Miwito

A dietitian at Unity Hospital put me on an 1800 calorie per day diet, which I found to be very easy to follow. It simply consisted of me eating a balanced diet consisting of a certain # of starches, Proteins, milk, vegetable, fruit and fat servings per meal (it was VERY easy to follow). I am 6' 4" with a large frame, so even though 1800 calories was right for me, it might not be the right # of calories for you. Nonetheless, I dropped 35 pounds prior to my surgery, whereas my surgeon wanted me to lose 25 pounds. The best part of this balanced diet was that it helped me to learn to eat much like I'll need to eat for the rest of my life. I also eliminated liquids (except milk w/cereal) from my meals while on this diet, which unquestionably made me feel full faster (you'll have to do this after surgery, so consider this practice). I'd also strongly urge you to exercise daily if you aren't already doing so. I began walking for about 40 to 60 minutes each and every morning, which quickly became habit. Now my dog won't let me miss a day, rain or shine! Good luck!

...to toot my own horn. No more blood pressure meds!!!! I went into my surgery this past Monday (8/16) taking blood pressure medicine, and was ordered to stop taking that med the day after surgery. Ridding myself of these horrible and expensive BP meds was a long-term personal goal, but I can't believe it, as I'm prescription med free just one day after getting banded! Even though I'm very hungry and considerably bored, my energy level is remarkably high and I'm nearly pain-free (I've only taken children's Tylenol). I expected some moments of regret, especially in the first few days, but so far, ZERO REGRET. :biggrin:

Unity Hospital (Allina) with Dr. Frederick Johnson. I did quite a bit of research and even conducted informal reference checks prior to selecting my surgeon, and Dr. Johnson consistently received the highest of praise in an area that is critically important to me; bedside manner. He's not only highly experienced, but he's also one heck of a nice guy. I work with physicians daily, and my own experience tells me that good manners aren’t always so easy to find amongst surgeons. Unity Hospital | Bariatric Center | Meet our staff I am a male, so I preferred a male surgeon, but Dr. Laura July is another surgeon with the Unity group that I have spoken with on multiple occasions and would recommend. There are very few female bariatric surgeons, so if a female surgeon is a strong preference for you, I’d recommend that you at least consider Dr. July. I must throw out the disclaimer that I’m on an Allina employee health plan (through HealthPartners), which uses pricing to encourage me to use Allina’s physicians and facilities. As such, I only considered surgeons within Allina’s immediate network. I don’t know anything about the Park Nicollet bariatric surgeons.

I also have HealthPartners, and I was banded this past Monday (8/16) at Unity. While it took me about three months to complete HealthPartner's pre-surgery requirements, I found the process to be quite simple and painless. In addition to the insurance company's requirements, the surgeon required that I lose at least 10 % of my excess weight before I could even schedule a surgery date. Fortunately, that weight came off with ease. Good luck to you!