Intro + have a date!

Hi everyone!

My name is Liane, and I'm in the 50+ club. I decided last year that I really needed to stop the dieting yo-yo, and started looking into WLS ... and decided that gastric banding was the way to go. I just got a date with Dr. Atlas here in Montreal - May 25th! I'm so very excited. I start the Optifast pre-op liquid diet on May 1st, so 3 weeks of nothing but that and 2 servings of veggies a day. Yikes!

I'm 41 years old, and have been a big girl my entire life. It never really slowed me down - I have a pretty full life, and love being outdoors - but in the last year, my knees have started giving me grief. Not that I wasn't getting a wake up call every time I looked in the mirror, but when my mobility started being affected, it was time to take stock and do something about it. So.... here I am today, surgery date on the calendar and determination in my heart!

All of you have been such an inspiration - I've been lurking for a while, not feeling like I had much to add, but wanted to start sharing.

Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

Welcome Liane!  There's no other place where your trials and successes will be understood any better than in the 50+ club.  Hope all goes well for you, and we see more of you around here!  connie

Welcome to you!!! You are definitely in the right place. The folks here in the 50+ club have been my strength and support. Best of luck to you....keep on a postin!

Thank you both!! I'm looking forward to getting to "know" you all....

Let me add my welcome too!   We totally "get" the issues - I am thrilled for you.  I have a similar history, but waiting until my late 50s to do this!  Crazy, eh?   But it's done now and I'm a losing fool!  LOL

Welcome aboard - this is a wonderful ride!

Welcome!  My surgery is May 10th.  And I am about a year younger than you.  Looking forward to starting this journey around the same time!

Welcome aboard Liane...
 
I am sure you will love it here on the 50+ forum.. everyone here is very encouraging and non judgmental.. we all try to support each other to the best of our abilities.. We have some pretty great people on here. I am sure you will feel right at home.. We all have had issues that our SMO bodies did not let us do.. we all understand that on here better than on the lightweight  forums..

Do not ever feel like you do not have too much to add to pipe in on a thread and give your opinions or to even just ask a question.. This is how we all get to know each other.. nothing you ever write will be trivial.. you thoughts and emotions are a great part of the journey and it helps to share them ALL.. no matter how small you feel they may be.. lurking is fine but sharing is better... lol...

I am doing this at being 10 years older than you.. In those years I added almost all of the co-morbidity's.. I am so glad that you are doing this now while you are still in good health.. so many of us wait until our health is so so bad.. it makes the risk of surgery far greater.. I wish I had done this 10 years ago..  this is such a great tool to have to help you get off those extra lbs.. and I am sure you will do great.. My knees too were so bad I was in tears trying to walk 20 feet .. I am now walking 3miles and managing with my knees and no more threat of knee surgery.. I do hope this helps your knees and your mobility too.. I am sure it will...

Congrats on getting a date. . that is wonderful..I am so happy for you..  The liquid diet is not as hard as you think.. the first 3 days or so are a trial but after that it gets much easier.. At least you get vegetables.. most of us got nothing but liquids.. I would have killed those first few days for just a bite of anything.. lol...

Stick around so we can get to know you better..

huggs..

Wow, what a warm welcome! I already feel so at home here, it's wonderful.

I'm glad I'm doing it now and not waiting until I have more serious health issues. The idea of not being able to get around scares the crap outta me! Already I'm feeling like I have to plan places I go based on available parking. Downtown Montreal is a great place to be, but I just can't walk for 20 blocks the way I used to, and it's frustrating.

I'm glad to hear that the worst part of the liquid diet is the first 3 days ... when I picked up the BOX of boxes of Optifast, it really hit home that this would be pretty much ALL I would be eating for a few weeks. Package after package ... hehehe.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what I can use to mix the Optifast with water? I can't see a blender being terribly convenient when I'm at work.

Really, thanks again to everyone for helping me feel at home!

Liane

Welcome :)

Most health food stores or vitamin shops have what is called a blender bottle.. it is really a shaker bottle.. it has a metal ball inside it that looks like a round whisk like you use to whisk eggs and such into a batter mix.. these shaker bottles work great and are very portable and can even be taken to work to mix your liquids with the mix.. some people buy the bullet to mix the powder with the water at home and they say it works great.. I myself could not afford to spend that kind of money for that so I just used the less than $10 blender bottle.. .. If you decide to use the blender bottle and can not find it locally you can order it online.. just google blender bottle.. or like I did,  I purchased mine on eBay..   what ever you use be sure to let the foam settle before drinking it.. lol...

I hope this helped you.. others may have other ideas or suggestions for what they used..
Good luck in your search..

huggs...