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I can’t believe it has already been 17 days since I booked my surgery. It seems moment to moment to be dragging (and that may be in a large part due to the fact that things are really slow at work right now for me). But 17 days? Really? I have been slowing chopping things out in my PRE Pre-Op diet and so far it has been fairly easy. Starting on April 8th I decided I would try to stop eating all junk food (a bad habit I picked back up on over Easter) and drop caffeine out of my diet. Man was I miserable for 3 whole days! The first day I had to take a shot of diet coke in the evening so I didn’t go crazy… and had Advil on hand for my raging headache. I will confess I ate some cookies during that week and had a few “farewell” meals involving French fries and oooooh… that new Pizza Burger thing at Boston Pizza. Yum! This week, starting Monday it was time to carb drop. I am moving in the direction of Akins, eating mostly protein and some veggies – not worrying too much about fat this week. I am replacing my breakfast each day with a high protein zero carb shake. So far I have tried: Six Star Whey protein powder – Vanilla (which is TOTALLY disgusting!!) So sweet it blows my face off! About Time – Birthday Cake – tastes like licorice water, but tolerable About Time – Mocha Mint – Minty Licorice – and tolerable (Better than birthday cake) For my fellow Canadians I get the About Time shakes at lowcarbcanada.ca. They also have ISOPURE Alpine punch which I have my eye on. About Time is sweetened with Stevia which takes over most of the flavor (Licorice like) but I do like black licorice so Im ok with it. The rest of the day Ive been pretty consistently having an Atkins snack or advantage bar, a small lunch like salad or tuna with mayo in a cup… and dinners have been mainly meat with a side of veg. I am still enjoying a decaf coffee in the morning with cream and sweetner, and in the evening a decaf orange pekoe tea with milk and sweenter… which is probably why I am not yet into ketosis – milk can be a killer… but I am going to continue to enjoy it until Sunday…then I will drop the milk and sweetner… and learn to drink my tea black. So next week, no more milk, and no more high fat protein…. High protein, low carb. No caffeine, and no milk. Then onto the true Pre-op diet. For my pre-op – liver shrinker, I am going to replace both breakfast and lunch with liquid, and have only my dinner which will be chicken or fish, and green beans or mushrooms . Its only two weeks… it will be drab and boring but I am really wanting to prepare myself not only physically but mentally as well. This is a big investment, and the surgery is a gift. I consider myself very lucky to be in a position to do this for myself and for my son. Time for the final step in changing my life. As for the passport issue with Justin, well… what will be; will be. I have made peace with the fact that I may have to go alone. I will remain hopeful that he will be joining me, but if in the end he stays home with Charles, that will be just fine too. Because then Charlie can be in his own home with his Daddy while his Mummy is away for 4 days (first time ever! EPP!!)

Those pics where taken a couple weeks apart Thank you!

I HAVE HAD 2 FILLS IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS....I'VE MADE IT MY GOAL TO KEEP GETTING THEM UNTIL I GET TOO TIGHT. I'M AT 3.2CC IN A 4CC BAND. I LOSE 2LBS PER WEEK WITHOUT EXERCISE, JOURNALING, OR MEASURING. I THINK IF I DID THESE THINGS, I COULD REALLY LOSE AND GET THE MOST BENEFITS FROM MY BAND. I LIKE THE FACT THAT I STAY FULL FOR 3-4 HOURS BECAUSE I COULD NEVER DO THAT ON MY OWN, BUT IF I START EXERCISING I'LL BE LOSING INCHES!

Well, I've made it to one month and I'm 30 pounds down! woohoo! I've had one fill already, which was 2 days ago..I've noticed some restriction, I've had a few encounters where I felt like I was going to vomit, I think only cause I was rushing myself and didn't chew carefully. But I'm so excited to lose some more weight..I have a lot more to go, but at least I have a great start. The first two weeks of liquids was really hard, and I ended up losing 25 pounds in those 2 weeks! These following 2 weeks have slowed down big time! 5 pounds in 2 weeks? Just doesn't seem like much, but I have to keep telling myself that I lost 30 pounds in 1 month..that's pretty freakin good! Talk soon with more updates!

I musta been on the "Nice" list this year ! Yes, it came a week after Christmas, but, I won't complain!

Maybe I'm weird but I don't feel guilty when I eat! I feel happy because I eat *less* even if it's not down to a half cup of food per meal yet. Pre-band me would eat this in a day: yogurt and banana for Breakfast, cheeseburger, fries, Cookies, and a coke for lunch, potato chips and French onion dip as a snack, chicken nuggets with macaroni and cheese and green Beans for dinner, and then ice cream or cookies for dessert. Plus I'd drink coffee with cream, sodas, juice, and milk all day. Now I eat a yogurt and banana for breakfast, a sandwich with fruit for lunch, nuts and a slice of cheese for a snack, and dinner will be a salad plate with a Protein, veggie, and carb divided in three portions. Sometimes I'll have a small dessert like a couple pieces of chocolate or an ice cream sandwich, or I'll have a glass of wine. Unsweetened tea, coffee, and Water to drink all day. That's maybe a total of 1/3 to 1/2 the calories I used to eat. I feel good and I feel like I'm getting enough so I'm satisfied even if I'm not 100% green yet. My doctor said I should feel satisfied on a half cup to one cup of food per meal and not need Snacks. I'm definitely not there yet so I'll keep getting fills but for now I'm just happy I'm satisfied eating so much less food than I used to. My appetite was a roaring dragon before my lap band. Now it's a whining puppy I can push aside if necessary. Point is, try not to feel guilty because you still need food to survive! As long as you're losing, it's working

One month ago today. February 5th... Thank you for the suggestions. I found that coffee went down fine this morning. I was allowed coffee after my second week but even being the coffeeholic I am, I had no interest in it but today it went down well. Thanks guys.

155 lbs I was down to 152, and have GAINED! I ended up getting an unfill on March 29th. I started having issues with my fill and not being able to handle solids well. PBd a few times, which hasnt happened in months. Got to the point only liquids and thin mushies would go down. I have been unfilled to 1cc for 2 weeks and it is tough. I ate a PBJ sandwich with a glass of milk for breakfast one day........so I KNOW that I am wide open. Have been trying to make good choices until I can get back to get refilled. Upside is I am in size 10 pants and jeans!

Mine is coming out next week! I was hoping to have it out at the same time as my wls, but it is severely infected now and honestly I am in so much pain I just wait out!!!! I always joke that my stomach is trying to kill me, between the gall attacks and the diverticulitis it really feels that way sometimes.

pills on an empty stomach? you pre-op or post-op? if post-op, how many weeks? drink Water, call doc if it gets worse....

It should get better by week 3 or 4. I remember the Satanic noises my stomach was making would wake me up!

Well, Thanksgiving was wonderful. All the family was there & everyone was doing great. Food was awesome! Actually ate more than I should have, (No Doubt) but still managed to lose a couple pounds over the last week. I've never been able to say those words during the holiday's. So, Yaay me:clap2:!!!! I am really starting to tell some differences now. The other night, shortly after eating, I decided to have a big drink of water, well, that was a mistake. It simply wouldn't go down. I actually had to spit the water out, go figure!:omg: That was just crazy. I go back to the Dr. on Thursday morning. Looking forward to that. I would so love to see onederland by Christmas. Can it happen?:guess Well we will see. Ttys, Tammie D.:kiss2:

I am 7 months out and down 120lbs. The first 3 months I was buying clothes every 2 weeks. Now I buy once a month. Luckily here in Indiana Goodwill is 50% off the first Saturday of the month.

Hey all, As the title says I am new to the site and just recently had the sleeve done. I think I'm doing fairly well I'm past my first two weeks of Fluid and am now starting pureed foods. On the date I started the presurgical diet I weighed 363 after surgery and two weeks I now weigh 337. Not too bad. Looking forward to being able to update as I've gained confidence reading all your stories. Oh and ya, split up with my bf a month before this...never a better time to start!

Had lunch a few days ago with some friends/former co-workers. One of the five of us is underweight, one is pretty much on target, two of us are wls patients (both still overweight, but nothing like pre-op) and then there's the other one. She is the nicest, smartest woman. But she is SO deep in denial. She actually said that her weight problems are not the result of overeating, because she doesn't eat very much. I used to have lunch with this woman on a daily basis. She eats much. Really much. And, as she was explaining that she doesn't eat much, she was finishing a HUGE beef-dip sandwich and fries. This is NOT a woman of limited intelligence. She is a bright woman, a professional, has multiple degrees, and has professional siblings. (She also has a husband with food-related medical problems and some kids at normal weight and other who are obese.) But, her BMI has got to be well, well over 50. She is really big, but says she's healthy and athletic. Question: Now that YOU have had surgery or are considering it, how do you handle conversations with friends like mine? She's still in her 40's and I'd love to see her get healthy while she's relatively young. (I'll be 57 in a couple of weeks...she looks VERY young to me.) Do I pretend that she's right? Do I assume that because portion sizes are so big, she really thinks that she eats reasonable amounts of food? Do I let her think she's convincing me, when I don't believe a word of it? Right now, I just respond with, "Well, you know better than anyone else how you feel." What do y'all do? Sue

Mine was six weeks post op.

I just had my gallbladder out about two weeks ago. Took three trips to the Er and then a visit with GI doctor an then an upper endoscopy and then another more specialized endoscopy... Not to mention the X-ray, ultrasound, blood work and EKG done in the hospital during Er visits. Finally... It was determined that it was my gallbladder. After it was taken out they sent it away to be examined and they said that it was full of stones (Ew) I have been pain free since. I said... So I wasn't making it all up?!!! The pain was debilitating and just horribly awful. Worst pain ever. Good luck

Quick question folks: a couple days this past week i was having the most intense pains in the center of my chest. Now when I was banded 3 weeks ago, an EGD was done and apparently I had a hiatal hernia which was repaired at the same time. I had never had symptoms of a hiatal hernia such as acid reflux but it was suggested when i called my surgeon's office that acid reflux was the cause of my pain. I am still on mushy foods and will be able to eat normally as of wednesday. On another note, I don't have my first fill until August 24th, but I've been eating a lot less/been a lot less hungry the last few days or even close to a week...the combination of the two just makes me nervous like something's going on in there that i don't know about. The doctor prescribed something for the chest pain which has helped a lot but annoying b/c i have to take it 4 times a day for a month. On a much happier note, finally seeing the numbers drop on the scale! 11lbs as of today.

