gowalking

I call bullsh*t on that. I have severe arthritis in both knees and hips. The only exercise I do is swim or dogpaddle in the pool along with some strengthening exercises. It's nothing compared to many of the other posters on this forum. And you can see by my ticker that since January, I've dropped 86 lbs. And I started with a higher BMI than you. Look at my tag...if you are compliant, you will succeed. Those who do not lose optimally, do not follow the rules. Find a lapband doctor. You do not want to remove most of your stomach without knowing exactly what you are getting into. The lapband can be reversed. A sleeve is forever.

Good for you Steph, really terrific. I know how you feel. I have enough cortisone in my hips that I was able to swim last week and not just dogpaddle after doing my water exercises. I felt fast and sleek in the water and not like the fat lumbering person I was 86 lbs. ago. And...best of all, I was moving! Hooray! Thanks for your wonderful post! You go girl!!

I feel your pain, I truly do. Between being ravenous on the preop diet, and also off my nsaids, I was miserable.and in tremendous pain. But it was all worth it now that I've dropped 86 lbs. and became a good candidate for joint replacement surgery....which I wasn't able to do before losing the weight. I have to have several joints replaced, but after it's all done, I expect to be mobile and in much less pain than I've been dealing with these last two years. Good luck and I know you will do great!

Unfortunately my dear you are in bandster hell. You just have to suck it up and use your willpower to stay focused until there is some restriction in your band and you are not so hungry all the time. It sounds like you are doing all the right things by drinking and finding other things to take your mind off the food so just know that you have to tough it out right now. Hang in there!

Same here...bouillon only. Progresso was OK once I was on all liquids...not clear liquids. But....you should follow your doctor or nutritionist's instructions as his/hers are the only ones that count.

No...it's not your pancreas that has to shrink, it's your liver. And he can absolutely tell if you cheated badly...if the liver is still fatty, he might decide to close you up without getting the band. I don't mean to scare you, but that's the reason for the diet, and those are the ramifications if you cheat too much. What you should do is make sure you get all the info you need, very specific post op foods to eat, and when to graduate to mushies and real food. You do not want to guess about what you can/cannot eat while you are healing. Make sure the doctor/office gives you everything you need to be successful. It's a real pet peeve of mine when newbies do not have all the info they need to be compliant. You are probably OK since it sounded like you didn't cheat badly but I would suggest you call the doctor's office and tell them what you have done and let them decide if you should still have the surgery or if it would be better to delay it and get compliant this time around. Good luck and remember...compliant bandsters are successful bandsters.

I was banded at NYU. Dr. Ren-Fielding.

Haha Rose. Sounds like you and I follow a very similar plan.

I don't know that there's a 'typical' diet but for me, I eat alot like if I was on Weight Watchers. Basically, I eat 3 oz. Protein, 1/2 cup veggies, and 1/4 cup carbs for lunch and dinner, Breakfast is usually oatmeal, cream of wheat, eggs once in a while and toast with Peanut Butter as well. Both eggs and PB are protein and I try to get in at least 60 grams a day. I usually have to also consume an envelope of Protein powder in Water to get my protein up. I also track all my food in myfitnesspal. I try to stay around 1,100-1,150 calories a day. I've been doing this since being able to eat regular foods and I was banded 8 months ago with a loss of 86 lbs. so far. Hope that helps you some.

that's a wonderful NSV and just you watch....those jeans will button up before you know it!

I just saw your ticker Lauren. It looks like you've already lost 40 lbs. so maybe that's why you don't have to do a pre-op diet. Good luck with your surgery!

Congrats on your upcoming surgery. Follow your pre op diet to the letter this last week. You don't want to wake up and find out you weren't banded because you did not follow the diet. It's rare, but sometimes the doctor will not band you if your liver is still too fatty. Compliance pre and post op is the key to success. Good luck!

You are not failing if you are doing all the right things. Sounds like you are so don't stress it. I have bad joints as well. Can you join a gym or Y with a pool? I swim and that works great for me. Also..tell your family to stop asking how much weight you lost. Their queries do not help even if they mean well.

Get a bunch of Progresso soups and strain out the veggies/noodles and drink the broth. It's better than just Herb-Ox type of broths. Those were awful.

Check with your work benefits also. My company pays a total of $300 yearly for gym and other fitness/weight loss plans.

Well, howdy neighbor! I'm just across the river from you living in the West Village. I grew up in Canarsie and Gravesend so I know South Brooklyn well. When I was a kid, North Brooklyn was a bad area...not like now. Holy Mackerel...I remember when Williamsburg was a sh*thole and now it's an exclusive neighborhood. Have fun shopping!

Hi ButterFly. Get out of the house...take a walk, go exercise, swim...whatever. If you focus on positive behaviours, you can avoid the self sabotage. That's what I did yesterday. I made the mistake of getting on the scale mid week and right after a bowel movement...sorry about the TMI. But suffice to say, I dropped a pound and a half in that half a week. Of course yesterday when I weighed in at my regular one week interval, I put back a pound. I knew it was likely Water weight or even just a regular fluctuation but that's when I decided to go for a swim even though I usually swim on Sunday mornings and not on Saturdays. I felt so good after that swim that it was easy to forget about the number on the scale and just focus on the long term goal. Not sure where you live, but here in New York, it's a beautiful day. Go out and enjoy it even if your weather is not so good,

Don't presume anything right now. If you love chocolate, you likely will afterwards as well. What you should be able to do is have a taste of it and feel satisfied rather than go crazy. Yes, some of us find we lose our taste for certain things but it's usually something that's really no good for anyone...like greasy, fatty processed fast food. Chocolate is a wonderful flavor and you shouldn't mourn the loss of anything until you have to...if ever. One example I can give you is chinese food. I used to eat it alot. Boy did I love an eggroll and lo mein and all of it. Well...now I almost never eat it. Why? Because it's so laden with sodium that I don't want to eat it. It's just not worth it to me. So...I have homemade teryaki chicken once in a while with packaged fried rice...1/4 cup only by the way. This way I get my craving for the taste with minimal damage. If you are compliant and follow the rules, you learn to make good choices and not being hungry all the time makes it possible. Good luck!

Nah...it's chalky. Not pleasant but not horrible either. Good luck tomorrow!

I suspect you did that because like many of us, you are a food addict. Any addiction makes no sense whether it's food, alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc. You can't change what you've done so just know not to do it again. I'm assuming you are on the pre-op diet currently. If yes, this is how you stay compliant. Remind yourself that if you cheat, your liver might not shrink sufficiently, and then you don't get banded. That should inspire you to stay on track. Then know that post-banding, once you start to get restriction, you should be able to control the addiction because you will really suffer if you are not compliant and with restriction, you will not be so hungry and will make better food choices and do better with your portions. I went into this process because I had no choice. I didn't want to do it unlike so many others who were so excited and happy to get banded. I had to do it as I had mobility issues and needed to have joint replacement surgery and at 267 lbs, I wasn't a candidate for surgery. So know that I went into this kicking and screaming. My doctor was hoping I'd lose enough weight in a year...I needed to be under 200 lbs. Well, I met the goal in six months, and now 8 months after starting my pre-op diet, you can see by my ticker that I am down 86 lbs. and my surgery is scheduled for next month. Believe me, if I could be successful, anyone can be. So...good luck to you...stay compliant, and you too will succeed!

What a wonderful NSV. Congrats to you for finding normalcy. I like that phrase better than losing weight, weight loss, etc. Because that takes it away from the scale and numbers and puts it where it should be. It's about living our lives like everyone else. Good for you!!

I was on WW and a Jenny Craig type of plan called Bistro MD but my insurance still required 3 months of dr. supervised weight documentation. I was banded by Dr. Ren in January of this year and I've been very pleased with her and the follow up care received. I can't say anything good or bad about fills as I haven't had any.

I wouldn't worry about what other bandsters have in their bands. If 3cc is working for you, then that's all that matters. i have no fluid in my band and I'm one of those lucky few who had restriction with no fills.

Sorry that you had a difficult time with a professional healthcare worker. Jeeze.... I would tell your regular doctor about how much trouble she had finding your port. It shouldn't be that hard...we all know where our ports are for gosh sakes. I also wanted to mention something else in your post. You say that you need to lose 40 lbs. by December. Don't say need, say want. Because if you say need and don't make that goal....which is very aggressive I might add, you might find yourself feeling bad about not making the goal and self sabotage. You have to change your mindset and don't set yourself up for failure. Whatever you lose by December is a success whether it's 40 lbs. or less.

Oh Arlene, you are just too funny. You said you had a wonderful time and still managed to bash the family. You are my kind of gal! L'Shana Tovah my friend. A happy and healthy new year to you.