gingerjane

I've got to drop off my girls and then I'm off to the surgical center! Praying everything goes well and praying for the others getting their band today! Can't wait to join all of you other bandsters! :laugh:

I thought about it but we have clear liquids one day, then pureed for 2 weeks then soft foods. My mom made me a ton of high-protein pureed meals for my next two weeks. (I went and bought the ingredients and the whey - she made everything) I have it divided into 1 cup portions for my meals. I don't think I could do another 2 weeks of medifast. LOL!

I hope this doesn't violate any TOU or anything, but I have leftover Medifast. My surgery is tomorrow and I have a TON left over. (Probably over $125 worth - UGH) I have top pancake mix, marshmallow hot chocolate, amaretto hot chocolate, swiss chocolate pudding, vegetable beef stew, chicken pasta soup mix, and cream of chicken mix. Oh - and some chocolate marshmallow bars. I probably have almost 2 weeks' worth. I thought I'd offer it up here because I don't think I can return it and honestly this stuff is EXPENSIVE. My surgical date is tomorrow. I don't have a price in mind - just make an offer if you're interested. I supplemented a lot with broth from soups. The chicken soup is better with chicken broth and the swiss chocolate shakes/pudding are better as pudding in my opinion. Each serving is individually wrapped. I can give you a full breakdown and post photos if you're interested. Just let me know. Oh - and the Amaretto Hot Chocolate is the tastiest by far!:laugh:

Tomorrow is the big day!!! I am so excited but nervous all at the same time. What time is everyone's surgery? Mine is at 10 AM. I have to be there at 8:30. I'll be thinking about everyone! :laugh: Ginger

Congratulations!!! Keep up the good work! I can't wait to hear how your transformation goes. :smile: My surgery is tomorrow morning. YIKES! :laugh: I'm nervous but SO excited at the same time.

That is SO awesome! :laugh: I bet you are too excited! I think it's totally possible for you to lose 100 lbs by next spring! Just keep plugging away. I like to think of it as Dori in Finding Nemo..."Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." :smile: I get banded tomorrow. I am SO excited!!!! I've lost about 10 lbs on my pre-op diet so far, and I can't wait to see how it goes the next two weeks. I'm hoping to lose 20 more lbs by the first of May. Crossing fingers that I can do it! Can't wait to hear about your progress!

WOW! Fourme! How many pounds have you lost since January? That is amazing!!! I've lost about 9 or so on my pre-op diet but 14 since my consult in January. I can't wait for the band. I'm hoping to be down about 40+ by June. (I'm in a wedding at that time) I know it's wishful thinking on most parts, but I'm really working hard. I've already started walking during my lunch break (averaging about 2 miles) and hope to be able to do a 5K one day! Your weight loss is awesome!

How's everyone doing on their pre-op diets? I'm still holding on. I've lost about 8 lbs or so. The 13 comes from my initial consult meeting in January, so I'm down a bit from when we had the first official appointment. I'm hoping to be down another 3 or so by Monday. Crossing my fingers here! I'll be thinking of all of you this weekend. I'm a bit nervous but holding steady. Our lives will change for the better.

Hope everything went smoothly and you're having a great birthday! :frown:

WOWWWWW!!! That is AWESOME! How long has your journey been? Hearing stories like yours where you've already lost 100 lbs is SO inspiring! Keep up the amazing work!

Mine is Monday, too! I can't wait! Although I'm nervous but super excited. I did make the mistake of watching the surgery online - DON'T DO THAT! LOL! Maybe we can all encourage each other through this journey! How are you doing on your pre-op diets?

Here is to a speedy recovery! :cursing: My surgery in next week - on Monday. I'm nervous but excited at the same time. And WOW Astrasmom! That is some impressive weight loss!!!

