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I am 3.5 weeks out from my surgery and feeling pretty good. I've started exercising again and had a meeting with my nut last Friday. She told me I should be eating around 800-900 calories right now and not be hungry. I'm not sure if she forgot/didn't know that I have absolutely no fill..... I am hungry! I ate 1 scrambled egg and 1/2 cup of high protein Greek yogurt for breakfast and I didn't even feel full afterwards. I won't get my first fill until August 1st (I'm going to call tomorrow and ask if I can come in sooner). I am officially in bandster hell. I'm keeping my calories around 1100 (what my nut said was my upper limit) and I'm exercising daily (walking for 45 minutes fast or spinning or elliptical) but I'm hungry and cranky all the time. How did you all get through bandster hell? I just need some tips to get me through until I can get a fill! Sooo hunnngggrryy

That's the same day I'm getting my first fill! It's been tough! Like others have said I can eat anything and everything. Trying to stay under 1200 calories each day but there are days that I eat over and cheat. I don't beat myself up over it. Normally the next day I can recover if I'm conscious of it. Good job on the exercise by the way! I pack on protein with meats like chicken. An extra couple ounces of chicken makes me a lot fuller than a Protein shake. It's a mind game. Like others gave said spread those meals out. DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!! That is what gets me through between meals. Keep it up only about another week!

Wow good for you going all this time with no fill...I just had my second today, first one 7 weeks ago at 4.2cc in a 10cc band and it did nothing "for me" so finally had my second today as a matter of fact, another 2.2cc so now i am at 6.4cc and am thinking this one will do the trick (please please please, lol) this journey is so much fun and such a roller coaster and i just keep reminding myself that i didn't put the weight on overnight and won't lose it that way. I started this journey at 320 and am now at 268, so 1day 1pound at a time...Good Luck to you

Hey, BariatricPal Members! Happy Fourth of July! This summer holiday is filled with parades, barbecues and concerts, and we hope that your holiday involves family and friends! Any weight loss surgery patient or potential patient can use a little advice to get through a three-day weekend, so that’s why we’ve put together this newsletter! Here is what you’ll find. Pay It Forward This Independence Day July 4 Barbecue: What Are You Bringing to the Party? Go, Team USA, at the FIFA World Cup! A Little Honesty, Please! (From Yourself, to Yourself)! Have a safe holiday weekend! We hope you find some time to spend part of it with us. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder BariatricPal.com Pay It Forward This Independence Day On July 4, the United States celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence as a significant step in the separation from the United Kingdom. Since then, Americans have enjoyed a degree of prosperity that is unparalleled in most places in the world, and many of us are grateful for the freedom that we have to express our thoughts, pursue our interests, and choose our friends. This weekend, we suggest that you take a few minutes to reflect on some of the things in your life that you are grateful for, whether that includes your family and friends, your job, or your freedom to make decisions that affect your own health. We also suggest taking a few minutes to help someone else out in any way that you can think of. You could help your neighbor clean out the garage, volunteer at a homeless shelter, or read a book to children at a local library. Your way of helping may be as simple as logging on to BariatricPal and giving a struggling member a few words of encouragement. Kindness can only make this country better! July 4 Barbecue: What Are You Bringing to the Party? Your friends or parents invited you over for a barbecue this Fourth of July weekend, and you know what that means: ribs, hot dogs, baked Beans, potato salad, coleslaw, and cupcakes. Unfortunately, you know from past years that there is not going to be anything that you can eat. What can you do without being rude? Be polite, of course! No good guest shows up to a party empty-handed, so why would you? Think about the foods that you need to stick to your diet during the barbecue, and bring them. Just make sure you bring enough for several people because these healthy treats may be the biggest hits of the afternoon. First, make sure that you bring some lean Protein. You might bring a package of vegetarian burgers or turkey burgers to be grilled along with the other meat. If you don’t think the host will be willing to grill your protein for you, bring your own pre-cooked veggie burger, low-fat cheese, or hard-boiled eggs. Another option is to bring a high-protein salad to share. You might try chicken breast, egg white, or tuna salad made with Greek yogurt. You’ll also want another dish or two to eat with your protein. These are a few foods to consider bringing. Classic green salad with a bottle of dressing on the side. Raw or grilled veggie kebobs with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, bell pepper pieces, and zucchini slices. A cut-up watermelon so that you and the other health-conscious guests can have something to eat for dessert instead of brownies and chocolate chip Cookies. Frozen bananas. These may simple, but a half of a frozen banana can keep you from digging into the ice cream. When you bring enough delicious and healthy food for everyone to share, you can be certain that you will be able to stick to your diet at a barbecue and still be able to enjoy the occasion with everyone else. Go, Team USA, at the FIFA World Cup! Soccer is nowhere near being as popular in the U.S. as in many parts of the rest of the world, and it lags far behind the major sports of football, baseball, hockey, and basketball. Many Americans do not watch any Major League Soccer games during the professional season, and can’t name the top American or international players. Still, that lack of interest changes once every four years during the FIFA World Cup. As the games play out in Brazil, millions are watching these incredible athletes. Whether you are a patriotic American who roots for Team USA, or you have chosen your favorite teams based their stories or on your or your family’s ancestry, you can use the FIFA World Cup 2014 as motivation to get in better shape. You may not have the athleticism of these seasoned and talented athletes, but you can use a soccer ball to get yourself moving. One great idea for getting some exercise is to bring a soccer ball with you whenever you go to a picnic or another outdoors event. Take it out and kick it around with your friends and family when you have a few minutes to spare, and you’ll burn a few calories without much effort. You would be surprised at how much of an effect this can have on your weight loss when you do it regularly. You don’t need to be a good athlete to have fun and burn calories with a soccer ball. If you’re not up for sprinting up and down a soccer field during a full-out game, try one of these lower-intensity alternatives with a soccer ball or another kind of ball. Kick the ball around with your friends and family. Play dodgeball. Play monkey-in-the-middle. Play kickball. Whenever you make exercise fun and convenient, you are more likely to do it. So, keep your soccer ball handy and get it out whenever you can! You’ll also be showing your support for the World Cup teams. A Little Honesty, Please! (From Yourself, to Yourself)! This topic comes up all the time on BariatricPal, and it’s worth mentioning here as a little reminder. The only way you will be able to lose weight and keep it off is to be honest with yourself with respect to your food choices, portion sizes, and exercise. What other people believe doesn’t matter. Tricking yourself into thinking you are following the plan when you really aren’t will not lead you to lose weight. If you hit a weight loss plateau, you start to feel sick frequently, or your health numbers are not as good as your doctor expected, ask yourself these questions. “Am I measuring every single bite?” “Am I drinking enough Water every day in between – not with – meals?” “Am I eating a source of lean protein at every meal and snack?” “Am I choosing nutritious foods or sugary, fatty foods?” If you’ve fallen into a few bad habits and you’ve noticed that you might not be telling yourself the whole truth and nothing but the truth, a three-day weekend like the Independence Day weekend can be a good time to get back into it. Use the extra time to figure out what you can do better, and how you will make it happen. Good luck, and let us know how it goes on BariatricPal!

