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I began reducing my volume and caloric intake about 8 weeks ago. I slowly, slowly lost around 10 pounds. Hard to know because I only bought a scale half way through. I began the pre surgical diet 3 days ago and my scale has shown a drop of 4 pounds! That encouraged me! I have no problems until night time. That's when I get hungry! I have been splitting my delicious shakes in half. Taking a 20 minute break between the two halves. I also make a bowl of sugar free jello in the morning and that is my evening snack. So I think the actual fact you can loose weight on the presurgical diet is a huge motivator. I am having problems with some friends who are really all about just staying fat and enjoying their lives. They are very against me doing this. My supportive friends are all really into eating healthy, and they are into smoothies and shakes already so its pretty much easier with them. All kinds of people are drinking protein shakes and smoothies for breakfast and lunch so that should be easy for you at work. Best of luck! I am going in for a tune up of my pouch and RNY, on July 31.

So I saw my surgeon on Monday and she wasn't pleased with my weight loss. I am 14 weeks post op and have lost 30lbs. She stated that if I don't lose 10-15 pounds in the next 7 weeks until I see her again she thinks I won't lose anymore weight at all. Is my progress really that bad?

I have to put in another thumbs up for Gwynnie Bee... I've gotten some really cute clothes from them (and some losers that I immediately mailed back). I do the 3 out at a time plan, so I always have at least 3 cute dresses to wear that fit nicely. It's been fun having to "dump" my online closet and put smaller sizes in. I think I pay $80 a month and if I went out to buy something in my size, I'd probably spend that much, but now I get 3 dresses instead! Only problem (and I know, it's a good problem)... I'm down in the 10/12 range now and I'll be dropping more soon so nothing from them will fit anymore... a good problem to have! Ginger

In speaking with my nut she advised to best calculate goal weight is to allow 100lbs for 5ft of height. Then add an additional 5lbs for every inch. I'm 5'7" so this gives be 135 lbs. however you must also take into consideration that I have a large frame or large bone structure which I would then add an additional 10% or 13.5lbs. So my goal weight would be 148.5lbs. So I'll be happy with 150. The nut also said that the exact number has to be one your comfortable with as long as it is healthy. I personally feel 130 anything would be too small for me and I would look sickly. My sis was in her 140s and it wasn't a good weight for her 150s worked better and looked better on her.

I am in the same position as PLaywithworldchamps. My hunger came back right away, only now I was better able to control it. Before I was like a horse with a feed bag on and going to town with my food. I literally inhaled my meal in less than 10 minutes!! Now, when I am hungry I am able to nibble on a cheese stick and not have to worry about becoming "hurricane hungry" eating everything around me. Another thing is that often time when we think we are hungry we are really thirsty. I know my dr said to drink 64 oz of Water per day, but my body wants me to drink about 90 oz a day. When I have drink an adequate amount for my body I know that I am doing good with hunger. Each body reacts differently and I have noticed that when I was heavier I needed more water than I do now. Another thing is head hunger. If you know that you are satisfying yourself nutritionally, then head hunger is probably rearing its head and now, you have to be able to be stronger willed than your brains automatic desire of wanting to grab more food or junk foods. Are YOU in control or are you putting your body back on auto-pilot?

Started my 10 day liquid diet today and I'm doing a lot better than I thought I would be. Then again it's only the first day!!! Surgery is on June 30..excited but nervous

I think you should STOP EATING SOLID FOODS!!! The post op diet sucks, yes... but you have to remember that the band is not a cure for an eating problem, it's a tool to help you and right now, your tool is working at 10%. You need a fill, of course, to get the REAL difference. With that being said, the post-op diet aint' for nothin', hon. You can seriously damage your band and your stomach if you don't follow the post op diet. You will be able to eat food just fine, but your stomach is healing... it just underwent a MAJOR change and needs time to adjust. You eating liquids, then semi-solids *is* that time it needs. Stop eating solids. Do you really want your whole surgery to be for nothing RIGHT BEFORE you get a fill and start seeing real results???

