Hi Everyone -

My name is John and I'm 51 yrs old. Have struggled with my weight for years.....Have been over 300 lbs for the last 10 yrs. Reached my highest weight this past January of 337 lbs. HAVE HAD ENOUGH..........Currently I'm 312 lbs with a BMI of 42. I'm tired of the yo-yo diets........

A resent untrasound shows I have alot of Gallstones so I will probably will have my Gallbladder removed at the same time.

Currently seeing all of the Doctors/Nutritionist required by Aetna as I'm involed in their 3 month pre-surgical program. It requires monthly visits to my Primary Doctor, Nutritionist, a Personal Trainer and the Psychologist.

I am seeing Dr. Fielding @ NYU . I see Dr. Fielding on 3/25/09 and hopefully will get a surgery date which should be early May.

Can't wait to get past the surgery...............

Mayo Banditos works for me......(It's hard for a guy to call himself " A Mini May")

May is around the corner......5/11 can't come fast enough...

Sorry off topic, but is anyone having trouble seeing the blogs? All I get is a blank page! Help!! Cali

Hi Everyone,

Good luck to all! February 29, 2008 just 5 days after my parents 45th anniversary my father lost his battle with leukemia, he was only 65. It was hard watching him waste away and I now that if he did not have all the other complications: obesity, diabetes, gout, stroke issues, heart issues... his might have won his battle or at least lasted longer than the 1year it took for him to lose it. One year after his death, after just turning 40 myself I decided to finally gain control of the rest of my life and give myself the chances my father never gave him self. I went to my first seminat on February 24th.

Just six weeks later with a lot of perserverence and determination I got my insurance approval and officially scheduled my surgery for May 6th. I can't wait!! I'm going to start a high protien, low carb diet today and switch to liquids the week before to allow my body to get acclimated. Ten years ago just after turning 30 I walked into my doctors'f office got on the scale and weighed 311lbs. After an hour of tears I was mortified and started a diet that day. One year later through medication and lots of vigorous excersise I had lost 123lbs. 10 years later just after turning 40 I walked into the doctor's office got on the scale and weighed 282lbs. I gained almost all of it back, slowly it creeped back on 10lbs here 10lbs there. I'm strarting the battle again, but this time not just to look good. This time it's to LIVE GOOD, FOR LIFE!!!

I like the "May-ans"!!

John you started the thread, I think you should get to decide.

OK - It's official........We're now called the "Mayo BANDitos" :smile2:....

I have always been a fast eater. My biggest fear is " getting stuck" and having to bring it up....So I tried this weekend to really chew at least 30 times and eat slowly ( 30 seconds between bites). I got to sat - THAT WAS TOUGH, REALLY TOUGH ! to do.

Has anyone else tried to chew well and eat slow? Anyone else find it difficult??

Hi Everyone,

Good luck to all! February 29, 2008 just 5 days after my parents 45th anniversary my father lost his battle with leukemia, he was only 65. It was hard watching him waste away and I now that if he did not have all the other complications: obesity, diabetes, gout, stroke issues, heart issues... his might have won his battle or at least lasted longer than the 1year it took for him to lose it. One year after his death, after just turning 40 myself I decided to finally gain control of the rest of my life and give myself the chances my father never gave him self. I went to my first seminat on February 24th.

Just six weeks later with a lot of perserverence and determination I got my insurance approval and officially scheduled my surgery for May 6th. I can't wait!! I'm going to start a high protien, low carb diet today and switch to liquids the week before to allow my body to get acclimated. Ten years ago just after turning 30 I walked into my doctors'f office got on the scale and weighed 311lbs. After an hour of tears I was mortified and started a diet that day. One year later through medication and lots of vigorous excersise I had lost 123lbs. 10 years later just after turning 40 I walked into the doctor's office got on the scale and weighed 282lbs. I gained almost all of it back, slowly it creeped back on 10lbs here 10lbs there. I'm strarting the battle again, but this time not just to look good. This time it's to LIVE GOOD, FOR LIFE!!!

Laya - CONGRATS........I agree....LIVE GOOD FOR LIFE......Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

I also eat tooooo fast. I've tried to practice eating slowly, but it's so much work, and I am impatient.

I guess it's a good thing that soon there won't be much to eat anyway. ha ha

I guess we all will have to learn a new way of doing things.

We'll get the hang of it

OK - It's official........We're now called the "Mayo BANDitos" :eek:....

YAY!!! I love the name!!! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!

LOL, John... I have tried it, it's tiresome. Not only did I do it I asked all my friends at the table that night to do it as well. It's a very hard task. It's amazing how we just shwoosh through a meal without a care.

I'm also working on the eating until I'm not hungry as oppose to eating until I'm full and cant' eat anymore, another brain switch to accomplish.

Good luck everyone!!!! With support and determination we can all succeed!!!

I have been trying to eat slowly and chew but its hard to break a lifetime of bad habits. From what I've read the "stick" of getting stuck will help me remedy these habits.

Hi fellow Mayo BANDitos!!! (LOVE this btw)

I am scheduled for 5/6 and I started my four-freakin'-week pre-op diet yesterday.

I'm excited, this will be a great journey! It will be fun for us to go through this together. :thumbdown:

I got my pre-surgery apt's scheduled. 5/10 I see my anesthesiologist, Surgeon and do a pre-surgery class. Very excited!

Hola, fellow BANDitos! :sneaky: I just got my "target" surgery date today: May 7, one month from today! Yay! It still has to be approved by insurance, though, so I'm still holding my breath and crossing my fingers and toes. :thumbdown:

I've struggled with my weight since childhood. I've been successful several times at losing large amounts but I'm even more successful at putting it back on! :confused: Now I've got a BMI of 40.5 and have several comorbidities: PCOS w/insulin resistance, fibromyalgia, arthritis, CFS, GERD, IBS, and history of cancer. I take 10 pills in the morning and 12-14 at night just to function... and I can't stand it! I'm really ready to make a big change in my life, get this weight off and keep it off! And hopefully I won't have to take all those pills anymore!

Also, for once, I'm going to address my sugar addiction. I'm so addicted to sugar, it's pathetic. So, I'm weaning myself off now and will go low carb w/no refined sugars once I'm banded. Anyone doing that?

I have a one-week pre-op diet (all Slim-Fast) that I have to do, followed by 2 weeks of liquids, then 2 weeks of pureed food (ugh). I have tried chewing everything 30 times, and it is a chore! But it's not as hard as not drinking with a meal and not drinking for an hour afterward. Has anyone tried that yet? The best solution I've found for that is to end the meal with something very moist (orange slice, yogurt, etc.) so it's not torture. Then get up and go do something to keep your mind off of the water. Anyone else have tips for enduring the no water rule??

Looking forward to getting to know you all!

Ann,

I am terrified about the no-drinking thing. That is going to be pretty hard for me, I think!