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I had surgery October 10. I was 207 and 5'5".

I am a hugely picky eater and have been having a really hard time with the ready to drink Protein shakes. I am in my full liquids stage and I am also having problems drinking as much as I should. My mom was experimenting with some fresh strawberries (I love fresh fruit!) and came up with this protein rich shake: 1/2 container strawberry yogurt (3g protein) 1 container strawberry Greek yogurt (12-15g protein depending on brand) 1/2 cup of milk (2-3g protein) 10 strawberries 1/2 bottle of vanilla Pure Protein shake (10g protien) 3-4 tablespoons of fresh squeezed orange juice Blend together. Add more milk or orange juice to make it thinner. Mine is pretty thick but as I'm on liquids only right now, it's also pretty filling. But finally something with a good amount of protein that doesn't make me gag! The Pure Protein Drink gives it the slightest hint of vanilla and I don't have the nasty protein taste!

I lost 75lbs on WW and kept it off for three years. It's an awesome program and will help you change your life. Unfortunately for me, after losing all that weight I met my now husband and spent 10 years partying. (I guess I changed my life twice! Haha!!) and while I tried again multiple times over the years, I just couldn't duplicate the magic I felt that first time around. But have only the best things to say about the program as a tool....

Hello my date is Oct 9th and I have a pre op for 10 days and I'm on day 2 of my pre op

I am 5'4 and weigh 208 I had a BMI 35 and I did not qualify but I paid cash so I had the surgery 10/24/2008

It's taken me almost a year and a half of work but it's over at least. This...meaning insurance approval with Cigna. I was Denied because I was shy a 40 BMI by 10 -12 pounds when I submitted everything they were looking for I jumped thru every hoop and paid out every last cent to docs. etc. but I should have know (and not listen to people on this site that said Cigna does cover with no co mobidities - NOT TRUE) they clearly state that they do not cover those under a 40 BMI unless you have grave illness that don't respond to meds.. Not only that but they will not approve any claim even related to this one in the future. Meaning if I gain 10 pounds in the next year.even if I maintain that for a year and..easy to do at my age...they won't even consider it. My fear is of dying of a heart attack like my twin sister did of obesity last year. My chest is so huge it strangles me at night and causes sleep apnea that doesn't appear on the "test" ...another few hundred bucks there. My warning to those seeking insurance approval with CIGNA....if you're not starting out with a 40 BMI save your money until you are or get a loan unless you can clearly prove a comobidity.

Hillary, I see where we were both banded in 2008. I was banded 11/19/08. After several fills/unfills, my surgeon and I came to the conclusion I had reached my sweet spot. My band lets me know she has had enough by either making me sneeze or hiccup....at that point, one more bite and I am in big trouble :wub: . I chance my entire meal coming back up. Even after 4 years I still try to eat like an unbanded person (large portions) and my band reminds me that is a big taboo. I rejoined WW to help me in the final leg of my journey. I am able to eat more "slider" foods and want to eat healthier so I can finally lose the last 30 or 40lbs. I know what I have been doing wrong...I don't exercise and I don't put lean Protein first. For those who think the band will solve all their weight problems, it doesn't. It is a tool on my journey. With this tool I am off all diabetic and asthma medicine. I have more energy and feel so much better about myself. I look at WW as the "little helper" for my band. WW will keep me on track to eating better and will help me get to my final goal.

There's a new BAND-ONLY support group in Sacramento! Sacramento Valley Bandsters Support Group third Saturday of every month from 10:30-12:30. Sutter Cancer Center Classroom 1, First Floor 2800 L Street, Sacramento Easy parking is available one short block away in covered lot on 29th Street, between K and L streets. Costs $1 per hour. This group was purposely set up so as NOT to conflict with the other support groups in the area. Any band patient from any doctor or hospital is welcome to attend. Please join us! By the way, I'm Tammy, a patient of Dr. Waldrep, banded in Roseville in October 2008. I'm co-moderating this new support group with April, a Kaiser band patient.

Well the good news is you will be well prepared for the change in eating and your liver, heart and gallbladder will be happier and healthier before surgery. I do not have to do 6 months but I was told weight gain will disqualify me from surgery which make sense and the doc also said it is recommended to lose 5 to 10% prior to surgery. I am going to start a high protein, low carb diet now so I am more prepared. I have also started timing my eating and sipping my drinks. Sipping and not gulping is hard for me but I will get it I hope. Best of luck to you throughout the journey!

Thank you for reading. I saw my surgeon today and the pronostics are good. My pain is only due to gaz. On a funny note when he 1st saw he took like 2 minutes to reset lol. He asked me if I was the same person he has met last week...And that I look all beautiful (blushing), he made my day lol. Oh, by the way I'm minus 10 kg since surgery (a week ago) [Don't let your emotions make you their b***h]

Yep, this part sucks. I drank Gatorade G2, and all flavors of Crystal Light, plus some Isopure for protein. It gets old fast, but I just keep looking toward the "the next step"!! Im at 10 days now, so I've added creamed soups. I was so looking forward to those and 3 days in, Im over those too! My next step is in 10 days - Mush foods! haha Good luck!

Don't bother ordering the 16. Order the 10. Then you can have it altered to be smaller. :-)

Just checking on everyone. We seem like a smaller group compared to other months I'm down 42lbs. Its definitely come g off a little slower now. I am 3 months post op next week. How is everyone else faring?

I was sleeved 10/21 and I’m down 46lbs

Hey everyone! So as of this morning I reached my first goal to get in the 180’s. I’m super excited but when I did the math it literally took me two weeks to lose 3 lbs. Since surgery I’ve only lost 17bs and I think I may be doing something wrong. To be honest I’ve been drinking red wine in the evenings, like 2 glasses every couple days. I feel guilty but quarantined with my 14 and 10 year old and working from home is getting to me. Would the drinking have that large of an effect? Based on you guys past experience is this average for someone starting with a 38 BMI. Just looking for some encouragement or a swift kick in the butt.

Even with all the activity revolving around my surgery this month, I can't help but notice it's BACK TO SCHOOL time. I'm a little pouty because I didn't get to go with my GrandDoll shopping for uniforms and supplies....but WAIT'LL NEXT YEAR!!!! So, today's “GET TO KNOW ME” is designed to take us back!! MY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WAS CALLED: Pleasant Hill Elementary I GOT PICKED ON FOR: being skinny!!! Having freckles, too! MY FAVORITE TEACHER WAS: Mrs. Harry (4th grade), because I was her pet and she wouldn't tolerate anyone picking on me! :heh: Every morning about 10 AM she would send me on a errand -- go to the cafeteria and purchase her two yeast rolls right out of the oven. She'd give me three nickels and I could eat the third roll on the way back to the class. :whoo: MY WORST TEACHER WAS: Miss Kiel (6th grade), she taught math by putting problems on the board, sending people up to work them and paddling you if you got them wrong. :omg: I was terrified of her, but made great grades in Math that year! MY BEST MEMORY IS: One fall I was playing on the bike racks and lost my brand new birthstone ring in the dirt and leaves. I cried because I'd begged for it for so long and was so proud of it. My friends and teachers helped, we searched for days. A few months later, the fall leaves had all blown away and I was just standing there kicking my toe in the dirt when I glimpsed something. Sure enough, it was my ruby ring!! Everyone -- even people who'd not helped in the search --remembered it and were happy for me. MY JUNIOR HIGH EXPERIENCE: Was not the best, not the worst. Biggest shock was that some people who were very good friends in elementary, were suddenly in a different social strata and acted like they didn't know me. I still hate that to this day and try to be the same with people whereever we are or whoever we're with. MY FAVORITE TEACHER WAS: Mr. Causey, because he was a Science teacher at heart, stuck teaching Math and it was SO easy to ask him a question and get him to lecturing for the whole hour and guess what, no math! MY FIRST CRUSH: There were too many to count!! MY MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: Pretty much the whole thing was one long embarrassment!:car: Isn't that par for the course? MY BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Editor of the newspaper in 8th grade. THE DUMBEST THING I EVER DID WAS: I skipped a LOT of school. I mean A WHOLE LOT! Never got caught, although I did have to stoop to forgery on the attendance portion of my report cards. Once we skipped and went down to the river -- had a hard time explaining a sunburn to my mom, but I managed. "Well, we had to run laps, and, like, she made us do it one at a time, so we were standing in the hot sun waiting for everyone to get done...." LAME, huh? MY HIGH SCHOOL WAS: Bogalusa High School -- More of the same. SCHOOL COLORS:Black and Gold SCHOOL MASCOT: Lumberjacks (always the buffest guy with a full beard willing to wear flannel shirts year round! LOL) MY BEST SUBJECT: Made straight A's in Typing and Shorthand MY WORST SUBJECT: Geometry!!! Only class I ever legitimately failed! I still don't get it! Algebra either. I've diagnosed myself with borderline dyscalculia -- that's my story and I'm sticking to it! MY CLIQUE: A handful of other "on-the-fringes" -- just not quite cute/smart/rich/popular/hot enough to be with the IN crowd. Plus my school had all these sort of Greek "service" clubs with initials -- there was pledge week and the more popular you were the more pledge badges you wore -- nothing like having other popular kids FIGHT over you! (I woulda KILLED for one of those stupid paper cutouts pinned to my sweater!:tired) MY MUSIC: Strictly Top 40s -- Aerosmith, Boston, Kansas, Gary Wright ("Dream weavah..."), some disco, some r&B, etc. JUST NOOOOOO country! Wasn't into albums much -- I was the queen of the 99 cent 45, tho! EXTRACURRICULARS INCLUDED: I took piano for many years -- never was good, just consistent. Didn't really do anything else...no sports. Just rode my bike for hour upon hour. Friday and Saturday nights we 'rode around' -- made the circuit which started at one end of town in the Hardee's parking lot and looped through the Sonic Drive-in on the other end. Whole trip took about a half hour, going slow enough to see and be seen, y'know. Then of course there were those trips out to the company pasture....tsk, tsk, all those windy little roads to get lost on! LOL PROM WAS: Non-existant -- it'd been a big racial issue in the '60s and was discontinued until long after I was out of school. MOST MEMORABLE EVENT: There is a popular recording studio near my home town and we were called into an unannounced assembly in the auditorium one day and treated to a live, impropmtu Stevie Wonder concert. FOR KICKS WE: Skipped P.E. every day because our teacher -- the head football coach -- never came out of the field house. So we'd go eat lunch, come back for 4th period, then go have another lunch!!! I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE THAT I: Didn't finish!! I got married at the end of my Junior year and moved to TX. I fully intended to go back to school, but the level of education was significantly higher and I was terrified of failing something and being humiliated in front of my husband and his family. I got my GED a few months later. And even squeezed in a few semesters of community college in my late 20s. MY GRADUATION MEMORY: See question above! TO COLLEGE OR NOT TO COLLEGE: See question above!

Interesting bc I find artificial sweeteners too sweet! My nutritionist and I have an understanding... Eat tasty food that is nutritious and REAL. I focus on using purer ingredients when I can. For instance, I'd rather get jam that has seeds in it and its ingredient list is fruit!...rather than a less caloric and/or sugary 'jam' that has 10 ingredients. That's just an example. I focus on about 80 carbs a day, >50 protein, and <30 grams fat. I do not obsess over this though and find when I focus on protein and veggies the numbers even out. And i have dark chocolate almost every day too! So my suggestion is to find a nut who can help you figure out a plan that works for you. Eat real food and listen to your new stomach...good days and bad days will be had but overall focusing on quality is def working for me (but may not be the key for you). Good luck!

Hi Faith, I'm not banded yet; I have my first appointment on Sept 10. I had to laugh when I saw that you pureed baked beans and a hotdog, I almost said "Yuck" but I know I'll be there myself. I am waiting for my magic bullet to arrive and I know I'll get great use of it.

Hi to all, I am new to forum and interested in getting banded. I have intro meeting 7/10 and kinda scared. Congrats to those who have made the choice. My fear is that what do i do with the skin and will i feel better about ME once complete. I have two kids (single mom) and need a self esteem boost and to shed a couple pounds (50+) lol due to medial concerns. Nice to meet you all and share your thoughts:smile:

I'm almost exactly one month out and I've lost 15 lbs. I lost 30 pre-op (only had to lose 16!). The nutritionist that I saw suggested getting to-go boxes right away as well. I have started doing it and it does work pretty good! Especially since my eyes are still way bigger than my stomach! :smile2: So I put 2/3 or even 3/4 of my meal away right away and then I concentrate on eating slow and chewing. Another 10 days until my first fill! I am sooo excited! My portion sizes are starting to creep up and I don't want that!

I've only lost 5 pounds post-op, however I have officially lost 19 pounds total. I'm just happy none of it has come back! I'm going in for my first fill on wednesday and I am soooo stoked!

I now wear an 8 also. Actually a 7/8 cuz I hafta wear junior pants cuz my hubby says the womens makes my butt sag. It's been almost 3 yrs and over 100 lbs ago that I bought a pair of capris that were a 22 - the largest size I've ever been in. It's totally possible! I still am bigger on top and wear between a large and XL. Guess I still have those Swedish shoulders my mom always told me I had. Make sure you try them on from time to time. I think I skipped over size 12, went right from 14s to 10s. Good luck! You can do this! Marci

I started at 18/20 and am now down to an 8/10 depending on the pants. I really need to get tones up though. have really slacked off on working out. I have maintained for about 9 months now.

I guess this is too late to be of any help, but last year I went to Dr Quiroz April 10, 2013 and he did a lower face/neck lift a breast lift/implant and arm skin surgery. At first I gave him high marks as I did see a improvement, but was not happy that the breast tissue was simply folded over and sewn with what looked like a basting stich. These lead to horrible scars. The arm incision was cut at a angle and there was a 3 inch pulled area at the bottom of both arms. The face was the best of the three but I still was left with the deep lines running from the noise to the mouth. Then it was time for my lower body lift, hubby was not happy with the outcome from Dr Q so I started going to other Plastic Surgeons for consults everyone of them told me I needed to have revisions on all of the work Dr Q had done. The arms need to be recut and sewn, the breast need to have the implants removed and the whole pocket rebuilt, plus the face should have been pulled tighter. It was also at this time that I found on the site, realself, a pattern of sloppy work as told my many of his patients that also had the same type of folded skin with a basting stich...The clinic is beautiful and Dr Q is very charming and charismatic but you will only be at the center for a week or so and you will have to live with the outcome of your surgery for a lifetime or when you have a revision....I would steer clear...If you need a PS in TJ I would recommend my new surgeon Dr Victor Gutierrez, you can read about him on realself, he has several great reviews there.

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