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I was very nervous about this same thing before surgery....mostly because I couldn't always tell the difference between actual hunger and cravings/head hunger and I couldn't ever say no to myself. The first week or so after surgery was pretty rough - but I knew 100% it was head hunger and I couldn't physically eat or drink any more than what was recommended so I didn't have the option to give in to the cravings. So that helped me figure out the difference and now I can more easily recognize when it's just a craving vs. actual hunger. I also had a good 3-4 month period after surgery where I was not hungry at all. I had heard people mention that but prior to surgery I just didn't believe it was possible because in my past diet experience all I felt was the awful hunger. But it is absolutely possible and that's what is good about this tool. It gives you a fighting chance because you don't have to deal with the hunger for awhile. You'll be ok!

I didn't want to go today but I really went. I went for Crossfit and did well in the wod. Yay yay yay. Thanks to extreme weightloss (the show) and my goals for helping to make this happen My goal for the next one week starting Monday is to write in my blog daily, buy swimming gear and swim at least once. Total workout goal for this week including swimming is 5 times. A bit of a stretch but a good stretch!!! :-) finally do my guided meditation twice this week! :-)

Our sweet baby pug dies last weekend at 23 months and we are heartbroken. She herniated a disc and became paralyzed. At the same time they found several spinal abnormalities. We were trying treatment and then the second day nonstop seizures started. It's only been a week and I am still hysterical over it. I've done a bunch of research and leaned that paralysis is somewhat common with pugs. Have you heard this?

4 year Veteran here. I drink Water right up until I eat, and not an hour after... it is fine. Don't count chews, it makes you crazy - just put your fork down once in a while. I reacted HORRIBLY to two bites of smoked meat (I think if you are in the US it is known as brisket) and I think it is the preservatives Pork that isn't tender has been an issue that caused an hour's walk right in the middle of a big family dinner - I just had to leave Greasy food that I used to be able to eat takes three bites and I can't take another bite of anything for hours. It is so not worth it. I used to be a big wine drinker, but now the carbs make me a prisoner to the toilet the whole next day , so now I drink vodka and water with a crystal lite in it See my other post on planning your food.

I agree with Woodstock. Give it a few days and it may get better. You may need to be on liquids for a whole week, including protein drinks especially.:smile2:

The story you are about to read may be hard to believe. It is the kind of story that would occasionally make it into my email inbox, and I would scan it briefly before clicking delete and muttering about how this kind of junk gets past my spam filter. If it hadn't happened to me, I wouldn't believe it. But it did happen to me, and I pray that you read this and consider what it says. A few weeks ago, I was watching my favorite Christian television station. The show was a talk show-type discussion about hormones. I almost changed the channel, but something (Someone) made me stop and listen. The woman on the show was named Dr. Barbara Hoffman, and she was talking about her line of bio-identical progesterone creams. They discussed how progesterone balanced estrogen, and how it was very important to choose bio-identical over synthetic. Synthetic progesterone can do all kinds of awful things in the body, because the body just doesn't always know what to deal with it. This includes birth control pills and shots. I began to think back over the past few years, about how my health began a downward spiral after I had my son. Then it occurred to me that it was after I had him that I started on the depo-provera shot. I started to research progesterone, and came across all kinds of literature that talked about how progesterone deficiency can cause all kinds of problems, including some that were hauntingly familiar: fatigue, weight gain, mental fuzziness, painful periods, cravings for carbs and sweets, and body pain, to name a few. And on other pages, I read that depo-provera will cause the body to stop producing its own progesterone, since it is a synthetic form of the hormone and causes the body to think it has enough. After about a week of research, I decided to go ahead and order the cream that I had seen on tv (Better Heath Naturally ProHelp Moisture Treatment Cream). I figured that I would try it out, and if it made me feel bad I would stop, but hopefully it would help me with some of my fibromyalgia symptoms. When the cream arrived, I went ahead and put it on as per the directions on the container. That day, I didn't feel any different. The next day, I used the cream again, once in the morning, once in the evening, as the directions suggest. I thought I could notice a little bit of a difference, but brushed it off as being psychological. The third day, I woke up, went downstairs, and started making breakfast for my son before I realized that my body didn't hurt. At all. I went through the day without saying anything, because I again thought this must be a psychological thing, or I was just having a good day, or something like that. But my boyfriend noticed that I was much happier and seemed to be in less pain than normal. And after a few days, I had to say something. I had almost no pain. I was able to play with my son for the first time without hurting. I had tons of energy, and I just felt good. It just felt so good to feel good again. Then I noticed that I was starting to go longer between meals without being so hungry. While before I was counting the minutes until the next meal, now I could go for hours past "meal time" and not even notice. But what really got me was when I passed up chocolate. My son brought home some Easter candy, and was trying to feed it to me, but it just didn't sound appetizing. When it hit me that I had just passed up chocolate, I had to run and tell everybody I knew about this stuff. I have gone about a week now with no cravings at all. When I eat, I actually feel full before I am done, and it has helped me cut down on some of the high-processed carbs that are so bad for me. I sleep better at night, even though I have stopped taking my sleeping medication. Plus, I am cutting down on the meds that were previously keeping the pain in check, and am still feeling great. I feel happier, and my son loves being able to play with me without being afraid of hurting me. The scale has been going down steadily, but I have noticed that my body seems to be changing a lot more than it was. However, I'm confident that it will start going quicker soon, since I am more active and eating less. I know that no single thing is a "magic bullet" for everyone, but I just had to tell you all about how this cream has helped me. I am including a link below to the site where I bought it, and also the site of the manufacturer where you can read a little more about it. If you are considering trying this, please do some research first. Some women do fantastic on this stuff, but some don't. But if you are one of the ones that are helped by it, then it is so worth it. http://shop.daystar.com/ http://www.bhnformulas.com/

I think it just means you're excited. Nothing wrong with that. I wish I only had 2 weeks. It's 5 weeks for me and I'm ready to start packing. I'll be going to Dr Alvarez. Which Mexico doc are you going with?

I very much appreciate the feedback. I might have to try a shrimp or two in the next week or so. Scallops are so hard to find (and really darn expensive), while shrimp are everywhere. I really want something warm. Plus I'm worried about all the fat and calories in cheese. I hope I am okay with chicken when the time comes. I seriously lived on it before my surgery. I would probably have it for dinner 5-6 times a week. I really can't wait until I can have my chicken meatballs - stuff a cube of mozzarella in ground chicken with seasonings. Mmm. @@Ale Nunez - stick with it. It gets better. I am not even that far out - just over four weeks and every time I see that number drop (even after this ridiculous stall) I keep my motivation.

I am 7 weeks out. No complications and haven't dumped once, but I eat exactly right. I chew chew chew, focus on only protein (and can now say I love it!), drink my protein shakes daily and get real close to hitting 800 calories a day. I wish I had done it years ago. The first 4 days were the hardest. About 2 weeks into it I was sad for about a day, and now- it's totally worth giving up those bad foods. I have so much energy and drive and honestly- I ate enough of those "bad" foods to last me another 30 years so I don't miss them or how bad they made me feel

After I recovered, 12 weeks, I began working towards walking my 10K steps a day. That is my goal every day. Then I also work out an hour a day doing bootcamp yoga and I try to do that 5 times a week. I run around, lift things and have a very busy life. As I said, for the first 6 months I only focused on getting in my 10K steps a day. Then 6 months in I ADDED in Yoga daily, beginners yoga. 6 months in on that and I've worked my way up to bootcamp type yoga. IMO, yes, if I were you I would be trying to get in my steps every day and then trying to work in another work-out. These first 18 months are where all the changes happen, where all the hard work pays off. These are the months we need to fully dedicate to to this process. It's not easy, I hated it some days. But now I'm about to start wearing a size 8, I'm feeling better than ever have in my life, I more fit than ever and I feel like I'm ready to start training for American Ninja Warrior! lol! I LOVE where I am at and part of that is because I put in the hard work and sacrifice each day in the past 14 months and will continue to till I've hit "goal". And then it's time to focus on maintaining and learning what THAT life is like. Good Luck! I am sure you will do great no matter what avenue you take!!! Congratulations on doing so well!!!

Mine is next week, August 7 Started liquid diet

I think that's a totally normal reaction. You didn't want to sit there and watch everyone eat while you couldn't. I'm sorry that you ended up in that situation. I luckily only had to follow the liquid diet the day before surgery. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since my operation. I went out for the first time yesterday. I am at the soft stage diet now. I ate a meatball. Other than the waiter looking at my strangely, it was a good experience. I didn't feel deprived at all either. I don't know how to describe it, but I just don't want food like I did before surgery. You'll do great. Hang in there!!

During the pre op, actually towards the end of it, did any of you find yourself to be on edge? Today my wife, friends, and I went to the mall and decided to grab a bite. Well, we all wound up at Macaroni Grille. I was in there maybe three minutes and just got up and left. I dunno if it was my nerves but I couldn't sit there and bear to watch them eat. Has anyone ever felt this? I never thought I would feel this way about anything bit geez.....

Just hang in there! I just got through day 5 of my pre-op diet and I never thought I could do it for this long! You will be hungry and you will want food but you can do anything for 2 weeks when you put your mind to it! Good Luck!

I have been a bit down in the dumps lately because the past few weeks' weight loss has been really slow. But this week was great -- over 3.5 lbs. lost! I am now down to 192.2, very close to being in the 180s and so excited about that! I had a NSV today, too. About a month ago I went shopping for some new jeans, since my size 22's were getting pretty loose. I was really happy to find out I could fit into size 18WP jeans, even though they were a little snug. I bought two pairs of jeans. I am very short and the jeans were still a couple of inches too long, so I needed to get them hemmed (I can't sew at all!). I had a lot going on the past few weekends, so kept putting off taking the jeans to get hemmed, but today I finally did it, because the size 22s are so loose they are going to fall off any day now, and just *have* to go. So I went to the seamstress to get the jeans hemmed, and put on the size 18s for the seamstress to measure, and I was quite gratified to notice that they were looser than I remembered when I bought them. The seamstress made me stand on a little dias so she could get the length right and I was facing a large full-length mirror. At that point I noticed the new size 18's were actually already pretty darn loose in the legs, and comfortably loose around the torso. I started wondering if maybe I was getting close to fitting into a size 16WP. So, after I finished with the seamstress, I headed on over to Macy's and decided to try on some new jeans. I picked up a pair of Levi's size 16 short, the Macy's house brand of jeans, and a pair of size 16 capris. When I got to the fitting room, I picked up the Levi's first and was aghast because the size 16s looked really, really small. I didn't think I could even get them up over my thighs ... but I did. I even got them buttoned and zipped up, to my amazement. OK, I have to admit, they were tight, and I wouldn't have felt really comfortable wearing them, so off they went. I nearly bought them just to measure my weight loss progress, but decided to hold off for a few weeks and come back and try again in a month or so. The Macy's jeans, however, fit perfectly and so did the capris. I took my new size 16 jeans to the seamstress and had her swap out one of the size 18 jeans (which I will hem using that magic hem stuff I bought from Walgreens). So, I am officially able to wear size 16! Woo hoo! I ended up buying a couple of new bras this weekend too -- the balconette style from Lane Bryant, size 42DDD. I was pleasantly surprised at the nice shaping they provide. My girls are hangin' low, so to speak, so they need a strong support and shaping bra! Now I will be brutally honest -- I look like total crap with clothes off. I have horrendous cottage cheese thighs right now -- not just the normal cellulite area, but everywhere down to my knees, front and back -- ick. And as I mentioned, I pretty much have the breasts of an 80 year old woman. And I still have a big old gut and butt. And, I am sporting a rather nasty wattle on my chin, making me look years older. Every day I put bio-oil on my chin hoping to moisturize and firm the loose skin, but it doesn't seem to be working that great. My body is definitely smaller than it was, but by no means is it a body I would be willing to parade a bathing suit around in! But, all in all, I am totally thrilled with my sleeve and feeling better and more confident every day. I am really looking forward to the summer, when hopefully I will be down in the normal size clothes range, and will look and feel even better. I talked to my husband and we are going to try the couch to 5K program this spring, and sign up for a local 5K race this summer. That will be a HUGE NSV for me, to finish a 5K! I am really excited about the future!

Hey everyone, Just wanted to let you all know to stick with it. It really does work. I started at 351 pounds as of this morning I'm down to 285 lbs I'm not at my target yet.. but I'm only two monthes into this. I work out 4-5 days a week at Fit Works in Willoughby, Ohio if any of you live by me, your more then welcome to work out with me... Hope everyone is doing great... If you have any question just send me a message and I'll answer it... Sorry but I do not sugar coat my answers... I'll tell you how it is... Talk to you all later, Dominic

Today I attended a consultation at my Doctor's office and was told that only 45 to 50% of people who have the Lap-Band done lose any weight. The nurse practioner said that their specific patients have had a 50% success rate. These figures seem very discouraging to me. :phanvan When I questioned him as to why only 50% lose weight he said that people cheat/cannot overcome the emotional or mental obstacles they need to overcome to change their lifestyle. He went on to state that he thinks the figure is 50% because some patients who have BMI's in the 50-60 range have elected to have the Lap-Band and have not been successful, which he feels skews the results. We briefly discussed my health and eating patterns and he feels that since my weight is based more on the quantity of food I eat vs. eating foods which in the future would be cheating foods (ice cream, shakes, etc.) that I would be an "ideal candidate." I find it hard to believe that all of these people cheat after going to the expense/physical demands pre- and post-op to cheat that dramatically. He even stated that they have a patient who has only lost 5 pounds in a year. I asked him specifically what he would do if someone was not losing any weight and was not cheating. He said that he would not tighten the band - that he relies on a more conservative approach and leaves the band more open to "make more of the brunt of it rest on the patient's shoulders." I am feeling very discouraged and misled by the information that I was given previously my the actual Doctor - I was told the success rate was more like 70%, with loss averaging 1 pound a week. However, the nurse practitioner will be in charge of all of the fills and if his approach is overly conservative it will affect my progress. I am self pay and am feeling very hesitant about committing myself to payments of about $350 a month for the next 5 years for something that might not even work for me. I believe that I can commit to eating the right foods, however, the major benefit of the bad to me is the idea that it restricts the amount of food I eat. I worry that if the nurse practioner leaves the band to loose, I believe I will not obtain the benefit I am looking for. Has anyone else been given this type of success rate by their Doctors? Please help, I am feeling confused! Any advice would be appreciated! ~Sara

If you start right now you stills have 2 weeks to commit to the preop regimen. You can do it! ❤️

So I had my four week follow up yesterday. After four weeks of shakes / sugar free beverages, Jello and popsicles I was super excited to see what the next step was. Mentally I was preparing for purees (they don't tell you ahead of time what the program is). Thankfully my surgeon doesn't require that step. Instead, they added seafood (minus shrimp), tofu, cheese and eggs. Here's the problem: the smell, taste and even thought of seafood makes me gag. I love shrimp and scallops, that is it. I don't eat tofu and I have the same problem with eggs as I do seafood. At first I was upset. I don't want to eat nothing but cheese. I'm already having issues going to the bathroom and, well, cheese does not help on that front for me. Then I realized I was being silly. I can have cheese! Scallops! So I went to Wegmans that night (to all of you who don't live anywhere in the NE, I mourn that you do not have one of these amazing stores) and bought several types of nice cheeses and stuff to make the ricotta bake. Got some medicine that the nutritionist recommended to help with the, uhm, aftereffects. That night, my husband insisted on taking me out for scallops (we used to eat out 5-7 times a week, now haven't been out for 6 weeks). I managed to eat one, but it was the best damn scallop I think I ever had. So yeah, I can't have chicken for four more weeks, or food that I really enjoy, but at least its a step. At least I didn't have to go through purees. I was really sad at first, but now I have the motivation to stick with it. On another note, I am frustrated about something else. Even though I've been drinking between 64-90 ounces a day I was terribly dehydrated. Had to sit in the office for several hours for IV fluids. Doctor said I shouldn't be that dehydrated. Oh well. Guess I gotta step the sipping up.

YES!!!! None of my shoes fit now lol... I have three pairs that i can wear... sneakers, simple black sandals, one pair of flip flops. I really need new ones, but I needed some essential clothes more... things you can't buy used!

I didn't tell anyone (other than hubby and a couple of far-away girlfriends) either. Gallbladder scars are very similar to VSG scars. I know -- I had GB surgery 4 weeks after VSG surgery. And 21 months later, they're all pretty much invisible.

Hi, so nice to meet you! If you to my email. Kimerick2008 @gmail.com I will give you my phone number. I would love to talk with you. I just figured out how to add you as a friend, lol As far as the pain. It was no way near as painful as the GB. My doctor gave me plenty of pain meds. I would say after about a week I was just sore. The part that hurt the most was the drains. As soon as I t them out 2 1\2 weeks later, I felt great. Now ever now and then I get some pain,but I am great!! I look forward to hearing from you. I am heading to bed now. Talk to you soon, Kim

I'm actually 4 weeks out post op, I had surgery Feb 23rd but I've been looking to fund people in delaware who have had it done Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

Gee, I am also Aetna. I will be having my final hurdle appointment next week. I too was hoping for a quick date, but we'll see. I hope that the approval process goes quickly for you.