Hi Bob! Welcome! :scared2: My procedure is scheduled for the 22nd. I can't wait! I'm slightly nervous but for the most part, just want to get it over with. I agree - my first four days on the pre-op diet were TORTURE. I wanted to strangle someone. But, it's gotten a lot better. I do agree - I wish they had something other than sickenly sweet foods. Ick. I used to have a sweet tooth. I think it's run away and will never come back now. Blech. You'll do great tomorrow! Just talk to the people on this site. Those who have been banded are so positive and it's encouraging to see how it's done! :thumbup:

Betsy is EXACTLY right! You should call your band doctor ASAP! I'm having my surgery on the 22nd and they've already scheduled my 2 week and 4 week post-op appointments. You should have seen your doctor by now. Hope it's nothing serious and just a little port pain. :scared2:

I have medifast (which tastes like holy heck) and my biggest problem is this sweet taste in my mouth. I hate it. I can't get rid of it. Ugh. I brush, floss, brush again, mouthwash. You name it. It's there. Blech. I agree with the above poster on your issue. It could be that your body chemistry is changing?

I know this might be a goofy question but I'm trying to plan my time off. My surgery is scheduled for the 22nd, which is a Monday. I had planned to take the 22nd and 23rd off (obviously) but make an attempt to come into the office on the third day. Am I nuts? LOL! I have a feeling I'll be working from home, but I wanted to see what everyone else did. I've heard stories from 2 days off to full weeks. I'd like to hear it from real bandsters. I'm trying to figure out what to expect. As a side note, I have a desk job, so it's not that intense. And I tend to heal fairly quickly after surgery. When I had both of my children, I was up within 20 minutes and out of the hospital in 24 hours. I couldn't stand to just sit around. So, what did you do? (Or are going to do?)

Good for Rex! I applaud him for taking the step. As for those commenters...WOW! :wub: I don't understand how people can judge others without ever walking in their shoes. What kills me is that automatically obese people are labeled as lazy and "eating 10 tacos". I mean, come ON. It amazes me how society still accepts the commentary regarding obese people but it's forbidden to comment on any other characteristic. Why is that? It should be that way for EVERYTHING - not just age, race, gender, socio-economic status, etc. I'm so fed up with society right now. Ugh.

I'm chuckling at the menopause hot flash commentary. LOL! I'm still fairly hot all the time, except at night. They did tell us during our nutrition class that once you start losing a lot of your weight, you'll start to be cold a lot. I don't know if that will ever happen to me. HA HA. My husband SWEARS I'm going through menopause at 33. I'm hot 24/7. (I hate to even wear a coat!) My worst side-effect of the pre-op diet so far was the headaches the first week. Those were KILLING me. I thought my head was going to explode. But, they're a lot better, now and my date is next Monday. Can't wait!:wub:

I also like to use the tactic that I refer to as "transferring addictions" because let's face it - none of us are here because we HATE food. I'm in the pre-op diet stage and I've already started cutting everything into TINY bites, then chewing and putting my fork down, etc. But, what do I do when I'm upset and want food? I either walk, get online to this board (which has been SO helpful), or I look online at clothes that I would kill to wear. Whatever your ultimate ideal goal is, use it as part of your addiction. Sometimes I walk with a co-worker just around the block. Usually, that gets my mind off of things. Whatever it is, don't worry. Just start making the adjustments now. It CAN be done. It's amazing. I even walked past a cupcakery the other day and normally I would have been in there with my credit card but I walked by and was like "eh. Not worth it". And, find something that you love more than food. It's out there, you just have to look for it.

Ok, can we talk pre-op diets? I have really hated the first part of mine but now I'm a lot better. Basically, out of the gate I had the medifast "food", but I couldn't stand the taste of it and would gag. I can drink the shakes and hot chocolate - that's not a problem. It's the "soups" and "pancakes" and crap that I'm like "uh -no". Plus, I was getting maybe 600 calories/day and in the meantime I was doing 2 mile walks at work, so I was having terrible headaches. My dietitian authorized me to have lean meats (chicken, etc.) so that I wouldn't be so deprived. I still have the broths and stuff. I'm worried that my liver won't shrink but I read up on the low-carb diets and everywhere says it will help shrink the liver. I lost more weight now that I've added the chicken to my diet than before when I didn't have it. I'd love to hear about your pre-op diet. What did your doc recommend and how did you do on it? So far, I'm down maybe 4-5 lbs? (it's been a week) I feel like I should be down more, but that's been it.

Thank you thank you thank you SO SO SO SO much everyone for your responses! It really does validate sort of what I thought about her. It must be some sort of issue she has. She used to talk to me every morning but here lately - nothing. Her husband actually just came in so that they could work out together during lunch. Both of them just left in their workout clothes. I think it's one of those things where she must be insecure with her husband, in her marriage, etc. And I think because I live my life however, and made this decision, she is annoyed. Who knows? I will say, I haven't told my husband's parents about the band at all because they are VERY judgmental when it comes to weight. His sister is the worst. She was always TINY - we're talking a size 2 in high school and the past few years have sort of altered her body style. She's not as tiny but she's still petite. But, she was definitely one that would make comments to me all the time. As far as I'm concerned, they don't need to know. His dad has made his fair share of rude comments, so I'm sure that more would come and they would definitely be the food police. I told them that I'm having hernia surgery. I wouldn't have said anything but our daughters stay the night with them every Monday because his mom keeps my kids on Tuesdays since my husband and I both work. They live nearby (as does all of my family) so I had to have some sort of excuse. Plus, yesterday we had my youngest daughter's 4th birthday party and they had pizza, fried chicken, cake, ice cream, etc. I had NONE of it. I stayed on my low-carb pre-op diet and had turkey and grilled chicken breast. I guess I'm just fed up with society's opinion of overweight people. :smile2: I have dealt with it so much that now I'm fed up. I did ask the co-worker "What makes you say that" so I know that she knows I was not pleased with her "suggestion" or whatever you want to call it. Her excuse was "You'll be miserable". Actually, I don't think (I hope I won't) be. Once again - thank you SO much! I swear, I LOVE this board!!!! :thumbup:

Honestly? I pass it. LOL! I try to muffle it - I have an office with a door, so I'm able to do that here, or else I'll go into the bathroom. I do have some gas x that I will take if the pain gets bad. And I spoke too soon about the BM. Goodness sakes the mother of all hit me not too long ago. I guess it takes a few days for your system to start getting rid of things. Sorry for the TMI! I was relieved and yet like "oh crap" (literally) at the same time. :frown:

Thanks everyone! I don't understand where it came from, I really don't. :frown: I was sort of shocked how she did it. Of course, I wonder if she's miserable sometimes because all she talks about is working out and she eats NOTHING. She gets 1200 calories a day and burns an excessive amount. (She told me how many calories a day she gets) It was just hurtful the way she was like "I don't think you're ready" and stuff. She has no idea the ups and downs I've had with my weight over the years. It just reinforced my decision to definitely not tell a lot of other people.

Awesome Stevie! :frown: I hope to lose some weight from this pre-op diet. My scale isn't moving very much. I know - don't check it every day but I do because I'm a nosy body. LOL! It's moved maybe a pound. Ugh. I'm on day 5 of my preop. It's getting easier. I no longer want to stab people who are carrying food. Ha ha ha! Of course, today I had a co-worker shame me for having the surgery. That was fun... NOT. :frown: I don't get people sometimes. Oh well...

So, I was at work and there is a girl here who works out religiously every single day, she watches everything she eats and she had liposuction a few years ago to get rid of her excess weight that she couldn't lose. Ok cool, right? When I told her I was getting the band, she said she was totally supportive. I was happy about that. Fast forward to today. Me and another co-worker were in my office chatting about my pre-op diet because we're going walking at lunch. The girl walks by and I asked her real quick about how many calories she takes in a day. Her response to me - "I don't think you're ready for this band. You're going to be miserable." WTH? Then she proceeds to tell me that I should have tried everything else first. That it hasn't been enough time. Are you kidding me? I've worked with her for four months and she is telling me this why? I was taken aback. I mean, seriously? She doesn't know my medical history or my diet routine. I told her about how I have done weight watchers and diets only to gain it back. That I've lost the 40+ lbs before, only to gain 50+ back. That I need something to keep me stable. That before I would deny myself everything and then go crazy one day and eat everything I could. The band allows me to have things - in SMALL portions. It will help me from being hungry all the time. I've been doing good on my pre-op diet, and even my family doctor last night said she thought I was the perfect candidate for it because she's seen me succeed before. I'm just so hurt right now. :frown: She's like "Well, I'm not trying to talk you out of it but I think you should just wait a year or so and try something else and make the lifestyle change first. I did the lifestyle change. You can do the lifestyle change. You don't need a band to make you do it." I'm already making the changes. I don't get it. :frown: Anyone else have people who say things like this? I have had three people basically "shame" me over this decision, which are three people that I thought would be supportive. Sigh... I hate this. :frown: