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Starting the process can be overwhelming and exciting! When I started out and went to my first support group meeting, I think I nearly cried just at how miserable I felt. Of course after giving myself this incredible gift and taking this big leap to have surgery, I can tell you it was one of the best decisions I have made. There are going to be ups and downs, but the results are so worth it. I have no regrets.....oh, and I had my surgery 10 yrs ago. Wish you both all the best! Welcome to the group! Would love to hear how you progress....it is truly life changing!

I have a chocolate whey powder that's actually drinkable when mixed with water. I get it at the grocery store--it's called "Pure Protein 100% natural whey protein powder. I also have the Isopure Vanilla protein powder but it's yucky. I also like the isopure drinks. Not only are you getting 40 grams of protein, but also 20 oz of liquid at the same time! I only drink 10 oz at a time also.

Hi all--I was "banded" on July 19/06 in New Brunswick, Canada. So far, so good. I am feeling amazingly well, except for the pesky hunger and my craving of all foods solid...I don't ever want to eat broth again...but I suppose I'll have to. And that case of peach Resource (a clear liquid Protein drink) I bought leers at me from the refrigerator every time I open it YUCK. I get my staples out in two days (YAY) and get a fill in about 3 more wks...about the time I was told I could get back solid food:hungry:...an evil trick I think, because don't I have to "eat" liquids again for a few days after a fill? Anyway, I am excited to be starting this journey and thrilled that the lap band will not only help me take off pounds, but THIS time, help me KEEP off the pounds I lose and the many extra pounds that always accompany the ones I lost in the first place! ~Deb

Pre surgery or post? Either way, my preop said to stop taking them at least 10 days before surgery. So, they wouldn't even help with the preop diet!

I have my surgery on March 23..4 days from now..yippie!! Im still kinda scared to death, I to have sleep apnea, I am on day 6 of my 10 day clear pre-op diet..I am down 14 pounds so far..I was totally shocked..I am allowed to have 3 protein shakes a day..Chicken broth..sugar free jell-o..sugar free popsicles..I drink tons of water, and crystal light..It has not been that bad to stick with it, I was so worried I would cheat and not lose weight, but i was so scared that i wanted to make sure i lost the most i could..My husband and boys (6,13,13) have been great about cooking meals so i would not get tempted..by the 4th day It was great..I hope u find all the info u need to put ur mind at ease..Good Luck..

I had my sleeve done December 13th 2012. My highest weight was in September of 2012 at 377, the morning of my surgery I was 349. This morning I weighed in at 168!!!!! I have lost 209 pounds…..I pinch myself everyday. There is no secret to my success, my sleeve has been my greatest tool. I would have never gotten to this point without it, I know that! However, the 3 other legs of the stool to help me achieve this have been: 1) Myfitnesspal.com 2) Fitbit 3) Exercise, Exercise, & more Exercise The sleeve did not fix the cavernous space between my ears. Even with the sleeve I would not have lost the weight if I was not ready to tackle the reasons I overate the way I did prior to surgery. I was finally mentally in the right place to take on this challenge, the sleeve was the extra edge I needed to stay on track. I can guarantee failure if you are not ready to combine mental toughness along with a life dedicated to exercise. I fear it everyday, fear that i will give up on my exercise routine and let a few pounds sneak back. I use that fear to force myself out of bed and on to that treadmill, or elliptical machine. Many days I workout twice a day. Many of us are in the same place for the same reason….lack of will power, poor genetics, and we can be just plain ole lazy. Those things DON'T go away….they just lay dormant and you have to fight to keep them where they belong: buried deep inside of you. I see my surgeon this coming week and I can't wait to see my lab work, I am really looking forward to see how much it has improved since prior to my surgery. I had high cholesterol, high fasting sugar levels etc…. In two weeks from today I will be in my hospital room recovering from my circumferential body lift. I am so anxious to let the healing begin and get back to my workout regimen. I have a 10 mile race under my belt, I finished in just over an hour and a half. Mind you, when I first started my workouts back in January I was barely able to walk at 3.5 mph for 30 mins. Now I run twice a day for 40 - 60 mins at a time and average 6.5 mph in preparation for my plastic surgery. In 2014 I have scheduled a half marathon and a full marathon, they are things I would have laughed at back when I was 377 pounds and because of this life altering procedure they are a real possibility. If you are reading this and thinking of surgery or just had it completed or have had it and things are going well, know that it is tough. The sleeve is a tool and that tool is only as effective as the owner of it. This is not popular…..you can cheat the sleeve. You can put weight back on….you can eat more and more over time. It is up to you to use it properly and rehab your mind, train yourself to be mentally strong in your fight against food addiction and abuse. I do not deprive myself of things…..I have had……pizza, ice cream, french fries, and diet soda. I just don't have a whole pizza, I have half a slice and a small salad. I have a spoonful of ice cream instead of 2 pints of ben and jerry's like i did prior to surgery. I steal a french fry or two from my son instead of a super sized order from mcdonalds with my two big macs and two cheeseburger with a large regular coke. You can do it! But, you have to be ready to do it. I wasn't ready for 13 years! I gained almost 200 pounds from 1999 to 2012 when i had my procedure. just about every monday during that time i started a "diet" and by thursday afternoon i was done. I had some success a few times losing close to 75 pounds at one time but it didn't last long. i wanted to take time to let anyone know who wanted to listen that this is not the end all be all to your success. you are the key to it working!! i wish you all nothing but good luck in your personal journey, it has been my greatest accomplishment in my life. there are so many things we are expected to do and do well: be a loving and caring spouse, be the best parent you can be, work hard to provide your family what they need. you don't have to be healthy, you WANT to be healthy but it is not a requirement so when i look back at what i have done, i truly feel its my greatest accomplishment!! good luck everyone!

