FLORIDAYS

But look on the bright side... You are following the drs orders, preparing your liver for a successful surgery and you will lose weight. Congratulations

The green zone for me means I am satisfied with 3-4 oz protein, 1/2 c veggies and 1/4 c of startch for 4-5 hrs between 3 meals a day.

That may be a little soon to be testing out alcohol.. You are still in the healing mode. May be you should Celebrate without alcohol the month then in a few months have a party to celebrate your first drink and how much weight you will have lost. Enjoy"

Mr dr told me to wait 30 minutes.. For two reasons... One liquid will push up the food and it may come back up and or liquid can push the food down faster so you won't feel full as long. I have accidentally drank sooner than 30 minutes and sure enough... It usually comes up.

I have been very successfull but I haven't ever had an unfill. I just stuck to portion control and 1000 calories each and every day. Good luck to you.

I had no complications post op. that said the gas pain was horrible but i drank maalox for that which helped somewhat. I had surgery on a Thursday. On Saturday night I went to a birthday party ...we didn't stay long. I was hunched over and very uncomfortable. I wasnt cleared to drive until Tuesday at my post op dr visit so I worked from home Ion monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday I drove to work and by noon I was exausted so I went home. Each day got better but it was about 2 weeks until I felt as good as I did before surgery.

Boy I hate when life gets in the way so I come in late on a thread. *wink* I saw the pic Mis posted the other day and I immediately thought... Yeah that's about right. Ii was told from the beginning to eat like a baby..with teeth. And since I have a 15 month old granddaughter living with me I have a pretty good idea of what that is. I started off using a baby spoon to relearn to eat. I cut up everything in tiny pieces maybe a little bigger than a pea. I take at least 20 minutes to eat 3 oz of Protein, 1/2 c veggies and 1/4 c startch at every meal. My Snacks are usually fruit. A banana takes me 10 minutes to eat ...and that's fast. You see I am following my drs orders. And it sounds like several others have a like minded dr. If you don't then that's fine... But since I have been pretty successful over the past 22 months I think my dr knows what he is talking about. I followed his orders to a fault...but subsequently I had no problems and am very healthy now. If someone chooses to eat bigger pieces or fried foods or pizza..then that's their business but I seriously doubt they will have the same success of someone who sticks to 1000 calories a day. And that's ok too. But for me.. I needed to lose the weight so that I could get to the point of letting the band help me maintain it. The beauty of the band is that it allows you to make choices in your diet but it doesn't prevent you from making poor selections that will alter iit from working at maximum capacity. As my dr said..the band will do 70% of the work. You must do the other 30%.

Never heard the term.. If I eat the correct portions of protein, veggies and startch Everything fills me up to be honest. I rarely eat bread. Rice doesn't seem to agree with my band. Chicken is fine but it doesn't fill me up any more then eggs or cheese. Interesting concept but I find that if I eat 3 oz of protein, 1/4 c startch and 1/2 cup veggies I am full at every meal.

I had lots of mini goals as well....here they are in order.... To lose 10 lbs each month To get under 300 lbs To fit in an airline seat without over hang To get under 250 lbs To get under 200 To fit in a size 14 To fit in size 10 pants To be 150 lbs. I am 18 lbs away. I am in the 10s as i am a tall girl. My husband says I am done...but I need to get to that number ....for me. And size 8s won't hurt my feelings.

There are two ways to look at this. Can you just have one bite? If so by all means have it. If not... Then don't have a bite. You have enjoyed cake for 34 or so birthdays. Missing one or 2 in order to get control of your eating and let the band work for you is certainly worth it. Once you hit goal you can enjoy it again in moderation. I chose option number 2 for 22 months and it paid off in spades. Now I can have a bite or 2 and be satisfied and know it won't do any damage.

A typical day is 1000 calories which I eat in 3 meals and 2 snacks. I walk a mile or 2 after dinner. I use a calorie tracker on my phone and try to drink 64 oz of water which is the hardest part for me.

I like your husband... I too am a sailor and mind in perfect now that I think about it. It's just port of center.

I think donkos is just a poster for this dr.... Not that's it's not a fascinating story... I did a cost analysis when i was thinking about the band and even considered Mexico. I would have saved about 3k. But then I called arou d places my area and only one clinic would do the fills which here 150 a pop. I figured that over the course of my lifetime 150 vs the 50 my dr charges was not worth the risk. besides... I liked seeing my own dr monthly and enjoyed the support he and his staff offered. I wouldn't have had that if I had been banded in another country.

I agree with the others... A loss is a loss. Just thinking aloud ...Maybe she just wanted you to pay attention to your calorie count to make sure you are maximizing your efforts. My dr told me for my size at the time 2 lbs each week was a good number to shoot for. Looking back I averaged 10 lbs a month for the first 200 lbs loss. Obviously noe the last 20 are going way more slowly. I think you are doing fine. Good luck for continued success.

Give it a few days. For whatever reason I don't notice the impact of fills for a couple of days and it takes me a week to settle in to the new restriction. Who knows it could have been the bread at lunch that was still sitting in your pouch and thus dinner went down harder then normal. Go back to liquids or soft foods for a day or so and see how it goes.. Then be sure to take small bites and chew chew chew. If it doesn't improve by Monday I would call the dr. Good luck,

Lots of good advice so far so I won't repeat it but think about it.... If surgery was so Risky why would so many people agree to it. I am sure your dr had or will have you get a physical to make sure your are a good surgical candidate and the anesthesiologist is an expert and is only worried about you breathing... So I know it's scared but honestly you will be fine.

You most likely will be hungry for the first few days...but don't cave in. I was allowed 2 sugar free popsicles a day. They were heaven! It's a little thing in the grand scheme of your journey. Best of luck!

Best of luck with your surgery. I am sure you will be fine and have a successful recovery.

My dr had me add benefiber packets to my liquid in the beginning so I wouldn't have such problems. You can buy them them, in the drugstore and you just mix them with your water or whatever liquid you want. It will not effect the flavor or taste of your beverage.

Wine doesn't have carbonation. Sparkling wines do. Just be careful of the liquid calories... When I drink a glass of wine I have 2 extra glasses of Water because it tends to make me retain water for some odd reason.

I had 217 lbs to lose and there were still people who are uneducated about wls tell me I should do it on my own. I would just smile and thank them for their opinion. Now that I am as small or smaller then most of my friends they want to know if I will take the band out. They still don't get it so I just have stopped worrying about other peoples opinions.

I was the same way... Baby food made me gag. I drank sodium free v8 for the veggies. Scrambled eggs, tuna, chili applesauce and lots of soups. Remember anything is mushy if you chew it enough....that's advice from my dr!

I know you are disappointed. I too had Aetna and was 217 lbs over weight with a 55 bmi , high bp and was denied. I didn't think self pay was an option either until I spoke to my dr and the hospital and found they offered Interest free payment plan with some cash down. Not a credt company...just the hospital. then about 2 mths after banding they called and offered 50 on the dollar to me which we took them up on. Interestingly enough the Insurance paid for the psych eval, pre op bloodwork and nutritionist appointment which I thought was ironic.

My dr office called aetna, the insurance company and they told him they wouldn't cover my band because I didn't have enough co-morbalities (sp?). My bmi was 55 and I has high blood pressure but I guess it wasn't enough. I had actually called me first and they told me the same thing so I was prepared.

It depends on if you are using insurance or if like me your insurance decline to cover and you are a self pay. I believe self pay goes more quickly. I chose my dr in October. Had a psych eval, met with the nutritionist in November and started my pre op liquid diet on nov 23... I was banded dec 9 less than 2 months from my first appointment.