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I've lost 88.5 in 9 months - 5'4 250 age 54 How fast or slow you lose is up to you - and also your body - but it's all about what you eat and how much you exercise

I think you should show him this forum and have him read the sucess stories in the band to sleeve revision section. There are so many people who shared your struggles with the band who had outstanding success with VSG. I think if he understands the differences, he will be much more on board. You will still have your crazy, stressful schedule and will have to find ways to eat right within that. That will take some additional planning and organization on your part. But, not being hungry will allow you to make better choices because you will not feel the need to just grab something at the fast food drive thru. Good luck!

Today marks my 1st anniversary of my life saving surgery. For me it was life saving I was on the verge of going out. You could say a heart attack just waiting to happen because of poor choices. I have not posted in a long time for I have been doing a little experiment the last 3 months. I got into bad choices on my own I have been trying to deal with WLS on my own. I have the support of my wife and family but wanted to see if I could do it on my own. (I CAN). I will always be in debt for the support that this forum and Myfitness pal and everyone on it has shown and given to me. We are not alone in our fight to be thin use what ever support you can find and never be ashamed to ask for it. My story is like thousands of others. I started this journey at 290 lbs I was on 11 different medications everything from diabetic to heart meds my health was going down hill fast. My doctor suggested WLS as a way to prolong my life. 1 Year later I have lost a total of 110 lbs I'm currently at 180 lbs the only meds I take are a multi Vitamin and a Iron pill. My diabetes is GONE my acid reflux GONE my high blood pressure GONE all the rest of my problems are GONE. I have just come back from my Heart doctor and have been give a CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH my heart is fine. I will live to see my son grow up and go to collage to get married and to some day make me a grand pa. I know it's only been a year and the test of time is and will be my biggest challenge . A lesson for all that are waiting for their surgery DO not be afraid to ask for help this will be the hardest thing you will ever do. Your life will never be the same again it will BE BETTER And I'm not done I want to lose 10 more lbs doctor says no when they remove the excess skin I will have lost 8-15 lbs more and I may not be health for me. All I know is I never want to go back to what I looked like a year ago Thank you all for all your support

Thanks !! I'm glad I started over with Jacobi..they are moving fast I went to mount Sinai and they wasted my time no communication .but Jacobi has a good connection with my new insurance metro plus she said I should have a date by July/ Aug

:thumbdown:yeah thats what i thought until a month ago! my mentality, all it takes is diet and exercise...and possibly 100 attempts with diet and exercise. i'd lose weight, sometimes fast some times slow, 30 lbs 40 lbs...only to regain sometimes twice the amount now at 288lbs it is honestly easier not to diet, that way my weight stays the same give or take 2-3 lbs instead of the extreme like recently losing 17 gaining 36! my sister told me about lap band...a few of her coworkers had it done...WLS always scared me it was way too drastic, too dangerous, cutting what? putting what where? um no. so that was june 10-ish, so i started looking into it and i was hooked...i think this surgery was designed for me, i just think i'm going to have the most amazing results, because my problem is eating...i can exercise with the best of them, and yeah i'm a weirdo...but i'm hooked on exercise for months at a time, but i get so discouraged when my progress is ruined after one weekend of a binge...so if the lap band will help me with portion control, making better choices, well then gosh darn i can do the rest. i know some people have done months of research, and it sounds like i'm rushing into it, but i don't think i am, because i was totally opposed to weight loss surgery 30 days ago, i've spent 3 weeks online looking into it, i know i can lose weight by myself...but i've seen what happens when i do it by myself...i call myself "yo-yo" i don't expect my band to do all the work for me, and i know even though its not a risky as gastric bypass or any of the others, its' still a surgery, so still very serious. my surgery is scheduled for july 24th, and i've been on my preop diet for 4 days now...i'm excited :biggrin:and scared:eek: at the same time!

