Pats Fan in MA

No, believe me I got it. And technically, you are supporting your children with help from the government in the form of a tax credit per kid. Could you do it without the tax credit? Maybe so, but you're getting help nonetheless. And it's a tax credit you get "because you spawn". I think you missed my point.

Okay, that is very low-carb, especially if you cannot incorporate any whole grains, and have to limit your lowfat milk & yogurt to two servings per day. Even though they say to avoid cereal, you can have All-Bran? I think if you can stick with it you could very well lose more than 13 pounds in 6 months. I also think I personally would go a little crazy on this diet for that period of time. It is interesting to see how different everyone's requirements are.

Interestingly, my pre-op diet is about carbs, Protein and calories. My book from the program has an outline of 1000 calories/day for women, 1200/day for men. Protein at around 100 g, and Protein shakes with 20g or less of carbs per serving. Though I have to say I am not sweating it if I have 25-30g of carbs in my protein Meal Replacement. It's the calories that have been so hard to stick with. I can't imagine calories have nothing to do at all with the pre-op diet. I mean, one could eat the targeted protein while consuming 4000 calories/day, which definitely wouldn't shrink the liver....

So I'm guessing your surgeon's version of the liver-reduction diet is low carb? Did they give you a daily calorie intake target? It's hard to set something up to know your proteins/fats/carbs without knowing the calories you should be eating in a day. Fitday.com is a site many posters use to log food and exercise. It's great in some ways- tons of foods in their database, more things to track like mood, etc., but I personally prefer to use fitwatch.com . Here I've entered my calorie goal for the day (oh yeah another thing- fitwatch doesn't allow you to have a goal under 1200 calories) and stipulated what percentage of Protein fat and carbs is my goal. Right now I have it set at 1200 calories, with a breakdown of 40% carbs, 30% protein & 30% fat. If I were using fitday that would work out to be 480 carb calories, 360 protein calories and 360 fat calories. Of course you don't need to worry about calculating those numbers constantly- when you add foods to your daily food log the program will give you a running tally of your grams of each, so you'll know by dinner if you need more protein, less carbs, etc.

Getting excited now...the nurse from the bariatric program just called to go over and confirm my medical history, medications, my pre-op appt with the anesthesiologist, etc. And I'm in Day 2 of the two week pre-op diet- I started a couple of days early! (and yes, I'm so hungry, but this phone call helps with motivation!) November 9 is coming up soon!

Let me preface with: I was a regular smoker for many years, then for the past year or two was down to 1 per day, sometimes skipping a day. Still hard to give up that one/day. Other than the obvious, it being bad for you in general, it increases your risk of developing a blood clot or clots during and immediately after surgery (that's scary stuff), and it inhibits the healing process. Look, my best friend, smart, beautiful woman that she is, didn't completely give up smoking with both her pregnancies. She has two healthy kids. She did have all sorts of healing complications with her C-sections though. Yeah, you could be the person who doesn't develop a blood clot or take a longer time healing, but it will be because you got very lucky, not because it doesn't happen. Take care!

Agreed- it's totally time to get rid of that Child Tax Credit. I mean, if you can afford to have kids, why should the government give you a $1000 tax credit per child? /sarcasm I'm thinking I should get a tax credit for NOT having a kid.

Ok, you're cool on so many levels but also because you said "Xyphoid Process". I love the name of that bone- always have. Thanks for this kick-a$$ post on loving life down 86 lbs 8 months out! You have a lot to be proud of, and we so appreciate hearing a positive experience. I'm new to the blogs so now I'm going to check out all of your past posts! Yay!

I love your post! Brought tears to my eyes. In part for happiness for you! Also in part, for mourning what we can lose from being overweight. I know I've lost so many things over the years because of my weight and the effect it had on my self confidence. I am looking forward to getting that back more than anything. Go YOU!!

Make sure you're drinking plenty of Water between meals to help fill you (and hydrate you!). Do you have any issues with sodium, like edema or high blood pressure, or hypoalbuminemia? It seems like this would be a reason for your doc to tell you to stay away from broth, as the high sodium content has nothing to do with burning the fat around your liver (here's just one link.) If anything, it will make you retain water, which you can counteract by drinking enough water throughout the day. Also, you can always make your own chicken stock, and keep the added salt to a minimum! Just keep remembering, it's not forever- you can do this!! (just started the pre-op myself and put in a blog entry about it today). Good luck!

