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Saw my surgeon today. Lost 22lbs since my November 1st surgery! I'm advanced to purée/ soft! That 2 weeks of liquids was utter hell!!! Now I'm on a mission to find great recipes for healthily low fat yummy foods... Any ideas?

@@Djmohr I CANNOT WAIT! The dietitian went over the some foods we could eat during the soft foods stage and my mouth was literally watering! Two weeks and I'll be there woo hoo!

I'm on day 6 right now of full liquids. It was the week from hell too. The company where I work is pretty small (11 employees), so when it's lunch time, most of the guys get take out. So I had to sit through smelling stuff like McDonalds, A&W, Subway, and to top it off Wednesday they had a lunch meeting and got Papa Johns pizza for the office. I started this diet and have been telling myself every day to stick it out so I can have the best possible outcome from my surgery. My wife has been very understanding, but my 2 year old daughter still tried to stick a piece of shortbread cookie in my mouth today because she doesn't understand why daddy can't eat. Tomorrow is Clear Liquids, surgery on Monday, and I'm hoping the hardest part is over doing this on a normal sized stomach.

Well Blues and Laury, I am being banded on the 11th also. When I see pictures of myself, i wonder when the point came that I could no longer recognize myself in pictures, my face is so fat! I had a picture taken with my sons around 4 years ago and showed it to a coworker, she said it looked nothing like me, i was around 60 pounds lighter. I still see myself that way, but NOONE else does! We will get there. I am starting my preop 2 week prior to surgery.

Good job getting in all your liquids I'm 5 weeks out and yet to get in a full 64 oz in one day!! I've stopped weighing myself everyday, I know as long as I'm doing the right things the weight has to come off. And I have always been addicted to the scale. Today was my day to weigh and I got my period yesterday so I'm doing myself a favor and not getting on until its over! Because without even getting on I know I gained some water weight, retaining fluid. I've had a day here and there when I had that queasy yucky feeling trying to drink my morning protein, I think I know what you mean. But I did my best with the rest of the day and on average I hit 70-80g of protein so I don't sweat the occassional morning that my tummy doesn't want to cooperate.

I am on my puree foods step and I couldn't be happier!!! The 2-weeks of shakes were HELL for me! I just wanted to eat something! Of course the shakes made me full, but it didn't stop my cravings. I finally had my post-op appt yesterday... they said I could move on to the next step and I am so excited! I don't know how I made it through those 2-weeks of shakes, maybe I have more willpower than I thought. Anyways, I had some ricotta cheese and sauce last night and it tasted like heaven. When the dietitian told me my portion sizes would be 1/4 cup, I thought "YEAH RIGHT!" - but it actually filled me up! I even had some Greek yogurt yesterday and savored every spoonful. I am just so happy I can start to eat actual food and not dread my meal times. Or course I am still drinking shakes to get in Protein, but now I can add extra things to make it taste better. My personal favorite--chocolate shake with PB2 (powdered peanut butter), and 1/4 cup of banana--soooo damn good! I am so happy I went through with this procedure! I was having some doubts along the way, but nothing good ever comes easy, and this process is NOT easy! I know I am going to run into more obstacles along the way, but I'm heading in the right direction and just need to stay on track!

@@kaseyw0od, that time will go fast! Be good to your tummy in the meantime so you are ready in 2 weeks. You are going to be soooo happy. Good luck to you!

I'm not but I'm 1 week post op with him. You are going to love it! He is an amazing surgeon, the hospital is great and by the time you get to the hotel you'll really walking around and the area is great! Congratulations! The time will fly by!

I was sleeved on 8/13 and was down 14 as of 8/22, no weight losses over the past few days. One thing I am noticing though is my body composition is changing while the scale is not. I have one of those scales that takes your weight and body fat percentage. When I was losing weight quickly, my body fat percentage went up slightly. Made me wonder if I was losing a lot of muscle even though I was getting plenty of quality Protein (80-100g) and exercise per day. I noticed through that when the scale hasn't been dropping, my body fat percentage has been going down. I track both daily. Changes are still definately going on, just not always measured by weight. So, just as you read, you body is catching up to the rapid weight loss, it's true. To me, both number s are equally important. Has anyone else measured and notice the same thing?

