I will be 40 this year!! Why in the HECK would I want to look the same as when I was 17?? It really hurt. I just turned and said to him, I want to be healthy not 17 years old again. I don't need that kind of pressure. Now I wonder if he is going to constantly say these things to me making me feel like a failure before I have even begun. My mom tried to stick up for me and tell him that was mean but he just started talking louder and louder and saying it over and over. Ok, so my dad is 73 and jogs 5 miles a day and exercises over an hour every single day. I am not my dad, obviously. He has never said anything to me about my weight EVER until I started considering surgery now he says things like you used to be pretty and once you lose weight you will be a knock out. It hurts....

All of you get banded before me so I am hanging on your experiences. The 12th will be here soon enough. I start my mandatory pre-op on May 5th. It is suggested I start a high Protein low carb diet or three Protein shakes with one high protein low carb meal another week or two prior to that. I gave up soft drinks too. I am hooked on Vitamin Water Zero. I HATE plain water, makes me gag. I am paying close attention to the protein in a meal. It's hard and still keep it low carb.

My insurance denied me too. They have the exclusion even if it is medically necessary so I am paying cash. The cash price for mine only covers hospital, surgeon, anesthesiologist and 6 months of post op visits and fills. My insurace has covered the office visit and surgeon's consult because they ran it through with a regular office visit diagnosis code. I only had to pay a specialist copay. I have a 3k deductible but they ran testing through that and it was covered but because of my deductible I still have to pay some. I had an intake visit which included a physical, psych eval, nutritionist and education class. I was billed separately for psych and physical so that only cost the copayment. I also had labs that day that ran after insurance discount $200. I then had a PET scan, which is a chemically induced stress test. I was given medicine that caused my heart to simulate a stress test without me doing anything. The cardiologist monitors it. After the insurance discount I still owe $1400. I then went for chest xray, EKG and more labs. I have one more pre-op lab and I get banded on May 12th. I am diabetic and have a blood clotting disorder so I have extra labs done. Part of me feels that since I am paying it myself then it is more of an investment for me. I am only afraid of complications that I would have to pay out of pocket. My surgeon said if he goes in and sees a hernia they will repair those for free.

Ok, I have full respect for you to be on here living this journey with and for your wife. Not many would come on this site to seek help or advice for a spouse going through this. Props to you. I would NEVER question her sincerity or committment to the surgery. Go days without solid food and see how sweet and good natured you are. I gaurantee you will think a lot about food. I expect to when I am on full liquids. Heck, I think about food when I am dieting anyway. You may not cheat but honestly who doesn't at least think about it. I mean isn't that why we are here? Diets didn't work and I would guess most had a cheat or two. So your wife asked. You declined to keep her on track and one day she will realize that and hopefully thank you. If she doesn't then take pride that you were that supportative. Would my husband get McDonald's for me? Probably but then again you wouldn't see him on here seeking advice or help on what to do for me.

My short term doesn't kick in until I am off for 5 work days. By the time it kicks in and the paperwork gets processed I will be back at work. I have to use my own vacation time those 1st days anyway. I work a 4-day work week and because of that I get more time off while using less of my vacation time. If, God forbid, I have complications, the short term is ready to kick in after I have used my vacation time. Just think of the vacations after you lose the weight. They will be so exciting. :bored:

My doctor said I MUST do a 1 week all liquid diet with the day before surgery nothing but clear liquids. He said he recommends that I do another week or two prior to that with 2-3 shakes a day and one high protein meal. I already try to do 1 shake a day and then work my way up to two a day so I won't be shell shocked when I have to do a solid week of all shakes. I am worried I won't be able to do that.

Mine is set for May 12th. I too am worried about the pre-op diet. I will be at work for only 3 days of the diet so that is good for my co-workers. I think they are afraid of how mean and cranky I may be. :bored: I plan on eating every thing that I love that I either won't be able to have anymore or won't have for a long time. The KEY is not pigging out on it. I promised myself that I will have my last meals but in moderation. If I gain any weight they may cancel my surgery. I will lose some on the pre-op diet but if I gain a bunch then I might be in trouble.

