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I was wondering if anyone has some advice for a newbie? I struggle with being hungry all the time and I try to ignore it or drink water but if I drink too much water I end up with acid reflux. I sometimes will drink a protein shake but that doesn't really help right now. I am only 2 weeks into getting started on the road of getting better off. Does the hunger pains get better?

My Doctor said that a reinforced gastric sleeve is to prevent bleeding and staple-line leak, which are the most common complications. They first staple the sleeve and then sew it.

Don't be discouraged. You've lost, be proud of that. You know the answers to what you have to do to get it done. Just try to focus more and be more disciplined. If you need support you know you have everyone here to help you out. Try finding replacements for the carbs you enjoy eating. I just made a small batch of cauliflower tots and they came out really good. Both my teenage sons tried them and I got thumbs up from both. I just told they were tots and they had no idea it was made from cauliflower. Stay positive, you know you got this!!!

I've used Pinterest. A huge amount of Bariatric diet sites post there and you'll find yourself still looking through all of them hours later. Congrats on your success!!!

Thank you!

For my post-op diet, I'll be on clear liquids until I leave the hospital, then full liquid / pureed foods for four weeks. I was told the thinner, the better. It should fall through the tines of a fork without any trouble. I do not see any issue with what you ate, except for the rice. My diet does not allow starchy foods until after week 8. Also, you may have just eaten too much. I have been told that for most of the pureed stage, I will only be able to eat two to three tablespoons of food at each meal. Each tablespoon of food is about 0.5 ounces, so four ounces of food would be about eight tablespoons. I'm glad you feel better.

While I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, your doctor has a lot to say about whether or not you are approved by your insurance. Your doctor will ask your insurance company if you are covered in the beginning, then you will start based on what they find out. So you have a six-month "medically-managed weight loss" requirement. This means that you must follow what your doctor sets forth for those six months, including any dietician/nutritionist appointments. From what I was told by my surgical team is the doctor will submit a report after the six months and request for an insurance review. The insurance company will review the policy requirements and compare that to the report the doctor sent. If you meet the requirements, you will be covered. Since the six-month "medically-managed weight loss" requirement was not told to you as a specific amount of weight necessary to lose to be approved, you may be good to go with only a few pounds lost. The big thing to get from this is any psychological eating issues taken care of and learn how to portion control and eat healthily. Your doctor will know if you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from losing a bunch of weight, and this will be specified in his report. One thing also to remember here - if your doctor does not think you are doing what you need to be doing to be approved, he will definitely tell you. I recommend asking as many questions as you have to your team and follow what they are saying you need to do. You can do this. It is not impossible or no one would ever go through with it. Many of us have had set-backs, stalls, gains, and frustrating conversations with doctors/insurance companies. It is all part of the process. Nothing you are doing, nor will do is a waste of time - especially if you are doing it for your health. Good luck!

I had 2 glasses of wine with my birthday dinner, 5 months post-op. I didn't feel that it hit me hard, but I had a designated driver, anyway. Haven't had any since. As much as I enjoy my wine, I'd rather keep my calories low right now.

Ok... turn this around and look at the positives. Did they cancel on you? No. Did they reschedule you? Nope. Just take the win where the win is. I get that you don't want to wait any longer and having to wait the whole day seems rough, but, it's better than if they postponed it on you.

Oh, my, gosh. If you're not a writer, you ought to be. So much of your story rings true for me and (I suspect) for many others. My favorite line: "You reach a point where surgery is less fearsome than continuing to live obese". Yep, that says it all. Thank you! btw, how far out is your expected surgery?