SanDiegoPhotog

You know what . . . I am on Day 5 of the preop diet (the nighttimes just kill me), and I haven't cheated once. And I've been peeing like there's no tomorrow and even worked out yesterday and upped my Water intake and I've only shed 1 pound. I know that people mostly lose water weight on the preop diet . . . but man, I would settle for losing brain cells just to see that scale moving. It's discouraging. That, and I'm tired again and I feel like crap. I am so glad to hear that I'm not the only one who didn't workout on the preop. I literally have moments where I'm bouncing off the walls with energy and moments (like right now) where I can barely lift my hands to type on the keyboard. Today, I lost ALL ability to concentrate. I feel like I shouldn't even be allowed to drive!

I looked hot on my wedding day (if I do say so myself) and I weighed 150. At 5'7", that is a healthy weight for me, so I decided that would be my goal. My body looked AMAZING at 135, so if I feel like I can get down that low, I will try. However, I am perfectly happy with 150.

I think that JogBras and Sports Bras are the same thing . . . .but I know that JogBra is a brand name. I always just called them jog bras (sort of like I call all tissues Kleenex, even though Kleenex is a brand name). I seriously cannot imagine jogging without one. I tried yesterday, but it just wasn't happening. Yes, they make you look like you have one wide boob, but if you get one that's tight enough, you shouldn't move around tooo much. The key is to have them pretty darn tight, but not so tight that you can't breathe.

Oh, and I read somewhere on this board that "Being hungry is not an emergency." It has been my mantra for the past 5 days. So, thanks to whoever said that!!!!

Don't worry . . . the first day is the worst day -- at least it has been for me thus far. I am on day 5 and it's soooo much easier. I even started working out again. The headache will pass. Since you're always out and about, I would plan the meal for a. when you're hungriest and b. for when you're going to be home to prepare it. Then, I would get a small ice chest and keep your shakes with you in the car or wherever. I had to do a photo shoot and brought my shake and bottled Water with me. It wasn't time for them, but it would be afterwards, so I was just bold and asked if I could keep my food in their fridge (it was in a baggy, so they couldn't see my liquid lunch). They were happy to accommodate me with fridge space and after the session, I just pulled my lunch out and drank it in the car on the way home. It takes more planning than all the crap I was eating before, but the rest of our meals for the rest of our lives are going to take more planning, so we might as well get used to it now!!! Good luck!

Well, I never did end up getting the sugar free Red Bull. Maybe tomorrow. But today was Day 4 and my energy seems to be coming back. It comes and goes in waves . . . so today I had a burst of energy and . . . big shock . . . I even decided to work out!!!! I know!!!!!!! LOL!!!! I didn't do the hills I normally do (I walk my neighborhood), and I didn't take the double jogging stroller with me . . . but I did attempt to JOG! Gasp. My body hasn't seen jogging since Y2K!!! LOL! However, I had to stop very soon. Not because I was tired, but because I've lost 17 pounds and my bra was way too loose to be jogging. The dumb straps kept falling off. haha. NOT a good sight. So, I didn't jog. I suppose I should go get a jogbra, though. LOL. I hope I feel this good tomorrow. Just 2 more days until surgery . . . .

a Sugar-Free Red Bull? Oh my . . . that may be just what I need to get through this afternoon. Thanks!

Well, it's the end of Day 3 and I still haven't mustered the energy to workout. I did, however, photograph 20 5-year-olds yesterday and I had to lug a whole bunch of gear to a session today. It's not exercise, but it's physical work nonetheless. I have a little bit more energy this evening, but it was a tough one. There was a wedding reception for some family members this evening and I was a guest. Everyone was eating tacos and refried Beans (street tacos, San Diego style -- they are so awesome). I survived!!!!! Barely!!!! It was kind of funny, though. They smelled WEIRD to me. Isn't that odd? The smell wasn't even enticing (thank God). So . . . one wedding reception down with only an Atkins shake before and Water during. Not tooooo bad for a fat girl who's refusing to workout at the moment. LOL!

I am at the pre-stages of the program . . . just got approved, I'm on liquids, surgery is next week. I've run in to a couple of people I haven't seen in a long time, and I've thought to myself, "man, I just want to tell them not to look at me right now because this isn't really me." LOL! Like, the REAL me will be apparent after I've lost the weight. haha. One woman I won't be seeing again until next year . . . and I can't wait to see her next year. I'm hoping she'll be surprised to see such a difference, of course that's a lot of hopeful thinking! Did you ever think like that? Like . . . don't look at me now . . . look at me NEXT YEAR? haha! I know, I'm weird.