Thanks! You're going to love watching the pounds just fall off. Its the best feeling! I'm so glad to hear that Dr. Baker is the one doing your surgery. My mom's surgeon was Dr. Lutrell and she's had a horrible experience with him. I do have the Lapband band and haven't had any problems with it other than with that fill. I will warn you that my weight loss hasn't been steady so don't get frustrated. I will usually drop 10 lbs. rapidly right after a fill and then gain a couple of those pounds back and then have to really exercise to lose them before I have another 10 lb drop. It's actually kind of weird and I always joke that I have to lose every pound TWICE. My goal is to lose 120 pounds or so and I'm half way there at the eight month mark. My guess is that you will actually lose more weight faster than I did, especially at the beginning. It may take a little longer but I have no doubt that you will have success! Good luck with your surgery!

Wow.,.he is really rude. I saw my doctor for my 2 week post-op and had lost 17 pounds. He was happy about that and then told me that if I even lost another pound by next appt 3 weeks later that he would be proud of me because this is my time to heal. I have lost another 10, so we shall see what he has to say on Wed. You really need to tell him that his tone and attitude with you is unacceptable or find another doctor. This is when you need the most encouragement! Congrats on the good work!

Got my band on 4/14/11 and am completely happy with it. I have about 3 lbs to goal and go between 8s and 10s. I recently got an until and happy to report that I am holding my own and not gaining.

VerticalSleeveTalk Newsletter Hey, Sleevers!Happy New Year! It’s time to leap into 2013. You might have slipped a little during the holidays, but January is a great time for a fresh start! Of course, VerticalSleeveTalk.com is here for you as you work to lose weight and get healthy. Allow the January Newsletter to motivate you to get back on board if you lost your focus in December, or to inspire you to keep up the good work if you were able to stay on track during the holidays. Here’s what we have in this newsletter. Looking Ahead to 2013! Member Spotlight: Meet Velena! New Year’s Resolutions that Work! Sleever Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions! Casting Call: Looking for VerticalSleeveTalk.com Members to be in a Book! As you get back into the swing of everyday life and your commitment to your health, we hope you continue to make VerticalSleeveTalk.com a regular part of your day. So, enjoy the newsletter and then talk about it or anything else on the forums! See you there! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder VerticalSleeveTalk.com Looking Ahead to 2013! 2012 was a phenomenal year for VerticalSleeveTalk.com. The forums grew tremendously and we came out with mobile apps for the Android, Kindle and iPod, iPad and iPhone. We have plenty more changes in store for 2013! Keep watch for even more improvements. We’ll be sure to let you know in the newsletters and on the forums, too. 2013 will be an exciting year! Thanks to you, our members, for continuing to support the community. Member Spotlight: Meet Velena! We’re delighted to start off 2013 by shining the spotlight on Velena from Madison, Alabama! She says she spent most of her adult life obese. She didn’t want to spend “second half” of her adult life obese, too, and set the goal of weighing under 200 pounds by her fiftieth birthday. She lost about 25-30 pounds through dieting, doing fitness DVDs and taking weight loss pills, but was still 30 pounds short of her weight loss goal. She wanted to lose weight to be able to enjoy life instead of being limited because of her obesity. Velena wanted to be able to ride a motorcycle and enjoy hiking with her husband; the final straw for her was on a hike when she couldn’t follow him down to the falls because of the steep stairs. She had high cholesterol and high blood pressure. In addition, Velena has diabetes and needs to eat well to control it. She says she always ate healthily, but portion control was a problem. When Velena started looking into weight loss surgery two years ago, her insurance didn’t cover it. This year, she attended another seminar and found out that now her insurance would cover the sleeve. She didn’t like the idea of bypass “rearranging my plumbing,” and a friend had had a bad experience with the lap-band. Velena did like the idea of the gastric sleeve, and got her surgery in September of 2012. Her top weight was 264 pounds. Now, Velena is down to 197 pounds! She feels light on her feet and her balance is much better after losing so much weight! Velena now has her own bike to ride around the neighborhood. Some of her great moments have been buying a jacket in the Misses section, instead of the plus size section, and trying on a winter coat at costco and finding out that it was too big. Of course, stepping on the scale and seeing a number under 200 was a thrill for her! She faced some challenges along the way, such as having trouble swallowing right after surgery. She got dehydrated and had to get hooked up to an IV! Eating slowly enough and ending her meal before she’s too full are still challenges for Velena, but she’s working on them and it’s paying off. Velena uses Vertical Sleeve Talk daily to catch up with friends, get ideas and encouragement and provide support. She says the forums keep her focused on her nutrition. We’re sure that you’re keeping up with your nutrition because you even managed to lose weight during the holidays! Congratulations on your success so far! Thanks for being in the Member Spotlight, Velena! Welcome to 2013 and the second half of your adult life! The Member Spotlight Forum is the place to go to nominate another member to be in the spotlight section of the newsletter. You can also nominate yourself – everyone on the boards will be pleased to meet you! You can even send Alex Brecher a private message telling us that you want to be featured. Everyone has a great story to share. Thanks! New Year’s Resolutions that Work! What are your New Year’s resolutions? Whatever else you’re resolving to do in 2013, your resolutions almost certainly include losing weight or maintaining your goal weight. Too often, we stop following our New Year’s resolutions pretty soon and fall back into old bad habits. How can you make New Year’s resolutions that you’ll stick to so that you can meet your goals for 2013? Try out these simple tips as you make your resolutions. Make them specific. You want to get healthy and lose weight. Those are great goals, but those resolutions aren’t specific enough to be helpful. Instead, choose resolutions that will help you meet those goals. Resolutions to help you get healthy might include exercising at least three days a week and choosing olive oil instead of butter for your servings of fat on your bariatric surgery diet. To lose weight, you might resolve eat at least 80g Protein per day so you feel more full. Make them doable. Keep your resolutions realistic so you’re not setting yourself up for failure. Nobody’s perfect, and your resolutions’ success shouldn’t depend on you to be perfect. Instead of resolving to drink more Water, resolve to drink an extra 8 ounces of water in the morning at least 5 days per week. This resolution gives you some room for error just in case you forget your water a couple of times in the week. Plus, the resolution is specific, so it fits with the first tip! Make them controllable. You can’t control whether you lose a certain amount of weight within a certain amount of time. What you can control are resolutions such as sticking to your diet or exercising to burn off an extra 300 calories per day, 3 days per week. Keep these tips in mind when you’re making your own New Year’s resolutions. Solid resolutions together with your best intentions can help you make 2013 a great year for your health, weight and happiness! Sleever Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions! This is the part of the newsletter where we challenge VerticalSleeveTalk.com members to take a step forward by doing something new. The experience can help you grow and gain confidence when you do something you hadn’t even thought about before, or you find out that you can do something you hadn’t even realized that you could do. This month, we’re sticking to the theme of New Year’s resolutions. The challenge for this newsletter is to make one or more resolutions based on the advice in this newsletter. We challenge you to make your resolutions specific, doable and controllable – and we’re eager to see what you decide to do in 2013! Tell us about your resolutions in the Sleever Challenge Forum. We’d love to hear about why you chose those resolutions and how you think you’ll do on them. When you post, you get to help other members who may need ideas for their own resolutions. Of course, if you ever miss a challenge, you can always go back to the archived Newsletter Forum to check out the old ones. It’s never too late to try – or retry! – a Newsletter Challenge! Casting Call: Looking for VerticalSleeveTalk.com Members to be in a Book! Are you eager to have your gastric bypass story published in a book? This is your chance! Our first book was focused on the lap-band, and it is called “The Big Book on the Lap Band: Everything You Need to Know to Lose Weight and Live Well with the Adjustable Gastric Band.” It was inspired by our sister site, LapBandTalk.com, and we’re so pleased with its success that we’re going to add a vertical sleeve book to the series! If you want to have your story published or you have advice, tricks or recipes to share, let us know! All you have to do is contact Alex Brecher (username Alex Brecher) via VerticalSleeveTalk.com’s private messaging system. We’d love to hear from you no matter where you are in your sleeve journey, even if you’re just thinking about the surgery. Thanks! That’s it for this month’s newsletter. We invite you to head on over to the forums and get a head start on a healthy 2013. Again, Happy New Year to you and your loved ones! May 2013 be the best year so far. Take care of yourself and each other. Sincerely, Alex ============================================================== If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}

You don't have any help yet, the band without fill is like a car without gas. Relax, practice your new eating skills (if you are on food yet), small bites, eat slowly, chew, chew, chew and start walking if your not already. :devil_smile: Everyone went through this, as a matter of fact I gained weight before my first fill. Then I started getting help from the band and lost 2 pounds a week until I had the last 15 and now only a pound every 10 days or so. It will be fine, practice your band skills and it will be fine.

Wow, I am so grateful I found this forum. I am struggling bad. I haven't lost any weight in 2 months and I had surgery on 01/18/2012. I love to snack and I find myself snacking at work all the time. I can't fool myself when I look in the mirror I still look 350 lbs and I have lost 80 lbs. I so want to ge to my goal weight and just don't see that happening. I'm struggling with exercise and just not sure what to eat anymore. I need help and my will power back.

Hello and welcome. I have Kaiser as well and went through Richmond Kaiser. I got referred in early November. Had orientation in December. Orientation was a 4-5 hour program and very full. YOu can't be late at all and that is when they take your starting weight. Wear extra clothing and shoes to weigh in on this appointment:tt2: at this appointment they give you options of RNY and lap band.......also you get the pre op diet. Start it right away!! If your strict with the diet the weight comes off pretty quick. Next is the psych evaluation. Pretty easy appointment as long as you don't have a mental health history. Than you get a surgeons appointment next. At this appointment they give you a goal weight for surgery. If you have already lost 10% since the orientation weigh in (which is possible-lots of people have done it) than you move forward towards a surgery date Next appointment is when your at goal weight with the case manager. They will meet with you and give you a sugery date usually 4-6 weeks out. After that you get lots of blood work and lab tests and you will meet with the surgeon one more time. Than you go to pre op which is half day class. Half nutrition and half pre op prep. Usually the same day you get a surgeons appointment, a physical and final lab tests. Than on to surgery.............. They say it takes 6 months usually but alot of us made it in four months......................depends on how fast you lose the weight. I could have done it in three but I went overseas for a month and delayed the surgery until I got back..........but that was my choice to delay surgery a month. Staff at Kaiser is great!! strict but once they know your serious about getting healthy they are supportive. They say that 90 of people that come to orientation don't make it to surgery.................so they do try to weed people out in the beginning but if your one of the ones to stick around they are supportive. I had Dr. Baggs and he is GREAT. Love him!! But also heard great things about the other doctors there. Dr. Fischer, Dr. Im and Dr. Fishcher. Dr. Baggs is the chief of surgery and does alot of the procedures. Richmond is not the greatest part of town. But the drive over there is not bad. I live in Sacramento and went over there about once a month during the process...........now I will be going every six weeks or so to get a fill and check up. I lost 25 pre op and have lost almost 10 this last week since surgery. It is alot of work and it will continue to be alot of work. We have a very active support group in the sacramento area that meets regularly. I say go for it and ask for tips from those of use who just went through it.

