incolorado

Good point. None of my weight has come back (yet) in 2 weeks, but I am starting mushies next week....The optimist in me likes to think I am losing my 15 lbs for good! On the other hand, I lost my 15 in the first week, and exactly zero in the second....:wink:

How long did you have to do your pre-op diet? Sounds like you have a good plan on the diet for now. That is about what I am doing. Walking should help too!

My Dr. said light walking only for the first 2 weeks, after that, not sure? Anyone else?

Okay Julie, I am in since I have until Halloween! I am going to reach for the stars and say -25. As you know, I have no restriction and no fill until 9/30, but I will be cruising, I hope, soon after that!

Hey 10 lbs is great! Good for you. I am totally done with the shoulder pain, almost all gas pains are gone now. I am feeling good. Actually looking forward to being able to exercise, because I know that will help during the hungry Bandster Hell stage. I am really sick of the liquid thing. Soup soup soup, protein shakes, enough already! Hope you are feeling well!

Wow, 31 lbs is awesome! How much did you lose on your pre-op diet, and what was your diet? I am trying to figure out what to do now that I am hungry again. That restriction thing was like magic! But gone for now until my first fill on 9/30. :blushing:

No way! I refuse to gain back the 15 I have lost so far. I will put myself back on that clear liquid diet before I let that happen! That would be so disappointing. You know, I added it up and the first week I was eating 800 cals or less, now I am 1000-1200. That still is not very much. As long as I can keep it around here and not gain anymore I will be happy until my first fill.

You guys look great! I hope to meet you all sometime when I fly into Denver for a fill. Julie, you look skinnier than when I saw you a month ago! Way to go!:thumbup:

Okay, early bandsters - Are you starting to get your hunger back? I definitely am. I guess this is the beginning of "bandster hell". It is still way less than before surgery, but I was hoping to keep the no hunger effect going for more than 8 days! Still so psyched I have the band. I took my measurements yesterday and compared to pre-surgery, I lost 12 inches already, including 1 inch in waist and 4.5 inches in tummy! My middle has gone way down, yippee!:thumbup:

Congratulations! It is hard, I had the back pains and it sucked for a couple days, but much better by about 3 days after surgery. Have you tried a heating pad? That helped me alot, on tummy or back. I did not get the puffy red circles. I am 8 days out and feeling SO much better. Just a few days to suffer through and you will be almost there!:thumbup:

I did it wrong the first time. Once again: Soco 9/01/09 Amandakrangel 9/1/09 Coloradomom (Gen) 9/1/09 Jmtmb (JoLynne ) 9/4/09 JLDChester(Jamie) 9/4/09 Cortney75 (Cortney) 9/4/09 Soldiersgem(ginna) 9/9/09 amathyst_moonbow(Jules) 9/9/09 Nawlinzlady (Dee) 9/15/09 Anni80 (annie) 9/15/09 Hardygostlin (Jody) 9/17/09 Loveslady(Tawonda) 9/17/09 Gatorgirl1024 (Shelley) 9/17/09 MishiB 9/17/09 sharie3 9/21/09

Awesome! You are going to love the band. It will be here soon! :mad:

My favs are Slimfast Low Carb and Muscle Milk. MM is higher in calories (220 for 14 oz. bottle) but not too bad in carbs (10) and highest (25 g.) protein. It is expensive too...but the Banana flavor is a nice change from vanilla and chocolate all the time. Atkins shakes are okay too, 150 cals and low carbs, several flavors.

Just added my name to the above....but the surgeries coming up are the ones we really want to know about! Good luck everyone!

Yeah! Good luck! Are you getting your band in Colo Springs or Denver? I was with Dr. Brown in Denver - 1 week ago today! Best thing ever!:sad:

Love it! Sugar free apple juice in a wine glass. I am getting some next time I go to the store!:mad:

Hi there, I am new and on the fast track here...just decided this week to go ahead with surgery, and already have first appt. next week and tentative surgery date for next month. I will have MANY questions, but in the meantime I thought I would introduce myself by repeating the "story" I wrote for my profile, below...... I am have read enough of others' stories to see that mine falls right in line....I always struggled with my weight but was able to maintain a reasonable size (from 140-160 lbs) with diet and excercise until I had my first child at age 29. I gained 60 lbs with that pregnancy and was never able to lose most of it no matter what I did. Three more pregnancies and babies followed....and more weight. I am now at an all time high, 231, which gives me a BMI of 40. Now, that first baby is 12 years old. I have been dieting, exercising, and repeating the cycle of failure over and over and over again for twelve long, hard years. I finally realized I simply cannot do this anymore: it is not working. I lose 10 lbs only to gain back 20. I am missing so much from my former, healthier, thinner life -- like running longer distances -- that I used to do and now just cannot do. It makes me tremendously sad. So, I just made the call to a Dr. in Denver and have my first appointment next week, during which I will do all of the psych and nutrition testing (I am not even sure what all - pretty much everything I need!) I should have a surgery date in September - just a month away! So fast! I am paying myself (my insurance has a blanket exclusion for WLS), so things are able to move rapidly. I am just excited beyond belief. I have much to learn in the next month, and hope to gain from the wisdom shared here.

Wow, you are well on your way! Oh how I wish I would have done this at 209! Good for you!

Thanks, I opted out. My 8 yr old was sick and I did not feel ready to face the temptations! It was a good move, judging from the looks of my DH after 6 hours of cocktails at the party....

Good luck Vicki, you are doing great so far! It is totally worth it!:thumbup:

Totally agree, it is not that bad. It is a whole different thing dealing with liquids once you have the band - no hunger issues at all for me. I took off the big bandages but not the steri strips - I was told to leave them on until they fall off.

Awesome Loveslady! That is so soon. Do you have a pre-op diet?

I think I reported this on another thread, but not here yet...I am so excited to have lost 15 lbs in one week!!!!! The first 8 were from my 3 days of clear liquids pre-op, then 7 lbs since surgery on Tues. :thumbup: I have to say, that is freakin awesome for me, a record in my 42 years (almost) of dieting!!!! And it was almost easy, since I wasn't hungry most of the time. Now comes the test: I have a BBQ to go to tonight, and while I am not worried about eating (I plan to bring mashed potatoes and have some for dinner), the big issue is cocktails! I am so used to drinking several glasses of wine at these things. That will not work if I want to keep up the momentum I have going. So I will have to wing it. Maybe bring some diet cranberry juice and drink that?

I don't know, my surgeon in Denver has done tons of these things, and he does not require a clear liquid diet post-op. I was able to go straight to a full liquid/liquid puree diet. This includes things like very thin mashed potatoes, cream of wheat, pureed veggies or casseroles, and of course Protein shakes. In reality, most of my diet is clear liquids and protein shakes, but I have a little bit of the puree-type food each day. I have to say, if I were you I would add protein shakes. In my opinion, they made such a huge difference in hunger/satisfaction. BTW in the book about Muhammed Ali's daughter's experience with the lap band, called "Fighting Weight," the very respectable NYU surgeons Drs. Fielding and Ren recommend clear liquids PLUS protein shakes for the first two weeks post-op. That makes more sense to me, and I would have no problem adding a few shakes to a clear liquid diet.