can_do

I still don't have a date yet, but I'm already trying to get in that prep mode. Since I saw the nutritionist, I've been following her guidelines. I've cut out carbonated drinks, cut WAY down on caffeine (I'm a major tea drinker), cut out all sugar and food high in fat, getting 60 grams of Protein and faithfully been drinking 8 cups of Water a day. I've also started using My Fitness Pal to track my food diary. I've decided on a 1200 Cal intake. This morning after one week of this new behavior, I'm down 5 pounds! Granted, the weight loss is always greatest in the beginning of any diet, but 5 pounds is 5 pounds. My surgeon does not REQUIRE any pre-op diet, but I thought this might make the transition to post band eating easier. BTW I passed my cardiac stress test yesterday! Last hurdle.....insurance approval.

The whole forum world is new to me, so don't feel bad. Where to I go to just make a general post, not topic related?

The "Join group" button worked fine for me.

What has impressed me about this group so far, is that we all have a strong desire to feel healthy, not just look good. Kudos to you all!

It IS a huge victory. Congrats!

Cynthia, thank you for your honesty. We CAN do this. I picked my on screen name to remind me of just that. The older we get, the harder it becomes to lose. We can't stop the clock, but we CAN take control of our eating. Let's all stick together and get this done!

Thanks, Crystal......see PM.

Hi all, I'm Susan from NJ. I'm a retired RN, married and a recent empty nester (3 children). I've done all the preliminary testing, with the exception of a cardiac stress test, which I'm having today. My surgeon required cardiac clearance as well as general medical clearance, because of my age (59). I don't expect any issues with the stress test. Tomorrow I have my final meeting with the surgeon and hope to get a date, at least a tentative one, since my insurance approval has not yet come through, but I don't anticipate trouble there either. I have hypertension, high cholesterol as well as major knee arthritis. I've already had one knee replaced. I was scheduled to have the other knee done this past November and I came to my senses and cancelled it. I just couldn't do that again with all this weight. I was 80 pounds lighter when I had the first one replace three years ago. I had been on a medically supervised, very low calorie diet for 6 months prior to that and had lost 80 pounds. Three years later, I'm right back to the same weight. A week before that second knee date, I had an epiphany! I was approaching this all wrong and decided that the drastic knee replacement needed to be replaced by bariatric surgery. Thus my journey into Lapband world started. My goal is to lose 110 pounds, get my blood pressure and cholesterol levels down to normal without medication and avoid having that second knee replaced. My husband is very supportive of my efforts. I've told no one else but my best friend, who is also extremely supportive. My main source of strength is faith in my Lord and Savior. Any other help I need will have to come from my fellow bandsters. I'm so grateful you are here. We're in this for the long haul. Thanks for listening.

I'm having my last pre-op meeting with the surgeon tomorrow and hopefully getting a date.