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Hi OvrLvl, Yes, I went thru my insurance Aetna. It took about a week to 10 days to get approval. I went to my first seminar in July and had to go thru all the test, and 3 months of Behavior, fitness and nutrition ( my insurance required it). Then had to wait for the staff to put all of my paperwork together to send to Aetna. It seemed like it took forever, so be patient. Good luck and keep in touch. I have 1 day until my surgery and am ready but kind of nervous.

yes, ok, so its been approved since June 2001 in the U.S. unless you were part of clinical trials. Not every study started the same date the band would have been approved, so if a study takes a year as I said, and its a 5 year study, it makes sense what the nurse who wrote a book and leads the seminars for many Dallas lap band surgeons would say not all 5 year studies have been completed. The band has not been approved in the U.S. for 10 years, 7 years total plus 2 months. Thats why some insurances balk at paying for it. It hasnt been around long enough for really long term studies. I keep saying it has been around more than 5 years but hasnt been around 10 years yet, it hasnt. If you know someone who got theirs in the U.S. 10 years ago, thats unusal. That means they got it 3 years before it was actually approved by the FDA who isnt know for moving very fast on approvals. And the FDA is likely to get worse as there are some drugs approved without really long term studies that have come back to haunt them lately with bad side effects. The lady who gives these seminars had her band a few years and dropped 140 lbs and get really thin, and then she started to have a problem with reflux so bad the band had to be removed (just as a example of a side effect of having the band that can occur years later). Im glad I got my band, and Im sure you are too, but finding 10 year studies or results is difficult.

Good Luck to all of you. I hope your surgeries went well. My surgery is 11/19 and I would love to her from all of you how things went. It is hard to wait. I am so happy to have all of youto help support me. I don't really have much support otherwise.

Thank you all for your encouraging words. I appreciate all of your comments and questions. pf337-I didn't have a set presurgery diet. My doc just said try to eat low cal/fat free for a couple weeks leading up to the surgery. I had written guidelines and sample diets for each phase after surgery. As for now, the written material I have simply says to eat 3 ounces of lean meat/protein with a couple tablespoons of vegetables and a couple tablespoons of starch to be eaten in the order of meat/vegetable/starch until completed or full. I can't eat everything so starches are few and far between. My only problem is that at work it is tempting to "grab and go" just whatever I can, so fighting the urge to eat whatever junk that is lying around is a battle I still face every day. WasABubbleButt-No, I didn't have a spinal. It wasn't even offered. I wouldn't have taken it anyway. I was given a spinal for my knee surgery(rugby injury) and had difficulty urinating for about two weeks. I came out of recovery at about noon and was making laps on the floor at 1:30 pm. I would have been out of recovery sooner but the dilaudid kicked my butt! The nurse kept reminding me to breathe deep until my O2 sat stayed up on its own. I was discharged the next morning at 10 am. I'm thankful everything went as well as it did.

10/2/05 Ok, dont know if im pmsing or what but today and yesterday has not been a good day for this bandster. So much seems to be going on that im not focusing on what i should be doing. Am 8 weeks post op, had first fill 9/8 but dont feel too much restriction. Know I have lost, im down 3 sizes, my rings are really, really loose, others notice but I feel like im sliding down to bad habit land. Shoot today I had 3 med size slices of pizza and yesterday I had some cake and ice cream (father in laws birthday). Thought I have been eating the right things but some of it didnt feel right so when I went to a number of band sights for food Ive found I havent. I think my calories and volume is too much. Dont know what is the right fomula anymore. Have been recovering from a crudy cold for over a week which zaps my energy so havent exercized either. When I do eat I dont feel much of a restriction. Confused on whether I should get another fill. Theres a part of me that really thinks the 1.5 ccs wasnt enough. Sort of felt that way since I had it done. And my schedule on when to eat is off too. Ive been so on the positive and now I feel somewhat down. Hormones maybe? I just dont know. Boy what can I do to resolve some of these issues?? Where should I start? Is this normal when the newness of the band wears off? Ive had what i consider great NSV's but I so afraid Im gonna blow it!!!!!! Micki

It's a VERY good question. With some of the insurance policies you have to be careful about losing too much (friend here was told no more than 10%) and like the above reply I believe I cannot go below the minimum BMI of 35 (which is now 10 pounds away). I've heard if you lose a lot you can get denied as you've been successful losing another way and they give approval for those that follow the program, but don't lose much. I've seen people on here denied for gaining 1 pound and others that gained more and were approved. I'm not sure how you delicately find out what your insurance program does other than to ask others here who have your same policy. I'm planning to ask this point blank to the insurance person at my surgeon consult next week. She deals with them all the time, so I'm expecting she'll know. Is your head spinning yet (130th x...Damn Insurance!).

