Electrawoman

AMEX or Visa gift cards. spend them on what you want, where you want.

Or, start a new collection of something that interests you.

Or maybe supplies for a hobby you have been wanting to try?

Fancy cosmetics?

Something for your house---new sheets, quilt, etc.?

Donate your gift to a special charity?

Pampering, spa, fancy bath products

hair styling tools (I have my eye on the InStlyer...that's why I mentioned it)

Body care products: Clairsonic, electric toothbrush, foot massager, nono shaver

Herbalife shakes rock for anyone who is having trouble getting down Protein Shakes. They are really good and I hate shakes.

I am hating Clear Liquids, though.

As for weird rapid weight loss, I can confirm that. This morning, my ring was snug. When I left to get Pop-sicles tonight, it was so loose that it almost fell off my finger. No lie. Very WEIRD. I don't keep a scale in the house. I meant to weigh myself on a store scale but I was so distracted by all the food, it was all I could do just to get out of there.

I dont think I even get the Protein shakes...but I got to eat real food longer than most so it's an ok tradeoff :thumbup: Been eating Jello and popsicles. I made chicken Soup for the family and ate the broth from that. I also have some of the broth cubes in beef and chicken. I read somewhere that consumme is okay but I have no idea what that is. I am sure it is in the broth family. I'm gonna go google it. :biggrin: Thanks for the support. I need it!

I just started the clear like you suggested...better safe than sorry. But I am NOT happy about it! This sucks, ya'll! I have tried to talk myself into quitting so many times today. Please tell me the first day is the worst.

Im so confused. My doctors office is closed. He has had me on lowfat hipro veg diet for 10 days. I thought I was supposed to start liquids today for surgery on Monday but I wasn't sure if it was Clear Liquids or not. Now I can't find ANY instrux except for the page that tells me about the lowfat hipro veg diet. I'm confused and hungry and not sure what to eat or drink at this point :thumbup:

It took about 10 days to get approval. I think TriCare gave it sooner but the Surgeon's office didn't call me right away. Either way it was easy. My surgery was scheduled for less than a month after initial consult/seminar. I am on my preop diet now and have surgery next Monday.

I am wondering how many of you eat soy and specialty veggie products with the band? I was a vegetarian for 13 years and found a large number of good soy products that provide a great source of Protein with very little fat/carbs. I am now rediscovering them on my preop diet.

Morningstar Farms is one of my favorite brands. I ate 2 veggie sausage patties this morning with an eggbeater's veggie omelet. The whole meal tasted awesome, was less than 300 calories and I got nearly half of my protein for the day out of it.

I am just curious now if I will be able to tolerate the foods post band.

****If anyone is curious about veg foods but afraid to try them, ask me for a list of the good stuff. From years of trial and error, I found a few gems that you can easily serve to meat-eaters and they never know the difference. I tried it all from Tofurkey to Quorn and Wheat meat. Trust me, you don't want to waste your money or your taste buds on the icky ones!

Here are some ideas for December group names:

Santa Babies

Skinny Santas

Frosty Foxes

Blessed Bandsters

Stone-Cold Hotties

December Dudes and Dames

Holiday Hotties

December Snowflakes (each one different and beautiful...)

Jingle Belles and Beaus

Twinkle Twits

The Stars of Bandlehem

Merry Bandsters

slogan: Trading Stocking Stuffers for Trimmed Trees

I would like to join this group! My surgery is scheduled for November 30, but if I join November's group, I will be behind. Is everyone okay with that?

And for all of you trying to quit smoking, please check out the e-cig! You can use it with or without nicotine and all of the liquids come in flavors. It smokes like a regular cigarette but you are really smoking steam and it will not cause cancer or stink breath or any of that stuff we hate about smoking. You can use it everywhere. I have even smoked mine in a doctor's office and all the nurses and doc went crazy for it.

I got mine in March and it was 2 weeks before I even realized that I hadn't had a real cigarette in that long. These things are amazing. My doctors think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread because remember, nicotine doesn't cause cancer...it's everything else. Nicotine is still a stimulant but so is coffee. You should use caution with anything but I think it is better than smoking. I have tried to smoke a real cig since and it makes me sick. I smoked for nearly 25 years, too.