That seems so wrong. I don't see how your job can deny you when you gave that much advance notice. Are you taking vacation or short term disability? Short term disability can deny you time off but shouldn't if you have a doctor's recommendation. I would check with your human resources to get this resolved. If you are entitled to time off they can't deny you forever and it is wrong to make you go through this.

I don't have a magic bullet. Mine is a Back to Basics fitness blender from QVC and it comes with two travel mugs with lids and also two cups that you can process food in. The mugs are the best. I blend my Protein shakes/smoothies in there and pop the travel lid on and I am off to work. I get banded May 12th so I have been toying with different shake ideas. It has a dial switch just like a traditional blender. I am looking forward to using the cups to process my "mushy" foods. It is the best thing I ever bought.

How bad was it the day after surgery? I got my band date then the same evening my 6 year old brings home a notice from her dance teacher that her dance performance is the day after my surgery. I was hoping that I may have a chance to go. Apparently mothers are supposed to be on stage so the girls can give them a kiss. I would hate to jack myself on pain meds only to get there and well...have "gassy" issues.

I started a new group called "Banded in Kentucky." If you live in Kentucky please consider joining the group. Support is key. Sometimes hearing from those nearby that are going through the same experiences you are helps just a little more. Maybe find new friends who will be your lifelong friends. After all, we have a special "band" well bond.

I have to do a 1 week liquid diet which amounts to 3 days actually at work. They are terrified of how cranky I will be.:thumbup::rolleyes2: I didn't like the Protein drinks from Bariatric Advantage. I had the pre-mixed which were runny and watery tasting and really kind of slimy. I love the Lean shake from GNC but it only has 9g protein so I have to supplement it with a high Protein powder. More calories which I don't like. I did buy some unflavored to add to broth. It's a liquid just it is warm so I feel like I have some kind of a dinner. I'm not using my short term at all. Just vacation time. After the 10 days I come back for 1 day then that Friday is my regular day off so I will get another 3 days off. I figure that one day will give me some insight on how I will do at work. I can't imagine doing the liquid for 3 weeks before surgery? I know I have the week before only Protein shakes then the day before is Clear liquids only then after a few days of clear liquids, back to protein and so on.

Congratulations! That is awesome. I am inspired now because I am starting out near the same weight and seeing how well you are doing makes me feel like I can too.

Hang in there. You can do it. You know, you could probably make a fortune making chicken wing flavored protein!! Have you tried unflavored protein in broth? It's not too bad.

I was really on track when I thought that I would get an April band date. Now that it is in May I have fallen off the "band wagon". Today I just wanted to eat. I don't know why after nearly a month of eating well and replacing one meal with a high protein shake, that I didn't want any of that today. I don't want to get back into this habit. I lost a few pounds and now I am afraid I will put it back on. I think mentally I know I have more time before surgery so why start now?? I can feel my motivation slipping away. All evening all keep thinking about is taco meat. Just taco meat. Weird!:wub:

I was really on track when I thought that I would get an April band date. Now that it is in May I have fallen off the "band wagon". Today I just wanted to eat. I don't know why after nearly a month of eating well and replacing one meal with a high protein shake, that I didn't want any of that today. I don't want to get back into this habit. I lost a few pounds and now I am afraid I will put it back on. I think mentally I know I have more time before surgery so why start now?? I can feel my motivation slipping away. All evening all keep thinking about is taco meat. Just taco meat. Weird!:thumbup:

My surgery date is May 12th. They had two dates in April but they didn't work out with my job and my co-workers already had those days off. I plan on taking 10 days off from work so I can get used to everything I need to do. I am really excited and trying to get a list together of things to get done before surgery. My insurance excludes this surgery even if it is medically necessary. I had to get other funding. My company is self insured so they make the rules. No appeals.