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I'm not complaining about stalling because I would actually rather not lose super quickly so I don't have the issues with excess skin and such. However, I have hit a stall and I am only 10 days post op... Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced this? I am getting discouraged because I still get hungry and feel like I can eat more than I should. Please help!!

Yeah! The Nurse Practitioner called me Friday on the drive home from work. She was working through the files on her desk just like I was told. Now that things are in her hands, it seems as though the ride from here might be a bit smoother. I am not scheduled: August 21 - Endoscopy September 24 - Chest X-Ray; EKG; Blood Work September 26 - Review tests with Nurse Practitioner, go over 2 week diet requirement and schedule the surgery date!! After talking things over with my hubby, and trying to navigate the events we have coming up, I believe I'm going to work to begin the 2 week liquid diet on 10/15. I have a wedding party to do make up for (Mary Kay Consultant) the first weekend of October. We are taking my 88 y/o mother-in-law on vacation the next weekend (10/12). That would put my surgery (if I'm lucky and there's availability) the week of 10/29....which puts it very near my birthday. I'm TOTALLY ok with that, as this can then be my birthday present to myself!!! At 44, I'll be starting a new me! Next year, it will be 2 birhtdays in one! This will also mean (hopefully....if post-surgery recouperating goes well) that I could potentially have turkey and mashed potatoes with everyone at Thanksgiving! And Christmas will be even better because that will be about 8-9 weeks out and things should be showing significant progress. (I know, maybe a bit Pollyanna-ish, but if you're not positive, things won't happen, right?) WHOO HOO!!! I'm SO excited this is finally moving forward.

Hello everyone, I have BCN of MI and I was approved with no issues, I had to do 6 months of supervision. I lost and gained 10 lbs or so. There was no WL requirement but I was sure when I went to checkup close to 6 months that I was down. I have since gained but my date is 3/25/14. I start my pre opp diet this coming Monday 3/10/14. I went through Beaumont of Royal Oak MI. As long as paperwork is turned in with data that says you need the surgery BCN of MI is no problem. I just wanted to share this info

When I went to my one and only nutrition class, the nutritionist said we should be aiming to eat one *cup*. Then proceeded to show us a 10" dinner plate that was loaded. Looked to be a 2 oz piece of meat, *at least* a cup of broccoli and well over a cup of mashed potatoes. In one of my follow-ups, the doctor's surgical nurse (does fills) said I should be aiming for 3-4 oz of Protein, 1/2-3/4 cup vegies and, if still hungry, 1/4 cup carbs. When I actually got a chance to see the doctor two weeks ago (first time since my two week postop surgical visit over a year ago), he said I should be aiming for 1200 calories, make sure I get 60gm of protein a day and keep my carbs under 40 and the bulk of them should be from vegies (which will ultimately limit any other types of starches as a result). .

The truth is your body isn't giving up the pounds because that's not a healthy weight for your age/sex. 165 might not be realistic. Keep in mind the closer your are to a normal BMI the more the body will protect itself. So if you are aiming for another 10 -15lbs then you are likely going to have to work your butt off to achieve it. This might be a good time to hit the gym. You could build up nice muscle mass and definition as well as losing that last 10lbs. Do not eat less. Starvation isn't the key. Look at the types of foods you are eating and the times you eat. I fuel my workouts with higher carbs and protein. This is the time when your body can use those things to help burn fat and build muscle.

SO happy for you! My surgery is this Thursday, 11/19/15 & I'm right with you...so excited to finally "be here" after all of the appointments, tests, evaluations...Let the HEALTHY begin! Hope everything goes AWESOME for you! [[[[ hugs ]]]]

I signed onto My Chart for a message. Posted was my August 10 surgery date and my surgical pre-op appt. Aug 5. My surgery notification (the date I already knew) said procedure performed by Dr. Rosenthal (the one I know) and Dr. Ganga. I had two doctors (I didn't even know) do my egd, so I should assume they'll be more than one doctor doing my sleeve. I couldn't find any info on him, other than he is a MD at Cleveland Clinic. From their site, I find he is in the Residency surgical program. My biggest fear when going into a teaching hospital is that I'll be handed over to a student. Is this common in a hospital clinic setting? I'm thinking I'm going to make sure I physically see Dr. Rosenthal before they put me under. Although to be honest, Dr. Rosenthal wears the thickest glasses I've ever seen. I did ask his nurse about his eyesight and she assured me its fine. Am I just getting too picayune and just chill out and be happy insurance is paying.