My surgery is in 3 days, and I need to start thinking about the crucial component for taking advantage of the honeymoon period of weight loss--exercise. I am a total exercise wimp. I hate it. I hate it because it hurts my knees, I have bad balance, and I find it mind-numbingly boring. So here's what I've done to ease myself into it. I decided that I wanted something that I could do at home (I live in a cold climate and there's no way I'm driving to Curves in a blizzard). I ordered a DVD set, "The All New Zumba Fitness: Latin Workout Routine" It has 4 DVDs of varyiing difficulty. It's basically "dancercise" to Latin music like samba, tango, macumba etc. I figure this will be less boring that watching some perky aerobicized blonde bouncing around in ways that make my low-impact self cringe. I wanted something I could DO. It looks like I can start the "Beginners" DVD pretty much right after surgery (taking it easy of course) and step it up a bit until I reach the 6 week point, where I am allowed to do strenuous exercise. At 6 weeks, I have another DVD to add in: "Walk at Home" which I plan to do for a half hour every morning. Hopefully by then I'll be a little lighter and it won't hurt so much. It's at that point that I have to start thinking about a gym for arms, etc. But I'm taking this one step at a time and so I'm not going to worry about the gym today. I'll worry about it tomorrow.

maybe I am just worried..I will be 5 weeks on Monday and a couple of days ago my stomach started feeling uncomfortable. I am not sure how to describe it, it doesn't hurt horribly but I get these waves of uncomfortableness and it is usually on my right side, and my stool has been very light in color. Am I worried for nothing or do you think it could be my gallbladder?

My doctor uses both and didn't favor one over the other. I tried to get his opinion and he said it really was up to me. I chose the Realize band simply because there was less metal in the port and the port was smaller. My doc also said the surgery time was slightly shorter with the Realize. Only a week into this but so far so good!:thumbup:

I hope Sue Hamm comes on and posts, she had it done (UK) and is very happy. I was very close to having it done but at 60, decided the $9000 was too much to take from savings. The recovery time is weeks and the scars go along the groin and down to the knee and sometimes the scars sag down. I agree from what I have read that it is better to do it in 2 steps if you actually need lipo because they fill the tissue with saline and lidocaine and won't be able to judge your true contours after that. Best wishes and keep posting. Mimi PS Congrats on your brachio, I am happy with mine, also!!

It seems early to me. I hear alot of people get the first fill at about 4 weeks (like me). At 8 weeks, I have already had my second one, which I thought felt better than the first.

I just made up some pretty tasty Chili in my crockpot. This batch was enough to feed my wife, my 2 year old and me with enough left over for me to have quite a few lunches throughout the week. You will need: 1 lb lean, ground turkey 2 cans of kidney beans (I did the no salt added kind. I drained and rinsed the beans while still in the can) 1 can of black beans (same) 1/2 medium white onion (diced) 1 bell pepper (chopped) 1 can diced tomatos 1 can of tomato sauce (mine was a specific mix for chili, but normal tomato sauce should be fine too. You'll just want to add more spices) 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce 1 small can of green chilies Seasonings (Chili powder, garlic powder, and black pepper) 2 tbsp of olive oil 1/2 cup shredded cheddar First I put a couple of glorps of olive oil in a frying pan. I'd say roughly 2 tbsp. Then I browned some lean, ground turkey in the oil while seasoning the meat. Then I just added all of the ingredients except for the cheese into my crockpot and cooked on high for 4 hours. You'll probably want to add some more seasonings to the mix. I think you could do it on low for 8 hours as well. Then 15 minutes before it was done I mixed half of my cheese in with the mix and added the second half on top. I just let it finish cooking at that point and served it up. I didn't add salt because my wife has kidney disease. You may want some. I'm kind of used to eating food without it. It's still a fairly bland chili, but I'm in phase 3 right now. So, it works nicely for what I'm looking for. In the future I'd like to work in more veggies, but it is a ton of protein right now.

Hello! I'm currently having to do a 4 week liver shrink diet. Surgeon wants me down between 10-20lbs for surgery on May 8th. My nutritionist gave me a list saying I should drink 5 Protein Shakes a day with a Protein Bar plus a calorie counted meal for dinner... My question is, if anyone has done the same thing (rather only 2 weeks or 4 like me) HOW did you get into the rhythm of it? When did you drink the Protein shakes and how much time apart each? Any feedback will be VERY helpful! Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk