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Did your doctor tell you that you had to loose a certain amount of weight before surgery? I am having surgery tommorow too and my doctor told me I didn't need to do the pre-op diet... I have been kind of panicing these past few days, but I guess I just figure my Dr knows best... I haven't gone crazy with my eatting but I am afraid to weigh myself bc I don't want to have gained weight!

Was like a yo-yo. Finally the last month the doctor said if I did not lose 4 lbs in the next month he would not operate. Well, then I lost 6. Now I am post-op 2 weeks and enjoying a 27 lbs weight loss so far. I had food funeral after food funeral. Everything that I saw that I liked I ate. I don't regret it now. I will be able to eat my favorite things again 1 day in moderation. Everyone does the nutritional part in their own way. Whatever is comfortable for you. Best of luck.

I lost 10 lbs first week of Pre op now have been gaining .2-.4 lbs everyday for four days. Not cheating at all. Sometimes our bodies just don't do what we want them to do. Those little gains remind me of years and years of struggles dieting and makes me want my surgery Friday even more.

Wanted to know how soon after sleeve surgery do u guys recommend to start a cardio/weight lifting program to help avoid the loose skin around waist and arms? any suggestions?

I got the call a couple of days ago saying that I have a date for my surgery which is March 4th, but that the doctors could change it because it is based on when the doctor can do it. I started my journey in November 2012, and when I was weighed the doctor said that I need to maintain my weight which was 256. Now that the holidays passed I gained 4 pounds and now at 260. I am stressing thinking when I go for my doctor check up before my surgery they are going to post pone it cause I gained a little. Has his happen and they had to push it back, or are they going to be easy on me? Because right now I am working out like crazy and dieting so I can drop the extra lbs before I have to go in which might be in two weeks.

I am 5 weeks out and I'm doing one egg, a Protein Shake, with a little Isopure thrown in, 1.5 ounces of tuna and maybe a sugarf-free pudding and 1/2 cup of skim milk and I'm hitting about 400-450 calories a day and I been the same for a week. I have been walking 1-2 miles a day, water walking 1-2 hours a day and lifting weights or doing the gazelle. Yesterday I did the Firm interval training (not at the same impact as on the dvd) and I did not do the stomach exercises, plus swimming and I was up a pound today. I also am having issues going potty, though I started back on metamucil. It happens, not happy about it, I'm hoping that in the next day or two I'll experience the nice 3 pound drop that I have been getting accustomed to. I usually stay the same a few days, and then struggle up and down a pound then I have a significant 3 pound drop then go back to the same old same old. It seems my body is doing the same darn thing it was doing pre-surgery when I was on on the high protein- low carb. Eventually my body is going to have to let go because there is no natural way for me to maintain my weight on less than 460 calories a day.

I only lost 26 pounds since the day I had surgery - but then again when I weighed myself 6 days after surgery I was up 6 pounds so it's 32 pounds. I'm 5 weeks out. I think our bodies also need to get to used to the "new stages". I am behind most people on the food stages, I just hit pureed phase Monday and I'm not doing as well with it because I guess I got used to liquids and Pureed is a little harder on my body. I'm suppose to hit soft foods come Sunday and it's causing me anxiety. Good luck, it will come off though, I promise you, and trust me as positive as I try to sound, I still cuss under my breath when I read the scale and see no drop. Since this morning the scale was moved out a bit (my husband likes to stub his toe on it in the bathroom - or my son moves it) I internally blame it on it being out of whack. Of course, there are days I am tempted to reweigh myself throughout the day, after a heavy exercise, but when I do I am normally frustrated because I seem to gain a pound after lots of exercise. I need to just weigh myself after the first morning piddle or throw away the scale or hide it. The thing I normally do when I have this issue is measure myself. Seeing the inches melt when I measure myself makes me feel so much better.

Well count me as a another person who was sleeved in June and has hit a stall. I'm ok with it because it seems my body/skin is catching up to my weight loss since surgery. I was a little worried because I lost it so fast that my skin was getting pretty droopy and without losing this past week I'm noticing it start to tighten up. Just think, we are taking in so few calories our bodies can't hang onto it forever... if bodies could hang on to weight when they don't take in enough calories than there would be no such thing as a anorexia.

That's really good to hear... And congrats on the weight loss!! I know how good you must feel I am leaning toward the plication as well. From everything I read, it's seems to minimize complications with the band; slipping, erosion, fills, etc. And I'm so glad to hear that you were back to work within a week. I did very well when I had my hysterectomy, so I expect the recovery on this will also go smoothly. Have you had any fills? If so, how many.....how often? Thanks for your input.

Every insurance company has different requirements. I have an out of state BCBS (illinios) and my employer is Catholic Health Initiatives and they have a program called carewise. Through them I had to have six months of phone nutrition calls with a documented end weight from primary doctor at end of six months. I also had a RN case manager. Basically, we talked about any diagnosis I had, concerns, changes I needed to make to prepare for surgery. I lost maybe 10 pounds then regained bc I hurt my back and was literally in bed for a time. So in the end I weighed 3 pounds less then when I started. They were fine with that. I struggled with years being insulin dependent and very metabolically resistant even when I ate low carb. I also had to have a psych review, primary doctor review. The entire process went fast even though initially I thought six months would take forever. I am glad it took that long gave me plenty of time to weigh my options and do lots of research on complications and lifestyle changes. I started the process May of 2012 and had surgery Jan 24 2013. I can say trying to eat smaller portions, with baby spoons and all that is tough prior to surgery and for the most part I didnt do it just knew I would have changes to be made after surgery. I have had no issues since surgery. Good Luck

Sadly, I'm going to miss being able to make fun of myself. My weight has always been a huge comedic monologue for me

I miss being invisible. I am a bit shy, introverted, convinced that the first thing people notice about me is how fat I am. Having lost even a bit of weight has me getting more attention. And I'm not really okay with it yet. I'm working on it though, and happy, I try to speak up more, but old habits die hard I also tuck my hand under my roll to warm it up. Now I can just put my tips under compared to my whole hand from before

I wouldn't, maybe I'm vain but unless you're hitting your goal weight this season, you'd be totally out of style lol. And how much more fun and rewarding would it be to go to a store when you actually hit your goal weight?

Just wonder how much people were losing during the pre-op phase . I have lost 10lbs the first month and 5 this month with 6 wks till surgery.

I'm starting to get nervous! I've already been trying to cut back and watch what I'm eating and slowing down on sodas. I know this is all things I'm going to have to do, so I'm taking the steps now so I don't go into shock when I actually HAVE to do it. I know I get to skip a couple steps like sleep study and gallbladder since I've already had my gallbladder removed and am already on a CPAP machine. I'll have to go through a 3 month Dr. supervised diet for my insurance. I just I'm just rambling on and on. I keep thinking...what if I do really good on this diet and the insurance says, you can do it on your own??? I've got over 200 lbs to lose and I've gotten to the point where I KNOW I can't do this alone. I've started and dropped Weight Watchers more times than I can count... My husband doesn't really approve of WLS, but keeps saying he will support me in any decision I make for myself. But I have noticed that he is not very open to me talking about it. He doesn't stop me, but I can just tell he's not really listening to me. Although I do believe he is making an effort. I will have a big support system in my niece, who is hopefully coming to live with me before my surgery. I also have a cousin who had lapband about 10 years ago, and she's a big support as well, although she lives 400 miles away but is always a phone call away. I know this surgery (or any other WLS) is not a cure all and that it will be like a walk in the park to lose weight afterwards. I know I will have to work harder than I've ever worked at anything in my life. But I worked very hard to have my son. And if I went through that, I can go through this so that I can be the mother I want and need to be to him. I don't want to be a mother on the sidelines. I want to be right in the middle of it!! Right now, I don't go to movies or concerts or ballgames or anywhere like that. I'm too big to fit in the seats. I can't go into a store and buy clothes. I have to order my clothes online. I have a horrible time finding shoes due to my feet being so wide and fat. I even have a hard time finding socks for goodness sake!! Those are all the reasons I'm doing this and more. I want to be off my CPAP machine. I'm afraid I'm beginning to have high blood pressure. I don't want to go on meds for that. I want to be able to go in a store and buy an outfit. I want to be able to take my son to the park and actually PLAY with him instead of sitting on the bench watching him. I want to be able to go to a concert and not worry about fitting in the seat or crowding out the person next to me. Thank you all for your time in reading this and letting me vent. I actually feel better now that I got this off my chest!

