913 replies to this topic

[rosmay]

im going back under 13th feb, see the anethetist next tues. op was ment to be 18th this month but were going on holiday so put it off til im back..hope i dont need to do opti- but i tell you its not too bad- you just need to be prepared, and at this time of year with all the fresh fruit and berries and icy cold diet drinks its way easiier than mid-winter.
im kind of the unlucky one going through this twice- with having a leak from the beginning- oh well iv been their and bought the tea-shirt twice!
thanks mel- i edited real date not imaginary lol

[Melandy]

Hi Rosmay, do you mean November or February?

[Melandy]

Hi!

Well, yesterday I bit the bullet and started on opti, Its very early with my banding date on the 16th Feb, but even if I dont stick to it for the full 6 weeks, Im sure I will feel better for it anyway. I actually managed the whole three opti's and made tomato/capsicum soup and diet jelly so I know its only 1 day but normally by 3-4 I would have caved in and I didnt so Im happy. I actually wasn't all that hungry either.

My youngest also nagged me into going for a walk with him yesterday also. wow, I didn't realise just how sedentary my life had gotten until I got a little way down the track and my lower back and hips were killing me! By the time we got to the park I collapsed on the nearest brick wall lol. I really need to keep going with the walking.

Its back to work today and I have packed my opti bar and some more soup and jelly. Will see how we go. I'm pretty fussy with my vegies, and there are quite a few vegies on the allowable list that I don't like so it makes things hard, but I think I will try making some curry vegie stir fry or something tonight.

Well, have a good week everyone,

Mel.

[ROBSKI]

I will join in if I may, I only just scrape in on the Feb banding because mine will be done on the 29th woohoo leap year lol.
I cant wait to beat the T2 diabetes and start regular exercise again.

Good luck to all getting banded before me.

Cheers Rob

[luvmyband]

Hey Tina , Nice to see you showing your face here girl, I hope your enjoying this loverly weather out and about on your Boat, lucky you..
Well its getting closer to February you guys ..Just dropped in to wish you all good luck with the Optifast week/weeks....Its well worth it so stick to it...
Marion

[leighanne]

Hi all,
lm being banded on the 8th feb and was going to start my opti 2 weeks prior but after reading many posts above l am now thinking perhaps l should start fairly soon and try and do it 4 wks before my date.... I am so dreading the whole opti diet, l never have been very good with restricting my food intake, guess thats why lm now in this position. Love looking at the before and after pic's they are just amazing and give me the encouragment to succeed in this adventure lm about to undertake.....

[Melandy]

Hi Marion,
Thanks for the encouragement, Im on day 3 and have stuck to it so far. Leighanne, yes the opti is not easy, but like Marion said, its well worth doing and we should not loose sight of why we are starting with opti. Its not really about weight loss, its about shrinking our livers to make the operation easier for the surgeon. I know I want a smooth op, and Im sure you do too.

None of us have been good at restricting food intake, but we are about to change all of that! This is the start of day 3 on opti - I have self imposed this now instead of later- and I'm really not that hungry, just fast running out of ideas on how to cook up my vegies lol Think tomorrow will be salad day.I already feel less bloated though and have lost 1kg so far.

Keep visiting our little Feb bandit thread to keep you on track and good luck!

Mel

[Melandy]

Hi Robski!

I didn't know it was a leap year! lol

Welcome to our little group, good luck with your banding!!

Mel

[columbine]

Hi all,

How is everyone going with the pre-op prep? Good to here you are sticking to your optifast Mel I am planning on easing my way into it. I have started having the coffee one for breaky. Will do that for a couple of weeks then have a couple of weeks of opti for breakfast, a meal at work and then opti again. I am a shift worker so which meal I replace will depend on what shift I am on. Then on the 1st of Feb I'll start the 3 a day thing. Have ordered some bars and some deserts and was just thinking this morning about how to make my limited veg intake interesting. Was thinking of making a stirfry with fresh chilli and coriander, curried cauliflower soup, vegie bake with a tomato base (sadly no cheese ) and a grilled vegie stack. I like salads, but they get boring very quickly. Night shift is going to be my hardest one to stick to.
Mel, did you end up finding out about your sleep study?
My hubby didn't get the job he applied for so there is a good chance he will be in town when I have my op done. Bless him, he is not only going to do the optifast with me but he is also going to ignore his fear/hate of hospitals and come in with me on the day Maybe I can even get a bunch of flowers out of this
Good luck this month everyone. Hope you are all doing well.

[leighanne]

Hi all,

It is so `inspirational reading these posts. I have decided to start my opti on mon the 9th jan, l am going away on the weekend so l will begin on my return. Can someone tell me as l was under the impression that opti replaces all meals. Certain food must also be allowed when on opti such as vegies. When you purchase opti does it come with a menu plan also... I have not been to a dietition and havent been told by my doctor that l need to see one before my lapbanding surgery. What does it cost for a weeks supply of opti?Any info would be great, thanks.

Leighanne.

[columbine]

Hi Leighanne,

I hve tried posting this a couple of times but it keeps getting messed up

The cheapest place to get the optifast is at Chemist Wharehouse or online at one of the cheapie online chemists (about $5 a box cheaper). It is costing me $45-$50/wk. there should be a little pamphlet in the box for how to use it. I think every surgeon is different with what you are allowed to have. My friend only had to replace 2 meals a day and eat only protein and non-starch vegies for the third meal whereas I have been told to replace three meals and to only eat 2 cups of the allowed vegies plus diet jelly and 1/2 cup of berries.
Hope this helps I would recommend finding a dietician if your surgeon doesn't have one they recommend. Not only can they help you sort out your pre op diet but they can help you with your post op diet, especially if you find you are not loosing weight as well as you think you should be.

[Glenno81]

I'm getting the band filled for the first time in over a year since it was emptied on the 1st February. Kinda scared as had 2 unsuccessful attempts. But this time I know its going to be successful

[luvmyband]

Good Luck everyone , February is drawing closer I guess you will be starting your pre Op ..Optifast soon ...YOU CAN DO IT.....
ALL The BEST....
Marion

[Epic2012]

Oh reading the posts i think i am going to be 1st cab off the rank .. YIKES.. 2nd Feb for me With Dr Dolan @ Glengarry... OMG 3 weeks and 6 days left i am starting to freak out.... Anyways i am sure its all nerves and i will do amazing just like all the other bandits and soon to be bandits... Good Luck to us all Feb is going to be a very special month

[Melandy]

Hi to all the new Feb bandits that have joined our gang.

I have been on opti for 5 days, however I am not due to be banded until 16th Feb, just thought I'd get going with it. That is until this afternoon when I just started to feel empty and sick. I ended up having a normal meal with my family as I just felt blah
It could be my own fault though because I didn't plan my day the same as the rest of the week, and so I ended up starving by 5 because I had not done so.
Having said all this I still don't feel the best, just a little green. I will start again in the morning.

Epic Im sure you will do just fine, make sure you keep us posted.

Glenn, can I ask why you were empty? I guess you could call yourself a 'born again bandit? lol" Good luck with it this time.

Anyway, not beating myself up about it, Im actually pretty chuffed I remained strong for the almost 5 days lol

Mel.

[whits75]

Your doing well Mel, you could even if you do 2 shakes a day and a meal at night time and then the last fortnight go hard with 3 shakes a day .

[TinaH]

Wow you early optifast starters, you guys are making me feel guilty.
I am being banded onthe 9th of Feb, i am still on holidays until the end of next week so i think i will start my optifast then which will give me 3 1/2 weeks.
Sooooo not looking forward to it !!!! but has to be done ....

[TinaH]

Any of you Feb banders from the Newcastle area ?

[columbine]

Yeah, my hat goes off to those who start early on the optifast. I am having the coffee one for breaky to get used to the taste and I was going to start doing 2 a day from 4 weeks pre op but I think I will get sick of them if I do that and be less inclined to want to stick to it for the 2 weeks pre op. I can't believe the first week of January is gone already! February will be here before we know it.
I have to say that getting on this website and reading through all the forums has been a big help in preparing myself mentally for what life is going to be like wit a band. Before I just had this vague idea that I would be eating less and there would be things I couldn't eat at all any more and even though I really wanted to get the band, I was a little unsure about the post banding diet. Now I feel like I have a good understanding of what to expect and am feeling very confident about doing this

[Melandy]

So I just had my psychologist appointment, and it was fine. The doctor was very nice and she put words to a lot of thoughts that I'd had over the last few months, and she is dead set against 'dieting' and said that she wants us to concentrate on moderation and portion size rather than the types of foods that I'm eating. She also said that exercise for me should not be an "I have to do this" kind of thing, but rather that I should find something that I'd like to do and enjoy a couple of times a week and be flexible as I have so many life commitments already. (I really like this! ) Thinking about zumba once I'm all healed up if anyone wants to join me? I've waned to try it for a while now. I love the 'no pressure' approach and she said any expectations we place on ourselves just sets us up for failure which I believe is so true. The band is supposed to 'enforce by association' good eating habits that will become a natural progression to weight loss and better health.

Back on the opti today and feeling pretty good, now, very positive and even-though I've only lost 2.5 kg so far its actually noticeable as Im not so bloated as I was before and even my hubby said so. I also went for a walk to the park 3 times in the last week, with the first being a rather painful and eye-opening experience as I hadn't been walking for so long, but by the third time I actually enjoyed it

Anyway, gotta go do some house cleaning, so I will sign off for now Have a great day everyone!

Mel