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I’m December 7th and using self-pay because I didn’t want to wait 6 months for insurance. Good luck to you!

I'd really like to switch to being vegetarian for spiritual reasons, but I'm at the beginning of the whole process for the gastric sleeve. I have to lose 30 lbs to have the surgery. So far I've gained one. I swear, being told I have to lose weight makes me gain. I really have not liked meat substitutes I've tried, and I'm wondering if it's possible to get your protein without them. I'm looking at going vegetarian, not vegan, so I would still have access to dairy and eggs, but I don't want to overdo it on those. I'm not a fruits and vegetables fan and this is going to be a very hard switch for me, but I do really want to do it. Thanks for any info you can give!

This is exactly how I used to think about dieting. I was punishing myself for gaining weight. I was missing out on my favourite foods or on what others may be eating when socialising. ‘Diet’ had so many negative connotations to me. So I don’t use the word any more. This is simply the way I eat. It took a while to change my thinking but it did/does help a lot. There are foods I simply don’t eat or eat very rarely now that I loved to eat before. Do I miss them? Not really. Do I feel I‘m missing out? Nope. You may find it easier to make small changes to your eating & food choices instead of jumping into a full ‘diet’. Small wins are still wins. Change one or two things each week like reduce your portion sizes & increase your fluid intake (64ozs). Increase your protein intake. Stretch out the times between your snacking, or reduce how many snacks you have each day. And so on until you have adopted the recommendations from your surgeon/dietician. And be honest about your struggles with them & tell them what you are doing to incorporate their weight loss plan. They may have other suggestions on what you can do too. All the best.

I have MS and have MRIs with and without contrast twice a year, so I'm used to it. It used to be a crazy 10-15 seconds but now I'm used to it lol

I know that after the surgery my hormones went crazy. I had stopped my periods for over 4 months before the surgery but they came back and stayed for the next 9 months. Now that I'm losing weight way slower my periods have stopped again and my moods have stabilized. So some of the depression is probably from that but I also got some of that alone/lost feeling too. Mine may not be the same but I felt and still feel lost between worlds. I have no idea how to act or dress or even talk as a normal sized person but I don't fit into my over weight world anymore. My version of self is as an over weight person so I have to figure out how to be a new me. I thought it would come natural but it hasn't happened that way for me yet. I'm sure its something that will be fixed eventually with practice. I hope you feel better soon though and that you can start enjoying life and food again. Hugs!

Had my first consult October 13th. All my testing is complete as of last week. Was hoping to get a surgery date for late December but that doesn't look like it's going to happen. (Duodenal Switch) I've been reading about others having 3 day up to a week liquid pre-op diets up to surgery. My surgeon said no less than two weeks. I guess all surgeons have their preferences. I've read a few books and listened to as many podcasts about Bariatric surgery per-op and post-op. I feel like a have a good hold on it. I started a Keto/Carnivore diet back in June. Limiting carbs and Sugar wasn't a big deal starting a 100 Gram Protein & 100 Gram carb diet the dietician has recommended for me to be on now. I've lost 47 pounds since June and 27 since my October consult.

For premade, I like the Kettle and Fire beef bone broth. But if you have the bones leftover from Thanksgiving, or from a rotisserie chicken, homemade broth is easy. Put the carcass in a Crockpot along with an onion cut into quarters and a sliced carrot and a celery stalk. You can throw in a sprig of thyme and a bayleaf if you want, but it's not necessary. Fill to 1/2 inch of the top with water, turn on low, and let it cook all night while you sleep, 8-10 hours. Ladle the broth through a fine mesh strainer and skim off the extra fat. Add salt to taste.

the only issue I really had was that getting in and out of bed was a bit of a challenge the first few days. I could do it - but my abs felt like I'd done 10000 crunches. Other than that, I had no pain and was able to get around fine. It was just that transitioning (going from lying down to standing up - and vice versa) was tricky. But once I was up - or down - I had no pain and could get around with no problem. My husband had taken a week off of work, but he ended up going back after three days because I really didn't need him to do anything for me. It was nice to have him bring me protein shakes or whatever, but it wasn't really necessary.

You are looking fabulous. Your joy shines from the photo. I never realised that I would get so much from this surgery either. You have so much determination you will get to your goals.

Congratulations, so well done. Your resilience is epic, I hope you know that.