My surgeon really urges me to go. I tried calling the office today to get a time and place but never got thru. Does anyone know about this support group? The New U

That is good to know about LSU.  I am going through the process at Ochsner's.  They take my Humana Medicare advange but only offer the lapband and the RNY.  So far I am very please with Ochsner's but I am only beginning the process.  I meet Monday with Dr. Wooldridge.

By the way, why do they drug test nurses, janitors, receptionist, etc . . . but not doctors?  Never has made sense, since doctors have the highest drug abuse/addiction of any profession.  And why don't they police themselves better?  Recently they busted a doctor in Gonzales, La  for pushing drugs that had been kicked out of two other states.  On top of that they want tort reform.  I say not till they clean up their house.

Wanda, great news and fantastic attitude.

Weight loss -- whether surgical, supplements or traditional -- will all involve burning more calories then your body needs to maintain the excess weight. You are on to something and I hope it continues to work for you. My husband is a big (tall, muscular) guy and he has lost about 70 pounds in the last 14 months. For him, keeping his calories near or right above 2,000 calories is enough to lose 5 or 10 pounds a month. We have also started walking daily and getting other forms of exercise most days of the week.

Jared from Subway had two sandwiches a day and lost an incredible amount of weight. He was getting about 1300 calories a day at that point. It's not recommended that people drop below 1,000 calories a day because the muscle is often the first thing to go. Lose too much muscle and your body will not be able to maintain the loss when you eat more than 1,000 calories.

I hope your sandwich has lots of low-sodium meat in it. Losing fat while maintaining the muscle will help you get to where you want to be and stay there. I battle with salt intake and fluid retention and watching the sodium in soups, cheeses and deli meats while drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water a day is important for me.

I know I've had weight loss surgery (uh, twice), but at this point, the numbers - calories, protein in, carbs, sodium, amount of water - is a daily concern. I have an appointment with a nutritionist in a couple of hours to see if my intake (about 1300 calories a day) is enough to keep losing and boost my metabolism since I exercise every day. I'm paying out of pocket for this visit because I know it's super important to eat the right things and enough of them.

Stay in close contact with your doctor and keep an eye on your CBC levels to make sure you don't get anemic or lacking in essential vitamins. Surprisingly enough, many overweight people start off anemic and suffer vitamin deficiencies.

The important thing is that you can do it because you *are* doing it and I applaud your efforts toward wellness.

Onward!
Frances

Hi Everyone,
I have put myself on a snadwich a day diet much like the one jared did for Subway, but my sandwiches are homem made and not as large as a typical Subway one. I started out at 280 pounds, that was 13 days ago I am now at 255 pounds. My secret is eat one sandwich a day you can cut it in 4 pieces and eat 4 times a day if you wish. I also buy Power -aid zero which is great for electrolites and take a multi vitamins. I like flintstones and I take 2 of them. I also drink lots of water.
My doctor upped my synthroid from 1mg to 1.25 mgs and I think that is also helping me.
Wanda

The important of shrinking the liver is accomplished with an extremely low carb/high protein diet. Many recommend liquids ... not much figuring out there, but it's also common to see a low-carb diet. My pre-op diet included a lot of lean protein like fish, shellfish and plant protein. I did a bang-up job shrinking my liver. Also note, shrinking the liver and losing a lot of weight isn't the same. The liver is fatty in many obese people and that makes it difficult to handle. Going low-carb, low-fat for two weeks will change the exterior of the liver and make it easy to move aside during surgery.

Shrinking the liver will not be related to emptying the stomach. Not eating or drinking the night before surgery will empty your stomach.

The good news is, they are giving you really good advice and that's the way our bodies work. We learn a lot in the process and there's just a few things about anatomy and digestion you still have to learn.

It will be ok ,

Frances