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Waiting is never easy, but you are that much closer to surgery! You'll be surprised how fast the time will fly by. Congrats!

Barb, I too had doubts as my surgery got closer. I think some doubts are normal. It is a major life style change, and one that you can't change your mind when you get tired of doing it. A week before my surgery, I started wondering if I was doing the right thing. I have always been fat, and have tried EVERYTHING under the sun to loose weight. I would always loose 40-50 pounds when I joined Weight Watchers (would you believe I joined 17 times!?!) But always gain it back when I got bored with the diet and quit. Usually gained another 5-10 lbs along with the 40-50 I had lost. Also tired Diet Center, Curves, Redux (the miracle diet pill. One of the side effects was supposed to be erotic dreams. I was really bummed when that didn't happen to me, and I didn't even loose that much weight on it!) Also tired Weigh Down Workshop, NutriSystem, Medifast, Optifast, Jenny Craig, Overeaters Annon., Overeaters Victorious, Slim Fast, etc., etc., etc. But now my health is at stake. As I enter my 60's (OMG that sounds old!) I find that I am (was) pre-diabetic, my blood pressure was creeping up, my cholesterol was up (I was on statin meds for that), I had really bad gastric reflux (on meds for that too), sleep apnea (breathing machine at night), bad arthritis (more meds) and the only thing I could see was more medical problems heading my way. I am (I think) a YOUNG 62, and want to live and enjoy my life for years to come yet. So I decided to commit to this and do it! I am bound and determined to get down to a normal weight and stay there. I wrote to a good friend who had a Roux N Y surgery 6-8 years ago, and asked her if she would do it again if she had it to do over. She said "in a heartbeat!" She has really struggled, and gained some of her weight loss back (lost over 120 lbs and gained 40-50 back). But says she is so much more comfortable and healthy now that she wouldn't go back for anything.I think you need to concentrate on one of the last things you said in your post "You ARE worth the effort!" Best of luck. Keep us all posted on how you are doing!

I was banded on May 15th and had my first fill last Thursday. Most of the time I've been making healthy choices and good portion sizes.... I've had a few slip ups but I haven't worried about that. I feel some restriction if I eat a large meal, but that is more than anyone should be eating to lose weight. Still, as I said, I've been doing really well at Portion Control and not struggling too hard with it because it's mind over matter... I really want to lose weight! But today.... I don't know what came over me today but I've been starving. Painful stomach growling! Really hungry, not just hungry in my head. When I got home from work it was all I could do to keep from grabbing something, anything, FAST just to kill the hunger pains while I took care of the birds, fed the cats, and did a little workout on the Wii before I could finally stop and get dinner heated up. I managed to hold off, even though it left me standing at the microwave watching the seconds tick down until my leftover pork loin roast and broccoli were ready. I had a little chat with myself, reminded myself that the scale won't care or make allowances for the fact that I was really starving if I ate more than I should! Then, when at last I sat down to dinner, the urge to shovel the food in my mouth, because ya know, I'm starving. But the lessons learned here and through my doctor, and the limited restriction I've had at times, came through.... I made myself chew each bite slowly and carefully, and pause between bites. It was torture. I finished eating 20 minutes ago and my stomach is still growling. I think it's rebelling!! Every day we make choices.... this day's been harder for me than most, and I really needed to vent.... but also to share... we can do it, if we want it!

Wow, that's great advice, I hadn't thought about starting to stock up now, but that's true. Good to have stuff on hand and ready! I have been trying already to slow down when eating. It's a HUGE change for me. A "bandster in training", what a perfect concept!! Appreciate your insight Jammin' and Losin (great screenname!) Yep, I hear you. I come from a family of super fast eaters and great big portions. This is a whole new learning process for me on both counts. My sister (who is supportive) has been saying "I don't know if I could do it", she and I have been talking a lot about how we were "taught" to eat as kids. It's hard to unlearn that type of behavior but I'm committed to it.

Sometimes you'll lose fast, sometimes slow and sometimes not at all. All part of the process. Stay focused on the protocol, stay active and stay away from the scales for a couple of weeks. You're gonna love the new you!!

