Vicki Loichinger

hope you find some way that you like it. i use it yogurt and cottage cheese but i make this crazy concoction with sugar free fat free instant pudding mixed into it too so i don't taste it at all. i have put it in applesauce and you do kinda know it is there when you can have refried beans, heat those to 130 or so and then add a scoop of that in there and I bet you won't taste it and wow that would be some protein there.

oh my goodness, you look so awesome. I am so happy for you. WOW you have done a great job and you look so happy and healthy. What a beautiful pic. love it, Have fun today and tonight. You deserve a really special day.

what are you using to mix it with. you need to used a blender ball cup or mixer of some sort so it doesn't clump. very few of the protein powders will mix with just stiring with a spoon you can heat your milk (not to over 130) but I still think it mixes better with the blender ball cup or blender mixer thingy. I also stir it in yogurt and it mixes pretty well but a little clumpy.

How crazy is that. You are right to feel nobody wants to help you cause that is how it feels. It is like nobody wants to be the one to have their name tied to a decision. Why will the baratric doctors not order these tests?? I know that they keep referring us back to our PCP and then PCP refers us back to surgeon. Nobody will just take the whole picture. I feel your frustration. Makes me want to scream. I am going through a little bit of this with sugery scheduled for Wed, but need a Gyno doc to clear me (which i don't think he will) and don't see him till tues. I want to scream for all of us. I am not sure what to advice you to do. Hope somebody else has a good answer. Changing insurance and PCP may be the answer.

Congrats on all accounts. Like others have said make sure where ever you look understands you situation. Also what you like right now may change a lot by spring or summer. What an exciting predicament to be in. Just window shop a lot right now. Hugs to you.

Welcome and I am so glad that you didn't give up. They sure do put you through the hoops don't they. I know you have worked very hard to get to this point. A new beginning and health is very exciting. That is awesome they could still get it done by the end of the year. We are here for you, supporting you all the way. Again Welcome and thanks for sharing

great news NurseTab. that is awesome. well not the foamies, but the weight loss. Oh I do remember the foamies back in the early days of banding.

thank you for sharing these photos, really puts it in prospective.

good question, wonder what the difference will feel like?

Welcome and you have come to the right place., Lots of support and motivation and information. And we sure could use advice from you too. Again Welcome and jump right in with questions or tips or anything you can add.

lady I agree with you, and that has been my belief in life, things happen for a reason. And I am doing pretty good today. My attitude is much better and I am a little more ZEN about things. I am going with the flow. It will all work out. I sure do appreciate all of you.

Notice how much lower your necklace sits. Amazing. you have been transformed. You look so healthy. Great Job. Really great.

Yes I think the December page will get more active with questions and experiences as soon as the some have surgery. But you can read and ask questions in any area. Sometimes I just put random words that i wonder about in the search area and see what people have said about it. You can get lost in here reading so many stories and experiences.

Welcome to you both. You will find so much support and knowledge here, Please share your story with us. Ask questions. We are all here for each other. Again Welcome

Lisa I truly understand how you feel. I question how much will I lose and will my diabetes and asthma really improve since it didn't with the band, It has taken me seven years to admit that I wish I had had the RNY to begin with. I was so stubborn then thinking I knew so much and that I didn't need anything as "DRASTIC" as RNY and that I was a perfect canidate for the band, But It didn't turn out that way at all. I have not had any complications with the band and I am still glad I have had it. I have gained and lost the same 30 pounds many times and I feel at least the band has kept me from going over 200. And I got close earlier this spring, 194 and i am 4'11". Today preop hoping to have surgery next week, but another medical problem has come up and it may have to be pushed back, I weight 168. So I can lose the weight at least around that 25 or 30 pound mark, but it never stays away and it usually brings friends. Wishing us both success in our journey.

IF that is what your insurance requires then you probably will have to do it. So the beginning is right now. Start doing daily logs on your food (your nut probably has asked you do to that) if you have seen your Primary care doc for weight loss those records could help. But bottom line if that is what they require you will just have to see the nut for six months, get everything else done that is needed to be approved and go for it. I know it sucks. Waiting sucks it just does. But somehow you have to know that this will be time well spent getting ready for surgery and a healthier way of living. And that can start even before the surgery. My thoughts and hopes are with you. Keep coming here for support and knowledge. You have made the first step. For the majority of us it has not been a quick process. So just hang on you are getting ready for a great ride.

Starting weight May 2012 194 pre op Nov 30 2012 168

You are an inspiration. congrats and happy surgiversary. So happy for you and glad you made this decision to get your health back. Big smile for you today

awesome news, sip sip sip, walk walk walk and then take a good rest and start all over again. gentle hugs

that is so encouraging. great job

That is so awesome and going to be here before you know it. I am so happy for you. Getting that approval call is one of the best calls ever. I will be following your journey closely, I am pre op for band to rny. I have had my band for seven years. I think I have a little attatchment to it. Like a safety net that even though it didn't help me lose a lot of weight or treat my diabetes. I feel I would have gained a lot more over those seven years without it. I am glad yours can be done both at once, You will do great. We are here for you.

Thank you so much everyone. I do need your support and knew I would have it, thank you. I am just trying to take it day by day and doc by doc and do what is right. If I have to wait for the RNY then I will, whatever they decide I will make the best of it. Just be glad for tuesday to come and a decision be made and then I can go from there. I am still sticking to the pre op diet, not sure how, cause I could really go on a binge right about now. But I feel like I have been practicing these past few months to eat less, slower, not drink with meals, all the rules, and I have lost 24 pounds so I don't want to blow that. Thank you Again you guys are the very best

Yep have to wait and see what the gyno says. I am just thinking "really" "really" this has to act up now. And this gyno hasn't seen me since he circumcised my son who is almost 28 so like a Brand new Doc who doesn't know me from Adam and who the heck is he going to be one to say "oh yeah have gastric bypass tomorrow" you know that isn't going to go down that way. I just have to keep reminding myself, no one has said NO NEVER, so since Insurance has said yes, that is the biggest concern If I have to wait longer I just have to wait. But I don't "wait" very well

that sure sounds encouraging, i hope you continue to feel good, way to go

loved your newest video. I can see the joy and it is so awesome.