I remember asking myself this alot, what will I look like when I lose the weight, what will a good weight be for me, how can I expect my clothes to fit, etc. I found awhile ago, a really great and fun website: http://www.mybodygallery.com/ it is just like it sounds — a searchable database of (mostly anonymous) photographs of women, tagged with their self-described height, weight, body shape, and dress sizes. "A recent study found that 95% of non-eating disordered women overestimate the size of their hips by 16% and their waists by 25%, yet the same women were able to correctly estimate the width of a box," explain the founders. "In a world full of images of how we 'should' look it can get difficult to tell how we DO look." I think it's a rally good site to visit along this journey as well. I have been losing so much weight so fast, I still feel much bigger than I actually am, so seeing other people, the same height and general shape as me at the same weight is a really good way for me to guage what I actually look like. It's also excited to check out smaller weights and guestimate what I will look like when I'm done plus a few extra rolls of skin... but you get the point! Try it!

OK so i've pretty much 100% decided on Gastric sleeve, and I have it all planned out. I will visit the surgeon for the first time late august/early September, go on my six month diet, which will end in march, then i turn 18 in april 2014, which is when I will apply with my insurance type people, and hopefully get approved and have my surgery in june or july. Today I was nagging my dad again, and I finally got him to let me buy my own groceries so I have more control over what I eat. I really hope this will change something, i mean i reallllly doubt it will make me lose any weight but i keep thinking about the day of my surgery, what if i have the anestesia mask over my face and i start thinking "what if you had tried just one last time? what if you gave it just one more go, would this be necessary?" I mean traditional methods have never worked for me in the past but who knows?I know thats what the six month diet is for but seriously? by then i will only be doing it because its required.Maybe in these 3 months I will see some kind of change=....=. not counting on it thought... -Tisa

I am curious to those of you who want to lose one hundred pounds and to those of you who have lost one hundred pounds... Im 5”2, 230 pounds and my goal weight is 130 pounds. Why 130? I like nice round numbers lol. So my question is…. What does it feel like? Please share your experiences. Thanks in advance

May 22nd! My mom is getting sleeved the same day, same doc, etc. We can take our post op walks in the hallway together. I an doing the liquid supplements from May 1-May 21 to lose weight and shrink liver.

I have to agree with the others who have shared that serious co-morbidities need to be present. I also would have a serious discussion with my physician as to the advisability of someone with your BMI to have this serious and life altering surgery with your current weight and BMI. The band does not come without health risks and a major life style change for the rest of your life. This journey is not the "easy way" to loose weight. I chose this surgery as a last resort to avoid diabetes. If I could have lost 100+ pounds without the surgery, I would have. I encourage you to learn as much as you can about this surgery, and have a serious discussion with your physician. Best wishes as you consider your options.

I had heart failure when I delivered my daughter almost 9 years ago, I later found out that it was caused by rheumatic fever as a child. All my doctors feel this would be the best next step for me. I am struggling to get this weight off. I am scared that I might go into heart failure again with this surgery but I feel that this is where I will be successful! I have tried many things and am continuing to learning new things and am working on creating an active life. So on the 19th I go!

I know that in my case, it was less about losing weight (although I did lose some). My dietician told me from the start to not worry too much about that, it is really more about making sure I learned the right tools I'll need to succeed, and to establish that I have tried less risky (and less expensive!) weight loss methods. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using VST

I gained 4 pounds during my 3 month weigh ins and I was nervous it would impact my insurance approval. It didnt. My doctor didnt even mention it to me. I had sleepless nights filled with anxiety (for the first time in my life) toward the end of my weigh ins. Once I got insurance approval a weight lifted. Now I have to have the surgery. I am still consumed with this process and can't wait for the actual surgery.

People call themselves "losers" after they get surgery and start losing weight. Lol so in that case, it's great to be on the losers bench!

I am super excited and nervous, I got my surgery date right on my birthday. Today I turn 27 and my surgeons office called after 2 weeks of crazy wait, giving me a surgery date of april 9th. Hopefully i.can connect with all April sleevers and share our progress date. My stats are: Weight: 220 Height: 5'2 Bmi: 40 Goal weight: 130 Sent from my S Galaxy using VST