Cat225

I had several 'last meals' before the preop diet. So much so that I actually was sick the night before and had nothing to eat. Just know that you will eventually get to the point where it won't matter. You'll be able to eat some of the foods you eat now, but you'll find that looking and feeling good will be more important than the food.
I promise...it will happen and you won't feel the loss of your comfort foods like you are now.
Good luck!!

Yes, do a last big meal if you want. The hubby and I went to an awesome local restaurant. They have these big giant gourmet burgers that come with steal fries the size of the Empire State Building. A last hurrah and then I was on the straight and narrow.

I had a last few meals, over the course of the months leading up to my surgery. Yes, I'm an idiot. But hey, it was Christmastime and it was the first holiday season I've gone through as an adult where I ate absolutely GUILT FREE because I knew my surgery was coming up.
But yeah. It was dumb. Because I had to go and lose those 11 pounds which I added to my already high weight.
Now I know that being banded is nothing like planning to go on a diet "next Monday/January 1st, etc etc". Because I just went through another Christmas season guilt free due to the wonderful presence of my lapband.

heck yeah
i have a whopper w/cheese (of course) from burger king
and 2 tall boy coors light.......i bid eating like that a fond F YOU

i wanted my last meal to be at outback's steak house. i wanted the cheesy fries, but i never got there. and now don't even think about them. i think a lot of us had last meals. enjoy it.

The hubby and I went through about 3 months of "last meal" thinking. We bickered often about not being able to eat certain foods. There is nothing we can't eat, we just eat much smaller amounts of it now.
There are some foods I "can't" eat and more because I just don't want to. I used to love McDonalds Breakfast in the morning. Sausage Egg McMuffin, then they came out with that on biscuits oh boy loved it. Today...when asked if I want to go there or have that...my answer is simply No. I might be hungry want/need to eat but I just don't want or need to have that. I am happy with my Protein bar and coffee in the morning. Or simple scrambled egg. If I want to splurge I have bacon.
Even when it comes to rice, it's not my first choice but if I want the taste of that spanish rice with my meal a fork full is usually enough for me.
If you want to have something pre-op go for it. I would not gorge myself, but enjoy the food. Eat what you like enjoy the texture, aroma and flavor of it. You will be doing that lots after banding and the liquid diet is not forever.
In a few weeks/months you will be able to eat those "favorites" again but you may find that you just don't want to.

I need to take this advice. I have lost a good amount of weight and I am not trying to lose weight fast or anything. I have had only 1 fill since 9/13/13 and I weigh myself every time I am near my bathroom and I am obsessed and I need to stop. I have stayed the same weight for a few weeks and I'm doing the same things and I know what to do and what not to do, just need to focus on other things and not the freakin scale!

Well, you already know my philosophy on daily weigh-ins...... I'm one of the people that CAN'T handle seeing and dealing with those daily fluctuations. So, I got rid of the scale and only weigh at my doctor's office once a month. I have lost weight EVERY SINGLE MONTH.... I don't have to deal with the +1.2, -0.3, -1.1, +0.4. It was driving me crazy!!!! Or as my kids would say, "Crazier than you already are." Good Post.

I just want to say this to those who are newly banded. If you are weighing yourself every single day and get disappointed that it's not moving every day, then you need to stop weighing yourself every day or know that the scale will fluctuate anywhere from 3 to 9lbs per day. You retain Water and it will go up. Our bodies fluctuate weight every day. What I weigh today may not be what I weigh tomorrow. This is the very same thing that like any other diet will make you fail. If you can't adjust your mind to the numbers on the scale without being disappointed or sad then you need to get rid of your scale. When I weigh myself and I see the scale go up a few pounds its okay. I might be retaining water or need to move my bowels tmi I know but its true or maybe I did not sleep good the night before. If you are doing everything right then stop worrying when the scale doesn't move. Some people go for months and don't lose weight. Normal weight loss for lapband patients is 1 to 2 pounds PER WEEK. Yes that is right 1 to 2lbs a week. Anything more then that is a plus. Put your scales away and concentrate on healing. The first six weeks you probably will not lose one pound and might even gain a few. Your body has to catch up now since it went from 3 to 4, 000 calories a day to maybe not even 500 on Clear liquids. It's holding on to every bit of fat it can right now. Did you gain all your weight in two weeks? No so you wont lose it in two weeks either. If you are disappointed this soon in the game, then what will you really do when you don't lose for six months because it happens. Be patient and know that it will happen.

