Big-D

DavidB, Yea, I figure I'll have to battle my weight for the rest of life despite the help of the lap band. Plus I guess I'll have to exercise. So far, the Liquid Protein diet is dropping the pounds for me and I haven't been too terribly hungry. Good luck to you.

Okay, as of yesterday, I'm now down to 315. At this rate, I should be down to 300 by the end of this month.

Okay, a new UNofficial weight. My home scale says I weigh 320. Officially, at the doctor's office with shoes and blue jeans on, I weighed 323. I'd rather take the one I did at home in my shorts. :-)

See article at: food choices and develop bad eating habits that lead to less mobility with end result being obesity, but I don't think anyone, other than an offensive lineman, wants to be obese.

Chrisann, Yes, I had the Gladiator pre-op. It was okay. Post-op, I had a small portion of it, I felt pretty bad. I don't know if it generates a lot of stomach gas, but it took a while until the gas pain went away. I ordered the smallest size. When the guy made it, he had a little left over that he put in a small cup. I only consumed what was in the small cup. It might have been only 2 oz. I noticed when I was about to drink it that there were lots of little bubbles in it. I figured that was do to the blending process, but I'm thinking that might mix in a lot of air. For someone who isn't restricted, a normal smoothie is probably designed to expand so that the consumer will feel full, but for a WLS patient, I think this feature can be hard to digest.

Best of Luck! The surgery should be the easy part. Thanks for the tip on the New whey liquid Protein.

Hey B-Man, thanks a million! You were the first to tell me, so thank you very much. I found some 25g New Whey Liquid Protein at smoothie King and I tried the fruit punch. It was okay. Kind of like taking cherry flavored medicine. I just like the fact that I can get all that protein in 3 oz. I've ordered a dozen of the 42g product, so hopefully it be okay to drink. This 42g protein boost coupled with CIB and Braum's Fat Free milk will give me 60g of protein a day. Note: Anyone else reading this that doesn't have a Braum's near you, I feel sorry for you. Braum's has the best tasting milk around, plus you get 5g more protein than what you'd find at the supermarket. They make the best milk in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas.

I forget who told me about this, but I found this New Whey liquid Protein at smoothie King. It is $3.31 for 2.9 Fluid oz. I had the fruit punch. It doesn't taste great, but it isn't horrible, IMHO. I had another person taste it and he said it tasted like cherry Kool-Aid. This little test tube like package holds 25 grams of protein. They have another just like it that holds 42 grams. I ordered a dozen of those from Bodybuilders.com - The Largest Bodybuilders Site Online. For Bodybuilders, By Bodybuilders. for $36 which includes the shipping. As soon as I get one of those, I'll let you know how it compares. I kind of think of it like medicine. Some medicines don't taste good, but the sooner you can get it down, the sooner you'll feel better. New Whey Liquid Protein is made by IDS Sports which can be found at :: Innovative Delivery Systems - Welcome to IDS Sports ::. I like the fact that it gives me a lot of protein pre-mixed in a small amount of liquid. Good Luck! -- Danny

I know there have been people with successful surgeries in Mexico, but personally, I wouldn't do it. I'd rather deal with someone local than someone out of the country. After you get back, if there are complications, you will probably have a hard time getting an American doctor to help. I can see where a doctor might be perturbed to have to deal with someone else's screwup with a patient that expects everything to be fixed when that patient didn't want that doctor to do it in the first place. Especially if that doctor saw the patient initially and may have done the pre-op work for the surgery down in Mexico. If it became life threatening, then whoever is there at the emergency room would handle it, so then you would have no control over your care whatsoever. Just my 2 cents. Regards, Danny

She's seen a specialist, so they're doing all they can for her. Thanks! I try to be positive. Life's too short to be negative.

Well, I'm already banded, so I guess having second thoughts is ridiculous. I guess I'm having second thoughts because I remember how much I loved food and my wife has been cooking up some great stuff over the past week since New Years. I just miss not eating all that good food, like black-eyed peas, cabbage and sausage, and home-made spaghetti and meatballs. Plus she made some fudge on the day I started the diet, so didn't even get a piece of that. On top of all this are the fast food commercials that have been running hot and heavy that show the food up close and beautiful. Especially when I see it in HD, I feel like I can just reach out and eat it, such as the crunch, gooey, gordiata from Taco Bell or the Church's boneless wings or the pizza Hut Miza pizza. Just thinking about this makes my mouth Water. Anyway, I also think about the fact that I will never eat peanuts, peanut M&Ms, yeast rolls, Olive Garden bread sticks, macaroni Grill's bread, Pasta in all its variations, popcorn and Peanut Butter. That's why I have second thoughts and so, I get a little depressed when I realize it was my cardinal sins, sloth and gluttony, that got me in this situation. If only I had practiced moderation, diet and exercise, I would not have needed to take such extreme action. That's why I have second thoughts.

