cccv4

congrats! i loved your post i am scheduled for friday, but unlike you, i am on a liquid pre-op diet what i would do to have a "final meal" at olive garden.

yes, including the pre-op part!!! i can't believe the different diets out there! how i got stuck with the liquid only, i'll never know.

i think you should tell him. if you cannot be 100% honest with someone that you've been in a serious relationship with, then why be together? through all of this, my husband has been my #1 supporter. he wants the best for me and isn't happy about me doing this, but will support me. supporting me also means that he is mindful about what we eat, what we do, etc. your BF will have to know that this is not only a life changing experience for you, but it is also a changing experience for HIM.

i just signed-up today because of you guys! positive peer pressure is good, right? my name is cccv4 to find someone, go to the tab where it says "community" and then you can search for someone by email or username. add me!

i dealt with the same struggle (and still do). i am going to be banded (god willing) on friday, once i am cleared from my pre-op apt. tomorrow. i have told a select few of people, but none of my coworkers know. no one needs to know, except for Human Resource Dept.

girl, you need to go and read my thread titled "when does it get better?" i know how you are feeling! it is miserable!!! i had to really listen to my mind and distinguish between mental hunger and physical hunger. i'm not gonna tell you to not cheat, but i will tell you that it isn't worth it. seriously...go and check out my thread in the pre-op lap band forum.

I used to think the same way, before I decided to have the surgery. I used to think it was the easy way out...but I am seeing that this is a LOT of work. Keep your head up and don't worry about that "friend"...there will always be critics.

I think it all depends on what type of health concerns you've had. I also have Blue Shield, but granted, my BMI is way higher than yours. What I do know is that Blue Shield wants to make sure that there is documentation, as any other insurance company. I started complaining about knee problems, asthma problems, sleep apnea, migraines, irregular cycle, etc. When it came down to submit this all for a lap band approval, I was approved very fast because all of the groundwork had already been taken care of. Start talking to your general doctor about health concerns that you have.

Happy belated birthday! You may want to try to ween yourself from the sod now because believe me, you're not going to want to drink that after surgery. Keep up the good work on your pre op diet. i'm not a soda crack addict, but my nurse at the surgeon's office said to mix it up with the powder to get it down over these last 2 weeks. i would love to drink it with soy but i'm not allowed to for now.

you're totally right! this is a learning process and it seems that it is all trial and error. if we don't know what it is like to be at the bottom of the barrel, then how will we know when we are at the top? i've learned that most people struggle, and no one is perfect with weight loss. if we were, then we wouldn't be on this board, and we wouldn't need a lap band. some, more than others, are more open about their struggles. kudos to the people on this board who are real, honest, vulnerable, and transparent, including you!

you're totally right! this is a learning process and it seems that it is all trial and error. if we don't know what it is like to be at the bottom of the barrel, then how will we know when we are at the top? i've learned that most people struggle, and no one is perfect with weight loss. if we were, then we wouldn't be on this board, and we wouldn't need a lap band. some, more than others, are more open about their struggles. kudos to the people on this board who are real, honest, vulnerable, and transparent, including you!

a pound is a pound. i've been on it since the 29th and have lost 11 pounds. i'm proud of myself for doing what i can. i am also scheduled for surgery on friday!

I am scheduled for surgery on friday! tomorrow is my pre-op apt. i will let you know how that goes! i've lost 11 pounds on this pre-op fast. i haven't been perfect on it, but i see the results of my hard work. diet a&w root beer plus my vanilla Optifast Protein have been my lifesaver! oh, and the diet orange crush with vanilla optifast! april 6th was my 31st birthday. what better bday gift than to do something for MY health!

I don't know how else to thank you guys other than share with you that you've all been my closest friends during a very difficult and challenging point in my life. Your ongoing encouragement is what makes me put my foot forward and take a step. Right when I feel that I've screwed up too much, I feel that there is still hope. Thank all of you! Me falling down on my ass when I wrote that emotional entry was just what I needed to give myself a kick in the ass. It put a fighter's spirit in me. I told myself that I would push myself to see the scale clock in below 300. I started out at 327 and today I weighed in at 316. I can't believe I'm nearly 15 pounds from being UNDER 300. That's HUGE, and I haven't even had the surgery yet! Tomorrow is my pre-op appointment. Let's see what the doctor says. I'm so nervous that he's going to ask if I cheated. I have to tell him that I did. Hopefully, all will be well.

I can't believe that I will be banded on FRIDAY! It still seems like a dream. Tomorrow I have my pre-op appointment to see if I get the green light. I don't think I'll believe it until I get the OK tomorrow. The liquid diet SUCKS. I haven't been perfect on it, and I read a good thread on here where people were realistic with their struggles on it. During these last 2 weeks, I went from 327 to 3116 on the pre-op. Not too shabby. I would say that I'm nervous for Friday, but it still doesn't feel real. I think it will feel real AFTER my appointment tomorrow with my surgeon. My husband has a terrible flu bug so I'm trying to stay away from him and not get sick.

I am a firm believer that everything happens when it is supposed to. You will be pregnant in no time...but work on the stress part

I'm so happy I have 3 days of liquids. Wait you can chew gum?I was told not to. Once your band is adjusted properly or even if you have a swelling episode, swallowed gum can get stuck in your stoma and will not break down like normal food will. I guess that means no more swallowing the gum during Mass and the priests looks my way. Lol

I'm so happy I have 3 days of liquids. Wait you can chew gum?I was told not to. Once your band is adjusted properly or even if you have a swelling episode, swallowed gum can get stuck in your stoma and will not break down like normal food will. Yikes, that sounds painful!

Friends, I want to take the time to thank you guys for being there for me. It feels great to be apart of a group where I feel loved and where I belong. It helps to know that so many of you understand what I’m going through. Yesterday was such a battle, not just with the mental hunger, but with so many things going on in my life. I haven’t shared with this group of friends, but I am recently getting over very big losses in my life. My aunt passed away in January at the age of 54 and it was an unexpected death due to pneumonia complications. My uncle was diagnosed with brain cancer and just died a month ago. His death was rapid and very emotional, and I helped care for him during his last days. A month ago, one of my very best friends (or so I thought) totally walked out of my life. It has been so painful. The only thing I have had to hold onto is my faith, my husband, and the fact that this procedure is around the corner. Yesterday was a battle of emotions, mind, body, spirit, and I totally lost…to some degree. I felt in a very lonely place, despair, and felt very lost after I logged off of here. I went to the refrigerator, opened up a gallon of milk, and had a cup of milk with a donut. I wasn’t satisfied, so I hopped in my car and went to the pizza parlor and ordered a small pizza all to myself. I had made my mind up that I was not going to have this surgery. The pizza came out and I was determined to eat the entire small pizza, all to myself. I read the sign and it said that it was suitable for 1-2 people, but I assured myself that I’d take it all on my own. That’s when it started… What I expected would be an explosion of joy and comfort was totally dead. Not what it used to be before. Mentally, I felt all screwed up. Why was I not getting a thrill like I usually would? I thought, “Maybe it’s the size of the slices being so small. Maybe the 2nd piece will make me feel better.” Second piece goes in, and still, nothing. It was like leaving your wonderful partner and going to have a cheap and quick affair. You’re only left empty and feel like crap. Entertaining the thought might be a thrill for a second, but you soon realize it’s not worth it. And it wasn’t. I realized that what I was doing wasn’t satisfying me, and even if I TRIED to eat the entire pizza, I couldn’t. I could barely get to pieces down. I had already made my mind to call my doctor today and say I was cancelling my appointment, but the moment I tried to get out of the booth, I realized how uncomfortable I was (and always am). I have to do the awkward sideways turn so that I can get out since I’m overweight. I thought to myself, “Is this worth a few seconds or minutes or gratification? It’s not.” I went home and the entire drive I felt like I was going to puke. I was torn between crying and puking. My body hasn’t been used to eating like this for the week and so not only were my emotions and mentality knocking on the door, but my body was screaming that something wasn’t right. I barely made it in the house before I ran to the restroom and threw up. I couldn’t handle all of this food for the first time in so many days. I wiped my tears and realized that I don’t want to live like this for the rest of my life. I looked in the mirror and told myself that I could do this, even though I fell. One part of me was disappointed that I was so weak. The other part of me is thankful that I did this, so that I can see that what used to gratify my desires no longer does. I long and desire for something much more than a few seconds of pigging out. I don’t want to live like this anymore. Oh, what did I do with the box of pizza that was untouched? I took the pizza and went to a parking lot where many stray dogs are. They thanked me for the dinner.

Thank you. I feel like canceling this altogether. I don't think I've lost weight on the liquid diet and just know I'm setting myself up for failure. I need peace and help.

Screw this. This is BS. I'm starving and I'm miserable. Maybe I'm not cut out for lap band surgery. I'm going to go to the pizza parlor.

@@prettyandbrwn I can imagine that this is going to be something so big in your life, but especially for your daughter! i'm hoping that losing weight will also help with us being able to conceive. i know that it is difficult to do so when one is overweight--especially like me. my husband and i had not been using birth control for a few years. me being so irregular plus obese had a lot to do with never getting pregnant. i am praying and hoping that this changes things.

I'm so happy I have 3 days of liquids. Wait you can chew gum?I was told not to. it is sugar free, so i don't see why i wouldn't be able to.

@@prettyandbrwn they didn't say anything to me about it.

Come to think of it, my Dad said something pretty rude to me several years back. I was gaining weight (depression or whatever), and when I was up at his mountain cabin with him, I commented on the fact that I was a little cold. He got a smirk on his face and said, "Surprising you are cold, with all the excess insulation." Really, it doesn't matter whether I'm 130 or 300 lbs, sometimes my feet have poor circulation and that comment wasn't needed. His wife, I guess, likes to brag here and there that she's dropped 5 lbs. Most people will ignore her or give her an atta boy. One day Dad said, "You've lost 5 lbs so many times, I'm surprised you don't just disappear." Maybe he needs a little bit more work on his consideration/people skills. ugh! i could write a novel on how my loving parents have "lovingly" tried to get me to lose weight.