CraftyChristie

From my experience even if it says it covered bariatric surgery, that usually means gastric bypass and MAYBE lap band... the person I talked to told me that the only insurance company in the US that she has heard of covering sleeve is UHC (United Health Care)... this was the woman at my surgeon's office who deals with all the insurance matters.

Wow that sounds amazing. I love to travel. How interesting that would be. I have a lot of pennies to save before I can do another international trip though :drool5: And Italy is going to be first!! But Spain is one of our top places. Thanks for mentioning this and i will certainly keep it in mind!

Sunday - 5K - 70 mins - 7 pts Monday - walk - 40 mins - 4 pts Wednesday - aerobics - 45 mins - 4.5 pts also Wednesday - cleaning (vigorous) - 60 mins - 6 pts so tomorrow I need about 30 mins... but I plan to do 45 mins again so I should meet my goal whoo hoo! How are you doing?

Oh no! I'm so sorry this all happened. I'm glad you are home now and starting to do better. I hope you'll be feeling good as new very soon!

My hubby was itchy all over for about a week after his surgery. We don't know if it was from the anesthesia or maybe the nausea patches he was wearing. It wasn't the pain meds because he's still on those but the itching has now stopped.

Sounds like you are doing fantastic! Great news!

Wow, you are doing so wonderfully! I'm very happy for you!! Welcome to the club sleeve buddy :biggrin0:

Breezy... I know what you mean. It is a mindset. Let me tell ya, I don't think many people do this 3 weeks after surgery, and I also only saw ONE other person my size at this entire even with thousands of people. And I don't believe for a second that other people my size aren't capable. I'm not one of those "lucky" people who got big with no problems. I have back, hip, knee, and foot problems and all are pretty bad. But I'm still out there!

So cute!!!

OK here I am. I have to adjust to this Sunday start of the week thing. I was thinking yesterday ended my week last week. OK so I am going to pledge 24 points (that's 240 mins right?) for this week. Yesterday I did 1hr 10mins so that's 7 points so far, 17 to go. We are out of town Fri-Sun this weekend so I am hoping to get in all my exercise for the week by Thursday. We will be walking a lot on the weekend though.

I have heard this, but, you don't have to do it before you eat anything. Eat something really low carb and the protein will help boost your energy. I exercise in the morning not because of these reasons but because if i don't, it's way too easy for something to come up during the day and keep my from getting in my workout. The weather turns to rainy or too hot, someone invites me somewhere, I lose energy, whatever it may be. That being said if it's impossible for you to get energy for a morning workout, try doing workouts when you do have the most energy. On the small amounts we are eating, the workout is going to help you no matter what!

Welcome! Please be sure to let us know how your appointment goes! Rooting for you. :001_tongue:

This is what it's ALL about!!! The number on the scale is really not the point... it's what you want out of your life. Hitting this goal is incredibly meaningful - you are achieving exactly what you wanted. I am so happy for you!!!

That's fantastic!!! I can't wait to go swimming! My incisions need just a little more healing first. Steak sounds yummy!!

Wow 60 miles in 3 days that's amazing! I'd love to do that someday. Yes, I LOVE Leslie Sansone, have been using her videos for years. Did her 3 mile Walk Away the Pounds Express yesterday. Love getting the total body work out. I use hand weights during the whole DVD and then switch to the resistance band for those parts. Love it.

You're doing great! Yeah it is all an experiment for a while. I'm at 3 1/2 weeks and some things are still experiments for me, and I know when I get to full solids I'll have lots more learning to do.

WHOOOO HOOOO!!! THAT IS AWESOME!

Here are the pics as promised :thumbup: Me with my friend Brandy (She dressed up as Wonder Woman) the whole team wore superhero stuff but I didn't get the memo lol. Brandy is the one who helped me through weight loss surgery, she had gastric bypass with my surgeon 7 years ago. She is a runner now but she broke 3 toes last week so I walked this with her. 7 is my lucky number... and I got 3 of them!! If I were in Vegas I'd hit the jackpot lol. During the walk. Wish you could tell how crappy the weather really is. This was during a brief time when we didn't need umbrellas. LOL Finishing!! We actually had to re-enact this as the camera didn't take it the first time around. It was worth it though since this was my first ever 5K :thumbup1: Really my first organized walk of any kind that I have participated in. I like it and I think I will seek out things like this to do.

Oooh this is fun!!! Well I have been doing 60 mins about 4 days a week so I am going to go ahead and pledge 24 points. I am doing a 5K tomorrow so I know that will get me off to a good start. Thank you for posting this!! Oh I guess I'm posting for the wrong week though lol.

Way to go!!!!! So far I am only doing walking but it's definitely giving me that feeling you are talking about. It feels so good to be moving my body and it is definitely empowering. I can't wait to get the all clear to do other types of exercise!!

I'm 3 weeks out and I've been hitting my 65-75g/day Protein goal without ANY Protein shake. Very excited because I was so sick of them! Here are my suggestions. Protein first, extras later. This means crackers probably aren't helping you. If I eat a string cheese by itself (1oz) that's 8 grams right there. I am trying to focus on the chicken, beef, ham/pork, shrimp, fish, etc. I only eat fruits and veggies if I finish my protein source first and can fit a little more. With the exception of edamame which I do eat a little more of, but at least it has some protein. Meatless soy vegetarian products are super high in protein. The Morningstar Farms brand is delicious. 1 'sausage patty' has 10grams of protein. Top with a little cheese or even egg for even more. I bought the "chick'n nuggets" also and 1 nugget has 3grams. I can eat 2 nuggets plus 1/2 a string cheese (about 2.5 ounces) for a total of 10grams in a meal. Add unflavored Protein Powder into foods it will mix well with... yogurt, pudding, oatmeal, cottage cheese, anything soft. I actually have not been doing this to get my protein goal though, I've been getting enough from the foods. Tuna is one of the highest protein options so if you like tuna, make up different tuna salad recipes. Again though, I don't eat it on crackers or bread, just alone so I get all protein. This is a big adjustment for me as a total carb lover, but it's not as bad as I would have thought :thumbup: Also shrimp has great protein too. A few cold cooked shrimp and some cocktail sauce makes a quick easy meal (shrimp cocktail) high in protein. I ate 2 ounces and the bag said that was 14grams. Then there are always Protein Bars. I still haven't eaten one of them yet either but I just bought some yesterday that my doc recommended. They are from costco and they are called Premier Protein bars. They come in a variety pack with 3 flavors. Choc Peanut Butter, yogurt and nut, double fudge. One bar has 30grams!!!! It's chewy, not hard, so it's okay to eat in these stages. I haven't tried one yet... it says one bar is 2.5 ounces... but even though I eat that amount in other foods, I have a feeling it is so dense I would have to split it into two sittings. But 30 grams!!! That could really boost your day!! I could see possibly even cutting it into 6 pieces and having one piece as "dessert" at each of 6 mini meals throughout the day to help spread the protein around. I hope these options help.

Oh and as far as the energy for your job... my energy is pretty good at 3 weeks. I need naps, but I always did before. I would say I have the same energy as I did before. I get all my protein, water, and vitamins, and I walk almost every day 3 miles and I think all of those things help. Also eating 5-6 times a day at 2-3 hour intervals and having your protein spread throughout the day helps maintain your metabolism and energy. When you go back to work, you must not neglect YOU. Set timers on your phone or watch and make sure you are drinking water all day long and eating when you are supposed to and that should really help the energy.

I can definitely understand your concern. All I can say is here I am at 3 weeks, not even on full solid foods yet and I already feel more normal than I expected to. Yes I'm eating differently, but I'm pretty darn satisfied, and I haven't touched a simple carb yet. I know on solid food when all options are open to me I'll feel even more normal. I have an album on flickr for my surgery and I have been posting food pictures any time I eat something new. Again I'm only at 3 weeks so I'm sure the look of that will change, too. But if you are interested you can bookmark my photo set and see whenever I add new foods: WLS Stuff - a set on Flickr I also have a blog and I plan to do regular "Things I've Been Eating" posts. Only done one so far and haven't caught up which is why I also linked you to the photos since those ARE caught up. But here is my blog if you want to follow along there too: Health and Happiness Also there is a fantastic blog called The World According to Eggface. She does regular posts called "A Day in my Pouch" where she shows everything she eats all day, and she shared TONS of her own recipes. She is a bypass patient so many things are sugar free, and it's up to you if you chose to go that route or not, but I find many of her recipes to be super appealing. Looking at her blog really made ME feel like hey, I can eat normal things. Hopefully it will help you feel that way too. theworldaccordingtoeggface