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That depends on your overall history. How long have you been overweight, by how much, and what have you tried so far? If you've only been this heavy a few years, I would strongly encourage you to try other things first, or if your BMI is less than 40. OTOH, if you've been on multiple diets, have been significantly overweight since childhood, then this might be an excellent opportunity for you. No healthy eating plan, with or without WLS, is going to say going out drinking frequently is a good thing. Most healthy plans allow things like that once you reach goal, occasionally, but that's not what my college days were like LOL! You do say you're tired of wasting your life being unhealthy, but I believe you have no co-morbidities yet, right? So who says you are unhealthy? You may be very different from me, but when I was that age, it was all about looking good, not health. And while I'm not judging you at all for that, it's understandable, but it can definitely affect your commitment to something this huge. I really don't think I was emotionally mature enough then to really take on something lifelong. Maybe you could commit to trying 3-6 months of low carb, high Protein meals, without the very low calorie counts and portion sizes required by WLS, to see how committed you could be with this. If you do something like Atkins, you can also eat high fat and it keeps you full, while still losing weight due to the extremely low carbs. I was successful at that several years ago, but could not sustain it longer than 8 months in the end. So even I am worried about how I will do post-op, just counting on the hope of not wanting sweets and possible dumping. I've been overweight my entire life, and was getting close to 200's about three years ago (making me still 60-70 lbs overweight for my height/bone structure) with a BMI of 32-34 at that time. Im now 267 lbs putting my BMI at 40-41. I don't take offense easily so no worries there and I appreciate your advice. I tried montignac for a year about 5 years ago, atkins for about 6-8 months about 4 years ago, nutrisystem for 2-3 months 2 years ago (only a short time because 1 i couldn't afford 300 dollars a month for it, and 2 I gained 15 lbs the first month and another 10 lbs the second month despite following the plan to a T) Plus other methods that I had heard about from one source or another. But i've never been able to keep the weight off, and I thankfully don't lack conviction. But I want to be healthy. I don't care what others think of me, I care what I think of myself. I don't want to be skinny, I want to be able to walk around with my friends and not feel dizzy and winded like im going to pass out. I want to dance without feeling disgusting like I don't have a right to do so and without any of the above mentioned things. I have contemplated surgery for the last 2 years and finally decided to go for it when it occurred to me that I couldn't breathe when i bent down to tie my shoes, and when I realized that I weigh less than 100lbs less than my 47 y/o mom who is morbidly obese with sleep apnea and a slew of other things. It was a slap in the face that said if i didnt do something soon then i would be looking at my not so distant future. Like she was my reflection only id get it 20 years earlier, because her and I have very similar stats. Needless to say I cracked amd cried like a baby. She is 5'7" and weighs 360, i'm 5'6" and weigh 267. That is entirely too close for comfort, and I want to be better. P.S TO ALL: I'm not really in to alcohol, and didn't realize that a lot of people turn to alcohol to replace food after surgery. So if that could be cleared up that would be cool haha thank you

I have a 21mo grandson who weighs 38 lbs. The surgeon told me not to lift over 10 lbs for two weeks following surgery...I miss picking him up and placing him in the crib. Right now I am letting him crawl up onto my lap to read his books, but no overnight stays until this weekend when I can pick him up again...carefully

I am one week out from RNY and I am doing great. No pain in last 5 days. Tolerating all fluids well. Feel a little twinge of pain if I go above 3/4 cup. I was on full liquid pudding/soups etc.. the day after surgery before discharge. I have been on the full liquid diet for 7 days. Every hospital is different but the next step for me is soft diet in another week and then lifetime diet two weeks later. So here is the question. How fast did people advance to the soft diet (eggs, ground meats, seafood, canned fruit and veg etc...) I am thinking about starting at the 10 day mark (4 days early). As I said I am tolerating everything really well. I have lost 28lbs since pre-op diet (my pre-op diet was 1000 calorie diet of solid foods). 14 since surgery on 11/29.

I know you are eager to get started. however I would stick with the dr and nut suggestion. it sure cant hurt you to wait and it might hurt to push it. the tummy takes time to heal and we need to allow for that. just my option I am 10 years out and have never had a moments trouble with ulcers or pouch stretching and I truly believe it is because I follow the directions of my support team. best of luck to you. so glad you are doing so well. keep up the great progress

Started eating salads without discomfort at about 3 months out. Per surgeons orders made sure to chew very well. I love greens from a visual standpoint because what looks like a large volume on your plate ends up taken up a small volume in your pouch. 10+ months out and I generally have a salad every day for one meal. I like to add beans or half a veggie burger to my salad greens for extra protein and usually some sliced almonds, grape tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil vinaigrette. Also, some fresh ground pepper and salt!

