Matt Z

Thanks for the tips all, I was hoping for more input, but I'll take what I can get!

Thanks for the tips all, I was hoping for more input, but I'll take what I can get!

Allison, my surgery is set for the 18th of November. And thank you for your compliments!

So, I had my pre-op class/appointment today. It was really odd because besides my wife, I was the ONLY person in this "class". Lucky for me I knew the instructors, so it went by easy. We skipped over things I already knew and went into more details on those topics I wanted more information about. Overall, it was nice. I got my final pre-op "official" weigh-in, 336.8 lbs. I started the whole process when I topped out at 350 about 4 months ago. My last weigh-in was on the 31st and it was 343, so in 10 days I dropped 6.2 lbs with only better food choices! I was so excited by this, the thought of what the next chapter in my life is going to be like knowing that, if I am forced to make the proper choices, knowing that I can't slip up and binge or stuff without serious issues, I'm going to start dropping weight like a "dancer" drops laundry! The wife and I did go out to eat and we did indulge a bit, but it was nothing like I used to. My lunch was small and low carb, I didn't touch soda, and we split a dessert. We then went and walked around walmart for 2 hours so I'm sure it balanced out somewhat. I popped into a local fitness store to check out some protein choices and I met to rather wonderful people that work there. Steve and Amanda, they were both your typical looking fitness store folks, trim and athletic and full of energy. Steve called me "big guy" on the way in... but I kept myself in check and pulled out the "cool guy" inside me and went to shopping, talked them up a bit and come to find out, Steve, was at 330 at one point in his life and Amanda was a good 60+ lbs heavier too, she showed me a photo! After talking to them both and just being my inner self, the words from these two both sunk into my heart like they wouldn't even know. Steve looked amazing, fit, trim, muscular, exactly what I would KILL to look like right now, and the fact that he was around the same weight as I am, gave me so much hope and joy for the future. Amanda was cute as hell too. Knowing that they both have been pretty much where I am right now, both mentally and physically gave me more hope than I could have even asked for. I know I will be going back there for my protein and other dietary needs. I wish everyone could have a moment like this, where at the start of an interaction your just feeling like crap, down, ashamed of yourself, embarassed for being the "fat person in a fitness store", to walking out with a major smile and two new potential "friends". Love it. That's all for today good folks of the internet, Good luck, Keep positive and Stay Strong!

Kicking caffeine is easy.. just trick your body. Decaf coffee, tea's etc. Did you know that when you go to a party or wedding or whatever at a hotel or other function hall, and they serve coffee at the end of the night, that's decaf coffee. They don't announce it, but it is. My wife is the head bartender at a local 5 star hotel. lol If you THINK it's got caffeine in it, the withdrawal symptoms will be so much less, the mind is a powerful thing. I'm getting banded on the 18th. So only one more weekend to go! And lucky me, I have tomorrow, friday, sat and sun off. So I just have to make it through monday, tuesday, wednesday and thursday YAY.

Not to brag, but I guess I got lucky all around. My insurance didn't require ANY required diet consulations, less the 1 single visit with a nutritionist. So far no pre-op diets (althought I have been reducing carbs, weaned off carbination and caffeine) I've been doing shakes for breakfast, lunch, small salads, protein puddings, LOTS of water, walking and cutting back on my dinner portions, I've been trying to get into the no drinking before or after a "meal" habit, chewing until the food is as liquid as it can be, so it might not be a full on required pre-op shrinkage diet, but I'm sure it will help come time to poke and prod...

I also wondered about all this "pre-op" dieting. As of right now, I have only 1 day of a specific "pre-op" diet and that's the day prior to my surgery. I have my pre-op training class tomorrow, so things might change then, but even if they told me tomorrow that I need to do all liquid from there on out, that's only 1 weeks worth. I've seen people saying they had a few weeks to a month or more of pre-op diet. I wonder what each surgeon is doing differently that some folks need to do a pre-op diet and some don't. I have a rather high BMI, like 52 . I guess I'll see tomorrow and if things change, I'll have some blogging fodder.

What have you found that you just can't live without post surgery? This can be anything really, from Gas-X strips for the first few days, a timer for eating, to which books you have relied on or food journals etc. Post what you have found that after surgery, has turned out to be a life saver.

Pendulum, this is where your choices come into play. The Band is only a tool. You yourself needs to make the choices to eat better. A good thing to do, is find a protein that tastes like ice cream (they exist, I've got a tub of Muscle Milk Cake Batter protein!!), then you can have the taste you are looking for and get the protein that your body needs. But you are correct, you can eat around the band. The band isn't going to stop you from eating crap food, that's where willpower comes in.

Amanda, there are SOOOOOOO many easy places to get protein. Heck, you can run over to wal-mart and get some. As far as which are best? Does taste factor in? If taste is not a problem, any powder that is high in protein and low in carbs, cals and fat will do. Once you factor in taste, options change. Muscle Milk Light is a great powder and can be bought at GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, etc. unjury powder is very good, but is pretty much only online Unjury productions online. Myoplex Carb Control and Isopure Zero Carb protein are my top picks for low or no carb, hugh protein counts and great taste. Almost all of these brands also sell unflavored, which please understand does have some flavor, just not an artifical flavor and it's best to be mixed with SF/FF puddings, yogurts, or other item that you don't cook. If you cook protein powder it will get pretty nasty pretty quick. Unjury has a chick soup flavored protein, I've got 2 pouches of it, but I have yet to try it, you have to be careful that you don't add it to Water that's too hot or it will clump. Different protein types have different absorption rates. whey isolate (ion exchanged whey) has the fastest uptake rates, while egg protein uptake is the slowest. No matter which way you go, adding protein powder to your diet will only do good for you.

No need to be sorry! I have no problems answer questions about my modifications. I mentioned the piercings and tattoos just as part of my introduction as It's part of who I am, what makes me, me. All of my ink, less 2 or 3 pieces, are on my arms and legs, so I won't have to worry about weight loss too much and I did that on purpose. All of my tattoos have meaning and I wanted to ensure that they would be unharmed by any needed weight loss or surgery. The ONLY part that is in jeopardy are my arms, my left arm, I'm not too worry about so long as the piece on the outter portion of my arm is not touched (the piece is unfinished due to the artist, a friend of mine, died in the Station Nightclub Fire) my right arm, an in progress stained glass window, the parts that would be removed are not filled in yet, so as long as the portraits of my wife and kids doesn't get messed up. Why did I get my tattoos? To "bookmark" monents in my life, to memorialize friends and family or to other meaningful events. My ink is for me, and for no one else, it is coverable at work if my employer doesn't allow visiable tattoos and that is of no bother to me at all. Why did I get pierced? I grew up watching national geographic, I got my septum peirced as a "right of passage into manhood" I got my lobes pierced and have been stretching them to find out "why" many tribes do it. I have learned quite a bit in attempt to reach my goal of 2 inches. Patience is a big one, accepting that fact that you sometimes have to take a step back in order to take 2 steps forwards and I have learned how to interact with people better, to watch and decode body language and how to break through to them. I had an "industrial" piercing (2 piercings with a single bar though them in the ear, usually in to adjacent locations of the outter cartlidge area) which were a gift from a piercer friend of mine for my birthday, those have been removed however for personal reasons.

Thanks all! Tracie... I'm glad beyond expression to have found this community! roeroe, you for got the salad and roll upon roll of bread, followed by some more bread soaked in liquore topped with cream and more sugar lol Arnetta, Thanks for the support, I'm going to try to keep my blogs to a weekly basis, prob Friday's or as needed and try to keep them as interesting as possible! I look forward to chipping away this armor of fat I have encased myself in.. Thanks again all.. and Stay Strong!

Ok so lets start this out with a bit about me. My name is Matt I'm currently 32 (birthday Nov 15) I'm married I have 2 boys I have many many many hours of tattoo work, with lots still not finished I have my septum and lobes pierced, my septum was stretched up to 00ga, but is now without jewelry, my ears are just shy of 1 3/4ths of an inch I'm a Veteran I'm an Information Technology Security Degree holder I'm a contractor for the Department of Defense I was overweight as a child, was made fun of left and right. I was my mom's eating buddy, my extended family was mostly Italian so there was lots of "manga manga" going on. We were expected to eat and eat quite a bit, which I did, of all the wrong things. We moved around a bunch. When we lived in Florida, a combination of the heat, increased activity and better eating choices lead me to lose quite a bit of weight. I was now "fit and trim" for my return home and subsequent high school years. I Joined the Air Force in 1997. I was over what the Air Force wanted me to be weight wise compared to my height. At 5 foot 9 inches I was to be at or under 189 lbs. I was 200/210, but still very fit and active. Most of the weight I attribute to my muscle strenght. but alas, I needed to be under 189, so I did everything I could think of, from starvation, to dehydration, jumping jacks in the sauna, you name it, I did it. And I made it in. During basic training I widdled down to an amazing 170 lbs. Sure I looked good, but I didnt' feel all that great being that small. Looking back at photos, the thoughts I have range from "I look sick like I have aids or cancer" to "damn I was sexy". After basic was technical training, during these months in Mississippi, I slowly got back to my "normal" weight, floating around 200. But no one noticed and I wasn't flagged for any weigh-ins. After tech school came my assignment. Fort Meade, Md. Things went fine, but being an IT job, sitting lots, working odd hours, overnights, etc, the muscle weight was replaced with flab, and after a year or so at my duty station I was poked for being too chubby. I was pointed to a co-worker and ex body builder for assistance. I followed his orders and begain doing some "not so healthy" things to lose weight, which didn't happen. Quite the reverse actually, I was consuming massive amounts of protein, water, carbs, I was working out 2 hours or so a day in the gym, yet in 3 months, I actually gained 80 lbs and I didn't know why. Turns out that part of the suppliments I was taking had triggered a massive hypothyridic response, my thyroid shut off, all the carbs, protein and calories I was injesting was being converted directly to fat. The Air Force did not like that at all. I went to 3 nutrition classes, did mandatory supervised exercise, wore a heart monitor and had my exercise tracked. The last 2.5 years of my enlistment was met with medical work ups, exercise, and warnings of being kicked out. I did everything I could to make until my contract was released from stop loss due to 9/11. My original out processing class turned into a stop loss class half way through. For those that don't know, stop loss is when the military says you can't leave, even if you have completed your signed contract, if they have an official need to keep you, they can. So my last full year was hell. Weigh ins, tapings, blood work. All in all, I made it out by the skin of my teeth. Which is sad because I signed up, with all intentions of doing 20+ years. I bounced around jobs a bit, got my degree and started doing IT work for the government. And I love it. I do not however love the weight I've been stuck with. I'm being banded on the 18th of Nov. I was hoping for my birthday, but my surgeon doesn't do surgery on Tuesdays. Sigh. Friday is close enough. I'm glad I found this website, the information and support from it's members has and will prove to be a very accepted crutch. Thanks for reading and Stay Strong! Matt

Unless you are a self pay, check with your insurance company. For me, the band was covered, the VSG was not because it was "too new".

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.

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/

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.