Just had my consult with my doc today! Ill be having surgery within 6 weeks!!!!

I received approval from Aetna! (Aetna POS II). I did the 90 day Multi-disciplinary approach. Technically I started in December, but I had a little hiccup and missed one of my appointments with my Primary Care Doctor in January. All I did was tack on an extra appointment with him in April, and all was good. When I first started I was so confused about Aetna's requirements, so I wanted to share for those that are taking the same route. Here is what I did to get approved. December: I met with the Surgeon and bariatric coordinator. I was intimidated about the process because of the insurance requirements. I started a journal to help keep track of my appointments and for a place to relay my thoughts as I went through everything. I met with my Primary Care doc for appointment 1 of 3. I met with a physical Therapist office, the week before Christmas, inside of our local YMCA to meet the exercise requirement. I wasn't sure how often I was supposed to meet with them. I scheduled an appointment twice a week. I later found out that once a month would have sufficed. January: I met with nutritionist for appointment 1 of 3 I met with psychologist for appointment 1 of 3 I met with Primary Care doc for a reason not related to weight loss, so it did not count as appointment #2, and I had to start over in February with my PCP visits. I met with physical therapist twice per week. February: I met with nutritionist for appointment 2 of 3 (I lost10 pounds at this weigh in) I met with psychologist for appointment 2 of 3 . I met with Primary Care doc for appointment 1 of 3 (again...sigh) I learned that I only needed to meet with the exercise therapist once per month, so I only had one visit this month. March: I met with nutritionist for appointment 3 of 3 (I lost 9 more pounds at this weigh in) I met with psychologist for appointment 3 of 3, and took the evaluation test. I met with Primary Care doc for appointment 2 of 3. Since I had already had 3 months straight with the exercise therapist, I did not go anymore after my February appointment. But I did keep an exercise log and gave it to my bariatric coordinator to submit as well, just to help my case. April: 1 visit with Primary Care doc For some reason it took my PCP a while to get everything sent over to the bariatric coordinator so that she could submit it for approval, but it was finally submitted on 4/25, and approval was granted on 5/5. I am 5'9 and started out in December at 290 pounds. As of today I am 259 pounds and I'm proud that I did that on my own. I feel confident and have proven to myself that I can make the lifestyle and habit changes that are required in order to make this tool successful. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in December, which lit the fire under me to get serious about my health. I am waiting for a call back from the Bariatric coordinator so that I can get my pre-op appointment and surgery scheduled. This has been quite a journey so far. I'm excited to watch it all unfold.

