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Am down 135 pounds. Surgery date dec 10. I would like to know how much can others eat in one sitting!!! I can eat about a whole chicken leg 3 Broccoli florets and 2 tsp of a carb

Just found out today that my BCBS doesn't even cover lap band. Won't cover newer options. I was to have surgery on Sept.19. So, i feel your pain. They will cover gastric bypass. I have federal BCBS by the way. What are we paying insurance for.... Mary:think

Hi Christina, Our stats are similar. I'm 26 and 5'6 with HW being 293. I had surgery 4/1 and my total weight loss has been 50 pounds. Unlike you, I'm more bottom heavy. I have a little bit of a belly but nothing some clothes couldn't hide. My problem areas are mainly my legs and my butt. I've been at a stall for the past week or so so I'm hoping once I break the stall more weight will fall off. My exercise regimen has been okay. Since I'm more bottom heavy, I have pain in my hips which makes walking for long periods of time really painful. I did walk a lot when I first got out of surgery. I was wheeled into recovery at 11am and by noon I was already walking around. I walked at least 10 minutes every hour (even at night - couldn't sleep). Now, I'm comfortable walking for maybe 30 minutes until the pain starts to creep back up. I follow up with a swim or resistance exercises with weights or abs. Let me know if you have anymore questions

Hi everyone, so last year August I spoke with my primary care doctor about getting weight loss surgery. We both agree its the best choice for me.I did all my classes with my nutritionist & got approved for gastric bypass surgery. My surgery date is April 19 but for some reason I'm scared. I read a few entries about people regretting doing surgery & some horror stories. I read stories about people gaining back weight & others in n out of hospitals for various things.I'm scared. I'm terrified and honestly don't know if I should continue this journey. I'm 5'7 273lbs. I try so much different weight loss pills/diets and none work. I want to get the surgery so bad to save my life but at the same time I'm scared it's going to make it worse. I'm having mix feelings about this, anyone ever felt this was before surgery? Please help!!!! Sent from my SM-G925T using BariatricPal mobile app

I am getting banded Tuesday, 8/31/10 and have an appt. scheduled for 9/16/10.

The first four to six weeks are not for losing weight. Some people do, some don't. Now is the time to heal. Start monitoring all of your calories - use something like The Daily Plate. Get a fitness monitor, Fit Bit is $99 and offers online diet tracking and will monitor your activity. Move more and make sure you're not drinking calories. Eating what you're eating at 19 days out is totally normal and acceptable. Though doctors suggest liquids, mushies, soft, then adding foods gradually - you may drive yourself mad sticking to that. Just east sensibly. Two other things to note: Women will gain between 5-10 lbs every month just by biological nature. It comes off a week or so later. After starting back to new foods you may gain 1-10 lbs in Water weight (from the salt content) but you'll lose it within a week. You'll learn that when you eat very clean six days a week then indulge on that seventh day that you can gain anywhere from 5-10 lbs as a woman (men can gain 15-25 lbs) all in water weight. Within a week it's gone and you're likely down an extra pound or two. I hope that helps a bit.

This is an awesome way to NETWORK! It will be fun winning prizes for all off the HARD work! Anyone can enter and win. Award Events will be in each State! FREE ENTRY for all who attend this ~Texas Awards Event - JUNE 23rd YOU CAN BE A STAR! In the "WLSC SPOTLIGHT CHALLENGE” Grand Prize- Free Get Away to the SPA & Glamor Recreations ~ FREE Seminar by Dr. Ramos Kelly MD~ *Expanding the Definition of Weight Loss Surgery* Q & A Strait from the Surgeon! 1st ~ 2nd ~ 3rd Awards ~ Door Prizes RSVP For your Free Admission Tickets! Pre Register for "WLSC SPOTLIGHT CHALLENGE” Email Your Testemonial and Pictures & $10 fee to Enter to WIN! Support the Center For Overweight and Obese Children FREE ENTRY for all who attend the~Texas Awards Event - JUNE 23rd Leah Webster office: 619-793-5922 toll free: 877-239-1277 www.wlsclinic.com leah@wlsclinic.com surgery date- 5/19/09 @ 240lbs Current Weight- 226 lbs and LOVING IT! Follow me @ www.youtube.com User ID- Truthaboutthelapband

