azhoselady

congrats! 20lbs is awesome!!!!!

Good Luck with your surgery! Check in and let us know how it went!

Mine is in one week and I was getting nervous this makes me feel better too! Thanks everyone

5'3-3/4" here Doctor wants me at 128 not a pound less. I am not looking that far ahead. I am doing it 10lbs at a time but I do remember 128 and it was WONDERFUL So yeah... 128!

Good Luck loose it sending you positive vibes for a great surgery!

I am doing a dry run of the liquid diet.... I know that sounds weird. I actually start on Friday as doctor ordered but on Monday I started doing the shakes and soup for dinner. Day one I was hungry. Day 2 was soooo much better but I am also allowed unlimited protein shakes so I am spacing them and during working hours I am sipping a shake that I have in a frozen cup. I am doing the Atkins shakes and I drink 4 per day. It goes like 7:00am when I leave the house (I use to have my iced latte this time of the morning ) then by 8:30 -9:00 second shake... soup at 11:30-12:00 ish. Shake again at 1:30-2:00 ish and then about 4:00pm to carry me over to dinner.. then I drink a lot of water in between.. Dinner is around 6:30-7:00 and I am done for the day. I am figuring I am consuming about 1,000-1,200 calories per day and I am getting 60 grams of protein so I think its a good start.. For me if I space it like this it gets me through the day fine. Its the night time I am struggling with! Hang in there we will all get through this.

Thank you for taking the time to tell us so fast! Get plenty of rest and be good to yourself.. I hope my surgery goes as well as yours! Talk to you soon!

Hey Natalie, what a great idea... It will keep the nerves down for some of us getting ready to go in. Tammy

Was just going to post to you... good luck Deb and let us know how you are as soon as possible! See you on the other side

Good luck to both of you! How awesome that you have come this far! You are an inspiration to all of the newbies like me

Thanks Deb, that was a lot of work! You rock girl! Tammy

good advise. I will ask my doctor on Friday. I have a pre surgery consult that day! Thanks for the tips and I hope everyone is "hairy" soon!

Connie, that's what I am doing. I haven't drank a soda in a long time( 6 months or more now). I love my margaritas but I found the crystal light Margarita's so I have that fix covered. Soda gives me the burps anyways. Thanks for the suggestions. I really want to take good care of my band when I get it. I hope its with me a long time!

I have a friend who recommended the band to me and she just had hers redone after 6 years. She was an AVID diet coke drinker. 2ltrs a day! My doctor (who is her doctor too) says NO CARBONATION!!!! So buyer beware. This isn't an issue for me as I don't drink soda but remember their are other drinks that are carbonated..... Champagne, Beer and the flavored Water drinks like the Sam's choice. Thank god Crystal light isn't carbonated or I would be in trouble! She was so afraid she wouldn't be able to get a new band. She has given up soda now because the band and keeping the 85lbs she lost off is more important to her than a soda. Did he give any other reasons or causes? I would wonder does stomach acid affect it? Hope this helps someone

I am really worried about this.. I have long hair and its not super thick but definitely not thin. But looks like it thins in the front due to graying. I get my hair colored every 4 weeks since the gray is so bad. I am a bit of a furry girl. I shave my legs every 2-3 days. So here is my question since I am not yet banded (getting done 5/18). Do you think it would help if I started the biotin before my surgery? Just wondering if anyone does that? Thanks ladies.

Congratulations!!!! Reading stories like yours keeps me focused on what is ahead! Thanks for sharing and I can't wait to see the post when you get to your goal!!!

Hi Ladies, Congrats jdunn23 14lbs is a lot!!!!! Just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. I am not banded yet 17 more days for me. Ps I LOVE Tandoori chicken.... It is very lean and flavorful... I think its a great choice

Hi Deb, Me too! Hi everyone Glad to be in a group with my fellow May banders... I am May 18th Who besides shy is my surgery twin?

yes Ditto Anissa prayers with you also!

Right! I was drinking one and thought omg I have to share with the forum! They are amazing!

I decided to get the surgery because: I need to be around for my sons (their Dad died on Christmas Eve 2011) and at 16 and 24 I am the only biological parent left. I don't want to end up with diabetes I want to feel good when I see myself in a mirror. I don't ever want to hear another person say "you have such a pretty face if you just lost a bit of weight" I also don't want anyone to call me a "big girl or plus size" again. I hate the word "plus size" who thought of that? I want to go up the stairs and not get winded. My cardio health sucks! I want my husband to be able to pick me up and carry me over the threshold for our 2nd anniversary next April. (he couldn't do it on our wedding night) Maybe he needs to start weight lifting anyways! LOL I want to be called skinny before I die! I most of all I really want to look on the outside how I feel on the inside!

congrats! Are you still taking pain pills? Keep us posted on your progress!

Prayers sent to you! Im on the 18th of May so I will be looking forward to you telling me how easy it was in a few weeks! May the bright light of Jesus surround you and keep you safe!

Hey fellow banders, I am addicted to Starbucks and having to give them up was very sad to me. I know I can modify and stuff but I must admit I was sad about giving up my Iced caramel Macchiato's. Until today I found...... Atkins advantage Cafe Caramel shakes! Whoot- Whoot! It has 15 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar and 160 calories! I am in iced coffee nirvana! thought I would share. They also have a mocha Latte for variety. Found them at Wal-mart and best part is 5.79 for a 4 pack so I will save some cash too! Hope this will help all of us stay on the right path, get the protein we need and not miss the tastes we have gotten to love!

Hi there, I had lipo in 2006 and breast implants. I am 5' 3" and at the time I was 160. I had about the equivalent of a 2ltr bottle of soda of fat removed from my flanks and abdomen. It was very intense and the most amount he could remove from me. Here I am 2012 getting ready for the lap band at 185lbs. I don't have a lot of back fat so that worked good on the back and my flanks but the belly fat is still there. The fat cells they remove don't come back but others can increase and take their place. My Doctor said that I have good elasticity and I didn't have a lot of loose skin so he didn't recommend I do the tummy tuck. I think its a personal preference. In my case I would have gained elsewhere. I am hopeful that after getting banded and losing weight I might not need anything else. If so I don't know if I would do the lipo again as it was VERY uncomfortable for me. I was off 10 days and then went to 1/2 days for a week and it truly took me 12 weeks to feel "normal" again. Lots of swelling and bruising. I have two friends who did the tuck at the same time I did lipo and they Love it and still look great! however it is a lot more money and more recovery. I would love to know about the cool lipo. Good luck