Hi Audrey, I have Regence Blue Shield and they just changed their policy on Jan. 2 to include LapBand, BUT you have to have one year suppervised diet. That's what got me! I had 10 months of LA Weight Loss. No good. Hope this helps. I finally bit the bullet and just got back from Mexico :clap2: :clap2: Megret

So I got the chance of a lifetime to get to go to New York City on work....but then stayed over the weekend for my birthday (it was the 7th). My wonderful boyfriend flew out for the weekend and we had an amazing time! Heck, that I have a boyfriend (we're at about six months) is a HUGE NSV. But the one I'm talking about today is that now, at some 90 lbs down...I was able to walk EVERYWHERE in New York. I had energy that amazed even my boyfriend. (amazed me too). I just kept giving thanks and praise to Trink (my band's name) for giving me such freedom, such energy, such joy, such happiness. I got my life back and it was never more affirmed than it was on Sunday, my actual birthday....we left the hotel at 10 am and returned at 8 that evening. We walked NON STOP. We walked the Brooklyn Bridge...I never got winded or had to stop, I walked proudly holding my man's hand. My God I'm so thankful for Trink! She's been a godsend to me. How amazingly my life has changed in just the bounds of eleven months. My goal is to get to 100 lbs gone by my bandiversary in one month. I may not make it but it's a nice stretch goal. Here are some photos from the trip! This is me as we're just about to walk the bridge: This is me on the bridge: Here I am with the statue of the Bull near Wall Street. The joke is...I'm a Taurus...get it? The bull with the bull on my birthday! And this a photo my boyfriend snuck...I was taking a shot of Grand Central station and he was shooting a photo of ME. Lol! For reference...here's what I used to look like...

Hey all I am in the same boat I have hit a stall and I will be 4 weeks post op on 10/17/2014... does anyone know when the stall normally kicks ? thanks !

my dr told me last week that the fill they add at surgery in the band is 2.4 cc that is for the 10 cc band- so my first fill I got an addl 2 cc added totalling 4.4 cc. hope this helps.

Kelly111 I was where you are when I first started this journey. I could eat anything I wanted. However, like you....I didn't because I wanted to lose weight. However, once I had my second fill....I knew I had it. It took me a while to get use to it. I really did have to slow down, eat smaller bites, and could only eat about 1/4 of a cup at a time. I threw up a lot for the first 2 1/2 weeks because I was not use to eating that way for the first 10 weeks after the band. However, I am learning to slow down and really listen to my body. You sound like you do not have enough of a fill just yet. There is no way that I could eat what I want now. I am thankful for that. I would call the doctor and tell him that you are still not noticing a different. As a stated to another member...be your own advocate until you get the fullness that you need to make the band work for you. Good luck on your journey!

Well let me stat by giving you some personal Information. I am 5'5 weighed in @ the Dr's Wednesday @ 260 lbs. My BMI is 43.26 About a month ago I had to b put on hydrochlorothiazide for my blood pressure. For Months now I have been doing a lot of researching on the LAP-BAND®®. On September the 19 Th I signed up for my free Educational Seminar. This is a big step for me. I go to my seminar on the 21 St Of October. I guess after this seminar they hand out the main package to get everything started. I talked to my Doctor about it & he said after I attended the seminar If that is what I choice to do he will help me get it started. I have did things in advance to help thing go faster for me. for instance, I have contacted my Insurance & the after I pay a $150 deductible it they cove it 90% . So it should be affordable. I have got letters fro the Gym where I have had my membership @ for Years, Also From Physician weight Lost where I did there program for 2 yrs. So Here I am 2 days (October St 2009) till the seminar & Hoping for the best! Thanks Becky

