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Our program that I choose was very strict and has a long list of stuff that must be done before we can even meet with the surgeon, including going to a nutritionist while loosing a certain set amount of weight. Because of that they will schedule date 4-6 weeks out so they have time to get insurance approval and fight it before surgery. They had everything together for the surgeon to approve or disapprove and then goes to insurance and in most cases is not an issue. I did have to write a personal letter for BCBS about who long my weight has been an issue (FOREVER!) and that I will not drink any alcohol for 1 year. The hospital told me last year to call the insurance co and let them know i was doing this and see what they require to make sure everyone was on the same page, which is why they don't anticipate problems. It does seem a little backwards doesn't it?

Friday I went in for my one month follow-up with the surgeon following my sleeve gastrectomy on Dec 16th. I'm down 35 pounds, blood pressure is great. Scars are there, but hardly anything too speak of. Other than the (sometimes TERRIBLE) constipation that I have experienced intermittently, my recovery has been fantastic. I'm feeling great, and not being tempted by the food around me. I've been to a few group support meetings, but none of them really "fit" me. I need to find one in Los Angeles with similarly aged men. The groups I visited were primarily women much older than me, and while the vibe was all positive, I could tell that their needs as "recoverers" were different than mine. Doc says all systems are go for me, and today I'm going to go to the gym for the first time in almost 2 years. Treadmill and light weights are all I can handle right now, but hoping to accelerate what has already been RAPID loss. While eating has always been an issue for me, my biggest fear about my new regimen was quitting drinking. For almost 20 years I have been an every day drinker. Not always a ton, but always something. And while I miss the ritual of drinking nightly, I haven't had any physical withdrawals or cravings for alcohol since I stopped drinking during surgery prep. I'm certain that the weight loss so far has been greatly improved by losing all those empty, nightly calories. Please wish me continued good luck, as I will for you on your journey.

I just found out that I was approved for LapBand surgery yesterday. I am excited, I'm nervous, I'm anxious, I'm happy, so many different things are going on! I don't have a surgery date yet, but it looks like my office is booking into late July. Some questions: My office requires a two week liquid diet that I am dreading. I supposed it gets better as the days go on. Are there any helpful tips from anyone that is on the liquid diet to make it less... annoying? I know it is necessary for my liver to shrink and for me to be in the best shape I can be by surgery, so I guess that's a plus. I am 270 lbs. If I consume 800-1000 calories a day (which is required) how much can I anticipate to lose in 2 weeks? My BMI is 40.2 and I am a woman, which I'm sure will have an effect on my progress. I go out to eat and for drinks (coffee or alcohol) with my friends a lot. Of course I will not be consuming alcohol or huge meals, but how do I deal with social gatherings while on the liquid diet? I'm sure I'll htink of my questions later. If you had to do a two week liquid diet before your lap band surgery and are around my weight, please share your experience with me! Thanks

I have surgery scheduled for March 6th and I have anxiety to but more about the long term changes in lifystle ( concern about overeating a little and then vomiting a lot.. still being able to enjoy wine every now and then just in general all the social stuff that happens that seems to most of the time involve food or alcohol.. I know that is a big part of the reason I am so heavy does anyone know what happens if I postpone do I have to get insurance reapproved Just not sure if I am mentally ready thanks

Monday made 35weeks smoke, alcohol & drug free! DOS:358 CW:270 SD:1/28/13

isn't everything you listed major "no-nos" for diabetics? A healthy meal plan for people with diabetes is generally the same as healthy eating for anyone – low in saturated fat, moderate in salt and sugar, with meals based on lean protein, non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and fruit. Foods that say they are healthier for people with diabetes generally offer no special benefit. Most of them still raise blood glucose levels, are more expensive, and can also have a laxative effect if they contain sugar alcohols. Sounds like you are WAY off what you should be eating for your surgery AND your medical conditions. Find a doctor local to you and get this taken care of. The internet is not the place for this type of issue/question, you need to speak to a medical professional.

LOL! I think you just described my hometown lol!!!! And im not kidding, SURE there are us that want better in life, but the majority of people here are exactly that! LOL! I lived in a city and was a four-wheel riding, dope-smoking (NOT ANYMORE, THOSE WERE MY CRAZY DAYS), and an alcoholic....BUT IVe NEVER EVER been a redneck! lol

Effects of smoking to me = causes my clothes/hair/truck, basically everything to STINK. Eyes to burn. I don't smoke...YUCK, but when I am at places they do, those are some of the ways it affects me. Similar to pre banding. Alcohol, I haven't noticed any difference pre or post banding.