so i was hanging with friends yesterday and we dont see each other very often. once a month maybe. anyway they decided they wanted to drink. n i wasnt gunna. but they convinced me to have a sip. no big deal. it made my stomach kind of crampy so i didnt continue (wasnt planning on it anyway but yeah) i did have some "scale-less victories" yesterday though. we were at subway. i didnt eat anything there. but we have friends that work there and they sort of burnt some cookies like 2 dozen and she brought the tray over and asked hey free cookies u want some? i didnt take any! and i love those cookies. my one friend took about six my other two. so that was good. but then we went back to my friends house to drink (them not me) and we decided we were gunna see what all the fuss was about on that chatroulette site. it was a horrible demeaning experience.. so we maybe talked to idk 15-10 people and three of them asked if i was my other friends' mother... im 21 for christ sake... one person as soon as they could see us started pointing and yelling "fat lady fat lady fat lady!!" over and over. another person said they didnt want to talk to us because i was a heifer... another person once they could see us said "WHOA" we asked what.. they said man she's fat. my friends just dont get it.. they just ignored these people and what they were saying to me..didnt even try to stick up for me.. they know its all true and so do i.. i would have just left but i never get to see them.. so it ruined my night and i was depressed all night. being the "buzz kill" that i am. it certainly didnt help i have been having a tough time w my depression and stuff this week.. not sure why but it feels like im off all of them.. not good.. they just dont get it and they literally are avoiding talking about the ELEPHANT in the room.. they tell me what do u care what random people think of you.. well cuz its confirming how i feel others look at me everyday especially at classes.. i have a hard time making friends and i feel thats half the reason.. i have no confidence and am so insecure that when people hit my like that it really really hurts... this is the only place where people might understand.. i dont expect people to say im beautiful, but my god.. another reason im posting this is so maybe when im successful with my band that i can look back at this and not forget how horrible things are/were. also i have now decided if i ever date people again my test is going to be what they think of obese people.. if they have bad feedback. theyre out of here. people suck. thats all i can say..

My PCP was on board with weight loss surgery. Once I was denied by my insurance company, I figured out the whole Mexico thing, had surgery and sent my PCP the surgical notes. When I saw her next, she asked if I was pulling her leg. NOPE! Told her how it went down, she seemed pleased. Done deal. You are welcome to read my blog post about it http://hoosierfatty.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/first-doctor-visit-after-surgery-in-mexico/ Of course your PCP will continue to treat you after the surgery. In reality, the only thing I needed help with was some follow up blood work after surgery. If your PCP doesn't come around, maybe it's time to look for a new doctor with an open mind? Good luck!

I've not and will not tell my PCP....I figure asking forgiveness is easier than asking permission. lol this is my life and body....I don't want to live another decade without this tool....and end up sick and another 10 years wasted. What I want to know is how many here who've gone to MX have had a problem like an infection... seems to me most complications are from US surgeons. IDK what ya'll think?

Pretty sure I have. I went off over the holidays and gained about 10 pounds. I had stopped logging, so went back to eating as I had and started logging and weighing again. I was eating the same things I had before in (I think) same amounts. Lost the weight gain. Then have only maintained since then. I didn't realize how long this had been going on because I had a bad thyroid (cancer) for a long time before my surgery and had experienced long, long stalls because of that. I guess I was used to it, so it didn't register this shouldn't still happen. Then, like I said, I screwed up over the Holidays. But, yes, basically since about July I have been at the same weight (other than the 10-pound gain and subsequent loss). It's possible my portions were larger before the holidays I guess, but I really don't think so. I get all my protein from real food and don't do shakes or bars because I'm cheap. I eat veggies and the occasional fruit (no more than 1 oz.) with Greek yogurt for breakfast. I don't eat bread or rice or potatoes or sugary stuff. Two mistakes I pinpointed was drinking Fairlife milk with my decaf in an effort to get in more protein (I forgot about the calories involved) and eating too much cheese when we didn't have other protein in the house. I have cut out cheese because that's so high in calories and I don't think it was helping me. Also stopped the milk. Right now I'm trying to decide between upping calories, staying this low or trying to reset my sleeve. So, it's possible I was consuming more calories than I thought even though I wasn't "eating" a lot. But in my tracking of food I have noted I just can't seem to lose if I go over the 800 mark.

Okay. 10 days post op. I am allowed eggs, cheese, refried Beans, mashed potatoes etc. I haven't felt restriction. Yes, I've burped and stopped eating after that in fear of "too much". I have been able to eat 1-2 eggs at a time, a whole sugar free pudding cup at another time, etc. no tightness. No restriction. I'm stopping ahead of myself. I can gulp liquids with zero issues. Is this normal? I figured I would feel "so full". Hmm. And nothing is irritating me. I have been eating fine. Everything goes down fine. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have went to the bariatric doctor and she told me I meet the criteria for the weight loss surgery. Now I have to attend a seminar and I have to go back to the bariatric surgery on 2/13/19 and she will set me up with a surgeon. She said it will be about four months out. I was right on the cusp for meeting the criteria with a 36 BMI with high blood pressure. She told me not to lose any weight or gain any. She made it sound like I am on my way, but I know there are other things I have to do. I checked with my insurance company and they will pay, but I'm so afraid something will happen to keep me from having it. I am 5'4 and 220 pounds. Anyone else with my height and weight had the surgery?

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU BUT IF ITS HARD FOR YOU NOW JUST KEEP IN MIND YOU WILL BE IN 2 DIFFENT PHASES AFTER SURGERY . MAYBE YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE WILL POWER TO DO IT SO THINK TWICE ABOUT THE SURGERY . ITS NOT EASY BUT IT DOES PAYS OFF IN MANY ACCPETS . IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION P/M ME i HAVE NO PROBLEM . I JUST HAD A 2ND FILL AND MY DOCTOR REQUIRES 10 DAYS LIQUID AFTER EVERY FILL . i AM DOING GOOD i HAVE CRAVINGS OVIOUSLY I AM HUMAN BUT YOU NEED TO MAKE YOU MIND NOT PLAY TRICKS ON YOU AND KEEP YOUR SELF REMEMBERING YOU MAIN GOAL . BEING HEALTHY AND NOT BEING FAT ANYMORE!! BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF YOU !! CLAU

In our bodies, the liver stores carbohydrate in the form of glycogen. We draw on it when our blood sugar is too low---so it's a great mechanism to maintain homeostasis. However, too much stored glycogen causes the liver to become engorged/enlarged. The purpose of the preop diet is to deplete the liver's glycogen stores. This shrinks the liver in size, and makes it easier and safer for the surgeon to manipulate tools during banding. Carbohydrate, including sugar, is limited during the preop diet to spur the liver to release its glycogen stores. (If you don't eat the carbs/sugar, then glycogen is released by the liver to keep your blood sugar steady.) If choosing between foods, I'd opt for Splenda over sugar during the preop diet; your doctor can give you more specific guidelines about how many grams of carb to which to limit yourself, if you need them. (Mine just spelled out exactly what I could eat: 2 Protein shakes/day--with <10 g carb each---4 ounces of lean protein and 1/2 cup nonstarchy veggies each day. Plus up to 2 servings each of broth, sugar-free popsicles, and sugar-free Jello. So maybe a total of 35-50 g carb, max.)

I too jumped off the wagon this weekend. I had to do the pre-op thing for a month before surgery (3/28) so...I've already had a long time with the dieting. I've only lost 10 lbs although I've not cheated until this weekend. As for today...I hopped back on things and hopefully that will jumpstart the losing again, cause it really sucked to be only 10lbs gone for a week and a half. I've got a tad over a week left....FINALLY! Patience isn't always my strong suit.

Finally broke 200 as of this morning, havent seen this weight since my first semester of college! I was hoping to be at goal by 6 months but that is not happening unless I can get 14 lbs off in the next three weeks. I had a stall for about 3 weeks or so and then just lost about 10 lbs in the past 2 weeks. Pretty sure I can't sustain that rate of loss through the 23rd though! Anyway, I feel great, and for those of you doubting your decision to have this surgery, give it time and it will work for you!!!! I owe a lot of the inspiration to this site so thanks to everyone for being so positive and for posting progress pics!

Hello everyone! I've decided to have the lap band surgery probably in October or November of this year -- Statesville, NC. I have found out that my health insurance will pay 90% of the cost. I've been "dieting" my way up to 267 lbs and I'm finally fed up. This is it. I've already been to an information session and everything....this is the right thing for me to do. I just wanted to say "hello" and sort of introduce myself. I'm 40 years old. I have 2 kids -- 19 and 9 and I've been dating a wonderful (supportive) guy for 1 1/2 years now. I want to lose the weight for me. I'm tired of being tired....if that makes any sense? :-) I look forward to hearing any feedback you may can share with me to sort of ease my nervousness about all this.

I have a 14 month old baby - just learning to walk. Yes, I know why walk when you can ride mommys hip! Anyway, I have been trying to decided if I want to go from band to sleeve. I hate the band and you guys are so great posting your experience and advice. I'm pretty sure I am going to do it, the question is WHEN... I have to do before Jan because my deductibles are met... But I have a young toddler. I could get some help but not sure for how long. By the time I do it he will be walking pretty good but how will I feel REALLY feel the first few weeks out if surgery and how until I can pick him up? He's 19-24 pounds

Still stuck with the band that most everything passes threw. I usually have restriction my first meal and nothing after that. Is that normal? Eaten 1/8 cheese quesadilla w/mashed avocado 1 buffalo blast w/dressing 1 bite chicken wrap 4 mini candies 10 nuts

Still stuck with the band that most everything passes threw. I usually have restriction my first meal and nothing after that. Is that normal? Eaten 1/8 cheese quesadilla w/mashed avocado 1 buffalo blast w/dressing 1 bite chicken wrap 4 mini candies 10 nuts

Finished everything yesterday...just have to wait for 5:30 AM November 19th!! Every doctor is different....I had to lose 10 lbs before my surgery date & I did....My doctor doesn't do liquid diets, I just have to keep those 10lbs off....I was so scared of what everyone was saying about there liquids & how hard it was....I am eating correctly so hoping to be down another pound or 2 by surgery...wish me luck..

In the last 10 years more and more American women have become obese. Yet obesity among men has not increased. In your opinion, what factors are causing this gender difference? From The Week: Obesity surges among women More than 40 percent of American women are obese, a 5 percent jump over the past decade, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. "It's a really alarming figure, and it's alarming that it's continuing to go up despite government calls to action on weight loss and healthy eating," UCLA Medical Center dietitian Dana Hunnes tells The Guardian (U.K.). Obesity is calculated by measuring a person's body mass index, a ratio of weight to height. For example, at 5-foot-4, the average height for U.S. women, someone who weighs 174 pounds or more is considered obese. The condition is more common among African-American women, 57 percent of whom qualify as obese, compared with 47 percent of Hispanic women, 38 percent of white women, and 12 percent of Asian women. The rate of obesity among men remains 35 percent, with no increase since 2005. After analyzing information compiled on more than 5,000 adults, the CDC found no explanation for why women struggle more than men do with this serious health issue, which is associated with heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. What's clear, however, is that the billions of dollars spent on weight-loss devices, drugs, research, and community programs have done little to curb the nation's 30-year-long obesity epidemic. Researchers suggest no progress will be made until the food and restaurant industries apply their marketing skills to promote healthier options.

I am eating around 800 calories and getting around 60-80g of Protein...but the scale is not moving. I am six weeks post op....do I have too many carbs....I think its around 30 or 40g carbs...here is my day Muscle Milk (225 calories, 25 g Protein) 2 Babybels (140) Calories 10 g Protein) 1 Single serve Hummus (63 cal, 6 g Protein) 2 oz Turkey Laughing Cow cheese, 1/2 Dr. Kracker Cracker (17g protein, 130 cal) 1 Babybel Light (35 Cal, 6g protein) 1 2.6 Tuna Pouch with light mayo (130 cal, 20g protein) 1 Wasa cracker (30 cal, 1g protein) Water with Metamucil (50 Cal). Walking 2-3 miles a day...just started adding weights.... Should I cut out something out????