I implore you all to take Cheryl's advice especially if you're like me where the scale can either make your day or break it. I have gotten better with time but everyone once in a while the scale will still factor into my daily demeanor. It seems I traded in binge eating for binge weighing. I believe I have taken some fun out of my journey by weighing every day. Getting the on the scale and seeing the slightest movement one way or the other sucks. Would've been nice to weigh once a month and possibly see a larger number for a change.

Went for my monthly weigh-in/fill.... Officially 104 pounds from my highest "recorded" weight. Down 48 since surgery 5 1/2 months ago......
I am becoming a HEALTHYNEWME !!!!!!!

The first few days of my pre-op diet I felt like you did. I had zero energy. After that I started to feel better. My mind even felt clearer. The whole 2 week diet really helped break my sugar cravings. It also broke my diet soda addiction. It was hard, but after the first week it got easier. Just keep going. You're doing this for a great reason!

The first few days of my pre-op diet I felt like you did. I had zero energy. After that I started to feel better. My mind even felt clearer. The whole 2 week diet really helped break my sugar cravings. It also broke my diet soda addiction. It was hard, but after the first week it got easier. Just keep going. You're doing this for a great reason!

I had my surgery on Jan. 30th, and had a lot of pain. The first day the pain was almost unbearable. I actually still have a bit of gas pain, but it's tolerable. I had a really terrible pain in my left shoulder that felt like someone was stabbing me.
After about 6 or 7 days the pain really lessened.

The first few days of my pre-op diet I felt like you did. I had zero energy. After that I started to feel better. My mind even felt clearer. The whole 2 week diet really helped break my sugar cravings. It also broke my diet soda addiction. It was hard, but after the first week it got easier. Just keep going. You're doing this for a great reason!

The first few days of my pre-op diet I felt like you did. I had zero energy. After that I started to feel better. My mind even felt clearer. The whole 2 week diet really helped break my sugar cravings. It also broke my diet soda addiction. It was hard, but after the first week it got easier. Just keep going. You're doing this for a great reason!

The first few days of my pre-op diet I felt like you did. I had zero energy. After that I started to feel better. My mind even felt clearer. The whole 2 week diet really helped break my sugar cravings. It also broke my diet soda addiction. It was hard, but after the first week it got easier. Just keep going. You're doing this for a great reason!

The first few days of my pre-op diet I felt like you did. I had zero energy. After that I started to feel better. My mind even felt clearer. The whole 2 week diet really helped break my sugar cravings. It also broke my diet soda addiction. It was hard, but after the first week it got easier. Just keep going. You're doing this for a great reason!

I've posted before about this, but with new folks on the forum all the time, I thought I'd mention it again. I'm not thin...I'm not slender. I wear a size 12/14 pant and mostly L (sometimes XL or M) tops. I'm still overweight per my BMI. But...what I am and how I feel is summed up in one word. NORMAL. I'm normal. I look like everyone else...I'm invisible but now in a good way.
This is still new for me and I'm always amazed by the things so many people totally take for granted. I not only had all the room in the world sitting in an airplane seat recently, I even crossed my legs. OMG! I crossed my legs in an airplane seat. Amazing. People sit next to me now on the bus or train because they can. I don't spill over into the next seat. Heck...one day I even said to a woman standing in front of me to sit down...I knew it would be tight but I also knew it would be OK...and it was.
I still have the cane...for support while I continue to heal from the hip surgery but people are kinder now. I wish that wasn't so but it is. They don't think I did this to myself because I'm overweight...they think I'm recuperating from surgery or maybe have something congenital. And truthfully...I'm not ashamed to use the cane any more for those very reasons. I can't wait to get rid of it though...
I don't have to shop in Avenue or Lane Bryant. I can go anywhere as long as they have a misses department. I forgot how much prettier smaller sized clothes are.
I'm not self conscious when I eat out. I know that no one is judging me..looking at me...and wondering or even knowing if I'm aware that the crap and amount of crap on my plate is the reason I'm fat.
Now I still have a ways to go in that my head has not always caught up to my body. I still feel like the biggest person in the room. I still think I won't fit into the restaurant booth or that awful gown you have to wear when you're at the doctor for a checkup. I still say sorry when I think I'm invading someone else's space...another hold over I guess.
Anyway...this post is long enough. I just want people to know even if they are not there yet...this too can be your story one day. Have a great Sunday everyone!

We went to a fabulous wedding reception last night. There was an amazing array of food and then of course the cutting of the cake. I was handed a lovely slab and stood there with it for about ten minutes before finding a place to put the plate down. I had zero interest in that cake -- I just wasn't hungry. In fact I didn't eat much of anything all evening but did a lot of dancing instead. This really is a lifestyle change and I'm so happy to have the self-control the band is providing. I wasn't denying myself anything but I just didn't want it. This, for me, is huge.

My large incision is in the center above my belly button. It's all under the skin, no drainage or anything. It is a bit warm to touch. I think I'll call the on call Dr. tomorrow just to be safe. It's just so bizarre. Up until now I thought I was healing well.

the large one generally is where the port is located. i have had a fresh bruise on another site since surgery. and i am 8 months out from surgery. my blood work is okay so none of my doctors are worried about it.you are already looking for fever, redness, increase swelling or drainage. but still call your doctor. a lot of surgeons just give antibiotics because of so many surgery induced infections. keep an eye on it. and perhaps wear something that won't hit that area with a waist band. good luck

People have written 500+ page books on this subject. Explore the lap-band pages as much as you can. You'll encounter several horror stories and more success stories.
My one piece of advice is this: My doctor and nutritionist never told me what to expect after surgery. I really thought I'd immediately start losing weight by the pounds. I thought I'd come out of surgery and I'd immediately be less hungry and eat less.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. None of this happens till your band is properly adjusted and for me that was 4-7 months after surgery. The 4 months after surgery were "Bandster Hell" for me and you'll read here that this is normal.
You may not lose any weight post surgery till your band is adjusted(filled). Your band may not have any saline in it so you might be starving for months after surgery. This is the part where you're still on a diet if you want to maintain or lose lbs.
Just remember I told you
You may also drop 50 lbs in a few months, let's hope so eh?

I think it's great that you are reading, researching, asking, and becoming informed before having the surgery. I will be 6 months banded on the 22nd of this month. I think the one thing that I wasn't prepared for was the way I must now eat..... Slow, tiny bites, and lots of chewing. I mean, how do you break the habit of WOLFING DOWN massive amounts of food? I've been a FAST eater my whole life. So, that's where I struggle the most. But I have learned that an old dog CAN LEARN new tricks, I'm getting better with the slowing down and smaller bites. I'm getting GREAT with getting daily cardio exercise in, I now go to the gym SIX days a week and I do an hour a day on the elliptical, burning over 600+ calories a day. My husband and I joined a gym 8 months ago, even before my surgery. I'm definitely more fit and have even learned to LOVE EXERCISE...
Hope all goes well with you and your weight loss journey!

Hi all:
Just wanted to post some pics from our NYC meet and greet. I hope this encourages some of you to do the same in your areas. Thanks to all who attended...and a special thanks to Alex...it was such a pleasure to meet you and to thank you in person for creating this site.
Liz