Great question. The only answer I have is that I'm approaching it like I did the cigarettes I quit 15 years ago and the alcohol I quit 3 months ago. Candy and sugary junk foods are killers (for me at least) just like the smoking and drinking. I suppose I'll always crave them to some degree.....but the cravings will become less severe the longer I'm not indulging in them. It'll be a harder battle, I suppose because of the nature of the beast. I have to eat to live. I don't have to smoke or drink. It's going to be easier to let that junk food back into my life. Gaining control over this stuff now is crucial. I sure don't want to be fighting these urges post op...when I'm limited into my intake and it needs to be 100% spot on.

If you are talking about just average day to day life and merely a functioning body, plant based protein is more than fine. If you are talking about efficacy of protein for tissue repair and bio-availability, you just cannot beat diary & animal protein. They all do the same thing (except collagen protein, it's crap), it's just how effective it is. Think of it as alcohol. You can have several 750 ml bottles of liquor. They will all will get you drunk, but the Bacardi 151 will get you drunk faster and more immediately than the DiSaronno. (In this example, whey would be the rum and soy the amaretto.)

No matter how old I am, I always try to pull it together and look professional at work. Most of the time I succeed. Today I failed. Usually I am the youngest person in the office (really isn’t saying much now that I am in my mid-thirties) which in itself lowers my credibility. The over achiever in me also plays into this. Stress can come at you full force, or in little pieces building up. Effective stress relief is a requirement in life. I am in serious need of finding a new tool. When I was in college, I would hit tennis balls as hard as I could against the backboard. After I hurt my knee, I would go shopping. Then I would have buyers remorse and return stuff. After shopping it was baking and eating it. No chocolate for me today = tears. I saw this coming a few weeks ago when my eyelid twitch returned. The last time I had a twitch I was in college and the doctor’s resolution was to be less stressed. Ha good one! Furloughs…Potential RIF…spouses inconsistent pay…rental house…weight loss…pending surgery…knee pain…work project…3 hours in the ER…then a phone call that resulted in tears. The phone call in itself should not have resulted in me crying, but alas I had reached my breaking point. It is really unfortunate that I work in a cubicle and someone can walk up at anytime, like my boss. Everyday is a new day. Just have to hope tomorrow is a better one. Also need to find a contractor to remove the brick wall from my cubicle. Next up on the to do list: Research stress relief techniques. Need to be prepared next time. Have any suggestions? (Other than food, shopping, or alcohol.)

This past Monday I went in for my much anticipated visit with the doctor and nutrionist. It was my first time back in over a month and I was excited, curious and nervous all at the same time. I was excited because I knew this was another step closer to where I eventually want to be, curious about my test results and nervous about getting on the scale because I knew I had gained weight. Well, my appt definitely took me closer because by the time I left I had my psych appt scheduled (8/20), my appt following the sleep study moved up 2 weeks and in between appts to return to the doctor. More or less I have an appt every week between now and the end of Sept and if everything goes well, I may be looking at an Oct date. My test results came back well. I was told that my ultrasound and upper GI was normal and my blood tests were excellent. My blood clot scare last year had me wondering about how my tests would come out since this is always a worry for me now, but it gave me a chance to dicuss this further and I will see the doctor that will insert the filter to avoid clots prior to surgery on my next appt at the hospital. My fear about the weight gain rang true. I knew it from the way I was feeling. My back has been aching and I feel sluggish. My back aches at a 5 lb weight gain, so I knew I had at least gained that..but I was shocked to learn it was in fact 11 lbs. :sad: I was told it was probably fluid. Yeah..Grey Goose I explained. The numerous happy hours my co workers and I had attended since my last visit had caught up with me. The nutrionist and doctor both encouragingly told me not to worried since "thats what I am there for". I later had to laugh since it was the first time I wasn't scolded by a health care professional for gaining weight. The surgeon on the other hand, came to see me with a couple of students, wasnt as dismissive reminding me of the high calorie content of alcohol and how important calories will be when I get lap band since my body will not reject the sugar automatically like gastric. I knew he was right and could only sit there like a scolded kid nodding in agreement. I needed that kick in the ass. It brought the importance of this surgery and saving my life back to the forefront of my mind. I had lost focus having so much time in between appointments and simply slipped back into bad habits. I had to get back on the horse. As I explained to the nutrionist, I KNOW what to do, its DOING it. I am a professional dieter. I know it all..I have read it all. I am just a very unsuccessful dieter. She listened but I could see she wasnt buying it, she gave me my food journal for the week and told me to fax it on Friday. She told me her appt is last and usually a couple of weeks before my date to avoid wasting money if not approved. She said she had flexible hours so I said, cool lets meet for drinks. I quickly followed with..IM JOKING! and she actually laughed, then added, sure we will meet for breakfast and have carnation instant breakfast drinks! She was so quick I had to join her in laughing. :biggrin: She later repeated it to the surgeon who also got a laugh. Putting that imprint on her mind, also puts her in the forefront of mine. I know I have to make more of an effort to do the right thing because it is truly now or never.

