Matt Z

Patrick, 1-2 lbs is right where you want to be. It's not healthy to drop weight left and right as it causes kidney issues. As stated by others... chill out dude! My doc's got me out of work for 2 weeks, nothing over 10 lbs for 4 weeks and no bowling for 5 weeks! You **NEED** to let your body heal. You had things punched through those muscles, parts were cut and moved. The fact that you dropped 21 in the first week should be viewed as a gift not the norm! Take it easy and let your body heal. THEN worry about your food consumption. THEN worry about how much you should work out and how hard. When exactly where you banded?

Isopure zero carb RTD bottles are pretty good, and you don't have to spend a ton of money to find out if you will like them or not. They are very fruity and taste great, no Protein smell, 40grams of protein per 20z bottle. Check out GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, etc for the singles to give them a go. They can get expensive, bought a mixed case of 12 for 50 shipped from GNC. Myoplex Carb Advantage dark chocolate doesn't have any smell and tastes good, you can get them at walmart, target, etc. I'm going to try the Isopure Zero Carb powders in the near future, reviews on the fruity flavors have been quite postive with the biggest drawback being a kool-aid sweet taste, I've got no issues with that for 50g protein per serving lol.

You hate yogurt, but how are you on pudding? Mixing unflavored Protein with SF/FF pudding can help you sub for yogurt. Is your issue with yogurt the taste or the texture? If you were to add a scoop of muscle milk light to 1 cup of yogurt, it thickens up quite a lot, just shy of a light dough with greek yogurt. Myoplex carb control drinks have 15g of protein, Muscle milk light has 12g. Isopure Zero Carb comes in both RTD and powder form, the RTD's can be expensive, but at 40g per 20oz with a great taste and hunger control they work quite well for me. I'm just the reverse, I hate eggs. unjury has some great protein as well, and they have a "sample" pack you can buy to try them out. Check out GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe or similar stores for "breakfast" related Proteins, get a small amount or trial size and test them out. It's good to find out exactly you like before hand. You can also look into making your own yogurt at home, it's quite easy and you can control the taste if thats the issue you have with yogurt. Good luck and Stay Strong!

Call your insurance company and work with them directly. Sometimes it takes showing the insurance company that in-network doctor XYZ will cost them more overall than out-of network doctor ABC. Nothing more frustrating than wanting to make a major change and being met with insurance hurdles, Just remember that it IS worth it. Stay Strong!

Sorry I missed this before my comment, I'm glad to see that you "came around". Hope all is well, please keep us updated. Stay Strong!

mztmom, the "What if" game is a major mental "slippery slope". What if you get into a car accident today? What if you have a heart attack? What if a rock falls from space and hits you in the head? What if you get shot by a rouge bullet? What if, what if, what if.... Sometimes it's good to do research, sometimes it's not. When you read "reports" be assured that the stats they are using or quoting are stacked in their favor. If the article is against banding... it's going to show all the evidence of how horrible it is. If it's for banding, it will show all the positives. The fact of the matter is, every time the skin is broken, there are risks. What happens if your appendix needs to come out? You'll have no choice with that, and that is more invasive than the banding process. You have to weigh out the risks you face right now, check the stats on those. Check out the stats on every single medical issue you face right now, I would be willing to bet you are at a much higher risk of medical issues right now than you will be years from now after being banded. It sounds like you are a selfpay. Understand that, in the future, if there is a medical need to remove the band, insurance will cover the removal, regardless if you were a selfpay or not. They legally can't just let you have an medical situation and not do anything about it. Doesn't matter if you paid for the band, if you went overseas, to Mexico, or had insurance pay for it. They will be required to handle the situation when / if it happens, they won't pay for a reinstall but at least you'll have the issue repaired. I know that everyone has different situations, and being afraid isn't a bad thing, and I don't know what your medical issues are, but in my opinion, you might have made a bit of a mountain out of a mole hill.

