Please take a look at my hard work and let me know what you think.

Thank you for taking the time I wont let you down.

Hello, dear. My name's Ashlee. I'm eighteen, had my surgery right after I turned seventeen in April of 2007. You're a Bandit, I see (Lap-Band), I had the more intense RNY. Still, the key to losing weight and keeping it off with the Lap-Band is to live as though you HAD RNY. It's definitely harder, I know, because you don't have the food cop called dumping syndrome and you also still have a big ol' stomach, but believe me... the key is protein. And I know that you already know that. Protein shakes are key. And I know how hard it can be to drink them. I'm almost two years out and, until just recently, I had such a hard time drinking protein. The cheap stuff from Wal-Mart and even a lot of the stuff from GNC just doesn't work. Most of it is made for bodybuilders, and is wayyyy to high in carbs to even THINK about touching.

My advice to you would be this:

Visit www.bariatriceating.com. It's a fantastic website run by a fantastic lady, Susan Maria Leach. Their protein powders and RTD's (Ready to Drink proteins) are all taste-tested and evaluated to make sure they meet our nutritional standards. She also carries post-op friendly foods and protein-fortified bars and other things. She gives better advice than even the surgeon I had, and I rely on her word as the end-all, be-all.

Once you find some protein powders or RTD's, try what we in the WLS community like to call an LPT. That stands for Liquid Protein Train. Take two or three days and drink four or five supplements a day to detox and de-carb your body. I'm serious when I say that it works, that if you can use your willpower to fight off head hunger that you'll find yourself back on track and ready to go.

The proteins I suggest, personally are Nectar, which is a sweet but puckery Kool-Aid type protein that, when you mix it with water and Crystal Lite, is virtually indistinguishable as a protein drink. Currently, I'm pretty much living on my Nectar Strawberry Kiwi mixed with Wild Strawberry Crystal Lite and some water in a sports bottle. Don't use a blender with Nectar, it'll make it way too foamy and you'll hate it. Shake it up really good and let it settle then gently tip the bottle back and forth and it blends pretty well. It's best when it's VERY cold. I love the Strawberry Kiwi, but they have tons of other flavors... Roadside Lemonade, even a Lemon Iced Tea, it really is your fancy.

Now, with the milkier proteins, I don't suggest you use milk to mix them. It adds unnecessary carbs and lactose ("milk sugar"). So, my personal favorite is either Whey Gourmet or Matrix, and those come in a bunch of different flavors, as well.

The key is to get creative. The basic formula goes like this: 1/2 cup water, 1 1/2 scoops protein powder, 1 cup ice cubes... but chances are it won't taste FABULOUS if you just use that, so I use add-ins. For example, today I had a White Chocolate Cherry shake. All of that stuff, 1 1/2 scoops of Whey Gourmet White Chocolate, 2 tablespoons of Sugar-Free White Chocolate Pudding, and about 1/2 teaspoon of cherry extract. Then you want to put the lid on the blender and PULSE. Don't just hit the "Blend" button and let 'er rip, because you'll end up with a massive amount of foam that's almost unpleasant to drink. It takes some diligence, but pulse until all of the ice is gone, pour it in a glass, let it sit in the fridge for a little bit so any ice crystals can melt, stir it up, and VOILA! Yum.

Also tonight I had a warm protein cocoa. I took a scoop of Zero Carb Isopure Dutch Chocolate, mixed it into a smooth paste with a little cool water, and then added some hot (but NOT boiling) water, top it off with a dollop of SF Cool-Whip and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and boom! Down the hatch!

Also, know that you should try and eat as much dense protein as possible. It depends on your tastes, but I love fish and seafood and I also love chicken and eggs. I don't tolerate scrambled eggs well, the pebbly texture just doesn't go down great, so I poach mine in some chicken or beef broth or all-natural tomato juice. Turkey is too dry for me, as is pork, and red meat like beef just doesn't go down well, so I avoid those. If you're going to have them, and any other protein meat, but especially beef and pork, make sure you've got some low-sugar, low-carb sauces and salsas so you can chew, chew, chew them into a smooth mouthful.

After you eat your protein, go for the COMPLEX carbs. Green, leafy vegetables are good, and after my surgery I came to ADORE salad. Fruits are okay, bu****ch the sugar content. Berries are lowest in sugar, bananas are highest. Why should you watch your carbs? Well, because they're quickly converted into glucose, giving you a spike and then leaving you with a hollow-hunger feeling that leads to overeating and carb binging, which does nothing but slow, stall, and end your weight loss, and, in the long run, can even make you GAIN weight.

