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Hello, I have been on a 3 month stall. I had the gastric sleeve late July. I was wondering if anyone used herbalife wls? I'm looking for jump starting my weight loss again. I still weigh 240 post surgery and am looking to loose at least another 80.

I'm guessing that your doctor is also very conservative on the amount of a filll. I am at 4.6ccs in a 10cc band. I'm not at my sweet spot but I do feel restriction -- just not enough. But, I've only had two fills (I'm 8 weeks post-op). So get the next fill and talk to your doctor seriously about where you are. I don't know how much your fill is but maybe you can finally get at least some restriction with this fill. Good luck.

And I am so nervous, and excited, and nervous, and a little more nervous. I am 33 y/o and have three little ones. Which makes the situation more nerve racking for me. I am completey rocking the pre-op diet. Since Thursday morning I have only had Protein shakes, juice, broth, Water and 2 popsicles. Today I start my all Clear liquids, so I will be having juice, Jello, broth, and water. On Saturday we hosted a family Christmas party and I was completely in awe of my willpower to not touch one bite of food. I feel very hungry and could use some more energy (especially with getting all the Christmas stuff together!) but I am managing just fine. I still have so many questions. I really like this forum. I have been lurking on Obesity Help for a couple weeks and it really stressing me out over there. I am glad to have found this place!

Hello everyone, Just wanted to introduce myself -- my name is Melissa and I'll be having surgery on Wednesday, 15 August. I'm thrilled to have been approved insurance-wise (which was the only hold-up I have encountered) and I honestly can't believe that in less than a week I'll be well on my way to a new me! I'm going to check out this site a bit more thoroughly. I don't know yet what my challenges are going to be. I guess I'm not really looking forward to the liquid diet but I'll manage . Has anyone experienced a really significant weight loss in the first few months? It'd be nice to drop a few pounds early on .

Hey all, I'm hopefully getting banded around the month of May. I went to the seminar in Dec and started the 6 month Dr supervised diet back then, (didn't really try until Feb) and lost 2 lbs, then a week after my birthday in Feb landed in the hospital for a day and half due to my asthma, but thought they thought it might be heart related, but after doing a bunch of tests, all's good there. After getting out of the hospital, I really started losing the weight, the first weigh in Feb a week after leaving the hospital I lost 2 lbs, then a month later which was last Monday I learned I had lost 4 lbs, and then yesterday when I went the cardic dr for a follow up, they weighed me, I couldn't believe it, I had lost a whooping 10 lbs in a week! I am surprised but excited!!:ohmy:

Hi!! I've been reading this web site for four months now. I got banded in December, and am still struggling with losing the weight. I'm not feeling the restriction that I thought I would, so it's been a challenge. I did lose 23 pounds before the operation, and I've kept it off, but tomorrow I go for my 4th fill, and I'm going to have a gain. My doctor is great, but he doesn't do fills whenever you feel you need them...he only does them every four weeks.... I'm just hoping that this is the one that will give me the restriction I need to really start this adventure. I was so ready when I had the surgery, but I'm fading fast. I'm r_e_a_l_l_y ready to do this!! Give me luck! I need it! :wink:.......................... Anybody out there having the same problem?

Hey everybody! Im Jennifer. Im 22, fixing to be 23. Ive been married a little over a year, i have a beautiful little girl who is 2. Currently reside in Texas. Im working full time for a bank, and am attending school with hopes to graduate this coming year. I joined this site not too long ago. I thought maybe this would help me, having support online. Im not banded yet. My surgery date is August 27th. Im a self pay, with the help of my very very nice mom & stepdad. Im so excited but at the same time very nervous! My edu. class and dietician appt are this coming week, so im anxious to get some of my questions answered. Im so excited to have joined this site.. from what ive read so far you are all nice people who are willing to help. I look forward to meeting everyone!!

My name is Shauntrell and I was banned 3/10/14. After the first 2 weeks of my liquid diet I had lost 18 lbs. I thought I was on the right track. After my 6 week post-op visit I was down a total of 22 lbs. I rcvd my first fill which was 3 cc's on 4/23/14. Afterwards, I felt no restriction at all and was hungry all the time. 12 week check up I rcvd a fill of .5 cc's and had only lost 4 lbs. 18 week checkup was 7/16...still feeling hungry and had only lost .5 lbs. My dr gave me another 1.5 cc's. I am currently at 5 cc's but still feeling no restriction at all. Any advice? My next appt is 8/27.