Hello everyone... Newbie here...I came home from a business trip to find my APPROVAL letter in the mail! So excited...hopefully will get a surgery date tomorrow. Ok, my stats...I'm 49 years old and 5'2". On January 1st I weighed myself. 273.5 yikes! That same day I gave up all carbs, alcohol, sweets, caffeine and fast food. I've been eating healthy ever since. I have lost 41 lbs on my own. Went through the 6 month supervised weight loss plan, psych evaluation, nutritionist appointments etc...had my 6 month weigh in on June 19th. Weighed 232 so yay me! Got my approval letter in the mail today, and am hoping to get a surgery date tomorrow. The 6 months FLEW by. I stayed busy, stayed focused and did my research. So excited to be moving forward on my journey... Any advise from any of you on here's regarding how best to prepare for my surgery and my recovery? I live alone, but my daughter lives close enough to be of help. Help?

Oh, I'm afraid I just dont buy that theory with celebs. They put themselves where they are through their own choice and to my way of thinking have no right to complain about the consequences. These things probably DO make it difficult for Oprah, but think about it. Say she really does want to have lapband surgery. Say she's decided finally that its a logical next step. If she hadnt blabbed her big mouth all over the world going on about how she thinks its wrong, she'd be free to do it now, wouldnt she? How many celebs "accidentally" become celebs?. As in they were riding their bike down the street one day and entered a time warp and next thing they knew they were famous. What's the differnence between them and us? Normal people like us understand that with the good comes the bad and normal people like us dont feel the compulsion for everyone in the world to know who they are or what they think. I'm not saying no celebs have great personality features but I think with very few exceptions none of then would be celebs if they werent egotistical, self absorbed and wanting the limelight, thus they make decisions to get that for themselves. Oprah is no different. Given her background, she could easily have lived a life in obscurity and luxurious anonymity but she didnt choose that, she chose to draw the world's attention to herself. They're all like that, that's why their relationships dont last, why they have drug problems, and alcohol problems and behave appalingly - they're overly self indulgent egotistical creaters with not much idea of reality. So can I understand the difficulties in Oprah's life? Yep. Do I feel sympathy? Nope. She has consequences for her actions same as I do.

Well I am about 4.5 months post surgery and have lost an astonishing 125lbs! I did however experience my first stall last month when I went THREE weeks without losing a single ounce! I knew it would happen sooner or later but after almost four months of steadily losing approx. 5lbs a week it was a stark reality check. I find that even this soon after the surgery it is easy to let diligence slide and slip back into naughty habits. I have since reminded myself what unholy hell the entire process was to get here and that serves as effective motivation to keep my protien up and my fat/carbds down. Luckily I have had very little temptation with some of my trigger foods (soda pop, pizza, sweets ect) however, I did slip up on my birthday and allow myself to eat a small peice of raspberry ice cream cake and a few bites of chinese food, and while it has been MONTHS since i have touched alcohol and YEARS since a birthday bender I nonetheless spent the night over the toilet and in excruciating pain...lesson learned! To avoid stalls i have also begun to increase my exercise bi-weekly (an extra 15m session on the treadmill here, an extra half hour of aquafitness there) and my weight loss had returned to it's former glory

I like several brands, I look for low sugar, low or no sugar alcohols, and high protein- this rules out a lot of "body builder" type of bars. Other than that, go for best taste. I second the Quest bar recommendation.