Hi! I'm a 48 yr old mom of 3. I've been wanting to have GB surgery for almost 25 years!!! I chickened out the first time.....I'm kicking myself because at that time I had insurance with no prereqs and paid for it 100%...but I was scared and not ready. Fast forward to 2013...dying gall bladder, botched gall bladder removal, bile duct repair surgery. I lost 35 lbs in a month because of that...it was inspiring. Decided to 'clean eat' and joined Beachbody and jumped in with both feet. I was doing FANTASTICALLY, losing a total of 78 lbs, not quite to my goal weight but I felt so fantastic!! But then.....the hubs got hurt at work and was off for 3 months. I had to go back to work. My little bubble of getting to be a stay at home mom, with oodles of time to meal prep and exercise burst in a huge way. The only job I could get was at Pizza Hut....I was angry that he got hurt, I was angry that I had to go back to work. So I punished myself, I ate a shitton of pizza. I very quickly gained weight back and fast forward to today, I'm almost back up to where I started. Recently I've done some selfwork and am in a really good mental space right now. And have set the wheels in motion to get the surgery....FOR REAL THIS TIME. I could have had it a couple years ago, but allowed my husband to talk me out of it. I told him, this time, he doesn't get to say. I've tried to do it on my own and I failed. I need this tool to keep me focused and honest. I truly believe that 25 years ago, I wasn't ready to get this done and would have failed. I'm ready to do this now! I'm not the most patient person, but let the 6 months (or hopefully less) begin!!!! I've gone through seminar, I meet with the surgeon in July. My PCP is on board. The hubs is actually on board. I've quit smoking (sooo hard!) and next is quitting Diet Coke. Thanks for letting me share!!!

Almost the entire day went by before I realized that my surgery was one year ago today!! It's actually nice not to constantly be thinking about my weight and food all the time. I'm just enjoying my life sooooo much I don't have time to think about that stuff anymore!!! And I can honestly say, this has been the BEST year in my 43 years on the planet!!! it hasn't always been easy, but "The hard is what makes it great"!!! I have fulfilled a 5 year dream to become a triathlete!! I did 3 triathlons this past summer and am planning on doing 5-6 next year. My goal now is to begin to do longer races and eventually do an Ironman (2.5 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, ending with a marathon). It sounds crazy, I know.....but I just having a burning desire to see what my body can do!! I still have about 40 pounds to lose and I imagine it's going to take me some time to lose it as I'm consistently losing about 2-4 pounds per month (which I'm totally ok with). I can pretty much eat anything at this point....but the amount depends on the food. meat and raw fruits and veggies still fill me up super fast with just a few bites. My relationship with food has completely changed....I now eat to live instead of living to eat!!! I absolutely LOVE my sleeve and i 100% recommend this journey to those who are still on the fence about it. I've heard a lot of people say that they don't want to "take the easy way out"...in fact, I was one of those people for many years. I always thought I should be able to "do it on my own". Well, I didn't because I couldn't. I needed help. And this journey has been anything BUT easy!! It's the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's also the best thing I've ever done!!!! So, here are some pics. The first one was taken 3 months before my surgery. There is also one of me with both of my legs in my BIG GIRL pants (which I used to fill out completely!!!).

This inspiration is just what I need right now! I'm on day 2 of my pre op diet and I'm sooo hungry. December 10 is coming fast and I'm scared and excited. Everyone questions my decision , and then I read about the problems people are having and it makes me wonder. This story helps. Thank you.

I used to love flying when I was younger. I grew up in Alaska with family in Texas, Indiana, and new Mexico. Flew all over the country, regularly. Flew intermittently through my 20s for business and vacations. For a number of reasons, I hadn't flown since before 9/11 so my business trip this week has been my first foray on a plane with the tsa nonsense and the whole carry on luggage nonsense. I now hate flying. And it's only partially because the plane seats are so freaking tiny. 17" across... I looked it up. That's nuts. And not just for wide loads like me... most athletic men have broader shoulders than that. No way to have any speck of personal space. I'll lose weight after the surgery and not have to squeeze my butt and thighs into a seat, but it's not going to make me any shorter or do much about my shoulder width. My knees were touching the seat in front of me and the head rest was in my shoulders. And that's not even considering the dammed tsa. That was a nightmare. I will be fixing my name on my passport and getting pre check as soon as humanly possible when I get home. I also think I'm checking a bag next time, because trying to pack for a week business trip in a roller is just nuts. I'm not sure where I was going with this, but needed to rant somewhere. It was a miserable airport and flight experience, I don't care for hotel stays, and I get to endure the airport and flight again tomorrow. Geez. sent from mobile device

Only when I eat to fast. Everything sorta "log jams" and I need to throw up the excess. Perfect example- I was rushing around and ate a couple crackers. Then I took too big a gulp of water. I instantly knew I jammed everything up and went to the bathroom. I threw up the water but JUST the water (ie, what was back up into my esophagus) while the crackers stayed down.