I lost a couple of pound during the 6-month supervised diet. I was told by my insurance case manager not to go below a 40 BMI during the 6-month supervised diet, because I would not get approved. I was around a 41/42 BMI at the time. Once the insurance company approved me for the surgery. I loss 10 pounds on the pre-op diet. I have Blue Shield of California.

i went on a 2 week pre-op diet & lost weight but it wasn't so much that it was cancelled.It was only 10 lbs. & they (the Drs.) must know that's going to happen with soft food & clear liquid intake. That's mandatory.

Hi all, for the last month I've been in full speed getting all the medical clearances needed for my surgery. However, the whole time I couldn't get past the fact that I have been diagnosed with Barrett's early on, even before I met with my bariatric surgeon for the first time. Barrett's is an inflammation of the esophagus which can lead to a cancerous state in a very small percentage of those affected, usually caused by GERD or chronic acid reflux but not always. The first time I met with my bariatric surgeon I told him straight off that I had Barrett's disease because i knew it could be an issue with getting banded and reaction was very cavalier. His only reaction was that he had seen it before. He didnt say he would review my records or speak to my doctor and get a better idea of the extent of the condition. This sent up a big red flag. When I went to the required support group meeting the following night I posed the question to the surgeon's PA if people with Barrett's should be banded. He gave me a definitive NO. Another even bigger red flag. I started doing my own research on Barrett's and the band and found out that the manufacturer Allergan lists Barrett's and any inflammatory condition as a contraindications for the band, same thing with the FDA! A google search supported that finding with posts found on forums and even in the book associated with this website. So, I can't take the chance. I've lost all confidence in my surgeon for not addressing the issue properly and feel that he doesn't have my best interests at heart. He has a good reputation but seems to be more surgery-volume minded. I'm getting a bad vibe. I can't take the chance of worsening my condition and winding up with dysplasia ( cancerous state) from the added stress on my esophagus. Thirty- four percent of banded patients experience reflux and for people with Barrett's that number may be too high. I am very disappointed that it has come for this especially after the tremendous effort and copays I have put forward so far. On the bright side, every part of me has been poked and prodded and examined and I'm in pretty good shape otherwise. I have lost 10 pounds on the pre-op diet and will continue to do my best to drop some pounds. I've found a really good program online that my son told me about called MyFitnessPal to help count calories and activity. I just wish this surgeon would have been more forth coming with me from the first consultation. Your comments please.

Hi Julie~ I am Julie also. Congrats to you!!! I had a breast reduction about 17 yrs ago. Then 3 years ago I had a TT and a breast lift. Although, I was still overweight it has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself....(LBS will be the all time best thing.) When I had my breast reduction I was a 48HH. They took 4 1/2 cups of tissue off the right side and 5 1/2 cups off the left, I lost 14 lbs. Then when I had my lift I was back up to a 42DD. I am currently about a 40 D or DD. They removed 10 inches of tissue from my tummy and took 8 lbs with lypo. I never lost any weight prior to having it done. But, I think after the weight loss from LBS I will be ok except for upper arms and thighs. I am very excited for you!!!

