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I did Optifast for 2 weeks pre-op and the days 1-3 were the worst then I wasn't hungry anymore but I did lots of things with my shakes, the best one is take your Protein liquid - vanilla slim fast or whatever and pour it in a blender - add some sugar free Jello, to taste, add ice and blend - it is great. I expected to loose a great amount of weight but only lost 8# but I made it through and have sailed through the surgery and now have lost a total of 24# and will be 3 weeks on Monday. Hang in there - IT IS WORTH IT

I think there is a double edged sword when you don't exercise. I think that you end of loosing your muscle and as you slowly advance your diet you have less muscle so you burn less calories. I believe long term success is difficult to maintain without building or maintaining muscle during this process. Have you tried the body bugg and writing down everything you eat? Do you do the 8 glasses of Water per day?

Hi! I have been researching the weightloss surgeries for quite some time. I found myself to believe the sleeve would be the best option for me. I've completed my 6 month diet requirement and my doctor submitted to my insurance. I'm starting to have doubts and worries though. Background: 23 years old Struggled with weight since 1st grade Married (happily) 2 beautiful children (one of each) Husband has vasectomy (We are happy with 2) I tell you this because I'm childbearing age... no more kids for me though! Mother had lapband with a lot of success but than gained the weight back and had it removed I have struggled with weight my whole life. I don't want that for me kids. I want to be able to encourage them to exercise by example. My husband is 100% on board with whatever I decide is best for me. He says he will love me at any weight... bigger or smaller.. He is very supportive and is trying to be healthier too (he is technically considered obese, but he is muscle and not much fat. He was very into sports during his high school days and now he runs several mornings a week) I chose to look into weightloss surgery so young because I don't want to wait until I have a bunch of health issues. I want to be healthy and live as long as I can for my children. I want to be confident in myself, feel comfortable in my skin, and be able to do sooo many things that I could never do now. My concerns: I am very young... do I want to make such an alteration at this age?! I feel I do, but is it what's best for me? What if it makes more problems down the road? What don't they know about this procedure?! What are your thoughts on a youngster having this done?? Do you wish you would have or glad you didn't (or did) Eating: I obviously am still going to have to cook for my family. How is it going to affect my children? They are 19 months and 3.5 years old. They are still in the picky eaters stage of their lives. Will it be too hard for me to either make them a seperate meal or get them to eat better too? Moms with the sleeve: HELP! I don't want criticism from people. I hate bringing attention to myself and I'm afraid people will talk. I know they will. I'm not sure how I would handle this situation. People will ask me what I'm doing to lose weight. Do I tell them exercising and eating less (which is no lie) or do I tell them about the sleeve?? Extra skin: I'm not sure what to think about this subject... I've had 2 children so I already have a poochy lower tummy. I don't want to have issues with skin rubbing and flopping out. I also don't have the kind of money to spend on cosmetic surgery. Not sure about this one... Can I do this at such a young age???? Do you recommend it? This is a scary decision to make. I'm 5'8'' and weighed 288 pounds pre-diet. I've lost a little and now weigh 278. I would really like to lose 100+ pounds. I've found I'm a stress eater... which I didn't know about myself until recently. If I wait too long and get too hungry then I overeat. Otherwise, I don't really have trouble with drinking a shake or eating small portions.

I was taking as much as 80 ml of Lantus every night, plus oral meds during the day....the more I lost, the lower readings got, the less Lantus I took...pretty soon non e at all, and then no more oral meds...all my blood levels are good with no meds. Just plenty of exercise and good food choices. There is a direct correlation between diabetes and body fat%....the more fat you loose, the less resistant you become. Least that is what I've been told. For me, it was never about loosing weight, exactly, but loosing fat was always my #1 priority.... If you go by BMI's I am still overweight.....but I have a very low body fat %.... Look at athletes...you would not call them fat, yet their weight can be high.

!3 weeks after being banded and I saw my primary care Dr and she had be do some blood work. I just checked the results and all my numbers are in the normal range. My glucose is down to normal, A1C is down from diabetic to just pre-diabetic a whole point and a half,cholesterol is normal. Having my clothes become loose and had to get a smaller size bra. Even though I'm in a plateau, I'm seeing big results!

My doctor told me that the deal behind the post op liquids is so you allow scar tissue to develop over the sutures that are holding the band in place. If you go to fast and eat you can stretch the pouch and pop the sutures, which would allow the band to slip. Even if he's going to extremes with scare tactics, it worked. Now I cheated, I am not gonna lie, but I cried after! OMG - I knEw I busted my sutures and that band WAs loose. :eek: I punished myself worse than anyone could but now I'm back on track. The main thing I cheated on was I had cream of wheat during my post-op liquid phase and I had a bite of salmon. I chewed and chewed and chewed and chewed it before i swallowed. Everyone is human and it happens. I just figure it isn't forever and I can do it. Why test the limits and risk stretching my pouch or popping my sutures? GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!! :clap2:

It does feel so good... except now I am realizing that even my "skinny" clothing is getting loose. Ah ... such problems!

Thank you everyone! I don't think it will bother me too much, if i do end up with saggy skin. At least i will be able to walk and play with my son without wanting to pass out! Thanks again. Congrats to all of you!!!

Hi- UNfortunately, you won't know until you get there. Also, the true results won't really be set for at least a yeara fter you are finished losing weight (kind of like when you have a baby). I am 2 months out and have lost a good amount of weight for my frame. My face looks great! My stomach looks awful! My knees looking not so good. The weight has dropped so quickly that my skin hasn't caught up yet. I am going to wait at least 10 months before I worry about what the skin looks like. It will take that long for my skin to try and tone back up. I know that my stomach will never look perfect - I was huge when I was pregnant 6 years ago and there are too many stretch marks to count. I still have hope for my legs, though. I think it will just take time.

I can also tell you that I exercise 5 days a week, so I don't have a lot of sagging skin. My stomach still hangs over and my arms are still flabby, but I don't look like those wrinkly dogs either. Right now it's still all in check. I think as long as you exercise it you have a shot of not sagging.

I have more noticeable wrinkles on my face, but I look younger. No one can see my wrinkles/crow's feet until I smile. Pre-op, the wrinkles were plumped out with a fat round face. I will be having botox and juvederm done in the future. I don't have the turkey neck issues either, but I diligently moisturized my face/neck excessively through my losing stage. As for my body, I was not a gym rat after I got to goal so I am flabby, and have wrinkly skin to some extent, the boobs are shot to hell, but for some reason, I don't let it bother me much. I'll take the saggy/flabbiness over back fat rolls, and major/chronic joint pain any day of the week.

I know it's going to happen but so soon. I've lost 28 pounds and it has been 4 days without loosing a pound and I fluctuate from 27 to 28 pounds. I'm in the puree stage and not sure what I'm doing for this to happen I have my 2nd appt on the 29th. Just needed to vent.

thanks for the advice, I will definitely throw out the fast food. Surgery is 9 days away omg. The advice and stories told on here helps so much. I will be documenting every bit if my journey. I'm not looking forward to the gas pain, that's the only thing I am worried about, ugh. But this will be a new me, As Frust8 has said, it will be a rebirth in a sense. I'm ready to not get winded walking up my stairs, or walking in a grocery store. I stopped going to the mall because it entails so much walking. I used to enjoy running, but I now even dread walking. This is the tool that I need to help. What issues have you guys developed because of your weight or any connection with weight gain? -I have PCOS -insulin resistance - infertility -anxiety -depression - I've developed a lot of skin allergies - moodiness - chronic back pain - plantar facisitis, I work in a hospital so I'm always on the move and on my feet. This irritates my tendons even more plus all the weight gained. - and all i wear is sweat pants and t shirts. It's the only thing that fits me comfortably. I went dress shopping for an event and I picked 3 dresses to try on, they were 2X and 3X. My husband waited while I tried them on I tried the first one, I couldn't fit my arms through at all, second dress. I could barely pull down past my neck, the third dress I didn't attempt to try on. So I walked out that dressing room feeling defeated and disgusting because I used to be in a 8/10. As I walked out my husband asked what was wrong, they didnt fot or you dont like them? I told him and as we are walking to check out, I began crying, no stop. Defeated, I need this. I'm not myself, I want to enjoy life again.

Hi Everyone, I am new to this forum and would love some input into the concerns I have which pertain to my weight loss/progress. So I am 28 weeks post-op as of tomorrow and I feel as though my weight loss is a little slow. So far I have lost 4 stone and 8lbs (64 pounds) but I am struggling to hit the five stone mark. On Facebook, I am part of a group that has new and post-op patients from the clinic that I did my surgery with but everyone’s progress seems to be much better than mine. I am 24, 5ft 4 and my starting weight was 21 stone. I am grateful to be currently 16 stone 13lbs but I feel as though I should be loosing more. Am I worrying too much, or would you all agree with me? All replied appreciated 😊

Tomorrow I am two weeks out. My surgeon requires a two day pre op diet of liquids only but I also had to loose ten % of excess weight before they would make a date. I have lost that and trying to lose a little more. Curious what was your two week diet? I am kind of doing a low carb/sugar, low fat, high protein diet. Some days I have just done protien shakes for morning or lunch and just a regular dinner. Congrats on your success! Your doing Great!

GERD!!! I will never forget waking up at 2am, unable to breath because of this burning sensation in my throat!! After my surgery, I was told to take omeprazole every morning for at least 2-3 months after my surgery to prevent heartburn. I have to say that I have not had heartburn or this awful experience that wakes me up at night since my surgery 3/2. It will get better. As for the weight loss... Ugh!! I too get stuck and not loose much. I was at 2 weeks without loosing 1 lb and suddenly I lost 4. I guess I just have to be patient and remember that I will get to my weight goal !!

I went to our local library and check out some low carb cook books. I am trying to adhear to the same kind of diet...low carb, high Protein. One that I tried recently is a chicken satay recipe... here it is. 3 whole boneless chicken breasts, skin removed 1/2 cup roasted peanuts 1 teaspoon mild curry powder 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil pinch of chili powder Preheat oven to 325. Cut the chicken into 1/2 inch chunks and arrange them on the skewers evenly. Rest the skewers on a baking sheet covered with foil. In a nonstick skillet roast peanuts over medium heat until fragrant. let them cook a little and chop them coarse. Put the nuts in a bowl with remaining ingredients, stir well and pour over chicken skewers. Bake 10 minutes and serve. Protein: 10.6G Fat: 3G Carb: .5G This recipe came from a book called "The Low-Carb Cookbook" by Fran McCullough. I like this book a lot! She talks a lot about how to stock your pantry and lots of other hints and medical type information...stuff for maintaining a low carb diet and why it is so beneficial.

Sue...you are doing a great job. Congrats on your weight loss. When I do indulge occasionally I try to remeber that it is a considerable difference than what I was eating before. But part of me can't help feeling guilty because it was the indulging that got me here in the first place. Sometimes I KNOW I shouldnt eat it but I take that little bite still. Its going to be a long journey I only hope I learn from my mistakes. I also hope I learn to make wise decision and stop beating myself up for the bad ones! :tongue2: Memere...Its depends on your Doc but around my 6 week appt I was given a small fill and I go back on the 15th for another check up and I think Im close to needing another one. Today within 1 to 2 hours after dinner I was starving again. My Doc often says that we should only loose 4 to 10lbs a month so I think that you are doing wonderful!!! I can only take credit for 26lb because I had a lot of abnormal swelling around the band after my surgery and I ended up in the hospital 24 hours later and stayed there for 6 days. I was NPO for about 3 or 4 days and on liquids until 3 days after I got home. My swelling was so severe I was unable to even get a SIP of H20 to go down. So I had a little head start to get me going. Be proud of ever lbs you loose because each one is a great success!!!

Sorry this maybe tmi but I am 4 days post op and today I started having very loose stool. Sorry for the detail but I wondering if this is normal? I just introduced protein shakes and yogurt etc.. yesterday I'm following instructions exactly.

I was thinking if I wasn't the B she was talking about.... I might be now! Damn! Oh well I'm talking about my loose jiggly skin on another thread, I'm going back to that.

After the surgery we are only allow to walk is it? Are we able use the machine in the gym to tone our abs? Worried about flabby skin.. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Sudden pain near the left side of navel, underneath the skin. Doctor says it could be scar tissue. Even my skin is so sensitive to touch in that one area. Anyone else experienced this before? Sent from my LM-Q730 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi I am not sure how much you have to lose ... I am 5'5 and was 250 lbs. I am now down to 179 and still have a stomach - have about 25 lbs more to go. I feel awesome! I am turning 32 tomorrow. I am working out 2x per week doing Zumba. I notice in my tummy some elasticity isn't bouncing back but overall a big improvement. If you exercise the result is much better. Also depends on genetics, how you are shaped. But the gross nasty skin you see from shows like biggest loser isn't really typical since we lose weight much slower. I tended to lose like 2-4 lbs per month after the initial honeymoon period. Drinking Water helps too. Bottom line is - would you rather be fat and unhealthy or have some loose skin?

Thanks everyone for your answers!!! I am 32, 5'5", weigh 265. I would like to get down to 145-150. I have 3 children, had 2 vaginally and 1 by c section. I made an appointment for Monday, to talk to my doctor about the surgery.. Hoping she is for it, I am sure it will make things easier!! I think one reason I am so worried about the loose skin is because my husband mentioned it and I am afraid of looking "gross" to him.

Seems like my journey has been forever long but it hasn't in retrospect. I have BCBS of Texas and they changed the requirements in Feb. thus changing my journey. I had to have a BMI of 35 or greater with 2 co-morbidities or greater than 40. I did a sleep study, pscyh eval, several nutritionists appointments, seminar, consult, pulmonary function test, letter from GP, and was then submitted to insurance. I was approved in 48 hours and set a surgery date shortly after...then changed it because of work and family obligations. I am set for surgery on July 30th. I am getting the band with plication. About the loose skin, I agree with the rest...it is better than being overweight and the medical concerns that come with it. Whether you make the choice or not this site is a wonderful sounding board and support system so WELCOME!!!!!!!!!