Thanks BLAKQUEEN! It's nice to meet you as well. I will definitely check out the various pre-op topics. I will start my 2 week liquid diet on Thursday this week. I think I'll do okay on the liquid diet as long as I can find some protein powders that taste good once mixed with milk or water. Have you found a brand or flavor you enjoy? I'm open for suggestions.

I am new to this forum. I had RUX-N-Y on November 20, 2012. So far I have lost 19lbs. Unfortunately, I have gained and lost the same 1lb for the last 2 1/2 weeks. Has anyone else experienced this. I am walking more, taking in more protein and trying to eat a little more (which is very difficult to do) to try and jump start my weight loss again. I am so afraid that I won't lose anymore weight. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Surgery: November 1st and I'm down 31 pounds! Doctor said I should average 10lbs a month for the first 6 months.. What!?? She must be mistaking.. Cause I go a week or two of no weight loss.. I eat what's required and walk at least 30 minutes a day. I sure hope I lose like she thinks I will...

Welcome Sandy You have just made the best choice for your life. It is fun to watch your body change and get thinner, Im just 5 weeks out and have dropped a pant size already. I also was self pay and went to Mexico, I had soo many people freaking out before I went. I had Dr Almanza and I had a wonderful experience too. They were very supportive and caring. Keep posting we love to hear about different journeys. Bernadette

i just started on my pre surg appt, too. i have 2 weeks before surgery. my dr. has me on a protein shake diet with a snack in between breakfast and lunch. my limit for the meals are 8oz only. the snacks can consist of jello (yuck), broth, clear juice, sugar free popsicles,& v8-splash, i have to say it is killing me, especially cooking for the family and not picking something up to eat. i am required to do at least 15 minutes of exercise a day. i also am anxious to start this journey and while waiting on insurance approval, put 5 # on in about 2 weeks, knowing i was doing so. i am forcing myself to follow the dr. orders, though, and imagining after a few days (praying actually) my body and MIND will become used to this new regimen. all i can say is the next 2 weeks can't go fast enough. i think you have to have enough confidence that the decision you made to have this surgery is the best one for you and your family. remembering the reasons to get the surgery and enforcing those memories in your weak moments should make it a little easier to watch what you are eating, control how much you eat, and begin playing with your children for at least a little bit, each day. these are things you're going to HAVE to do after the surgery for it to be successful, so might as well get started and get used to your new lifestyle now. good LUCK!

I met with my nutritionist this week and he gave me my Pre-op diet plan. I thought I would share since I haven’t been able to find a vegan plan on this website. 7-14 days prior to surgery The following diet will provide you with approximately 1000 calories and should meet your daily Protein requirements. The purpose of this diet is to deplete your glycogen (fat) stores, which in turn will help the liver to shrink and make your weight lost operation easier and safer. lean meat substitutes (70 grams protein) 2-3 cups non starchy vegetables Broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, onions, lettuce, carrots, tomato, green Beans, asparagus, radish, pickles, mushrooms May use fat free low calorie dressing or hummus 3 tsp fat Olive oil, canola oil, Grapeseed Oil, Coconut Oil, Flaxseed oil, Walnuts, Hemp Oil or Sesame oil Calorie Free liquids Water, propel, crystal light, fruit2O, plain coffee, plain tea Protein Supplement Protein shake Garden of Life Raw Protein Beyond Organic Protein Formula I’ve already started this diet even though I don’t have a date set. I am having a hard time getting in 1,000 calories.

