Just wanted to wish all October bandsters luck. I know many of us will be starting our pre-op diet today. My surgery is the 6th and I start my diet thursday. We have all worked hard to get here and our journey has started. I know we will all do great.

Hello October bandsters!

I so excited and happy for all of you. I will also be having my surgery on October 12th! I can't wait....this will be life changing for me and I am super excited. I wish all of you the best of luck, a safe surgery, and speedy recovery.

Hi, My dietian/doctor does't use a pre-op diet. She said that it really didn't make that much of a difference. Just try not to gain any weight and if you can try to lose some. So far I've lost 8 pounds.

That seems really strange from all of the reading and researching that I have done.

Actually it makes sense !

I was on a diet for 12 months do to Ins.. 1200 calories a day.

When I got to the 2 weeks of liquid, I said "C'mon Doc ! Give me a break ! I have been busting my @$ for a year, dieting included !."

He just laughed and said "yeah go ahead, it really doesn't matter for you. You see the purpose for the liquid diet is just to see if they can do it, because of the 2 weeks after, that will be all liquid... So you just do liquids the day before surgery..."

That was it ! It all turned out fine

So it makes sense to me..

Shirley, I felt the same way. I had to prove "worthy" of the procedure so I attended the VA's Move Program over and over, amazed at the answers old men who had never dieted before came up with when asked simple questions. Bless their hearts, they'd gained a few pounds and developed diabetes so were referred to the program. There are four sessions and multiply that by several months. I am sure the dietician was pretty tired of me by then. Yes, four sessions, same handouts every month. Same questions from different newbies every session. I have dieted for so many years, I have thrown away more books on dieting and weight loss than most people have read.

I digress. I am knowledgable about what to do to deplete the glycogen stores in the liver and I'm doing that. I fix two shakes a day using almond milk and designer whey (which I buy from Amazon much cheaper than anywhere else on the planet). Make friends with Torani sugar free Syrups. Also purchased from Amazon. I blend my concoctions in a Magic Bullet (purchased from...Amazon) with ice. Experiment. Can't stand the shakes unless blended with ice. Sometimes I throw some frozen strawberries or blueberries in and add Flax Seed Oil and ground flax. Never bananas. Too high in carbs.

Like you said, I have been dropping weight for a year in prep for this procedure. I must know something after all this time. I know that after Monday it'll be Clear Liquids for a while. Then I'll be back to my Protein shakes. BTW, it helps having a daughter who works for Starbucks to make suggestions regarding frozen Protein drinks.

I eat one real meal per day during this pre op time. I choose grilled chicken or talapia, or whatever is on sale at the meat case. I love salad with rice vinegar and will miss eating the volume of salad I can eat now. I have been practicing chewing baby spinach to mush. Challenging.

I have a weird outlook on this, I know. But, in my life I have eaten enough bad fuel to power a small yacht. I feel that I have always had to watch what I eat. I decided, if I have to watch what I eat and look like this, then I will take the step and have the surgery. Then I will look better while watching what I eat.

I've done a lot of work on myself emotionally and am so glad to have the opportunity to have a do over in my life. I will be successful. I wrote a letter to myself and filled a blank book of images of the reasons I want to reduce my girth. I want to ride a horse again. I want to buy clothes because I like them, not because they fit. I want to go snorkeling in paradise and not have to be hoisted back on the boat by two big men. I want to hired for a job and not judged by my appearance even before I have the chance to prove myself. I want to no longer be invisible and live all the way out to surface of my skin rather than retreating deep inside myself in an attempt to not be noticed.

Monday morning, October 3. And so it begins.........

You'll go FAR ! YES ! Simply because you understand the Basics, and realize that this takes time. I have lost 113lbs since the last time weighed.

The ticker shows the loss from January.

Right a Letter to your Dr. like I had to do. He wanted to know why I should have surgery, and why he should do it.

I took my time, while I thought deeply, and I would start, and stop, and pick up again. I could have wrote that whole thing in a Flash (TRUST ME) but he wanted me to soul search. So I did.

I'll tell you what, with the pressure of getting banded, knowing that everyone was against it in my home, jumping threw the hoops, then the letter. I broke down and spilled it all out while writing one day . Then I had to read it to him.

I knew I was going to die, and that he was the one that could make my life

come alive.. (THE S O B NEW IT TOO).

He was impressed, and he said with what I wrote, he could tell that I understood the Band, and my Body. So he said "You'll get your band."

Just keep going forward, and don't look back. Every day is a new day with this band. Some are good, and some are not so good at times.

All in All,,, It's well worth it. You made a wise choice...

Good Luck to all you October 2011 Bandsters.

Shirley

Banded 10/31/2006

Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit.

October 3rd is my date. My doctor didn't put me on a pre op diet though. Hmmmm.....wonder if this is normal?

