hugsamber

Sounds good to me! See you guys there!

When I played basketball in high school the coaches would always say I was 5'7 on the roster, I guess to make the other teams think I was taller. I was actually 5'3.5....or so I thought. I just went to the docter this past Friday and I was 5'4.5....I guess I got an inch taller having lost almost 20 pounds! I really do think that the thinner we get the taller we look....maybe it is because we are less "round"!!!

Thanks! I only have 1.5 pounds left to lose and my psych appt is not until Nov 12th. Plenty of time!

I'm off on weekends. Is the point west meeting this saturday? We also could meet at a peet's coffee and tea. They have herbal teas that we can drink! I have not been to one but I looked online and saw there drink menu.

Do you all want to meet up before surgery or wait until after? It looks like a couple of you are having surgery the begining of Nov. I will not be until late Dec or early Jan, though I am always hoping for sooner!

I have yet to have surgery. It should be scheduled in Dec or Jan. I feel like everyone knows about my decision to have WLS. My mom is going through the process at the same time though she has decided to have Gastric Bypass. So she knows, her husband, then my mom told my grandparents, my aunt, and my brother. I told her that was fine because my family is such big gossipers that no one can keep a secret. Luckily the family is ALL VERY suportive. My boyfriend knows and he is not necessarily happy about it, he is worried that something will happen to me during the surgery and I won't wake up, but he is supportive of me and my decision. He also said he will be my personal nurse! I also have told a few co-workers. The reason being is that we do A LOT of food functions and I have been passing on the donuts and the pizza. They were giving me a hard time for not eating so I finally had to say something. Four of them know but they also gossip so I am sure the whole office knows. Most have been very supportive but there are a couple of people who I did not want to know until I got back from having the surgery done. They are very judgemental and of course asked a MILLION questions. One being, of course, since you have lost almost 20 pounds in a month why don't you just continue to diet? Oh and my favorite....There is someone that I see in the elevator who I don't even recognize anymore until I hear her voice. I was like Hello, you are going to see me everyday. Its not like one day I will come into work 100pounds lighter. It will be a gradual process. I tried to answer everything as best as I could but at the same time I sometimes would like to have some privacy. I guess I should just be glad that I do have a lot of supportive people around me. I just get tired already of all of the questions and having everyone watching what I am eating and everything. Sorry to vent a bit.

I am in Natomas. I know that there is a support group that meets at the point west kaiser the last Sat of the month, I believe from 11 - 1pm. But I am down to meet up and compare notes and all of that fun stuff!!!

Good Luck Pam! I am also going through Richmond and my Doc is Dr. Baggs. I met with him this past Friday and I have 4 pounds to lose still. I still have to go to my psych appt which is on Nov 12th. I am doing all of my lab work and EKG next week. He thought it was likely that I would get a late Dec or early Jan date. I am also out of Sacramento so I have been lucky so far that my orienation and surgeon appt was at vacaville! All my other appts will be at Richmond though. Who is your doc? I started this process in September. It has been very quick so far!

He basically said it was because there was no long term studies but he is fine doing the sleeve on me. He just wanted me to make sure that he can't say what will happen in the future with the sleeve. I still heart him and think that he is a great doctor. He answered all of my million questions and then some!

Woot Woot! Just got finished with my appointment with Dr Baggs. I heart him. He is so nice and wonderful! I have 4 pounds to lose to reach my surgery goal weight!!! My next appointment is with the Psychologist on 11/12. Dr. Baggs has already sent in for my bloodwork and EKG. He wants me to do those next week. He said I should be to my goal weight by the time I meet with the psych so then she will set up the appointment with the Case Manager. He said I will likely have surgery in late December or early January!!! The only thing that concerned me and I don't know if concerned is the correct word, is that Dr. Baggs wouldn't recommend the Sleeve because I am only 28 and there is not enough long term studies for it to see how I would be in 30 years. I told him that I didn't not want to have my intestines moved around with the bypass and he said he understood why I wanted to have the sleeve. I guess I was just suprised because it seems like so many on VST are all young and have had the sleeve done. I'm not too worried about it though. From what I have researched the sleeve is the exactly what I want!

