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I met with my nutritionist this week and he gave me my Pre-op diet plan. I thought I would share since I haven’t been able to find a vegan plan on this website. 7-14 days prior to surgery The following diet will provide you with approximately 1000 calories and should meet your daily Protein requirements. The purpose of this diet is to deplete your glycogen (fat) stores, which in turn will help the liver to shrink and make your weight lost operation easier and safer. lean meat substitutes (70 grams protein) 2-3 cups non starchy vegetables Broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, onions, lettuce, carrots, tomato, green Beans, asparagus, radish, pickles, mushrooms May use fat free low calorie dressing or hummus 3 tsp fat Olive oil, canola oil, Grapeseed Oil, Coconut Oil, Flaxseed oil, Walnuts, Hemp Oil or Sesame oil Calorie Free liquids Water, propel, crystal light, fruit2O, plain coffee, plain tea Protein Supplement Protein shake Garden of Life Raw Protein Beyond Organic Protein Formula I’ve already started this diet even though I don’t have a date set. I am having a hard time getting in 1,000 calories.

Hello everyone! I have been checking out this site for a few weeks and figured it was time I introduced myself. My name is Melissa (41, 252 lbs, 5'1") and I've been overweight/obese most of my life. You know, it's kind of weird - I remember my 5th grade class picture and I was little and cute. Everything from there on out through middle school I have vague memories of some crap happening then but now I just remember putting on the pounds. I graduated high school at 160 and well, just never really stopped. My mom passes away out of the blue one day of sudden cardiac death and when then happened it really shook me to my core. After that happened I, in no particular order, divorced my first husband (something that should have been done long before I did), quit my long time job of academic advising, moved to TN, married a new wonderful man who treats me like a queen, started culinary school, graduated, started my own personal chef business and will also be teaching culinary arts at a local culinary school this fall. This has all happened in the last four years! I've tried Weight Watchers more times that I can remember - was only really successful once and even then it was going from 229 to 187. I've done other diets, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, went to the gym, saw a nutritionist, tried hypnosis, yeah, I am a diet veteran for sure. But they never worked. And it wore on me because I'd always say to myself "What is your problem - you know what to do - just do it!" But I never could. Heard a lot of negative stuff about WLS - thought smugly to myself that I'd never take the "easy way out." Everyone knows people just gain the weight back - and don't even get me started about all the complications people have. And besides, I'm a chef - I can't do something where it's going to automatically cause dumping anytime I take a bite of anything. Another thing keeping me from pursuing surgery was the fact that for most of my life I had relatively few complications. In 2009 I started meds for high cholesterol. This May I started meds for high blood pressure, depression, and was told I was prediabetic. Hmmm....I guess when they say once you hit 40 everything starts going downhill was true But I still wasn't thinking surgery. But then I saw Graham Elliot had VSG - he's a fab chef from Chicago (you may have seen him on Masterchef). Hmm, here's a fellow chef getting this surgery done - surely he won't do it if it's going to cripple his livelihood. So I did some research. Heck, who am I kidding? I did a ton of research. And I realized it's not the easy way out. Any one who says that just doesn't know what all is involved. But I also realized it may very well be a very viable option for me. The bad news is my insurance has an exclusion and won't cover it and at first my husband was a bit reluctant to get on board. Every time I'd mention it he'd change the subject. Fortunately, we have a pretty awesome relationship and I finally said hey, what gives - why do you keep changing the subject when I bring this up? Turns out on of his ex's family members had WLS 15 years ago and had a boatload of complications. Once I explained to him that #1 I wasn't looking at having gastric bypass and #2 a whole lot has changed in the past 15 years in WLS he was onboard. Realizing my health is very much in a perilous spot, I've decided it's time to do something. My husband loves to be active, and well, right now, I don't. He never complains, but I want to do more things with him. And yeah, not going to lie, I would love to be able to shop in a regular size store for the first time in, ohhhh.....probably over 30 years. While there are a number of surgeons nearby who perform the surgery - the going self-pay rate is about 20K. However, with help from folks here I have found a doc in Texas who has a much more reasonable self pay rate. We will still need to finance some of it, but it seems much more reasonable now and financing under 10K sounds so much better than financing 20K. I look forward to learning more from all of you and hopefully contributing a lot too! Melissa This site has been a huge help to me so thank you all

