Gaffer

The way that people lose weight is a pretty personal thing. Some people are just slow losers, and no matter how hard they try they lose slowly, others are born losers, and it seems they can lose weight by thinking about it. There are so many other people in between. It is also a matter of how hard people want to work at it. In regards to the by-pass surgeries vs. the band, there are longterm studies coming out now that indicate after 5 years, both are almost identical in terms of % of weight lost. By-pass patients do lose plenty of weight initially, but they also have alot of cases of them putting it back on. Banders on the other hand tend to lose slower, but do not have as many complications. It is also important to note that the 50-60% of excess weight is an average. That average include those people who have lost 100% or more of thier excess weight and those who were unsuccessful for whatever reason and lost 0%. If you are committed you should be able to lose more than the 50-60%, Even then 50-60% of excess weight is still a great accomplishment. Andrew

You'll have to use the force. :biggrin1: Andrew

Mr. Yoda better save his energy for recovery. He may be weak from the CC&Y :heh: . Andrew

I had my surgery on Wednesday afternoon and flew back to Calgary in the Friday morning. Clininc said it was fine. Good luck, Andrew

I used them as a lifesave while I was on the Optifast diet for TSWLC, so I cant comment on them for TLBC diet. Stick with the CC&Y guys, you are doing great. Ask your clinic about the pickles, but watch out they can pack alot of sodium. You only have a couple of days left, hang in there. Andrew

Okay, I remember seeing a March goals, but we seemed to have skipped that for April so I am bringing it back for May. I will start with mine. - Clean up my diet, I have not been too good lately - Work out AT LEAST 3 days a week and strive for 4 or 5 - Get my weight down to 285lbs or my body fat down to 35%. I may add others as I think of them, but I need to get these out there to refocus myself. Canadian banders feel free to post your May goals here for all the world to see. Andrew

The Optifast diet is also a ketosis diet. Keep in mind that TSWLC patients are given guidelines as to which veggies to eat and which to avoid. TSWLC patients are allowed to eat veggies like lettuce, cucumbers, spinach, celery which are all high in fibre, low in carbs, and low GI (glycemic index). They are not allowed to eat high carb veggies like carrots, corn, potatoes etc. We were also limited to a small amount of them, they were not unlimited during the pre-op. Andrew

Thanks for the kind words people. I know the men have the advantage with the higher metabolism and all making it easier for us to drop the weight. It feels great to see the 2's, hopefully I can recommit, clean up my diet a little and start droping really good again. Yasmina: I have heard alot about the Unjury powders, but ordering from the States could get pretty pricey (I dont think they are available in Canada). There are plenty of good ones that you can source in Canada either in stores or off the net. Go to a GNC or other supplement store and tell them you are looking for a low carb protien powder than mixes well. They will know what is better in terms of tatse as they get alot of feedback from customers about taste etc. Good luck, Andrew

I commend you for looking into the band beacause it is a really good solution, but it is something that would be impossible to do without your significant other knowing about. Besides, you will need the emotional support as you go through this. In terms of finance options, due to the cost of the procedure you will likely need to involve you husband. I know in my family I could not hide the $16k plus fights & hotels. I paid for my band off my HELOC which is at prime. I may looks at doing some balance transfers to some 0% credit card for a while to cut down on some of the interest. I did not look into other finance options. If this is something you are serious about you are going to have to involve your spouse. Andrew

There is also Dr. K in Colorado who does it for $9500 USD which is about $10,500CAD. His site is www.lapbandrockies.com Andrew

I am not really a fan of protien bars. I generally find them to be expensive, high in carbs and have not really found one that tastes decent. I'll have a shake over a bar anyday. Andrew

That is what kept me on the diet too. I had nightmares about them getting inside me and finding that my liver was too large to be operated on. It really is a matter of personal safety that you guys stick to your pre-op because a nick in the liver can be a serious thing if you arent successful in reducing it. Andrew

I would love to get together that day and you could all sing me happy birthday. HOWEVER... we are having my son's first birthday party that day so I will have to bow out. Andrew

I stayed at the Novotel when I was banded in February. I thought the hotel was pretty nice. It was clean, and the staff were good as well. I have no complaints which is unusual for a hotel with me. I was able to book a couple of thier package deals that ended up to be about $100 per night. I also liked that it was near the Square One mall (4-5 minute walk), so my DW could run out to get me stuff if I needed it. It also helped to pass the time before my surgery as my timeline did not allow us to see anything else when we were out there. I looked into the Waterside as well, but is was a pretty high end boutique style hotel that cost a ton of money. I dont know anything about the other one that the clinic reccomends, but I would stay at the Novotel again. Andrew

What are they gonna do? Search you and confiscate your band?:heh: There is no duty on services. Andrew

The headache should subside within the first couple of days. It is likely just a result of coming off the refined carbs. I remember I had a killer headache for the first couple of days. Remember to drink you Water too. You will be done in no time. Andrew

Hoping all goes well for you. Andrew

You may also want to look for an egg based protien supplement. Andrew

Becca has a Dr. in St. Albert that does it for $75. That me be an option if you are looking for something closer to home. Andrew

I make that bionic man noise when I work out. I think the people at the gym are starting to get annoyed, Andrew

Thats, I have been meaning to add a Steve Austin pic to my Avatar. Yes I am cheap, and easy too. :heh: Andrew

Governments are so ridiculous when looking at things like this, I wonder if there is some other motive that is preventing them from approving bands as an option in all provinces. The band has proven to be a safer procedure with less recovery time and risk of complications that other techniques, while having no significantly different weight loss after 5 years compared with the other surgeries. When you look at factors like time lost to employers and the cost if the surgery overall why would they not want to do more bands. In my opinion they should stop doing RNYs etc and go strictly to band, only reserving the other options for cases where the band is not appropriate. Andrew

All you pre-op folks sound like you are doing really good. Really, apart from making the decision to get banded the pre-op is the most difficult both mentally and physically. After that it gets much easier, and once you are on the other side it is so worth it. For me, I had to remember that I was not saying good bye to food but rather see you later. I will go have a yogurt as a show of support. Hang in there, Andrew

I doubt you would be in starvation mode yet. What may be happening is that you are gaining back some of the water weight that you initially lost, but that is being offset by a real loss in fat so the net effect is no loss. I would not worry about it. Look at the overall picture, 14lbs already is great, you must be able to hear you liver shrinking . Andrew

Good news is that with all the weight you are losing you will be able to get a smaller vehicle. Your gas mileage should improve as you lose. Hell, I have even driven the Smart car at work without having to call the jaws of life to get me out. Andrew