Thanks Terry, best of luck to you too.

My wife nearly died from gastric bypass. She was in ICU for 10 days after her second surgery in a week. The second surgeon told the family that her chances of survival were slim. She pulled through and got better. She went from a size 22/24 to a size 6. She is now 6 and a half years post op. She's moved up to size 8 and still looks great. HOWEVER, the bypass makes it difficult for her to get proper nutrition. She has advanced osteoporosis and she's anemic. Asked if she would ever do it again, she says she would. Personally, I would never do the bypass, but I have just done the band. I'm having some second thoughts, but already I've lost 25 lbs. Regards, Danny

Well, good luck with your surgery. All the best!

Well, the weight is flying off of my body. One week after my surgery and since I started dieting December 27th, I have unofficially lost 25 lbs. Yesterday, I took my dog for a walk from my house to my sister-in-law's house a few blocks away. I plan to walk the dog more often, so by the time I see my doc on the 15th, I might be down another 10 to 15 lbs. Maybe I'm losing too quickly, but I feel fine. Today, I go back to work. This will be a challenge.

mreagle5, Actually, I don't think I was scared enough. You see, prior to this I had two other lap surgeries and they were easy. As for the this surgery, that part was easy. The post surgery phase with this 2 oz. liquid diet is the hard part. My suggestion is that if you're post-op, you should try eating 2 oz. of something liquid for 8 hours. That will be small test of what it will be like. The only difference is that you shouldn't feel as hungry after you've had the surgery. Right now, I don't feel very hungry. Although, I may not be the ideal post child for WLS since I'm not being consistent about the 2 oz. rule.

Yesterday, I kinda went off the program and didn't worry too much about how much I was consuming. I just ate gingerly and if I felt full, I stopped. I didn't eat quickly and just took little sips. I had a Protein drink and some yogurt and Water all day. By evening, I had some potato Soup. I felt a lot better. I'm not trying to ruin my band or its placement, but I think this is what I have to do to survive. Right now, it is 9:41 AM. I've been up since 7:30 AM and I've been sipping on 12 oz. bottle of Gatorade. It wasn't full when I started and it still has some left. I feel good. Thanks for your support.

My DW is being supportive and that helps, but what is helping me right now is Gatorade. Maybe it is psychological, but it is really curbing my hunger and I feel better overall. This isn't the only thing I'm consuming and it isn't the main thing. It is just one part of what I'm ingesting. Right now, I'm sipping on strawberry flavored Gatorade and I feel fine.

One week out I'm kinda so-so. I'm kinda having mixed feelings about having done this. I don't think I thought about being restricted to 2 oz. post-op or even 6 to 8 oz. after a month.

Actually, for me it is food porn. I enjoy it vicariously.

I had my surgery last Monday. I return to work this coming Monday.

That's AWESOME! I hope I'm as successful as you on my band anniversary.

I'd recommend Dr. Stephen Hamn, 972-981-8440. Obesity Surgery - LAP BAND - Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, - Texas - TX

I just got a call back from the PA. She was adamant that I only consume 2 oz., but then she said I could have some bit of a cracker with my Soup. Wouldn't any bit of a cracker take up a substantial portion of an oz. She also said the Protein drinks between the 3 meals, although she said those should be limited to 2 oz. Heck, for a 6'2" guy, 2 oz. is nothing. Believe me, I try to make each oz. last. Of course, she said I could have all the Water I want. She said that if I eat to much, the pouch will expand. I'm confused. How can some liquids, which I would think would go straight through if consumed slowly, cause the pouch to expand? How can there be a pouch? I mean, this is a lap band, not a bypass. No pouch was formed. My stomach was just belted. To me, I just have an upper and lower stomach. Maybe I'm being to semantical, but this phase just seems silly to me. Also, how can anyone get 70 grams of protein in 6 oz. I mean, an 8 oz. mix of one Protein Drink is like 20 grams. This doesn't make sense to me.

Thanks for the tips.