I didn't have to have anymore tests, thank God!!! But I do have an appointment with the nutritionist May 19...after that, all my information and test results will be submitted to insurance. But the appointment started out by me getting a "before picture", then getting my blood pressure, weight, and height, with no shoes (which made me shorter by 1/2 inch and made my Bmi go up lol), then I stood on a scale looking thing and held a pole type thing in each hand and it printed off all kinds of wild information like, how any calories I burn on a typical day without exercise, just at rest...it even told how much my right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, and trunk weighed. I was told by the nutritionist who came in my room for a few minutes that 100 to 105 lb weight loss would be right for me. Then the Dr. came in and said that the sleeve is the surgery he would also recommend for my size...he listened to my heart, my pulse in both sides of my neck, he examined my stomach for hernias and where the incision sites would be, and he checked my ankles. I will have a two day liquid diet before surgery. I will have a drainage tube. He didn't foresee me having problems. I'm hoping my insurance is approved by mid June and surgery is scheuled no later than August 1 because I want to be feeling better by the time my daughter goes back to school August 20! I will update...everyone take care and God Bless!!!

:help: Well, I'm gearing up for the fight of my life. I'm 36, will be 37 Jan 31st. for the past 15 years I've been over 200. The past 10 years I've been over 250 and the past 5 over 300. I think I need to get of this ride. I love food. I love to eat. I don't eat as much junk as one would assume a person of my size would eat, but what I do eat.. I eat a lot of. I consider myself a quantity eater... even if it's salad. I've been following this procedure for about 4 years now but my insurance at work excluded anything to do with weight loss specifically. Last year they added another company as an option. 7 other woman in the company went with the new one offered (BCBS of TN) and even thought the procedure is still excluded by the company, they went in, were denied once, fought it and won. I'm scared and nervous all at once. Of course going through my head is, what if they decide that they aren't going to accept any in '07? I am prepared to fight them tooth and nail this time. I went in for it 3 yrs ago, was denied and just cried for 3 weeks instead of fighting. In preperation for it, I have gone to a therapist and gotten a recommendation from them, I am requesting my maternal and paternal medical history, going to my doctor to get my past 5 year medical history and I've been food journaling for the 1st 9 months of 2006. My numbers are great when I have a physical ever year which means I'm going to have to fight extra hard. I have an appointment with my regular Dr. to start the process on Jan 3rd. She will have to refer me to the Lap Band Doctor I will be using. wish me luck Tracy:messenger3:

:help: Well, I'm gearing up for the fight of my life. I'm 36, will be 37 Jan 31st. for the past 15 years I've been over 200. The past 10 years I've been over 250 and the past 5 over 300. I think I need to get of this ride. I love food. I love to eat. I don't eat as much junk as one would assume a person of my size would eat, but what I do eat.. I eat a lot of. I consider myself a quantity eater... even if it's salad. I've been following this procedure for about 4 years now but my insurance at work excluded anything to do with weight loss specifically. Last year they added another company as an option. 7 other woman in the company went with the new one offered (BCBS of TN) and even thought the procedure is still excluded by the company, they went in, were denied once, fought it and won. I'm scared and nervous all at once. Of course going through my head is, what if they decide that they aren't going to accept any in '07? I am prepared to fight them tooth and nail this time. I went in for it 3 yrs ago, was denied and just cried for 3 weeks instead of fighting. In preperation for it, I have gone to a therapist and gotten a recommendation from them, I am requesting my maternal and paternal medical history, going to my doctor to get my past 5 year medical history and I've been food journaling for the 1st 9 months of 2006. My numbers are great when I have a physical ever year which means I'm going to have to fight extra hard. I have an appointment with my regular Dr. to start the process on Jan 3rd. She will have to refer me to the Lap Band Doctor I will be using. wish me luck Tracy:messenger3:

I record everything on fitday, I started with fitday.com and switched to the PC version because I don't always have internet access. I find it works for me to record it, I eat better that way - not just calories, but in terms of health, making sure I get enough Protein, avoid saturated fat, get enough Fiber, enough Water... and all the little things. So easy to give you a few typical days! Today - 102 ounces of water in total. Breakfast: -large can of V8 juice about 30 minutes before eating. -egg creations - 1/2 cup scrambled (chive and cheese flavoured fat free egg white blend) cooled and mixed with a half tablespoon of low fat mayo and a teaspoon of nutritional yeast and sodium free potassium salt. 140 calories. Hour after eating, - large bottle of water mixed with tropical flavoured protien powder. half serving of Protein Powder. 45 calories. Mid morning snack: - 30 cherries 150 calories Hour after eating, - bottle of water. Lunch: 10 7grain kashi crackers with low fat chive and garlic cream cheese and smoked salmon. 250 calories Hour after eating, - bottle of water. afternoon snack: 3/4 cup of flax plus Cereal with 1/2 cup of Omega 3 so good soy milk and package of stevia (herbal sweetner) 165 calories Hour after eating, - bottle of water. Dinner: 1 mediterranean seasoning large chicken breast, no added fat. 1/2 cup mashed acorn squash with coconut oil (butter substitute), potassium salt substitute and nutritional yeast. 1/4 cup of corn with coconut oil and potassium salt. 4 tablespoons of salsa. 300 calories Small piece of belgian extra dark chocolate - 60 calories Hour after eating - large can V8 70 calories. Before bed, bottle of water with full serving protien powder. 90 calories 1270 calories total, 36 gram of fat, 151 grams of carbs, 98 grams of protien. Yesterday - (I won't break it down into meals and Snacks, its a similar pattern every day) egg creations with light mayo, yeast, and p-salt half an apple 1 cup of chilli with light cheddar, light sour cream small mixed organic greens salad with tomato and with garlic/chilli flax oil and balsamic vinegar small can tuna with garlic and hot peppers and light mayo half cup acorn squash 1/4 cup peas - veggies with cold pressed coconut oil and p-salt 1/2 cup blueberries 40 cherries 2 poached eggs with light mayo and a teaspoon of caviar 7 multigrain rice crackers with fat free cheese 117 ounces of water over the course of the day. Total calories - 1307, 47 grams of fat, 131 grams carbs, 94 grams protein. Other stuff I eat really regularly - salmon, canned, fresh, smoked, other fish, mackerel, crab, lobster, artificial crab. 1% cottage cheese, various low fat cheeses, dannon sillhoutte yogurt smoothies, loads of fruit and veggies, drink mostly water, but also green and white tea, both hot and iced, and lots of tabouli salad. I avoid sugar, processed foods, and simple carbs, go for multi-grain high fiber low glycemic carb choices...

It was about 5.5 months when I felt pretty good about running (started running about a month before). It was about 10 months when I felt pretty good about general fitness (started cross fit about 3 months before 2x a week, @home fitness 3x a week). My 1 year post op was July 2nd 2013. At 5 weeks I was walking with some hiking.

I had GERD before sleeve surgery. In the past, I had some pretty bad bouts of it where it caused chest pain. I also had GERD pretty bad with the band. I'd also go long periods with nothing, so it was a mystery. When I started looking into another bariatric surgery, my surgeon cautioned me, but continued to perform pre-op testing. The doctor felt that my GERD was "situational", meaning that it was related to diet and obesity. So, we decided it was worth the risk, but he warned that there were no guarantees that I wouldn't have GERD after the sleeve. I had surgery on 4/10/18 and about 3 weeks afterwards, I started getting heartburn. I started on Nexium right away and the symptoms are well controlled with it. I wouldn't say that it's severe or "intractable" as my psych evaluator so kindly put it. It's just a little bit of heartburn and if I eat too late in the evening, I will wake with a sore throat (easily remedied by sleeping on an inclined bed). My advice, discuss with your doctor. Every person is different and every person will respond differently.

My surgeon gave me the option of doing it all at once or separate surgeries. I chose to do separate surgeries because I had the band for 10 years and figured there would be alot of scarring and adhesions and to be honest I was still coming to terms with whether I wanted 85% of my stomach removed. When they removed the band in late September, they spent alot of time removing the adhesions and I will be sleeved and hernia repair in December. I don't think it is a skill level question; I think it is a question of what do you think is the least risk. I suspect that there isn't very good data on which approach gives best results statistically speaking (ie fewer complications) so surgeons are working off their own experiences. for me, this has been good. I have been so hungry and gaining weight, in spite of trying to diet since the band came out. It has really removed any dellusional thoughts of "I can do this myself". It may sound crazy, but i needed that last dose of reality, that my obesity is out of control and I can't get a grip without bariatric surgery.

