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Idaho Marketplace plans will cover nutritional counseling only, not any sort of bariatric surgery. Actually only 23 states cover surgery.

Liquids for 18 days, then pureed and my first soft solids around 5 weeks postop.

Just a guess, but I imagine her hangover could easily rival how horrible you felt. Actually, no.... 3 Jack Daniels, 1 Dewar's, 2 twisted teas and several shots of Apple Crown later, I was just starting to feel better after my flight delay from hell. And not an inkling of a hangover the next day. Not only am I really good at eating, I'm really good at drinking, too.

I went from a 22W to a 5/6. This was not a goal, it just is was it is. But sizes have changed a lot in the past several decades. I was 3 inches shorter, 20 pounds lighter and wore a size 10 when I was in 8th grade. I was smaller then but wore a "larger" size. It's called vanity sizing.

It only took 25 hours but yes, I made it yeah! And lots of alcohol waiting when I got here has helped to dull the irritation of yesterday.

They let us off for 30min, re-boarded us and gave us sandwiches and salads. I had a Greek salad and ended up eating the whole thing.....over 4 hours. The good news is they are now handing out all the little bottles of liquor we want for free. I've drank all the Jack Daniels they had and moved on to Dewar's. With any luck at least I'll be hungover on the beach tomorrow.

I have to be thousands of miles away and turn my phone off or clients literally expect me to show up. Leaving the message "We are not available" means nothing to them.

I have now been sitting on this plane in the same spot for 8 hours. The last 3 hours just waiting for fuel. My ankles are swollen bigger than my head and I'm pretty sure I'm now engaged to the cute guy and his girlfriend sitting next to me. The flight attendant promised us free drinks if we EVER take off. DELTA AND JFK GROUND CREW SUCK.

I have no doubt the collective knowledge from first hand experience of forum members far exceeds any single doctor or nutritionist. It may be conflicting at times but it is actual, real life knowledge, not just "book learnin"

Well when you LIVE in a rural region there is almost no place you can fly to without taking 3 flights. And at this point I'd love to be arrested. At least they serve food in jail.

I'm only 5 hours from Boise. Next time I'm coming to your house. I just wanted to be warm......

Way to take one for the team @@JamieLogical ! I wanna be next . I'm actually at the airport headed to my first vacation in 7 years so now is a perfect time for me to shoot for 3000 calories! Unfortunately my version will not be much help since they will mostly be in liquid form.

It just does. I gained 3 pounds at 6 weeks out and it took me a month to lose it. Just stuck with the plan and subsequently lost 100 pounds. Recently I put myself on a voluntary "preop diet" of 3 Protein shakes/day and leafy green veggies in order to drop a few pounds before going on vacation. 70g protein, 120oz fluids, almost no carbs and Probably 1/2 the calories I normally get. And I gained 2 pounds the first day. Your body just does crazy shit. All you can do is keep on plan and stay off the scale.

I was self pay in Mexico and even my surgeon accepted a cashiers check or PayPal. He even accepted my credit card for my postop meds.

Ditto to the above. I have tried and suggested the cottage cheese test, and it seems to be a medium-high estimate of your true capacity. I've experimented with different things and discovered the following capacities for my sleeve... Hamburger or chicken breast - 3oz Cottage cheese - 6 1/2 oz. Thick Soup or Greek yogurt - 8 oz. This is what I can eat very quickly (within 2-3 minutes) before I feel full, but not overly stuffed. I'm very pleased with my sleeve capacity considering I am just over 2 years out.

The Smart Recovery program incorporates a lot of CBT techniques.

@@CowgirlJane thanks for your post. Your stories of overcoming are inspirational.

I've never been to a restaurant that didn't have something I can eat. Most anyplace can grill you up a burger or chicken breast. I've even found stuff at bars, football games and concerts. I wouldn't worry too much about it....just have fun. I went on a business trip to Vegas once with a colleague that was too cheap to pay for a meal in a restaurant. She took those foil packages of premade tuna salad with her everywhere. They were handy, fit in her purse and easy to eat. I just sat at the far end of the table and pretended I didn't know her.

Check out www.smartrecovery.org . It is an alternative option to the traditional 12 step addiction program alike AA and OA. It approaches your addiction as a behavior that you have the power to change rather than treating you like the victim of a disease. It provide excercises to help you overcome your addiction (including food) and helps you discover new coping mechanisms. They offer face to face meetings, online meetings, an online forum and a self help handbook. I've only just started, but for $8 for the handbook, it has already been worth it. Don't let your fears and anxiety ruin all you've accomplished.....Take control of your future. (No, I am not a paid spokesperson ) A good friend of mine that is a therapist verified that it is a legitimate and effective program if, like anything else, the participants follow through with it.

I don't get a lunch break so a Quest bar is my late morning snack/lunch 5 days/week. I also pack them in my saddle bag and I eat them on the trail. Or when I'm traveling. Or when I'm craving a candy bar. I've pretty much eaten 5-7 of them a week for the last 2 years. Lost over 100% of my excess weight and have maintained for 17 months. So no, Quest bars have not deterred my weight loss or caused any gains.

This is exactly why the lifetime commitment to changinging behaviors is so important for success. Patients need to be better informed about the long term realities of any WLS. Our lifestyle changes and eating habits are far more important than the physical changes of the surgery. Without the mental commitment the surgery itself is pointless. No one regains by staying on plan, excercising and making healthy food choices. I know if I regain any weight it is entirely my fault and a result of my behavior, not a "failed" sleeve. The OP is living proof of how this works. Once "back on track" again, she is losing weight, stretched sleeve and all. Congrats, BTW! Having WLS and grazing, overeating, or basically just consuming too many calories, is like a heart bypass patient continuing to eat poorly, smoke cigarettes and not excercise. Or a liver transplant recipient becoming an alcoholic. Their surgeries saved their lives but they are back killing themselves with their behaviors.

That's the meanest thing you've ever posted on here......

I order whatever looks good and what Im in the mood for at the time. Sometimes it's an appetizer and I share. Sometimes it's an entree and I take home leftovers that last 3-4 more meals. And sometimes I split an entree with someone and I just let them order whatever they want. If it's not particularly "bariatric friendly" I just pick through and eat the Protein and veggies.....set the bun aside, peel or scrape off the breading, etc. Restaurants have never been an issue for me postop. Fortunately I don't measure or track or have any food intolerances and I love leftovers so portions and ingredients don't make or break what I order. I've never found it necessary to place a special, custom order and have never skipped an opportunity to go out to eat.

Like Inner Surfer Girl I don't have defined "meals". I just eat every 2-3 hours. During the first 6 months I was never hungry, I just made myself get in all my protein and fluids whether it was "mealtime" or not.

You can fluctuate in whatever range you feel comfortable. The numbers are quite arbitrary. I hit a low of 137 (for like one day ) but my body comfortably fluctuates between 138 and 142. Sure, I could go lower, but that would be a pain to maintain. And yes, I pop over the 142 occasionally so that's when I buckle down and get back to basics. For me, that range has been easy to maintain, and easy is a good thing. Besides the randomness of those numbers, 142 is about where my jeans start feeling snug. If I let myself creep up to 145 or more I would have to buy new pants, so I guess that's kind of the deciding factor.