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It's water. With increased heat and humidity of summer, it's easy to hold on to water. I can easily hold 4-5 pounds of water. When I was 300 pounds, it was at least 10. Try increasing your fluid intake, avoid high sodium foods (read those labels) and try to get in a little walking. Sit with your feet up when sitting.

OK...I am over THREE months out and ALMOST 50lbs off!!!! YAY ME! Now the vent!!! A friend of mine, 10 years my junior, 8 inches shorter, had lapband 9 days ago...She lost about 10 pounds since surgery and I am standing with her today in the church parking lot when a mutual friend drives by and says to her WOW...You're looking GREAT!! What a difference!!! Now this person has NEVER ONCE mentioned MY weight loss!!! I have dropped almost 50 friggin pounds am standing RIGHT THERE and NOTHING!!!! My friend talked the doc out of her pre-op diet, isn't following the post of diet, drops 10 pounds with ZERO effort and I am FIGHTING my ARSE off for every frigging ounce!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S NOT FAIR!!!! Right now I HATE my life!!!! GRRRRRRR :confused: Don't get me wrong, I do not begrudge my friend her loss, I am happy for her...I just wish people would say something to ME TOO FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!!!!!

Finally at 70lbs people are saying they notice it. But at 40 and 50 lbs when they other girls at work who had lost 10 and 20 lbs were getting lots of compliments, I was getting bupkiss.

MM--I am sorry! One thing way to think of it, is that she MUST have carried it worse than you! I mean obvisouly if she looses just 10 and someone notices that is saying something! :confused: You must be just one of those people that didn't look overweight and no one notices.... Not being mean, just tryint to help....

My period came like a week early the day AFTER surgery (not cool) and the next period was about 10 days EARLY! . . . So more frequent. Hopefully they go back to normal soon.

I got my period about 10 days early and about a day after getting out of the hospital. It ticked me off too, because I had intentionally planned my surgery date at the middle of my cycle so I would not have to "deal" with recovery and that time. Ugh. But I must say I am not on any type of hormone, pill, patch, etc. and my periods are completely 100% normal since being sleeved. Except for getting cheated on that extra week back in Oct. I think it is more common for them to be out of whack, so I don't know exactly what I'm doing but they were normal before and after the sleeve, so maybe I'm just lucky?

For those who asked. My activity level would be considered 'light' (one step above sedentary). I move, but nothing strenous...although I just finished an hour of shoveling 10" deep *heavy* snow which might qualify as strenuous. What do I eat? Breakfast is usually a double scoop of EAS whey powder in 1 cup 2% milk. I find that boost of Protein actually keeps me more satisfied all day than starting with solid food. A good thing too, because I'm too tight in the morning to eat. Mid-morning a ready-made EAS Protein Drink. lunch is usually 3 oz of protein, 1/4 cup vegie, 1/4 cup carbs (rice, potatoes, a few melba rounds). Mid-afternoon a ready-made EAS protein drink. dinner same as lunch. Mid-evening a ready-made EAS protein drink. My meals are *usually* distinctly protein, vegie, carb because everything else seems to be a slider food for me. Casseroles made with pastas, rice or Beans laugh at the band...at least for me they do. I start with my protein, but I find it too boring to eat all my protein, then my vegies, then my carbs. Since I know I get my daily protein requirements in just through the mid-meal shakes, I don't have to worry about eating all of my protein. I'll usually eat about half my protein, then half my vegies and then half my carbs. Then go back to the protein and repeat. Last night I ate 2 oz of chicken, 2 Tbs of brussel sprouts and 2 Tbs of rice. As I went to finish that last ounce of chicken, I realized I just didn't want to eat anything else. I dumped the rest of it and was perfectly satisfied the rest of the night. I truly believe the extra protein the mid-meal shakes are the reason I'm continuing to lose as I have been. Anyway, hope this helps. Today's menu: Lunch: 3 oz tuna (mixed with 1-1/2 tsp mayo, onion, dill), a couple slices of tomato, a bit of lettuce) Dinner: Lasagna (1/2-3/4 cup), 1/4 cup of salad with blue cheese dressing Yesterday's menu: Lunch: 1/2 grilled cheese sandwich (1 sl 'thin/diet' bread with 2 oz jarlsberg cheese), 3/4 cup tomato Soup made with milk Dinner: 2 oz chicken w/2 Tbs mushroom gravy (made with Cream of mushroom soup), 2 Tbs brussel sprouts, 2 Tbs rice .

I am on day one, I have done pretty well, I am not hungry at all, I never usually am. So I have about 32 oz of Water down, a shake and a half, the champion shake gave me a stomach ache. So for dinner not wanting to take in the Protein shake of any sort, I had some egg drop Soup (1 cup) and now about an hour and a half later i am having some chicken broth since I haven't consumed near enough calories today OR protein. So now my options are: To get the protein in - have a nectar Drink (23g protein) but not enough calories have a nectar shake (23g protein) and have a slim fast shake 190 calories and 10 grams protein to get the calories in the ball park of 800 for the day, but would overdo the protein....my nut doesn't want me going over 70-75 and that would make 83 for the day. What do i choose?!