The recall on the Realize band isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. There was a potential for kinking of the hose. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/118330-recall-relize-band/ But just and FYI, Allergan Lap-Bands have had recalls too, for failure of the fill port. http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4386446/Allergan-amp-Realize-bands-recall-information/

I found this today in my search, figured I would share. http://www.ismp.org/Tools/DoNotCrush.pdf

Thats fantastic news Nicole! See, you got all worked up and upset for nothing. Not just remember how bad you felt cheating! You don't want that again now do you! Only 2 days, so stay strong!

Any updates? I'm curious because I'm getting banded on the 18th and I have no other pre-op diet info except taking a bunch of myralax and what not the day before. I'm curious what your doc said when you told him/her that you have slipped up and continued to not follow. Not everyone can adhere 100%, but that's ok. What's NOT ok is when you just give up. You need to either take yourself out of the situation causing you to cheat, or focus on why you want the surgery in the first place. Is pizza more important than the reasons you want the surgery? I know it can be hard, but if you can't "see the big picture" and commit to the pre-op diet, you are really going to face some major issues when that pizza doesn't just make you feel bad, it'll hurt like crazy and might land you in the ER. You need to be 110% honest with your docs, your psyc, your nutritionists. People do die from complications from this surgery.

http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/is-there-a-limit-to-how-much-protein-the-body-can-use-in-a-single-meal/ Absorption Rate The absorption rate of protein also determines the maximum amount of protein that should be consumed at each meal. The University of California-Los Angeles explains that the body is able to absorb and utilize a maximum of 0.91 grams of protein per pound of body weight. A 150 lb. person, for instance, would be able to digest up to 136 grams of protein each day, or approximately 45 grams of protein at each meal. Ingesting more protein than the body is able to absorb, according to Venuto, would not speed up the muscle building process; however, certain protein sources support physical activity better than others. Helen Kollias, Ph.D., states that whey protein is one of the fastest absorbing sources of protein as it absorbs at a rate of 8 grams to 10 grams each hour. Poultry, on the other hand, absorbs at a much slower rate. Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/538777-how-much-protein-do-people-need-per-meal/#ixzz1cllQatBJhttp://www.naturalphysiques.com/269/how-much-protein-can-my-body-absorb-in-one-meal http://www.precisionnutrition.com/protein-limit Understand too.. that NONE of these studies take into account any gastric restriction or rerouting.

My orientation was June 19th, my Surgery will be Nov 18th, so 5 months for me.

"Ideally, you should consume 0.36 grams of Protein for every pound of body weight, according to recommended daily allowances (RDA) set by the food and Nutrition Board." The problem with injesting too much protein is that our kidneys end up going into overdrive to flush out the ketones produced when consuming large amounts of protein, which leads to dehydration, which is why it's very important to maintain proper hydration. For me, at 343 lbs, I should be consuming 123 grams of protein a day. Your best bet is going to be to talk to your nutritionist, since they will be able to give you a number based on your specific situation, any information from anyone else is just going to be guesswork at best.

The SAGB / Swedish band *IS*(should be) the realize band, unless you are getting the surgery outside of the United States, unless I'm mistaken, the FDA only has approved Realize and Allergan lap band systems. I would ask the doc again what "brand" the SAGB is... I hate to say it, but some docs do get more money to implant one band over the other.

I asked just this question to the head surgeon at Rhode Island Hospital during an "Ask the Doctor" session this past Wed. He was VERY honest and did not lean towards one over the other. He stated that any stats you see on a website are most likely going to be geared towards the band that is sponsering that report. The thing with stats is that you can pick and chose what you want in order to make your product seem better. The Surgeon said that each has had it's down falls, but with recent updates to both systems, they are on a level playing field overall at this point. So as far as "which band do I chose?" don't worry about the claims you see on each site, since in the real world, they both do exactly the same thing to the same level of effectiveness, look at the extras that come with it, (support features) and decide what is going to be better for YOU to use. Pretty much, bottom line, each works just as well as the other. All the "Allergen is less forgiving than Realize" "Realize is more adjustable than Allergen" it's all just marketing, don't ever forget that these companies are trying to make money, so of course they will all always be better than the next, just like any other product that does the same thing. If you have a choice, make your choice based on support features. If you have the option to let your doctor chose, that works well also.

Good day all, Hello, Greetings and Salutations. My name is Matt. I'm 32, a veteran and a father of 2. I've struggled with weight for a while as a child, but was able to overcome it for my last years as a teenager. About halfway into my military career, things took a turn for the worse and the weight came back stronger than ever. I battled back and forth with the weight, but in the end, I was out of regs so I could not reenlist. This was crushing to me. After being turned away by the military, I fell on some trying times, and the weight just kept coming. I was able to find a median and put the weight in it's place, but losing it wasn't working. So I was stuck. I watched, followed and waited until I could get the lap band surgery. After a few more job changes, our medical finally allowed for the surgery. So here I am, 343 lbs, 5 foot 9, 32 years old. I was pushing to get my surgery for my birthday (Nov 15th) but my surgeon doesn't do surgery on Tuesdays (sigh) So Friday, Nov 18th I go in for my surgery. And I can finally close this chapter, and start writing a new, fast paced, exciting chapter! Thanks for reading, Matt.

Thanks Ali ! I've go 15 days until I get mine... boy I can't wait!

I wasn't given a choice either, but the Realize band ads are all over the office, the one they had on the plastic stomach was segmented, not sure if that was a Realize band or Lap-Band system band. I found these sites with information about the differences. http://www.realize.c...-comparison.htm (Realize vs Allergan Lap-band system) http://www.lapband.c...ompare_lapband/ (click on the Allergan Lap-band vs Realize system tab to see the line up) http://www.obesityhe...tric-Bands.html http://www.bariatric...-procedure.html http://www.wlshelp.c...alize-band.html It's funny to see how each "nudge" each other in their line up.

Drinking my first bottle of Isopure Zero Carb RTD... and this stuff is AWESOME. Apple Melon, great taste, only 160 cals, 40g Protein, no fat, no carbs, no sugars. I've been sipping it for the past hour, only 10 oz in and I'm full... and I'm not banded yet! I'm glad I bought the mixed case! I just wish it was a bit less expensive.

Congrats Brat!! My doc told me clears for like a week... check your paperwork, call who you need to... but the hard part is pretty much over, now just to deal with the road back!

I used to work out when I was in the Air Force, so taste isn't too much a factor for me... The best flavor I've tried, it's not the "light" but it's Cake Batter.. a scoop of that mixed with some yogurt.. drool

ugh.. ok you got me on that one. I've been checking out different Proteins to find one that was good on taste, low on carbs, high on Protein and I did find that Muscle Milk had the best overall stats. I've got a mixed case of Isopure Zero Carb drinks coming in today, so I'll see how those taste soon enough. 40 grams of protein in 20 oz 1 serving, 160 cal, no carb, no fat, no sodium etc etc etc.and it's a clear liquid.

Waynef, Not so sure 343 is all that skinny lol 54Shirley, I know that the post-op diet is liquids liquids liquids, but afterwards at least I'd have the thought that, it's in, I'm banded, just get through it and it will be fine. Pre-op fasting, well my paperwork made sure to state that something might happen to delay the surgery. I've done fasting/starvation/liquid only diets before... they suck. I did one fast for a month and it was beyond sucksville. I'm just glad that, so far, it seems that everyone that's active here is pretty damn supportive. So, kudos to those for helping everyone else out, one day at a time... Matt

It's curious how each doctors approch differs, I had my final pre-op yesterday, getting banded on the 18th, and my pre-op check list doesn't have anything for liquid only, execpt for the day prior to the surgery, where it's Clear liquids only, at 3pm it says take 2 Dulcolax, then at 5pm mix a whole bottle of MiraLax with 64oz of Gatorade and drink 8oz every 10 - 15 mins until gone, and that's it... I couldn't fathom doing weeks with no solids before surgery, after is sort of a no brainer... Good on you folks for being strong enough to deal with it.. I hope I can be just as strong!