Its the same with me. My day is also Oct 3rd and the surgeon didnt put me on a pre op diet..however I have a 3 week long liquid diet post op.... I thought it was strange too..since I see everyone else having to go through the diet...hmm

The purpose of the preop diet is too shrink your liver since the DR has to work around it. That is what my doctor told me and I have talked to others who said the same thing.

That part is true too. But I'm sure they do it different then when I was banded. 5 incisions, and some still want to go by the old rule.

But if you think about it, 2 weeks of liquid is not going to do that much for say 10 years of being Fat, and the tole it took on the Liver.

I'm not here to discourage anyone, they make the rules !

Some of them are getting away from that, and say it's just Healthier for you, when you lose a good deal of weight.

Either way it's a loss right ! That's all that matters.

Hello fellow October Bandsters! This is my first post. I am having surgery on the 10th and start my clear liquid diet on the 3rd. Any suggestions on broths or other clear liquids?

Make your own broth ! It tastes a lot better. S.F Jello, S.F. Pop-cycles. I know there colored but they are still considered clear by most Dr.'s because they are Water. Chrystal Lite for your water. I had Soups, and just put them in a strainer to catch the vegetables after I had surgery... It can be done before.

Welcome Aboard, and Good Luck, Shirley.

It can cange it by 25% which is huge. Just think if your doctor nicked your liver because it was still large you could bleed to death. Its not a joke. There is a reason why doctors will go in and decide not to do the lap band untill the liver is small. This is a persons life in there hands. I would question any doctor who didnt want some kind a pre-op diet.

That part is true too. But I'm sure they do it different then when I was banded. 5 incisions, and some still want to go by the old rule.

But if you think about it, 2 weeks of liquid is not going to do that much for say 10 years of being Fat, and the tole it took on the Liver.

I'm not here to discourage anyone, they make the rules !

Some of them are getting away from that, and say it's just Healthier for you, when you lose a good deal of weight.

Either way it's a loss right ! That's all that matters.

Hey Bandster Family tomorrow is my one week mark until my band birthday(surgery)!!! pre-op diet is going great... have not cheated once and I'm very proud to say that Hope everyone else is doing great!!!

happy days to all,

Cheryl

This is a very serious situation. I agree to that totally ! But they all have there ways. I lost over a 120 lbs. dieting before surgery, so know reason tp go on liquids to shrink the liver.

I had mine done in a Center of Excellence, and he saved my life by having the surgery.

They are truely skilled in their field, and they know what they are doing.

If your not to overweight, some Dr.'s feel it's not that extreme, so you will do it in the weeks after. They can also tell by the feel of the liver if it's to large or not..

No this is not a joke ! Each Surgeon has his own way. You might diet for a couple of months, and not have to do liquids. It's still losing weight, and that's a loss.

Hello October people. Ibwas originally scheduled for September 2. Did my 10 day pre op diet and deposed 8 pounds. Got to surgery cent, paper gowned, I've and ready to go. I was psyched and excited. Big problem. My blood ores sure was way too high. 187/110. The nurse thought I was gonna have a stroke. I had not had a bloodnpressure problem before. And I was calm. They gave me a beta blocker and then a Valium. It came down some but not enough for my doctor to feel safe about proceeding with the surgery. After all, I am an attorney and he didn't want to have to answer to something going wrong. Smart move. But I was pissed off and frustrated the whole weekend. But I didn let it get me down and start eating bad. I immediately went to my PCP and he put me on a blood pressure cocktail with a dietetic. Well three weeks later I had had perfect blood pressure and my pcp gave me clearance for surgery. I am scheduled for monday October 3. I started back on liquids and have dropped a total of 14 pounds. I went for blood work today and my doctor was very pleased with my efforts. He even told me I could cheat for dinner tonight. I told him thanks but I was committed. He was pleased to here that. He said I will be very successful with my weight loss. I can't believe I am here. I was very sad and a bit frightened. I never thought of blood pressure being a complication. My pcp says I loose another 15 or 20 pounds and I will be off the meds. This is exactly why I made the decision to do this. I knew I was on a collission course with health issues. I explore all kinds of soups and have great kitchen appliances to help with smoothies and protein shakes and purée soups. I've gotten quite experimental and keep it healthy. Fat free and high protein. You just have to learn to compromise. It's our life. I am doing this for me and for my future. We didn't choose to be fat. But we can choose to get healthy. As mother always says "it hurts to be beautiful.". Never give up!

Good Morning All,

How is everyone doing with the pre-op diets this week? I have been struggling alot but the hunger does go away after a while. I feel like a crazy person sometimes when I can't stop thinking about food. I am very much looking forward to this time next week when I wake up Banded!

Prayers for you all, Lisa