Hi there :w00t: I'm 7 days post op and feeling pretty good. The first 4 days were tough. I was constantly feeling so icky. But then one of my friends told me that I need to eat more substancial soups. (I was living on cup-of-soup, and yogurt). Right when I started to make my own home made soups I started to feel much better. (Even before I got the band, if I was really hungry I would feel very sick, so it's normal for me) I have been out to eat and had soup as my meal. I really enjoyed myself. Getting out of the house made me feel much better. I'm back to my normal routine and feeling great. I am having some strange aches all around my rib cage (front and back). Not sure what that's all about. I also had my gall bladder and many many stones removed during the same surgery 7 days ago so it could be something to do with that too. Or the anesthesia. I have my post op tomorrow so I will ask the doctor. I'm eating pureed food now and so far doing ok with that. I just puree the meal I cook for the family and eat it. (But a tiny amount of course; approx 60ml) I feel satified for a while. When I feel hungry again I have some yogurt until the next meal. Works for me I'm having lots of cravings. Like salad! I love salad and I can't wait to eat it again! I'm going to miss steak! Unless I'm lucky and have no problem eating it. Anyway, I really feel great and I'm looking forward to 6 weeks post op when I can eat normal food again :thumbup: I love this website and I have learned alot from it. Thanks for those that commented on my blog that I just started. You made me feel great! Ladybug

I did find out that I had a hernia prior to my surgery. They did an endoscopy about 2 weeks before my surgery! I felt fine after the first couple days though wishing you the best!!

Hi Cori. Welcome to LBT and congratulations on getting your surgery date. It will be here before you know it. I am excited for you!! I was self-pay too and it is a much easier and shorter process. It sounds like you've got a wonderful support system and that is so important!! I have a family that has helped me too - we are lucky, aren't we? I have high blood pressure and just this week, my doctor cut my meds in half and said she doesn't think it will be long before I am off of them completely. Most of us have some medical issues and losing this weight and being healthier is what it's all about!! Good luck to you. Keep me posted on your progress. Becky

I'm new to the group, I live in Colorado, and I was banded on 5-23-08. I am down 63 pounds with no fill. I work out on my days off, and I see a therapist once a week. I am really comfortable with my band, and I don't really feel it. However, I burp a lot more than I used to. I would like to loose a total of 150 pounds so I have 83 pounds to go. Chafonta

Thank you to everyone that has answered my questions and been so friendly! I thought I should take a moment to tell my story-- it sounds a lot like many of yours. I grew up in So. California, where everyone was so obsessed with weight (think Chrissy on Three's Company). I grew up feeling fat. At 18 I was 127 lbs and too embarrassed to wear a swim suit (CRAZY!). I slowly added a few pounds every year and then put on 100 lbs with a pregnancy. I have tried and tried to loose weight, yo-yoing up and down with every diet I struggled through-- gaining back even more each time. I reached 330 lbs a little over a year ago and finally discovered I was a big as I have always felt. My latest yo-yo was I started Dr. Oz's "You on a Diet" and lost 10 lbs over the holidays, which brought me back down to 330. I thought this time I had it! I even got up enough nerve to go to Water aerobics, even though I had to wear shorts because I couldn't find a suit to fit me. Then my clothes started to feel tight again. I went in to the Dr and sure enough, I gained 15 lbs. I'm at my heaviest ever: 446 lbs! My story is getting too long winded, so let me wrap up by saying... I reached out one last time and think I've finally found the tool that will give me that major push I need. I'm so glad I found out about the Lap Band and that I found this message board! I don't want to die! I'm in this for the long haul! ~Kathy

hi my name is Terry I have not been banded yet my surgery date is july 21. Iam doing the medifast shakes and ive lost 19.5 pounds all together Iam in my 3rd week of shakes its been rough but iam still doing them.

I am from oklahoma, and Me and my mom were banded dec. 20th at Bajanor Obesity Clinic... I haven't weighed this week but lost 10pds in the first 6days... I found this site on google... I thought it was a perfect place to join up.. :biggrin1:

First of all welcome, good luck and congratulations. There are pros and cons with everything, so far I don't really have many cons other than I can't eat the amount of certain things anymore that I'd like to lol, but then again this is also a pro. Many people have complications, many do not, many succeed, many do not. But so far, almost a year out, I have no regrets. Some days it's a struggle, some days I couldn't be happier. It is no magic pill and it does take work, but I never forget why I did it, it's truely been a life changer (and saver) already, and I'm very happy with the results so far. To answer some of your questions... How difficult was the surgery? It wasn't very difficult, I was asleep lol. But seriously it's a low risk surgery, but there is some risk as with any surgery. I woke up and a few hours later I was on my way home, with no problems. How long was recovery? Everyone is different, I was up and moving around the next day. I was full of gas so I had to be, plus moving around quickly after surgery helps you heal faster. It's usually a very fast recovery time for most people. How long were people out of work? Some people are back to work in less than a week, some longer. I was greatful that my employer gave me 3 weeks no questions asked, they were very supportive. Although when I went back I did have some port pain from sitting and rubbing against the desk in my port area, and some pain from my bra rubbing one of my incisions (I don't think you'll have that problem lol). I was fine when I was up and moving around, it was the sitting and desk rubbing that really bothered me. I was also very tired when I came back, this was probably because I was getting used to eating such little bits and from being a slug for a few weeks lol.. Yes I milked my surgery and was lazy for a while. What did you tell people when they asked about the weight loss, and did you tell anyone before the surgery what you were going to do? I told who I felt was important enough to know. I didn't hide it but I also didn't go around volunteering information. It was and still is on a need to know basis, if someone asks I'm honest but if it doesn't come up I don't talk about it. It really is a personal preference, some shout it from the rooftops, alot of people don't tell anyone but close family members and sometimes no one at all, to each his own.

Obiviously, I'm new here. Getting banded in 3 weeks, and I'm nervous (probably normal). I just don't know what's ahead of me and I'm pretty uptight. I know I need this, I need to drop the weight so I can go back to a "normal" life and start living again. What's next?

Hi Everyone - just recently joined - have been reading posts for a while though. Hoping to get the lap band in September - have an appointment with the surgeon in 2 weeks. Anyone here from NYC?

hey melinda... i live in LaVergne and was banded by Dr. Dyer at Centennial because he was the only in network MD my insurance would cover. He is very nice and I will be seeing him today for my week 1 postop. My first choice was Dr Morton at Southern Hills, he probably has the most experience. I also have heard good things about Dr. Houston, he is at Centennial. Good luck!!

Hi all Ok so I'm kinda new to this forum and new to using forums in general so be nice lol. I was approved for lap RNY a few weeks ago and f

As Others have said you are most likely just in the normal stall that occurs around 1 month post op. It is very important to try to get enough fluid and protein in, without those 2 primary things your weight loss will slow down. Good Luck.

Hi everyone! Iam new here. I was banded on May 9th, so I will be one week out tomorrow. I had a lot of gas pain and still feel a lot of bloating in my belly. Not feeling any more pain, just an umcomfortable feeling from what is probably still some gas in my belly. I can walk fine, but struggle after climbing stairs. No issues actually climbing a flight of stairs, but I just climbed two flights and needed to rest to catch my breath. I recover quickly, and my heart rate settles down quickly as well, but just wondering if this is something others of you have experienced in the first week. Thank you for any advice/thoughts you can give me on this.

Be patient with yourself, I get regular stalls, even early on and each time I get down myself. Then the scale moves again and I feel my confidence return. Almost 65 pounds in 4 1/2 months, I may not be the fastest loser but I could never have done this without my sleeve.

Awww, hang in there and try not to be too tough on yourself. It's a HUGE change and it's not easy. Just think how it'll be post op--you might have that little bit of Nutella and your body will tell you whether it's ok or not, like your own body did today. I'm on day 1--2 Protein shakes, 4 oz of chicken or fish, a cup of veggies. This is NOT my idea of fun, but I'm not going to worry myself to death if I slip up once in these two weeks. Good luck!

I've been looking into lap band for a long time and finally decided to do it. It's all been a great idea theoretically, but now..it's going to happen!!! What am I doing?? I've had 2 laparoscopies for endometriosis, so the surgery part doesn't scare me. I was on Optifast for twelve weeks, so the liquid diet doesn't scare me. BUT, what if I can't fix the mental part fo me that can't figure out how to eat right? What if I can't fix the behaviors that got me here is the first place? Obviously, I couldn't fix them before or I wouldn't be logged on here now. I'm hoping it's normal to freak out like this a little. My pre-op visit is 3/19 and my surgery date is 4/3 with Dr.Greg Schroder in Richmond, VA. Let me know if you have any hints on how to fix my thinking!

Hi! My husband and i both went thru options at panorama city. Our class ended 3/31. I know its A LOT of info to take in..just hold on to all the paperwork and you will always have it for reference..plus they give you the info again at your pre-op appt, again at the hospital,etc. and it's on their website too, so it's not like you have to memorize it or anything. Anyway, I got a lot out of the class and it helped me feel very prepared and educated about the whole thing. You will do fine too I'm sure!! One day at a time, one week at a time. And feel free to message me if you have any options-specific or kaiser-specific questions. Best of luck to you!

