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Can anyone tell me what the difference is with a liquid diet vs a diet. If you loose, how will they know which method you used? My doctor said they like you to loose about 10lbs before the surgery.

I'm so excited!! I got on the scales this morning and I have lost 50.5 pounds!!! I started this journey at the end of May when I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. My doctor said either diet/exercise or medication. I chose to try the diet and exercise. I had been thinking about lapband for several months and finally decided to have the surgery. Boy have I not regretted my decision!!!! I started out at 228 and am now 177.4!! 50 pounds was my first big goal. Now I'm pushing for 75. My family (other than my husband) can finally see that I am loosing weight. :-) I have also been cleaning out my clothes. I have given away about 3-33 gallon garbage bags full of clothes. I am down to 4 pairs of pants! I couldn't be more excited. I stared out in a size 18/20 top and bottom and am now in a size 13/14 pant and a large top. I actually have a couple of pairs of pants that have elastic waist and they are a size 8/10. They are tight but they fit. :-) If they don't have elastic I have to get the bigger size. :-( I would like to thank everyone on here for their advise and wisdom!! I have read lots and lots of post and feel that I learned alot about what to do and not to do with my band. So, THANK YOU everyone!!!

I haven't had a problem with anything except for oranges. I can't eat the skin on them. But salads, raw veggies, anything like that goes down fine. I think everyone is different though. When I try something new or something that I haven't had since the band I go slow.

The patient advocate at my surgical center said that she can feel her port under her skin, but that as you lose weight, your doctor "may" be able to bury it deeper for you if it bothers you. I didn't ask about the impact question.

Don’t worry about fatty infiltration of the liver, is totally reversible. Once you loose weight the fat deposits all over your body will be reduced… including the liver.

I'm going on 4 weeks out of surgery. I was doing good loosing weight and I lost 24# in 2 1/2 weeks and now I've been stuck there and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I don't eat much I'm still on pureed foods till this weekend and I drink about 32 oz of water if I drink more I get so full I don't eat at all. I just got the ok for physical activity so I'm starting the gym tomorrow. I'm going on over 1 week of the same weight and it's depressing.

Yeah! Someone else not so far away. I love that there are people not too far away makes me feel not so alone in this process. Maybe they should ask for something for pain I hear some people gets something on the skin to numb any pain. I used Dr. Spivak in Houston I am not sure what he does until I go tomorrow for my first fill. Why are you questioning your Surgery? Can I help? I am new only one month out but maybe I can

I'm officially halfway to my weight loss goal!:sneaky: My goal is to lose 110 pounds - and just before my vacation, I was getting close to the 50% mark - 55 pounds gone. I stalled for a while, but kept following the bandster rules - lo and behold, I got on the scale and it showed my 55 pound loss. I was so excited I wanted to jump up and down! I even weighed myself a couple of times to make sure I wasn't "interpreting" the numbers incorrectly :tt1: Nope, there it was...a 55 lb loss and halfway to my goal! Now I see why people can get stalled at this point. I'm really happy with my progress to date, I can fit into a lot of clothes in a size 16 (smaller than I've been since my teens) and I feel tons better than I did when I was at my heaviest! Don't worry - I'm not going to stop (or even slow down). Having had this taste of success over the long term (I've been banded for a total of 8 months), I'm hungry for more. I want to see what it feels like to be below 200 pounds - Onderland, they call it - for the first time since I was 15 or 16 years old. Yep, I've been overweight THAT long... Wearing size 16 clothes is a revelation. I should clarify - that's a 16W, not a standard misses 16. There seems to be more room in a 16W - it's sized for a grown woman's body, as opposed to a straight 16, which seems to be sized for a slimmer (perhaps younger) woman. Junior 17's and some 15's are close, but they don't fit me the way I need my clothes to fit, so for now, I'll leave those alone. I may never get back to wearing "Juniors" - they didn't fit me well when I was younger, and there are so many more options out there now. Happiness is...having to get rid of lightly-worn clothing because it's all getting too big for you, less than 3 months after buying it! All my business clothes are getting loose - and some things (like dresses) I can still use, but skirts and such are getting dangerous. I have a really cute black-and-white cotton skirt with a lovely print that I bought at the Talbots outlet near my office. I put it on this morning (it's always been a bit tight in the waist) and if it were not for the "bump" at my hipline, it wouldn't stay up on me! I've had to keep checking the skirt all day to make sure it doesn't fall off of me, and this will probably be the last time I wear it unless I get it tailored or replace it. It's a really good feeling - may seem superficial to some, but I enjoy clothes shopping, and to NOT be restricted to shopping at Fashion Bug, Lane Bryant or Catherine's only because of my body size is a wonderful feeling. I've started "wogging" - the jog/walk program known as the Couch to 5K. There are links on LBT about it, or a Google search will turn up the program. There are many versions, including one for the iPod / iPhone which lets you use your own music. My hubby and I have started the program, and I'm (surprisingly) enjoying it! I wanted something to give me more of a calorie burn than just walking (which I do a lot) and jogging was the next logical step. When I tried it before, my knees and back hurt, not to mention that I got winded really really fast. It just wasn't fun - more about pain than gaining fitness - so I stopped. This time around, sans 55 pounds, I'm enjoying it a lot - so much so that I even went out in a light drizzle to get my "wog" in...totally different mindset for ME! I love the program so far - and now I'm getting quite the collection of activewear to go with my wogging - some of it quite form-fitting, which I NEVER would have done 55 pounds ago. I am truly loving my banded life - I still have my challenges when I try to eat too fast or eat something I shouldn't, but overall, I am doing quite well. My blood sugar numbers are good, and my primary care doctor is very happy with my weight loss. If you are researching the Lap-Band, I encourage you to do as much searching as you can on this site and others so that you are prepared for the experience, but don't wait too long. There may not be a "perfect" time to get the band - but your health is too important to delay a permanent solution forever. I feel the band is a permanent solution for me - as long as I don't have any physical problems with it, I'll have it for life. Good luck to all and feel free to pm me if you have further questions for me...:thumbup:

I'd also look to the grams of carbs that you're eating as well as the sodium. Personally high sodium foods, like ham tends to be, make me reatin Water like a balloon. I'm also one who can't loose on higher carbs. Does your protien shake have higher carbs? This is the frist that I've heard of eating 6 small meals with the band. My bariatric team says 3 small meals, no snacking in between them either. Considering you're just about 2 weeks post-op your diet has advanced much further than mine. At that point I was still on liquids. Most doctors won't fill until 4 weeks post-op at the earliest, some wait as long as 6-12. My 3rd week opst-op I didn't loose a single pound, then weight loss picked up again. Bodies sometimes just take breaks once in a while.

Ok I have faith that I am going to be receiving the "Call" any day now... So I have been proactively drinking 2 slim fast optima shakes and eating 1 meal a day.. Of course still drinking my Whylers lite and water.. This is my 3rd day and today I was kind of sad for no reason. I went to church and it was like pulling teeth for me to get into the service, but the best part of it is i realized what was going on because of all of the post that I have read. Now I have been waking up lately in the middle of the night not able to sleep because I can actually can see myself in my dreams so much smaller and healthier and actually lovin it. :tt1::tt1::tt1: One thing that really does scare me is that once I really really take control of my life again I feel that my so called friends will not want to hang out or even associate with me anymore..Now don't get me wrong they are overweight also but the diffrence between them and me is I am choosing to get healthy because I am tired of being unhappy with myself, and not always but sometimes thinking hey r they looking at me because if a Fine azz chick...lol or are they looking at me because they are like look at that fat azz chick..... They are fine as long as we go out to eat or have bar-b-que's in the summer and they see me getting just as large as they are they are cool..But 2 of them don't have kids and they don't understand that a 3-year old has energy and don't want to sit down and wait they want to go and play NOW.... and 1 does have a child and she is just plain old lazy.... I am so tired of spending more money than i have to on clothes. I truly am ready to step out of the box and go places that I have never been before meet new people make new friends for life and have more in common than yeah I can eat an entire foot long from sub way how about u? LOL:lol: (use to be able to...lol) So why am i feeling like this? It actually seems like when i start talking about loosing weight, working out and eating healthy they don't want to talk anymore or they are going to call me bk and never do...:cursing::confused:

I think that the scarring depends on your skin. I had gall bladder surgery about ten years ago and you can't even find most of the incisions. The one big one is just a white line on my tummy. Some people think Vitamin e rubbed on the scars (after they are completely healed) helps with scarring. I didn't do anything with mine. So far my six new incisions look good and will decide what if anything to put on them after they take out the staples. Hang in there and concentrate on healing. :biggrin2:

banded 2/15/2008 330 im down to 280 goal is 240 i get my protiens in my vitamins and plenty og juices water dock says im doing good but i feel weak some days and once i take my protien im good ?????:crying:

Well I think better now than later... if u wait too long you may decide not to get it done. This will be a life style change for you so if u have to eat less and or make better food choices big deal.... It's going to be the summer anyway... and the more weight you can loose between now and july will be more than just a few i'm sure... I would do it now.... but thats my opinion.

I don't know what to think right now, I am 95% sure I will be approved for the band, but just reading about the weight lost and how some bandster loose great within a year and other don't, plus the sagging skin, do think excerise and staying active well help with this problem? I really want this to work for me but I want to see result also? I need some encouragemnet?:tongue2::smile2:

I am sharing this because everyone has that relative with an unfortunate personality. I come from "hard huggers" but they always surprise me. Last night at dinner my aunt asked what I planned to do about "all that extra skin". When I said I didn't anticipate enough for it to matter she said "do you think that's realistic?". Now, I'm 5'2 and started at 288 aiming for 130 (anticipating a normal regain to 160). I expect flappiness but not medically damaging flappiness and I personally don't care. If hangies cause rashes i will have it removed. I'm just AMAZED that she thought this was a socially acceptable approach. To be fair, she was raised by hard huggers and consequently has poor social skills. I'm clearly laughing about it but I knew you folks would appreciate it.

I cannot tolerate any dry meat. Gravy or condiments must be slathered on generously or up it comes within minutes And no matter what meat it is, it must be chewed well preferably starting with a small bite. Skin ( like fried chicken) is tasty but the hardest to digest no matter what. I eat it very sparingly

Yeah I am still around. Other than some random posts on my activity page. I go through the forums to see if there is anything I feel passionate about, enough to post on but life is crazy right now. All the kids are in sports, I'm coaching, work, gym, chores, LIFE! Plus I have had a bad cold for a week now. But my journey is still going strong. Still loosing. And no complications How are you doing?

lol...Well u know I have been told since i am doing so good with loosing the weight why have it done.. and i'm like i don't have a problem with loosing it.. It is keeping it off... as well as i am always hungry.. or either I think im always hungry...lol.. good info

Thanks for the replies. I guess I am a bit concerned about having something permanently inside me ... But it makes sense to keep it on to prevent gaining weight (which is why I am as heavy as I am now). It is going to be tough seeing him loose the weight quicker .... but he needs it more than I do.

I did a modified/partial liquid diet: 2 slimfast shakes a day and one meal of whatever (trying to keep it healthy). Anyway in a month I was able to loose 17 pounds eating that way. All liquid pre-banding is difficult, but throwing in a meal of real solid food makes the shakes a bit better. Anyway I suggest finding a shake you like, not loath, pre-op.

Hi, I usually just read and learn from other people's experiences; but when I read yours I felt compelled to respond. I've been banded for 11months and have managed to loose 50lbs. I've been stuck here for over four months now. I lost three more then gain seven and just started loosing again. There are different reasons why we keep gaining or stuck, mostly for me I found it’s because I rarely exercise and have not been eating right; (and I have one reason for the other for this behavior). Although in my mind I always feel am eating right, until I religiously started to note what I was eating. I started logging my food on sparkpeople.com. I feel this site to be a great motivator. It tells me my caloric intake and gives me easy exercises I can do. The other thing that’s been helping me is walking now that the weather's nice. I sent out an email looking for walking buddies and got some responses. Am however thinking of walking alone sometimes because it gives me time to think of stuff. Try to leave the house and walk somewhere because staying at home for me makes me eat more, am constantly hovering around my fridge. Life's not easy but you're doing the right thing by asking for help. You can never get lost when you ask for directions. Good luck to you and I wish you all the best.:crying:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

I have a scheduled mommy makeover on June the 22nd I weigh 280 pounds I know I'm still overweight but I used to weigh 411 the reason why I'm doing it so it took so soon is because there's lots of exercise is that I cannot do because of the hanging skin I've lost a hundred 31 pounds already I can do jumping jacks I can't run so I was just wondering if anybody's ever got a tummy test Wayne 282 help with exercise it movement after the skin is removed please let me know thank you

I had my first baked potato today without the skin. I mushed it up and put some margerine on it. Soon after I had diarrhea. Did anyone have this problem graduating to mushies from liquids?

Well I have not seen my TOM for about 8 months and I wont see it if I don't taken the pill. But to my surprise after loosing 76 lbs today I got my TOM on its own this a great nsv this proof that wls works

I'm sorry the Vitamins made you throw up. I also have to be very careful about which Multivitamins I take because many will make me sick, or cause an acne breakout. The Vitamin I've repurchased the most since having the VSG is the Flintstones Complete with Iron. In the immediate weeks following surgery I couldn't stand the taste, and switched to Vitamin Code for Women by Garden of Life. It never caused me to throw up, but would make me a tad bit nauseous if I didn't have it with food. I found that taking it with a smoothie worked best. I then tried the Vitamin patch, but it caused a skin irritation. At around the three month mark I decided to try Flintstones again since I still had it in my pantry and had run out of the other vitamins. By that point my tastebuds had settled down, so it was perfectly fine. I've mainly stuck with it ever since because it's readily available, can be taken with or without food and Water, has never caused any negative side effects, and has gotten the job done. My lab results have been excellent. I also take Vitamin D3 and Peppermint Oil capsules (for PCOS).