livvsmum

ask your surgeon what he recommends. I think you will find the surgeons recommendations on alcohol as varied as they are on caffeine/coffee! I think I had my first social drink at maybe 12 weeks post op, but I tend to avoid alcohol altogether now because it really is just excess calories. If we are out with friends I will get a "token drink" and sip at it, but that's about it. I'm all about not throwing the calories and carbs away for drinks. :-)

You are not failing! You are realizing that your problems with food go deeper than liking how food tastes, and you're realizing that you weren't quite prepared for the emotional side of it. I definitely wasn't prepared for all of that either. I have been working with an eating disorder therapist for several months now and I would HIGHLY recommend it. I also would recommend the book "When Food Is Love". Pick this up as soon as you can! Physically, it wouldn't hurt to touch base with your surgeon, and it probably wouldn't hurt to do a "re-set" of sorts and maybe go back to the pre-op or right after surgery post-op liquid Proteins diet to clear everything out, give your sleeve a little chance to rest, and break your habits that you've slid back in to. Don't get discouraged! Acknowledging the struggle is the first step to overcoming it~!

Yep definitely. I look at my before picture and I don't really even recognize myself anymore. My kids say they don't remember me that way either. It's a really strange feeling. I never felt as big as I was either. Like you, I always tried to dress nice, find things I "thought" covered my stomach etc. But looking back I'm struck at how overweight I really was. And now, I don't feel that I'm as thin as the number on the scale says. I guess my mind is still trying to catch up.

I haven't sent it in for approval yet because Im' only 13 months post op and have to be 18 for insurance to cover it. But, I did use the same insurance for my sleeve surgery and the only thing I had to pay up front was the co-insurance, which for me was 10% or $1,000. It was due to the hospital by the morning of surgery.The hospital had me pay the $1,000 then after everything was said and done they reimbursed me $150 of that because the 10% ended up being less. Hope that helps!

Did you get pre-approval first or are you still trying to get it covered? I talked to the insurance company yesterday and they said I would need to get pre-authorization and their requirements are 18 months post-op from sleeve surgery, at least 3 months documented "other treatment failures" with the PCP, and photo documentation from the surgeon. If those requirements are met they will likely approve it.

No, definitely not. The first week was really about staying hydrated and just trying to get my Water in...that was challenge enough. I didn't worry too much about counting and tracking Protein, etc until after that.

On a technical level I wish I had taken my measurements. I took a progress picture every month, which was great, and I have my weight records of course, but my only regret is that I didn't also track my inches lost. That can help when the scale isn't moving! On an emotional level, I wish I had done some of the hard emotional work ahead of time dealing with emotional eating etc. Or at the very least I wish I would have read "When food is Love" which has been really important for me .... Good luck!!

I didn't have a full freak out where I bailed on the surgery, but I cried and cried the whole way down to the pre-op room where they give you the IV etc. I couldn't stop crying until finally they gave me whatever they give you to calm your nerves and the rest is history. Maybe you could ask your doctor for something for your nerves that you could take that morning like a xanax or something (I take those to help with flight anxiety and they work wonders).... just a thought!

For me I wanted to lose 50% of my starting weight, which would put me smack-dab in the middle of a "healthy weight range" for my height, age, and gender. That would have been 138, and since I'm kind of obsessive and don't like a number like that, I just kind of bumped it down to 135 to make it an increment of 5. :-)

I'm only 1 year post op, so I don't really qualify for this post :-) but I just wanted to say I could have written most of this post word for word! Good job doing the hard emotional work! I really am convinced that is a big part of what separates those who keep the weight off and those who don't.

I started just like you did with a treadmill a few times a week. I did the couch to 5k app on my phone, honestly because the treadmill seemed like the least intimidating thing at the gym. :-) From there I just kind of fell in love with running. So currently I am training for a half marathon, so my exercise is pretty much dictated by my training schedule. At the moment I run a base run 3 days/week, a long run on the weekend, cross training (cycling, a class at the gym, etc) 2 days and 1 day rest. After my 1/2 and before I start training again for the full I will probably decrease 1-2 days of running and add some more strength training. Hope that helps!

Very exciting! One program I looked at required a $350 fee for the educational materials and classes, and another program did not. I ended up going with the program that did not - for other reasons than the fee - and was happy with my choice. I think every doctor just does it differently.

So yesterday I reached my goal weight, losing 134 pounds in 10.5 months. I made a flipogram with all of my monthly progress pics to illustrate my journey to this point. It was pretty awesome to see and actually made both my husband and myself cry. It's been a LOT of work and I've grown tremendously in strength both inside and out on this journey. Ok, so I can't figure out how to embed it, so here is the link to the flipogram!

Thank you! My starting weight was 278.4 right before surgery on Sept. 5, 2013 and today my current weight is 137.

Wow! You are super flattering! lol... Thank you! I've definitely struggled along the way. It's not always easy, but I can say so far that the little sacrifices along the way have always been WAY worth it!

I agree with Roar by Katy Perry. Also Stuck in a Moment by U2 and Long Nights by Eddie Vedder

Thank you! You're sweet :-) This IS your time! Not drinking with meals is hard to get used to, but after a while it's just second nature. I was a HUGE iced tea drinker....like all the time, every meal and in between too. I haven't had anything except for water and coffee in over a year and to be honest, I really don't miss it. :-)

I can relate to what you are feeling, but at the same time I can say, 22 pounds in 1 month is AWESOME! I remember being very close to that same number at my 1 month post-op point and thinking pretty much the same thing. But then I kept losing a substantial amount every following month (which didn't happen on those other diets) and I began realizing that this journey is different than before..... So take encouragement from someone who was pretty much at the same as far as weight loss at one month out, who went on to reach goal at 10 months and I'm now down 140 pounds at 12 months post op. You're on the right track, I promise!

Yes, I think that the first month or 6 weeks even was pretty difficult emotionally for me. I didn't expect how hard that would be (not physically, but emotionally). In retrospect I can see that I was grieving the loss of food...my coping mechanism for so many years. There definitely is light at the end of the tunnel though! I've kept a blog of my journey from the very beginning. You're welcome to check it out (linked in my signature). Maybe skip to around Sept-Oct 2013 as that is when I had my surgery and was at your stage and then move forward. Good luck to you!

I agree that while my pre-op program definitely prepared me for the physical changes and the diet changes, it did not prepare me for the emotional changes. I didn't expect them and they caught me off guard. I thought "If I can lose x amount of weight, I will truly be happy and I will no longer battle my eating disorder." Nope. Didn't happen. I lost x amount of weight, but still battle my thoughts every day. But what did happen is I got an amazing tool to support me in my weight loss journey. So even if I do have one of those "bad days" (see today's blog post).... I am eating maybe 1/2 c. of the food instead of 4 c. of it. What also happened is that I've realized even though I've reached and passed my goal weight, what I thought would "cure" me did not, and now I've had the opportunity to dig deeper into my emotional eating issues and figure out what it is I'm allowing myself to NOT think about when I'm obsessing over the food. So, I guess my point is just some encouragement. I think we've all had those days, but the key is to be grateful that we have this tool, embrace the journey for what it is, and keep on doing the hard work! Good luck to you!

I haven't had any vomiting or dumping situations, but I did stick pretty religiously to the plan for the first several months after surgery. I have since then had a few things that were maybe too sugary or carb-laden and I get nauseous, but not to the point of throwing up.

Yes, I definitely remember that feeling and having a complete emotional meltdown about a week before surgery because of that. You are right it will completely change your relationship with food. I can tell you though that things will quickly return to a "new normal." You will heal, go back to work or school, and adapt to your new version of yourself and it will go more quickly than you can imagine. I'm now 13 months post op and amazed at how quickly the first year went. make the most of it because it really is your golden opportunity to maximize your weight loss. Good luck!

Thank you! And thank you for reading! Tell your daughter I said good luck on her journey!

Yes, definitely. I've been documenting things with my PCP for several months now and he thinks I have a good chance of having my stomach and arms covered. I think I would be on my own though for the thigh lift......

Oh yep.... I've got that too. Inner thighs kind of down to my knees. I'm thinking there has to be some kind of "lift" for that.