Yay Mom!!! Keep up the great work! You Rock!

Grr. I totally messed up this weekend. I am still pre-op and trying to lose weight before my surgery. I meet with my surgeon for the first time on Friday. So last Sat was my 10 yr high school reunion. I was good all day saturday until we left for the reunion. I did not eat much that day because I knew I was going to have a couple drinks. Well I had more than a couple drinks and Sunday I was sick as a dog!!! why did I do that to myself? Then Sunday I did not follow my plan. I was so hungover there was no way for me to eat like I was suposed to. So when I weighed myself Monday afternoon I was up 4 pounds!!!!! WHAAAAAAT??? I am so mad at myself. I am hoping that my body will get back into business and maybe in a few days those pounds will come off. I am doing slimfast today and tomorrow with hopes that will help a little. It is hard to not get frustrated with yourself. So i am trying to just keep swimming. I wanted to be down almost 20 pounds when I meet with my surgeon. Right now I will be lucky if I am down 10! So bummed. Okay I am over it. I made a mistake and have to move on. Just stay focused on my goals and I can do it. Sorry I needed to give myself a pep talk!

Thanks Mom!!!

Thanks! I am hoping to have the surgery around the holidays so it won't seem like I am taking that much time off! I can take as much time as I need but I would prefer to take as little as possible. Good Luck with your post op. Let me know how you are doing.

I wish that October 15th would come quicker, but at the same time it is good that it is still almost two weeks away so that I can lose more weight before my appt with Dr. Baggs. I weighed in this morning at 279. Hey when Kaiser weighed my a week from today I was 291. And when I weighed myself at home in the afternoon a week from today I was 293. I think that I am doing good!!! Makes me wonder if I can lose the weight with just sticking to this diet? Then I think, I have done this before, lost weight and then gained it all back plus some. I need more help than just myself. I need the sleeve to assist me in making the right decisions and eating less. Though I have to say that I am waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay nervous about having the surgery. I have only been under anesthesia once and that was when I had my wisdom teeth taken out. I am nervous about complications and how much pain I will be in afterwards. Also, is there going to be a drain sticking out of one of my incisions and will my BF be grossed out having to take care of me? He wants me to be home and says that if I can get the surgery during one of his weeks off (he is a teacher) then he will be my personal nurse 24/7. I just don't know that I want him to see me all yucky! I have never broken any bones or any other big injuries so I am not sure how I am going to do with the pain. Why am I worrying about all of this now? When I still have at least a couple of months before I get the surgery? I am a worrywart. I looked at some people posted pics of them after surgery in the hospital with their tubes and incisions and yuck, then I read about how some people were in so much pain. I am only planning on taking a week off work. Then if I have to then I will work half days the following week. So I better not be one of those people who is in pain and misery for 2 weeks straight!!! I mean I know that I am still going to be in pain, but I want to be able to function. I know that I will be getting part of my stomach removed, wow, that is very weird to say or write. I will be getting part of my stomach removed. Easier the second time. So obviously there is going to be pain for awhile. I just don't want any complications or problems....does anyone? Sometimes the more I research something the more freaked out I get. I know its supposed to help me understand what I soon will be going through and to be honest it is better to know than to go in blinded. But still, too much can be a bad thing as well, at least for me. But yet I continue to view this website daily and see what is going on with everyone. It is almost a compulsion that I can't stop! I wish that I was already a year out from my sleeve surgery and I was back to normal and did not have any problems during that time. Don't you wish you could just "poof" and make it happen sometimes? I sometimes picture myself skinny or thinner I should say. I have wanted to be back to a "normal" size before I turn 30. I am 28 right now with a birthday in April. I know that I just need to be mentally tough in regards to the surgery. Right now the eating is fine. I am losing at a steady pace of at least a pound a day. There has been cookies, pizza and junk food around me all weekend long and I did not have the desire to have any of it. So my mind for food in mentally tough I just have to not worry so much about the surgery itself but the results and outcomes of that surgery. A month or two of suffering is worth it!

Good Luck Lemon Drop (aka Mom). I also have my appointment with Dr. Baggs tomorrow! I have lost 16lbs since orientation! I am excited to get this process going!

I am just begining this journey and have found a lot of useful information as well as advice from all of the nice and wonderful people on this site. We all go though similar things during this process. Weight loss surgery does not fix everything. It makes us actually deal with things that we used to use food to cope with. I am sure thing will get better for you. Hang in there!!!

Saturday was not too bad. I was pretty busy. But today...Football Sunday is difficult. I am hungry and I just are lunch!!! I think that it is because we usually have snacks during the games. Plus my BF was eating pizza which is one of my favorite things in the world!!! But I survived. This morning I had Cream of Wheat. It was actually pretty good. I am glad that I found another soft squishy food that I like. Especially for after sugery. I have lost about 12 pounds. Though really that was after I ate on Monday. If I do it by what I weighed first thing Tuesday morning then I have lost 8 pounds. Still good either way you look at it. I have a little less than 2 weeks until my appt with my surgeon. I hope that he is happy with the amount of weight I have lost!

8:30am- So I feel fairly good. I had some energy this morning and my breakfast filled me up. Same as yesterday (1/2 cup of egg beaters, 1 oz of fat free cheddar cheese and a yogurt). I am trying to work on sipping my water to get used to how it will be after surgery. Boy it is hard though. I am not sure what a sip really is. I am not gupling water like I used to so I guess that is at least a start. Because I don't have access to the website at work I figure I will update on Notepad and then e-mail it to myself before work ends and then copy and paste into the blog and add new stuff when I get home. This way I won't forget things that I wanted to write about during worktime. I weighed myself this morning and I am down 1 pound since yesterday morning, yay me! 9:45am- The bad thing about drinking a bunch of water is that I feel like I have to go to the bathroom every 5 mins!!! I am starting to feel a bit hungry, not as bad as yesterday around this time though, so I think that is good. 10:15am- First food work challenge. Someone brought in homemade brownies and banana bread cake with frosting. I am behaving and staying away from it, but being a little hungry and not eating lunch until 11:30 makes it difficult. I just have to keep telling myself that I can do it. If I can lose 10 pounds by my surgeon appointment in 2 weeks then I will be a happy camper. 11:45am- Yum. Just had lunch. 3oz of deli turkey, half a baked potato and an apple. My belly is happy right now. I just hope that it lasts until dinner! I am doing well eating the protein first. I thought that it would be hard because I am not much of a meat or egg eater. I only each chicken and turkey and I could go a few days with out having either of them. Eggs are another story. I get grossed out thinking about eggs. I have for awhile, but I was watching Man vs Wild on the Discovery Channel and Bear(the guys name) was out in the wilderness and found a nest with a couple of eggs. So he boiled water and put the eggs in it for a few minutes. He was all excited about having boiled eggs. Then he took a bite out of one of the eggs and it had a partially developed fetus in it. YUCK!!! Even he was grossed out and if you have ever watched that show Bear eats some nasty stuff. So eggs and I are not too friendly. The egg beaters is working for me right now though I am not sure if I can do that for breakfast daily. 1:15pm- Just went for a little walk. About a 15 minute walk, it wasn't fast or anything but at least I got out of the office for a little bit. I am feeling pretty good. It is a bit hot out though, isn't summer over? I do not feel hungry or even have a hunger headache. Is the protein working that well? I have been eating protein first with all of my meals, and I fill up faster! 2:45pm- Last update from work. Feel pretty good. A little hungry but not bad. A co-worker is going to make me do stairs with her on Tuesday of next week. We have 18 flights in our building. I think that she is trying to kill me! At least that will be some good exercise, even if it takes me 30 mins to do it! Home sweet home. Dinner is cooking. I forgot to take the chicken out so we are not going to eat for another hour or so. I will probably be really hungry by then! I notice that I am slightly grumpy and irritable. My boyfriend is going to the store to get himself some dessert for after dinner. He asked if it was okay. Of course I said yes. But damn it sucks! He is not the one on the diet, I am. Almost 2 days down. It will get easier I am sure. Right???

This is Pre-Op. I have not had the surgery yet. Through Kaiser they want you to start their Pre-Op Diet right after Orientation. That way when you meet with the surgeon you have already lost some weight. I went to Orientation a week ago and have my appt with my surgeon on Oct 15th.

I was bad. I went to starbucks and ordered a tall nonfat green tea frappachino. When I got back to the office I checked the calorie content. There was 200 calories in that little drink. I had a few sips and threw away over half of it. Well at least I have some willpower. I guess I don't want to forever be restricted to things but be able to limit them to small or very small portions. Does this mean that this surgery is still a good idea for me? Do people still have a life of food after surgery? Just a better and healthier one? Or are you so limited to what you have you cant go over to friends houses for dinner or to a restaurant? I know that most people on here can still eat out but I wonder what that really does to your stomach? I weighed in this morning and was at 282. Almost 10 pounds from my weigh in on Monday. Maybe I am feeling nervous because I am losing so quickly that when I meet with my surgeon I am worried he will be like okay you have lost enough, lets get you scheduled. What if I am not ready? Am I ready? I feel like I am, but at times I worry that I am going to alter my life so much that nothing will be the same. Its terrible to say that food plays such a big deal in life but most social activity is done around food or drinks. I still want to be able to enjoy life. I think that I need to make my list of things that will change once I lose weight. Maybe this will help me focus on what is really important and what I hope to accomplish. Is it just me or does anyone else tell everyone about the surgery? I guess I don't keep secrets well and not everyone knows but there are 3 co-workers, my boss, my mom, boyfriend and grandparents...and then of course all of you. I am not embarrassed about it and if someone thinks it is a bad idea they sure don't say it to me. They ask questions and I answer. That is about it. I have not heard anything negative, at least so far. Almost done with the work day. Well 2 1/2 hours to go, that is sort of almost done. We are going to my mom's for dinner, it helps that she is following the same plan so she will weigh out the food for me. Makes dinner nice and easy for me. I am curious to see how I manage during the weekend. Weekends are usually the hardest for me because I don't have any sort of structure during sat or sun. Ah well I am looking forward to the weekend so I will tough it out not matter. I am on the countdown 2 hours and 20 mins left. Hello weekend!

I think that the Pre-Op Diet is different for each doctor. I am going through Kaiser. For breakfast I can have 1 protein, 1 dairy, 1 carb, 1 fruit, and 1 fat. For Lunch I can have 1 protein, 1 carb, 1 fruit, 1 vegetable, and 1 fat. For dinner I can have 1 protein, 1 carb, 2 vegetables, 1 dairy, and 1 fat. Basically 1 protein is 3 oz of meat or 3 oz of fat free cheddar cheese (you can mix and match meats with cheese) and also 3/4 cup of egg beaters or 2 eggs. A carb is 1/2 a baked potato or sweet potato or 1 slice of whole wheat bread. The fat is like a teaspoon of butter or mayo, things like that. Veggies are 1 cup cooked veggies, pretty much everything but corn or 1/2 cup raw. Fruit is one apple, pear, 17 grapes, half a banana. Dairy is 1 cup fat free milk or a non fat yogurt. You are supposed to eat the protein first and then veggies if you are still hungry then you can eat everything else in whatever order. But you don't have to eat everything. So far it has really been helping me. I have lost 12 pounds since Monday.

Thanks mama! I am down 12 pounds since Monday!!! You are doing great as well!!!

Good job mom!!!