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My doc doesn't require a fast. Actually the nutritionalist that I went to said I should go out for dinner as much as possible before the surgery ROFL !!! Talk about mind twisting, you'd think they'd want to promote good eating from word go.

I saw my surgeon yesterday and we decided on lap band instead of gastric. I just wasn't at peace with gastric. I am so afraid I made a mistake . My BMI is 56. I had lost 115lbs. on a liguid fast 2 years ago. I put it all back on plus 20 lbs. I am so afraid I won't lose enough. I guess I will just have to be patient. Thanks for listening. Kathy

The appointment went well. Looks like Gastric Sleeve for me! No surprises occurred. I have to be on a six month medically supervised diet. I also have to lose 10% of my weight. Both for insurance reasons. I see the NOT and the APN on Jul 21st to start my diet. I will have to lose around 36 pounds. I will know the exact poundage on the 21st. That is the magic start date for my insurance. I also had to sign a contract to attend monthly support group sessions for a year post-op. Again insurance. I just love how they try to control everything. I will get most of the pre-op check list done in one day, on August 6th. I have to do some sort of fasting test first thing in the AM (NO coffee DAMN IT!), then I see the NUT for pre and post op diet evaluation, then the shrink for a psych evaluation, then some other stuff I can't remember and don't have my notes in front of me for. Anyway after the that day I will only have an Upper GI and my diet left to finish. The Upper GI has to wait until I drop under 350lbs, because that is the weight limit on the table. WTF is up with that? Oh well, I have to lose it anyway for my 10%. It was a good appointment, now on with the show. I am on my way! Sent from my E2281 using Tapatalk

Hi all, Ok so I'm 4 days Post-Op. I am almost 100% healed up, I mean the scabs over the incisions are already falling off. I have absolutely no appetite at all I mean "Zero" I don't even think I coming near 200 Calories a day, if that. I don't feel weak, I feel normal as always. I still can't seem to keep much liquid's down, nothing painful, but I Burp and up it comes. I was told I was breathing in to much Air, so I've been very careful with that, makes no difference, it still comes up. I can go more than 2 hours without any sort of liquid and start developing the "Foamies" as I guess there called? The weight seems to be Melting off, as far as the scale keeps telling me, I still can't really see anything! I was Weighed in the day before my 2 week Opti-fast Diet (3/12) at my Surgeons office at 341lbs. The day of Surgery (3/27) 322lbs Today's Weight 313lbs. Since the day of Surgery I'm dropping Approx. 3lbs a day, but like I said I'm hardly hitting 200 Calories a day. So is this Normal? Is there any reason to call the Doctor Monday Morning? I mean I feel good, healing up great. I'm trying to just take very little sips when I do drink, but then...Foamies! I'm out and about everyday doing my normal things, no problem. I am taking my Vitamins, and my Meds, they seem to stay down with no problem. So do I have a problem? Or not? I also found out why my Ear was Plugged up, went to my PCP and he put me on a liquid Antibiotic (Keflex) He said my Middle Ear Drum had an Infection. I'm having no pain, started on the Antibiotics yesterday morning, but still can't hear anything, my left Ear is still Plugged shut. Which is just annoying as hell... Look forward to all of your impute! Much Thanks, Rocko~~

Jeez. Your expectations are ridiculously high. All that matters is whether you lose your excess weight and maintain that loss -- not how fast you lose it. FTR you are losing faster than most WLS patients do when you take into account your very unusual pre-op weight loss.

I'm not 5 years, but over 4.... Restrictive??? Diet??? those are 2 words I do not use. How about "New Lifestyle"? I have had lap band surgery,,,yes it restricts the amount of food, portion sizes, I can eat.....does it bother me? No, because it also took care of my hunger, and my tastes have changed to where a lot of things...MANY things, do not appeal to me anymore. I have no desire, no cravings. Also, the Lap band has made certain foods difficult to eat, so i gave them up entirely rather than gamble....looking back, all the foods, or most, where not that good for me in the first place. And if I was on a diet they would be "Red Flag" foods like cakes, breads, rice, etc, etc. Over 4 years later, I take a day like any other day...perfectly normal, don't even think about the fact I had weight loss surgery....all those lessons I learned early on have now become not just a habit, but it is who I am and what I do instinctively Sure, every now and then I will drink Water too fast, or swallow something too large or too quickly...but it is nothing more than a little reminder....not the sky is falling!! You may read many posts from people who are struggling...but if you can read between the lines you can see why they are struggling..."Have not seen their Dr in over a year" for one example.....and the majority of them are from people who are new to this... Granted, there are legitimate unavoidable problems with this surgery, some dangerous....just as there is with anything in life. But I am at a "Normal" weight, in excellent health ( was not always so) and I have more self-esteem, motivation, and energy than I ever have.... Would I trade this off??? Not a chance!!!

