Robin Lanzoni

I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian (no meat but will eat dairy products and eggs). In the last two years I've even been a raw vegan - a fantastic healthy diet but not socially easy or viable for very long (no meat, dairy, eggs or any cooked foods... just raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds). I was wondering if there are any other vegetarians here and if the information you received was different since you could not eat meat, fish or poultry? Robin

I don't have the answer but I'm surprised your surgeon didn't already address this during your visits. I think I'd ask my Dr first.

I have a Blendtec. It's 3hp vs the 2hp of the vitamix. I insanely spent another $115 to get a larger carafe for it. It's great. It really is. But I use the little bullet blender more. I keep one at work and one at home. You can make tiny smoothies with the bullet one. A large blender like the Blendtec or Vitamix is going to need to make a lot. Most people post op aren't able to take in very much.

1/2 cup of FRESH carrot juice has 450% of the RDA of Vitamin A. And it's far more readily absorbed than from a pill.

Health vs Cost.... which one will win? A bottle of any juice will never have the same nutritional value of FRESH, UNCOOKED, UNPASTURIZED vegetable juice that you make yourself. Centrifugal juicers whip a lot of oxygen into the juice, causing it to lose nutritional value quickly, so it's important to drink it ASAP if you use this kind of juicer. You can't juice it way ahead of time to store in the fridge for the day because, after an hour, it will have lost too much of its nutrition to be worth it. A twin-gear juicer would retain much of the nutritional value because of the gentle extraction of the juice. They are expensive and even I don't have one (getting it this year). I do have a manual juicer that I adore. It's small, portable, easy to clean, it uses no electricity so you can take it apart and just throw it in the dish washer. It was only about $50. Love it. I also have a large centrifugal juicer for home and a small one that I keep at work. You can also juice with your blender by putting the veggies in with a little Water, blend completely, then pour it all in a nut milk (mesh) bag to strain the juice from the pulp. You just hold the bag over a bowl and gently massage it to squeeze out the juicer. This is the fastest way to juice. I wouldn't suggest juicing fruits as this makes the sugars too readily available without their cell walls to slow the digestion. Even carrots and beets I would juice in moderation while on a weight loss program. I have my certification in Natural Hygenic Nutrition. I've been vegetarian for 20 years and RAW VEGAN on and off for years. I once juice fasted for 2 months straight. Nothing beats the feeling of fresh juicing. I believe it's worth every penny. You can google or look on eBay for "nut milk bag" or "nut mylk bag" or for Lexan juicer if you want to learn more. Here's the manual juicer I have: http://cgi.ebay.com/LEXEN-brand-MANUAL-WHEATGRASS-JUICER-wheat-grass-/320645648324 Mine is exactly the same. I have a pretty tote bag that I carry it in when I want to take it with me. It's very small and convenient and makes no noise since it's manual. Robin

This sounds like a very delicious thing to have as a very very rare treat once weight loss has been well under way. Sounds almost equivalent to eating a pint of low fat ice cream.

Charts I've looked at list the healthy weight range for someone 4' 11" as 107 - 134 pounds. Why would you sleeve for that? Your insurance couldn't possibly approve it.

I am having my sleeve done at an MTF that's 5 hours from my house. It's going to be ALOT of work to get it done since their surgeon requires a 5 month program and monthly support group meetings. Man, this is going to be tough. I work full time and have an autistic child. I don't have family here to leave him with overnight. They have agreed to allow me to use a civilian Dr who accepts PRIME. I was told to have the Dr write some very specific phrases on his referral that states I'm over 60 miles from the nearest MTF... etc. I have not spoken with the surgeon but I have spoken with the nurse. She said they will try to work around things for me but not the time to surgery. Sure, I'd like it sooner but I'm 40 years old... what's another 5 months? Where do you live?

Unless the DR is coding it differently, it's not being approved with Standard or Prime. Here's my challenge: If there's anyone out there that claims their VSG was approved OUTSIDE an MTF with Tricare, please call your Dr and find out what code he used for that approval. That would help alot.

Even if Prime started covering the sleeve, someone would have to find a network provider. How many Bariatric Surgeons accept PRIME? The closest surgeon to me that accepts STANDARD for the Band or RNY is over 2 hours away.

Awaiting elaboration with breathless anticipation since the MTF I'm about to try with is about 5 hours from my house. If I could get a civilian Dr, that would be terrific.

If you felt no pain, I would assume that your tummy isn't ruined at all. Did you chew it very well? I agree with not beating yourself up over this.

A good jeweler can size rings into an oval instead of round. You can't tell from the top but it's a way to keep the integrity of the channel setting. My rings are too small because I weigh so much now, so I have the opposite problem. I put my rings in my Safe Deposit Box for now. Once I have surgery, I will wear them when they fit, stop again when they are too large and resize them when I reach goal. For now, I bought some pretty gold plated rings from HSN. It feels good to have something on at least.

I'm curious about the answer to this one.

That is so exciting!! Keep up posted on your progress and good luck.

I think milk is terrible for you so I'm voting for vanilla SOY milk. Robin

I haven't been sleeved yet but I'm curious... if you had a low sodium V-8 available, would that help to fill you between meals? It's portable in your purse. In fact, I keep a supply in my drawer at work for when I'm hungry. Are there any Protein bars you like that you could carry with you? I'm assuming you couldn't eat much more than 3/4 of most bars before feeling full. Robin

They make a rice looking version that I find works well in a soup. If you don't like the texture of the noodles (some people find them rubbery or slimy), you don't really have to chew the rice-like ones. It's very filling and, in the right broth, you can't taste them.

