Candle

Did you try mixing in some fruit (1/4 banana or a few strawberries) or cinnamon or vanilla or instant coffee? I'd at least go with frozen yogurt. I hear ya though - I'm already sooooo sick of Protein shakes - lol!!

PS. I've lost 6lbs :whoo:

What about Protein?? Ice cream is a weird thing to be on the list - I thought the point of the pre-op diet was to shrink your liver by cutting out as much fat as possible and losing weight. Without much protein you might be a little run down ... did you see a nutritionist? My doctor is at NorthShoreSyossetHospital. Good luck!!!!!

The Lap Band forum there is pretty good too. It's a little drama filled at times, I mostly lurk. I wanted to blog because I think it will help to deal with the "mental" stuff at some point - when I'm ready. I also wanted to have my info out there about my insurance struggle, in case I can help someone in NY (my insurance only covers NY) I guess it's pretty rare to find a self pay plan that actually covers WLS. I take that as a sign I am meant to do this!!

I don't find out my actual surgery time until the Friday 8/24/07. My doc does an average of 3-4 per day. They said it could be as late as 2-3:00pm. I hope it isn't that late - no food or DRINK after midnight the night before - that's a long time. I have to spend a night in the hospital. They said to expect to be released around 24 hours after being admitted. I had sleep apnea, PCOS, high cholesterol and have had high blood pressure in the past but it's been in line for at least the last year. My big problem is, I have scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and had surgeries when I was in jr high to correct it. All the extra weight is really straining my already fragile back. I carry a lot of weight in my stomach and have large breasts – if I’m successful, I know plastic surgery is in my future. Lately I just keep asking myself how I got to this point?!? I’m so disappointed in myself. I wish my insurance covered mental health.

PS. I *am* getting a little nervous but there's no way I am backing out. I have too much invested in this. I started a blog on ObesityHelp tonight. If you want to read it >> ObesityHelp - Gastric Bypass, LAP-BAND® System, DS and Other Surgical and Non-Surgical Weight Loss Options. - Profiles - Candle's Profile My fears are more based on this not working for me. (I made mention of that in my blog - which is why I brought it up)

If you are both on a liquid diet - get those chips right out of the house!!!! I just realized we are all on for 8/27/07!!!! That's so cool. Let's hope that's going to be an amazing anniversary to remember each year as the day that our lives changed! I had a kitty with diabetes years ago - I lost him right as we were starting the insulin routine. I wasn't able to get him to eat enough (he was so far gone at this point) to get him on a schedule. He went into a coma one night and there was nothing they could do. It was very sad. Since I live on Long Island - there's no country here. I'm a country girl from CT and having a postage stamp size yard has been an adjustment for me. I moved to NY for my boyfriend - we were long distance for awhile and it was just getting too hard. We bought an old Victorian that we are restoring as well. It was built in 1871. It wasn't completely run down, so I don't know if "restore" is the correct word but the last owner was here for 7 years and the person before for 5 - I don't think either really did any maintenance and definitely no upgrades. I'm a little worried I'm going to get too attached to this house and not want to sell it. The blood, sweat, and tears I’ve put into the landscaping alone … :phanvan

Well ... All I drank today was Fruit2o and Crystal Light Peach Tea ... no headache. Maybe that Raspberry Ice was the culprit? (I sure hope not 'cuz boy is it yummy!) I'm going to experiment a little more in the next week.

NO! This is one of the reasons my bf supports me getting the band. :heh: I told him no way in hell I am moving to TX at 300lbs - I'll never be able to handle the heat :heh: We aren't having any kids either. We have a dog and 3 cats!!! We were at the same count as you but we lost a 16 year old kitty about 3 months ago (it was sooooo sad but it was her time). I could make another pet with the amount of hair I sweep up in a day!! We adopted the dog in Feb - she's supposed to be my tread mill. :heh:

Claramae – I just noticed where you live. We're hoping the market bounces back in the next year or two so we can get a decent price for our home and then move to Austin. (You are about 2 hours from there?) I've had it with rude NY'ers, traffic, everything being ridiculously over priced, and most of all ... winter!

Claramae - come on over. I have tomatoes coming out my ears right now. One MAJOR bummer about this liquid diet is my garden just started producing about 2 weeks ago. I have more tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash than I know what to do with! My carrots and watermelon are looking good too. My cantaloupe and peppers were a failure for some reason? I CAN'T ENJOY ANY OF IT Shelli - I lied a little, my boyfriend has gained about 5-10 lbs in the last year or so. He'll be 37 soon and I think things are starting to catch up to him. He's a big beer drinker though - I keep telling him to switch to lite beer and I bet that tiny tummy will disappear. He's 5'10" about 175lbs ... still pretty thin. He's hyper-active and a drummer in 2 bands so he gets lots of cardio. :heh: I hate him!! :heh: Do you guys have any kids at home you have to feed? I'm so glad that's one thing I don't have to worry about - I threw out all the snacks and garbage last week!!

Claramae - OMG - chips!!! *drool* You are strong! I've had this weird Dorito craving for the past few weeks .... must.not.think.about.chips.

Today went really really well!! I just updated my fitday journal and it added up to 930 calories! (My limit is 1200) It helps that we didn't get up until 11:00 this morning, so half the day was over - :heh: I helped my boyfriend make his dinner tonight and ate 3 small pieces of broccoli. I was testing to see if it was done. It felt good to CHEW :heh: I don't feel guilty because well ... it was BROCCOLI! And I'm not technically supposed to be on a liquid diet until Monday. I don't know how people with families that they have to cook for them every night do this? I told my boyfriend we will be eating separate meals for awhile - until I'm adjusted. I'm trying to help him learn to "cook" so he doesn't revert back to a diet of Taco Bell, BP&J, and mac & cheese. Like before we moved in together. I'm very resentful of his metabolism ... that jerk can eat and eat and eat and never gains any weight!!! :heh: We also walked the dog for 45 minutes. (I skipped yesterday because it was raining) Michelle - My thoughts are with you right now! Maybe bring some sugar free hard candy or gum with you so you aren't as tempted to mindlessly eat anything at the services.

I don't think it's caffeine because I've been almost completely off soda for about 2 months now and I'm not a coffee drinker.

Thanks. Raspberry Ice is what I've gotten hooked on. I bought some green tea bags to make homeade iced tea and a few of the Crystal Light Ice Teas ... we'll see what happens. I miss my diet soda

There was a thread not to long ago - I think it was about Crystal Light but I can't find it now. I also did a google search but couldn't find what I was looking for. I think a few people were saying that the dye or something in red colored/flavored drinks gives them a headache. Am I making this up? lol I ask because I've been having a lot of headaches lately - I just started my liquid pre-op diet, so that could be the culprit the past few days. I've been drinking a lot of Crystal Light (one of the red flavors) because I'm trying to kick soda.

That's nice to know dental is deductable. I spent $940.00 on my teeth in March!! (Plus about $1800.00 for the band so far)

My doctor has done about 1,800 Lap bands and only had to convert to open once. He said that was a rare case due to siroccos of the liver and the patient knew up front, that it was a good possibility.<O:p</O:p <O:p</O:p<!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Aww :phanvan I'm sorry to hear that.

Day 2 hasn't been so easy for me. All I can think of is a cheeseburger :heh:

Nice job

Wow! You are doing great! Thanks for being such an inspiration!

The unjury is ok - it's not great but nothing is. :heh:I liked the choc, hated the vanilla, and the unflavored is ... unflavored :heh: My doc suggests using Medifast but I didn't care for it and it was about 5-6x as expensive!! SF Carnation Instant Breakfast is on my list too but let's compare: 1 Injury choc shake w/ 8oz skim milk: 190 calories (100 Injury + 90 milk) 29 grams Protein (20 Injury + 9 milk) 17 Carbs (4 Injury + 13 milk) 1 Carnation w/ 8oz skim milk: 150 calories (60 Carnation + 90 milk) 14 grams protein (5 Carnation + 9 milk) 25 Carbs (12 Carnation + 13 milk) I don't think I could drink all that Carnation. I did make a vanilla (I got a box of vanilla and 1 of choc) one tonight with 3 frozen strawberries and it was really good - but VERY sweet! I get a craving for something sweet at night. Things I've experimented with adding to my shakes and even if you stick with the Carnation you could too: cinnamon, 1/4 banana, a few strawberries or blueberries or chunks of peach, sugar free choc sauce (the liquid kind to make choc milk with. 25 calories for 2 tablespoons) and/or teaspoon sugar free Peanut Butter. My calorie goal is <1200 and >85 grams of protein. I'll be your diet buddy if you want

You shouldn't have any problems - just make sure that your surgeon is in-network on the new plan and there's no WLS exclusion. I switched my insurance plan right before I finished the pre-op testing because my original plan had an exclusion. My employer let me switch plans, they rock!!! I found a new plan that does cover it and my surgery is 8/27/07!! Good luck. (I had to do a 6 month diet for my new insurance - I knew about it in advance and started it right away)

I'm on day 1 and we have the same surgery date!!! I did surprisingly well today and even walked for 45 minutes tonight. What kind of shakes are you using - maybe you should switch to something you like better? (I'm using Unjury) I can have blended Soups (and broth) pops, Jello, pudding, yogurt, and applesauce. Maybe my diet is a little more liberal than your's? You can do it!!!!!