For me, everything changed. What I used to love, I no longer love. For example the description that the op made regarding that juicy cheeseburger. I loved cheeseburgers! I could not wait until I could have one again. Yep, I can eat them if I want to but honestly they no longer thrill me at all. I was a spaghetti fanatic ever since I was a young child. The night before I started my liquid diet we went to our favorite Italian restaurant and had a food funeral. It was so delicious! I have had spaghetti and have made it many different ways for my family. I cannot even stand the texture of Pasta which is what I once loved. I don't get sick but things like bread, pasta, rice make my pouch feel heavy. I now dream about a perfectly cooked filet mignon or salmon. A great piece of pork tenderloin or a juicy grilled chicken breast with some fabulous vegetables or a nice green salad. I cant eat much but boy I think about delicious food that is healthy and good for me. I do occasionally crave a good piece of cheesecake or a couple spoons of ice cream. Because I eat very healthy the rest of the day, I can occasionaly enjoy those yummy treats. I started living for real the day I had my surgery. I no longer live to eat but I eat to live. I make sure that everything I do eat is delicious and worth taking up precious space in my tiny tummy. Some people say they really don't care for food since surgery. For me, I love food. I love planning menus, cooking my food and enjoying it while I eat it. I never eat fast food and seriously do not miss it at all. In fact my hubby eats it and it really grosses me out. All that grease, fat and salt.....no thanks. There are times when I have made something absolutely delicious and wish I could eat more but then I just figure I can have the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. My apologies..... I just logged back in and saw this was a male only site.......

If it were me...I'd buy a couple books on the lap band (which, in fact, I did) and I'd ask friends and my PCP to recommend bariatic surgeons (although I don't care for the one my PCP recommended, actually; I love the one I did use!) and then go to a couple of seminars. They will tell you the cost during the seminar. Of course, what you have to pay shouldn't be the deciding factor, but after a couple of seminars you should be able to pick the surgeon with the support staff that best suits you. Remember some include free fills for a year, etc. AND...I've learned that the post op care is as important (if not moreso) than the surgery. Find out what fills will cost you once any "free" service is used up, and find out what the cost will be if, for example, your port flips or leaks or if you have other post op complications. That should be a good start. You shouldn't have all the prereqs that insurance requires. How fast will depend on many factors including you, your health, the surgeon you pick and his/her schedule, etc.

I've not vomited even once since my surgery. I don't think I can, actually. When I overeat (which is rare, thank goodness because I take note when I start to get full unless I eat too fast and then I'm screwed) I feel uncomfortably full, nauseous, and want to vomit soooooo bad, but I can't and I end up feeling that way for HOURS after the fact. That's why I try and continue to eat slow because every single time I've overeaten has been because I ate too fast. Head hunger for me usually happens when I'm bored. I try to just drink when that happens because if your stomach is full of fluid you don't feel hungry (unless you're ACTUALLY hungry. It's a good way to tell, tbh).

Hi, This is my 7th day on Protein shakes Pre-Op diet. The first two days are the hardest. My stomach complained so loud. But now things are quiet again. I got enough protein in per day that I'm not hungry at all. Can you have anything else in addition to opti-fast? My doctor just told me to get 60+g or protein, 20 or les of Fat, and 10 g or less of Sugar per day. After 2 days of EAS Protein Shakes, I got so sick of sweet shakes, so I called up my doctor and asked if I can eat clear broth. The nurse said yes. So I got some chicken broth, add Protein powder (while it still cool). heat it up, a dash of salt and pepper. And It was yummy! My nurse also lets me have Jello (Fat free sugar free kind). So I add protein powder to that and eat about a cup of jello a day. 1 Cup of FF/SF jello came out to be 20 calories and 2g of protein. With Protein powder it's adding 55 calories, 1g Fat, 13g protein, 1g sugar. Also, check out the Special K protein Water. Get the powder kind and add them to your water. I take about 2 pack of those a day, 60 calories, total of 10g protein. So far I lost 7 lbs. And my Blood sugar went from 167 to 104 this morning.... good luck to ya!!! *I'm also self-pay. I'm getting banded next week~!! Woo hoo!!