All together, ours will be about two months time. Sounds like no time at all, doesn't it? We did all our hoop jumping in two weeks. We had to wait for a doctor's letter and now we are waiting to submit to insurance. We anticipate surgery in December. Our first surgeon visit was October 10, 2012.

Today my husband & I are both having our sleeve at Forest Park. Looking forward to this healthier life. He lost 30 pounds pre-op and I have lost 25.

I know its silly but i always slept on my tummy and now 10 days post op i unknowingly tend to sleep on my tummy....when i realise it i change my position ....nothing hurts but is it ok so early?? Sent from my GT-I9100 using VST

My surgeon gave me a script to go get a sleep study, his office gave me the info for several clinics and hospitals that I could use. I just picked one at the nearest hospital and I called to schedule myself. I didn't need a referral from my PCP. I'd rather have my band surgery 10 more times and go through the gas pass over and over again than go through another sleep study. It was hell, the wires and gross jelly were making me so itchy, the position I had to lay in , voices in the hallway, my neighbor getting up to pee every hour (we shared a bathroom) my hair in my face, the thought of the creepy tech watching me in his little booth all night, all made me crazy! I didn't feel like I slept at all. In the morning the tech said he thought at one point I was gonna get up and leave because he saw how annoyed I was getting. NEVER AGAIN!

Hi, thanks! I am on a 10 day liquid high protein/low carb diet. I have started putting hot sauce in my V8 and it is now my daily treat.

Wow you are wearing a size 10 that is wonderful. I can't even begin to imagine what that would feel like.

Wish I had some tips for you, but I was still in after surgery weight loss when I got pregnant. I was only 8m out. I actually lost 10 lbs during the first trimester, I gained almost all of my weight during the last 10w or so. I was 333 when I started my preop diet. 247 when I got pregnant, and 249 day before delivery.

My weight is 231. BMI is 48.5. On my first day of my 2 week liquid diet, I woke up at 6:00am with the alarm. We had security duty at the vendor building for 7:00am. (We're fulltimers, living in a motorhome. At the present time we're at a rally in Perry, Georgia.) Surrounding me today will be what I call....carnival food!! Thank goodness I'll be busy till 9:30am, checking for ID''s to enter the building. I said goodbye to all that "junk food" last night with a shared peach cobbler with my husband. I'm determined to do this new lifestyle the right way. I had 1 Optifast at 7:00am, followed by 28 oz. of sipped water. 2nd Optifast at 10:30am. I'm feeling a little hungry just hanging around all this "fried-food" people are walking around with outside. 3rd drink at 12:00 noon and 16 oz. black coffee w/hazelnut shot. 4th drink at 6:00pm and 2 s.f. popcicles. I got really hungry between 3:00 & 6:00pm. I drank a 16 oz black coffee. Ugh!! I hate it without coffeemate hazelnut creamer.:phanvan 5th drink at 7:00pm. I've been so sore from riding my bike all around (determined to get in some exercise) since I haven't ridden it since last fall. Took 2 Aleve before bed and hope for a good night's sleep.

