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I guess it wouldn't be so frustrating if it wasn't for her telling me to rush everything last week so she could get everything done to submit on Monday so that we can get my surgery scheduled this month because of husband's work. I might not have the insurance next month.

The best Protein is whey protein. If that is the first ingredient on the package, it's high quality protein. Somebody made a post just a couple of days ago, maybe yesterday, explaining what to look for, and the differences in Proteins....I think it was Shane Ferris (OTR sleever). As for getting in the required protein, nobody does it the first couple of weeks. Just try your best. Getting in the Water is more important. But if you can't get in the protein, I wouldn't waste any energy eating anything that is full of carbs and absent protein. For example, I had grits on my list of approved full liquids, but my nut told me not to eat them unless I was getting close to my protein goal. After about a week, I was hitting that goal, so I started enjoying a small bowl of grits about every other day until I hit the soft food stage.

Hi all it's now been 10 weeks since i was banded i have lost some weight 10 kilos i would of thought i would of lost more then that, i have had 2 fills done the first fill was 4 weeks after the op it did nothing for me i was able to eat all the same foods and lots of food. so i made a appointment to go back to the docs and i had my second fill 6 weeks after my first. This fill has stopped my eating. food gets stuck all the time i find 95% of food i eat comes back up, which i am fine with cos it means the food is not left in me and i dont have to excirse to lose it lol. i lost 7 kilos before the second fill and its now been almost 3 weeks since the second fill and i have lost a further 3 kilos more would be better. im now starting to do some work outs to help me lose it faster so i will keep you guys all up to date as the weeks go on. good luck with your weight loss. xoxo

I've had my band just over three years and have had no serious complications. There have been effects and some irritation/reflux symptoms that required testing, but the tests all showed that my band is in good shape and good position. I've had no infections or surgical complications at all. It's not realistic for anyone to expect the band can be installed and then forgotten about. It inflicts significant changes on our eating habits and requires attention and followups with doctors. But it's also not true that most people have complications. In my experience, MOST bandsters don't have what I would call "complications."

I has my surgery April 5 and two weeks post op I passedout at home twice. My doctor says for me to increase my fluids and i have done so, but I still can not feel like i did before i passed out. I have no energy and still feel light headed and dizzy. Will this pass..every one keeps telling me it will take time but I am miserable not being able to feel like myself. Any sugeestions on what this felling may be coming from?

I am almost 3 weeks post op and have the same feeling. Dizzy spells. I have not passed out. I drink 7+ glasses of fluids a day so I don't think its dehydration. My urine is not a bright yellow either. At my 1st followup appointment with my PCP 10 days post op, my blood pressure was low. At that time she asked me if i got dizzy when I stood up and I wasn't having the spells at that time. I meet with my surgeon and I will be bringing up this issue. I've noticed the more calories I get in a day, the better I feel. Its hard because my post op diet is very strict. I'm only allowed 3 meals a day. No snacking, and a Protein shake is a meal not a liquid. My shakes are only allowed of 4 ounces as well. Very strict so I have been struggling to get over 250 calories a day. Very low. I do not take any blood pressure meds, but I have a feeling that I will be prescribed some to increase my blood pressure. I also haven't started my Vitamins yet except my B12 per there guidelines. I'm sure once I start up again, I will start feeling better.

Thanks everyone. No blood sugar or BP lows, have the monitors for those. I thought it might be dehydration. I am still very dizzy all day, hoping that I can sleep better tonight and feel better tomorrow. I am with a lot of those out here that I hear commenting on the frustration about the varying diets. My Dr. has me on clear fluids for 2 full weeks. I have no idea how I am going to make that, but I guess that I will do it one day at a time.

Yeah, my doc had me drink some water after the fill, too. I have never heard of having you drink water, then to remove saline until it "drains." I had my first fill a few weeks back and got 4 cc's... I feel like I can take a little more!

I am weighing in at 209 now. I feel like my weight loss is SOOOO SLLOOOOWWW. I'm down 34 lbs overall, but just 24 lbs since surgery, which was 2.5 months ago. At my 2 month check-in my doc said he was perfectly happy with my weight loss, so I guess I should be too. I'm averaging 10 lbs/month. On the bright side though, i went clothes shopping yesterday How much more fun is clothes shopping now!?!?! I love it! I hit the clearance racks at Walmart and came away with six t-shirts at $3/each. Some 1X, some 2X, but I used to be in men's 2XL/Women's 3XL. Since I live in AZ, t-shirts are a necessity year-round. Bought 2 new hoodies that were both in regular sizes - not plus sized! This was so exciting. The jeans I bought a few weeks ago are getting nice and loose, and those are 2 sizes down from where I started. Yep, clothes shopping is now fun

Sounds familiar...same thing happened to me. If I remember correctly, this went on for a few weeks. Hopefully, it will abate with time and things will be more "normal" for you. If it continues or becomes too bothersome, give your dr. a call and see what he has to say about it. Welcome to "Band Land"!

Thanks! I know I just need to take a breather and chill lol! How long we're you in the hospital? When/if I'm approved my doctor wants to schedule me for Sept 24 which is a Tuesday. I already talked to my boss about everything. Because I just started my job 3 weeks ago I won't be able to take much time off at all. Luckily I work in an office and I'm hoping ill be able to be back at work by the next Monday.

I am three months out. Yes, you should be having liquids first week or so including protein shakes, water, jello, apple sauce, tea, chicken broth. You will lose a lot of muscle mass along with fat in the first couple of weeks. it is important to keep protein up.

I totally agree! I'll be four weeks out this coming tuesday (sugery 8/21) and today I finally feel like its all coming together. I feel good and am able to eat a variety of foods. puddings are hopefully just a blissful memory!

Yes...this definitely helps me! I am just shy of 3 weeks out, and so tired of pudding and yogurt and soup and protein drinks, I can't see straight!! I know that there is light at the end of the full-liquid tunnel, but it really helps to hear it again. Thanks!!

I screaming....Hang in there. My body is sore becuase I ran a mile today it took 35 minutes and some spots of power walking but I did it. I told my husband I'm in a pivotal place in the WLS the first stall. I said the first 39 was easy but the next 39 are one me and I'm going to get it We should all be proud of the steps we are taking to be healthier people

i went and looked at my paperwork before answering....i was on 2 1/2 week pre all liquid and 2 week all post op liquid no mention of calories on either phase. ..

I'm 12 days post op and can't image taking a camping trip now. Mainly because at 2 1/2 weeks, I will still need my Protein shakes which I can't image drinking warm and my pureed Soups which you need electricity for your blender and then warming your food up is another story. Of course, I live in Texas and with the 100+ degree weather days, there's no way I would want to be out in that. Also, I know that I'm just now mustering up enough energy to feel alive again. But it is still very hard. I'm probably getting less than 500 calories a day and it's not from lack of trying. My stomach can only hold 4 ounces at one time. So I'm constantly putting something in my mouth whether Water, Protein Shakes, pureed soups, or medicine. In between, I have to wait for my tummy to empty out before I put something else in. It is hard work and you have to stay on top of it or you will be extremely dehydrated and will not take in enough protein. I know everyone's different. I know there are people on this forum that seem to have surgery one day and pop out of bed full of energy and ready to conquer the world after a couple of days. But this was not the case for me. I just can't image not having my electricity and a/c and running water, etc. Maybe someone else will chime in here and have a completely different outlook at it. Hope that helped! Good luck!

Three days out from my surgery and first full day home. Feeling pretty sore, but otherwise in pretty good spirits. My lortab script is fabulous when I need it. I've been trying hard to get in my water and protein, but it is slow going. I get a lot of bubbles while drinking, even when I am taking in a very small amount per sip. I just remind myself to take it slow, and that this is all temporary. If you have any tips/tricks or words of advice I would welcome them!

Hi everyone! I had yet another question for you all! When you cut out sugar and caffeine, for pre-op diet or post-op, did you have any withdrawals? If so, how long did they last? My pre-op diet begins the week before finals and continues through finals. I would really to get rid of sugar and caffeine now so I don't have to deal with any withdrawals during my studying. But if they weren't that bad, they may be manageable. Any info would be great!

At my first week post op appointment, I gained 12 pounds from all the fluids. I wanted to cry lol......I'm 8 weeks now and have lost 50 pounds at my last week weigh in. I weigh in again tomorrow......so it is completely normal. Soon, the weight will fall off :-)

thanks for posting! I am two weeks post -op so I was very interested to see what you are eating now. I just moved to purees, and can only eat about 2 tbl. at a time. Or about 3/4 of a string cheese (and thats pushing it, lol) THanks again for posting!

Hi everyone, Just wanted to update those who may be curious. As of today I am five weeks + 1 day post op. So far I am doing well. I am down to 219, which is a 27 lbs from surgery. When I started this process I was 255 so pre/post op I have lost a total of 36 lbs. What I eat: grilled chicken (one thigh usually) veggie burger (this is dry but I dip it in ketchup) meats cooked in a crock pot 3-4 oz cottage cheese egg whites eggs Premier shakes from costco Chili from Wendys 1/4 toast (per my NUT) 3-4 crackers (per my NUT) My nut said to add 1/4 cup of veggies or fruit but can barely eat my protein Things I crave (I am slowly losing interest in these foods as I am realizing that I love that I have the control over my food now): cake (frosting) Chinese food tacos mac n cheese (I make award winning mexi mac n cheese (seriously it won an award)) pizza Things I am grateful for: No heartburn at all my smaller body my family who has been very supportive Things I am annoyed about: slimmies Things I cannot live without water bottles my Satchil (insulated lunch bag) freezer pack small containers for my vitamins 1/2 cup containers for my lunch Mio Powerade zero I am not NOT! exercising because I do not want to. Not sure how I can get motivated to do this. I am sure if I started doing this I would lose the weight a lot faster. I had one stall for a week (223/224lbs), but I didn't care. My logic: my hair wont fall out so soon and pants will stop falling off! One thing, I was having BM's pretty normal but then I started to struggle to poop. I don't know if its the premier shakes, but that is when it started. Has this happened to anyone? I still go, its just a battle sometimes! I think I need to add fiber to my meals. I am generally a very healthy pooper. Well, sorry for the long post. If you have any questions, please ask! I encourage them. Have a great day everyone!