Hello everyone! I have been checking out this site for a few weeks and figured it was time I introduced myself. My name is Melissa (41, 252 lbs, 5'1") and I've been overweight/obese most of my life. You know, it's kind of weird - I remember my 5th grade class picture and I was little and cute. Everything from there on out through middle school I have vague memories of some crap happening then but now I just remember putting on the pounds. I graduated high school at 160 and well, just never really stopped. My mom passes away out of the blue one day of sudden cardiac death and when then happened it really shook me to my core. After that happened I, in no particular order, divorced my first husband (something that should have been done long before I did), quit my long time job of academic advising, moved to TN, married a new wonderful man who treats me like a queen, started culinary school, graduated, started my own personal chef business and will also be teaching culinary arts at a local culinary school this fall. This has all happened in the last four years! I've tried Weight Watchers more times that I can remember - was only really successful once and even then it was going from 229 to 187. I've done other diets, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, went to the gym, saw a nutritionist, tried hypnosis, yeah, I am a diet veteran for sure. But they never worked. And it wore on me because I'd always say to myself "What is your problem - you know what to do - just do it!" But I never could. Heard a lot of negative stuff about WLS - thought smugly to myself that I'd never take the "easy way out." Everyone knows people just gain the weight back - and don't even get me started about all the complications people have. And besides, I'm a chef - I can't do something where it's going to automatically cause dumping anytime I take a bite of anything. Another thing keeping me from pursuing surgery was the fact that for most of my life I had relatively few complications. In 2009 I started meds for high cholesterol. This May I started meds for high blood pressure, depression, and was told I was prediabetic. Hmmm....I guess when they say once you hit 40 everything starts going downhill was true But I still wasn't thinking surgery. But then I saw Graham Elliot had VSG - he's a fab chef from Chicago (you may have seen him on Masterchef). Hmm, here's a fellow chef getting this surgery done - surely he won't do it if it's going to cripple his livelihood. So I did some research. Heck, who am I kidding? I did a ton of research. And I realized it's not the easy way out. Any one who says that just doesn't know what all is involved. But I also realized it may very well be a very viable option for me. The bad news is my insurance has an exclusion and won't cover it and at first my husband was a bit reluctant to get on board. Every time I'd mention it he'd change the subject. Fortunately, we have a pretty awesome relationship and I finally said hey, what gives - why do you keep changing the subject when I bring this up? Turns out on of his ex's family members had WLS 15 years ago and had a boatload of complications. Once I explained to him that #1 I wasn't looking at having gastric bypass and #2 a whole lot has changed in the past 15 years in WLS he was onboard. Realizing my health is very much in a perilous spot, I've decided it's time to do something. My husband loves to be active, and well, right now, I don't. He never complains, but I want to do more things with him. And yeah, not going to lie, I would love to be able to shop in a regular size store for the first time in, ohhhh.....probably over 30 years. While there are a number of surgeons nearby who perform the surgery - the going self-pay rate is about 20K. However, with help from folks here I have found a doc in Texas who has a much more reasonable self pay rate. We will still need to finance some of it, but it seems much more reasonable now and financing under 10K sounds so much better than financing 20K. I look forward to learning more from all of you and hopefully contributing a lot too! Melissa This site has been a huge help to me so thank you all

Hey everyone! I've been considering the band for about a year, started my preliminary testing last September and found out about a week ago that my insurance approved me! They are going to pay 90% (I have Blue Cross PPO) which is awesome because I could *never* afford it myself - at least not presently. My surgery date is February 4th (having it at Cedars-Sinai hospital with Dr. Nishi) and I am SO excited! I had this strange and still undiagnosed upper abdomen pain that started last fall. I had every test possible and they all came back normal and/or negative. After some antibiotics, repeated acupuncture and a serious reevaluation of my life (trying to deal with stress mainly), I've been feeling much, much better recently. All my doctors (I have every specialist known to man) are very excited about my surgery and don't seem to think my weird stomach pains will affect it at all. Prior to this past October I had never been in the hospital. If I had been approved for surgery before having all the tests I did last fall I would have been scared out of my mind. Now, though? I've been poked and prodded and pricked and put under anaesthesia twice so I'm actually not very nervous for surgery. I think the timing has been amazing. The one thing that makes me nervous is the catheter since I've never had one. Any advice? I'm so happy to have found this forum - everyone seems so caring and supportive!! Oh, I'm at 230 right now and I'd like to be around 150 - I'm 5'5".

i had my surgery june 24th and i started out at 266lbs:thumbdown:. as of today i am 215lbs:thumbup:. better but still a long ways to go!!! i would like to get down to 150lbs. that seems so far away!!! i have been exercising 4-5 days a week (sometimes more!!!) i am so excited cuz i can finally run on the treadmill. i was never able to do that before:thumbup:. i am jiggling but i don't care i am just glad i can finally run!!! i am also glad because my husband has gotten into eating healthier and exercising!!! if anyone has some good ideas on foods and exercises that would be great i would like to change things up a notch so i do not get bored and stop going to the gym:ohmy:!!! and food i would like some ideas so i do not make bad choices when i get tired of the same food!!! love to hear from anyone!!!