Yeah, well, in my head anyway! Vulgarity is regulated here, so you may see a lot of asterisks in my posts until I'm over a few hurdles....I started my 2 week pre-op diet today. Such a good little student.....no really, I started it two days early. I woke up this morning and was like, "F*ck it, start today!" I think because I've been totally dreading it, it was just easier to start than to deal with two more days of anticipation. It's definitely going to be a test of will. You see, I like real food-healthy food. I don't mind the challenge of counting calories, protein, carb and fat grams. Of exercising on a treadmill and obsessively maintaining a 70% max heart rate for x minutes.....I think it's the OCD in me (which I think everyone has- have you met your inner OCD child yet?), but I like a challenge and proving to myself, or whoever, that I can do something, even if it's wicked hard (ok so wicked may come up here and there too- what can I say, I live in Boston!). Anyway, the problem with this liver-shrinking diet is that other than the "free" foods (carrots, cukes, peppers, spinach, etc), there is no wholesome, non- (or at least minimally) processed food to be eaten for 3 out of four meals per day. Let's see what the label of the protein meal replacement bar I ate this morning says: Whey protein, palm oil (ok), enriched flour, sugar, palm kernel oil (the oil must be extracted from the pit with a gasoline-like hydrocarbon solvent. In short, palm kernel oil is a cheap, unhealthy fat!-Dr. Weil), cocoa, fructose, soy lecithin, caramel color, salt, stevia. Actually, that's not too horrible. I can't wait to see what's on the label of the high protein Ensure shakes in my pantry. Yuck! I'm not a big sweets eater and am hoping the "unflavored" whey protein that's coming in the mail will work when I add it to some chicken broth. So I was across the street from my temp job at the grocery store to get a salad and was overwhelmed briefly by the thought that I couldn't do it, and then, my inner Bob Harper roared to life and said "F*ck you, hunger!", and I headed to the salad bar, got my allotted veggies and a fresh protein drink and was on my way. Yes, I realize I'm only on Day One, but the title of this post didn't mention anything about rainbows and unicorns, did it?

I know what you mean about all the people out there who don't understand the struggle with weight. I deal with it too, even in my own home. BF is totally supportive of the surgery, despite the fact that he has no clue about how hard it is to lose weight. Seriously, I've been asked "why don't you just stop eating?" So clueless I know it wasn't meant to be hurtful, nonetheless.....of course it was. Good luck to you- I'm right behind you with surgery on the 9th!

I'm Nov 9th too!!!

Good luck and just keep telling yourself- it's not forever! It's a means to an end, and this too shall pass. Hang in there!

If you really can't eat foods like eggs and cottage cheese, and especially if these foods are making you throw up, they should be offering you substitutions for your Protein needs. There are so many sources of lean protein out there, it seems rather short-sighted and narrow-minded to not work with you on this. I hope you can sit down with them and explain the problem so that they understand this is not a lack of will on your part. Would they be forcing you to drink milk if you were lactose intolerant?? Nobody has said the pre-op diet is easy, but throwing up every day seems more unacceptable than finding a different protein that gets you through the day while still staying within your calories. Of course you should follow the instructions of your surgeon, but you aren't a child. You, your surgeon, nutritionist, support group, etc should all be on the same team. Just my 2 cents.

Cheri, I so appreciate your advice and sharing your experience with the band and being banded in November. It's reminded me how incredibly important it will be to stay focused on working out as much as possible after surgery to maximize my weight loss. It's not the ideal time to be banded for me, living in Boston where I hate to be cold and tend to get a little depressed and hibernate in the winter; I will have to really fight those SAD tendencies to be successful. I am lucky in one regard: my family doesn't live near me and the holidays are very low key with just me and my guy, and he's not a big eater anyway! I'm having surgery on the morning of November 9th, and start my 2 week pre-op liquid diet next week. Let's do this, people!

So glad you posted this. I've met with a couple of registered dieticians over the years and they all give the same advice. Create a calorie deficit through diet and exercise, but not so much that your body shuts down and holds on to every ounce its got. For me, successful weight loss (without the band) only happened when I was doing strength training 2-3x/week, cardio 3-4x/week (60-80%of max heart rate) and eating roughly 1600 calories per day, with a breakdown of 40% protein, 30% carbs (complex carbs mostly) and 30% fat. I lost an average of 2 pounds a week for many months, and I was concerned that my calorie intake would be too low with the band, but when I asked the surgeon he said my target should be 1400 calories a day. This reassured me that I can be successful with this, while incorporating the knowledge I already have about exercise & nutrition.

Welcome! I'm getting banded on November 9th, so we'll be November Bandsters together! Best Wishes!