Thanks, I just wish food ads were banned from TV. Right after my surgery, I was watching TV from the hospital bed and I repeatedly saw ads for Sonic and Dairy Queen that made my mouth Water. Even commercials for Jenny Craig and Lean Quisine show tasty food. This month could be brutal as the battle between fast food and dieting plans heats up. Thanks for the encouragement. Is it going well for you?

Hi Everyone! I have a long story so I will keep it short. I was schedule to have the sleeve 11 months ago. A week away from surgery my surgery was canceled. This was due to military issues and I had no control over them. It was extremely emotional going up to one week before surgery then not having it. I resolved myself to thinking it just wasn't meant to be. I thought I could do everything on my own. One large factor was my insurance did not cover the sleeve(long story about Tricare and milky base docs) and that was the only surgery I wanted. Fast forward 11 months and I have gained weight ???? I am now heavier than I have ever been. I recently found out that my insurance will pay for the sleeve????. So here is what I need help with. I have a co-worker that had WLS not the sleeve. She looks terrible. Her hair has mostly fallen out her eyes are so dark underneath and she looks ill. I do notice what she eats and it really is all bad food with no nutritional value. I am by no means in a place to judge but my fear is..if I have surgery will I end up like her? If I can't lose weight on my own how will I be able to do everything correctly so I don't end up where I am now? How do you guys do it? I really want to have the surgery and know I can do it in the beginning but what about a year down the road? How do you all handle your cravings?

So I got sleeved exactly a week ago. The following was posted by me at OH for those of you who frequent both sites. I'm just trying to get some insight into a really frustrating situation. I was on IV fluids only until Monday, when I started clears. I was on clears until Tuesday afternoon when my info packet said I could move to purees (including mashed potatoes). So since Tuesday, I've been eating the following: -Refried Beans (made me a bit bloated and unhappy) -Yogurt drinkables with splendaa(very pleasant, easy on my stomach) -pudding cups (fill me up fast, but pleasantly satisfying) -Soup with the chunks strained out, though not necessarily clear broth (ie, tortilla soup and hot & sour) -Soft tofu mashed into thin paste -Runny oatmeal with milk and Splenda -Starbucks Iced Latte with no sugar Now bear in mind I just got back. Protein drinks and sugar free options were very slim down in Mexico, so I had to commit minor carbicide a few times, just to get something in me. But is there anything on this list I should definitely NOT be having one week out? Only the beans felt like a bit too much. I'm also trying to better understand the when and when not to drink in relation to meals, even if the meals are mostly liquid. My doctor's diet schedule is incredibly vague "Softs: 3 days to three weeks" and a lot of the other ones overlap. The confusion comes because Angeles Health's own literature is so damned inconsistent. I dug up one version of their post-op plan that outlines Week1: Clears, Week2: Protein shakes, Week3: Puree, etc. But my doctor's nutritionist handed me a paper packet that said to go from clears to puree on Day 4! So I did, and it even listed mashed potatoes as an option! I'm so confused! And now you all have me worried. My own nutritionist isn't seeing me because she thinks there's no point since my diet is so restrictive. I flat-out told my surgeon and his team I was having yogurt drinkables, strained soup (not necessarily clear), and mashed potatoes and they voiced no objection. *sigh* Another issue is that when you're released from the hospital, they cut you loose and want you to stick to the diet plan. We found no easy protein shakes in Tijuana, nor did we find anything low-carb that I could eat in the pureed category. We really were left to our own devices. My stomach feels okay. I was eating mashed potatoes extremely slowly, licking little bits from my spoon and could only eat an ounce or so before feeling full. I'm perfectly happy to scale it back now that I'm back in the States. Should I just go back to my pre-op protein shakes? How do I know if my sleeve is okay and didn't get stretched?? The potatoes were okay at first, but now I just feel a bit bloated. I guess I'm trying to get some peace of mind that I haven't done any permanent damage to my new sleeve. PS - The coffee dried me out, so I think I've learned my lesson on that.

