Dave_NW

Peter, you're "only" 75 pounds away from a healthy BMI. This year. Next year you can easily be "only" 100 pounds away. The year after that, maybe "only" 125. Where does it end? It's progressive, it's life threatening, and it can be fatal. She doesn't understand that NOT taking action could easily make her a widow. She needs to wake up and accept that you need a hand getting your life under control. I carried around that extra 75 or 100 or 125 pounds for years. I ignored it and felt the side effects of not being able to be healthier. I became a spectator in my life, while I wasted years waiting for things to magically be better. I finally decided I didn't care what others thought, it was high time to take control of the situation. I had my surgery five months ago, and in such a short time, I have my life back. I'm down over 80 pounds, my blood pressure is well within limits, and my lab work says I'm in the Normal range for everything they tested. I eat right, and I exercise four or five days a week. Before surgery I didn't do either of those things. If you can do the surgery, I recommend you go for it, and not waste any more time. My ONLY regret about the surgery was that I didn't do it years ago. Good luck! Dave

Funny you should ask. I just had one for dinner this evening. Premier Protein Bars, made by Premier Nutrition, are excellent. Great taste, not "cardboard-like" or dry. Fresh, chewy and very satisfying. I highly recommend them. You can buy them at a number of places, like costco, Amazon, or from the Premier website: http://www.premiernutrition.com/products/protein.html If you follow the link and read the text, you'll see they average about 270 calories per bar, (depending on flavor), but contain 30 grams of protein. The three flavors are all very good, and each is different. I bought mine at Costco, where they sell two 12-pack boxes as a bundle. Provides a lot of choice. I keep one in the car, one in my desk at work, and if I'm going out for the day running errands or whatever, one in my jacket pocket. Very convenient. Dave

Be very careful about eating solid foods this soon unless your surgeon says it's okay. Part of the first six weeks or so after surgery is to allow your body time to heal up. Your band was stitched in place on your stomach wall. Those stitches need time to heal up. If you eat solids before you should, you run the risk of affecting the healing of those stitches. Just because you didn't feel anything doesn't mean it's okay to eat improperly. As to your two pounds loss, that's good to have (as is any weight loss), but it's normal to lose a fair amount in the few weeks right after surgery. Your body is getting rid of fluids taken in during the surgery, and your system is adjusting to how you're eating now. So a certain amount is weight lost is normal, and you should see even more weight coming off over the next few weeks. But again, the focus should be on healing up. Take things slow and take it easy on yourself. The weight WILL come off, but you need to adapt to the stages of recovery. Developing patience is the hardest part of this. Good luck with things. Dave

Stalls definitely happen, even if you have a perfected daily routine. (I like Reverie's term that weight loss is not "linear.") I was clicking along, losing pretty regularly, but hit a wall when my doctor and I agreed to eliminate another of my daily medications. Good news for me about daily meds, but it messed with my metabolism, which I think had grown accustomed to how I was living my daily life. The after-effect was that I went up and down fighting a half pound or so for nearly three weeks. Like you, I had tried adjusting this or that, in hopes of getting the scale moving again. In the end, I changed the foods I was eating (more solid Proteins, fewer slider foods), and bumped up my Water intake. And bingo - that was the key. I lost four pounds within a few days, and the scale is moving downward again. As others have suggested, look at every aspect of what you're doing daily. Is something different? Is everything still the same old thing? Maybe that's what needs to be changed. Bodybuilders achieve success by muscle confusion, by changing up their routine frequently. I'm beginning to think weight loss works in similar ways. If the daily numbers end up the same, how you get there may be the key. shake up your daily life a bit, but maintain end-result consistency, and see if it doesn't help. Good luck! Dave

I'm 57. Check my ticker. I'd call that a success. If banding is the right choice for you, go for it. My only regret about it was that I didn't do it years ago. Dave

I pay more attention to Protein than calories. But I'm not rigid on the protein intake. I know I'll get a fair amount most days by eating a higher protein diet. What I do watch more closely is the carbs. I find that if I eat more carbs than protein, I don't lose weight. Reducing (but not eliminating) the carbs helps the protein be more effective, and the weight loss continues at a fairly steady rate. At the end of the day if I've had around 80g of protein (or more), 50g of carbs, and a total of about 1200 calories, it's a good day. If I add in reasonable exercise and enough Water intake, I can expect the scale to move down. The trick is learning how your body processes what you give it, and what works for you. Don't overlook your water intake. It makes a huge difference for me. Good luck! Dave

Good for you! Sometimes it's all a matter of keeping things in perspective. Hope the kids had a great party. Dave

Try eating before the party food starts? Drink lots of liquids instead of eating the party stuff? I'm thinking Protein Shakes. Then just lay on the willpower? Good luck! Dave

Definitely call them. To my knowledge, for Tricare Prime a six month supervised diet is definitely not required. The closest they (my surgeon's team) got to that for me was asking how much I weighed at various ages in my life, and asking what I did about it. I explained to them that I've been progressively overweight at those ages, and rattled off the various diets I've been on. Then we talked about why the diets didn't work. That was all they wanted. From the date of that consult to surgery approval from Tricare was just 22 days. I had to do some lab work and an endoscopy in between, and as I mentioned above, the actual surgery request only took three work days to get approval. Dave

You both might try drinking the Premiere brand of ready-to-drink shakes they sell at costco. 11 ounces, both chocolate and vanilla flavors, 30g Protein, 5g carbs, 3g of fat, and only 1g of sugar. They taste really good, too. You can also buy them direct: http://www.premiernutrition.com/products/protein_shake.html This brand is the only Protein shake I can handle. I drink one every morning on my way to work - it gives me a great jumpstart for my daily nutrition. Good luck! Dave

I think the frustration and questions come up after the initial rush of rapid weight lost after getting banded, only to have things slow down to a crawl after that. For me, it was when I went back on solid foods, at the three week post-op mark. (I did three full weeks of liquids post-op.) It took awhile for my system to finish healing up, and my metabolism to decide I wasn't trying to starve it. Once it did that, the weight loss started moving again. It's been pretty steady since then. The trick for me was deciding how my body reacts to diet changes and exercise. I've learned SO MUCH about my own metabolism through this, and it sure makes sense to me. Now I think i understand how I gained all that weight, a pound or two at a time over all those years, and now i'm seeing it all go away, a pound or two at a time. No complaints from me, just wish I could control the speed of my weight loss. Hang in there, follow your surgeon's advice, and give yourself time to adjust to things. You'll continue to lose, just like everyone else. Just be aware that periodic plateaus are a normal part of your system adjusting to your new life. Good luck! Dave

You don't say what kind of Tricare insurance you have, but I think you need to give them a call and find out what's up. To my knowledge, Tricare does NOT require a 6 month nutritionist visit. I have Tricare Prime, and I know from experience that they are extremely fast to approve people once things are submitted requesting surgery. In my case it was three working days. So yeah, call them and find out the whole story. Something is out of kilter with your situation. Good luck! Dave

unjury chicken Soup Protein powder can't be heated above 130F or it clumps up. Keeping it down to the right temp where it doesn't clump means drinking it luke warm, or less. It was awful to my taste. I have an entire can of it with only one scoop gone, if anyone wants it. Dave

Congrats you your surgery! Keep walking, keep sipping Water, try Gas-X and a heating pad for the gas pain. it gets better every day. Good luck! Dave

I think Costco sells gummi vitamins for adults. I haven't checked the dosages on them, so can't tell you anything about them. But it's worth checking out. Dave

You may want to give them a call before that. One of the side effects of not getting enough nutrition is that your hair can fall out. Just sayin... Dave

I got liquid D3 vitamins at GNC. Each drop is 4000 iu, and easy to take. If you let a drop fall on the back of your hand, you can lick it off. They're tasteless. (Sounds weird, but works well.) To get the 10000 iu a day that I need, I take two drops one day, and three drops the next day. It averages out to 10000 a day. For calcium, I got the Kirkland brand calcium chews at Costco. They look like Starburst chews, but they're chocolate flavor. Not bad. I eat three a day to get the dosage my NUT requires. I carry some in my jacket pocket, and eat one when I think i want a small snack. Takes care of two birds with one stone. Dave

There are a number of guys on here, but a substantially larger number of women, who also tend to post more often. I didn't worry about any stigma associated with band surgery - I was more concerned about my health, and wanting to live to a ripe old age. As it was, I was headed for an early grave. I've since turned things around, and I'm in better shape than I've been in years. I'm well past my 30s, but I wish I had done this back then. I'd be much better off now. That is my only regret for having this surgery - that I waited so long. Good luck with you surgery! Let us know when it happens, and we'll make room for you on the bandster's bench. Dave

I'm sure everyone can appreciate your enthusiasm, but if the dates you've posted are correct, you were just banded twelve days ago. You're getting the cart well before the horse, and you aren't even properly healed up yet. Has your surgeon cleared you for exercise? Have you been given proper dietary guidelines to follow at this point? Following my surgery, I was on liquids only for a full three weeks. After that I was allowed soft foods, and then gradually allowed solid foods. I wasn't cleared for exercise until six weeks after surgery. And even then I was advised to take it slow. If you're at it full tilt less than two weeks out, I'm not surprised your system is rebelling. Your body is still recovering from surgery. It will take time for things to settle in, and for your metabolism to get used to your new diet. 300 calories a day isn't much, and your body is probably reeling from all the shocks you've put it through, so it's hanging onto every calorie you eat, just in case. Once you're eating a proper diet, with enough consistent calories of the right type, your metabolism will adjust, and your weight loss will continue. The weight you've lost so far is likely water weight, and what was gained during surgery. You probably haven't lost any fat as yet. Initially, I'd say yes, the band does work for everyone. But this is a process that needs to be managed properly, to give yourself your best shot at losing weight safely and consistently. Slow down and give yourself time to heal, and the weight loss will follow. Good luck! Dave

My wedding ring is made of tungsten carbide, which can't be sized. You have to order it in the size you need. When I started losing weight my fingers quickly got much thinner than they were. After my ring fell off a few times, I ended up ordering two replacement rings, one each in the next two sizes smaller than what I was wearing. (Glad they weren't expensive rings!) I'm wearing the first one now, and it's already getting lose. I fully expect the second one should be on my hand by the end of the year. I've saved the original for sentimental reasons, and as a "just in case" thing if I ever gain weight back again. Luckily, men's wedding rings are easier to replace than a womans. Dave

I've had that, especially from well-meaning family and friends who don't know how to relate to me, now that I'm banded. I just tell everyone not to worry about me, not to cook special just for me, and that I'll find something on the table that works for me. After a couple of awkward attempts, most have relaxed around me. And when they see me eating this or that without any side effects, they get over their concern. It's not a problem anymore. Dave

I don't know what causes the sensation, but I had it too. For several weeks after surgery, EVERYTHING tasted sweet - too sweet. Every Protein shake I'd tried and liked before surgery tasted like it was loaded with sugar. It was SO weird! But also, things I liked a lot before surgery, like a good cup of coffee, tasted absolutely awful. It wa slike my tastebuds had gone crazy. After I was back on solid food again, things began to level out, coffee tasted good again, and I started getting myself back on track. Hang in there. It gets better. Dave

Pulling for you, Mandy. Good luck! Dave

I think that's because someone decided the ideal woman is supposed to look like a 12 year old boy. Dave

Stan, I'd be glad to help. I'm not an expert, but I've been working it as best I can. Send me a PM and we can compare notes. Dave