I think this post of FluffyChix's is the crux of the matter for me. It is all about knowing myself. Like her, I knew what sort of behaviour resulted in obesity, and like her, I need to be accountable for it. For me, my Achilles heel was alcohol (2-3 glasses of red wine a night) and portions of healthy food that were just too large. Now I've cut out the alcohol (apart from special occasions) and got the portion size right, I feel I'm in control. But I recognise that different people have to do different things to be in control.

I have watched 3 episodes of that show, and I have to say that I am sick of it. It does nothing to help the plight of the super obese. I you ask me, many of the people on that show just defiant and the clinic is a big joke. They are allowed to cheat, the head physician does not believe in WLS and from what I have seen there is very little in the way of addiction counselling for these people. It just looks like a warehouse for the superobese where they are able to do what ever the hell they want. If you look at the rate of "relapse" it seems to be almost 100%. Why dont they try to get some real help for these people. At first I had sympathy for these people, but now when I see them milling about the front door waiting for thier take out i get frustrated. That Dr. that is in charge of the place is out to lunch. You dont see the Betty Ford clinic allow drug addicts and alcoholic to order out for more drugs/booze? I am looking forward to the show Big Medicine which starts monday on TLC. It is about Dr.s who perform WLS. Andrew

They all have different aftertastes and after surgery may not appeal to you even if they did before. The types I know are sweet n low, equal, splenda and stevia. I find I can not enjoy the taste post op in most things now, mostly the drink powders. I know if products listed as Sugar Alcohols, it is a diet substitute...ex. is xyletol. I was told all of these products are fine to use by nutritionist. So, if you find one that is agreeable to you that will be an advantage.

Thanks CowgirlJane. I did watch and found it helpful... I have made major changes in my life style - I exercise religiously 5x/week for an hour each. I have given up all alcohol - not that I was an alcoholic, but I know that I can never afford those empty calories. I eat a very healthy diet, good foods etc. And now I occasionally eat bad things. My portions are in fact larger than they were and obviously I am getting, and sadder am able to eat, too many calories - which unfortunately brings me back to where I was before surgery - namely in a hopeless struggle every day to simply eat less. What has changed?

I’ve been reading a lot of posts, and most of the posts that mention gaining back the weight, also mention soda pop, and alcohol. I worked hard to get here. I will not be easy on myself. That’s how I got to this point in the first place. If I want to be healthy, I have to have self discipline. Nobody else is going to do this for me. Mike a rowing machine sounds great, if your gonna use it. How often do you use the bike? How often do you walk? What is your goal? I walk 5+ miles a day, and want to start swimming. Less pain on my hips.

I'm still pre op but I'm turning 21 in August...not really a problem since my surgery will be the end of this year but I was wondering are there better types of alcohol? I'm not really a drinker or a party girl but I do plan on having a few drinks on the coast in a casino with my family..I'm talking about alcohol post op as well..(not really a fan of whine or tequila) but what are some good low cal but good tasting drinks that I can also drink post op and won't kill me lol.

That depends. When was your surgery? I was allowed alcohol in moderation about 4 months out. I usedto have 1-2 beers a month but the carbonation makes it less pleasant now so 1-2 x a month i have a glass of wine with absolutely no problems.

Those alcoholic drink alternatives sound really good. I'm not a heavy drinker, but if I go out to a bar I certainly don't want to be sipping on tap water lol. I'm glad to hear it hasn't been that bad for you! I hope I'm just as lucky. I'm glad you mentioned the bathroom habits, as unglamorous as it may seem haha. I am not regular in that department and am looking forward to some regularity on the liquid diet.

Well said, @WLWarrior and congrats to you on your honking weight loss! Yes, it ultimately comes down to the new lifestyle we build after WLS and the choices we make. Right now, I'm happy to be finding my way during early maintenance. Continuing to plan my meals and track all my food / drink intake is part of my new lifestyle that works very well for me. Thus far, I'm fortunate to be able to eat some sugar, alcohol, Pasta, and bread. I don't eat them every day, and so far they haven't turned into trigger foods. But if they were to start causing me problems, I hope I'd have the fortitude to hold myself accountable and avoid them altogether. I no longer wish to choose foods and drink only on the basis of its temporary taste appeal. I want to eat and drink MOSTLY those things that nourish my body. I had this surgery to become healthier and stronger and to improve my life. Those here who are further out post-op than me say maintenance requirements can continue to change, so I'm not blind to the fact that our WLS challenges will continue for the rest of our lives. I know that I will probably always need to adapt what I'm doing to remain healthy. For now, I say, "Bring it on!"