Just got word Friday that I was put back on the health insurance my soon to be ex took me off of just to be mean. So now I can go back and get my fill without paying the full price for a fill, $200! Weight loss has been very very tough. I've been working out at gym 4 times a week and now up to an hour of cardio 3 days, 2 days of circuit training with 30 minutes of cardio one day a week. And the inches are just falling off, but the weight doesn't budge. Which I guess is good, but there is no way I can stay this weight and ever be a size 10 again, unless I plan on heavy weight body building!!! No thanks, not my thing. But once the band starts getting fills, I think it will make a big difference. Why the heck did I have the surgery if I couldn't have the fills??? The ex was one week away from court and possible jail time, so I guess he wised up and realized he was in trouble for taking me off. I did find out one thing.....with the lap band surgery I have to wait 3 years before I could be eligible for individual health insurance from one major company!!! I had no idea that would happen nor did I think about it. Luckily with a divorce I can get 36 months of COBRA, then lose weight, get healthy and be eligible for my own insurance. Good to know this now! Maybe that's why I had to go through this process! So even though your insurance company may approve the surgery, they may make you wait a time period before you can get individual health insurance.

Wow! I've never lost weight like this in my entire life. I stepped into my spinal specialists office March 1 and he put me on steroids for my excruiating back and hip pain and told me to stop working out. So paranoid me starts drinking lemon water because I knew it would flush out excess fluids and in my mind counteract the weight gain affects of steroids. I went back to my Dr. yesterday to get a steroid shot in my back. He said my face looked alot more relaxed, but I still had pain. Nothing like it was the week before but still a problem. Not sure I will ever be back to normal but I am feeling alot better. I've been trying not to jump on the scale every day but that hasn't happened because I am steadily losing a pound a day now! It's like it is just melting off my body. My doctor told me it is because of the pain I was in that held on to the weight, now that I am feeling better, my body is letting it go. I believe maybe part of that is true, but not to the extent of losing 7 lbs in 10 days! So as long as I'm on the these steroids and still losing weight, and even when I get off the steroids, I am still drinking lemon water. I've read about it online and it states that it cleanses the body of toxins and flushes them out. I believe it, I am feeling soooooo much better too. And I am only 3.5 lbs away from passing the dreaded 200 lbs mark! That day will be a celebration and you will hear from me on that day for sure!!!!! :tt1:

I'm 11 days out, it gets better every day. Be careful when you drink to not take in air, I discovered I did that alot before surgery. The bubbly feeling still comes every once in a while, you have to remember you stomach has to heal. My suggestion would be to get up and walk around, outside if possible, to get your mind off it. Every day it will get better, I'm down 10 lbs and feeling good. You can do it too.

I was walking immediately and went back to the gym doing cardio at 2 weeks, but no lifting more than 10 pounds until 4-6 weeks.

Hi everyone, I'm new here and have a few questions. I have spent the past few months, almost a year on lapbandtalk.com forum because that was the surgery I wanted, and at the time the only one my Surgeon would perform on me. My surgeon was admit that because I have Crohns Disease the only true safe WLS surgery would be the band, or maybe an outside chance at the sleeve, but he felt best about band. Obviously at that appointment he gave me a list of stuff to get done before he would see me again, lose 18 lbs, see the food shrink, see the nutritionist, see the Diabeties dr, and all the normal WLS stuff. The Dr had told me it normally takes 6 moths to a year to complete the list, and get the ok from all the different doctors, Nutritionist and so on. I lost the 18 lbs in 10 days, and had all the doctors signed off on this within 3 weeks. When I went back to see my surgeon nobody at his office could believe I completed the check list that fast, and they put in my approval request for Band surgery. My insurance, which is good insurance, and the dr office says approves damn near everyone denied me, stating they needed more information. I gathered up all the info my surgeon told me to, it was resubmitted, and denied stating not medically necessary at this time. The surgeon then resubmitted the request, and it came back denied, Due to Crohns disease, and requested my surgeon call the med director at Blue Choice. Turns out the insurance company is worried about corrosion from the band, and with Crohns this could be really bad. My surgeons stance was that the band is really the safest way to go because if the crohns flares up they can drain the band, or even remove it if really needed. Long story longer, I got denied again, I called Blue choice Insurance myself, and asked to speak to the med director and was told they only talk to doctors, not policy holders. I have called Blue choice three and four times a week for months now, they still wont give in and let me speak to a med director. I would think as a paying policy holder I should be able to speak to the person who is making med decisions regarding my health, right? My surgeon keeps pushing too, without much luck. Last week my surgeon calls me and says come in tomorrow I need to talk to you. I go in to the office, and the girl behind the desk tells me, no charge for today, doctors orders, ok great, a free bee. Instead of taking me to a exam room they walk me to the surgeons office, and he says have a seat, at this point I'm thinking oh crap, he is gonna tell its all over and no surgery at all for me. I was amazed at what did actually say, and confused by it at the same time. The surgeon proceeds to tell me that if I agree to switch procedures he has been lead to believe that the insurance company will cover me for the sleeve. This really blows my mind! I have crohns, which is a mouth to anus disease, meaning it can show up anywhere between those two places. While my Crohns has been restricted to my Intestine, and has not been active, it is always a concern, which is why I can't have the full bypass. My Surgeon says we can most likely move forward very quickly avoiding the 6 moth wait for the sleeve due to the fact that I have been in a holding pattern for almost a year now. I want to get this done ASAP, but I also want to know what I'm walking into, so I'm going to continue to read every damn thread on this board that I can right up until surgery. I have spent the past six days reading online about the sleeve, and trying to research the sleeve with Crohns patients, but I can not find any info regarding the two of them together. Does anyone on this forum have crohns? If so how is the sleeve working for you? Has anyone heard of someone with crohns having the sleeve? Has anyone here had the band and switched to the sleeve? Would you get sleeved again if given the choice? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I am nearly the same for wt loss at 13 days post-op. I lost 10 on pre-op liquids and 5 at my 1 week post-op weigh-in. I too am not taking in much nutrition, ab 400 calories, ab 45gr protein and 40oz water. I intend to increase my protein and water as much as I can, but it is hard to do. We have to hang in there and keep going. I am consuming some pureed cottage cheese, pureed tuna and avocado, and ricotta bake - small small amounts. As well as a shake and some Isopure clear protein drink. And sf chocolate pudding did not sit well at all - so that is off my list - who knows why. Your hunger could be acid reflux. I am def NOT hungry, could care less about food - but not fond of passing out either lol.