You can get them anywhere online and even in some malls, but here is a link to my favorite shop. This is the cheapest price for the best version and they ship super fast. Customer service is great too.

e-Smokey Treats

Oh, and I haven't finished reading everyones' posts but your diets sound quite different than mine. My surgery was scheduled on the day I should have started the preop diet. Since I didn't have a copy of the diet, the bariatric coordinator told me to wait until I got it. My surgery is in 10 days and I just started my preop diet today. I was not told to lose a specific amount of weight and my diet is low-fat, low-carb AND vegetarian. Basically, I get fruits and veggies plus Protein Shakes, sugar free pudding/jello and crackers for carbs. It is the end of the day and I have plenty of calories to spare. But I do wonder how important the preop diet really is, if each surgeon is so flexible about it. I'm not going to let it worry me. I know the purpose is to remove some of the fat from your liver, making your stomach more accessible. It helps the doctor get done faster and more efficiently.

Some folks were talking about before pics. TAKE THEM. Take lots of them from different angles and get your entire body. You might feel uncomfortable now but you will be glad to have them later. I took mine a couple of months ago because I TRIED (and failed miserably) to do the P90X program. They give good guidelines for how to take those pics. I took mine in a somewhat modest swimsuit. I figured that if people saw me like that already in public at the pool, it wouldn't hurt to put the pics out there too.

Amaris, if you have Tricare standard, you don't have to get a referral from your PCP. That's the beauty of Standard...no referrals!

Anyway, I had all my pretesting today---upper gi was WEIRD. I got the final total of costs.

My surgeon gets 392, which includes a 25-dollar book and a 150.00 deductible for the year that you might not need. My actual coinsurance cost is about 165.00.

The hospital only costs a 25-dollar copay after you have met your deductible.

My preop diet starts tomorrow---low fat, low carb, high Protein.

No hoops. The hardest part was finding a psychologist to do my psych eval. It has to be a PhD and it has to include the administration of the MMPI 2. Keep that in mind when you are looking for providers. (Tricare kept giving me lists of Psychiatrists and they don't do psych testing.)

I went to a seminar on the 4th of November, got approval two days ago and all I had to do was see a nutritionist once to learn the way I will be eating after band. I also had to get that psych eval. I have no real comorbidities but was 200% over ideal. Either way, I hear that Tricare is not real picky. They are supportive of WLS. My surgery is scheduled for November 30th. I will pay my coinsurance to doctor (total 352.00). I am still waiting to find out what I will have to pay for the hospital and anesthesiologist. It will be about 15% of their total fees.

Knowing that most surgeries end up costing around 10K when all is said and done, I am planning to set aside 1K for unexpected charges. Hopefully, it won't even be half that.

I didn't take anything with me to my first visit though you will need a list of meds, surgeries, and illnesses if you can't remember them all. Tricare did not require med-sup diet for me. I saw the doctor for the first time on November 4. I was notified of the approval today (12 days later). All I had to do was meet with a dietician who explained what I was in for and have a psych eval with MMPI2 (scheduled for tomorrow). My surgery is scheduled for November 30 with two preop/pretest appointments prior to that. Oh, and a low-fat vegetarian diet prior to surgery starting today. (They are giving me a break and letting me start that when I receive the diet in the mail, though--that means I get to have my farewell to food AYCE lobster meal tomorrow).

Hooray! And, I finally found a PhD to do the psych eval they require. Will be doing that tomorrow. Waiting for surgeon's office to call back for scheduling.

Your Doctor works for you. DOn't let him intimidate you into hurting your body. Whether he is a prick or not, get back in there and make sure everything is okay.

See another surgeon!

I don't have my band yet but it sounds like you need a fill. Also, don't be so hard on yourself! You've lost an average of a pound per week. Thats really good! I bet you will do even better when you're tightened up a bit.

