A thread for super-sized bandsters - starting BMI over 50?

[smilin_apple]

Originally Posted by mjsafari

April - What are you liquids? If they aren't low cal, low carb, you may want to consider a change. My husband and I used SlimFast low carb protein drinks with success pre-op. For snacks between protein, we had egg drop soup or just chicken broth, and SF/FF Popsicles. We also did not have any carbonated soda - even sugar/calorie free. We drank mostly water, but had iced tea with Splenda or Stevia sometimes.

Hope this helps! Good Luck

This is a sample meal for one day for me....
Morning - Kirkland Weight Loss Shake (Same as slimfast) 230 cal
Early afternoon - 8 oz V8 Juice (sometimes 12 oz) 50 -75 cal
American Clear Strawberry Flavored water - Zero cal
Bottle of Water
Diet Arizona Green Tea (made w/ Splenda) Zero cal
Campbell's Soup at Hand (Cream of Chicken or Broccoli) 130 - 150 cal
Bottle of Water
More Arizona
6 oz of lean Ground Meat (or Chicken Breast or Steak) 150 - 270 cal
with
2 - 3 cups of either:
fresh Salad w/2 tbsp of Low cal Dressing - 75 - 95 cal
or
Cooked Zuccinni w/ Diced canned Tomatoes 70 - 100 cal
Then more water at the end of the day...
For a total of 705 - 920 Calories per day......
There are some days where I have cheated a little and added MAYBE an additional 250 calories at the most that day but this is still drastically less then what I was taking in before. I have done calorie counting for the last 2 months on a website that I keep track of everything, and in the prior months my average day was 2200 - 2400 call a day and I still lost 8 lbs last month. Now I am doing an average of 1450 over the last week and a half and according to the scale have gained 5 lbs in the last week????? I don't know what to do?

[mjsafari]

does your surgeon have a nutritionist that you could talk to? They may be able to suggest a change that would help. I have had success without exercise, but it is quickly becoming apparent that won't last. If you aren't exercising, that may be something to consider. I would suggest reviewing your sodium intake, you want to keep that low so the water you are drinking will flush through your system versus being retained. Maybe replace the soup with a protein, so you are getting at least 45-60grams per day.

Some one had posted once that you need to get in at least 1000 cals or your body will go in to starvation mode and stop your weight loss.

Keep looking around, I am sure there are more suggestions on here.
Good Luck!

[smilin_apple]

Originally Posted by mjsafari

does your surgeon have a nutritionist that you could talk to? They may be able to suggest a change that would help. I have had success without exercise, but it is quickly becoming apparent that won't last. If you aren't exercising, that may be something to consider. I would suggest reviewing your sodium intake, you want to keep that low so the water you are drinking will flush through your system versus being retained. Maybe replace the soup with a protein, so you are getting at least 45-60grams per day.

Some one had posted once that you need to get in at least 1000 cals or your body will go in to starvation mode and stop your weight loss.

Keep looking around, I am sure there are more suggestions on here.
Good Luck!

They do have a nutritionist...they have a whole team of people that I have been working with that we all (everyone that does the program through my hospital insurance) have to work with prior to surgery. They do have a plan that they would like us to do of foods we can and cannot eat and when/when not to eat but I have a hugh problem with this particular plan. It seems healthy and harmless but I didn't have too much success with being able to stay on it more than 2 days?!? I wish it was a little easier.

[kebsa]

what was it about there plan that was hard to follow?? it may be worth trying to tough it out for a while and it may get easier. for isnatance, i used to love carbs, in fact the more carbs i ate the more i seemed to want, i went on a low carb diet ( avoided pre processed and high gi foods) and t was really tough for the first few days, i had headaches, no energy and had terrible cravings for anythng starchy! but after about 3 to5 days those craving passed and now that i stick to low go carbs ( mainly fruit and veg) as well aslean protein, i am losing weight. i agree that you need to get the support of a nutriionist, it there program is tough to stick to they need to explain why it is tough, will it possiby get easier the longer you are on it? can it be modified a bit- bare in mind though that sometmes the pre op programs including the need for weght loss is a way to test how committed to the process the patent is! good luck

[smilin_apple]

Originally Posted by kebsa

what was it about there plan that was hard to follow?? it may be worth trying to tough it out for a while and it may get easier. for isnatance, i used to love carbs, in fact the more carbs i ate the more i seemed to want, i went on a low carb diet ( avoided pre processed and high gi foods) and t was really tough for the first few days, i had headaches, no energy and had terrible cravings for anythng starchy! but after about 3 to5 days those craving passed and now that i stick to low go carbs ( mainly fruit and veg) as well aslean protein, i am losing weight. i agree that you need to get the support of a nutriionist, it there program is tough to stick to they need to explain why it is tough, will it possiby get easier the longer you are on it? can it be modified a bit- bare in mind though that sometmes the pre op programs including the need for weght loss is a way to test how committed to the process the patent is! good luck

Thanks Kebsa -
I think you are right. To be honest in the beginning I was not 100% in tune with myself and ready for the surgery mentally. I have noticed that about 2 weeks ago I made the decision that it was time to really start concentrating on my daily diet. I am going to take a look at my WLS binder that they gave me when I started this program and start doing the nutrition again this week and see if it is better now...
I do know that is very low in starchy carbs, pretty much you get one serv of fruit at two of your meals each day, 2 serv of veggies at all of the meals each day, 2-3 serv of protein at each of the 3 meals, 1 fat at 2-3 of the meals and 1 bread at, I think, 2 of the meals. It is all laid at as to the quantities and they also gave me papers on what consists of a serv in each category....such as how many oz of meat for a serv, how many cups of what veggies at each meal and so on. It's not too too bad but I did miss all the bread, rice and pasta.
I really appreciate the advice from you and all the support I am getting on this site, it wasn't until I found this site 2 weeks ago that I realized I wasn't alone. You see the hospital where I am having my Lap Band surgery has been doing the Roux-n-Y Gastric Bypass surgery for years now and all the material was based on that surgery when I joined the program. 2 months after I joined they started doing Lap Bands too. I was feeling like it wasn't geared towards the very few of us that decided to do the band and I felt lost in it all. Now I have gained so much more insight, it has been wonderful to chat with all the different people on here.

[pammycakes]

Just wanted to leave a message and say hi to everyone else who are starting with a high BMI. I was banded on the 8th of this month. I am looking forward to reading about everyones experiences and seeing the progress we are making. Take care everyone

Pam

[synicalchick]

There is hope. I was a BMI of 56 at my highest.. I am now (almost but not quite) 6 months from the day of surgery and my BMI is 46 if not lower.

[michiganer]

Hi everyone! My name is Trisha. I am 26 years old and I weigh about 330lbs. That makes my BMI between 54 and 55. I am using insurance and I had to go through all of these hoops to even get to the point where I can get an answer from them. I just finished my 6-month diet program and next week I am taking all of my paperwork to the insurance coordinator at the facility where I hope to have my surgery. I should know within 2 weeks if I am approved. Everyone keep their fingers crossed! Thanks to the person that started this board! It makes me feel good to know there are other people out there with some serious weight to lose. *Trisha*

[Darragha]

Hi Trisha

My name is Darragha and I have serious weight to lose. I even have humorous weight to lose. Solemn weight to lose. Joyful weight to lose. Weight to lose? I have it all.

How did you do on your 6-month diet for your insurance company?

Darr

[Ses]

Just popping in to say hellO! ^_^ My BMI was at 55 a few weeks ago, and I had the surgery a little over a week ago. Doesn't feel much like it now!

But, seeing as I know you'll all understand this question better than anyone else, did anyone find trouble sleeping after and need to get used to sleeping another way? I always slept on my stomach and it was like another matterus for me... but now, I can't because the port's right in the middle of my upper stomach. I tried it once but there's something really strange about feeling that port as you try to relax.:heh: I feel like I'm that Princess who wakes up black and blue after she sleeps on a pea.

Anyway, hi! ^_^

[pammycakes]

Originally Posted by Ses

Just popping in to say hellO! ^_^ My BMI was at 55 a few weeks ago, and I had the surgery a little over a week ago. Doesn't feel much like it now!

But, seeing as I know you'll all understand this question better than anyone else, did anyone find trouble sleeping after and need to get used to sleeping another way? I always slept on my stomach and it was like another matterus for me... but now, I can't because the port's right in the middle of my upper stomach. I tried it once but there's something really strange about feeling that port as you try to relax.:heh: I feel like I'm that Princess who wakes up black and blue after she sleeps on a pea.

Anyway, hi! ^_^

I was banded on august 8th and since then I havent even been able to sleep in bed. I have been sleeping in the recliner. I tried last night but laying flat on my back seemed to put too much pressure on my port.

[michiganer]

:)

Originally Posted by Darragha

Hi Trisha

My name is Darragha and I have serious weight to lose. I even have humorous weight to lose. Solemn weight to lose. Joyful weight to lose. Weight to lose? I have it all.

How did you do on your 6-month diet for your insurance company?

Darr

Hi Darr,

I basically flucuated up and down 5lbs the whole 6 months. To be really honest, I had already decided before I went through the diet program that I would try to stay the same weight. I didn't want my insurace company to deny me because I lost a few pounds. I know that even if I had lost a good amount of weight, eventually I would fall off the wagon and be back where I started. Its the story of my life. I have all of my paperwork to submit except for some letters from the nutritionist. She said she is mailing them to me Monday so hopefully I will be submitting it all to my insurace company by the middle of next week. Then it will be a nail-biting two weeks while I wait for the verdict. Please pray that they will approve me! *Trisha*

[crazyace]

So guys my surgery is monday-----ahhhhhhhhh!-----I have my mom and brother flying in to "help"---I don't know right now I wish people would leave me alone and stop "helping"-----I feel really stressed out and everything everyone does just pisses me off---my boyfriend last night was all "don't leave me if you get thin"---shut up---i am having major surgery on monday ----I just need to get through this ----I know when my mom and brother get here-----they are going to ask me if I am hungery over and over----and yes I am hungry---I haven't had any thing to eat in 2 weeks!---but asking me isn't going to help-----and they are going to want me to take them around the city---shoping and stuff--(NYC)---i don't have any energy-----and tommorow it will be worse----i can't even have slimfast after 3pm--just clear liquids---so i will be real tired---i am just freaking out and having cold feet---and just want to be left alone.---no one knows what it is like to need to loose 177lbs (that is how much my boyfriend weights!)--my mom is thin my brother is thin--and they eat more than i do!--i am sooooooo glad for this site---ahhhhhhhhh----freaking out!

[crazyace]

My mom and brother are getting here today at 2 pm ---so i am cleaning and making my living room/work space into a bedroom!---my mom is staying for a week my brother is just staying until tuesday---the day i am released from the hospitial.

[michiganer]

Oh man! Hang in there crazyace! I feel for you! I think you are just going to have to be blunt and let everyone know you are stressing and have no time to be a tour guide! You need to relax and save your energy! Keep your chin up!