National stats for erosion are less than 1%. National stats for slips are around 3%. You'll want to ask your doc what HIS individual stats are. He likely has no or 1 erosion and the slips should be under 2%. Mexico has lower erosion/slips than the US but they are 10 years more experienced than docs are here. Experience means everything in the world. DON'T to go to ANYONE with less than 250 bands minimum. Personally, I wouldn't go to anyone that has done less than 500 bands. They haven't even been doing them long enough to HAVE valid stats. Weight loss for bypass vs. band is within 1%. So virtually, there is no difference. Bypass is dangerous, banding is not. Not in comparison.

That makes me happy! Thank you for sharing! I may have my surgery June/July & we're going to Disney World, Dec 18th for 10 days. I keep wondering what I will be eating by then?? Regular (limited) foods, or am I still going to be eating mush?

Sorry guys, it has been 10 days since my surgery, not 8. If that makes any difference. Re. the protein - I have noticed 25-30g is lower than most. But how do you get that much protein unless you drink protein shakes and nothing else? According to my doc I'm only supposed to have 1/4 cup of liquid every hour. Let's say I eat (actually drink) 10 times a day - that only 2 1/2 cups of liquid. Can you get 60 g of protein in 2 1/2 cups? argh.

My surgery date was August 7, 2006 but now it is cancelled.:cry I got a call on Friday morning at 11am stating the doctor was not feeling well. They are gonna try to reschedule my surgery but they don't know when. Maybe August 10 or 11, or maybe August 28, 2006. I am so disappointed. I finally came to turns with the surgery and now this. I am self pay so I have paid the surgeron and just this morning I went and got the cashier's check for the surgery center. Now no surgery date. I have a $9200.00 cashier's check made out to the surgery center and I don't even no when or if I will get to have the surgery. I made all the arrangements for work and now this. I am on call 24 hours a day Monday thur Friday and every 3rd weekend so this has really messed my schedule up. I don't know if I will be able to find some to cover for me because they may have vacations planned. I am also on schedule to be on call the Labor Day Weekend :cry . I will have to wait until Monday to find out when they will be able to do surgery. I know they couldn't help this but I just had everything in place for Mondayk. Plus I have travel plans to Las Vegas on September 28, 2006 and I was hoping to be healed and eating by then:mad: So now I must wait on the surgeon's office to call and let me know if it will be August 10 or 11 or August 28. If it is August 28 I will have to make a decision to have or not to have.

I just want to spread the word that if you are proactive in the process of having your lap band and not always waiting for the Dr's to do all the work, you can sometimes speed up the process. I had my final appt with my doctors office the Thursday before Easter. They told me that they would submit my paperwork to the insurance company the Monday after Easter and that it would take 2 weeks to a month for approval. Well I decided to call the insurance company after a weeks time and asked them did they receive my paperwork from my Dr's office. They told me that they just received it 17 min before I called. The agent asked me a shocking question,she asked "Is this something urgent that you need because I can bump your review status to urgent " I said yes it is urgent to me" I hadn't hung up the phone 10 min before she called me back to tell me that I was approved. My surgery date was set today for May 17th 2010.

I, personally, think you should have decided on the band before you booked the procedure -- kind of scary to second guess this when your surgery is just over a week away. BUT... There is another website I frequent where someone just asked this question....you might like their responses. However, most people on that board that didn't have the band are pretty ill-informed about it. http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/messageboard/postdetail/1262177.html?vc=0 http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/surgtype-forums/LapBand/postdetail/171393.html?vc=0 http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/surgtype-forums/LapBand/postdetail/170826.html?vc=0 My cravings are pretty much gone. Sure, every once in a while, I crave something specific: mexican food or itialian or something, but I don't crave food in general. I don't have the feeling that I need to eat, eat, eat. That comes with good restriction as I don't feel hungry. Here are the reasons that I went with lapband: (note: this is posted from my blogspot where I journal these things) There are a few different types of weight loss surgery. They each work a bit differently and the results are different. One of the most popular ones is called RNY, where they cut your stomach to make a much smaller pouch that feeds into your intestines. They also shorten your intestines to prevent food from absorbing into your body as quickly. Depending on the person, they can either do the surgery laproscopically or open. I believe the surgery takes a couple of hours. From what I understand, most of the weight lost after this surgery is in what they call the "window of opportunity"-18-24 months after surgery. People can expect to lose 50-70% of their excess weight. A newer surgery is called Lap Band. Most of these are performed laproscopically. They place a band around the top portion of your stomach to make it smaller (called a pouch). It makes your stomach like an upside down funnel. You have the full sized stomach, but the opening is alot smaller, so you feel full faster because you have to wait for the food to go through the funnel into the larger part of your stomach. The FDA approved this method in 2001 for the US, but it has been performed before that in Europe. Weight loss with this approach is slower, but there is no "window of opportunity". After surgery, people can get "fills". The band around the stomach is filled with saline and can be filled up to be tighter or emptied to be looser, giving the person some freedom. Here are my reasons for having the lap-band: 1. My stomach/intestines will not be cut/staped/rearranged. If I ever had to have it reversed, it is much easier to remove the band than to re-cut the stomach. 2. I do not have to worry about malabsorption of my food and nutrients. All my nutrients will be absorbed the same as they are pre-surgically. People with RNY really have to watch their Vitamins since their stomach and intestines don't absorb nearly as much. People with a lap-band have to watch their vitamins too because they can't eat as much, but what they do take in vitamin-wise will all be absorbed. 3. Weightloss is slower. This helps with skin not to be as saggy after the weight loss. It also helps me establish lifestyle changes instead of using the "window of opportunity". People who lose weight very quickly often get gallstones and then need their gall bladder removed. I'd like to avoid that. 4. The band can be adjusted if needed. If the weight isn't coming off well, the fill can be increased. If the weight is coming off too quickly, the fill can be decreased. If I ever get pregnant :-) and need to eat more, I can get an unfill. This is true even 10 years down the road. 5. Lower mortality rate by far. 6. Less complications post-surgical, since there are less changes in your body and no cuts. 7. Shorter hospital stay. Most Lap Band patients are in and out in a day, if they have a fairly early surgery time and no complications with anesthesia. Here is information on Lap-Band: http://wlssearch.com/surgicalweightloss.htm http://www.nevdgp.org.au/geninf/std_misc/OBESITY_SURGERY.htm http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/surgtype-forums/LapBand/about.html http://www.lap-band.com/about.html http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/mda/docs/p000008.html