Venting is good, and we're good at it here. Maybe I can help make sense of some of the things you're experiencing. Doesn't it seem like we lose weight at a snails pace compared to everyone else? By we do you mean people with the band, or just people who are significantly overweight? Even worse, it seems like we GAIN weight faster than everyone else. This I have noticed. Gain on the tail end of loss is predictable. I think rate of gain also has to do with the extent to which we overeat. E.g. take a "normal" person who has lost 10 lbs, and may gain back 2. And a "fat" person who has lost 50 lbs, and may gain 15. Two things working against the fat ones - the amount they lost (which usually has a strong correlation to the amount that is gained), and the way in which the weight is gained. The "normal" person doesn't have an eating problem, the "fat" person does. Chances are the fat person is consuming a helluva lot more calories, hence the quicker weight gain. Have you ever been on a diet, stuck to every single little rule and didn't cheat even just a little bit - then, one day you have a morsel of something "bad" and gain 2 pounds?? This experience is exactly what kills so many diets before they even have a chance to kick in. People defeat themselves way too quickly. If you've been around a while you've seen me say it more than once - weight does not equal fat. Weight is your skin, everything on it, and everything in it. Fat is fat. During the first 7 - 10 days of a diet, especially a full omission diet (where some thing or things are excluded, e.g. low fat, low carb -- as opposed to a redcuded calorie diet where the overall calories are viewed rather than individual types of foods), your body is fighting like mad to keep the fat on. I won't go into the sordid details, but one byproduct of that battle is to retain things like Water and glycogen. What happens most of the time is that -- maybe some fat is lost, meube it's not, but it certainly isn't gained. However, the body is being greedy with all the things it's trying to hold on to, and not releasing the way it does when you're in a dietary equilibrium. This means you weigh more than you did a week ago, even if you have less fat on your body. People see that jump in the scale and say, "F it, I'm 2# heavier, this diet isn't working" when - if they could have just given it a little while longer - their body would have adjusted and they would have started to see the difference. And then there's the specific restriction leaps and bounds. Take low carb diets for example. While in a state of ketosis, the body uses a lot of water. Most people don't adequately increase their intake, so their body is continuously in a state of mild dehydration (that's on TOP of the dehydration most people are always in). When you break ketosis, you will gain water weight. It's pretty much a guaranteed thing. It can be as little as a pound, or as much as 18+ pounds. People on low carb diets in ketosis will "cheat", break their ketosis, see they've gained 10 lbs overnight, NOT make the distinction between "gain" and "fat gain" and give up because all of their sacrifice has been for nothing. This is why scale's aren't the way to go. I'm so frustrated I could scream! I'm on my pre-op liquid diet, been good as gold for 8 days and I've lost 5 measly pounds! GRRRRRR! I remember when I could lose 5 pounds in 2 days, now it takes me 8 whole days of nothing but liquid??!! Liquid diets usually aren't for weightloss, they're usually for a specific outcome, e.g. shrinking the liver, giving intestinal issues time to "take it easy," flushing some part of the body, etc. Try not to let yourself be frustrated by this. Part of it could be your age (you mention remembering the day -- also remember that your body has changed since then), part of it could be the liquids... there are SO many variables here. So frustrating. I really think that years of yo-yo dieting has messed with my metabolism. No worries here, it can't happen. Your body - if subjected to extreme dieting - becomes more efficient at storing fat. This "unexplained" weight gain, coupled with the additional challenges in weightloss that can come with age, hormonal changes, etc., and the body's natural tendency to change its own composition (which yoyo dieting can add to - remember, the body always tries to hold on to the fat it has... yo-yo dieting can make your body, well, to make a long story short, your body can become less sure of where its next meal is coming from, and want to hold on to even more fat, just in case... hence your equilibrium state is now fatter than it used to be). I know I didn't gain this weight over night, and I know it'll take a long-long-LONG time to lose it... but 5 pounds?? Come on! And I would say to you, 5 pounds in 8 days?? Come on, what more do you want!?!? :cool: Of course now I'm concerned with what will happen when I'm banded (this Friday). I know I'll go crazy when I see the scale creeping along, or even stopping after surgery. It's just so frustrating. The ideal thing would be to hide the scale - been there, done that. I always talk myself into stepping on it. I try not to be obsessive with the numbers, but, how can you not be? It's not that hard to get away from. It really does work to get rid of the scale. Just throw it away. It doesn't tell you what you need to know. If you want to do something compulsively, invest in a body fat meter, or hell - a $4 tape measure. Those will give you a much better idea of the changes in your body than a scale will. I'm really discouraged and really just plain bummed out. I know it'll take a while, but, I'm literally starving on this #$#%$ pre-op diet and so disappointed. I know we've all felt like this - I just needed to vent. And vent away. It's good for you. And understanding why some of these things may help.

I made a similar recipe for lunch today and thought I would share, it was very tasty. Ingredients -1 Roma tomato -salt & pepper to taste -2 wedges of light laughing cow garlic & herb cheese (you could probably get away with using just one wedge, but I love, love, love cheese!) -Balsamic Breeze salad spritzers (practically no calories packed with flavor) Preheat oven to 350. Rinse tomato and dry. Slice tomato into about 1/4 inch slices. Place them on a baking sheet lined with foil. Spray each tomato slice with the Balsamic spritzer (about 2 sprays per slice). Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Spread a thick layer of cheese over each slice with a butter knife and bake for about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

Hi DunkinDo120607 Welcome home! Get on your scale and find out how much damage is done. Actually --- if you only gained 10-15 you are lucky and in GOOD shape! 10-15lbs would be very good news for you and it means that you could just start right back in --- lose it fairly quickly and get right back on track. You will find great support here. Come talk with us every day and let the board help you.