Trust me when I say that I know it's a hard pill to swallow that you may spend the rest of your life avoiding rice, pasta, bread, crackers, and potatoes. But try not to focus on what you can't eat. Instead, focus on what you can. Life as a post-op isn't about deprivation... it's about experimenting with new flavors and finding new ways to enjoy what you CAN have!

If you'd like to talk to me a little bit more, feel free to message me. I've absorbed so much information in the past few months, I can spit it back with no problem!

Best of luck to you, sweetie. And let me know how things are going, okay?

~Ashlee

You GO Jay!!!  You look fantastic!  HOTTY TODDY!!!

Well hello there I am 20, and I am starting the process of having the lap-band. Like everyone else said do your research. Both of my parents have had lap-band with tremendous success. That is one of my reasons for my decision. The other is that since I am still so young wanting to have another child, it was important for me to be insured that if something goes wrong this surgery can be reversed whereas most of the others cannot be.

Ok this is quite hard for me to write, but it will be quite a lot. Sorry about the lengthy post but I had to.

I'm an obese seventeen year old young-adult, eightteen in February and I would like some help. I have been struggling with obesity throughout most of my life, even as a young child I believe I was overweight, or at least fairly pudgy. I've been told time and time again that I do not eat a lot, as I usually eat less then a decent amount of children in my Highschool. I eat most of the basic food groups and I like vegetables, etc., unlike most kids my age. The only time I eat any junk food is when I return from school and have a bowl of chips or what ever I can find, but I've tried cutting this out of my diet last year, I kept it up for the whole year, but to no avail, although this school year I have started eating that bowl of chips, etc. again.

One of my problems is that I do not exercise, although before my family and I moved to this state I did have a fair amount of physical activity, I would go out for walks, etc. My parents and I moved to the state I'm currently in, which is Maine, about five or six years ago, telling me and my older brother(now not living with us) that it was for our best interest to get us out and about more and also for my father's job. I'm not truely sure if it was our best interest as they did little research into this state, such as the state's climate. Most of the year here it's cold, it's very hard to go outside and take a walk. Even one the few days that the area I'm in is warm the bugs here are so annoying that I can't go outside without being totally turned off.

I've been starting to ponder though, as to why I'm as obese as I am. I've eaten normally and possibly even more health then most kids, yet I'm still obese. About two years ago my mother was diagnosted with Hypothyroidism, and with a little research I've found out it runs on her side of the family, with one of her sisters with it, her mother, and even her grandmother. I have been thinking that I may have this as well. Once though, as I was talking to my doctor I decided to ask him if it was possible that I may have Hypothyroidism as well, he told me that it didn't occur in males often and just left the room without saying another word, returning later not mentioning anything about it. I've looked at the symptomes and I have almost all of them, so I believe that the doctor was a complete fool for not checking it out at all.

I am desperate need to lose my weight. I've been depressed for the longest time. I need to lose this weight not only for myself, but for someone else who I know. This person is my closest friend, but because of the depression I'm in, which has gotten worse since school started again, I've started to make my friend feel upset, and I truely never wanted that
to happen.

The worsening in my depression is, if you couldn't already tell, because many children tend to redicule me. These children that redicule me are my other friends, besides that one friend that I really care about. I know that someone once said to keep your friends closer and your enemies even closer, but it's gotten out of hand and I just want it all to stop. I do try to avoid these people a lot, but I've ended up backing myself up into a socialially isolated corner, and now I do not talk to anyone and I'm lucky if I say 20 words in one week, and this is both at school and at home. Also this close friend of mine does not go to this school, as I'm sure that if my friend did, well, they'd end up getting injured(not really, but my friend would make most of the insults cease to exist, at least while my friend is around).

Also a couple of side notes. both of my parents have started to work, my mother previously did not work. when I arrive home from school my mother leaves in about fifteen minutes. I have yet to go to a driving school or have any experience with driving so I can not go to a GYM. My parents say that they will let me go to a driving school and buy me a vehicle if I show ambition for it, but I have little to none of it, because of my current depression, which, again, has been going on for quite some time. Also my parents have no clue about my current depression and what's going on currently with me, and they make little attempt to do so.

Anyway, I could keep going on for awhile about my mental status, but I'm not here for that. I would like to know what you think. Should I get checked for Hypotheroidism? Do you think that it still might be food problems or something along those lines? Please, I would like any advice I could possible recieve.


~Thank you very much