Emily - I'm so sorry you've been postponed. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers over the next few weeks as you deal with this diet. For me, a strictly liquid diet is what did it for me. I went 12 months on a low carb, high protein diet and didn't lose a single pound. But as soon as I had to do the protein-only liquid diet I dropped 15 pounds in 2 weeks. Totally amazing. Even veggies have carbs in them -- and carbs create more carb cravings. So maybe cut back on the veggies and try adding an extra protein shake or two per day. My diet consisted of 3 protein shakes, 1 8oz cup of soup/broth, 1 powder fiber drink mix per day. I could supplement with no-calorie liquids like crystal light, sugar free popscicles and lots of water, but otherwise I was living on about 600 calories per day. The only carbs I was getting were from the milk I mixed the shakes with. Also might want to increase your exercise efforts to help drop a few more pounds too. Use this time to deal with some of the mental cravings and weaknesses and to learn as much about the surgery and post-op life as possible. Better to be overly prepared and reread research now, before surgery, then to struggle with these things afterward. Use the time as an advantage to make you a better patient. You are strong! You can do this! Pam

Hi Jennifer - I wish you all the luck in the world. This surgery is going to change our lives ... the journey is so worth it! Congrats on the 10 pounds. Pam

If your surgery is the day before Thanksgiving, won't you still be in the hospital for T-Day dinner? So no torture. Unless you mean the leftovers. Your plan sounds very tasty. Be careful of the cranberry juice though -- if you didn't get the "diet" kind it will probably have a lot of sugar in it. For me, I'll be just over a week out at Thanksgiving dinner. I plan to sit at the table with everyone else and eat my own meal. I bought some Campbell's butternut squash soup and will probably make up a spoonful of high-protein mashed potatoes. I also found a fantastic recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Pudding -- which my mom is going to make for me. I personally am not too worried about cravings or not being strong enough to resist the normal food. I think the liquid pre-op diet really helped me overcome the mental part of dealing with food cravings --- maybe not completely, but it's definitely put me on the right track. I am totally fine with other people eating in front of me. I'm totally fine with food commercials. In fact, I've been watching Food Network for most of the day. This is my new life. I've worked hard to get to the point where I am right now and I don't plan to sabatoge myself this early in the game. And I really don't feel like I'm going to be deprived by not stuffing myself to misery at Thanksgiving. This holiday will have a new meaning for me this year. Good luck with surgery. It's right around the corner! Pam

BMJ - WooHoo! You're doing great! Congrats on the weight loss so far. Some big milestones for you! I also stopped taking my pain meds. Took some tylenol to take the edge off, and that seems to be doing the trick for me. I weighed myself the day I got released from the hospital and was UP 4 pounds from before surgery, but that was probably because of all the fluids they were pumping into me. I'm going to try to hold off and weigh on Tuesday --- which will be my offical weigh in date. I'm using my own scale as my official reading and taking what the PCP or surgeon's scale says with a grain of salt. Good luck! Sounds like you're doing great! Pam

If a surgeon's office doesn't offer informational meetings, it's be a BIG RED FLAG for me. How much experience does this dude have? Is he just a single surgeon practicing within a hospital or is he attached to a bariatric program? How many lap-band surgeries has he performed? What's his complication rate? mortality rate? What is is other training speciality (my WLS surgeon is also a trauma surgeon). What kind of after-care can he offer? Does he have a nutritionist on staff to help you through your diet and eating issues after surgery? If he's not part of a bigger program, then I'd look elsewhere. Don't rely on your family doctor's recommendation. Do the research for your own health and well being. My former PCP recommended a surgeon who was just starting his bariatric practice and gave me his name simply because he was in town. But come to find out, that surgeon had very little experience and in fact because he hadn't performed 100 surgeries yet, insurance wasn't even covering services performed by him. So sometimes PCP's don't really know what they are doing when they give you a referral. You'll have to do your own research. You want someone who has done at least 500 surgeries (1000 is better) and has a very good after-care program. There are lists of surgeons here on OH - that'd be a good place to start. Good luck, Pam