I have 5.9 in a 10 band and have restriction. Everyone is different.

I realize I need to focus on eating so here is what I eat: Breakfast: 1/2 c. cottage cheese & 1/3 chicken breast lunch: 2 oz pork & 1/2 c. cottage cheese Dinner: 1/3 chicken breast & 1/2 c. cottage cheese Snack: soy chip throughout the day 7 grams of Protein for 19 chips! Evening snack: Yup!!! 1/2 c. cottage cheese!! Yes I do really like cottage cheese.....I doctor it up a little, for breakfast i drizzle a little maple syrup on it lunch is lots of pepper and dinner is a small drizzle of french or even italian dressing ....changes the taste so it isn't boring. I also do 45 minutes of exercise every other day. I know this isn't forever but for now it works for me!

ok... I have been at this whole process for 15 months. No way I thought I would be where I am today. Started out at 340... now struggling to maintain 154. Dont want to be any smaller... dont want to look sickly. I was textbook case. No real issues except the mourning of food... I have followed the plan to a T. Not to say I didnt try no no things to see if my new pouch could handle it... 9 times out of 10 it couldn't... but work this new tool that you have and you will be successful.

If you just started at the gym take your measurements, get a trainer to do your bodynfat with calipers, keep a food journal, and don't do weights two days in a row and only exercise the same body part every three days. And if you are doing weights, lift the heaviest you can that you can only do 8-10 reps with. Less is pretty useless and more can lead to injury. Most people start with 5-10 lbs weights but don't hesitate to carry a 20 lbs watermelon or 25 lbs armful of groceries.

Who did your Surgery? I had Dr Michelson. I'm not a fan of the PA there :/ Banded August 28 2012<br />Starting weight 293<br />Day of surgery weight 273<br />Current weight 258<br />Goal weight 160 5ft 10

Hello, Pre op I was 473 pounds (close to 500) at 6'5". Here is what I did pre op (and post op) to help me get through the VSG. Keep in mind that I am not a doctor and therfore you should consult him/her, but here goes. 1. Quit coffee, soda, and fast food. Some people have that last meal mentality and binge on all of their addictions but I felt it was counterproductive. 2. One week prior to my 10 day pre op liquid diet I replaced two of my meals (usually Breakfast and lunch) with a Protein shake. I then had a sensible meal for dinner. Yes it is similar to the slimfast diet but it helped me on my liquid only diet. 3. Do the pre op liquid diet. Every doctor is different on this so follow what your doc says. Mine was a 10 day full liquid diet. Do the diet and do not cheat on the diet. I did not and it felt great to know that I was able to accomplish this. 4. Follow the post op diet to the letter. I am exactly four weeks post op now I still have not eaten anything very solid. The most solid Item I have eaten is a vegetarian chik'n nugget...which by the way is still pretty soft. 5. Exercise. I am not the best at this but I feel I would have even more success if I were more consistent in this area. February 28th Pre surgery consultation = 473 pounds March 16th - start 10 day liquid diet March 19th Pre surgery physical/history = 452 pounds (21 pounds lost) March 26th - day of surgery = 446 pounds (27 pounds lost in less than a month) April 4th - post op check up = 425 pounds (21 pounds lost in the eight days after surgery) April 17th - PCP check up = 420 pounds (53 pounds lost since February 28th) GOOD LUCK!!!