Hello everyone! I am in the beginning stages of this whole process and have come here often to help me through the process and to find answers to questions I have. I had the consultation with the surgeon about 2 weeks ago and am just waiting for the insurance approval to come through to schedule all of the other appointments needed. I have a question about the sleep study though... What exactly is done? What can I expect? Why is it needed? Thanks! gtbadkitty

WELCOME AND A MASSIVE CONGRATS :-D I was banded 5 months ago and i can honesty say it has been the best decision I have ever made for myself. After coming out of surgery and getting home I was finding it a struggle to drink my liquids all day everyday for 2 weeks. I didn't think I would be able to do it but I kept in mind that I couldn't afford for anything to happen and jeopardize the life changing choice I had made. I kept myself occupied by reading, watching my favorite movies and well doing my favorite pass time- sleep :-D It is worth it, you are strong enough to do it- you made a life changing decision like everyone else here and that takes strength! GOOD LUCK!!!!! P.S- when you get to purée you will think you've gone to heaven :-) hang in there x

My post op diet is 2 weeks clear, 2 weeks full, then on to the mushy stuff for 2 weeks. I also had the plication done at the same time so i have to be really careful not to put too much in at once. Once the sutures heal in 2 weeks I should be able to move on to fuller liquids. i do hope the worst is over. I have not had any of my pain meds today. i tend to not like them. I might take a dose at bedtime. I am having a hard time deciding if I am in pain or hungry. For instance, I just almost gave in to take some meds but my 14 yr old made me some decaf hot tea. As soon as the warm hit me the pain went away. Has anyone else had that? Warm makes you feel better? And Steph04 that is awesome that we were banded same day. Good luck in your journey! Thank you all for the warm welcome!

Hi everyone - Introductions always feel weird, but I suppose I can't jump into spazzing out at you. My name is jen. I'm 34 and.. well, I'm fat. I've been overweight since I was a kid. I've lost 50 pounds more times than I can count, and gained it all back every time. At my heaviest, I was 260 (I'm 5'2.5"). Right now I'm struggling to get under 240. Mid-last year, my blood pressure started to creep up, and my dad was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. That's what I see in my future, and I don't like it. I started looking into the lap band last year, and now I'm on my 5-1/2 month of my 6 month doctor-supervised dieting that my insurance company (BCBSIL) requires for approval. I have my final pre-insurance weigh-in in about two weeks, and go for my psych evaluation on the 22nd of April. And I've pretty much been reading everything I can get my hands on about people's experiences with the band. I've lost weight quite slowly (well, slowly compared to how I'd lose weight if I'd get serious about following the current 'fad' -- be it low carb, low fat, whatever) while seeing the nutritionist, but I did make a lot of positive changes that I've never done before -- things like get used to eating three meals a day instead of one or two giant ones (adding Breakfast was really, really hard for me), eating more slowly, not drinking with meals -- all the things I'm going to have to do once I'm banded, anyway. I've also been exercising three times a week for the past four months with a coworker who is also planning to be banded around the same time (we didn't find out till we were both about halfway through our six months insurance approval dieting time period, which is kind of hysterical. We're even both going to the same surgical center, though different surgeons). And now that I'm getting close to the time when I submit for insurance approval, I admit I'm freaking out a little about how much everything is going to change. Even though I KNOW I need to do something, now that it's really this close.. I'm both nervous and excited and overwhelmed. And it doesn't help that a friend of my sister-in-law has apparently had a terrible experience with her band (though I also hear that she got so upset at her surgeon that she had the surgery and then didn't follow up for a year and a half, so I'm not sure how much to take her "advice" about it) -- and who, now, is apparently only eating 600 calories a day, is losing her hair by the fistful, and who gets so hungry that she shakes. Of course, now my sister in law is very concerned about me going through this, as well... but to me, that experience doesn't sound like the norm of what I've read, both here and in many other places. She really wants me to call her and have a one-on-one conversation, but I'm kind of shying away from it, because I don't want to let one overly negative situation have too much weight. Anyway, I've been lurking here since I started the dieting process, but figured I'd come out and say hi.

I was sleeved last Tuesday, and my best preop diet advice is to start cutting your meal size now if you haven't already, and work on getting as many carbs out of your diet as you can. My surgeon required a strict 2 week preop diet of protein shakes for all the nutrition, with unlimited zero calorie liquids. I SO want to succeed that I have been slowly cutting back since March, and it was not nearly the shock to my system going to all liquids that it might have been. Even at my "last meals" I avoided gorging myself, savoring the flavors and keeping my eye on the prize. When your body enters ketosis, your mouth will taste and feel funky. Therabreath does help a lot; I found that recommended here.