I don't have enough proof that this works, but here's what I try when I want to break a stall. High Intensity Training - giving maximum effort for a short period of time. My exercise routine only consists of walking, but at work, I have access to the stairwells. I try to climb 5 flights of stairs as fast as I safety can. My best time has been 1 min 26 seconds. My lungs and legs are burning by the 3rd flight and I take a 10 second break at the 3rd and 4th floor. If you are doing the same exercise routine, eventually your body is going to become more efficient at it. If your weight program consists mainly of free weights, try alternating with weight machines that force your muscles to work in a different way. If you're on the elliptical, pick a program that changes up the one you're used to. Alternate speeds, add in inclines or switch off to a Stair Master for a few exercise sessions. When I used to do the elliptical, I set up my music playlist to have one really fast, motivating song ( like Motley Crew's "Kick Start My Heart") every 4th song, and I would go all out for the duration of that song, then slow back down to my normal pace. Keep up the good work, you'll get there.

Not true, people experience it differently and. The causes are different too. I have a friend who dumps by projectile vomiting for hours...she was eating sweets. I have only dumped from my Protein shake. Drinking too fast did it. I get hot flashes, nausea, dizzy and feel totally gross. Ok . I guess my Doctors wrong. I was throwing up a lot a few weeks ago so I asked him about it.

Not true, people experience it differently and. The causes are different too. I have a friend who dumps by projectile vomiting for hours...she was eating sweets. I have only dumped from my Protein shake. Drinking too fast did it. I get hot flashes, nausea, dizzy and feel totally gross.

My team said no alcohol for the first year. There were three reasons for this: 1) Liver failure. Your body burns fat very quickly during the first year releasing toxins stored in the fat into your system. Your liver is working very hard during this time to filter these out. Adding alcohol during this time period can overwork your liver, causing liver failure (resulting in at least one recent death for my program). 2) Cross addiction or transfer addiction. Many of us are addicted to various foods and need to practice and learn new coping skills while we are losing weight so we can keep the weight off for life. The statistics are pretty high for alcoholism, drug addiction, and other less common addictions (gambling, shopping, sex) for weight loss surgery patients. These statistics are equally as high for people who never indulged in these things pre op as they are for those who did. We need to learn and practice coping skills to avoid falling into the trap of new addictions. 3) Quick and easy intoxication. We get tipsy faster on less. There are plenty of reasons why this could be bad. Driving would be dangerous. You could end up in dangerous situations when quickly intoxicated. Or you could have poor judgment about what you put in your mouth while intoxicated. I tend to want to eat when tipsy. If I did that in the early stages I'd probably have had a lot more of those painful stuck food or vomiting episodes from eating too much, too fast, wrong foods, and not chewing. I have wine now at 14 months out. 4oz hits me hard and can make me slur my words and be unsteady on my feet. I only drink alcohol at home now, never in public (I like my Saturday night glass of wine - my indulgence after a long week). Mainly because I'd be embarrassed to seem so drunk in public and driving home would be very unwise. These three reasons were stressed and drilled into me over and over and over pre op and post op during support group meetings. I second all of these reasons 100% especially the addiction and quick to get tipsy, you can add it in but you just need to make sure you are monitoring it very closely to avoid these common problems.

My team said no alcohol for the first year. There were three reasons for this: 1) Liver failure. Your body burns fat very quickly during the first year releasing toxins stored in the fat into your system. Your liver is working very hard during this time to filter these out. Adding alcohol during this time period can overwork your liver, causing liver failure (resulting in at least one recent death for my program). 2) Cross addiction or transfer addiction. Many of us are addicted to various foods and need to practice and learn new coping skills while we are losing weight so we can keep the weight off for life. The statistics are pretty high for alcoholism, drug addiction, and other less common addictions (gambling, shopping, sex) for weight loss surgery patients. These statistics are equally as high for people who never indulged in these things pre op as they are for those who did. We need to learn and practice coping skills to avoid falling into the trap of new addictions. 3) Quick and easy intoxication. We get tipsy faster on less. There are plenty of reasons why this could be bad. Driving would be dangerous. You could end up in dangerous situations when quickly intoxicated. Or you could have poor judgment about what you put in your mouth while intoxicated. I tend to want to eat when tipsy. If I did that in the early stages I'd probably have had a lot more of those painful stuck food or vomiting episodes from eating too much, too fast, wrong foods, and not chewing. I have wine now at 14 months out. 4oz hits me hard and can make me slur my words and be unsteady on my feet. I only drink alcohol at home now, never in public (I like my Saturday night glass of wine - my indulgence after a long week). Mainly because I'd be embarrassed to seem so drunk in public and driving home would be very unwise. These three reasons were stressed and drilled into me over and over and over pre op and post op during support group meetings.