My trainer gave me a lecture today on the amount of food I eat. He said that when we have a session I lose between 400-600 calories and have to up my intake of food so that my blood sugar does not dive. He suggested complex carbs. So today I ate a Protein bar all made with fresh fruit, hemp, Chia, flax, Protein powder dried fruit and nuts. This is the first time i did not crave sugar after a workout or feel depleted of energy. The hour went by so fast and I was ready to do more... Could he be on to something... One day you wake up and people are telling you you need to lose weight..Then people tell you you need to stop losing weight... One day they say you eat to much and then you eat to little... sometimes I just have to give my head a shake because I can't believe that someone told me I have to consume more calories....Me....imagine!!! Have others been this confused too... I went to my writing class the other night and watched as everyone was milling around and realized that I am one of the smallest people in the class... I was always the biggest hands down...Everyone seems happy and not self conscious at all. They don't even know I was morbidly obese ( I hate that word ). so they would never understand what I have done or what I have accomplished. I am just another person in a class with a bunch of people taking a course......unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!

I started soft foods this weekend. Have been doing great. So thrilled to be off liquids! But today was my first full day back at the office and I didn't plan well enough. I only took a small yogurt and a protein shake (gag). By the end of the day, I felt puny and knew I needed to eat. Got home, fixed my tuna and ate too fast. Did not throw up but felt sick for 3 hours. Lessons learned: Pack adequate nutrition! Don't eat fast! I know all this but had to still learn the hard way I guess.

Total Scale Victory and Random Observations: I now have lost more than I weigh. I have lost 190 lbs. from my highest weight of 374. The first 50 was using Victoza for Type 2 diabetes. My bariatric program has my starting weight as 343. SW=325. CW=185. My program doesn’t give goal weights. For my own satisfaction, 174 would give me a normal BMI. I’d like to end about 170 knowing that some gain/loss is possible as things settle. I’m 5’10”. I have gone from a size 30/32 to a 14. I haven’t been this size since early high school. I look forward to doing things rather than dreading them. I’ve been off all diabetes meds since surgery. I am still using my CPAP although I’ve had the pressure lowered twice. I see the sleep program in December and we will re-evaluate then. I suspect I will still have a need for it. My cholesterol medication will be re-evaluated in December as well. My doctor thinks it likely I will remain on that med due to family history. That is the only medication I take other than my vitamins and supplements. I track in LoseIt. I track every bite, every day. It keeps me accountable to myself and I foresee it as something I will need to do forever. Today is the first time I ever exported my progress to a spreadsheet. On other groups, I see so many questions that ask how much someone has lost at a given point. I honestly never knew what I did. These are my totals lost from first to current month: 16, 19, 17, 15, 15, 18, 4, 9, 17, 10. I exceed my liquid goals every day and never tracked that after the first week. I’ve never had any trouble with liquids and I know roughly what I drink each day as I know what my mug holds. I also ran my macros for the first time. Since surgery, I’ve kept protein to 40-50% of my diet with fat and carbs 25-30%. I’m still at 800-1000 calories per day. My program has said that is relatively low at this point but as long as I am losing and not feeling hungry, it was fine. My hunger has not returned. I am grateful for that. I’ve tried to build successful habits that will serve me for the long haul. I’ve been walking since coming home from the hospital. I started at 5-10 minutes per day. Now, I try to walk 45-60 per day at a moderate pace. I use 5 lb. weights and do toning exercises for 10-15 min. most days. I’ve started seeing virtually a therapist recommended by my program. I don’t have a history of trauma or eating disorders but I didn’t get to my weight by having a healthy relationship with food. Plus, I was very moody and short-tempered following surgery. I feel great and have more energy than I have in years. But This. Is. Work. I’m ok with that and try to keep my focus on progress and health. I follow what my program suggests and make my own decisions within that framework. There is no short cut to this. There’s no pouch reset, fasting, diet pills and how soon can I eat at McDonalds. I ranted on here one time about hating the word “pouch.” I still do. I hate pouch reset even more. 🙄😫 I don’t believe in it. We don’t need to reset. We need to make the best decisions and choices we can without needing to be perfect. Sure, you lose weight with it, but it’s simply because you are going back to not taking in many calories….and most of us have been down that road before. I continue to absorb the wisdom I get here from those who have gone down this road before me or are on it now. I still hate shopping even though it is not as difficult as it once was. I’m still not sure who I see in the mirror and am uncomfortable with focus on my weight loss. I could eventually benefit from plastic surgery, but I don’t know if that will be in the cards. Enough for now……thanks for reading.