Ahhh ... yes, good ol' hunger monster and I go way back! Had had 6 months post op without physical hunger, and then similarly to you, at about 20 lbs to goal, it came back. Lots of great info on this thread! Here's my $0.02 Physical hunger and head hunger are totally different animals, and have different ways to fight them Physical hunger is actually easier for me. First, as mentioned above, Intermittent Fasting (IF) was a game changer for me. For me the more I eat, the more hungry I am. The longer I go without eating, my hunger lessens. My body is also easily trained to expect to eat at certain times. My hunger was actually awakened on a vacation. I not usually a breakfast eater, but B&B's include breakfast, so I ate the "free" breakfast every morning. I started waking up hungry, which continued after I got home. So for me, the way I fast is I just push my first meal back as late as possible. When I feel hungry, I push liquids. Most of the time the hunger will pass. I could often get to 2 pm, and do a 18:6. And while their might be magic in IF itself, the fact is I eat less calories if I'm only eating for 6 hrs out of the day vs. 12+. Additionally, if you're truly hungry, it's easier to make good choices. Grilled chicken is delicious when I'm hungry, while it is boring if I'm just snacky, you know? You know what I think I may love best about IF ... you can't fail! If one day the hunger monster won't be banished, that's ok, just eat. No reason to be miserably hungry, just try to make good choices, and try again tomorrow. Some version of IF actually have fast days and feast days. So you didn't fail, you just did 5:2 IF Now head hunger, that's a tougher one for me, and one I've had less success fighting overall. I tried to remove temptation from my house. If I had to go to the store for chips, I was less likely to eat them. I stopped watching any cooking shows, and stopped browsing food or recipe website, even healthy ones. I kept healthy foods stocked, low cal soups, jerky, fresh veggies, laughing cow cheese, deli meat, poached chicken, low cal condiments. If I was just feeling snacky and it was overwhelming then I'd just try to eat all the good stuff. As @GreenTealael said, you're not going to gain weight on lettuce! Sometimes though, I just really really wanted food X. I had two strategies. Say I was craving Mexican food. Sometimes I was able to be satisfied by going out and getting something that satisfied the craving, but was still a healthy choice. For instance, getting ceviche vs. cheese enchiladas. Sometimes I just really really wanted the cheese enchiladas, then I had them! But I didn't take home the leftovers, logged it, and what was done was done. Tomorrow was a new day and no reason to beat myself up for being human. Hope that helps!

food Unfortunately has served as an addiction for all of us for way too long. Food served some sort of purpose, for me, I was never in control of anything, I was emotional, and physically abused all my life, and food was always there to make me my tummy feel warm, and a sense of fullness from something. It was my gateway to happiness. There was nothing I could control being a child in a well to do home that kept the abuse hush hush, even from other close family. I learned that when my dad was eating, he was happy, and this was the only time I did not have to hear the yelling or see the abuse, so I would eat and eat and eat, and I would never want to be done. Then as my brother, sister, and I grew bigger, no one could "mess" with us, we were 3 siblings all well over 300 in high school. It then served as my guard, my size that is. I grew to be the fat girl everyone loved, and gosh for the first time someone loved me for being the way I was. I tried to diet over the years always longing to be like my friends who were smaller. As I entered my senior year in high school we went to six flags on a class trip, this boy I really really like asked me to ride the batman with him, so we even waiting in line for the 2 seater front row! It was our turn to get in, I sat down and it wouldn't buckle. The worker made his way down and kept jammmming it, and low and behold, it wasn't going anywhere. I was mortified, I ran out of there, down the stairs, and ran to the closest food stand and gorged. That was my escape, and safe zone from harm. I then secluded myself from those friends in fear that they may ask me what happened, and I couldn't face that. I then began gng to buffets by myself, or ordering take out Chinese after school to eat in 30 minutes before I worked all night at a fast food restaurant, where I ate all night as well. I went on to seek attention from older older guys who needed money from me, but hey they gave me attention right. They touched me, as no one ever had, it made me feel amazing, and someone loved . These four years of mylife just made my insecurities worse, as these guys really just walked all over me. I then was at 350lbs!!!!!! I was in school, and just distanced my self from the bad, but went to he bars and sought out one night stands for years. Through friends, I met this amazing guy, now my fiancé, whom we have a one year child with. Which put me to my current highest weight of 386 lbs. My obgyn doctors scale only went to 350, so in the small local hospital that I got to, I was forced to go to X-ray department every weekend to weight in on the industrial wheel chair ramp that needed assembly every time, how embarrassing. I grew into a deep depression, and my fiancé stood by my side telling me he loved me over and over. My weight and everything that comes with being over weight, frusteratiob, depression, hotness, sweatiness, everything, has caused issues in our relationship, and I am robbing myself and my fiancé of a happy,life by being so unhappy, and always craving a xlarge papa johns pizza or 5 mcdubs. It's not fair to him that when I am gentry, I am upset. I made my decision to get surgery for myself, to be happy for once. With the love of my life by my side. Ironically, I graduated with my masters degree in social work, and I am a therapist, who helps people go through this same stuff that I talk about. Yet just as nurses are there worst patient, so are therapists. All in all, food is an addiction, it serves hidden purposes, and it becomes our gateway, it becomes our safe zone, it overcomes every aspect of our life. I had surgery July 24, so I am 1 week post op today, and I am ready for the rest of my life to be happy. Sure, it is a constant struggle at first because your doing something so healthy but taking away everything you love, and that makes you feel so good!!! But I am ready, I am ready to spend a HAPPY life with my fiance, and enjoy him. Rather than not be able to lay on the couch with him because I am too big. Or lay with him, and have to adjust all my clothing because my rolls are pertruding out. I am ready to stop being scared that the little 5 year old girl inside of me cannot do it. I am ready to stop hearing my father say I am worthless and will never be anything. Because you know what, I am already me, I am overcoming everything to be HEALTHY I am ready to be healthy, To be able to stand in the wind with a tshirt on and not have to pull it off my roll to make me not look AS BIG. To not sweat profusely if it is not below 65. To wear clothes again that fit. I started my liquid diet July 19, surgery July 24, and today as of July 31st, I am down 31 lbs!!!!!!!!!! Gosh, it's really my turn. It's my time, it's my time to shine!!! To do this, to succeed, for myself. NOTHING FEELS AS GOOD AS SKINNY FEELS!!!