Hi! My preop diet was 2 Weeks and I had a protein shake for breakfast, chicken or steak and vegetables for lunch and soup or a protein shake for dinner. I lost 9 pounds in the 2 Weeks. I was banded on April 25th and i'm on all liquids until next Tuesday. Im not hungry at all so its been easy. Today I had chicken broth, a protein shake, and some jello. You'll do great, good luck! Ask me anything!

Hi everyone I need some prayers I'm going in for my band Sergey on May 8 thats a week from today, I'm so excited! But I have to say as the time is getting closer I'm alittle scared.. I also wanted to get some feed back on what can we really eat or is it nothing but liquid on the preop diet if so like what just protein shakes is all we can have how about egg drop soup

The last thing I needed to get my surgery date was a CPAP machine. I decided to go through the VA for this, because they appeared to be pricy. They scheduled me an appointment after I sent my primary physician the results of my at home sleep study conducted through SNAP diagnostic. I paid $375 for the sleep study test which was done over the course of three nights. The VA scheduled me an appointment date that I thought was fairly far out, when I asked about getting an appointment sooner, they advised I had to have a physician appointment in order to receive the equipment. So, I am excited about getting this last little bit done, but I can wait. I get to my appointment and the guy in front of me is asleep, in a wheel chair, and on oxygen. I go to the counter and make sure he is checked in before I check in. As I am waiting in the lobby I witness every other person checking in do the same thing I did. I am feeling good about people and my fellow vets taking care of each other. The nurse (LVN) calls me back for vitals and the standard questions start. I interrupt her and ask, do you really have to ask the same questions for every single visit? She said they have to because so many vets commit suicide. So I answer all her questions without her asking them. No, I am not depressed, suicidal, having trouble at home, in an abusive relationship, or homeless. Next stop Doctor right? Nope, it is another nurse (I think nurse practitioner, but the fine print was too small to read). He spends 10 minutes advising me why SNAP Diagnostics isn't really very good and that their algorithm for determining pressure is outdated. Why they are going to go ahead and provide a VA CPAP even though the VA in-house sleep study is so much better. He then tells me how dangerous it was for my oxygen to go down to 77% for 20 minutes and how I stopped breathing 22 times. I am thinking, I read the report before I gave it to you, I want the machine, you don't have to talk me into it. He then describes how the new machines works and it is pretty cool, they calibrate automatically based on your breathing. Then I am thinking why did you spend all that time telling me about the math problem SNAP uses to calibrate pressure if the machine is going to do it automatically anyway. Then he says, we will see you back in a month or so to get you fitted for your CPAP. Wait, what about my dangerously low oxygen? I really wanted to go off, but instead stated, I thought the reason I had to wait so long was for a physician appointment in order to receive a CPAP. He then advised that this is my physician appointment. I really don't care if they count a nurse practitioner appointment as a physician appointment, but I am thinking to myself I can read and your badge and it does not say Doctor, so someone is lying to me. But alas, I know if I don't stay calm I will not achieve my objectives. So, I explain to him that I will have to pay out of pocket again to re-do labs if I do not receive this CPAP machine. I also tell him that I know I can buy one on amazon or go through the medical supply store that SNAP recommended. He starts telling me why those are both bad ideas and I tell him I have to do what I have to do. He then says he will see if he can get them to double book so I can see the Doctor today. Then he has the gall to say that my appointment will cause other 100% disabled and service connected vets to have to wait longer. So, I sit back out in the lobby feeling a little guilty, when I get called back sooner than expected by a tech who fits me for the machine and goes over all the instructions in less than ten minutes. She was super nice and wished me luck on my surgery. I thanked her for squeezing me in and told her how much money she saved me. So, I will have my surgery date by next week. Since I am not officially on a pre-op diet I am going to have a 97 calorie shot of vodka later to celebrate not losing my sh** at the VA.

Hello! I'm Andrea and I'm getting banded in 2 weeks. I think we'l have the same doctor. Do you have any experiences to share. I'm really apprehensive about it, but my excutement overrides that. Did you find it hard to get dietary materials here in Korea?

Lol Having a garAge sale in a couple weeks and was pricing stuff this morning. Caught myself thinking " wow, these pants are huge!" lol. They used to be my favorite pair!