Just wanted to share with everyone that I reached my goal in 4 and 1/2 months!!! I started as a 50 y.o. lightweight with surgery weight of 213 and today I am at my goal of 145 - that's 68 lbs lost in a little over 4 months. I set my goal at 145 because it is a normal BMI (I am 5'5") and should be easy to maintain. But I think I will go for 10 more pounds to 135. This hasn't been the easy way out since I worked for every single pound lost. I did not just let the sleeve do the work - I have been exercising since surgery starting with walking 3 miles/day and then adding in biking. I am currently biking around 75-100+ miles a week along with brisk walking most days (Yes I do work full-time also and have a family). I have had no problems, can eat anything and have never been sick from the sleeve. I have been good about staying on the diet of 800 calories with 30 grams of carbs. I figured I had 80% of my stomach removed and paid thousands of dollars out of pocket I was going to work this thing as hard as I could. I haven't dealt with any hair loss yet but don't think I am totoally out of the woods since I recently read that for some it doesn't start until 6 months post-op. But I am keeping my fingers crossed. I am not going to go for plastics because everything has recovered just fine and should continue to get better as I add more weight training into my workouts. I think the girls are better than before now that all that back fat is gone! Yuk. So for those of you just researching good luck and I do recommend the sleeve. I am not going to say I love my sleeve like most people do - don't get me wrong I like it A LOT. But I think I will save the proclamation of love for a year out when I see how well I do with maintenance. Best of luck to everyone. Frankie VSG 3/22/10 Dr Aceves

Good point on the establishment of your own approximate BMR showing how many calories you burn per hour in several states from sleep through vigorous exercise to arrive at a maintainence point for a health weight. This can be a daunting and expensive process and even at completion the results are only for that point in your life as your body fluxes by decreasing adiposal tissue, hopefully, plus the gain of lean muscle mass through exercise coupled with the more efficient use of your foods vs. just storage as fat. The Basal Metabolism Rate (really rates based on activity level) is a valuable tool used by both dedicated amature and professional athletes many of whom consume 7-10Kcal a day while training. Body builders are a whole other animal who swing between eating heavy for bulking out and near starvation for competitions. You have to admire that dedication to the sport and the attention to nutrition they express in order to excel it's really hard on a body though. For most of us though, i'm afraid we are just underestimating how many calories we take in and overvalueing our calorie expenditures through exercise and normal daily activities. I know through my own experience that a big part of my gain was through continueing to eat as a person involved in 3-4 hours of daily physical traing in body sculpting even after a sudden drop in that activity due to a back injury. I put on 15+ pounds a year doing that for over 10 years. I told myself that I had cut on my foods to relate to the reduced caloric expenditure brought on the injury to my back but I fell into that trap of self deception I mentioned at the head of this paragraph. (Knowing about the danger doesn't always save us from making the same mistakes as others) So I think we agree that equalibrium is possible but is variable due to a number of data sets that come into play and the possible wild card of denial. Weight loss still all comes down to the eat less and exercise more mantra and if I am reading you right there is no fixed number that you can plug into the equation to set a stable caloric value, we must be vigilent and adjust as needed. All of us are different we'er not one size fits all so that conclusion should be no suprise to anyone who thinks seriously about the issue. Thinking now that's the rub Thanks for presenting the well thought out points and laying them out in a logical order, it was a fun read and very informative, I really enjoy your post's.

Hello all my name is martha and I am sceduled to have my lapband surgery on 2-10-09. I am currently on the optifast diet. I started on Saturday 5 shakes and 1 bar a day. I feel like I am going to go crazy. The first 2 days I was not hungry , I just felt like I needed to eat something. Today I am hugry all the time. I want to cheet and eat somethng but I know that I can not. Any suggestions.