I have to agree with your assessment of the study. Europe in general has had many more problems with their lap band patients- I can't remember from my reading if it was technique, device or both. I know it would be great to see some date from within the past 8-10 years using patients who had the LapBand or Realize Band put in to get more accurate data about outcomes.

I'm sorry you are feeling frustrated so far! I've been told that the first month is about healing and body adjusting, and not to expect much by way of weight loss during that time. I've been told by my surgeon I should be eating 12001400 calories post-band, just as I would on a weight loss program without the band, but the band assists with the hunger factor in a reduced-calorie diet. I've read for years(on all sorts of exercise and weight loss forums) about people not losing weight with a calorie intake of less than 1200 minimum per day especially while exercising. I know every surgeon is different; did he/she tell you to aim for less than 1000 calories? At any rate, try not to be discouraged.. I know I'm not in your shoes (yet) but have faith that with exercise and mindful eating change will come!!

Thank you. I'm interested in reading the article you cited but couldn't find it in the July 2011 JAMA issue. Is it possible it was another month/ publication? I currently work in a hospital and they're laying around everywhere here - just don't have time to look through them all for the article so thought I'd ask. Thanks!

Thank you all. I have asked more questions of my surgeon and had the answers I needed in order to feel more confident in my decision. I am also seeing a psychologist and a nutritionist as I prepare. I've never had surgery and definitely do not take this lightly, but I also don't want to freak myself out so much I become irrational and talk myself out of it. This is my tendency with any big decision, and I feel like I've ended up making the wrong choice at times in the past out of fear. I don't want to keep doing that for the rest of my life. This, as well as weight loss surgery and subsequent regular exercise and good eating habits are just a couple of ways I am looking to make some major life changes. I've been stuck below my potential for way too long. Good thing I started seeing a psychologist a month ago, who is teaching me to sweep aside the "But what ifs?" whenever they creep into my head, and instead concentrate on the task at hand which is to get some kind of exercise every day, make mindful eating choices and sit down and eat mindfully as well. It really is the best I can do to prepare.

Thee-O, thank you for posting this, and thank you to all who responded; it's been very helpful to me as I am pre-surgery and still have these lingering questions about how I can use this opportunity to the fullest while not making myself obsessive about it or whatever. I wish my center had some sort of drop-in pre-surgery support group as I feel like I could use this- I overthink things a lot! Actually, I've started seeing a psychologist as part of starting this new chapter in my life, and she is helping me to remember to keep it simple, don't fall back into old patterns of thinking, when I feel the "but what if" questions coming into my head to practice sweeping them aside and sticking to the task at hand and the longer-term goal. I appreciate reading how you all are doing and will continue to read as I approach my surgery date of November 9. I will hopefully be able to be as productive a member of the forums post-op as everyone here!

I was very seriously considering RNY until I could not come up with any good evidence of the positive effects 10-15-20 years out. I'm 39. I don't want osteoperosis or not be able to drive at night because my vision is so poor from lack of nutrients. The studies I've seen show that 95% of RNY patients after 5 years suffer severe malabsorption issues even while following the prescribed Vitamin protocol. I take Vitamins and minerals already. i believe in their importance to every function in our body. I cannot- will not- have such a drastic procedure (that cannot be undone) when I see those that kind of outcome. And I can't talk about it on most forums because most people have had RNY and I'm not looking for a battle nor do I want to freak them out, because they can't do anything about it having had the surgery anyway. I want to go about losing weight as I have in the past- but without the hunger or the ability to eat more than I should in one sitting. I've been successful in the past with tracking my foods, eating yummy but very healthy meals, exercising at the gym, doing cardio in my target heart rate range, strength training to prevent muscle loss......I know how to do it the right way. I just find myself becoming exhausted of it after a period of time. And getting started when I feel so down on myself. My thinking was that I'd need to do all those things I mentioned including counting calories, Protein, carbs, fat and Fiber, but having the band would be my extra motivation, my extra kick in the ass to keep me going and help me in my problem areas- eating too quickly, too much and being hungry on 1200 calories.

I really thought this would work for me. I am a healthy eater, I don't eat emotionally, I know how to exercise and count calories/journal my food, and am absolutely not going to have a malabsorbative procedure. Yet I am still being told that the rate of slippage, scar tissue, vomiting, hunger, incorrect fills, etc are so bad that no one should get it. Help me out here- I feel like I've done a lot of research, but now I'm wondering. My surgery is scheduled for Nov. at a Center of Excellence. Almost 50% of my surgeon's procedures are Lap Band. I don't know what to do now.