Hey, you gotta start sometime. The more you lose preop the closer you are to goal! I was so excited I actually started my preop diet early and lost 10 pounds more than my surgeon wanted me to.

I have a one year old at home so a little older than yours but my surgeon said I couldn’t lift over 10 pounds so I will not be able to pick her up. Someone could put her in my arms and so on but I can’t actually lift. maybe you could find someone, a family member or friend to help for a few weeks with baby. but then again, all surgeon’s are different and you might have a different weight limit.

Yay Elfie! When you're finished with your snow, can you come over and do mine too? I know my hubby won't! I go this afternoon for another fill, my third. I'm really hoping that it gets me close to my sweet spot, because I'm eating too much and too fast, almost like I didn't have the band at all, and I've got 5.6 ccs in my 10 cc band (which can hold 12 ccs). Although I did lose 2.2 pounds this week, I think it was because I exercised 5 days last week.

Thanks, something to think about. I just noticed your weight loss total - CONGRATS! That is awesome, although it was really unkind of the scale to hold back that last .10!

Just had my surgery 10 days ago! I was very excited, but very nervous too--even thought about backing out a couple of times as the day drew near! Honestly, the first day after surgery was the worst, not because of pain, but because they kept trying to get me to drink fluids, and I just didn't want to. I had some nausea, but no unbearable pain--it was more like an achy discomfort, like when you have a tummy ache. The doctors were great with intravenous pain medication so if I got too achy they gave me this very cool stuff that made me feel oh, so nice, and put me right to sleep...lol I was sent home the day after my surgery with pain pills, but never needed to take them--a couple of Tylenol did the trick for any residual soreness. Really, by day 4 I felt completely normal, as if nothing had been done at all! Just get ready to enjoy a few days of pampering, and a reason to get some extra sleep. Aside from feeling a little groggy from the anesthesia, you will be fine in a day or two and ready to begin your journey to freedom!

I am quite the "offender" as well! I know that I shouldn't but it drives me nuts wondering. Recently I have hit a massive plateau and it is totally bumming me out and I keep losing and regaining the same 5-10 pounds! I know I need to lay off the scale so I am going to make a concerted effort to only weigh in the morning! Thanks for the reminder! Alisa

Hey! I have MVP!!! There are one of the best insurances! I got approved after 1 DAY!..I got banded 08/10/2005,They cover EVERYTHING! I haven't had any problems! Kristen

The Protidiet products are very good if you're looking for something different. They do have a liquid fruit concentrate that you add with water...no lumps, no fuss and it tastes great. If you go to this website www.ishophere.biz you can look products up by name or form etc. If you click on the item you get nutrional values so you can see how much protein is in each product. They sell numerous brands and with your (I believe $20 purchase, might be a little higher) you can get 3 free samples of anything you choose (some exclusions but not many). They offer 10% off certain totals as well as free shipping and handling. I love the hot chocolate multi-flavor packs. Have fun!

Congrats!!! I don't think it will take that long... I was told 10-21 days and I got approved in 2 days... I called my insurance company the day after they received my paperwork....

Everyone definatly goes thru the stall, sometimes you lose 1,2 pounds a week sometimes you won't lose none than next you know you dropped 10 in one week.

I have actually had someone tell me wow something looks really different about you like your 10 years younger did you have a facelift or something Guess it was supposed to be a compliment but i was so offended im only in my 30s lol