I'm on liquids now (preop) and I'm peeing like never before. Like, literally going pee . . . working for 15 minutes . . . and needing to pee AGAIN! Did this happen to you? It's kind of getting old.

hehe . . . I guess that must mean it's working, right??? LOL!

unjury.com

I'm a total capitalist at heart. If someone wants to pay me for my story, then I'm TOTALLY selling it. Royalties are there for a reason. I'm also not one to fall for ANY weight loss ad, lap band or not. Advertising is advertising. My best friend was in an infomercial for a Body by Jake piece of exercise equipment (they make a lot of infomercials in San Diego for some reason). Her before picture? 8 months pregnant. Yup. Not fat at all . . . just pregnant as can be. Advertisements are lame. Viewer beware.

Oh my gosh . . . I just finished Day 1 of my liquid preop diet and the closest thing I'm allowed to "solid" food is cottage cheese. ugh. I ate it and I don't even like cottage cheese! I can't imagine what Day 13 must feel like. I only have to do this for 6 days . . . so I really can't imagine what Day 13 would be like . . . 6 is bad enough. :thumbup:

katkeen, I am getting banded on June 4 and I just started my liquid preop diet. My surgeon requires 4 full days, but recommended 10. I'm doing 6 as sort of my "compromise." LOL. He said he's fine with it as long as I do at least 4. It's tough, but the benefits of an easier surgery for the surgeon and less complications/pain for me (supposedly) are totally getting me through this. I want my liver SMALL and out of my surgeon's way. It's just my opinion, but you should totally do the liquid preop.

I am not banded yet, but I have learned some pretty good advice along this journey . . . from here, from my nutritionist, etc. Basically, I had to learn the difference between good carbs (brown rice, etc.) and bad carbs (candy, etc.). I have also had to learn what carbs *I* can lose weight with and which I can't. Your body NEEDS carbs (something I never thought I'd admit after having success with Atkins . . . .only to gain it back when I re-introduced carbs again). However, your body doesn't need all of them. I can't lose weight if I eat potatoes, for instance. But I lose like crazy if I choose brown rice. Go figure. It does sound, though, that if you can eat all of that food, you might need a fill and perhaps if you've had a lot of fills then you have a leak. I'm only saying that based on what I've read here and not personal experience. Best of luck to you.

I totally had Last Supper Syndrome. I'm paying for it today. LOL! I did very well showing my doctor that I could "stick to a program." Then after my approval, I had a few days before I needed to start the liquid pre-op diet. I ate pretty much whatever I wanted. Then last night my DH took me to my favorite restaurant (Roy's) and we had appetizers, butterfish (the best!), champagne . . . the works. Today is day one of the liquid preop diet and DANG! This is difficult. Last night seems very, very far away. I'm glad I did it, but I'm having a rough day today. I hope this liquid diet thing will be easier to endure tomorrow. yuck.

I am not banded yet, but giving up soda was my first major fear. In fact, when I was first researching the band in January, I clicked off all lapband websites as soon as I read "no carbonated beverages" under "The Rules." LOL. I thought there wasn't a chance in you know where that I could kick my Diet Coke habit. When it started to get hot and I realized it was going to be ANOTHER summer without tank tops and shorts because I'm too fat, I started looking at the lapband websites again. This time, I decided to not think about the band but to experiment and "just see" if I could give up Diet Coke -- if for no other reason than to see if I could do it. I'm happy to say that I have been Diet Coke free since March 17. I have, however, tasted Diet Coke since I kicked the habit and it was NASTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. I mean, it tasted like pure chemicals and NOTHING like how I remember it to be. So, I'm not telling you to try it because I don't want you to feel like your stomach pouch will explode, but I am saying that it's probably not as good as you remember, so please don't feel like you're missing out on anything. You are so totally NOT missing out. That stuff is gross.

