SpaceDust

I wonder if making a frappé with chocolate protein powder, skim milk and some ice would help with that once you can do full liquids? You could make it thick enough to be spoonable with less milk and more ice, I'd think. Plus it's protein and water. Hmm. Maybe I'll try it for lunch on Monday to see what it's like.

Yuck, having stitches pulled is just... ewwww. I absolutely preferred staples in previous surgery experiences. Not looking forward to the whole idea of a drain. I guess I should ask if I will have one *adds yet another thing to her list of questions still to be answered*

Just to inject a bit of calm, it's entirely possible that your insurance HAS received it but it hasn't been processed yet, so it's not in the system. It also depends on how the packet is sent, right? Is it faxed, couriered to someone, or sent priority mail? I'd probably wait until Tuesday before I was seriously concerned. Dealing with all this red tape just makes me crazy, and I am still a bit behind you two :/

I'm planning to order samples of the Nectar protein next month - I keep hearing it's good stuff!

Just keep in mind that avocados are high-fat, so be mindful of how much guacamole you eat in relation to other foods. I love the stuff, but it's probably going to be relegated to a very occasional tiny dollop for me until I've lost a significant amount of weight.

I'm doing the taste test thing, too. I know that my tastes may change post surgery, but at least I'll have a place to start! I can tolerate most of the better-known protein shakes, but I actually LIKE the Premier ready-to-drink shakes!

Congratulations! Nice to see the scale moving that downward direction!

Yikes, that's not good. I would definitely ping Trish and find out what the heck is going on with your paperwork!

Outstanding job, and yup, fabulous is a good word for how you look! Keep on rockin' the sleeve, girl - you got this all the way!

Fyre, time off is against the rules, you know that already. Pay is the usual scale - you're allowed to make smart-aleck remarks and innuendos. Got it?

That said, we also totally get that it's sometimes useful to talk to someone who is at a similar place in life. There are a number of 20-somethings around here, so I'm sure you'll find some age peers. The rest of us are happy to chime in when you need support, too - and you might find some of us still remember what it's like to be 20

Regarding the bowels question, yes it's normal. That's often true with any abdominal surgery, since you haven't had anything solid for a bit Additionally, watch for constipation, as the pain meds can cause that. This is the voice of surgical experience talking, oy!

No offense taken at all! I assumed as much, but thought that it never hurts to add some personal perspective to recommendations, so there's my personal thought process revealed to all and sundry

If everything goes well and you can have your surgery at the beginning of the week, it might be okay - many people go back to work a week after (some even less). However, not everyone is ready to go back so soon. Only you and your doctor can decide whether it's feasible for you. However, it seems to me that it's a pretty big risk if the two day rule is hard and fast. It's particularly a concern because, regardless of how necessary it is for us from a health perspective, this is still "elective" surgery, so you wouldn't even have the appeal that this was an emergency surgery that couldn't be put off. As an alternative, it might be worth consulting with a bariatric surgeon and also confirm what your insurance requires you to do to have surgery. It may well be that you'll need to do 6 months or even a year of medically supervised diet, for example, in which case you could start that process while you wait for a better timeframe for the surgery. Best of luck in whatever you decide.

You might want to talk to a nutritionist about appropriate substitutions if you have food allergies, mamaje. If you don't have one already, it might be worth the cost of an appointment to ease your mind and have some closure on that concern. As for eventually being able to go out and enjoy things with your family and friends again, of course you will. Hopefully you will have embedded your good habits by then that you'll really want that grilled salmon with sauce on the side and the veggies that go with it, and won't care to have that giant mega-burger with 4 kinds of cheese, onion rings and a big shake. The goal is to build good habits so that if you choose to have a treat, it will be just that, and you'll do so in an appropriate way. It really depends a lot on you, and your long-term relationship with food. For example, I don't particularly have a sweet tooth, though I enjoy an occasional small dessert or a cookie in moderation even now, pre-sleeve. I fully expect that once I get past the first few months I might have the occasional tiny piece of pie or small piece of dark chocolate, because I'm easily satisfied with just a taste. I *DO* have a problem with salty Snacks like crackers, chips and popcorn. I may never allow those back into my diet, because it just won't be worth it if they sabotage me. There are things I can substitute that will likely serve me better nutritionally and fill me up on a more appropriate serving size, like raw veggies with a non-fat Greek yogurt dip.