Have you tried EFT? That might help. It involves a series of tapping to various pressure points on the body. I've had some success in it helping with cravings. Check out Paul McKenna on youtube for the technique. There's lots of videos there for it. Another thing you could try is some chia seed (salba) in liquid. That would fill you up without a lot of calories. You have to drink it right away though or it becomes a solid rather quickly. Drink lots of Water after as well. I wouldn't use more than a tablespoon of it at a time until you get used to it. Chia seed will expand to 9 - 12 times its size in water and it has very little taste. Another thing you could try is juicing vegetables. I often take carrots, lettuce, a cucumber, some celery, a couple of apples and a 1" piece of ginger - juice it and drink the whole thing quickly. That will fill you up immediately and the Vitamin content is incredible. Maybe you could say, "I give myself permission to eat that pizza but I have to drink THIS first." Then, after you drink it, the craving will probably be gone. If it's not, there still wont be much room left to endulge. Hugs and good luck, Robin

Congratulations and best wishes!!

What a list! Everyone one of those things sounds wonderful to me. Sometimes I think I don't exist because I wont let anyone take a picture of me. The only pictures I have are taken by myself - close up, face only, at an angle above - so my face looks thinner. I decided to edit my post so I could add some things of my own (in no particular order): *Be able to sleep through the night without getting up 5 times to pee because my belly and organs put so much stress on my little bladder, it's like I'm 9 months pregnant. *Adding to my bladder problems, I'd like to be able to stop the stress incontinence that happens when I don't make it to the bathroom many of those 5 times I get up in the night... or all the leaks during the day. *Being able to sleep through the night without waking up to realize I'm not breathing (severe apnea that I haven't sought help for). *Being able to sleep in the same bed as my husband without keeping him awake with my snoring (see above). *Being able to bend over to tie my shoes instead of having to awkwardly lift my leg up to my lap and gasp in shallow breaths from my huge belly pushing against my lungs. *Being able to actually choose shoes that tie up instead of wearing slip-on every day (see above). *Being able to wear a bra without being stabbed in the sides by the boning and wires that are meant to keep my enormous breasts from hanging to my knees. *Being able to wear a bra without "poppin fresh" or "quadro boob" action... or a second set of boobs on my back that I am in denial about. *Being able to clean the house, do the laundry, wash the dishes, live a life that is organized because I will have the energy and ambition to do it. *Being able to give myself a proper pedicure instead of the nasty toes I have now. *Being able to wear shorts in public (I live in Florida) instead of getting dressed in pants just to go to Walmart because I'm so ashamed of my legs. *Being able to feel professional at work. I'm a bank manager and I always feel like I look like I'm dressing to go grocery shopping. I wear huge, flowing blouses and black stretchy pants. My future is a moo moo if I don't do something about this NOW. *Make my ex-husband rue the day. Yes, I know it's petty but he once told me I'm the fattest thing he's ever seen, that he's ashamed of me and embarssed to be seen with me. I'd like to not be those things when he sees me next. He doesn't have to say anything. I just want him to SEE. *I'd like to stop hearing that I "have such a pretty face." I think I'd like to hear "You have a nice butt" a few times before I get much older. *Being able to have sex with my husband. Not being mean, but he's not interested in me sexually anymore. He's so turned off, he can't maintain an erection. Before anyone judges him... he's never really said a word about my weight... but I can see it in his eyes. He's going to Afghanistan in less than 2 months. I'd like to look different when he comes home. *I'd like to eat a twinkie. Weird, right? Ever since I went over 250 pounds, I stopped eating junk food. I topped out at 268 and here I hover. Bread calls my name... maybe that's "my" junkfood. I need more self control. *I'd like to have the door held for me instead of people letting it go in my face. *I'd like to be able to drive without the seat belt nearly sawing my head off as I drive. *I'd like to wear high heeled shoes. *I'd like to not have to use 1/2 a pound of powder under my "apron" to keep from chaffing in the hot Florida weather. By the end of the day, with all the powder, it's like I've made dough. Want some bread? *Not to have to adjust my apron every time I sit or stand like I'm some nasty guy adjusting his crotch. *Speaking of crotches, I'd like to be able to locate mine again and "trim the hedges" appropriately.... and without getting pimples and boils from the ingrown hairs. It's been so long since I adequately trimmed it, I'm starting to feel like sasquatch. *Being able to wear my jewelry again. Most of the rings locked in my Safe Deposit Box are size 5 1/2. Now I wear a size 8 on my fat little fingers. There are rings, 16" necklaces and lovely bracelets I would LOVE to wear again. *Being able to have a period. I've had 1 period in 2010 and I think I ought to have at least a few more before menopause, don't you think? (I'm only 40.) *Not have to take Metformin for my PCOS because, at a normal weight, I probably wont have to. *Not have people watch me eat like they're watching a car wreck in slow motion. *I want to shop at a normal store and love the way I look in my clothes. *I want my physical self to reflect the person I am inside, beautiful, fun and optomistic. Robin

What a great post. Good for you that you finally bought something that fit you. Soon you will be L... then maybe M???? Keep smiling!

Wow. Congratulations!