bsellis

I started my pre-op diet today and felt great. I use the app My Fitness Pal to track calories and my calories for the day were 802. I'm suppose to stay between 800-900 so this was good. I walked and using Map My Walk (awesome app btw!!) it showed I burned 666 calories. Is this ok? I just don't want to go into 'starvation mode' and not lose. Maybe that's why the protein is so important? I'm just confused so if anyone can explain this to me that would be great.

It's interesting to hear the different opinions. My surgeon said if you drink with meals you won't lose weight. I'm going to trust that he knows best and follow the rules. I sure will miss my spicy foods though!!

Hahaha!! I'm laughing so hard

Thank you! I might have to go easy on the exercise. I felt terrible this morning with a headache and I was lightheaded. Coffee, protein shake and advil did wonders though! I will definitely be getting some SF popciciles to treat myself. (Note to self.. hide them from the child) I've also been doing a lot of crystal light. I recently discovered the liquid squeeze bottles. Blueberry Raspberry is my favorite. I think I'm kind of addicted to it actually!!

You probably could have done it by yourself but keeping it off is the hard part. Especially as you get older. I lost over 100 lbs in my early 20's when I was going to college. Fast forward 13 years and I have gained it back plus some. I'm having surgery in a couple of weeks and I've gone through the same thoughts. Is it right for me? Will it work? Could I just do it on my own? When I think about my history with my weight problems I realize that YES this is the right choice and YES this will work for me! Good luck to you!

I'm from Conway, Arkansas. I notice a lot of us are from the south!! I'm doing the Premeir Protein shakes (30g protein per shake!) and I also ordered some protein powder from Unjury. Both are really good

I'm August 9th!! I start my pre-op diet this Thursday. Good luck ya'll!!

I can't believe it's three weeks from today until my surgery! I have an RN case manager who told me to get as strong as possible before surgery (not like I just lay around and do nothing all day anyway.. lol) so I've been walking and hiking as much as possible. Amazingly the weather is cooperating. This is the mildest summer we've had since I can remember. Much better than the 110 degree days with 100% humidity we had this time last year. So this has been a blessing. My pre-op diet starts Thursday so I plan on having one last hurrah. Yep, going to get some beer drinking in this weekend. Lol! I haven't really drank much since I quit smoking (for obvious reasons) which is good because I am quite fond of it especially when I get together with friends and family. My husband is off and I have friends coming from out of town so I am going to enjoy it one last time!! I also spent a very busy day at work trying to get a head start on paperwork/reports that I need to have done before my surgery. I'm going to be taking a week off work. I think this should be plenty of time. Luckily I have a pretty easy job..as in not physically demanding.. and some great co-workers who are very supportive. Ok, time to start the weekend Believe

My surgeon said no more protein shakes when I get on solid foods. He said you don't want to get your calories from liquids because it will slide on through and will not keep you satisfied. It's defeating the purpose of the band. Makes sense.

Oh wow! That IS interesting!! I hope you get your surgery scheduled soon!!!

From my understanding of how the lap-band works is that it creates a pouch and food 'hangs out' awhile after you eat. Sounds like the positioning is ok. While the food is hanging out it sounds like your LES (lower esophageal sphincter) is relaxing and opening and that is causing reflux. The LES is suppose to stay closed unless you are laying down and then it automatically relaxes and opens up which is why you don't lay down or recline after eating. For people with GERD for whatever reason the LES muscle is weak and opens up when it's not suppose to causing food/acid to push back up the esophagus. Your GERD is most likely not caused by the band but aggrevated by it for sure. Maybe try a different medication? Also caffeine, nicotine, chocolate, spicy foods, alcohol makes it worse. I usually deal with the neck up but have a lot of clients who have GERD. Hope this helps!!

I have the SAME exact problem!! I do good all day and then at night I start munching and don't want to stop. It doesn't help that I go to bed afterwards. I think I've also associated it with sleeping good because I always fall asleep fast and sleep good if I have something in my stomach. I have started drinking some herbal tea at night and that actually makes me feel full for awhile. I've been turning the TV off and grabbing a book because it's harder to eat when your holding a book turning pages. This is my biggest struggle right now but I'm trying to change my behavior and I'm hoping when I get the band it will help.

I start my pre-op diet next Thursday and will be on it for 2 weeks. It will consist of 2 protein shakes for breakfast and lunch and a Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice for dinner. It has to stay between 800-900 calories per day. I was told this would be the hardest part of the whole process. I hope those two weeks go by FAST!!

I am Aug 9th and getting excited!!

I have my surgery to get the lap-band next month. I had several surgeons I could go with but I picked the one I did because of the follow-up program he has. Plus every single person that works in the clinic with the exeption of the surgeon has the lap-band. If your surgeon doesn't do many lap-bands and that is what you want I would really reconsider surgeons. I think that the follow-up care and sticking with the program post-op will be key to success.

I had to do the 6 month doctor supervised weight loss also for my insurance. I too was put on a 1500 calorie diet. I would try and do it and give up after a couple of days. I was losing 1-2 pounds a month until I quit smoking after 22 years of being a smoker and gained 10 pounds. I lost some of that but overall I didn't lose any weight. However, I was able to start walking and exercising which is something I hadn't been able to do before because I would get so out of breathe. My insurance recently approved my surgery though!! (Aug 9th Yay!!) I've increased my walking to 5-6 days a week and knowing my pre-op diet is two weeks away I'm starting to really limit my calories. I wouldn't stress about the 1500 calorie diet. We wouldn't be wanting the lap-band if we could do it on our own!! I would take small steps and focus on other behaviors also. For me that was quitting smoking, start exercising, increase water intake, cut back on caffiene and limit alcohol. Good luck!! These 4-5 months will go by before you know it!

I actually get banded on August 9th. I'm trying to get prepared and learn all that I can before surgery. I have read so much information that it was starting to get overwhelming. This just breaks down everything step by step and covers everything I want to know about food and fills in one place. I will definitly be referring to this many times post surgery!!

Very helpful! Thank you!

My surgeon said he recommends having some bread because it fills you up and stays in the pouch longer.

Well I have 5 weeks from today until my surgery on Aug 9th. Can't hardly wait!! Right now I'm focusing on exercise. I have an RN case manager and she said to increase physical activity to be as strong as possible for surgery. I'm doing alot of walking and went hiking the past two nights. It's interesting that I can do more now than 5 years ago and 100 pounds lighter. 5 years ago when I couldn't walk that far on the local walking trail or hiking made me feel like I was going to die I just blamed it on being fat. Maybe I was in denial of how bad my smoking was affecting my health. Now I weigh 100 pounds more and I'm am able to do so much more than I thought possible since quitting smoking over 3 months ago. Of course the bigger you are the more calories you burn and I'm a pretty big girl so I do find myself hungry and stomach growling not long after exercise. I'm worried that during my pre-op diet when I will only be getting 800-900 calories a day that it is going to be very difficult to exercise and that I just won't have the energy. I guess I will do as much as possible now in case this does become a problem. But what about after the surgery? I'll be consuming less calories than that and I'll need to find the energy to exercise. This is something I've been worried about. I will probably just have to suck it up and do it no matter how I feel!! Believe

I'm August 9th and I'm also trying to find good shakes. I would love to try the premier shakes since they have so much protein but can't find them around here. We don't have a Costco anywhere in the state and I looked at Amazon and couldn't believe the cost!! Maybe Sam's club? Idk but I'll look into these others. I have heard great things about Unjury though.

Well I got the call yesterday that my insurance approved my surgery. August 9th!! YAY! Anyone else have the same week? I was told I had to go to the hospital for pre-op testing a week before my surgery. Not sure what this is about because I've never had to do that with a surgery before. Anyone familiar with this? I have to start my high protien, low cal diet on July 25. 800-900 calories a day, two shakes and lean cuisine for dinner.. oh my I feel like I'm starving already. I keep telling myself that I can do this!!

Thanks guys! Now I sort of know what to expect. I'm not a fan of surprises!!

@BrandyE77Ok I'm just waiting for a call to find out my surgery date. Exciting!! I started this journey back in October 2012 when I accidently found out that my insurance covered wls. I started researching surgeons in my area and attended a seminar in November. December 2012 I met with my PCP to start my six month physician supervised weight loss program which I just completed on June 24th. YAY!! Did I lose weight? No. Do I feel bad about that? No. I will explain.. I actually started losing weight slowly by cutting back on portion size and counting calories. In March I decided to quit smoking after 22 years of being a smoker. I gained about 10 pounds. I beat myself up about it at the time. Also, I really got into excercising since I could actually BREATH. I have excercised more in the past 6 months than I have in the past 6 years. I should mention that I did have two steriod shots in the past 6 months for sciatica. I have since lost the weight I gained from when I quit smoking, but that puts me back to where I started. I decided not to get upset about it because although I didn't lose any weight I made two major lifestyle changes and I feel wonderful about that!! So I've jumped through all the hoops.. seminar, 6 months supervised by PCP, 6 month nurse coach, psych eval, labs, support group meeting, viewed EMMI. Now just waiting on insurance approval which my nurse coach said usually takes 2 weeks. I can't wait!! I am so ready for this!! Believe

It's sad that grown adults can act like that. I figured they must miserable people to want to act that way. It doesn't change the fact that it hurts. It's amazing how a comment from a total stranger can hurt so bad. I too am a big believer in Karma though!! Keep your head held high and he will get his.