I had my lap band put in in Nov of 08, two weeks later i had my tonsils removed and was in ALOT of pain. Needless to say i lost some weight approx 15lbs, once I was able to eat I noticed I had NO restrictions I advised my dr of this and he said just wait and it will happen. Fast forward to Feb 09 I have my first fill and I have NO restriction and that was with a 6cc fill(the capacity on this sucker is 9:crying:) I lost all faith in the lap band and had just decided it did not work for me. I became depressed and gained approx 40 lbs:mad:, Just this past November I decided to just suck it up and try something else. I set the timer on my cell phone and at small meals every three hours and hit the gym 4 days a week 30 mins hard cardio and 20 mins weights. I see results now I have lost just over 20lbs:thumbup: but i am hungry and I'm not ashamed to admit a little cranky. I just went to the Dr again to day and I am scheduled to have the remaining 2.5 cc fill hoping that it will help, I asked what my options are if this does not work. My Dr advised I can stay on the same path with the gym work and the lower calorie meals or do the bypass procedure. I am sooooo leaning towards the bypass because I am sooooo tired of being hungry, fat, and cranky. It is a drastic move and I am concerned with the permanent factor but right now hungry fat and cranky seems kinda permanent also as i have been two of the three for a while now. Any thoughts?:thumbup:

Thanks so much for your support. I will take your suggestions to rest and heal. I now realize from reading all the posting here that it takes about 6 weeks to heal properly and I want this to work so I promise to take it easy. Shirley

I genuinely have no idea what I'm experiencing. I'm on Prilosec (prescription) for 6 months, so I'm assuming it's hunger?? But I've just had the sleeve (4.5 weeks post-op) so shouldn't I not be dealing with this much hunger? It's a lot. I feel this "hunger" for 30 minutes to 2 hours every day. Not in a row, just combined throughout the day. It feels hot (but not like the burn of acid) and is squarely where my stomach should be. It doesn't rise into my chest/throat. It feels like my stomach wants to rumble (like out of hunger) but I don't think it ever actually has. How do I know the difference? I am 4.5 weeks out from VSG and told to take in 300 to 400 calories per day. (I've taken in as many as 550 on workout days when I'm burning that much in my workouts). Thoughts?

i find since my third fill a couple of week's ago i can't eat chip's or bread roll's cake and bread[sliced] is not too bad if it's eaten very slow, so the band make's me satisfied with a whole lot less

I agree with the other post it is all the fluids they pump in yo you to prevent dehydration the water will come out send I was told nit yo weigh myself the first week because of the surgery fluids.

Hi All, I just wanted to share that I am 4 months out and am definately noticing the change in my body. Yesterday I pulled out of my closet 2 shirts that I wore around the winter time, they were so big I had to give them away. My home scale shows another 7 pound lost, BUT I want to wait till it's official on my doctors scale. My doctor's office sees me every 7-8 weeks so my next visit is the middle of August, I will record my weight loss then. I'm currently at 1.85cc after my second fill and I don't think I need another adjustment, but we will see what he says.

omg! This sounds SOOOOOOO delish! and you ONLY had 1 piece???? good good good for you! Sorry Im late - but I hope you had an awesome day and an even better birthday WEEK!!!

Nothing special planned? Are you nuts? Milk the heck out of this day, heck, milk the whole week! Go shopping, to a show, buy yourself some bling! Happy Birthday

I am in the same boat as Victoriana on this one. Drugs definitely cause this reaction in me. I have learned the hard way that if I am on painkillers or sedatives or if I am withdrawing... it is NOT the time to call ex-boyfriends, my boss or anyone else to tell them how much they mean to me... or how much of an ass they are! I will be keeping my phone OFF for the week after surgery!

Any fellow nurses(or any profession honestly) can help me out with this one... I currently work in home care, how long did you all take out of work? Ive had my gallbladder removed but due to other complications (pulmonary embolism) I was out of work for 1 month but honestly felt as though I could return to work the following week.... I know each individual is different but all input is greatly appreciated... TIA!

A better choice for a new sleever is something like Egg Face's Ricotta Bake. It has all the flavor of lasagna without any pasta and it's soft enough for the puree stage. PDX is right that pasta, bread and rice expand to an uncomfortable level in our tummies. I still don't eat rice at all, and very little bread or pasta simply because all three make my tummy hurt. At most, I'll have one small tortilla or one piece of bread, but I always have to wait extra time afterwards before I drink water so that they don't absorb the water and make me hurt.