PlanIt

Congrats - let us know how it goes

You hit the nail on the head! It's trial & error & what works best for YOU! Good luck in your journey!

You should definitely be trying to build or maintain your muscle during "losing" -- you'll have lots of extra skin if you don't -- more than likely there'd be loose skin with such a big weight loss anyway - but w/out weight training it will be even more -- it helps your body work for itself and burn calories even when you're not exercising. If the stomach is still fat & not loose skin - have patience - it will eventually fall off. Good Luck!

I've never been able to wear one - DD's here & at one time DDD. I just wear my tightest fitting regular bra. Good luck in your search.

I had my surgery on a Friday and was at the gym (doing treadmill only) by Tuesday. My doctor had restrictions on weight training, so I didn't anything but the treadmill for the first 6 weeks, then resumed my weight training. Good luck with your surgery!

I'm glad I'm not the only one!!! Ok - I'm not up to running yet, but I can do the treadmill all day long, but forget about the eliptokill (great name for it! lol) -- the few times i've gotten on one I feel like Shannon Elizabeth after a dance on Dancing with The Stars ... as if I have Emphasema (sp?)

lol - the girl I train with is a friend, so I give her a hard time & complain the whole time! We've called her the Gym Nazi, among other titles, for a long time. Since today was a make-up she was piggy-backing me with another client - when that lady left, she told me, "Don't kill yourself" -- I responded, "If I do, it's homicide" (and pointed to the culprit!!) LOL

Thanks for adding the May thread. I'm in for 15 hours in May (I know it's not much, but this is alot in comparison to my previous workout regime & I don't want to set the bar TOO high ) I work out twice a week with a trainer for weight training (doing cardio on my own), but a few weeks ago when I'd been at a plateau for a little while, she decided to make me do cardio between sets so my heart rate was up the entire workout .... i.e. kicking my @$$!! Well, yesterday on my way to see her I got a call from daughter's school & had to pick dtr up instead ... rescheduled to work-out this morning & ALMOST cancelled on her from not wanting the butt-kick ... but I remembered, this is only the 2nd day of the month & I don't want more of the same!!! So, I DID IT!!! 1 Hour Total Body Workout down, 14 to go :thumbup: Good Luck All

Well, now that it's the end of the month , and I'm just now finding this thread, I would like to sign up for May I've read through and have been so inspired by all of you. Although I work out with a trainer twice a week doing weight training, I've been totally putting off my cardio. It got to the point I was on a little plateau and she decided to go ahead and make me do cardio in-between, i.e. kickin' my arse :blushing: I've seen results, but it still hasn't pushed me into doing cardio on my own time --- but after reading y'alls heroic workout regimens, I am definitely inspired. Will there be a May thread started? I'd like to start by going for 15 hrs in May. Also, it was nice to see several Texas members in here ... I'm in Dallas.

I like doing canadian bacon, egg & low-fat provolone, with a half of a very crisp whole-wheat english muffin ... Healthier version of an Egg McMuffin :-) With a whole large egg, 2 slices of Canadian Bacon, 1 slice Reduced Fat Provolone, 1/2 Whole-Wheat English Muffin, the breakdown is: 234 Calories, 10g Fat, 14g Carb, 22g Protein With 1 Large Egg White instead of whole egg, + all other ingredients as mentioned, the breakdown is: 176 Calories, 5g Fat, 14g Carb, 19g Protein

I used Dr Richard Benavides and he gets 2 thumbs up from me :angry_smile: It was reassuring to me that he's done so many of them. I went to him based on a personal recommendation and every patient of his that I've spoken to have been nothing but pleased. Good Luck in your search.

I used Dr Richard Benavides in Richardson and was very pleased. It was done thru the AIGB / True Results at the Surgery Center of Richardson.

Pain in your shoulder is actually gas pain! I learned this after my daughter had pneumonia ... she had an enormous gas bubble pressing on her lungs -- we weren't sure if it was the gas or the flu that gave her pneumonia! But my lapband doctors office reiterated the point that you could have pain in your shoulders and/or upper back - which was deferred gas pain -- hard to believe! lol Anyways -- Once I started walking a lot - that relieved a lot of gas - which in turn helped relieve the shoulder pain. The first few days, I also took Gas Relief -- the pharmacy only had baby strength & told me to take 5 droppers full (which still isn't much) for an adult dose - check w/your pharmacist to make sure. It's amazing how fast you recover from this ... everyday I feel a ton better from the day before -- I actually slept partially on my stomach last night ... was heaven! Good luck with your continued success!

I had mine on Friday & took last pain meds on Monday. If I were working an office job, I would think you could return after 4 days. I still had a little pain, but it was completely tolerable -- just tender to touch. I'm a week out now & feel SO much better -- barely hurts at all - just a tiny bit of tenderness to touch. About day 6 was a major realization that I didn't hurt much at all. RE: telling management - legally, they don't have the right to ask you specifics - they may require a letter from your doctor stating that you need time off for a procedure. But it's totally up to you whether you give them any details. Depending on your employers, you don't want to give them any reason whatsoever for them to judge you for something that has nothing to do with your work performance. To people that needed to know I wasn't available for certain dates, but didn't need to know specifics, I just said, "I'm having a little day surgery procedure - no biggie" & left it at that. Not one of them has asked anything further.

steveamy - I'm sorry, I'm just now seeing your last post ... I'm only 5' 3.5" -- that's why I have further to go gkeene - my instructions from doctor on the shakes were to make them fun! Try adding different things, i.e. different fruits, puddings, yogurt, etc. I had been doing Protein shakes occasionally on my own prior to all of this and found a brand at the Vitamin Shoppe that I liked: Optimum Nutrition. When I asked the doctor's office about it, they had me give them the nutritional facts and said it was good. I like making them thicker like a milk shake. I use skim milk, ice (more if I use frozen fruit, less if i use fresh fruit) -- there's other things you can add if you need them more sweet, like the sugar-free FF chocolate syrup, or FF creamer, or sugar subs. However, I have to say, doing 3 a day for a full week now has just about done me in! I can't wait til I can reduce down to 2, then 1 ... of course, it's' probably time to 'shake'em up' as I've been doing the same ol' frozen strawberries the whole time. I think I'm just tired of sweet stuff and craving something savory. Anxiously awaiting the mushy foods! -PlanIt

I think roughly 750 ... 3 Protein shakes per day + 2-3 servings of either Jello, pudding, yogurt. This is just for stage 1 (week 1 & 2), then it changes to Mushie foods for 2 wks, then adding regular. It's amazing that you actually feel full after 4-6 ozs of something! lol I was told not to worry about the calories right now - Protein is the key for now. Obviously the calories will go up once real food is introduced, so I wasn't bothered that it was only a couple of weeks with the reduced amount.

To come this far and blow it is not something i want to even think about trying. If worse came to worse, i'd just eat more pudding - but I'm not budging from the stage diet. I've heard horror stories of people eating too soon. The hunger I have felt hasn't been the kind that is so unbearable I can't stand it. It's been coming at about every 2-3 hours - so I time my shakes and pudding/jello, etc so that it satisfies that hunger -- and try to remember to drink the Water too. When I eat the suggested serving, that seems to satisfy me, so far.

I chose LB over GBP based on: 1. You lose the weight slower, which is healthier for your body. 2. LB allows your food to be processed normally, allowing your body to absorb the necessary nutrients by taking its time instead of a quick route to your lower intestines. 3. It's reversible! So if there are any complications, I'm reassured by the fact I can have it reversed, if all else fails. However, with the newest appliance on the market (the AP), the slippage rate has been reduced dramatically - just in the past 4 yrs. 4. I like the idea of having a less-invasive surgery - recovery should be better. I have 2 aunts that have had the GBP & they've been happy with it, but I just didn't want to take those chances since I'm a mom of 2 young children! Good luck in your decision & process.

I was banded this past Friday (01/25/08), and did fairly well, I think. I wasn't nervous going into it though :rolleyes2: I made sure I followed directions to the T ... The discharge nurse said when I got home to take about a one-hour UNINTERRUPTED nap to help with the anesthesia wearing off, but then to get up & stay in the living room / chair / sofa and walk about 5 mins or more every hour the first day. So, I did exactly that - and I'm sure it helped. I had a definite tightness around my sternum area, which they had said would happen, so it was a little hard to get comfortable to sleep that night. The next morning that tightness was gone, so I'm guessing that was gas & not swelling :cool2: I also made sure I stayed on top of the pain meds for the first 2 days ... my prescription said 1-2 tsp every 4-6 hrs, so I made sure & did 2t every 4 hrs, like clockwork (literally set my alarm during the night)! Then, I let up & went down to 1t ... I could tell a difference, but the pain wasn't unbearable. I took my last pain med yesterday around 11am & the pain isn't any different on 1 tsp then on 0, so I figure, why use it if I can tolerate it? :wink2: Today, I went to the gym for the first time doing 30 mins of walking. So far, so good --- and, I've not had any nausea at all. My doctor has a Patient Educator that held a meeting two days before surgery with a couple of other patients - so we all had plenty of questions for her, as well as the fact she'd been banded a few years ago - so this helped tremendously. I didn't feel like I had any unanswered questions going into the process at all. Hope this helps to calm your nerves some & Good Luck!

Not from NJ, but just got banded Friday (01/25/08). During the pre-op meeting with my doctor's Patient Educator, that was one of the things she mentioned was normal. She said it would happen around Day 4. For me I think it was the night of Day 3, but definitely by yesterday (day 4). So, I'm guessing that's about normal.

Howdy y'all. Newbie here. Surgery scheduled for this Friday (01/25/08)! Glad I found this site - your posts have addressed so many questions I have. I haven't seen (yet) a post about not losing a lot in pre-op diet. I kind of figured I'd lose more than I have so far and am worried about my pre-op visit tomorrow! yikes Has anyone else not lost much pre-op? And if so, did they make you wait on the procedure? After taking a closer look at what I was really eating, I've made a few adjustments in the past two days - so hopefully I'll see more results in the next day or so ... but was just curious. Thanks for the great site, Shannon in Dallas

I'm glad to hear that ... I've lost right at 6 lbs. But I lost them in the first few days, so I figured it would be continual throughout the 2 wks pre-op. My diet is fairly lenient too ... 1-2 healthy meals/day + 2-3 Protein shakes. I was shocked & amazed I haven't had any cravings or cheating! But had used a little olive oil in my cooking at first when it said "no fats" - so that's what concerned me. I'm using Dr Benevidas in Richardson.