NJDanielle27

I hope I am as successful as you are! Congrats and you should be proud of yourself!

Good luck!!! Check in with us when you can. I go on Friday and am still in the excited phase. I know I will be too nervous to get much sleep on Thursday night though.

I heard back in one week

I bought the unjury shakes as well! I put the chocolate one in my food processor with a frozen banana and a tiny bit of milk and it came out like ice cream. It was really good! I also bought the unflavored and the chicken Soup one. I'm rather skeptical of the chicken Soup flavored one but I will try it today and let you guys know. I like that the powder has low carbs in it.

Change of topic: do you guys have any short term weight loss goals? My boyfriend is planning a trip to Big Sky, Mt for mid March and I am so excited! I was already thinking this will be the perfect short term motivation I need. I would like to lose 30 pounds by then but I don't know if that is ridiculous.

The frozen yogurt one you mix together and put in the freezer for 30 mins. Sorry forgot to mention that part!

Frozen yogurt - fat free Greek yogurt, sweetener of choice and some coco powder (baking kind)

Or

Frozen banana, coco powder or even coco Protein mix and a tiny bit of milk in a food processor. It's like ice cream!

Wow Jennifer, I went through the same exact thing. It is all mental. I have my surgery on 2/1 (a week from today) and was not told to go on any diet before surgery. I noticed that I was eating worse..I don't know if it was nerves or this "well better have it now" syndrome but it really messed me up in the head. I started questioning myself that if i can't even do it now - how can I do it after surgery? I decided to put myself on the Protein Shake preop diet to prove to myself that I can do it. It really helps your mind when you push yourself. Maybe you should try it...put yourself on a stricter diet and once you get through 3 days, the rest get easier.

Hi Wilona - why aren't your friends and family supportive? What are their reasons? It may be as simple as they are not educated on the lapband and/or have false information. It isn't your job to please others but you also don't want to feel alone. I personally have not told many people about my surgery (having it done a week from today!) because I didn't want to hear negativity. I did tell my family and my boyfriend, who with the right information became supportive.

I had a boyfriend who used to say "hunger is just another feeling." I was like..HUH!? He never understood why it set me off more so than feelings of anger, sadness, happiness, etc. His theory was hunger is hunger. It won't kill you and there is no need to jump on it any more irrationally than any other feeling. Amazing how his outlook on life and food was different than mine. Then again, he was thin and I was not..

Hi CK! Yay! You should make sure to join our Feb Bandsters group

myfitnesspal is the best app!! It tracks everything..food, exercise, Water

Sounds like a huge victory to me!! Proving that to yourself is so empowering - you can do this!!!!!

You guys are inspriring me!! I think I will go home from work and have a Protein shake! I had a Soup and a small wrap for lunch and an egg this morning. I guess I will slowly work into all Protein Shakes before surgery. I am SO EXCITED - next Fri cannot come soon enough. I can't wait to get back and tell you all how it went!

My doctor is Dr. Chau from NJ Bariatrics out of Plainsboro. Their office is wonderful, especially Miriam at the front desk. She is the NICEST woman at a doctors office that I have ever met.

Are you guys all required to do the 2 week liquid preop? I was told I have to eat low fat and low carb for a week prior but I think I may try to do the Protein Shakes instead to get started. If everyone else can do it for 2 weeks prior then I should be able to manage 1 week...

Crystal - oh my goodness we have SO MUCH in common. I felt like I was reading a bio of myself when I was reading your post. I am in corporate finance (which is basically accounting) but I come from a family of doctors and that's what I wanted to be. I got to college and was overwhelmed by my first biology class. I then thought to switch to dentistry because I was great in math and a lot of the classes were around chemistry. That didn't work and I went to Finance (blahhh - sounds far more impressing than it is). The job pays really well, sounds very sophistaicated and I am good at it but I have no passion for it whatsoever. I have been thinking a lot about changing my career because I love talking to people and helping others. I also love to cook. I was also thinking that ONCE I become successful, lose all the weight and get healthy, I could be a trainer or go back to school for nutrition or something.

I am going to be 28 and I also love to travel. I have the same issues when it comes to being on a plane - my boyfriend relocated out to Ohio and I am in NJ so I fly a lot based on that alone. We were out in LA for a long weekend in December and I took the redeye home to NJ and he flew back to Ohio. On the plane, I was SO UNCOMFORTABLE. First off, whoever invented the redeye is Satan. Besides that, I was in the last row of the plane and the seats were smaller than usual. I don't usually have tons of room on the plane but this seat literally left marks on my thighs. I thought I wasn't going to make it at one point...I was going to cry. Turns out, I went to seatguru.com and put in the flight information and it showed that the seats in the last two rows of the airplane are one inch smaller than usually based on the curvature of the plane. I encourage everyone, especially bigger people or hippy people to check out that website prior to picking seats on a flight. On a flight from Aruba to NJ, the seatbelt was so small that it JUST fit me. If I was 20 pounds heavier, it would not have buckled. I am tired of always having this cloud over me and I am committed to making the change!!!