I got mine 2/3/10. Love love love it. No issues except for operator error sometimes. Lol

Greetings to all, I am a 43 year old single man living in Staten Island, NY. I had a lap band installed on 8/16/2012 which would have been my grandmother's 101 birthday if she were alive. I chose this date because I felt she would be watching over me. Also, it was exactly 5 months after my first visit with Dr. Marina Kurian of NYU Langone Med. Center in NYC, NY. Also, the number 4 has been prominent in my life and I consider it a lucky number. 8/16/2012 are all multiples of 4. I was 320 when I went to Dr. Kurian, lost about 10 pounds on the liquid diet to prepare me for the surgery and now I am at 292. My goal is to get al least to 200 pounds if not less. I lost my wife, Tracy, on April 4, 2011 exactly 2 years and two months from our wedding day. In about 8 months I gained 60 pounds from eating and depression after she died. It was the heaviest I have ever been. I decided in February 2012, I decided I wanted to be healthy and decided on weight loss surgery because dieting failed me. I wanted a R n Y Gastric Bypass but my personal physician suggested the lap band because he had one done at NYU Langone Medical Center. Well, that's enough for now. If there is anything you want to know, feel free to email me or respond to this post. Also, feel free to check out my blog website, www.grizzlybearspeaks.com. Cordially, Rob "Grizzly Bear" Bennett

To me the most important part of your post is that you are only 7 weeks post op. 1) I agree, follow your doctor's rules first. 2) My personal experience, don't sweat the details if you are feeing great. My program prefers the higher end Vitamins, but if something like Flintstones works for you now, use them. Just check every 7 to 10 days to see if you can take the "better" ones. As your sleeve matures you will be able to handle more mature foods and supplements also. 3) As long as the liquid is caffeine free, don't worry about not being able to take plain Water. You will stay hydrated. I was lucky, I could tolerate water from the start but not everyone can. It's another thing you'll need to test occasionally because there will come a time when you can handle plain water again. Everyone has a point where their sleeve matures. I think I was a little late on that but since 5/6 months, I have been fine with everything except sugar. I have wicked dumping. Otherwise, the only concern I have in with certain meds. For instance, I am dealing with depression and started on an antidepressant. It is taking longer to kick in than for a "normal" and I'm pretty sure that's due to the stomach issue. Yet, if I take it with a bit of food and sip of water so it stays in my stomach longer, it comes right back up. So that's the only long term challenge I've had. Good luck. Glad you are feeling great.

Hi. I'm also getting banded 9/29. I've been married for 19 years, have 3 boys and am starting my preop diet tomorrow. I'm excited and anxious to just get on with it already. I'm a NICU nurse and love what I do, but am looking forward to shrinking so it's easier to do my job. 9pdmnm5 and I are being banded by the same surgeon, and have been chatting. It definitely helps to have someone you can talk to. Good luck, and keep in touch!! 1 week from tomorrow!!! YAY!!!!:embaressed_smile:

Just thought I would say hello...I am almost to d-day...3/23/10 is my banding surgery day...I have a long way to go but I am excited about the journey... I am a stay at home dad of one year old triplets...having kids made me realize that much more that I needed to get healthy... Any other Northern IL banders?

One thing that helps greatly is to use a small pillow and hold it to your stomach. This helps with getting out of bed and when you sneeze or cough. They taught me that one when I had my gallbladder out 10 years ago.

Here it is 10:00 p.m. and it is still coming down like crazy. We have over 3 feet now. It just wont stop!! At this rate I wont be going to work on Monday! (I can pray) I saw on the news tonight that they are getting snow in parts of the Valley (Phoenix) Hey Jenna are you getting snow?