Okay so I had something unexpected happen this morning. I took a big-o-drink of water. More like three consecutive drinks. Swallow, swallow, swallow….you get what I am saying. I actually felt the water being held up. Like not super drastic, but I felt it in my stoma and throat. I felt a mild alert over the situation. Um, never had that happen before! Wow! Until this happened this morning I have been able to chug-a-lug my water at a good rate, any time of day. I know, some don’t understand why people like me drink so fast, but we are all different. I am a fish! Ha! Just kidding but I have a habit of drinking a couple of swallows each drink. Not all the time now as I am working on slowing down….but I am a drinker. I have been reading on this board for a while now, so there have been many subjects covered. Which I love, by the way, because it feels good to have working knowledge of the band, even if it is not my own working knowledge. : ) So, thank you all for sharing your band experiences! You are appreciated! That being said, I’ve thought it is strange when people talk about having a hard time getting there liquids in. Sipping through out the day….sucking on ice cubes, ect. I’ve read many posts about not being able to tolerate food in the mornings. Even some posts about not being able to eat anything solid until evening. That being said, I know our bands are fickle. Each person can have there band affected differently. Some talk about weather, flying, stress, their monthly visitor, a bad PB episode, drinking cold liquids, and much more, and how it can affect the bands tightness. What I would really like to know is how tight you prefer to keep your bands’? Do you keep your band snug enough to feel water back up if you drink a big ol’ drink? Are you a sipper? Can you eat in the mornings, or afternoons? Do you have to wait on your band to loosen up before a meal? Can you put into words what band restriction means to you? I am curious on what the “norm” is and if is varies a great deal from person to person. I am working on getting to my sweet spot or being in the green zone. For me, I can enjoy breakfast everyday. Depending on the food, I can eat a cup to ¾ cup of food at a meal. I focus mainly on protein and often feel like I leave out veggies and fruits almost completely. I seem to have better success when I eat steamed veggies vs. fresh veggies using broccoli and carrots as a good example of this. My band tolerates muffins and cake well, wish came as a surprise to me. We had treats at work and I tried these yummies and had no issues. I have no idea if I can eat bread, because I have cut it completely out of my diet. I no longer eat a sandwich or anything like that. I stick to the guts, the insides of a sandwich. Protein, protein, protein… I am planning on posting this in the forum as well as a blog entry. Please reply and share how you like your band, and what works best for you. Last monthish there were some great posts about a few gals feeling there bands were too tight. I know from your posts that being to tight does not equal weight loss or a safe way to keep your band. So all experience is valuable! I am scheduled for an up coming fill in December and I have

I view my lap band as a little cop in my tummy. She stops me when I eat too fast, forces me to slow down, and firmly tells me "That's enough" when I'm full. If I don't listen to her, there are unpleasant consequences. Whereas before, I was a fast eater and it takes a good 20 minutes for the brain to register satiety. So I would eat a lot, very fast, and overfill my stomach. I've always been fine with eating the "right" foods - my problem was volume. The band prevents ~90% of my overeating. The other 10% consists of pure sweets and high-calorie liquids which I find easy enough to avoid so it's been working well for me.

Almost all the points mentioned above are temporary effects. Your stomach size is permanently reduced, but it is very, very easy to "eat around the sleeve" by consuming high fat/carb foods, drinking while eating, eating "slider" foods (foods that liquefy like most breads, chips, ice cream, etc... and are easy to overeat since they take up no real volume in the stomach and slide through quickly, so you never feel full). My doctor emphasized that anyone will lose weight for the first year or so after surgery, even eating total crap and going through the drive through every night. But those people will slowly stall out, and then start gaining within a year or so and likely blame their sleeve for failing when it's really their own fault. The sleeve just levels the playing field for those of us that needed the help to do the hard work of relearning how to eat and get active. It won't carry you if you continue to make poor decisions after the honeymoon period is over. While the feelings of hunger can disappear for some time, they do come back. It is hoped that if/when that happens, you know how to differentiate between head hunger and actual hunger, and you've learned how to eat healthy, whole foods by that point. The reason that VGS works is that you get about 1 year (can be up to 18 months) called the "honeymoon" sometimes, where you have both the restriction of the smaller stomach AND a lessening of the ravenous hunger that sometimes happens when a person tends towards binge eating. The quick dropping of a large amount of weight is so encouraging, most folks get really excited and that makes them work harder to preserve their success. Since you have to let your stomach heal in the first few months, you're on a reduced diet plan of high Protein, low carb foods, and as you add back in real food, you're encouraged to make better choices overall since you have so little room, and to choose healthy/whole foods instead of packaged crap and fast food garbage. It takes some time to throw out bad habits and relearn good ones, but the truly successful ones do this. Working with a counselor if you had issues with food (binge eating/overeating/food disorders in general) and working with a nutritionist to learn exactly what foods you should be eating, tracking every bite of food/drink and learning how to read nutrition labels and what daily macros you actually need, and using the new reduced stomach size to make sure you're learning proper portion sizes... along with increasing exercise/activity... that's how you achieve long term success. Skip any of those steps, and you're likely going to fail. But if you figure this stuff out during the "honeymoon" period, then in addition to losing a large amount of weight, you'll have the blueprints to KEEP the weight off for the rest of your life.

i overate today (soup) i guess, and then my heart started beating really fast and then i suddenly felt so tired and sleepy then i just layed on the couch and slept for an hour. this all happened all of a sudden! this was a very weird feeling. has anybody felt this before? is this how dumping is for us vsgers?

I am surprised your doctor suggested Slim Fast because of the high sugar/carb count. my pre-op diet was Protein shakes that have 25gm of protein and less than 15 gm of carbs. You need to find a Protein shake mix that you like because they're going to be your friend for a long time into the future. You have to get 70 gm of protein a day and that is hard to do when you can't eat alot of food. Granted, cottage cheese, fish, Beans, etc have a lot of protein but when you're only eating 2-3 oz (this is when you get back on real food) it's hard to get to 70 without a protein shake or two during the day. Seriously, I would avoid slim fast or any of the pre-made shakes simply due to their sugar content. The sooner you can get sugar out of your system the better. I thought I would starve to death on my pre-op diet but after day 4 or 5, it got easier and my cravings subsided. Just my opinion but do some research on your own. So my preop diet is set to begin on February 14, 2011 and my doctor has asked me to do slimfast however, I am confused about whether i should be just drinking the 4-6 shakes period or this new 3 Snacks, 2 shakes, 1 light meal diet slimfast is currently promoting...can anyone help me with this? Thanks.

Wiw you list a bunch pretty fast

Omg I feel like im dying. I CAN'T DRINK OR EAT NOTHING. As soon as I take a sip or taste of something . One minute later I'm running to go hurl I feel soo bad I can;t even take care of my kids or go get their easter stuff smh. What was your script for ? Did it help immediately ? Thanks for responding soo fast .

Lauarend, I would call her now and not wait. After she ok's it you have to go the the seminar and fill out all the paperwork. Then they send in the info to the ins co and you wait about 2 wks for the answer. I went to my seminar on the 23 of july and had my sx on the 21st of Aug. It goes fast once you get everything started. Waiting until you gain more weight is not smart. It can hurt you with all the medical problems that can arise. The band is a great tool and I am really looking forward to losing my weight. I have only lost 9 lbs so far, but the first couple months are for healing. I get my 2nd fill on Wed and hope I will have restriction and start to lose. Good luck with your discision. Diane

So my doctor's written post-op instructions state that "you may begin moderate exercise 7-10 days after surgery". What do you think is "moderate"? I've been walking on my treadmill -- not real fast, and not for more than 15-20 minutes at a time so far. I should mention that I need a hip replacement and I have pain in my hip that makes it challenging for me to walk for very long. The hip surgeon doesn't want to do surgery until I lose some weight. So anyway..... I'm trying to start out fairly slow in hopes that I don't wake up one of these days to find that I over-did it and the hip pain is so bad that I can't exercise at all. So last week I got a Wii Fit. Wow I love that thing! Again, I'm starting out slow with it. It has step aerobics which I always wanted to do but I never joined any classes in a gym, because I knew I couldn't keep up with everyone. I'm a real klutz but I'm getting better at the step aerobics and have advanced from the really brief easy beginner level to a slightly faster paced, longer lasting level. The other thing I did was an exercise where you run in place. It shows your little Mii (your own little character on the TV) running along, and the idea is to keep up with but not pass the pace setting Mii in front of you. I stopped running 20 years ago but this is really pretty slow paced and lasts about 3-4 minutes and it isn't nearly as high impact as actually running on the street. I really am looking forward to the day when I'm not feeling winded at the end of that little run. But suddenly today it occurred to me (don't ask me why I didn't think about this sooner)..... should I even be doing gentle running in place 14 days after surgery? Could I dislodge the port? I'll go to a support group meeting at my doctor's office next week and I can ask these questions but it's Friday night and I just wonder what you all think.

oh that is great you are feeling well enough to contemplate not taking the pain meds!! Keep up on the miralax. Right now you might not really have much because you aren't taking much in. But with the pain meds you can dry out and stop-up FAST.

Firstly you've lost 16 lb in less than a month, that's great. But you also have to realise that you lost it the first week after surgery, days of eating very very little, as do we all, there's no way that weight loss is not made up of lean tissue, mainly Water and a bit of fat. As you're body has healed and you can take in more, your body puts its water levels back in balance and you wont lose as fast or maybe not lose at all. You havent done anything wrong, but nobody continues to lose like that. Secondly, maybe for you its necessary to continue to keep a track of what you're eating to make sure you continue to lose. I think the band could work wonderfully with things like weight watchers if you have trouble knowing what and how much to eat. So many of us have spent so long fighting with food that we really have no idea what to feed ourselves anymore. That feeling of fullness will probably come sooner and sooner for you as you're filled. As to the calorie levels per day I think you have to listen to your body a bit. I cannot live on 700 calories, I had fainting spells on the pre op Optifast within a day or two and then yesterday (day 5 for me) I had several fainting spells and really bad leg cramps. I need to eat more than that, end of story. I ramped up what I was eating with some more solid liquids - Soups with meat and Pasta in them and I had a commercial smoothie this morning, not one made with fruit and skim milk, feel loads better today. I think about 1000-1200 will be OK for me for this liquid phase but I tell you honestly, there is no way I could be exercising or running round living my normal life on this level. I know from past experience I can easily lose 1kg (2lb) a week on 1800 calories a day, I think I have a fairly fast metabolism and I still managed to outsmart it and get fat, lol. So go with what you feel. But my surgeon did point out to me to try to get in 3 meals 2 Snacks on the liquid phase so Breakfast lunch and dinner should be something nutritional with a decent snack such as a milk drink in between to keep the energy constant and water and the rest of it in between those. As to the shoulder pain, it's common but I've had none, I've really had no pain at all since the first day, but walking around is said to help.

I am trying to get up to 1200 calories per day. I have only made it once but I am aiming for it. I really don't want to lose too fast. I think that if I do my skin will be a problem. Anyway, rarely hungry and it is great! I use my plate to count calories.

I know you have heard this a lot on here but just because you can eat more you shouldn't. You have to measure your portions out to a cup and that is all. I would never eat regular food after a fill. Most of us are on clear liquids at least for 24 hours after a fill, then mushies, then back to solids. Fills sometimes do not take affect for a couple of weeks. Do not test your band. You are not giving yourself enough time while eating to feel satisfied. I know it's hard because everyone is used to eating fast but you have to learn to take 30 minutes to eat and at that time whatever is left leave it. Set your alarm on your phone for 30 minutes, take that long to eat and what every you have left throw it out. The problem I see is that your fill is going to kick in and you are going to have one hell of a stuck episode.

I just threw them up its the first time since I had the surgery that I vommited. I don't think it's a stricture I ate chicken breast last night with no problems and liquids go down fine. I'm guess I didn't chew good enough or ate too fast. I was watching tv so probably wasn't paying attention.