(In my best Ricky Ricardo voice) Fyre, you got some 'splainin' to do! Somehow, I am thinking that the birth process might be a new challenge.... Congrats on the good bloodwork results - on to the next milestone!

I'm definitely not new to what kind of head games can happen with the scale, so I have embedded a lot of this just from how it impacted me whilst dieting. I'm not immune to hopping on the scale daily - I do it right now. I just have my "official" weigh-in once a week that I actually track, and I take the rest of the week with a hefty grain of salt (oh, wait, excess salt may increase my Water weight gain. Hmm, maybe with a grain of salt substitute?). It all comes down to knowing your body's rhythms so you don't get too upset over a short term minor stall or gain. I've fought that demon innumerable times already, and I'm sure I'll do so again, but hopefully will talk myself down before I scream something about the sky falling! I hear you about the weight loss not matching at the weight loss center, though I've become immune to that to some degree. I expect what I see there will likely be about 4 lbs different from what I see at home, between clothes and the fact that my appointments tend to be mid afternoon However, I see the weight loss center far less than my scale at home, so as long as I'm consistent about my weighing habits I will see an accurate assessment of my progress in the long term, and be able to jump on it reasonably quickly if things start going in a bad direction.

I certainly understand that withdrawal, Mwrarr - I did something similar when I had a planned major abdominal surgery several years ago. I didn't want to deal with it AT ALL those last few days, and I certainly didn't want to talk about it (except when I did - I did have a nervous wreck conversation with my husband about it a couple of days before, where I was panicking and almost decided to call it off). Try and relax as much as you can. If you start to get really worked up, it might be worth checking into getting a little Valium or Xanax to help you be calm. You have thought this through, and you know it's what you need to do for yourself, but at this point it's so easy to second-guess yourself and as you said, play head games with yourself about worst case scenarios. Maybe it would help to turn it around and think of best case scenarios - in a matter of months, you'll be well on your way to the healthier you that you're seeking. You'll be more active, and it will be easier every day to get out there and go, go, go! Hang in there, we're all with you!

That's certainly a viable approach, and congratulations on your weight loss! I know a few people who have been able to lose that way and I completely envy them, and you! However, it seems that by and large most of the people I've talked to needed to track at first and focus on the basics until the habits are ingrained. Then they were able to incorporate the foods that aren't on the "recommended" lists back into their life in a sensible way. At any rate, it's one way to get back on track if you feel you're having problems losing. Once the habits are in place, then it's easier to let go of the micromanagement of what you're eating and just enjoy life.

Hi, Alisonsim, and welcome! 26 lbs. is a nice loss for the first month! I'm totally with you about wanting to see it happen now, now, NOW! but if you think about it, it might be pretty scary to lose it all overnight Somehow, I don't think that would bode well for minimizing saggy skin, at the least! With regard to eating at night, it really depends on your normal schedule. What time to you go to bed? What time do you get up in the morning? Your schedule should be based on your waking hours more than anything else. What I've been told is that I need to eat Breakfast within 2 hours of rising - eating breakfast is statistically good for weight loss, and it gets your metabolism rolling for the day (this is something I have to force myself to do some days, as I'm a notorious breakfast skipper). I also should ensure that I've finished eating no closer than 2 hours to bedtime (to minimize problems with reflux and allow your digestive system a better chance to do its work efficiently). If your schedule would allow it, I'd shift dinner a bit later. If that's not practical, I'd have a protein-rich snack - yogurt, cottage cheese, a low-carb Protein bar - around 8:30 or so to keep you going. Basically, if you split your calories so you're eating every 4-5 hours you're probably doing fine Good luck!

Per my post-surgery diet plan, I'll be on regular foods starting at 4 weeks, although the idea is to ramp up slowly, so I don't necessarily think that being on "real foods" is a problem. I do think that the choice of real foods might be an issue, though. As others have already said, the sleeve is a tool, not magic - we still have to work at having an appropriate diet and exercise. In fact, it's probably even harder since the volume of food is so much smaller. You need to make sure that you are getting your nutritional needs first before anything else. I know you've heard it all before, but go back to Protein first, then produce. Once you get to maintenance, then is the time to think about the occasional treat like ice cream or Pasta. For now, focus on taking maximum advantage of the so-called "honeymoon" period where your weight loss is at its best. I'd also recommend going back to tracking for now. You may find you don't need to do so stringently after a little while, when your good habits are set, but for now, especially if you're concerned about not losing, it's helpful to know exactly what's going in your mouth. When you can, weigh it or measure it. If you know you'll have to eat out once in a while, master the art of measuring by eye - my NUT made me measure things out for a month so I KNOW what 3 oz. of chicken looks like, or a 1/4 cup of peas, or a tablespoon of salad dressing. It's still better to measure when you can in the early stages of the game, but real life does make that difficult As Pookeyism asked, what are you drinking? Are you getting enough liquids? Avoiding alcohol and empty calorie beverages? Not getting enough Water can impact your weight loss, too. A 1 lb. fluctuation is minor, as well, and could simply be a factor of what you ate and drank in the last couple of hours, if you happen to be holding onto a bit more water than usual, or when you last visited the bathroom! When you do weigh yourself, try and do so at the same time of day, under the same conditions - I choose to do so after I get up and visit the toilet, but before I get dressed for the day, so I'm typically wearing similar sleepwear, haven't eaten or had significant amount of water yet, and I'm pretty much at my base weight for the day. I plan to continue that once I have my surgery, and I've vowed to myself to ignore the scale between weekly weigh-ins I know for a fact that my weight can fluctuate as much as 3-4 lbs depending on the time of the month, too, so I take that into account before I panic about a gain. Did you take measurements before you started your weight loss? You might check to see if you're still losing inches. As you've probably read, it's fairly common to have a weight loss stall but find that your body is just playing catch-up, and the inches are still coming off. Are you getting more exercise than you used to? Remember that you could be building muscle, which weighs more than fat. The big thing is to not panic or get discouraged, take a deep breath, and go back to basics: take care in what you eat and drink, get some exercise, and get plenty of sleep. If you do that, I'll bet the weight starts coming off again!

Hi, all - I'm aiming for a July surgery, as well - happy birthday to me Since my birthday is mid-month, I'm hoping to schedule it for the 24th or so, to allow me to get through my birthday before starting my one-week pre-op diet, but I will take whatever I can get. I've done my six months of medically supervised diet, which required me to meet with my NUT seven times. I've also had my psych evaluation. I still have an EGD and bloodwork to do, but our insurance coordinator said it would be best to schedule those closer to the surgery, so it will most likely be June when I finish those requirements and get submitted for insurance. Since I am a type-II diabetic and have mild sleep apnea, plus a BMI of over 40 I should be okay to get through the insurance approval process, we hope! I'm also 5' 4", and currently weigh in at 255 and dropping (SLOWLY!) so I guess I'm roughly in the same ballpark with you, Pamela and Stephanie. ~Trish

PDX, I agree with everything you've said, especially with regard to trying to gauge your weight loss against someone else's. That's just a recipe for disappointment, I know, speaking from personal experience in dieting with friends. The one exception is that while I would also say live in the now, I'd add that it's okay to dream. By that, I mean that I would pick a suit style that you like, daydream all you wish about being able to wear it (visualization can be very powerful as a motivation tool!), then set it as a reward for reaching a milestone in weight or inches lost. I would NOT attach any date to that goal. In fact, I have exactly that sort of goal in my long term thinking. There's a particular style of dress that I have wanted to wear but actually requires a waist to pull it off I estimated that I need to lose 75% of my goal weight in order to be able to wear said style, so I have promised myself a shopping trip to look for a dress in that style when I reach that point in my weight loss. In no way do I have a particular date or time-frame in mind for this, it is as simple as "I've lost over 80 lbs, it's time to go look for that dress." I have other milestones with rewards attached to them, as well - some of them are clothes related, some of them are activities I want to do, and some of them are places I want to go, all related in some regard to losing weight, like riding on a particular rollercoaster that I was too big for last time I was at the park. It may not work for everyone, but for me, it's helpful to keep me mostly on course even now. It doesn't matter if I lose the weight before or after surgery, after all!