So I stopped loosing about two months about at 285. I did have a stressful move 2000 miles and was eating erratically to deal with stress. I got a membership to the YMCA and in the midwest there are lots of chubby people at the Y so I don't feel alone. I start off with yoga twice a week and then going to the gym to do cardio and muscle building 2-3 times a week as well. And fortunately I did not gain. It is sort of exciting as I haven't really regularly exercised in over 10 years. My goal is to loose 40 pounds by October. My main obstacle is that here I am in the middle of one of the fattest cities in the USA with the most restaurants in the USA. My sister buys lots of sugary foods for the kids which are my weakness, and I get tempted by fast food. I try to start my day with yogurt and nuts or berries. Then the day dissolves into leftovers and me struggling not to eat junky foods laying around. A nice personal trainer said if I increase my muscle mass, I'll burn more calories, so I'll be more likely to lose weight instead of just maintain my current weight. Any other good ideas?

I have been on my journey since sept 2011. Just finished 6 month supervised weightloss. I only lost a few lbs, nothing major..now of course gotta waiy for my drs office to move their behind.. anyone out there know how fast UHC responds?

Hey everyone! I was banded December 11th, I have gone from 230 to a VERY fluctuating 183-194. Depends on the day, the time, who knows anymore! It depresses the heck outta me, I can tell you that! I couldn't wait to hit 199, then 189........I get very depressed because since I lost weight so fast, I want it to continue. I've had 3 fills, this 3rd one kicked my butt! I can finally feel the restriction, but I also cannot eat very many things, and I usually throw up when eating. Needless to say, I don't think they'll be adding to my band April 29th. I'm tired of the few things I can eat, I'm upset because I'm not losing.......It feels like a dead end road right now and I know it shouldn't. I have plenty of time, but still. I'm doing the Body for Life workout program. Kicks my butt muscle wise, but I'm determined to shrink my skin too! Any suggestions on foods and such? That I can keep down?? I'm thinking of becoming a vegetarian. LOL

As the others have said, great job!! You should be proud of yourself. The only fast food I've done is Wendy's chili one time. I just remember the grease, and think God that probably would taste disgusting now! I used 2 do 2 double cheeseburgers plain. Can't imagine that now!

Yeah these things will cure you of that...fast! Lol

Bad luck, but at least is was caught in time. You will get better fast, you already lost 25lbs, it is just a bump in the road. Speedy recovery and keep us informed. Hugs

