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I have struggled with my weight since I was five years old. Late in 2016- at 28 years old at my heaviest weight- I had my first appointment with a bariatric surgeon in Akron, Ohio where I live and began the steps towards gastric bypass. I was so scared. But I knew that I would rather risk my life than live like this forever. I feared that my parents would bury me in 20 years and that my sister would become an only child. I knew I had to do something. I had tried everything. Between the ages of 8-28 I had tried everything under the sun. I could not lose/maintain the weight loss. On June 26, 2017- I had gastric bypass surgery. I have lost/maintained 180 pound weight loss. I have a whole new life. It is quite beautiful. I look forward to living everyday. I share my journey on Instagram - (my name on there is Maddie5088) and I also have a public Facebook Page called Mornings with Maddie. I created a blog almost a year ago that focuses on sharing my journey, creating/sharing healthy recipes. You can find it here - foodfitnessandbeauty.com I share body positivity, kindness, self love, inclusivity, healthy recipes, grocery hauls, I do monthly giveaways, how to meal prep, affordable/easy meals for bariatric patients and I do Q and As for Bariatric patients. I have felt very called to share my journey with the bariatric community! I hope you come follow along my story! It’s been a heck of a ride! Xoxo Maddie

Talkspace and BetterHelp are great virtual resources that let you look at bios and pick someone you think will be a good fit. They only do telemed visits which is not always great, but they can let you expand your net of potential therapists wider than your local area. For me it's a lot of trial and error. One of the most important things in having good therapeutic outcomes is to have a good relationship with your provider, which you won't know until you give them a chance. Don't be discouraged if you try a couple people and it's not a good fit. You will also probably have a credential preference -- anyone who is a PhD in psychology, licensed counselor, licensed clinical social worker, licensed marriage and family therapist, etc, is a possibility, but each education path kind of has a different focus. I prefer psychologists, mainly because I am a clinical social worker and feel like they are the only ones smarter than me. 😂😂 I think it is important to go in with an open focus -- have a couple questions or ideas, but also let their questions or feedback help guide you. All that said, I have had a helluva time finding a therapist that has been really helpful regarding weight. My therapist that I LOVED was more of an accept-yourself-at-any-weight-don't-diet kinda person. The following one that was more interested in health/weight stuff was not a good fit in other areas. I am trying a 3rd one now. I am not sold yet, but I have only met her once, so we shall see.

🙄 Third time's a charm! I have been through the process of surgery preparation twice, only to have insurance mistakes keeping from the actual surgery at the 6th month.

Thank you....that is truly amazing advice and I will be re-reading your post again and again when I wobble next ! I appreciate you taking the time to reply x Sent from my SM-G960F using BariatricPal mobile app

How did I miss this !?!?! Congratulations ♥️

Another thing I had to do mentally was pour the shake in a shot glass. I played a 1-2 minute game on my phone and then made myself drink half of the 2 oz shot glass, played another game to distract myself and took another sip. I repeated this every half hour. It is much easier mentally to think you just have to take 4 sips and your are done, then repeat it again 30-60 minutes later. Looking at a full glass is overwhelming sometimes. Hang in there. I promise it gets sooo much easier!!

These ideas are not really hot but might help room temp. I Had sleeve sep 8. Had 2 week setback bc abandoned Persian snuck in & hid. Was so ill my eyes swelled shut. Saw surgeon Tues. He said it’s important to get lots of plain H2O each day. If you like idea In pics U Can get disposable shot glasses at liquor store/amazon. Its motivating knowing I can do in 2 sips. I add Lots of H2O to crystal light, SF hot cocoa watered down w/skim milk, SF jello. it’s runny but not near as sweet, low salt broth helps. But my saving grace is popsicles. U could put in blender with ice. I take H2O when I go out. Hope this is Helpful. He said Water also helps loose skin. Great motivation! Glad u have no pain. Sorry for typos & no caps Am Exhausted dealing with flood damage from TS Beta.

