Mariasha

In that case it would probably be best for you to find a surgeon, and discuss the procedure with them. People have many misconception about WLS in general, and specifically about the Lap Band. When deciding whether or not to have this procedure you would do best to discuss it with an expert in this particular field, rather than just a general counselor.

What type of therapist are you talking about?

Just curious, what diet is that?

Everyone gets nervous right before the surgery. Its normal. Fact is, having surgery is the only proven way to keep the weight off long term. The risks of staying overweight far outweigh (excuse the pun) the risks of the surgery. Good luck with your journey!

Check with your surgeons office. They should be able to guide you through this.

Are you keeping track of your calories? Use a site like fitday or the daily plate to work out exactly how many calories a day you are eating. If you want to take it a step further, buy a bodybugg so you can also track how many calories you are using. This whole starvation mode thing is way over hyped. It all comes down to calories in vs calories out. If you are eating less than you are using, you will lose weight. Its that simple.

Do it again tomorrow. And again the day after. And the day after that. No way 20 minutes walking is going to do you any harm. By the end of the week you'll actually be enjoying it and looking forward to your workouts. Remember, nothing comes easy. No pain, no gain.

The 166 calories is based on 2 chicken breasts being 6 servings. I don't know about you, but I usually eat more than a third of one breast. Looks like a great recipe though. Can't wait to try it!

It depends on many things including how much weight you need to lose, how long you have been overweight, genetics, and other factors. It is really impossible to know before you start as it can vary greatly from person to person. I was also 24 when I had the surgery. I'm still in the middle of my journey but I can tell already that I will need plastic surgery at the end of it all. Good luck with your surgery!

Good for you! Next step, get yourself a gym membership. You will thank yourself for it.

The current bands are 10cc or 14cc. The older version was the 4cc model. They don't make those anymore as there were a lot of problems with them.

Here is a list of 100 great tunes with links to iTunes.

Two days liquids, two days mushies.

Its normal for a little fluid to remain in the band when they change it out.

The position can change and they can get to it from different angles. My doctor sometimes does it from on top of my port and sometimes below it.

Have you considered self-pay?

Most surgeons require a liquid only diet for two weeks before the surgery. This is done in order to shrink the liver which makes the surgery much easier. Most of us who are overweight also have enlarged livers. The surgeon needs to be able to lift up the liver and go under it in order to be able to place the band.

What exactly makes it better than crystal light??

The whole team at NYU are great! Fielding, Ren, and Kurian. I know tens of people who have been banded at NYU and none of them have a bad word to say about any of them.

Haven't suffered from this myself, but read another post about this recentely. If I remember correctly, it was some kind of reflux issue. The advice given in such a case was to take one or two bites at the beginning of the meal, and then to wait for a while. After that, continue eating slowly. Hope you manage to work this out.

Cold Turkey. Went out for dinner the night before and had some sushi, a massive rib steak, and some drinks to top it all off. Then started my shakes the next morning

It goes by your BMI - Body Mass Index Find out yours here. In order to be approved by insurance you need a BMI of 40, or a BMI of 35 with at least two co-morbiditys.

Most people do a pre-op diet of some kind. For most, its actually a two week liquid diet, so if your doctor is letting you do atkins you will have it a lot easier than most.

Remember that it is normal not to lose weight at this point. The real weight loss will begin once you get your fills and achieve some level of restriction. Hang in there till then, it will get better!

As an Australian still grappling to understand how health insurance does (or doesn't) work in America, all I can say is WTF?