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I am officially 6 weeks through my supervised diet with my pcp and have 6 more weeks to go! Yay! Although, I am a bit concerned as I actually gained 2 pounds the first 4 weeks. My cruise to the Bahamas was a tempting way to sabotoge my diet, apparently. My weight at last weigh in was 324. The highest I have EVER been...well, not counting my last pregnancy. Very sad, though, because I am not too far from my pregnancy weight **sniffle, sniffle**. It's amazing how different I look in my head to how different I look in pictures. Eeeeeek! Since returning from my cruise, I have tried very hard to be mindful of the portions that I eat as well as making good food choices. I have a couple slip ups, as far as pizza with the kids, but I am otherwise doing better and eating at home a lot. I'm not quite sure what the insurance company expects out of this diet plan. I freak myself out because I am afraid they will not let me have the surgery if I don't lose any weight. The only time in my life I seem to have been successful in taking weight of, that wasn't in the 6 weeks after a baby, was while I was breastfeeding for 10 months. Otherwise, I sadly fail. In my house, I actually have a thin husband, 3 thin sons, and a baby. What I wouldn't give for their metabolisms! A lot of times, I am fixing something for me and dinner for them. My nutritionist appointment is set for tomorrow. My insurance company would only cover it if I had diabetes, which I don't, but I feel pretty good because the consult is only going to cost $63. The nutritionist my surgeon's office recommended was $160. So, I feel like I have a bit of a savings and I am excited to complete another step in my journey. I will be setting my psych evaluation sometime today, too. My husband jokingly told me," A nutrition and psych evaluation...I know which one you will fail." I laughed, "Yeah, the nutrition one... "hahaha. My husband has really been a huge wealth of support. He constantly tells me I am beautiful and he loves me just the way I am, despite being twice his size. He has encouraged me to do this for myself and not for anyone else. When I feel nervous, he calms me down. I simply can't imagine a better best friend and partner in life. I read on here, sometimes, about husband's who aren't nearly as supportive or women doing it because of the way their husbands view them. It's sad and makes me want to clutch my husband that much more. He will never fully understand my struggle with food and weight, but, damn, he sure comes as close as he possibly can for a skinny man. Okay, BMI today is 50. Blech. Can't wait to see that number go down. I don't know how I got here...well, I do, but don't know how I allowed myself to get here. But, I know how to fix it:tongue2:

I am on a liquid diet prior to my surgery on 6/19 I have drank Chicken broth, eaten jello, drank apple juice and peed everything out. Now what? My family has had pizza and Chinese food and all I can do is smell it. Isn't it crule that when you had that food in the house it didn't really drive you crazy untill you are deprived of it? I counted food commerical while watching a movie. 26 food commericals...I can't believe it 26 food commerical? Seriously!!?? But when I really think about it, it was those stupid food commerical got me into this mess in the first place. I am really trying to forget about the pizza sitting in the kitchen, because I got chicken broth, and what does that pizza has? The thick chewy crust, covered in pizza sauce, layered in cheese....(sigh, I love cheese) covered with disc of pepperoni and chunks of sausages with olives cooked to golden perfection.... Snap! back to reality. Nope chicken broth and jello and then off to bed to watch True Blood. but that pizza sounds sooooo good... Wow! it must have sound too good because the dog just walked by with a slice of pizza in his mouth...(Sob! My pizza) Good Night All

Weight loss often happens in steps down, rather than a continual slope. If I'm constipated that also slows down the weight loss, so keep up your fluids and moving around. It's very common to hit a plateaus around this time. It will pass. I didn't lose anything from 3 to 7 weeks post surgery but now I'm losing 10 lb per month pretty steadily.

I was also banded on May 13. The first day wasn't so bad but the second day was terrible. Each day since has been getting better as far as the pain and weakness. I also am not able to get in all the fluids. Everything I take in, comes right back out. Anyone else with this problem? I am running to the bathroom like 10 times a day.:thumbup: Tomorrow I start full liquids. Anyone else? I am looking forward to some cream of wheat. Hopefully things will improve when I start taking something in with some substance. Take care and best wishes!

I think we all have this body image of ourselves that is harder to break through than some of our dieting plateaus. Might even be related. I think I've always felt like I was this size...I look at pictures of myself 30 or 35 years ago and wonder why I felt soooo enormous when I obviously was not. In HS I was a size 9/10 but felt like a blimp. I think I "grew into" my current weight.

Yeah, I was moved from the liquids to purée after 10 days, when I was initially told 2 weeks. Cant say I was complaining though! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Good to know. I just feel like I'm tolerating everything really well, and would love to try a scrambled egg or something other than liquid. Obviously don't want to damage anything, but I know some docs advance their WLS patients quickly. I'm struggling over here When's your next apt? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App 5 weeks Yeah, I was moved from the liquids to purée after 10 days, when I was initially told 2 weeks. Cant say I was complaining though! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Good to know. I just feel like I'm tolerating everything really well, and would love to try a scrambled egg or something other than liquid. Obviously don't want to damage anything, but I know some docs advance their WLS patients quickly. I'm struggling over here When's your next apt? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App 5 weeks Oh wow, so far away! Is that when you're due to advance? (I hope not!) Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Oh no! I'm supposed to advance in 5 days. I just find myself putting off the Protein shakes now. Having a hard time just choking down one of them. Yeah they get old after a while. What kind are you doing? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Yeah, I was moved from the liquids to purée after 10 days, when I was initially told 2 weeks. Cant say I was complaining though! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Good to know. I just feel like I'm tolerating everything really well, and would love to try a scrambled egg or something other than liquid. Obviously don't want to damage anything, but I know some docs advance their WLS patients quickly. I'm struggling over here When's your next apt? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hey Guys! I was banded on 12/19 - I love this site and love hearing everyone's tips <3 Here's to getting skinny & healthy!!!

Okay, so this is my first posting on here. Don't know if I am doing this in the right area or whatever. I'm Alex I got my surgery in November, my starting weight was 246 I am now about 205/210 I keep fluctuating those 5 lbs. I'm primarily eating salads really and completely changed my eating habits. I only eat lean Protein and although I don't drink as much Water as I should I am increasing it slowly. I've received about three fills so far. To me, it doesn't seem as if I am losing weight as fast as I have seen others losing which does have me very concerned. I wasn't expecting to only be at 205 by now, I was I'd be losing 1-2lbs per weeks as my nutritionist told me before I got the surgery. I've mad tremendous accomplishments so far like my pants size has gone down to a size 12 from 16 and my shirt to a medium/large but my belly is still as big as ever. lol can come one please just tell me if I am doing something wrong possibly? or is this normal? Also I have incorporated some exercise not as much as I was hoping because the gym out here is ridiculously expensive and I am 19 and a college student. So, I was waiting to go back to school to join the planet fitness up there.

Just had my surgery 10 days ago! I was very excited, but very nervous too--even thought about backing out a couple of times as the day drew near! Honestly, the first day after surgery was the worst, not because of pain, but because they kept trying to get me to drink fluids, and I just didn't want to. I had some nausea, but no unbearable pain--it was more like an achy discomfort, like when you have a tummy ache. The doctors were great with intravenous pain medication so if I got too achy they gave me this very cool stuff that made me feel oh, so nice, and put me right to sleep...lol I was sent home the day after my surgery with pain pills, but never needed to take them--a couple of Tylenol did the trick for any residual soreness. Really, by day 4 I felt completely normal, as if nothing had been done at all! Just get ready to enjoy a few days of pampering, and a reason to get some extra sleep. Aside from feeling a little groggy from the anesthesia, you will be fine in a day or two and ready to begin your journey to freedom!

Hey Ladies You are going to love your band when you get them... It is the best thing that you can do for yourself - as we are all in the 50+ gang and we finally realize that if we want to live a better and longer life that we need to get this fat off of us.. The band is a great tool to help us acheive this goals and with the help of our other tool (our brains) we will finally get it that this is a lifetime lifestyle change in our eating habits - that we must execrise and make healthy food choices to be healthy. I feel 10 yrs young - look like a normal person - feel 1 million times better about me - I am so proud of the work that I have done to accomplish this goal - and imho I have done the work not the band - yes it has helpped but I am the one who has made good food choices and gets my butt to the gym. I am the one who says no to the candy - fried foods - by band is my interior motivator ... Good luck to you all and welcome to lbt

I weigh morning a night. It is not a problem for and don't agree with the logic that should not weigh everyday. When I am weighing everyday, I am losing. When I am on the upswing, I am not weighing. As long as you can manage your expectations that you are not going to lose everyday and some days you will gain even when following your program to a t. If you can do that, you should be fine!!! BTW I had my surgery Thurs, 19 May and I have lost 10 pounds. Certainly did not expect to lose that much that fast. I know it is Water and I will certainly not be losing at that rate going forward. Best wishes!!!

I have to admit, I weigh almost daily also. I use it both as a barometer of how I am doing AND hoping to see a loss. Unfortunately, I am pretty discouraged right now. I was banded on 3/10/11 and initially lost 9lbs however, when I went onto solid foods I gained back 4lbs. I am trying to watch what I eat but have NO restriction at all. I can eat anything. I have not had a fill yet. When I had my last appointment 6 weeks ago the doctor said it was too soon for a fill. I go back on 5/24/11. Hopefully he will give me a fill. My hope is that once I get filled, I will start seeing progress again. Has anyone gone through this?

Everyone knows that I am the pickiest Protein person in the world. BUT, I finally have found one that I can tolerate taste, texture and most importantly smell. While John was deployed, he used a protein supplement after working out. He swore by the stuff, and I was pretty hesitant since I've tried and hated so many. But, after trying the GNC soy protein with zero success, I decided to try his suggestion. whey Optimum is the brand name. It mixes with zero texture, or graininess. John loved the Extreme Milk chocolate so I bought that flavor. I mixed it with filtered Water, and add 2 ice cubes to chill it. I even shook it up, no foam, no froth. They do have a 16 flavor sample pack available to order. The best prices I've seen on the web are on bodybuilding.com and you can search for Whey Optimum. The prices here are actually less than what I paid at our GNC on base, we pay zero tax there, and have a GNC GOLD CARD. Even with all the discounts, this place is cheaper. But, GNC will take back open products if you don't like it. Here's the link Vitamin A 0%Vitamin C 0%Calcium 10%Iron 2% Not a Significant Source of Dietary Fiber* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.IngredientsProtein Blend(Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey Peptides), Cocoa(Processed With Alkali), Natural And Artificial Flavors, Lecithin, Creamer(Sunflower Oil, Maltodextrin, Modified food Starch, Di-Potassium Phosphate, Tri-Calcium Phosphate, Tocopherols), Salt, Acesulfame Potassium, Aminogen?, Sucralose. ALLERGEN INFORMATION: Contains Milk And Soy (Lecithin) Ingredients. Typical Amino Acid Profile (Miligrams Per Serving) Essential Amino Acids (EAAs) Tryptophan 405 Valine 1422 Threonine 1654 Isoleucine 1573 Leucine 2531 Lysine 2233 Phenylalanine 748 Methionine 492 Conditionally Essential Amino Acids (CAAs) Arginine 505 Cystine 494 Tyrosine 703 Histidine 423 Proline 1509 Glutamine & Precursors 4082 Nonessential Amino Acids (NAAs) Aspartic Acid 2508 Serine 1126 Glycine 412 Alanine 1180 Directions For Optimum 100% Whey Protein: To encourage a positive nitrogen balance, consume approximately 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day from a combination of high protein foods and supplements. For even better results, consume your daily protein allotment over 4-6 small meals spread evenly throughout the day. *Try the Extreme Milk Chocolate and French vanilla Creme. These are Optimum's new Limited Edition Flavors. Warnings: This product contains whey derived from dairy and lecithin (to improve mixability) derived from soybeans. For use as a dietary supplement only. Do not use for weight reduction. * These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

They may consider this an outpatient surgery even though we spend the night. My mother recently had a mastectomy which I would never have considered an outpatient surgery but they kept her overnight in a bed near the recovery area and called it outpatient. Your guess is as good as mine. It will be great to compare notes. When I started this I couldn't find anyone on any of the boards that would even answer a question about Kaiser. Hopefully with all the Kaiser patients keeping in touch others will find out that they do it and what the process is. I almost changed my insurance because I couldn't find out if Kaiser even did the lapband and I was told by one doctor that I had to be a "lot bigger" before they would even consider me. My BMI is 42.6. If I hadn't kept pushing, I would have changed insurance companies in the fall and had the surgery done early next year. I would have also paid around $4K to get it done. I very happy I found out Kaiser does them. Since they haven't officially weighed me in for the weight loss stuff I haven't started on loosing the weight. I don't want to loose that lovely Water weight too soon. LOL According to Kim they might not make us loose a full 10% and it depends on how we carry our weight. I'm preparing myself to loose the whole 10% so I won't be disappointed. It'll be just my luck they will require the whole thing.

I argued that point with someone earlier! But I believe that if someone was not receiving healthcare for something specifically related to obesity in the past, it will not be considered a pre-existing condition. I even pushed my sister to start getting treatment for her high blood pressure; she's avoided talking to a doctor about it for years now but I feel she needs it on record that she's trying to treat her obesity so it can be considered pre-existing. I also think the coverage is going to be more inconsistent among insurance providers than it has been in the past. whatever changes are made, I believe they wouldn't take effect until early 2019, but don't quote me on that.

I have no experience with weight loss drugs. I would be hesitant too. There are ways to accelerate weight loss ( I just typed it up on another thread..haha) ... and also accepting that we all lose at a different rate and speed and that is okay too! Edited to add... I just cut and paste what I typed in another post. Not exactly on topic, but maybe some thoughts for you.... I started at 308, and about 7 months post op my weight loss slowed to a CRAWL. i mean like 2# a month. I still weighed in the 190s and at 5'5" had a ways to go. I found out that for me I had to do a couple of things to get going again. #1 I had to really face the fact that at 190 I was physically pretty comfortable and still had an nice emotionally shielding fat suit. I looked great according to my friends, but in truth, I looked matronly which was safe for me. #2 I came to realize that I needed to go low carb to get the weight off. For me, Protein bars where the number one issue - I was having 1-2 a day and that is ALOT of carbs. I had to stop buying them. #3 I had to change my exercise routine. I was making NO progress spending long times on an eliptical and using the weight machines. I switched to high intensity interval training - using a spinning bike. I went back to losing 10-12# a month and got to my goal of 158# 14 months post op. I have since lost a few more pounds during maintenance and now weigh about 140ish.

Hi Bay Area folks... I found a group in the Meetup site. There is a planned meeting with a local psychologist Oct 10 - here are the details. I am thinking of going and give it a try. http://www.meetup.com/SF-WLS-Group/

I have started working out on my Elliptical. We are supposed to be getting 30 minutes of exercise daily (I have been walking). However with the elliptical, well it's pretty obvious in less than 30 seconds that it has been 20+ years since I have actually "worked out". LOL. I was following the training settings on mine and their recommendation is to start with 20 minutes the first time, and do that for 5 days and then the following week go for 25 minutes.. and keep increasing over the weeks until you reach 40 minutes. Well I have everything I can do to even get through 1 song on my playlist. LOL I'm assuming I should just start there and go? 5 minutes this week and try for 7 or 10 minutes per time the following week? So there is my confession and someday my inspiring starting point: "The first time I got on my elliptical, I couldn't even finish the first song on my playlist".

