NWgirl

congrats! I had pre-surgery jitters, and to cope with those I kind of tried to just ignore it until I was actually sitting in the hospital. You will be okay, and the jitters are normal, so don't let them drive you bonkers

Lipo just sucks the fat out, but doesn't do anything with the loose skin.

Jay Robb. Can be found at local vitamin or supplement stores.

Be careful with the sparkling waters, as I do believe they are carbonated. I personally love Safeway's cherry sparkling water, but have not chanced it yet

Congratulations! I have been debating going to the gym. I tried my treadmill out last week and it was just too much speed for me then. I did buy an unlimited kickboxing month pass that I hope to start using after my surgeon gives me clearance at the end of the month.

The bloating in the belly is common. When in surgery, they blow you up like a pregnant lady. I was fairly normal after surgery, but some said they looked pregnant for a few days after. The port pain will go away soon. It seems to me that after a week, my port pain was pretty much gone. Now I don't have any at all and the incision over my port has healed, so I can feel my port (affectionately called my port baby). Where in Mexico did you get banded? That was my option if insurance did not approve me.

I just stuck to low fat diet the first two out of three weeks pre-op, so I just checked nutritional info and tried to stay under 25-30g fat a day. The third week pre-surgey I did a pseudo liquid diet (two shakes, two yogurts, and one protein bar).

Congrats! Do you have a date yet? I had to finish all of my pre-op's, get submitted for insurance and wait for approval before I could schedule.

Bigger people will lose more weight, smaller people won't. I think it also depends on your body- some people "gain" 10 pounds from the IV fluids alone after surgery. I lost about 5 the week after, even though I was eating super low cal. I had lost about 20-25lb prior to surgery, so I think this can also matter. Some people don't have to do a special diet, so if they go into surgery normal, they will have the excess weight loss you get with the first week or two of a new diet change.

The pain probably just means you have irritated your band. You should do a couple days of liquids so it can settle down again. I'd say if you still have pain in a few days, it would be time to call your surgeon.

my surgeon recommends Centrum chewables and a calcium chew, regardless of sex.

It varies person to person. Some people lose 10-15 and others don't seem to lose any.

Hi there! Good luck with the next week

I'm taking pictures with the same outfit. My surgeon's office did a few measurements the first day I came in, so I assume they will continue to measure as I lose.

Search the forums for medifast. I seem to recall reading last week that another person was on medifast... Maybe it was on the "what did you eat today?" topic...

Hmm, there is probably something to it. I also carry my weight around the middle, and I have heard that it is more unhealthy for the internal organs to be packaged in so much fat. BUT, I would also say there is only so much to do and that the way you are now is much better for your health than before.

I saw Jay Robb has some egg protein powder. Their original whey is delicious, so maybe that would be good too. http://www.jayrobb.com/protein/egg-protein-samples.asp

It seems some people require much higher fill levels... It's possible that a partial cc may be the fill you need, but you won't know if you don't go in to get it.

I gave up soda a couple days prior to surgery. I am now drinking Diet snapples, G2 gatorade, or Powerade zero if I want something other than water.

Ifd oyu click my blog link in my ticker, you can see a picture I took the day of surgery. I will probably be doing a newer one here soon, as they are much, much better. Really, it's not too bad at all. http://thebandedblogger.blogspot.com/2012/03/one-ticket-to-bandland-express-please.html

Yes I did. I can't see that much difference yet, but did have my boyfriend take a new set of pictures now that I've lost more weight. I am keeping the same outfit to wear in the pictures, so that the changes will be more noticeable...

Great news! Just try and get to moving tomorrow and take it easy. Use a pillow pressed against your tummy getting up/down or laying in bed. WELCOME TO THE OTHER SIDE

I know what you mean by being unhealthy- I thought the same thing pre-op!

I am 23 and was banded last month. After being overweight since childhood and trying all of the fad diets and dietician's, etc over the years, I knew something had to change. I finally admitted that I needed more help with this than I was willing to accept before. I am not getting younger, and I am not getting thinner. I want to prevent any health problems from happening, and I was not doing a good enough job on my own. As for not wanting people to know, I felt the same. Only 5 or 6 people in my life know, 3 of which are parents, 1 grandparent, my boss, and my boyfriend. I kept it a secret at time of surgery and plan to continue keeping it a secret, unless someone who has a weight problem like I did asks me what I did. I have not tried to drink since surgery and was never really a drinker to begin with, but people say that the surgery turns them into a lightweight.

Yes, your goal is doable. The more you weigh, the faster you should lose as well. So, those people who get banded with 50-75 to lose take a longer time to lose 50 or 75 than does someone like myself who had 110 to lose. Of that, I have already lost 30, but still have about 80 to go.