Many people develop a signal that they are full. I did not develop mine until I started eating pureed foods in week 3. I never felt full drinking my fluids the first two weeks. The Water passes through the sleeve very quickly. I am in my sixth week. My warning sign of being full is that I hiccup once. If I hiccup twice, i've usually taken one bite too many. Some people have a runny nose, others hiccup like me, some have a combination of both. Eating slower has been the hardest part for me to learn. My sleeve (Runt) makes me pay dearly when I eat too much or too fast.

So my drs. office has TONS of support groups, classes, phone-chat, etc. It is one of the reasons that I picked him. However, right before I was having surgery, I was told that all the support groups were undergoing a radical overhaul, and to 'stay tuned'. So in one of my post-nutrition classes I met a lady. She and I were the only two in the classes so we got chatty and friendly and exchanged email addys. She had the RNY procedure a few days before I had the VSG. I got an email from her yesterday saying "there is a support group tonight, let's go!" And even though I couldn't find it on my calendar from the surgeon's office, I decided 'what the heck' and went. I got there, sat down and then realized....this support group is for lap band people. Whoopsie! But the group was facilitated by my NUT and I do really like her and they didn't ask us to leave or anything. So there was probably 10 people total there and my friend and I were the only non-lap banders. So this is how the breakdown of the room went: * 2 people - Super-happy with the band (and less than 4 months out...one lady had lost 40lbs in 4 months...not too shabby) * 2 people - Completely unfilled due to issues (one lady was headed to the ER after class she was in SO MUCH PAIN...I really worried about her...poor thing she was over 1 year out) * 1 person - Happy with her loss, but unhappy because she could never eat for 10 days after a fill, she was banded in June and spends more than a week after a fill being sick and having to survive on liquids) * 1 person - Didn't say much, but was very obese (not sure when banded) and said she was struggling but didn't elaborate. * 1 person - Was pre-surgery and trying to get a feel for things during post-op life, etc. * 1 person - Struggling with 'getting back on track' just having issues in general. And then there was me (VSG) and my friend (RNY) and I felt SO BAD for the bandsters. They had all sorts of questions about why I choose VSG, and some of them called it "radical" etc. SO there I was saying 'um I didn't get the band because I can't stand to throw up, plus I don't view the band as a long-term solution' ...I wasn't expecting all the questions. I ended it by saying that those were having trouble could consider revising to the VSG. It was all very eye-opening. And every single bandster who had thrown up was blaming THEMSELVES! Truly. "I did it to myself, I ate too fast, too much, too big of a bite, etc." Wow. So I'm glad I went but next time will go by the schedule. Interestingly enough, they don't have a stand-alone sleeve support group...we are lumped into the RNY category. Oh well, it will be interesting to hear all of their stories too. I did ask pre-surgery for them to make a sleeve support group since they are in the process of restructuring, etc. Oh and the reason I put 'real' in quotes is because I truly consider this to be my TRUE support group...love this board!

I never expected it to be such an emotional experience for me. As I lay in the truck sobbing, I finally understood how I had been treating myself. I had gorged myself my whole life on disgusting junk food and while, for the most part, I never felt that way before, I could see the toll it had forced my body to pay. I'm fat, I have gallstones, my knees hurt, and the depression that I have experienced has been truly profound. I feel so sorry for this beautiful girl whom I repeatedly abused with fast food, sweets, and emotional eating. Instead of loving myself, I loved food. Instead of bring my own friend, I confided in French fries and burgers. When I had accomplished something in my life, food was there to give me a greasy high five. What a horrible frenemy food became. As I "rewarded" myself with food, food was digging a deeper (and wider) grave. I am ready for this life saving operation. I can't wait till my body reflects all these changes I've been making. I'm grateful and blessed to have MexicanGirl to go through it with me.

Ok, so today is the first day that I'm really starting to feel back to normal....very happily. Went for a walk...a short one, got a mani/ pedi, blew dry my hair, shaved the legs...all the grooming rituals that have been put on the back burner for the last 10 days! I'm also down 25 lbs today since I started the pre-op diet. So feeling pretty good about things. Two things that I think are odd about myself right now: One, I find great comfort in watching the food network constantly. I love to cook (and eat) and am growing a veggie garden now so I've been thinking of cool recipes. I have been watching A LOT and seem to be somewhat sated just watching these yummy things being prepared...I don't necessarily even want to EAT them....just a bit strange the whole thing. Number two and even weirder is that I'm having very vivid dreams about food. Have had two (so recurring) dreams about home made peach ice cream (which I'm not sure I've ever even had) and last night I was molesting a Big Mac! I'm a vegetarian and have never been a huge fast food person (although do have very fond food memories of McD's cheeseburgers during my meat eating years!) Anyway, a bit weird, but all in all things are good and I guess we all handle these changes a bit differently. :crying:

@@kandiB 150 So for me the gurgle happens when my band is feeling super tight. I can feel the food make that gurgle sound as it moves past the band. Think of your tub when you take the stopper out...and the Water starts moving down the drain...you can hear that gurgle gurgle. For me it's kind of like that, and it happens if I drink too fast, or eat too fast or if I drink right after a bite that hasn't fully past the band and things start to stack up in there. Even if we have been long term banders and we know we should sip, and we should eat slowly, take small bites, and chew chew chew...I think the way our life styles are busy busy rush rush rush, I know I can forget and the gurgle is the first sign that I better get back to good eating mechanics cause the next thing is the slimes, and the stuck and the swelling of the band and misery for a couple of days So heed the gurgle, sometimes it's just trapped air but most times..it's cause we are not following good eating mechanics when we have good restriction in our bands.

I had lots of gurgling after my last fill. I think I was just eating/drinking too fast, not chewing enough because now that I have adjusted and started using better mechanics, it has calmed down a lot. I still get the gurgling but it's not as bad. I just have to make sure that I take sips instead of gulps when I'm drinking fluids and chew my food really well when I eat.

Hi Mark, Well, you asked, although I don't think you're going to like your response. I have a teenage son, so I know how they are, and basically in my experience, they'll only seek out and pursue what's important to them. My son didn't apply to colleges until he could choose what colleges to go to, and he only did that once we backed off and stopped having conniption fits when he mentioned things like becoming a male model or a rodeo clown; once we did that, he went gangbusters, and in fact I'm sitting here with his apps to Harvard, Princeton and Georgetown. (And with his test scores and grades, he stands a good shot at getting in). He's now frantic, desperate to get into the best schools and major in political science. Why? Because we backed off and let him choose his own destiny. What I read in your post is that your son's weight is more important to YOU than to HIM. If you push him, you will only make him rebel; he has to want to lose weight to make any lasting changes. He can't do it for you. And I'm afraid that if you shame him or make him feel bad about being fat, you'll only damage his self esteem. And good self esteem is, I believe, really important to taking the steps necessary to have a permant weight loss occur. If it were me, I'd just encourage him to exercise with you every day (heck, it's good for you, too, and you're setting a good example) and have only healthful foods in the house. You don't say what your food situation is like at home but if his "normal sized" sibilngs are allowed to eat junk food and he's judged for what he puts in his mouth, that again could shame him. I'm not saying you are doing this, and I hope you're not; but my grandparents did it to my mom, and she ended up weighing way over 400 pounds. So I'd just have healthful foods in the house, encourage regular exercise -- stressing the health benefits of regular exercise, not whether it leads to weight loss -- and as he feels better about himself, his body, etc. he may very well opt to "do something" about his weight. In the meantime, those changes will go very far to help him stay healthy. Studies have shown that a fat person who eats healthily and exercises (and yes, we exist) his similar risks to heart disease and cancer as a thin person. So while it's healthier to be thin, it's healthy to be active and eat nutritious foods, too. Regardless of one's weight. I'm a little confused, though. Were you thinking of kicking him out of the house because of his weight??? Please tell me I misread your post, because that seems unconscionably cruel. The only reason I could think of to kick my kids out are illegal activities, flagrant disregard for the rules, or being in their 20's with no real goals in life. He's still a kid, and needs your guidance and support -- not your shame. What would kicking him out of the house do? He wouldn't be exercising with you and would have to get a job which would cut into work out activities; also, he probably wouldn't be eating particularly well if he's like most teens left to their own devices. I only see it as a lose lose situation. And really, so what if he's fat? I've lived 40 years on this planet in a fat body (I'm arranging my surgery for next year) and in that time I have married my high school sweetie, birthed and raised three lovely, intelligent, insightful, saavy children who love their planet and each other. I graduated from nursing school at the top of my class while raising three kids and running a business. I've been a childbirth educator, labor coach, Girl Scout leader, volunteer for numerous organizations, and helped at my children's schools. My life is one hardly deserving of shame. But it was my parents telling me that my weight didn't matter -- that my character did -- which led me to strive for everything I could have in life. My weight, until recently, never got in my way. I worked out several days a week, I backpacked around Alaska, California and Washington state, I swam in lakes, rivers and pools, I bicycled, I even rode a Vespa scooter. The only reason I'm having trouble now is that I'm 40 and have an autoimmune disease; the combination of my weight, aging and the Sarcoidosis have finally started to catch up with me. I hardly consider the last 40 years "killing myself". But all of the crazy stupid diets I went on probably DID do some damage, which is why I stepped OFF the dieting treadmill and just focused on eating well and exercising. I didn't drop a pound but I felt really good. Your son is only 18, not 40, and establishing a healthy lifestyle -- regardless of what that does to his weight -- is far more important than buying into your obsession with his size. What he needs, in my opinion, is good information about healthy eating, exercise, and good role models. And he needs the space to decide how he wants to live his life. Now, if he's depressed, or has no real goals or anything, then by all means get the kid to a counselor. If he's eating crap, make it clear that he can't do that in the house and make him read "Fast Food Nation". But otherwise, his weight problem is HIS weight problem; I'm afraid you need to back off and deal with your own issues about his weight, and let the kid find his way. The more you pressure him, the more he will rebel, and it may cost you your relationship with him. Sorry to be so hard core, but I've seen parents do this to their kids -- out of love, don't get me wrong, I know you must love him very much, and your concerns are well justified -- and it never ends well. The best thing you can do is tell him you love him, that you're proud of him, and if he needs help he can come to you. And in the meantime, try to get him to exercise regularly so you guys can have quality bonding time together. Best of luck, Mark. I know it's tough, but really, as bad as it is being fat, it could be so much worse, you know? Try to focus on the good things about him to build his self esteem; he'll address his weight problem when he's ready. (BTW, I'm assuming he's been to a doctor and been checked out for any kind of endocrine problems??? Obviously that's the first order of business). Take care, and if he is interested in finding out about the lap band, then I hope he would post here and get his questions answered. But I wouldn't recommend pressuring him to have the surgery because there seems to be SOOOOO much that's all about compliance and working with the band; if he's not behind it 100% (or more), then I fear he could really damage himself.

@@HanSolo1977 ... hang in there. And congrats on relosing the small amount of weight you'd regained. The rest of this is just a comment on nutritionists and dietitians and the advice available to WLS patients. I realize nutritionists and dietitians must be a varied group. But I haven't yet met anyone in those lines of work who's ever been overweight, much less obese. Maybe what they learn about nutrition helps them not to gain weight. Or maybe their fascination with being naturally slim draws them into this line of work. Based on my interactions with three NUTs (and having another one who's a close family member), I know that their levels of empathy for WLS patients can vary considerably. It's not like the basic nutritional information related to WLS is rocket science. Because it's not. Macronutrients aren't complicated. But after being on WLS message boards for longer than two years, it's abundantly clear to me that everyone's body doesn't respond exactly the same to food. Some of us lose fast, some don't. Some are carb-tolerant, others aren't. Some maintain easily on 2,000 calories a day, others at the same size regain if they eat more than 1,200 cals/day. And these maintenance differences don't seem related to how much they exercise, their ages, etc. What's that about? I truly wish there was more good science done in the fields of nutrition and dietetics that helped us understand what accounts for individual differences. It seems to me that, for now, those who want to be very successful long-term have to perform science on themselves to fine-tune their own long-term nutritional programs. That doesn't mean the basic principles should be ignored. But it means that there's not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all program for everybody.

Aside from drinking more water (with crystal light or plain) I have heard some people swear by the slim fast shakes that have a higher ammount of protein in them and that it keeps them fuller longer. Honestly though, you're just not going to be able to deviate too much from what your nutritionist has you on, so maybe putting in a phone call to them and describing your hunger (nerves, pre-surgery jitters, whatever you want to call it). Stay busy and hydrated. You don't have that much farther to go, so stay strong! -Lili

Hi everyone, well I had my surgery on Wednesday and flew back to cold oh so cold Detroit last night. I can't believe how fast things happened and how good I feel today, I am so so so proud of myself. I still have a tight chest and a pain where the port is but other than that I feel great. One thing I can't work out is where all this gas is coming from, do they really put that much into you!!!! Mind you, it seems the more I let go the better I feel!!! I know this probably isn't the right place to say it but the staff and service I got from Dr.Joya were just fantastic. If anyone is still looking for information and wants to know more about what happened please email me. I just wanted to let you all know I was back and once again thank you all for the support and advice you gave beforehand. GLAD TO BE A BANDSTER