Hi Everyone - I am in central Jersey as well. My name is Danielle, I am going to be 28 and I have surgery next Friday. I currently live in North Brunswick and having surgery at the new Princeton Hospital (which is gorgeous by the way). I am very excited and I am hoping to make some new friends who are going through the same things. I don't have many people in my life who struggle with weight so while they are supportive and want me to be happy and healthy, they don't truly understand - that is where you guys come in!! I am starting this journey at 260 pounds (I am 5'6'') and would like to maintain weight at around 175. I know other people have desires to go much lower but I am naturally built wide and I don't see that being a possiblity for me. Plus, I like my curves!

If you guys are going to do a support group or even just a text/email group, please let me know. I would love to have check ins on what we ate, how much we exercised and hopefully we can motivate each other. I also love to cook so once I get through liquids and mushies, I am going to venture into healthy cooking and would love to swap recipes and such.

I can be your virtual buddy! I am in NJ so not too close :/

However, if you want to text or email, I would love that. I am going for surgery next Fri. woohoo! I am very excited and keep telling myself that I CANNOT fail.

Good luck!!! I will be thinking about you!

Hi! I am Danielle and I have surgery on 2/1 - that is NEXT FRIDAY! AHHH. I am going to be 28, been struggling with weight for 10 years and I am going into this surgery weighing about 260. My goal is about 175. I have tried everything before and always failed the maintenance part. I am ready to make the change with the support of all of you guys! I plan to start doing the couch to 5K once I am all healed and look forward to getting in shape. I seriously don't know what I would do without this website. Creating this group was a great idea!!

woohoo. Welc ome to the February club!! We have a February bandsters forum as well so be sure to check it out!

2/1 here!

Did you guys already buy or know what you want to buy for post surgery? Protein shakes, supplements, etc etc. I figure we could all mention what is really good to help each other out. I have Optifast shakes from my failed stint on Optifast. I am going to get the papaya enzyme tablets, which I heard were helpful when you start eating mushies and real food. What about you guys? Any plans yet?

Hi Tina, it sounds like you are doing wonderful! I get banded on Feb 1 so I don't have too much advice to give!

However, I experienced something like that in the hospital when I went for pre-admission testing. The head nurse was like oh my gosh you are gorgeous. Are you a plus size model? I responded with thank you but I wear a size 18, those plus size models wears 12s (which isn't plus size and gets me annoyed - but I digress..). Anyhow, she then said oh my god you are going to be even more gorgeous after this and then asks me if I am married or seeing anyone because she would love me to meet her son. Now, I know I should just take these things as compliments because they are meant in a nice way but it kind of burns a bit too. I am doing this to feel better about myself so I don't have to worry about diabetes or achy knees and I want to be able to conceive a baby without problems. I am not doing it to be a size 6. In fact, I would be happy in a size 12. My goal is 170 pounds and I am only 5'6''. I don't think I could maintain much less than that because I am big boned and have a wide frame. So, I will never be what society calls thin...in fact, I will still probably be looked at as overweight. I just want to decrease the risk of health issues and be healthy and active. The other comments I don't look forward to are that "wow your bf is so lucky" or "your bf must be SO happy" or "wow you lost SO much weight." I know everything is meant with good intentions but I wish people would realize what they are saying.

Thank you!!!!

Wow, that must be so frustrating - waiting to hear. I will keep thinking of you. Hopefully we can have it around the same time and keep each other on track!

Mandy - I could not agree more!! I have told my mom, my boyfriend (who does not have a weight issue so he is supportive but doesn't really understand) and one of my good friends who also struggles with weight.

I feel like people give their opinions about things and they don't know anything about weight struggles, the surgery, etc. Quite frankly, if people have weight issues and are against it, I find that they are so unhappy that they are jealous that we are taking control. As for people who have never had weight issues, they will never understand the struggles. I don't sit at home and eat bags of chips and boxes of doughnuts. There is an emotional connection with food that most overweight people have. I am telling people at work that I have a minor surgery and that is that. Once I lose weight, I will just say I have been eating right and working out - which HEY, is going to be the truth!