Meanwhile, have you ever had cottage cheese with tomatoes for breakfast? I also like tomatoes with low fat sharp cheddar or parmesan melted on top in a toaster oven (on a whole wheat english muffin is good if you can tolerate breads). Here are some other ideas:

Peanut Butter and banana (by itself, in a Protein shake, or with crackers/triskits/wasa toast...)

soy sausage (Morningstar Farms breakfast patties are the best) with fruit, yogurt, or egg (microwave the sausage and keep hard boiled eggs handy)

veggie egg-white scramble (microwave)

oatmeal made with apple juice and fruit! It makes a huge difference in the taste. I hate oatmeal but love it this way. (microwave)

Plain greek yogurt with fruit, granola, or honey

Hope these food ideas help!

I might have a hard time with the breads. Pasta and breads are some of my favorite foods and I have always had a hard time getting in all the Protein I need.

Somebody explained the breads to me like this: if you want to make home-made play-doh or home-made glue, you start with flour and add Water. If you want to make bread, you start with flour and add Water.

I am trying to tell myself now that bread=glue in my body.

I am also hoping that, like a lot of bandsters, I will lose these carb cravings. [crosses fingers]

Nancy, I see that you are losing now. WHat have you done after band removal to lose weight?

"We hate it when our friends become successful"

It's just plain old jealousy and fear. Your friends are afraid you won't like them anymore if you switch sides and move over to the skinny camp.

There is usually competition between even the best of friends. (Have you heard the term "Frenemies"?) Long before I was ready for a band, my friend had GB. I had always been the skinnier and prettier of the two of us and I was threatened by her weight loss. I didn't say anything to her but my most basic urge was to discourage her so we could remain on the same level. My heart wanted to scream, "Noooo don't do this! What will it mean for ME?"

I tried to be supportive but instead asked her all the negative questions like "What are you going to do about all the loose skin?" and "Do you have a therapist to help you with emotional eating--you have to have one or it won't work" or "What if you turn out like our other two friends and stretch it all out again?!" I would like to say that I was thinking of her safety but I was subconsciously trying to discourage her.

I don't know about you but my fat friends and I spend a lot of time hating on skinny folks. It makes us feel better about ourselves. You are becoming one of THEM and it scares your friends. If you remember that, you can send love and good energy to calm their fears instead of taking it personally.

I have had the worst time finding someone to do my psych eval. TriCare requires that the provider have PhD or MD credentials and gives the MMPI as part of the evaluation. The doctor my surgeon recommended does not take TriCare. My guy is not a PhD. TriCare provided a list of Psychiatrists instead of Psychologists and they don't do neuropsych testing.

So, if you are in the Dallas/FW area (or quite frankly, anyplace in Texas for that matter) can you share the name of your TriCare Psychologist?

BTW, I have already used their online search but it's not much help because it doesn't list who does testing and who does not.

Thanks!

I don't have my band, yet. But I started menopause this year. I am not happy about that! Feel like shit most days---I'm losing hair, have lots of nausea and hot flashes, drop in libido, plus a very bad mood hangs over me like a cloud. There are also a host of other weird problems that come with it. I had a pain under my left ribs that I thought might be a hernia. Turns out it's another weird Meno side-effect that other women online have experienced.

I am hoping that losing weight will actually help regulate my hormones. I have had PCOS for years. I was on bio-identical hormones for most of this year and they really help. I am just behind on my prescription because I haven't had the money to pick it up. I highly recommend them---and some good antidepressants to help get you through this nonsense.

The only people I have found who think this way (including myself at one time in the past) are obese people who are afraid---afraid they will lose you to the skinny crowd and you will be one of THEM (the people who judge and mock us)---afraid that it will work and you will change. Maybe you won't want to hang out this them anymore---afraid that others will put pressure on them to do it too and so many others

If anyone ever says that to me, I plan to say "Even if is cheating (which it is not), so what? I need to be healthy and I don't care how I get there, as long as I get there."

DOn't let her get to you :tongue2:

YAY! Thats awesome. I will add you to my friends now!

Can someone tell me how this is possible? It's freaking me out. MY surgeon said that a small percentage will gain. How would this happen? Drinking your calories? Eating lots of small food throughout the day? I'm confused.

@carolynfletcher:

You're the first person I have seen who hasn't lost quite a bit of weight in the first year with the band. Did it not work for you? Why do you think it isn't working? I am just curious and asking questions because I haven't gotten mine yet and want to be aware of possible problems and things to look out for.