I was always premise sales for marketing & advertising. Prior to those 10 yrs I was a Fine arts gallery director for 5 years. So nothing that is stay home applicable. But one never knows what can change. It has really been on my mind alot lately - my relationship. He knows everything I think & feel b/c I am 100% truthful & upfront with him. Thats the good part. The bad part is I know he'll eventually get his feelings hurt, if I date others. Even though he tells me to go & do it so its out of my system. I don't wish to hurt him ever, but he knows I am not going to be closing any other doors right now & yet he still stays. He is a grown man so as long as I am truthful to him, he makes his own choices. I told him, that if we were still this tight a year from now that I would close all doors & we could make a commitment to one another. I figure if my heart leads me no where BUT back to him after a full year/plus that he is the right choice. AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT I AM GOING TO THINK FOR NOW ;0) Thank you all for your thoughts, I promise to keep you updated as things progress. A Massive part of me would love this to work out simply b/c dating "lets face it" sucks.LOL LOL SO do relationships at times- LOL LOL Looks like its hard to win either way-- LOL LOL HA HA HA I Am cracking myself up right now...OMG way too much coffee for me this morning. Chow!

It's now--April 13th...17 days since I had the lap band done. Not much pain--I was shocked. The Nurse told me of using pain meds---I almost has to argue--but as I see---I need zero. I am doing ok and have progressed pretty good. Pain---I can handle. I don't nee any of the drugs they gave me. In fact--I've used the Percocet 3 times--the last time has a sad result. I could not sleep all night....So I am toughing it. I brought three new bikes---so that my 2 sons could ride with me--making it a family thing. We race each day--for the past 5 days. I've won only twice out of 7....I am talking of racing a whole block. My sons are having big fun too. I am in pain some of the days--But I am building up for a 10 k ride with them. We may not go like straight through---but I have made it a family project for getting in shape. Ok back to my surgery. My Doc was like 7 months pregnant before the surgery. As of March 29th--the day after surgery--she became sick and placed on bedrest. Now she's had to switch all of her appointments around. So now I have see her Monday-April 16th...Hopefully she'll be there... Her nurse says she'll be there for the Post opt appointment. I hope she does well with her Baby. I am feeling great. Sometimes tired--but I am told--I need to keep up my protien drinks....

I went for my first Dr. visit today. I should have the surgery date in a few days - hopefully the end of April or first of May. Tney went ahead and gave me a copy of my preop diet today to start 2 weeks prior to the surgery. Clear liquids and 3 slimfast optima drinks per day plus 10 glasses of water. I can do that for 2 weeks. Good luck with your liver shrinking phase!

Hi to all you fellow banders out there. All I can say is "Thank goodness for this website"!! I am 10 days post-band & for the last 5 days I have suffered from a reallly bad tummy upset. I'd not read anything on this subject anywhere else until I found this forum & was really starting to panic. I'm still on liquids (mainly s/f squashes/cordials, jelly & smooth yogurt/fromage frais, with the occasional icecream!) for two weeks (on instructions of my surgeon) then I can start on the mushy stage! Roll on Wednesday!! I've been lucky so far, no pain since day 3, no meds, no gas pain, no port pain, but my major concern was with the band slipping! The hospital placed sooooo much emphasis on not eating things for the first couple of weeks that would make your stomach muscles contract, so as not to break the stitches keeping the band in place. I'm sure that my stomach must have been moving like a washing machine, the feelings this tummy upset has generated!! Can anyone put my mind at rest on a couple of other things? Up until Thursday, I felt a real restriction when taking my liquids, even small sips of liquid seem to stick in my throat, but since yesterday morning, the fluids have gone down ok. Is this just the swelling in my stomach going down & the fluids passing through more easily or is this a sign that something is wrong with the band? Lastly, my wounds don't seem to be healing at all, not even the hole in the back of my hand from the drip, which is only small. I have changed the dressings & kept them clean & dry, they don't seem to be infected or anything, but I'm worried that the stitches will have dissolved & the wounds aren't closing up. Is this normal & is there anything I can do or take to speed up my bodies healing process? I've emailed the hospital for their views on the above, but with it being the weekend, I don't expect I'll hear anything till monday, earliest. Many thanks, in ancticipation! Suzi :thumbup: