emily_0192010

Thanks for sharing!! I may have to look into this, though i'm not sure if I would be willing to deal with the "spanky" feeling lol. I love to swim so I'm not sure if the restriction would be worth it.. but maybe!

My mom used to make this a lot when I was younger It always comes out GREAT! My personal favorite way to eat chicken is grilled on the george forman. I'm a pro at it now so 99% of the time it comes out moist and tender. Thanks for sharing

Welcome!! And congrats! We will be saving you a spot on the loser's bench And in India!! That is awesome! Please keep us updated

Congrats!!! And welcome I'm so happy to hear that you are doing so well!

Hello You are doing AMAZING! Don't be discouraged about the stall, you have hit the typical "3 week stall"... it is completely normal and happens to just about everyone. It's just your body's way of dealing with all the change. It sounds like you are doing great sticking to your diet. When you are in a stall your focus should always be "Water, Protein, vitamins" and not on the number. Stalls happen throughout the entire weight loss journey. They are frustrating, but you work through them. Also, keep an eye on how your clothes are fitting during this time. For me, I almost always dropped a size while I was stalling, so I didn't mind too much!

Awesome job!!! It's great to hear that your hospital stay went so well and that you are doing great now!

Congrats!!! The first major hurdle IS over!! For me this was the HARDEST part of the entire process!! Try to focus on other things, and it will go by faster than you know it!

At 1-2 weeks post-op I wasn't "eating" anything! I was still on full-liquids. But for me, it was mainly water and attempts at protein drinks. My sleeve didn't tolerate anything more until the 3rd week. The shakes I did try were thinned out or the "clear" isopure drinks.

Ugh, unfortunately Protein is expensive. Please remember though, you are not going to be buying "regular" food for yourself for quite awhile!!! I have a very tight budget and I have found the best for me is the GNC brand protein. I don't remember the numbers exactly, but it worked out well. Plus it was 100% whey protein which is VERY important!! There return policy is amazing as well. If you open it, try it, and don't like it? No problem, just bring it back. There are also a lot of pre-made Protein drinks that include Vitamins in them. Those are really great as well. You might want to try the ones your doc suggested, even if its just at first. It IS the only thing you'll be "eating" for awhile.

(((hugs))) I really can't say much, since I'm not an expert. But I know that the point of the eval is to make sure that you understand the risks of the surgery, the permanence of it, how it will change your life. It is also to make sure that you have the ability and tools to handle it. You're past doesn't matter. If those aspects of your life are under control, then it shouldn't matter. The fact that you were honest is great! You've had issues, and you've dealt with them. That shows control and maturity. If for some reason they don't think you are ready, they are not going to say a flat out "no". They would ask you to have a few more sessions, etc, to make sure that you can handle it. So it would most likely only be postponed. In the meantime, don't worry about it. If it doesn't turn out the way you wanted it, then you worry about it then! There is no point in stressing yourself over it now! (((((hugs))))) Chin up! Smile! You are one step closer to your goal! Have a GREAT weekend!

Nope, but congrats and good luck!!

I'm so sorry to hear this Ask your insurance coordinator or however submitted your stuff for approval about appealing. Do you have any weight history from before that year? It would be worth it to try to include that... logically there is no way your weight dropped THAT much in a year you know? FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT for it! Hopefully something will change. (((hugs))) Good luck!

Good morning to you too!!! It sounds like you are doing an excellent job!! I'm happy to hear that your hospital stay went so well! You sound like when it comes to goal weight... I have a general idea but with the final number I'm just playing it by ear. Keep up the great job! You will be at goal before you know it

Oh yes!! It is actually extremely normal... you hit the "three week stall". It sucks, but it happens. I believe it is just your body's way of dealing with the all the changes. You will break out of it! In the meantime, focus on your water, protein and vitamins and don't worry about the scale (well, try not to!)

I am so proud of you and so thankful to be able to call you a friend!!! You have done an AMAZING job!! From day 1 you planned to rock it and you did!!! Congrats!! You deserve everything and more!

Hey everyone Today it really hit me just how thankful I am for my sleeve. Recently I was in a very high-stress situation. During the time my weight loss was... sketchy. I did lose, but I would plateau for about 3 weeks and then I would drop, but only a pound or two. I didn't realize at the time that it was the stress. I thought I was doing something wrong or that maybe my body was shifting into maintenance or it was just being stubborn. During this time I also wasn't sleeping well. A couple weeks ago I moved back home and the change is... incredible. I've lost 7 lbs, I'm sleeping soundly every night (with the only exception being the frequent gut checks my 6 year old sister throws at me while she sleeps, she has so far refused to sleep anywhere else... and i really don't want to kick her out either). I think my sleeve has relaxed as well. I'm able to eat more, but in a good way. Instead of having to stretch my meals over an hour just to get in my mins, I can now eat my portion (2-3 oz protein) within 15-20 mins. I never realized how much constriction I was getting just from being stressed, and it wasn't good! Today when I weighed in it struck me just how strongly the stress had impacted my body. It made me think "what would have happened before sleevie?" and I realized that I would have gained a lot of weight. Easily. Without realizing it. So even though I didn't lose like I had expected to during that time period, I am so, so, so, so freakin thankful that I had my surgery and that I have my sleevie with me every day. I am much happier and healthier with it than I ever was without it!

Oh! Another thing you could do is go to an information session if you haven't already had one. Almost all surgeon's office's offer one. That would be a GREAT place to pick their brains (as it should be free!). At my info session the insurance coordinator was there along with the surgeon specifically so she could answer insurance questions. If you are in Jax, Fl (or near) I could give you more specific info on the info sessions... a good place to look them up is thru the hospital's website or the surgeon's office.

I'm not sure how your insurance works, but for mine I had my first appointment in may and and my surgery was in october... and that was with only 3 months of the "physcian supervised weight loss" . If you can start that NOW, then you're 6 months would be done in November. Most surgeon's submit for approval AFTER this is completed, so December might be pushing it. However, it is worth a shot. Have you talked to your surgeon yet? His/Her insurance coordinator would be a GREAT source of information, because she could look at your insurance policy directly and give you more accurate info. Congrats and good luck! I had my surgery at 20 years old, I'm now 21. Best thing I EVER did!

I'm sooo happy for you!! That is amazing! And so awesome of your scheduler to remember that! Having him around, even for the first few days is going to be a tremendous amount of support for you!

I agree with massindex, kinda need some more information. If you are very new to the sleeve you should be eating very, very slowly. I would guesstimate that I ate an ounce every 10 mins, maybe, depending on what it was. If everything is coming up on a regular basis than I would definitely try slowing down... and in the meantime call your doctor to make sure nothing is wrong.

Oh sorry, I didn't mean all the way to Jax. I was thinking if you ever visited Sanderson or Macclenny. If you could hold on to them for a little while that would be great! It will be a bit of a road trip so I'll just have to figure it out gas-money wise. If it doesn't work out i'll let you know soon for sure! Thanks!

Hmmm... I am in Jax. I would love to take this off your hands. I'm just trying to figure out if I have the gas money though. Any chance you'll be somewhat closer to Jax in the near future, where we could meet up?

Congratulations!!! This is a *huge* milestone for all of us! Keep rockin that sleeve!

LOL... its not forever!! And if you already had it then you might not have any problems. Just sometimes chicken sits "hard" in our stomachs because it is Protein dense as well as very low fat. Since you ate it as a salad, i'm sure the extra liquid helped! But when you try it on its own I would suggest slow cooking it in lots of liquids or eating it with some sort of sauce (though not much at all!). My personal favorite is roast pork, especially a dark meat cut. It went down like butter for me, not uncomfortable at all. And yeah, i've "aged" my sleeve. The 6 weeks it was baby sleeve... then during my trial and errors in the solid food it was "toddler sleeve"... lol! Now its just my sleevie... and I am actually going to admit that I do call it that... outloud. I sometimes talk to it LOL. While i'm eating, if I have a lot of restriction one day or something I'll comment out loud to it. Kinda crazy, but I love my sleevie and its helped me so much! Best tool ever!

Hello Welcome to VST!! This has been my crutch for about a year now. I was sleeved in September 2011. The people on here are all so supportive and informative! Congrats on your baby sleeve and good luck with the transition into "normal" food. Don't be surprised if the chicken is difficult to get down, it is one of the hardest things for our sleeves to re-adjust to!