Donny

People spoke up in my last meeting that it was crazy they had to buy special shakes and the nutritionist got antsy and she gave us the option. My thought is, I am already dropping a ton on this process and his special powder is proven to have good results in the pre-op phase so why not just do it. I like my brand of powder way better then his, but I can easily justify spending another $160ish to pretty much guarantee my liver will shrink and my surgery should be routine. Maybe I drank the kool-aid and am funneling more $$$ to Dr. Kim, but Dr. Kim has amazing stats for successful operations and this is my life were playing with. As far as I am concerned my life is worth a whole lot more then $200 extra dollars to me!

I am on day 3 and things are deffinitly getting easier, but obviously is still a challenge! I am only allowed crystal light, 5 shakes and 1 cup of broth per day. I never thought id be so excited to get home from work and make a cup of broth lol. What has helped me is adding Mrs. Dash seasoning to the broth to give it different zings

Awesome! I on the 22nd so when your being wheeled back I will be the guy moon walking through the halls with an ear to ear smile! Or at least that's what I'm telling myself!

Thats awesome! Congrats on completing the tri! I have been dreaming of being able to compete in Tri's for awhile! And now that I am about to be sleeved, it is going to come true! I will be sleeved in two weeks, and for Christmas I am going to buy myself a nice road bike! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! My biggest concern is nutrition and hydration. I have been addicted to beginnertriathlete.com the last 3 months

I'm 26, 6'4" and being sleeved in 14 days (oct. 22)! I started at 380 in July and I'm 350ish now. Started my liquid diet yesterday and the next two weeks will be a major test of will!

Now I'm getting sad seeing all the Dr. Kim patients that only had to do one week. Oh well I guess, I refuse to cheat! Gotta get the mind right!

Congrats on making it to the other side! I'm now 13 days away and am studying up on all the other Oct. sleeves updates so keep them coming! Good luck on recovery!

Im 6'4" and started three months ago at 380#, today I weighed 351 and started my pre-op (which sucks!) haha

Im having mine in 2 weeks! Great experience so far!

I'm officially two weeks away! Started pre-op diet today and its a struggle! I have been doing great the last 3 months of having Protein shakes for Breakfast and lunch. The kind they made me buy is a different story! Constant feeling I'm gonna puke and its clumpy and weird. I prefer my whey Protein isolate wayyyy better! Where there's a will there's a way and I refuse to cheat!

Congrats to everyone in October!!!!

I have a 2 week one I will be on, but I did google some info on it and there are liver shirking diets on there (webmd) if I wasn't assigned one I'd still do one from there. The last thing I'd want is to get cut open just to find out they couldn't do it :/

Thanks for the support!

I cut to 1500-1800 calories a day and eliminated all bad foods. I try to follow high Protein low carbs and pay close attention sodium. I only drink Water and mio and try to drink 2 gallons a day. I go to the gym 3 times per week and do 60 min of cardio making sure I keep my heart rate in the fat burning zone.

Basically I eat foods/recipes that we can have post op so I can get used to eating that way but will be ok if I need to cheat. I'm also kind of weird that I LOVE Protein shakes lol. I also have been making a lot eggfaces recipes so I can get used to cooking that way.

First and foremost, Happy Friday!

When I started this journey at 6'4" 380 lbs I never thought I'd get approved and just kind of went through the paces. When I learned about the 3 mo waiting period I figured it would be a good time to just endulge on everything I would potentially be giving up in the future. Month one I gained almost 10 lbs. I realized how stupid this was and that I'm doing it for all the wrong reasons!

So, 4th of July I lit a fire under my a** and said that I WILL lose 20 lbs by my Pre-op shake diet (hoping to lose another 10 on the 14 day plan). Well I don't start the Pre-op for another 30 days and today I weighed 349! Now I have readjusted my goals to lose 50lbs by my surgery date. I can't believe how easy it was to lose 30lbs in two months when you have the right motivation! So here I go on part two of this, 10 lbs in the next month then 5-10 lbs on 14 day Pre-Op!!!!

To all the people hating on having a little fun, a wise man (Van Wilder) once said....

You shouldn't take life to seriously... You'll never get out alive!

I live by this every day! Lighten up a bit and have some fun!

I'm still 2 mo. away from surgery so I'm not sure how "legal" it is because a banana dosent seem like it has a place in VSG, but my favorite is.....

2 scoop Isopure Zero Carb Dutch chocolate

1 or 2 tbsp (depending on how MFP is looking)

1 banana

**I use Water and ice and blend it real good!

Even w/o the banana chocolate & Peanut Butter is super good! I love the Isopure brand and have been using their Proteins for many years! I'm crossing my fingers I still like them after surgery! GNC sells them, but Amazon gives the best deals!

The doping pre-op made me remember a funny time during one of my surgeries they couldn't get the IV into my vein and every time they started flow my arm burned because they were not in the vein. After several attempts at stabbing me (horrified of needles) They got another nurse. When that one missed twice i hoped out of the bed grabbed my clothes and started walking out of the hospital in my gown. My surgeon chased me down in the parking lot and told me he would get the best in the hospital to do it. Sure enough, first try by him and it was in right!

I'm kind of odd when it comes to fears with this surgery. I'm not afraid of the surgery itself, I'm afraid of the life after. I have had 5 surgeries, 4 of them were on my knees (ex highschool & college football player). I'm afraid of the life after, I mean let's be real..... Im a 26 year old guy that loves to go out and have fun = bubye alcohol.... I have always been very athletic but never small enough to do a few things I have always dreamed of = still won't be able to do an Ironman because nutrition and hydration. I love to golf, the idea of being on a TX golf course in the middle of summer without a beer is insane lol! And the biggest one of all, social pressures. I have not told anyone I'm doing this because when I mentioned the idea a few months ago I got really bad feedback from my friends, at which point they stepped up and really supported my weight loss (better known as 3 mo. Pre-op lol) I have changed my eating habits and limited my drinks to 2-3 vs 12-13 and I have lost 30 lbs in the 3 months. But now they miss the old me and the pressure is on hard core to drink again (I do miss the crazy bar nights). With that being said I am HORRIFIED I will lose my friends I am now looking on the brightside of things, maybe of I lose my old friends I will meet some awesome new healthy ones and hopefully a nice girl to motivate me to keep dragging my butt to the gym! I guess sometimes you just need to be willing to sacrifice, even if that means friends, for the greater good of life!

What's up all!!! I'm going under on Oct. 22 in Fort Worth, TX! I thought the 3 mo. pre-op was bad until I found out my date had to be 3 months after my approval. But on a better note, I have been working hard at lost 30# since the 4th of July. Oh and I'm 26 350lbs and 6'4"

My surgery is late October and my current pre-op is 1500-1800 cals and:

4-5 days per week --> elliptical (45 min)

3 days per week --> couch to 5K

5 days weight lifting

* chest&tri's (mon&thurs)

* back&bi's (tues&fri)

* legs (wed)

Golf on Saturdays

If I skip any day above I do 30DS that day instead.

Following this plan I have lost 25lbs and went from the biggest belt notch to the smallest since the 4th of July!

I too live in FW and am a few weeks away from surgery. I am using Dr. Kim. I have had a fantastic experience with his entire staff! I agree that it is weird not seeing your Dr., but I have been so happy with his staff it dosent matter! I compared it to taking your car to the shop lol. I never meet the mechanic that worked on it, but if they have good customer service specialists I feel comfortable and in good hands!

So on that note, go with a surgeon you feel has the best experience. Not the best "salesman"

That's awesome! Keep up the good work!

I know it has been said time and time again but I fell victim to the situation so.... Make sure to get plenty of calories! I'm 6'4" and started pre op at 380. I cut to 1200 health conscious calories a day and felt fine, no hunger, good energy, but I wasn't losing like I thought I would. So I upped it to 1600-1800 cals and upped the Water and I can't believe how quick I'm losing! My Fitness Pal reccomended around 2800 but I couldn't imagine eating that much (healthy) food!

I have an off topic question for you! I have my surgery in a month and found out it is scheduled for 10 days before on of my buddies is coming to visit me. How are you feeling 9 days out? Do you have energy and feel you could entertain?

Thanks!

I have all my requirements done and approval in hand! My date is Oct. 22nd, I'm down 20 lbs from first visit and shooting for another 30 by surgery. My goal in the next 3 mo. Is adjusting my eating habits to that of a post-op (with more calls tho) I have been using post op recipes and trying to get used to no added carbs/sugar/salt and drinking regularly with no liquids 30min to either end of a meal. I used my 3 mo of insurance hoops to get in healthy habits and using the next 3 to get into VSG habits!

For me, my out of network max is $2500 so I'm planning on that just because it is the max I can pay. But my coordinator said it shouldn't be over $1500 out of pocket for me. and I think I'm about $400 into the process so far including my surgery down payment. I budgeted $3500 for the entire process

I had my last appointment two Thursday's ago and I called insurance last Wednesday and they said they received the info that day (6 days) then I got a call last Friday saying I was approved (3 days after submission) so it was 8 days after my last apt that I got the good news!

Good luck!