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So I start my pre-op diet tomorrow and it's an extended pre-op diet because I have such a high BMI and fatty liver syndrome. So it's twenty days of these specially formulated Protein shakes from Minogue Medical, and a maximum of 250 calories worth of low glycemic vegetables a day. Up until this point, I have spent so much time doing research, picking up ideas on foods to make after my surgery and getting myself as familiar as I can with everything, but now that I'm the day before my pre-op diet, I'm starting to think... "this is actually happening" and I'm getting exceptionally nervous. I know this pre-op diet is going to be really hard, but I also know that I can do it. It's just now I realize that I'm less than three weeks away from getting on a plane and flying to Mississauga, where I'll have my surgery and it's making me incredibly anxious. Does anyone have any tips or tricks on how to deal with pre-op nerves? Maybe any tips on how to stay focused and not "cheat" while on the pre-op diet? Any help would be great. Thanks, Rachel

Hello everyone. I'm a month post op and need some info/help. I have read many posts about the 3 week stalls and stalling in general, but I'm getting very defeated. My first week I lost 18lbs, now only an additional 3.5. Hit a stall week 2 for a week and a half. I asked my Dr what calorie intake I should be following, was advised don't worry about it and focus on 100 grams protein and 40-60 Oz water. Been hitting the goal every day, but mostly with shakes. Wondering if the issue is I'm not consuming enough calories? I would appreciate any help/input. My Dr's office is not very informative besides saying to follow my book (paperwork) which I have been. Thank you!!

Do you track your calories and protein? Do you weigh and measure your food? Are you resorting to softer foods because you have to chew more solid food too much? when I stall in weight loss, if I track calories for a few days, the problems begin to expose themselves and the answer for why I didn;t lose is usually evident. however sometimes there are just plateaus ( a rest your body needs form continued weight loss) that happen.

So I stumbled upon this yesterday. I've never tried it but if it's good then this would be awesome! It's allegedly calorie free Peanut Butter as well as flavored peanut butter spreads. The company also has other calorie-free items as well. https://www.waldenfarms.com/products/spread_peanut.html

I am so sorry that you are struggling. I can totally relate! In June I had major spine surgery, November another spine surgery and in February shoulder surgery. Of course this all began happening while in the sweet spot (under 1 year) for my surgery. My doctors put me on meds that cause you to gain weight and of course my ability to exercise has been impacted greatly. I was still able to get to goal although it took me a lot longer and I really had to be careful on my diet. I did have to limit my carb intake greatly although I have always eaten whole fruit. Not everyday but just about every other day. Someone mentioned fruit being empty calories. That is not true. There is huge benefit to eating the whole fruit and fruit is a part of a balanced diet. My nutritionist has required that I eat fruit, even in the puréed stage. So many nuts have different plans. Anyway, I just wanted to wish you the best of luck, hopefully your stall will break soon. My longest was 28 days and that was when they put me on steroids following spine surgery. Hopefully just changing some things up in your diet will help break the stall and you will be back on track! You can and will do this, just keep working with your nut. Good luck!

You are certainly going to be living in a huge calorie deficit on the days you do these gladiator workouts. Only you will know how you'll feel. Sounds like you have already learned to back off and avoid the portions that cause trouble. Good practice to get in. Being over motivated beats the heck out of the alternative in my opinion. The risk of this tendency is that injuries may occur if you don't listen to your body. All pain is not a bad thing.....but some pains are warning shots over your bow. It has taken me a while to distinguish the differences......

One of the ways of dealing with food you crave that your husband wants in the house is to try and substitute if possible. We keep lemon ices in the freezer because I do not like the flavor. After you are lap banded you might not be able to eat the bread anyway. AS for chocolate....I actually buy chocolate. I am usually able to eat a small portion and if I get out of hand I do not get it for awhile. I also eat chocolate calcium chews and that works for my cravings. They taste good, are good for you and low in calories. They are my bedtime treat. Also dark chocolate is better for you so buy the expensive stuff and maybe less will do. I also like the kettle type popcorn in the 100 calorie packs. Some people have difficulty with popcorn. You will find that out quickly whether you are or not. The popcorn is sweet and filling. Also my other "trick" is to put sugar in my tea. I try to not drink sugared teas but if I am desperate for some sweet, it often satisfies my cravings. I do not use sugar substitutes, only the real stuff. Ultimately, there is a world of food you can't eat on a regular basis if you want to lose the weight. It would help if your husband was able to give up the foods that are difficult for you for awhile but you will have to get beyond that. The lap band is great. As I am sure you read over and over again, it is a tool but I feel like it has been a gift to me and I wish you the best.

Hey, Banders!We’re into the long, lazy days of summer – but there’s plenty going on at LapBandTalk.com! So why don’t you use this newsletter as a reminder to get on over to the boards? It’ll help you stay on track or motivate you to get back on board if you’ve gotten off track a little. Here’s what you’ll find in this newsletter. Burning question: What’s the Big Deal about Protein? Member Spotlight: Meet TanyainNY! Bander Challenge: Record Your Diet! Become a Board Expert: How to Get More Involved We hope you’re having a great summer and feeling great about meeting your weight loss and healthy lifestyle goals. Enjoy the newsletter, and of course please contact me any time with suggestions, comments or any other feedback. See you on the boards! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder Breakfast should be high in protein to give you a good start for the day. But why is protein so important? First, it’s an essential nutrient for your immune system and as a part of your muscles, skin, bones and other body tissues. But it’s even more important when you’re losing weight so fast, like you are after your lap-band surgery. When you lose weight, you’re losing body fat, of course. But if you’re not careful to get enough protein, you’re going to lose a noticeable amount of lean body mass, too. That means you’ll lose some muscle mass and your metabolism will slow down. Another benefit of protein is that it actually helps you stick to your low-calorie post-surgery diet so that you lose weight faster. Protein takes a longer time to digest than carbohydrates. That means that eating a high-protein meal will help you stay full for longer than a high-carbohydrate meal without much protein. So don’t forget to hit your protein at each meal! Aim for one to two servings per meal, and if you have a snack, include some protein. What are the best sources of protein? Stay tuned for the answer coming up in a future newsletter! If you have a burning question that you’d like to see answered in the newsletter, just send Alex a PM over in the forums. It can be about anything - lap-band problems, food, fitness, weight loss, health…just let us know! Member Spotlight – Meet TanyainNY! TanyainNY from Cooperstown, New York, has used the lap-band to turn herself into a wonderful success story. Tanya is a registered nurse whose weight was a poor example for her patients. Like so many others, Tanya decided to get banded after she felt ashamed of asking her 6-year-old son to move to the dining room table to play board games instead of being able to sit on the floor with her children. Tanya got banded in December of 2009. At 5 feet 5 inches, her starting weight was 270 pounds. Now, she’s down nearly 100 pounds, only 20 pounds away from her goal weight of 155 pounds. This 39-year-old mom has the energy of her 20-year-old self. She does it all, from bench-pressiing and squatting with the big boys to taking muy thai kickboxing classes. This self-described gym rat has even become a Zumba instructor, and she competes in running races. Her next venture is to master the art of riding her new motorcycle. Tanya’s diet has been transformed along with her body. She no longer depends on “white foods,” such as Pasta, chicken and cheese. Now, her diet is a variety of healthy foods, including two salads a day and plenty of fruits, vegetables and protein. Her friends now come to her for nutrition advice! She’s loving life and taking full advantage of every opportunity! Congratulations on all of your success, Tanya, and thanks for being in our Spotlight! We feature a different LapBandTalk.com member each week in our Member Spotlight section. Let us know in the member spotlight forum if there’s someone you want to learn more about or if you want to be our spotlighted member! Nominating yourself isn’t bragging. We all want to learn more about you if you’re willing to share your trials, triumphs, tricks and tips! If you’re shy, just PM Alex with the message that you want to be in the spotlight. Thanks! Bander Challenge – Record Your Diet! Each newsletter, we challenge you with another Bander Challenge. It’s a chance to push yourself a little outside of your comfort zone or get you thinking about ways to make your weight loss journey even more successful. The challenge can inspire you to try things that you’d never thought about but that can make you more successful and confident in your weight loss journey. The challenge is completely non-competitive, but we hope you’ll post your results in the Challenge Forum so that other members can be motivated by your own challenge actions. Study after study proves that the most successful losers – and maintainers – record their diets. If you don’t already do it, now’s a good time to get into the habit. This newsletter’s challenge is for you to record your diet for three days. Include what you eat, how much and what time you had each meal and snack. You can also put in details like how hungry you were before you ate and afterwards, whether you ate exactly what you’d planned, and whether you were eating with people or alone. Did you learn anything new about your diet? Is there anything you can change so that your choices are healthier? Let us know how it went in the Challenge Forum! There, you can always look back at the previous challenges and post your results. It’s never too late to try something new. Better Boarding Tips – Getting into the Swing of Things For some members, jumping right into the conversations on the board feels natural. You know exactly what to say and have no trouble asking for help and providing your own support. For the rest of us, it can be a little tougher. We may not always know what to say to someone who needs help or how to reach out for support when we need it. How can you improve your social boarding skills? Practice! The more you post, the more comfortable you’ll feel. Start by filling in your profile, if you haven’t already. Head on over to the Introductions Forum (you can get there from the front page) and welcome a few new members. Then browse the forums until you see some topics that call to you. You might be able to answer some member questions about food choices or some of the pros and cons that you’ve experienced with your weight loss surgery. You’ll soon feel like an old pro with so much practice, and the other members will sure appreciate your input! That’s about it for this week’s newsletter. You can always find the old newsletters in the newsletter forum if you ever miss one. Thanks as always for your support, and we’re looking forward to seeing you out on the boards! Take care of yourself and each other, Alex ============================================================== If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=newsletter

What you're feeling is completely normal. We want this to work so badly that we have ourselves convinced food is the enemy. We tend to live in extremes. Pre surgery, food was an addiction, like a drug. Post surgery, we're scared to eat because we're convinced every little morsel will pack all the weight on and undo all of our progress. It's learning the balance between the two that takes the most time and effort. It's always a work in progress. Food is fuel, no more and no less. We eat to live, not live to eat. But we can't live without eating. If you start working on the disordered thinking (and yes, it is an eating disorder we all have) and we stick to the plan for what to eat, when, how often, etc and we move our bodies.... we get healthier, our relationship with food slowly changes, and the weight comes off. Once you're cleared to work out (beyond just walking) you will need the calories to keep your body from thinking its starving (when that happens, it holds on to every little pound and ounce of fat). Just take it one day at a time, and you'll get there. Start really slowly, give yourself grace, and don't fear food. It's fuel for our bodies, and we need it. We just don't need it the way we had it pre surgery.

This is so true about starvation mode. I too was afraid to up my calories and in effect put myself into starvation mode and my weight loss stalled. As soon as i upped the calories, the weight started coming off again!!!

Your question really means nothing without knowing the calorie count. Share that info with your NUT for a comprehensive answer. My guess if you stay between 1000 and 1200 cals per day you will lose weight fast.

I stay away from beers/sodas not only cause of carbonation (and doc said so), but all the calories in beer and soda.. eek. Suppose to avoid all the liquid calories, and 1 beer or 1 soda is double+ the calories I should have in 1 snack.

Okay Y'all, I'm on day two of my pre-op. I guess I am a little lucky, because my doctor on me doing, protein shakes, lean meats and starchless carbs. Feelin' a lack of energy... but overall feeling good. Made a awesome protein drink today. 1 scoop protein powder, 8 ounces of almond milk, and 1 teaspoon of whipped peanut butter, then blend till smooth. It's about 22g of protein and 185 calories John

Yes, swapping like that is what I do. mac is right, you burn more of a proportion of fat at a lower heart rate but you burn less fat and calories overall and your body pretty much goes back to its normal resting metabolic rate the minute you stop. There's lots of evidence that working harder - at about 75% or 80% of your max heart rate not only burns more calories and fat overall but also cause an afterburn where your body is burning at a much higher rate for hours afterwards - and strength training also has this effect. Of course there's credible evidence disputing this too and you have to be able to cope with the workload. All I know for sure is it really WORKS. For me anyway, the extra effort pays off, but I've done more than my share of long, slow cardio with all the running I do - I can run at about 8km an hour and keep my heart rate under 130 for two hours at a time, or I can do faster, harder, shorter runs. I try to do both for balance, but when I first started running, all my runs were "anaerobic" in that my heart rate was HIGH, and I was SWEATING. Walking on the treadmill didnt cut it for me, that was already too easy to qualify when I was banded. But for the next person, it may be all it takes. The key is YOUR worklevel. Add in the weights and WOW, over the last six weeks, I've peeled off a dress size without actually losing more than a pound or two. I dont know why I quit the circuits and fell into just running - probably because my goals are all running related and to be a good runner, you have to RUN, lol, but the higher intensity work (sprints) and the weights have worked miracles on me over a very short period of time and at the moment I seem to be able to eat and eat and eat and not gain an ounce. In fact the more I am able to sneak in past my band, the more weight I seem to lose.

What is one serving and how many calories are in that serving? How many grams of protein and how many grams of carbohydrates? Is it fat free or sugar free or both?

Mine is under 800 calories a day. Two shakes, then 2-3 cups of raw veggies with 4oz lean protein. I'm not a huge eater and have been hungry! I've added a bit of cheese, yogurt, salsa, guacamole, bacon bits, hummus to the huge salads while still doing the gym. Surgery is Monday! I think the diet is 90% to get you used to it.

If you believe 1/2 of the Bullsh!t that the Employees tell you, then your sure to FAIL ! You need to talk to people that have been there, and done it. / People that have walked in your shoes. I have walked in your shoes do to bad aftercare. He deflated my Band, and I regained almost all my weight back. In January I tipped the scales at 328 I said this $h!t stops now. So I put myself on 1200 calories a day (it was hard !) and I began the search for a new surgeon. Fast Forward . I found one, and he excepted me. They looked at it under Fluorscope for Revision Surery. There was nothing wrong with it ???? So they put in a Acrylic in case of a leak, and filled me to my fill line. and I feel GREAT ! The Band does work ! But you have to limit yoursel on intake, and exercise. You know what is expected of you. Go to myfitnesspal.com and record all of your info there. It's FREE ! So no worry to you. You make a effort and this will work, No effort, and Bypass fails too. Make a apt. with your surgeon, and explain what's going on. If you get no satisfaction. Seek out another Dr.... I did ! ! and it worked.... You to can do this too. Were always here for help.

I do not get dumping syndrome and I eat whatever I want. (sweets included) I stay very active and I use my food scale to measure out my portions. On weeks where I feel a little bit out of control I go back to counting calories. I also still weigh myself every Monday morning. I give myself a 5 pound swing either way from my goal weight.All the best!!!

Hi - I am now on the pureed phase and am averaging 500-600 cals per day. I am loosing 1-2 lbs per day, which seems a little excessive. I would like to moderately up my fat intake with good fats. I do not like avocados which would be the easiest approach. Any other thoughts to up fat content (I am mostly eating plant-based protein shakes, pureed lentil soups and broths). I love eggs, but I tried a soft scrambled egg, ate half, and immediately vomited, I think it is just too soon for eggs. Thanks for your advice/recommendations!

Welcome! I can only imagine how hard the liquid diet is. I'm so happy my surgeon only requires us to eat under 1000 calories for 14 days rather than a plain liquid diet. However, like everyone has said when things get hard just keep reminding yourself why you are doing it. My surgery date is September 8th so I'm right behind you.

My surgeon recommends 1000 calories a day after surgery with at least 60g Protein. This is the amount your body needs to maintain a healthy weight with limited or no activity. A person with anorexia usually consumes MUCH less than this. I had a friend who was severly anorexic and she would eat stuff like ketchup, mustard greens, hot sauce on a couple of crackers, and all sorts of no calorie food for meals. The difference is WLS pts are eating the RIGHT amount for sedentary lifestyles and are making sure they are meeting nutritonal requirements for a healthy weight. Someone with an eating disorder (anorexia and bulemia) is starving their body of nutrients in order to be a healhty or unhealthy weight. And if they are refering to the post op diet then that is only temporary and would be required of anyone having major abdominal surgery..... Hope this helps...i have had this question too.

You will get varying answers but it has for me. I do feel "full" after eating 3-4 oz of food, particularly Protein. A lot of times I could go longer without eating but I eat so that I get enough calories for the day. (However I was not a revision).

Try this: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=31389&highlight=calories

My diet before the preop was to stick within my calorie range for height and weight. She wanted me to focus on portion sizes, protein and making healthy choices but nothing was off limits. I exercised so I could eat more. Bought a fit bit. Lol

I found this forum while looking up information on a place in Mexico. I have tried really hard for the last three years straight to trim down and get to a healthy weight and I keep failing. I do really well and then I gain the weight right back. I'm 29 and 6 7' and weigh 274. My ideal weight is 220. My BMI is 31.5. Yes, I know I'm tall but I'm still overweight and I can't get it under control. I also suffer from Rapid Bi-Polar disorder which is what brings me to post this question. Has anyone had the Gastric Sleeve Surgery that also suffered from Rapid-bi polar depression and if so, did you notice any improvement after your surgery? I'm wondering if my bi-polar depression will improve any if I can get my weight under control. I was at 310 pounds so I have improved but I can't drop below where I'm at right now. I walk 5 miles in the morning, 3 to 5 miles at night, an average of 45 miles a week. I watch what I eat, but my job ... sometimes I can burn a ton of calories and other times its slow. I have both the cash and credit to get the surgery either in the States or Mexico. I've talked to my Psych doctor and she tells me... your tall, your not over weight... but I have man boobs like no other and as she tells me this, she complains about her own weight and how she has tried so hard. So I don't know if its her job to tell me what I want to hear, or what. In short, I work hard and I can afford to pay for the surgery out of pocket as my insurance won't cover i. I'm just wondering if anyone has any input on the bi polar issue. I do take meds for it and have it under control. My family also has a history of diabetes, cancer, brain cancer, high blood pressure etc. I don't want to follow in their foot steps. I want to change things for the better.