Hello Everyone! I wish I knew of this website when i got my lap band. Well here is my story....I weighed in at 222 and decided to change my life by getting this lap band surgery. It's been a rough and bumpy road since June 6, 2007. I was doing great the first 8 months lost a total of 50lbs but then personal things happened and I started eating like crazy and of course throwing up right after. I've only gained 10-15lbs not quite sure since I won't get on the scale again. My wonderful boyfriend is going to help me get back on track though we joined a gym together about 2 months ago but we haven't been going consistantly because my horse got sick (he is better now on the road to recovery) and my boyfriend got hurt so I had to help him recover. (Old man thinking he is 20 playing basketball..lol) Well he is now better too and we have started going back this week. As for the eating we are working on that together too...Has anyone else had a setback and recovered from it? I know its possible and I shouldn't beat myself up about it but its hard when you've worked soooo hard to loose the weight and then a set back happens....sooo fustrating. Well I'm just glad I can voice my story here and know that maybe there are others like me.:blushing:

Six month wait..wow...I waited 4 years for my surgery. now the wait here is between 7-10 years. Six months seems a pretty small time frame to me. Others have talked about the things you can work on..Me just be patient and calm down. It will happen and the time will fly by. Patients is a good thing to learn because nothing good comes from speeding through something good!

Hello Lapband People: I will be joining the banders on July 12th 2006 and am very excited. I have a few weeks of regular food left before the last 10 days of a liquid diet, Oh My :huytsao I am not nervous about the surgery, But I am about what I will be able to eat for the rest of my life? I was told today, after the surgery, No more bread, Pizza, Shrimp, or Lobster,good thing I like Tuna :nervous I am down about 20 lbs so far this year just eating less crap, and stopped snacking. I will be having it done at Scripps in La Jolla California. I just want to loose about 80 lbs, They say it will take some time, But I hope to have it all off by year end, That may be unrealistic, but it's a good goal. Can't wait to say goodbye to my Diabetic Meds :clap2:

Connection with the staff is important IMO. I went to one seminar and by the end I wanted to kill the dietician. Not a good sign. I knew I wanted Dr. Cirangle to be my surgeon within about 10 min. of his seminar.

I stopped taking some mood stabalization and anti-depressants a few months ago. Since then I have gained a bit over 10 pounds. All I think about it eating. It seems that the medications must have helped to level out my moods that it also effected how I ate. So now I am trying to decide what to do. The meds are so expensive I cant really afford them anymore. I also have not had a fill for quit a few months. I wonder if maybe I just need one again or is this issue from the lack of medications. Really I think its a little of both. I am not sure if anyone could relate to this problem or not. I wonder if thier is another kind of drug I could get thats cheaper maybe that can level out how much I think about eating. Lately I think I have been stressed so I eat for comfort. I am not sure how many of u have thought this to urself, "Who cares if I am a little chunky as long as I am happy". Happy while I eat is more like it but after reality kicks in u just feel guilty about failing another day. Any supportive comments or advice would be appriciated. Thx

Curvenetics Lip Conditioner exercise · Sit with your body straight, shoulders relaxed and head tilted slightly. · Purse your lips and move them to the right a quarter of an inch ten times. · Repeat to the left ten times. · This exercise smooths the lines between the nose and mouth. And keeps the lips looking full. · Don't move your head. Don't squint. Don't wrinkle face Correcting Flabbiness Under Chin Step 1 Lift chin slightly upward. Step 2 With flat point of index and middle fingers press against indentation (hollow) formed by the two upper nodules of the larynx located at the curve from chin to neck. Do not be concerned in the beginning as to the precise location of pressure which you will discover through practice. Regard finger pressure as the resistance against the working muscles. Step 3 Now press your back teeth firmly together * and while maintaining this position. Step 4 Press the tip of your tongue against the inside of lower front teeth (gum line) increasing pressure with the tip of tongue ** in 10 or more gradual and definite steps (Count to 10). Step 5 Hold end position of pressure for 6 seconds (count slowly to six). Step 6 Release muscle work for 10 gradual steps (count to 10). Step 7 Remove finger resistance. Repeat 4 more times. Also I found this site that looks like it has some good face workouts http://www.carolynsfacialfitness.com/Sample%20Exercise.html

Black and Gold!!!! I am scheduled 10/1. The Steelers shirt is an awesome idea. I'm stealing it. LOL

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