Happy Independence day to us in the USA and to Canada whose day was last week!

Yes that's kind if what it's like. I have been sleeping on my side for about a week so I am going to try and stop and see if it's gets better. I may end up just calling my doctor to double check. I am such a worry wort and always dwell on the worst possible outcome!

My surgery was Jan 13th, so I'm exactly a week out! I'm so tired of the liquids and the nausea...

Awesome!! I'm going to bring my bike out this week. My butt is going to hurt, we will be pain in the butt friends Tomorrow I'm going to buy some pants so that I can ride the bike in rain. No excuses! Need to exercise.

Don't sound so discourage. Think about how big that is, and how if you weren't sleeve and lost all that weight in two weeks you'd be jumping up for joy

I m 3 weeks post today. I saw my Dr yesterday because of port pain. He reminded me that my port is attached to my muscle and I appear to be a little more sensitive than others. He acknowledged that the area is inflamed but no sign of infection and told me that I could take children's liquid motion o get the inflammation down, stressing to take it with food. I went home took my my yummy grape flavored Motrin and iced my belly and I definitely feel better today. I do wonder if I will always feel my port, I hope not.

Hi, I don't do that after a stall but rather during. I have to work on stopping my obsessive weighing. Nancy

It's not just about being fat. I'm so sorry about your marriage.. Whatever happens, lonely and HEALTHY is so much better than lonely and unhealthy, every day of the week. Take care of yourself, value yourself, and whatever else happens, you'll be in a better place than if you don't.

I always go back through my foods and when it shows I've done the same thing as the past week.. I get a little nutty. lol. I can only imagine how you handle it. Then I do a happy dance and post immediately my new weight to the bb. lol There's no rhyme or reason to stalls.. Congratulations!! =)

I want to my doctor's yesterday and she is going do one of three choices. Take it out, go in to make sure that it is in the right position, and or take it out and have gastric done. I am going with the second choice. We had done x rays, cat scan I have been in the hospital three times because of needing IV fluids along with other testing. I just hope that this works. I do not hope this works I pray it does. There are some wrist involve. If anyone has been thought what i am going though please let me know. I can keep liquid downs as long as I am not stuck. If I get stuck than I can not even get liquids down. I get stuck at least three times a week if not more. I have not had a fill.

Wow what a difference. 8 weeks is going to be a killer!!!

Wow - mine was pre-op 2 protein shakes plus 1 meal of 3- 4 oz lean protein, 1 cup veg, 1 cup fruit for 2 weeks and then post-op 1st week clear liquids, second week thicker liquids, 3rd week soft/mushy foods, 4th week solid foods.

I honestly can't say. I was just banded feb 7th. At my follow up appt he told me to come back in 3 weeks and we'd discuss a fill. He was happy with my weight loss thus far so he wasn't pushing a fill. Originally they told me 6 weeks after surgery.

Hi everyone. Please help me. Here is what is going on. On Sunday I had an issue with some pizza getting stuck, this is the first time thats happened to me. I ended up sliming that day since then it hurts to eat and almost everything gets stuck. I didn't think my band was to tight I was filled almost two weeks ago, so the stuck happened a week after the fill. I am wondering what I should do here. This is great for my weight loss but I am starting to feel a little weak. Let me know if anyone has a thought. Thanks Jodi

I know i am a cheap date now though. a couple of weeks after my band i had to taste a cocktail someone at work made to see if it was correct, omg! a sip and i felt it! i think one glass, sipped slowly should be ok. but remember to take into account for the calories

Wow 45 grams of Protein? That is a hell of a lot of protein in a shake. I will have to try and find it, to try. Thanks. My pre-op diet is almost over. And then the 3 weeks of liquids start. Woo-hoo.

My boss is hosting a "fancy dinner" next Wednesday. I will only be 3 weeks post op and still restricted to 1/4 cup of food at a time. He insisted that I go and my husband is going as well. It is a five course dinner. How in the heck can I pace myself on 5 courses...eat a bite a plate? Plus isn't sushi made with rice and seaweed??? That can't be band friendly! I can't remember the last time I fretted about going to dinner....this will be my first public venture after the band. Any suggestions to get through this without drawing too much attention?

If it was a bit more north I'd consider it but I'm still 4 hours from Orillia. I usually organize one in North Bay twice a year so if anyone closer to North Bay area is interested, I'll be posting once we set a date. It will most likely be July since I'm having surgery in 2 weeks.

What did the liver shrinking portion of the diet consist of? I have been on a 3 week pre-op diet. Surgery next Wednesday. Consisted of protein shakes and 1 lite protein meal a day. Chicken and fish, salad. Greek yogurt, applesauce. Strawberries, and oatmeal. Been difficult but doable.