My advice is to stop worrying so much about Protein. Honestly, it took many of us MONTHS to consistently get both our liquids and our protein in. Right now you're on the fast track to burning yourself out completely. Cut yourself some slack and eat things that actually sound good to you that are reasonably healthy choices. Sometime around 8-9 months I realized that I needed more carbs but with only so much room in my sleeve I was forced to make up my protein intake elsewhere. You can add unflavored Protein powder to soups (it never really worked great for me but some people swear by it) and I always did two scoops of protein in my morning shake. This way I hit my totals for the day but had room for other foods that I needed. You can also try sludge - a bodybuilder friend of mine taught me this one. Mix one scoop of protein powder (I preferred chocolate) with 1 Tbs. Peanut Butter and just enough Water to make a sludge out of it. I chilled it really cold in the freezer and ate it up like ice cream. It's kinda weird but packs a protein/calorie punch and is easy to get down. Oh, and I second the vote on cottage cheese. If you like it, it's a great food. I was SO sad when my lactose intolerance made me cross it off my list. It's a soft food and is packed with protein. So, eat something you want to eat. Honestly, you're killing yourself here and it's not even necessary! It's very important to stick to your surgeon's guidelines so you heal properly but you're forcing yourself into a corner with your diet. Mental health is important for our overall well-being, too, you know! You need to be happy about what you're eating or you'll start to regret your decision. Good luck. I admire your determination but you don't need to be so fixated on reaching those goals so early out! ~Cheri

Yes it is coming up fast, i have pre op testing monday the 22 of Oct. And then Ill go shopping for things and I should be ready! It still hasnt hit me yet! Im wondering when it will.

I started this journey in October 2012 and now its June 2013 and I am down 100 lbs.... It wasn't easy either I have made a lot of mistakes somewhere daily but I kept my focus worked out, even when I made bad choices I didn't let them affect me the rest of the day like I have done in the past. I have done weight watchers, counting calories and nutri system and have never lost much or stuck to something so hard. At first I felt like this was wrong because I was dropping weight fast and that I couldn't do it on my own before. Well I couldn't do it on my own I needed help and I found it and I will never look back on those 100 lbs or bring them with me to future. This is the best choice that I have ever made and I would do again if I had too... This has changed my life and I can’t wait to lose the next 75 lbs! :wub:

Today marks exactly one year since I started my preop diet and I was reminded of all the wonderful things I've learned from this site so I thought I'd share a few. 1. Never knew about the 3 week stall until I read it on here. 2. salad Bar-Someone else had posted this tip. I now go to the Salad bar at Safeway right down the street from my house and load up the container with all sorts of veggies and do not add any dressing. Then for the week I just use my precut veggies out of my box. I waste so much less and it's super easy. 3.Powercrunch bars...they are my favorite. 4.Genepro unflavored Protein. Love this stuff heard of a new one called Piping rock that I will try when I run out of GENEPRO. 5.If you stall keep measuring as you're probably losing inches 6.Healthy options at fast food places, recipes, snack ideas And now I've ordered a new moisturizer cream. So much wonderful information on here. I am sure there is more that I am forgetting. How about the rest of you what have you found to be the most helpful? ~LA

My doctor told me that the deal behind the post op liquids is so you allow scar tissue to develop over the sutures that are holding the band in place. If you go to fast and eat you can stretch the pouch and pop the sutures, which would allow the band to slip. Even if he's going to extremes with scare tactics, it worked. Now I cheated, I am not gonna lie, but I cried after! OMG - I knEw I busted my sutures and that band WAs loose. :eek: I punished myself worse than anyone could but now I'm back on track. The main thing I cheated on was I had cream of wheat during my post-op liquid phase and I had a bite of salmon. I chewed and chewed and chewed and chewed it before i swallowed. Everyone is human and it happens. I just figure it isn't forever and I can do it. Why test the limits and risk stretching my pouch or popping my sutures? GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!! :clap2:

(I am cross posting this message) My first fill was June 28th. I felt the restriction that moment when I was swallowing Water and maybe up to a few hours later. But by the next day I was eating like I normally do. I have never had to chew my food real well. I have never had a problem eating too fast. As I stated in a previous post I had 1/2 of a t-bone steak, a cob of corn and 1/2 a baked potato in one sitting. We went to Red Robin where my favorite salad is and I was able to eat 1/2 of it! The salads are huge. It is just taking a long time to get me full. Trust me I am not eating until I am stuffed, just satisfied and I'm not happy about the quantity that it takes to get me to that point. So hopefully they will give me fill on Wednesday morning that is when it is scheduled. I am going on vacation right after the fill and I do not want to gain weight while gone, I want to eat small amounts and be lady like! Has anyone had this experience?

Virginiann- I was banded on May 9th and had my first fill on June 18th. I thought there was something wrong, because like you, I felt restriction for the first day or two and then nothing. I went back to eating "normal"...never had any problems with eating too fast and not chewing well enough. Plus I hear of all these people that have gotten nauseous and throw up. Not one time for me. I'm able to eat about the same amount as you (the steak and potatoes), and I am not satisfied with that. I am still losing little by little, but from the amount of what I am supposed to be able to eat to what I actually am eating is a big difference. I called to schedule another fill for July 21st and we'll see if that helps out any. Good luck to you, and you're not alone.