Fat Woman With A Band

I hope for a lot of things. Just like the quintessential beauty pageant contestant, I hope for world peace. I hope hungry children throughout the world don’t spend another minute hungry. I hope the cooling world economy warms up soon.

So, you get it, right? Hoping for something won’t make it happen. With these big picture issues, I can do something in my own way. Like donate to Unicef, or Save the Children. I can keep up on business news, and determine how it affects me and my own resources. I can support government policies that advance world peace, and disagree publicly with those that don’t.

I hope surgery will go well. I hope my recovery is uneventful. I hope I can follow the diet guidelines. I hope I’ll lose weight

Great. Big deal.

I plan to do my due diligence regarding the effectiveness of the program, and the surgeon’s ability.

I plan to follow the post-op guidelines, including liquid and semi-liquid guidelines.

If I work the plan, I’ll have set myself up perfectly to get maximum use from my lapband.

And, then I’m planning on making use of any services that will help me reach my weight loss goal.

So, I’m not hoping for success. I’m working a plan for success.

I’ve been on lots of courses, seminars, conferences, and workshops. Very few standout in my memory. I’m usually very pleased if I can take away at least one thing from the day. I attended the pre-op talk at the clinic last night, and took away this one sentence “I am number one.”

The talk was facilitated by one of the clinic’s nutritionists. She reminded us that we’re paying a lot of money for this surgery. And with this action we’re saying we’re very important, and what we’re doing is very important.

Exactly.

There was also lots of talk around reinforcing the need to do the pre-op diet, and the immediate post-op diet. The pre-op diet is reduce the amount of fat around the liver, making it easier for the surgeon to insert the laparoscopic band. The post-op diet is to allow your stomach get used to the lapband; it’s not necessarily to lose weight.

She also told us that the lapband provides 50% of the effort required to lose weight in this program. Each of us provides the other 50%. We need to follow the recommended food guidelines; we need to start moving more; we need to participate in group sessions.

Five weeks after surgery, we get our first fill of the lapband. Then two more fills at two week intervals. The nutritionist said that each person’s requirements for the amount of fill is different. Some people may need more of a fill, and some less. No amount is too much, or not enough. Whatever works for you is the correct amount.

I’ll write about the first five weeks of food next. Did I say food? More like liquid, and mushy stuff for a little bit. Yummy!