Iam 10 goong mexico i didnt follow diet at all ;(

I will be celebrating a year from my surgery next week... and I still can't really eat salad. 1) It really fills me up; 2) doesn't really digest well; 3) hard to eat after eating my Protein. It's still "protein first" for me. That being said, one of the local grocery stores has a salad bar with lots of healthy choices. I'll put in a few pieces of Romaine lettuce and then top this with grilled chicken and/or ham. Then some cheese, peas, shredded carrots, a few sunflower seeds and a little Ranch on the side. It usually costs me about $2.35. This way I'm getting in the important protein AND a little lettuce. (The extra toppings are super light in amount.. you know, like 5 peas, 10 sunflower kernels, tablespoon of shredded carrots and cheese.) I literally CRAVE a big salad with Ranch dressing.. basically all of the above, plus croutons. My eyes definitely want to be bigger than my sleeve when it comes to a salad.

I think back to a year ago, and I had just gotten approval from my insurance company, and scheduled my sugery. What a difference a year makes! I walked into surgery weighing 277lbs - this morning on my scale, I weighed in at 193lbs. 193 lbs in 11 months - holy smokes. I always wanted to be a thinner woman - and not be the biggest mom in the group, and cringing when boarding an airplane hoping the belt would buckle. I wanted to fit in the desks at back to school night, and wanted to stop undoing my pants on my drive home, since I had stuffed myself into a too tight pair of jeans rather than buy a larger size. I wanted to look in a mirror and not cringe, I wanted to buy clothes in the regular ladies section, not the plus sized section of the stores. I wanted that - and went on so many diets in an effort to acheive it - but always failed. I wore a 26/28 shirt, or a 3XL, and squeezed into 24 jeans, but really should have been in 26's. I muffin-topped out of every single bra I owned. Not now - October 19, 2009 was a day that will forever be noted on my calendar as a second birthday, if you will. My rebirth - the day the NEW me came into being. I have joined the gym, I walk several times a week, I don't just sit on the couch anymore! I wear a large t-shirt, and bought size 16 jeans today (whoohoo!) and they fit comfortably (meaning no unzip on the way home from work!). I bought a sweatshirt in a large, too, since the XL was just too big and the arms way too long (why do clothing people always think heavy people have REALLY long arms!!!) I have new goals - such as hitting the 100lbs down mark by the time 2011 arrives - and trying to figure out what to do with my boobs, which now look like two deflated beach balls, altho they easily stuff into anything these days. I also would really like to see what buying size 12 jeans feels like! THAT would be awesome! 11 months...and I am happy with my progress so far! This has certainly been a journey - but one I wish I had the courage to make years ago, instead of waiting so long! I cannot wait to see what the next 11 months have in store!

Did you find out if Dr. Aceves wants you to be unfilled before you get there? You have almost a month to go. I ate like a little pig before I had my band taken out. I had hot fudge sundaes regularly for a few weeks cause I knew I'd be on liquids for almost a month after sleeve surgery. I probable gained 10 lbs in the month waiting for sleeve surgery. I had lots of last suppers!

Has anyone tryed the Bikini ready Protein shakes? The carb count is low and I just got a good look at the label so is the protein it is only 10 grams of protein.

Best wishes to all having surgery this week. My date is 23/10. I am in Brisbane Australia. Last week I was excited and wishing time away, but since Friday the nerves have kicked in. I don't react well with anaesthesia, and I've been weaning off my antidepressants, so a bit of an emotional mess. My surgeon recommends fasting for 3 days post surgery, then scan to make certain no leaks before starting clear fluids. That doesn't really bother me, but I don't cope without my antidepressants. This has been adding to my anxiety. I having been on protein shakes for a week, but have eaten carbs on weekend. Emotional eating I am also a carer for my mum, and as I'll be in hospital for 4nights, I've needed to organise care & support for her. My husband is very supportive, but just finding I am emotional and irritated by everything this past week. It's good to read others thoughts on here & I wish everyone success.