Hi all Just after a bit of advice since I am relatively new here. This subject has probably been done to death, but I am going to jump in and ask anyway. :eek: I was wondering if anyone had done a pre-Optifast diet before their banding? For example, I have 8 weeks until I get banded, which means I have 6 weeks until I start the Opti. I am considering starting the Opti now and having one meal Opti and the rest normal food. Then with 4 weeks to go I will change to 2 Opti's per day and one normal, with the two weeks (or 10 days for me) prior to surgery having 3 Opti per day. Does this make sense? Is this a good/bad/indifferent idea that will assist me prior to surgery, or would I be beating myself silly doing this? The other question would be which one of the meals would be best replaced first? dinner, Breaky or lunch. Too much to think about! All opinions greatly sought as you guys have all the experience. Thanks all

I am also 22 and had gastric sleeve on April 5th. I actually posted concerns like this on here about a month ago but have had not one complication since my surgery. The only thing that happened after was I threw up from all the pain meds and anaistesia. I don't do well with pain meds. I will be straight honest with you that it will be a very big challenge for you in the beginning but I am 3 months out and struggled terribly in after but am now doing better and do not regret my decision. I did horribly the first couple months but I truly know I would of ate myself to death if I did not choose this option. The struggle is all mental and I still deal with anxiety and depression but I have always had it but masked it with food. I am now forced to face my demons head on and not hide behind food but I feel like that I really did need that. I have lost 35 pounds so far and already have so much more energy and no pain in my back and neck. It will be scary at first but I promise you will make it through. 4 members of my family had gastric bypass and are 10 years out with no complications. If you ever need someone to talk to you can message me ❤ Sent from my 0PM92 using the BariatricPal App

my goal weight is 120 because i weighed between 108 to 120 till i was 44 and hit menoupause so i want to go back to the top weight i figure i'm 10 years older so i took the top weight! lol my feet starting hurting horribly at 150 so i know that is still too big for my feet (lol) and i'm only 5'3". that would be 104 total weight loss for me....can't even imagine that i put myself in this place; but i'm going to dig my weigh out. :wink: Jeanie

A liquid is technically anything that can go up a straw and at 10 days out they can be quite thick. There isnt any need to live on shakes. You could blend up a decent Soup - one that contains meat and Pasta for example. If you need to thin it, do so with some chicken stock or a canned tomatoes, Water or milk, depending what it is. You can also blend fruit, yogurt and an egg with some flavouring, it doesnt have that horrid soy-ish Protein shake taste. You can put bran or other Cereal in it too. You can thin anything to a liquid, even a roast dinner. Just make it into a savoury soup with stock. Just keep it to healthy, energy giving foods and dont eat them in solid form until you are allowed to.

My surgery is Thursday! I'm excited and nervous! I already got my vitamins, and stocked up on shakes. I too, cleared a place in the fridge so that all my stuff was handy! I'm going to get baby foods and "mushies" for when I get home, tomorrow or the next day, since that is the diet I will be on. Only my two younger kids will be here, son 15, daughter 10, and they are always really good at doing what I ask of them. Packing my bag?? Well, I'm taking a small bag of chapstick, gas strips, and one change of clothes. I'm only going to be in one night... so I figure I won't need much. I'll be thinking about you tomorrow as you go through yours!! I'm certain that all will go well and you will be up and out of there in NO TIME! Good luck!!

My sister loves her lap band. She got it in '02, so this summer will be 10 years. she lost her weight slow and steady, going from a size 28 to a size 7. She had to have a tummy tuck and has hanging skin on her arms and thighs and has not had a single issue with her band BUT has said numerous times that if the sleeve had been an option then she'd have had it. She'd have lost the weight faster and wouldn't have to live with that "stuck" feeling. plus she has seen so many others having scar tissue built up/revisions that it would have turned her to the sleeve.

Thanks everyone!! I also think it has to do with being @ home ALL DAY!! It gives me.too much time to think... I'm going back to work today so.hopefully I won't think about it that much!! Now.on the.good.news fort I weight myself yesterday and.I'm.down 19 pounds since.I started the pre-op liquid diet... I still have 1.more.week on liquids and then 2 more.on.mushy foods.so.wish me luck!!!

Congrats on your progress!! I'm 1 month out...24 gone since surgery and 92 gone in the past 5 months. VSG 10/11/17 HW = 360 SW = 292 CW = 267.8 GW = 220 (6'5")

Hello, I just had my first consult with the surgeon I've chosen to due my VSG surgery. He was very encouraging and staff were very kind. I'm still a little scared to have surgery again, but I'm 38 with a 10 year old daughter and I need to set a great example for her. I've been over weight most of my life, I lost 115 lbs when I was 20 yrs old due to a eating disorder, after years of therapy I now have a handle on food for the most part. My story became crazy when I found out while pregnant that I had Thyroid disease I refused to take any medication until my daughter was born it took me six years to get pregnant and I was not taking any chances. After her birth I weighed 315 lbs and my weight loss journey started all over again. After lossing 65lbs the only way I new how not eating I've been stuck between 250-265 for 10 years. So, surviving cancer and a complete hysteratomy I'm ready to take the journey that comes with weight loss surgery. Sorry for the long post I just wanted to provide a summary of where I've been.

I would say I am new here but I am actually not, when I had my band placed 2.5 years ago I was a member but I could not remember my username so this is my new profile. Something horrible happened, I was in an auto accident on Nov 01 and I suffered blunt trauma to my chest and abdomin. Immediately after the accident I was vomiting and had pain. Long story short after 6 weeks of dealing with Workmans Comp (I was driving on the job, running an errand) I finally got to see the right doctor and all the correct tests were done and not only did my band slip but I also have a hiatial hernia! I am just waiting on approval for surgery to fix this and I was left with several options with Dr. Joseph Naim... 1. Remove the band (NOT!) 2. Replace the band 3. Gastric Sleeve 4. Gastric Bypass Although the band has been good to me I am afraid of this happening again as this is a very miserable experience. I am leaning toward the sleeve...any thoughts? Dawn

MY TURN !!! (of course its George lol) 1. Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. 2. One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. 3. Atheism is a non-prophet organization. 4. If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes? 5. The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live. 6. I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose. 7. Could it be that all those trick-or-treaters wearing sheets aren't going as ghosts but as mattresses? 8. If a mute swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap? 9. If a man is standing in the middle of the forest speaking and there is no woman around to hear him...is he still wrong? 10. If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation? 11. Is there another word for synonym? 12. Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do practice?" 13. Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all?" 14. What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant? 15. If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages? 16. Would a fly without wings be called a walk? 17. Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them? 18. If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked? 19. Why don't sheep shrink when it rains? 20. Can vegetarians eat animal crackers? 21. If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent? 22. Why do they put Braille on the drive-through bank machines? 24. How do they get the deer to cross at that yellow road sign? 25. Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny? 26. What was the best thing before sliced bread? 27. One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people. 28. Does the Little Mermaid wear an algebra? 29. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery? 30. How is it possible to have a civil war? 31. If God dropped acid, would he see people? 32. If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown too? 33. If you ate Pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry? 34. If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done? 35. Whose cruel idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have a "S" in it? 36. Why are hemorrhoids called "hemorrhoids" instead of "asteroids"? 37. Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot at them? 38. Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song? 39. Where are we going? And what's with this hand basket? 40. If the "black box" flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash, why isn't the whole damn airplane made out of that stuff? 41. Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?

Yep. Got the band on 3/1. Feel fabulous. 30 minutes of surgery, and three hours later was doing laps around the hospital itching to go home. The worst part was pre-surgery. All that gunk you drink to 'empty' yourself dehydrated the daylights out of me and I was nauseous, headache, and generally wanted off the world. Even the bruising on my stomach isn't bad. And I could lift my little toddler on Day 3. So...yipee. And it seems I've lost 10 lbs in the last week (is that possible?)