I'm 58 years of age, male, 340 lbs, 5'11.5" and semi-retired from teaching. I made the decision to have gastric bypass of some kind in 2014. During the fall of 2014 I made an appointment with my physician, actually I think it was my annual checkup! When discussing my health issues, i.e. pre-diabetic, sleep apnea, morbid obesity, osteoarthritis, and borderline high blood pressure I brought up the possibility of having gastric bypass. I was VERY nervous to ask about this as I figured he would treat me as a failure for not wanting to lose the weight the old fashioned way (which I had done 3 or 4 times since I was married 34 years ago). Shockingly, he was very positive about it! This started the process, he said there were surgeons in the metro area, I live in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro, but on the Iowa side of the Missouri River. The bariatric surgeons were located in Omaha. So off I went, first I contacted a surgeon in Omaha who said I needed to do 6 months of nutrition counseling. I could do that through my general practitioner's office. During August and September 2014 I met with the nutritionist and was off on my journey, so I thought. Late September, my wife and I were stunned to find out she had advanced ovarian cancer, it was truly heartbreaking and awful for us, our daughters and other family and friends. She became quite ill very fast and we were so worried that she wasn't going to make it two months. My surgery plans, of course were put on HOLD. Anyway, through lots of prayers, great physicians and my wife's determination she licked the cancer and by January 2015 she had been through 3 rounds of chemo and surgery to remove the tumors. The pathology report came back with such good news about being in complete remission the surgeon called my wife personally to tell her, he was VERY excited that it went that well. My wife still had 3 more chemos in front of her, but finally on February 27, 2015 I restarted my process. Initially, I had begun the process through an Omaha bariatric unit, we quickly had found out in the fall at the same time my wife became ill that our insurance would not cover physicians in Nebraska. We were limited to Iowa. Because of the severity of the wife's illness she was able to get a waiver to get a specialist in Nebraska. My "illness" as such was not life threatening and they would not approve the surgeon in Omaha. I made my second shot at appointments with the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. This is a 3.5 hour drive from home but it was a major medical university and the original home of the "father of bariatric surgery". So I felt that this would work, even with the long drives on occasion. The first appointment went well, they sent me home with nutritional counseling, paperwork completed and a pre-surgical diet to follow. They told me to lose 35 lbs by May 22, 2015. I went home, two days later I had a eschemic colitis attack. Four days in the hospital, one partial colonoscopy, lots of bleeding etc. etc. etc. I had never had a problem with my colon before, let alone an attack. The diagnosis came back that the attack tends to be one and done. But could possibly happen again, more than likely it would not. Thank god. My biggest fear was that gastric bypass wouldn't be an option because of the colitis. Gratefully, the doctor's had no problem with me continuing. After a rocky start, I was back on track by the middle of March and the weight loss plan that the U of Iowa put me on was basically the soft diet that I would look forward to following surgery. I found their diet was very helpful and keep me from being very hungry. I think working on the 64 ounces of Water a day and the 3 cups of skim milk for Snacks was probably the key to my success during the pre-op period. I did start an exercise plan at that time which for me was 10,000 steps a day AND/OR 30 minutes on the treadmill. It took a few weeks to work up to 30 minutes as I started at 20 but within 3-4 weeks I was there. By late June, I had lost nearly 45 lbs! On or about June 27th I went in for my pre-op checkup and they were very pleased with my progress. All systems go! Surgery was now officially on July 1, 2015. Stopped at a BBQ place in Des Moines on the way home. I suppose this was a last supper sort of thing lol. My wife and I hit the road for Iowa City. Arriving the night before, as I didn't really want to get up at 4 a.m. to make it there for surgery at 7:30 a.m. Remarkably, surgery was very uneventful, took about 2.5 hours was in recovery for another couple of hours because my room was ready and then started walking around the hospital floor that evening. Pain was minimal, I have had some other abdominal surgeries so kind of knew what to expect after gallbladder surgery, hernia surgery, etc. This was my first laproscopic though. It looks like you have been shot with a machine gun as you have 5 holes in a circular pattern of sorts around your stomach. I had two drains. These stayed in for a week! I went home the next day, and the drive back was also very smooth. Kudos to my wife who is an excellent driver too :-). Way better than me....lol. I stayed home the rest of that week and the next Monday as that is when my post-op appointment was and another return trip for a 20 minute doctor appointment. (7 hours for 20 minutes, uggh). But I did get my drains removed, those are a pain in a couple of ways. First they dangle from your body, second you have to drain and measure the amount of Fluid that you are dispelling from your body for the doctor's information. Of course, my menu was full liquid at this point and for the most part that went pretty well. I couldn't get 64 ounces of water down very well, but usually 50 or so. Lots of blended, hmmm crap.

Loss rates will be all over the map since there are so many variables involved, not least of which is amount of weight that needs to be lost (bigger, heavier people at the start will tend to lose more pounds per month even if the percent of excess weight lost is lower.) I lost about 60lb of the 100-ish that I had to lose in the first three months; others will lose slower and some will lose faster. YMMV. I have guy metabolism on my side (guys tend to lose more quickly than women) as well as established patterns of fairly high activity levels. I did a 5k walk at about 3 1/2 months (running is a no-go on my knees), but I had been doing them periodically for several years pre-op. What is probably more important for you is your condition at three months rather than any particular weight loss - any loss will be a big help, but you will be feeling so much better by that time that it won't matter that much if you are down 60lb or 30. It was around the three month mark that I noticed that fast walking was no longer providing me with the exercise intensity that it once did - a fast walk pace, about as quick as I could walk without breaking into a jog, somewhere a little above a 3mph pace, would previously get me into that peak cardio target zone of 80% max heart rate (130-140bpm for me) but after about 3 months I could barely break 100bpm at that pace. I really needed to get into the hills and do some climbing to get my heartrate up to that previous level. These days, at 17 months out, it takes some serious work in the pool to get it over 120. For the record, I lost about 30lb the first month, 15lb each of the next two months and 10 lb per month thereafter; your numbers will likely be different, but the profile of loss will should be similar, with your biggest loss in the first month tapering off after that. In the meantime, do your walk, walk, walking preop and postop as your doc instructs, and ramp it up as you feel up to it.

I remember my first week after surgery...OMG, I had at least 15 BM's a day....it was horrible. But that was from the liquids and IVs, etc... I was so glad when it ended.. Now, I go pretty much the way I used to, but Im more prone to constipation, which was a huge difference.. before, i never got constipated.. So I have to really be careful..