Congratulations on what you have lost. My first 2 weeks my scale didn’t move. Remember swelling at this point is alot. My surgeon said to be patient. (I look prego) SW:350 (11/2015) BSW:260 (10/17/17) CW:248 (1st official weigh in post op) GW:175

I'm four months out and just started eating cereal with milk on occasion. I try to get at least 10-15 grams of protein at breakfast, and cereal just didn't fit with that plan until now. I eat Kashi Go Lean which has 13 grams of protein per cup (though I usually only have 1/2-2/3 cup at a time with the same amount of skim milk). I let it sit for a few minutes so it is not so crunchy. It is also good when added to non-fat, vanilla or plain greek yogurt.

Hi I'm a little older 28' things progressed for me pretty fast because I.work for St. Luke's. Begin in February on.the 6th to be exact and had surgery.April 23. Ib have only lost 19 pounds since surgery and I'm 17 days post op. Do you mind sharing your diet

@@madeline121 - Welcome! Everyone loses at a different rate so to tell you to expect to lose XX by two weeks and XX by the end of the month isn't practical. What kind of surgery? Search the BP website for recipes (there are threads with all kinds of good ideas). Did you have a NUT? I would contact them and or your bariatric team for what they want you to eat at this point because not all doctors want you to eat pureed foods at 3 days (mine did) some want their patients on a two week liquid diet. I eat at 10 months post around 1000 calories, 80 grams of Protein and I try to keep my carbs as low as possible (40 or so) along with over 64 oz of Water (usually around 100oz). good luck and welcome again! their patients on a two week liquid diet. I eat at 10 months post around 1000 calories, 80 grams of protein and I try to keep my carbs as low as possible (40 or so) along with over 64oz of water (usually around 100oz). good luck and welcome again!

My thoughts are that you need a new surgeon. If you have reflux, DO NOT get the sleeve. It will likely make it a lot worse. I was able to choose between bypass and sleeve because my A1c was less than 7 and because I don't have any form of reflux, so I chose the sleeve. My husband has GERD and a higher A1c and was advised that bypass is really his only option. Sometimes those that never had reflux get it with the sleeve and have to revise to a bypass to resolve it. And while the sleeve has less risk, the bypass does give about an extra 10% of weight loss. So definitely find a new surgeon.