Thank you so much for posting this because it was my thoughts exactly. My mom thought she knew what was best for me when I was a teen, too, but everytime she put me on Jenny Craig or dragged me to Weight Watchers it made me resent my mom even more because in my stubborn teenage mind, I didn't see her assistance as wanting to help me, but rather as "just one more way in which mom wasn't satisfied with me as her daughter." I was convinced my mom would only love me if I was "perfect" and since I wasn't perfect, she couldn't love me . . . and her efforts to make me lose weight or better myself only made me feel worse about myself and more depressed. Granted, we had a rocky relationship and I'm not AT ALL saying that you and your daughter do too . . . by any means . . . But I guess I am saying: "Tread lightly." Be careful when determining whether or not she really wants your advice or wants your help. And it is so, so true. The band alone will not make her lose weight. My friend was connviced that her mom needed the band, too, so she helped her mom get one. She hasn't lost a single pound. It wasn't what MOM wanted. I do think it's cool that you want to do well by your daughter . . . but it really needs to be her decision. Just my two cents . . . .

OMG . . . I start my liquid diet Thursday and tonight I went out for ice cream. Tomorrow night, I am going to my favorite restaurant for my favorite meal and I will probably eat like there is no tomorrow. But I have strange willpower over weird things. I photograph a lot of weddings and I normally live for wedding cake. At my last wedding before the band date, I didn't eat cake and I just kind of went, "eh . . . I'm done with wedding cake." WEIRD! But tomorrow night will be a different story, I just know it.

Um . . . if your band has been checked and it sounds fine, it sounds like gallstones to me. If you still have your gallbladder and you have lost 99 pounds, you can very easily get gall stones. I am not banded yet (7 days and kind of freaking out), but I had gall stones last year. First, they went undetected because I was pregnant with twins and not eating and the doctor was CERTAIN that my uterus was pushing my intestines too high with two babies and that I was having acid reflux from not being hungry enough to eat. He prescribed Pepcid AC. It didn't really help. Then, after I had the babies, I was still having problems, even though everyone assured me that my intestines should be back in their normal position 3 weeks after the birth. I ended up in the emergency room with SEVERE chest pain and vomiting. In short, I thought I was going to die. Ended up I had gall stones and they were so bad that they were affecting my liver enzymes and one was about to get stuck in a duct (??!!??). Anyways, one emergency gall bladder surgery later and I am back to normal. I'm glad you are seeing a gastroenterologist soon. One quick ultrasound should be able to tell you if you have gall stones. Oh yeah, whenever I had an attack, it TOTALLY felt like weight on my chest. Except for the part where it was worse on the right side and in the middle, rather than the left, I would have totally thought I was having a heart attack. Good luck.

Oh, I am sorry you are not feeling well and that you can't see your daughter. that truly, truly sucks! We had the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago (I'm not banded yet), and it hit all 5 of us VERY hard. It was a violent one. I just wanted to remind you that little kids can be contagious for several days (or longer) AFTER they've stopped vomiting, so please be very careful. We thought we were all clear and then the kiddos gave it to EVERYONE who was at our Mother's Day brunch. It was awful. But, good luck to you. From everything I've read, this pain is only temporary and soon you'll be one of the hundreds on this board who say they'd do it again in a heartbeat!

I haven't started my pre-op diet yet, but I am nervous about it and I feel your pain. the only thing I think that will keep me motivated are my doctor's stories . . . he brags about his patients who do well and how quickly and easily the surgeries go when he can tell that they followed the liquid diet. He also likes to scare me with the stories of the other people who he can tell didn't follow the diet and how they had more pain during recovery because the surgeries were more difficult. I'm totally a whimp, so I'm kind of freaked. Hopefully I'll be scared enough to stick with it. Fingers crossed. Good luck to you.

I got my surgery date, too, and I've been facing a round of different emotions. The tough ones always seem to hit me at night, but I have confidence during the day. I use a couple of things as my mantras . . . .all things that I have read here. Pretty much stuff like, "You'll be able to eat most of the foods that you ate before, just a LOT LESS of it." And how much easier it is to lose weight when the overwhelming need to stuff yourself with food is eased or even removed by the band. I'm just concentrating on all of the positives. I also go and look at people's before and after pics, it's so inspirational. I'm also trying to see all of the good in everyday life around me. Like today when I was at the mall. I walked by Lane Bryant and practically grunted to myself . . . thinking . . . it won't be long until I never have to shop there again. And practically STARING at this thin person in Express buying a top I could only dream of wearing, thinking that next year that would be ME. In fact, I think I'm going to go buy a tank top just for the heck of it. I'll hang it somewhere where I can see it just to keep me excited about my new tank top. Yeah . . . I think that sounds like a plan. Hang in there.

Well, I thought my date was going to be May 28 . . . but now it is confirmed for June 4th. Wooo hoooo!!!! I'm VERY excited!