i currently have the lap band. i was banded in 2008. i've had nothing but problems for the past year.

my insurance finally approved my surgery to have my band removed and gave the approval to have me converted to the gastric sleeve.

i'm excited and nervous at the same time!! i am hoping to have my surgery sometime within the next month.

what are some things i can expect after surgery? do you have a very small appitite or none at all? what are some things you have done to make your weight loss sucessful? are there certin food that you CANNOT eat (like with the band)?

any infomation would be great. thanks!

Many congrats on getting approval.

With the sleeve, I have zero food restrictions. I eat fruits, salads, raw and cooked veggies, I eat all types of meats, and enjoy a very balanced diet with the sleeve.

The post-op diet is more strict with the sleeve than the band due to a healing staple line, but it's totally doable, and it's only temporary.

As for my plan, I stuck with the rules which were 60+grams of Protein, no more than 30grams of carbs, and 64+oz of Clear liquids daily. I stayed between 600-800 calories per day while in my losing stage. When I hit the 4 months mark, and was still losing very consistently, I never had a stall, my surgeon okay'd me to add more carbs and calories. I still lost weight consistently, and dropped 113lbs in 6.5 months to hit my goal of 150. I've lost 27lbs over the last 4.5 months and it's been very sporadically. I'm maintaining at this point, and that is why I have a very different eating plan that what I had when I was losing.

I still love food, but I do not get hungry. I still have to remind myself to eat because I can go until about 2-3pm without eating, and then I kind of feel this empty, running low feeling. I rarely do that, but it does happen.

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, post away, or feel free to shoot me a message. Keep us posted on your progress and when you get your date set.