I've said it before, but I think the surgery changes everything, so we aren't the "norm". I truly believe it changes our physiology. Like @@JamieLogical said, I have observed differently after being on these boards for almost 2.5 years. I have also observed the opposite with myself. Every time I stalled, increasing my calories would break the stall, and I would actually start losing again more consistently. I was at 1100 by the time I hit maintenance, and now maintain on 1300 calories. Anything over 1300 I gain. First off, great topic. ^^ Since my lap band in 09 to sleeve revision, other than when I first got out of the hospital(s) (big stall first 10 days due to IV Water retention), I haven't experience stalls because like @@Babbs I increased my calories when I enter one. Now of course, if I fall off the wagon (lap band days) due to improper fill, I'd gain weight but when I'm on program, that's been my experience too. I know everybody is different, but this works for me. Since we're on the subject, I used to watch food contests videos and always wondered how the heck do they eat so much and stay skinny? grrr Almost all of them think like this: If anything, it's an interesting watch.

Ok, can we talk about Starvation Mode for a minute? It seems to come up on these boards on almost a daily basis, and I have hovered over the “reply” button so many times, but know that more is needed than a simple reply, but I have never taken the time to put that together. Now is that time. SUMMARY (tldr): Starvation Mode exists, but not at all how most people think it does. YOU WILL NOT STOP LOSING WEIGHT THROUGH A SEVERE REDUCTION IN CALORIES. This should be intuitively obvious. If people stopped losing weight by only eating 600-800 calories a day, then when you saw photos of starving people (malnourished 3rd world countries, or Holocaust photos) those people would not be thin, but they are. In fact, they are insanely thin. How could this be possible? Starvation Mode is actually something called Adaptive Thermogenisis (AT). AT is a drop in your resting metabolic rate that is independent of the reduction caused by the reduction of body weight and body composition. In other words, you burn less calories as you lose weight, but you also burn less calories simply because you have severely restricted your calories over a period of time. AT exists, but probably not at NEARLY the level you think it does. It’s worth noting that almost all of the information on AT is derived from a 60+ year old study referred to as the “Minnesota Study”. Ironically, although this is the basis for most peoples’ understanding of Starvation Mode, if you see photos of the participants of this study they are grotesquely thin. There is an article that does a great job summarizing the findings of this study (and provides loads of other information) : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.20027/full Here are a couple of key relevant points: The reduction in calories burned due to AT is really quite small:“In the Minnesota study, about 35% of the fall in basal metabolic rate (0.8 MJ or about 180 kcal) was independent of changes in Fat Free Mass (FFM) and therefore ascribed to AT.” 180 calories a day people. If you “normally” would be burning 1600 calories a day, this would mean you are still burning 1420. THEREFORE, if you are eating 800 calories a day you will NOT stop losing due to Starvation Mode. It just means rather than running at an 800 a day calorie deficit, you are running at a 620 a day deficit. So, instead of averaging 1 pound lost every 4.38 days, you will lose 1 pound every 5.64 days. It takes a few weeks to develop, and you “max out”. You do not keep lowering your metabolism forever.“A maximum adaptation was reached after a 10% weight loss or after 12-20 wk. After 24 wk of semistarvation, there was no further adaptation of basal metabolic rate.” Disclaimer: I am not advocating starving yourself. I am not advocating any specific daily caloric intake. As always, you should work with your doctor/surgeon/NUT.

So one of the things I'm still working on figuring out nearly 8 weeks after banding is what foods are worth it for me to eat. This is a new equation in my life. Before banding, I just ate. Half the time I didn't think about what I was putting in my mouth (if I did, I would have lived in a state of perpetual self-disgust) and the other half, I just didn't care. I was already fat and unhealthy, so why stress about the food that was making me that way? Clearly, I was eating too many calories, but now I'm realizing that the amount of calories I was eating may have mattered less than whether those calories were worth eating. What I mean by that is that as I make better, more sensible food choices, it is becoming clearer to me that "real food" is much more satisfying than the alternatives. "Real food" is a hot topic these days. You can find whole books about it in your local bookstore, whole pages of books on the topic, if you cruise through Amazon. For my purposes, though, when I talk about real food, I'm referring to anything that isn't processed or prepackaged. Things like eggs (pasture raised, please), meat (ditto), milk (three for three), vegetables (organic, please), fruits (yuppers), and grains (certainly in the "o" column). To many, my obsession with organics and pasture-raised animals may make me a snob or a hippie, but I'm okay with that. Even before banding, I preferred to choose those foods when possible, but now I'm realizing that the alternatives aren't worth it. I try to keep my calories at somewhere around 1000/day. I say around, because there are days I eat 850 and days I eat 1400. Mostly, I average between 1000 and 1100. Before banding, I could get 1000 calories having coffee, a piece of toast, and a single fast food sandwich, and then everything else I ate that day would be those excess calories that made me fat. Theoretically, even with the band, I could still make those food choices, but now they're just not worth it to me. Today, I would say that most of that food isn't real food, and therefore, I'd rather not eat it. This morning, I had toast and coffee for breakfast. Not the bandster's first choice, perhaps, but I find I can't eat anything too rich or too heavy in the morning without severe nausea and potential for vomiting (I've always been that way, even before banding). The difference here is that the coffee was made with real raw sugar (half a teaspoon) and organic, pasture raised half-and-half. One tablespoon of that. For a total of 37 calories. The toast was a thin slice of home-baked bread (made last night from organic flour and natural ingredients) with a teaspoon of pasture raised butter. Low in protein, but I'll have meat for lunch and dinner, so I'll have no trouble meeting my protein goal for the day. So far for the day, I've had 137 calories, less than 15% of my allowance for the day, and every single one of those calories was totally worth it. They all tasted good, none of them cost the environment more than necessary, and all of them allowed me to live with my band while feeling content and satisfied. If I'd tweaked that just a little, gotten a small nonfat latte and a bagel with non-fat cream cheese from Starbucks, for example, I'd have eaten 500 calories of food that wasn't really worth it to me. Even if the band had stopped me at half the bagel, that would still have been 250 calories (113 more than I actually ate). It would have contained less fat, but also less satisfaction and it wouldn't have tasted as good. To me, the unprocessed "real food" I ate at home was a better, healthier choice and worked with my band. True, a lot of bandsters would tell me I should have had Greek yogurt instead. Or maybe a scrambled egg. There are days when I do that, but here's my confession: I love bread. Love it. It is my favorite of all foods. I adore it more than ice cream (meh) or potato chips (one of my trigger foods and a life-long addiction for me). Give me a choice between a handful of chocolate and a piece of fresh baked bread (home-made or from a real bakery) and I will go for the bread 9-1/2 times out of 10. My brother and sister-in-law are gluten intolerant, and have cut all products containing wheat out of their diets. I'd rather cut off my own arm. Seriously, I can't live without bread. Which could be a problem for a bandster, both because of the low protein/high carb nature of bread, and because the texture of bread can have trouble passing through the band. But here's the thing. "Real" bread (the kind from the bakery or from my very own oven) passes through the band pretty well. It has fiber and texture and it tastes so good, that it's worth it to me to take small bites, chew slowly, and get it through the band. Pre-sliced generic white sandwich bread? Not real food and definitely not worth it. Also lower in fiber, higher in sugar, stickier in texture, full of chemicals, AND higher in calories. Clearly the unhealthy choice. As a bandster, I have had to reshape my priorities. Homemade bread is a priority; processed, pre-sliced bread is not. It's all about priorities. And balance. For breakfast today, I had a carb-heavy, protein-light meal. For lunch, I will have a couple of slices of roast chicken (heritage breed, pasture raised) and some veggies. Or maybe a small serving a chili with pastured ground beef. The meat cost a lot more than the supermarket alternatives, but it was locally and sustainable raised and frankly, it tastes so much better that I don't feel deprived from eating only 2-3oz of it as a time. It's so full of flavor that 2oz feels more like a meal than 6oz or the alternative. For dinner, there's either the chicken or some leftovers from an organic rabbit I stewed over the weekend in red wine and prunes. And more veggies. So worth every single calorie and so, soooooooooo satisfying. One of the reasons I got the band and not another procedure like bypass was because I wanted to be able to eat and enjoy real food, I just wanted to eat less of it. I didn't want to give up my bread (obviously) or my chocolate or my steak. I wanted a smaller slice, nibble, or cut. I'm doing that with the help of the band, and because I'm choosing real food, I'm doing it with happy tastebuds and a smile on my face. ------ I hope no one interprets this as a lecture, or me claiming to be better than anyone else. My priorities are my own. I happen to live in an area where organic, pasture raised foods are easily accessible. They're sold at my local groceries and at the weekend farmer's market in my town, less than 5 miles from my house. I also only have myself to feed and worry about. I'm not trying to budget to feed myself, a husband and three kids, let alone saving for college, paying for daycare, or providing clothes to cover bodies that seem to double in size every few months. My animals and myself are the only things I have to spend my money on, so it's easy for me to justify funding my environmental and health agenda. Everyone has to do the best they can with what they have, and no one--least of all me--should fault them for it. Make your own priorities, and then live by them. I hope it brings you the same satisfaction it brings me.