Good to hear! I have my surgery in 3 weeks. I am nervous about how it will be for the first 6 months or so. I am on a small island just off the coast of France. I am having to travel to the uk for my op so not looking forward to the 4/5 days there on my own. Can't wait to see some results!

Hi there :w00t: I'm 7 days post op and feeling pretty good. The first 4 days were tough. I was constantly feeling so icky. But then one of my friends told me that I need to eat more substancial soups. (I was living on cup-of-soup, and yogurt). Right when I started to make my own home made soups I started to feel much better. (Even before I got the band, if I was really hungry I would feel very sick, so it's normal for me) I have been out to eat and had soup as my meal. I really enjoyed myself. Getting out of the house made me feel much better. I'm back to my normal routine and feeling great. I am having some strange aches all around my rib cage (front and back). Not sure what that's all about. I also had my gall bladder and many many stones removed during the same surgery 7 days ago so it could be something to do with that too. Or the anesthesia. I have my post op tomorrow so I will ask the doctor. I'm eating pureed food now and so far doing ok with that. I just puree the meal I cook for the family and eat it. (But a tiny amount of course; approx 60ml) I feel satified for a while. When I feel hungry again I have some yogurt until the next meal. Works for me I'm having lots of cravings. Like salad! I love salad and I can't wait to eat it again! I'm going to miss steak! Unless I'm lucky and have no problem eating it. Anyway, I really feel great and I'm looking forward to 6 weeks post op when I can eat normal food again :thumbup: I love this website and I have learned alot from it. Thanks for those that commented on my blog that I just started. You made me feel great! Ladybug

I did find out that I had a hernia prior to my surgery. They did an endoscopy about 2 weeks before my surgery! I felt fine after the first couple days though wishing you the best!!

Had the same feelings, 2.5 weeks post-op and still wondering if I made the right decision. But all I hear from this website and from my friends that have had this done, they all say the same thing. (It will get better and easier as time goes on and you will have no regrets) So I just keep working towards that goal! I agree with jessiquoi, just keep searching in the pre-op discussions and u will find a lot of good advice! Good luck!

Hi Cori. Welcome to LBT and congratulations on getting your surgery date. It will be here before you know it. I am excited for you!! I was self-pay too and it is a much easier and shorter process. It sounds like you've got a wonderful support system and that is so important!! I have a family that has helped me too - we are lucky, aren't we? I have high blood pressure and just this week, my doctor cut my meds in half and said she doesn't think it will be long before I am off of them completely. Most of us have some medical issues and losing this weight and being healthier is what it's all about!! Good luck to you. Keep me posted on your progress. Becky

Per my doctor I will go on a liquid diet one week before my surgery, the last two days I will be on Clear liquids only!! On some the threads people were told to do the Atkins diet before surgery? What did you do? Barbara PS Your seem to be doing just GREAT. I am so glad to hear such positive results. Thanks for sharing. It really helps

I'm new to the group, I live in Colorado, and I was banded on 5-23-08. I am down 63 pounds with no fill. I work out on my days off, and I see a therapist once a week. I am really comfortable with my band, and I don't really feel it. However, I burp a lot more than I used to. I would like to loose a total of 150 pounds so I have 83 pounds to go. Chafonta

Thank you to everyone that has answered my questions and been so friendly! I thought I should take a moment to tell my story-- it sounds a lot like many of yours. I grew up in So. California, where everyone was so obsessed with weight (think Chrissy on Three's Company). I grew up feeling fat. At 18 I was 127 lbs and too embarrassed to wear a swim suit (CRAZY!). I slowly added a few pounds every year and then put on 100 lbs with a pregnancy. I have tried and tried to loose weight, yo-yoing up and down with every diet I struggled through-- gaining back even more each time. I reached 330 lbs a little over a year ago and finally discovered I was a big as I have always felt. My latest yo-yo was I started Dr. Oz's "You on a Diet" and lost 10 lbs over the holidays, which brought me back down to 330. I thought this time I had it! I even got up enough nerve to go to Water aerobics, even though I had to wear shorts because I couldn't find a suit to fit me. Then my clothes started to feel tight again. I went in to the Dr and sure enough, I gained 15 lbs. I'm at my heaviest ever: 446 lbs! My story is getting too long winded, so let me wrap up by saying... I reached out one last time and think I've finally found the tool that will give me that major push I need. I'm so glad I found out about the Lap Band and that I found this message board! I don't want to die! I'm in this for the long haul! ~Kathy