Hey all.

So there's a bunch of us in this group, all split up into our different banding days. I was thinking that it might be a good idea to have one master thread as we move through the month, in which all of us could post as we go, from the pioneers going on March 1st to the finalists on March 31st.

I'd love to talk about our anticipation and any worries as we approach our banding date, for people to talk about exactly what happened from the moment they walked into the hospital door until the second they walked out, about how recovery is going, about weight loss and plateaus, about non-scale victories and challenges.

I was thinking that if we all contribute to one thread, it'll form a more substantial channel for information and support. At the moment, I was thinking that we might be too spread out into individual date, and that a central thread would be a really good backbone for the group, in addition to the date-specific threads.

What do you think?

Fenton

Click on home and scroll all the way down to the bottom and you will see scheduled events. If you click on the pages it is the calendar and will let you add things.

Anybody getting brave enough to take Before pictures or even body measurements with a tape measure ...scary

also sorry about this but where is the calendar on the home page? I wanted to add my surgery date to it but not sure where to go?

Calendar is in the FAR Top Right Corner above where they have an advertisement box --before you get to your browser's own area/toolbars.

Also Advanced Search to search this site is there and I've found that helpful at times.

Thanks, Special K and pippinje - I've just added my banding date to the main calendar. Right next to pippinje's TWO birthdays!

I'm gong to do my best to keep posting throughout this whole thing.

Anybody getting brave enough to take Before pictures or even body measurements with a tape measure ...scary

I am going to do this. I start my pre-op diet on Thursday, with surgery on March 20th. :cool2:

My best friend is getting her band two weeks after me! We are so excited to have each other to go through this together with.

We are going to take the pictures of each other. I would ask dh, but I still have in the back of my mind that he really doesn't know how bad I look or what I weigh. :eek: I can dream, right?

I am so ready for this. I have been getting in my last fav's and am getting tried of them.

Good luck to everyone!

Hi Everyone, I am starting to get excited now that it is March. :eek: I will be banded on 03/27/08. I am glad to see that there are many people that will be joining me on this journey. I am now looking forward to my pre-op on 19th. Then surgery a week later. :cool2: Good luck to everyone. I know we are all going to make our goals.

Hi all,

I am hopefully going to be banded at the end of March, depending on how long it takes for approval from insurance. I do my last weigh in on Monday, and then they will file with insurance. I am really glad to find a site where you can learn so much. I have learned way more on here from reading posts than I have from the seminars I have attended. Best of luck to everyone!

I will be the first. This is me celebrating my birthday party last night with a friend of the family. Definately eye opening looking at pictures of myself. Normally I don't take pictures.

Thanks, Special K and pippinje - I've just added my banding date to the main calendar. Right next to pippinje's TWO birthdays!

I'm gong to do my best to keep posting throughout this whole thing.

Two birthdays? Woah! Must have put that in after my party last night. LOL

Hope you had a great birthday! Can you imagine what your picture will look like next year? I am having a very hard time imagining myself under a size 18....and at this point I would love to be a size 18!

Hope you had a fabuous birthday!

Christine

I know how you feel, Christine! I'll be ecstatic to reach weights at which others will be freaking out and deciding that they desperately need to do some kind of surgical weight loss...

surgery is set for March 19, Dr.Gail Wynn, Newark, Delaware

Just a few more pre-op appts. and cross fingers for insurance clearance. have several co-morditiy issues, so hope insurance is quick...

going to enjoy the time off, 3 1/2 weeks off... and in early Spring..sitting on the deck reading, walking, relaxing and drinking all those protien drinks

Hope you had a great birthday! Can you imagine what your picture will look like next year? I am having a very hard time imagining myself under a size 18....and at this point I would love to be a size 18!

Hope you had a fabuous birthday!

Christine

Thanks Christine! I defintely had a blast and so did everyone else, because that's what they keep saying. I am definately hoping that I look a TON better by my birthday next year and then we could really rock it. I think my miny goal is to be someone presentable by my reunion in October!:laugh:

I have to say: one week into my liquid diet and I'm pretty damn sick of the liquids. The shakes aren't terrible - although the aftertaste is appalling - but most of what I'm drinking is sweet. I wish there were more in the way of protein-rich soups!

Here's a typical day:

Two Slimfast Optima shakes, each 190 cals, 10 g Protein

One Isopure Zero Carb sports drink, 190 cals, 40 g protein

One Swiss Miss Fat Free Hot chocolate, 70 cals, zero protein

Some Trader Joe's Soup - either carrot ginger or butternut squash, 80 cals, zero protein - I also add a splash of flavored oil, which adds some calories and fat, but no protein. Or some Da Vinci fake maple syrup goes nicely, and no cals.

One ProSlam45 - a syrupy, concentrated Protein Drink in either Peach or Fruit punch - 180 cals, 45 g protein

And I've cheated a little every other day - a serving of fat-free yogurt, or some turkey chili, low fat. Last time I pureed the larger chunks of turkey - it was delicious, but it sure looked as if someone had eaten the chili before me...

Oh, another thing: one of my big worries has been getting a bit stopped up - I tend to get constipated every time I go on a diet. I've been pretty good with keeping up my Water intake, and have been using Benefiber twice a day, and I've been fine. I'm going to try to increase my Benefiber after banding, but I don't know if that'll be possible.

Sorry if that's TMI, but it's an issue that's been one of my biggest fears, so I imagine there are others out there with the same issue!