A lot depends on your plan post-op. A lot of folks are on protein shakes only, a lot aren't. If you're actually eating food, do a test run preparing a post-op meal. You'll see what would make it easier. As a different view, I never used special plates, spoons, forks, or whatever. Because I was on pureed food for 6 weeks, a blender helped. Once you measure 3oz of protein for a week of 3 meals, I was able to accurately eyeball it thereafter. I wouldn't buy any medical stuff unless the Doc says you'll need it. I was open and I didn't have a binder or anything else. Oddly, being OCD I've over prepared for enough things to learn it's best to wait until I have an actual need. I spent a lot of money on things I thought I might need only to have them sit it a closet never used. Good luck and enjoy the ride. Tek

There is a lot going on right now, and many, many people have gained weight during the pandemic, so for you to lose even a little weight and not gain any is a victory! If you're looking for someone who has been there, I have! Check out this post I made 7 months ago at the beginning of my journey: My surgeon wanted me to lose 20 pounds before surgery and I had NO IDEA where to begin! My PCP was no help at all. Guess what? I've lost over 100 pounds since then, 70 before surgery. When I went in for my last pre-op appointment 2 weeks before surgery, the nurse questioned whether my initial weight was recorded correctly. I did two things to lose weight before surgery. The first thing is what you are already doing: logging everything I ate. So you have already made a good start. The second thing I did was intermittent fasting. This can be a little controversial, and some doctors don't like it, but it worked for me. I did a 16-hour fast every day with an 8-hour eating period. That meant I ate lunch and dinner (and I allowed myself to eat snacks in between), and then fasted until lunch the next day. It was hard at first but got easier. This helped me because in addition to cutting out breakfast, I cut out all the snacks I would have had during that time period, and when I got used to going 16 hours without eating, I ended up cutting down on snacks between lunch and dinner, even during the time I was allowed to eat. I also think it made me feel less deprived. Let's say I wanted pancakes at breakfast time. I would just tell myself I can have pancakes, but I would just have to wait until my fast was over. And splitting my calories between two meals instead of three meant I could eat bigger, more satisfying meals. If I really wanted to eat 4 slices of pizza, I could, as long as I didn't have a big lunch. Speaking of calories, MyFitnessPal gave me a calorie goal of 2190 calories per day. The first week, it was a challenge just to stay under that, but I gradually reduced it down to an average of 1500 calories per day. I would suggest you challenge yourself to reduce your calories a little bit, let's say just by 100 calories per day for a week. Try some lower-calories substitutions, like light salad dressing. Measure out slightly smaller portions. By recording everything I ate and staying within a calorie limit, I had to be strategic about what I ate. I wasn't ready to give up all the foods I loved, so I looked at what I was eating and found the healthiest things that I already liked. I used those to fill me up so I could also afford to indulge sometimes. A big thing for me was eating salad for lunch every day. I discovered I could make a generous salad with lots of grilled chicken for about 300 calories. Then I found a light salad dressing I like and that put it under 250 calories. Popcorn was one of my favorite snacks because, while not the healthiest choice, it really filled me up for not a huge number of calories (BTW, I still ate the blast-o-butter kind, but a whole mini bag is just 210 calories). A big side of green beans sauteed with 1/2 tsp of butter is less than 100 calories. I discovered Built Bars, which are these amazing protein bars that taste like candy bars -- honestly, I think some are even better than candy bars -- and they became my daily treat. Maybe I didn't HAVE to lose 70 pounds before surgery, but I think it was good to start changing my habits for a while before surgery so that surgery wouldn't be such a shock to the system. Only time will tell whether or not this will all lead to long-term success, but I am glad to be down over 100 pounds from my highest weight, just two months after surgery. You can do this!

Hi! I can tell you that my primary doctor (does surgery clearance before surgery before surgeon will operate) had sent over notes in the required within 30 days of surgery clearance and i saw them. The pcp mentioned that i had “treated “ osa. She must have received the report from the sleep lab. She communicated whether i was compliant to surgon in paperwork 🙃 thankfully i am at 90% on that machine. Sometimes i dont get to washing it til noon then i dont want to get rainout in the tube so i plug in this other apap i was gifted lol. I love cpap. When i had the surgeoun preop appointment today she had a folder with all my sleep study info and every test and talked with me about it. She was more concerned that i had the equipment necessary but again im compliant Look girls go right on over to the web site etsy and get yourself some cpap tube covers with cute patterns and strap covers! More comfy!! I got some from redrabbitgoods That i like. Theres a company called padacheek that also makes comfy straps to make the process more enjoyable! You can also decorate your cpap with stickers to match the covers just saying I use resmed airTOUCH F20 mask. It has a soft foam cushion. I use humidification at a 4 or 5 on the low temp because i prefer breathing colder air. Find a way to make it more comfortable by really looking into the settings. Am able to side sleep in f20 mask. Hey hope my rambling inspires you to keep trying cpap because not breathing at night aint cool 💗🥴