I would suggest reading everything you can, so you can make an informed decision. Obesityhelp.com describes all the different procedure, including Lapband, and there is a book called The Lapband Solution, and another called The Lapband Companion. Both books are available on Amazon.com and are full of information. You don't give up real food forever. Check your insurance first and see if it is covered. Some insurances (mine is Blue Choice) require one 6 month or two 3 month documented dietary weight loss attempts before they will approve you. Mine did and I spent the 6 months going to support groups (you meet people at all stages of pre and post op--good place to learn) buying sampler packs of chewable Vitamins and Calcium (both are required after surgery, as well as B12), and reading online. I have been coming here since November. My insurance criteria for surgery is BMI 40 or more (you can calculate this on obesityhelp.com) and 100 pounds overweight, or BMI 35-39 with one or more co-morbidities (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint arthritis, sleep apnea, reflux). My BMI was 37-38 and I have everything on the list except diabetes. Most Bariatric groups require an informational seminar after which you have no obligation, but if you choose to have surgery the seminar is required as a first step. If you choose to continue, you will have a consultation with the surgeon, a psych evaluation, and once surgery is approved, a dietary consult on pre and post op food restrictions. I used the dietician for my 6 month diet as well. Different doctors do different things with pre-op diets. Some want a few days, some a few weeks, some a specific diet product, they are all different. My surgeon, if he thinks you may have a fatty liver, will put you on a full liquid diet for two weeks prior to surgery to shrink the liver, and somewhat to jump start your weight loss. I was on it for 3 weeks (I caught a cold and my surgery was postponed a week--not enough time to go off and back on, so I stayed an extra week--lost 25 more pounds after losing 10 on my 6 month diet). After surgery most people do liquids for 2 weeks, then "mushies" or pureed foods for 2 weeks, then solid food. My liquid diet included Protein drinks, milk, juice(diluted 50% with water), fat/sugar free Jello, fa/sugar free popsicles, broths, cream Soups, tea, coffee. The pureed stage I had applesauce, refried Beans, instant mashed potatoes, creamy egg or tuna salad, anything the consistency of apple sauce. Solid foods are a bit trial and error. Some foods will agree with you, others may not. For me bread gets too chewy and sits like a lump, but I can eat croutons on a salad. pizza (I love pizza) dough doesn't agree so much, so I invented a crustless pizza (sauce, turkey pepperoni, peppers, onions, fat free Kraft mozarella in a microwavable disk; heat for a couple minutes and you have the toppings without the dough). I did the same with meatballs (turkey meatballs, spaghetti sauce, parmesan cheese,heat in microwave--either meatball sub without the roll or spaghetti without the noodles). They told us not to have rice and Pasta for a while, but I don't think it is forever. I checked with the dietician and then went to a church spaghetti dinner. I cut up my spaghetti and meatballs like you would for a kid, ate the salad, passed on the roll and dessert. And for drinking, you wait about a half hour to eat after drinking, do not drink with meals, and wait 45 minutes to an hour after a meal to drink. So yes, the way you eat will change, and some of the things you eat will change. The amount of whatever you eat will definitely change, but it is worth it. I have lost an additional 35 lbs since surgery and gone down two clothing sizes for work (I wear scrubs--down from 2x to large). I am hoping also to reduce or eliminate some of the meds I am on. Sorry to run on but there is a lot to know. Check your insurance, talk to your PCP, go to the seminar and support groups, and then decide if this is the way you want to go.