DelayedGratification

Mine is the 18th too!!!!

KCamp, you are not alone and I believe you are very wise in selecting who to tell. Everyone is going to have an opinion and you only need to hear positive supportive feedback while you're going through the toughest days in your journey. I don't intend to tell my parents or my husband's parents until I'm ready. Staying focused right now is very important to me and that's the main reason I too am practicing "Opinion Management" right now. I think we all know who we can trust and who will support us. Don't feel bad about being selective. I think it's very mature of you. Good luck on your journey. Sandy

Juldga, speak with your physician first. Chances are, he or your insurance company (if you're using insurance) is going to have some requirements for pre-surgery weight loss. I'm not sure "crash" dieting should be attempted but I would encourage anyone to start transitioning to eating healthy, eliminating sugar, white flour and start an exercise program as soon as possible. I would also caution you to consider your surgery date too, if it's not for another 3-4 months and you spend the next 3-4 months crash dieting, a two week pre-op liquid diet might be quite the challenge. Then again, your physician may allow you to forego the 2 week pre-op liquid diet if you're made significant progress on losing weight as s/he may believe your liver has reduced in size enough that you won't need the additional 2 weeks of liquids. I've been meeting with a registered dietitian since July and it's taken this long for me to incorporate enough lifestyle changes that I'm finally starting to lose weight very slowly. In all honesty, I've taken a very slow and steady approach to the lifestyle changes and didn't try and do everything at once. I started with eliminating diet cokes, then added eliminating sugar and white flour, then eliminating fried foods, added exercise, drinking water, replacing 2-3 meals a day with protein shakes and now I'm starting to only eat what's on the post-op diet and I don't have a surgery date as of yet (hoping for December). I also recently added vitamins to start building up my levels before surgery. So, all that to say, talk with your physician or his/her office staff first and they will coach you through what to achieve between now and your surgery date. I wish you the very best results both pre and post surgery. God bless, Sandy

I came across these words last night and thought I need to write this on several post-it notes and place one on my computer at work, one on the dash of my car, one on the refrigerator and one on my bathroom mirror so whenever I'm trying to justifying not exercising, I can focus more on the benefits and less on developing a convincing sounding justification for what is likely laziness rather than reason. "Exercise is a natural antidepressant and is good for your heart. It is a stress reducer, decreases anger and hostility, and gives you a sense of control over your life. It may be one of the greatest things you can do for yourself, but it takes work" by Cynthia L. Alexander, PsyD.

Hi, I live just north of Hattiesburg!

As you know, I'm a Transformations patient too. So far, I've genuinely enjoyed by experience with them. I had previously consulted with a local surgeon's office (all they do is lap-band) and they are not anywhere close to being a thorough and comprehensive as Transformations. I contacted Transformations because I did not want to commit to lap-band without knowing all my options and the pros and cons of each approach. After attending the first session at Transformations, I knew RNY would be best for me and my lifestyle. The thoroughness of the program alone gives me a much higher level of confidence in the team I'm permitting to enter and alter my insides. It may take longer but what's an extra few months if it's the difference between receiving the highest level of care or not. I'd really like to have surgery by the end of the year but I also understand that insurance approval, especially this late in the year, may take several attempts and/or challenges. At the end of the day, no matter what happens with insurance, I'm committed and will find a way of funding this surgery. I'm not willing to accept being morbidly obese the rest of my life, I have too much to live for and a family that I want to be around to enjoy as much as the Lord allows. I have an appointment next Thursday, October 31st to meet Dr. Adkins. I understand that after meeting the surgeon, Transformations will file the paperwork for insurance approval and once received, I will need to complete the all day education class and complete the tests across the street at River Oaks hospital (chest x-ray, EKG etc) before I'll have an actual surgery date.

First of all, by way of introduction, my name is Sandy and I'm from a small (very small) town in south central Mississippi. I've been "in the process" for several months now starting first with verifying my insurance would cover WLS followed shortly thereafter by reading Cigna's seemingly endless list of requirements for WLS and then going through the process of completing the requirements for approval. I've found a Center of Excellence in Bariatric Surgery in Jackson, Mississippi [Transformations at River Oaks Hospital] and have been working closely with them for the past month. I've visited several sites on-line and watched tons of YouTube videos and picked up some great information. I'm currently reading the book, "The Emotional First + Aid Kit, A Practical Guide to Life After Bariatric Surgery" by Cynthia L. Alexander, PsyD (really good read btw). I've ordered pre-op vitamins, post-op vitamins, purchased protein powder, protein shakes, sugar free popsicles and soup broth all in preparation for what lies ahead. I've started substituting protein shakes for meals to get my body used to the idea knowing the pre-op diet is a 2 wks liquid diet. I've started working out at a gym that has a program specifically for overweight/sedentary folks like myself. So all the pre-op activity is great but I find myself looking deep inside and asking, how will I know that I'm truly ready? Will I ever master the art of overcoming food temptations? If I haven't been successful in making good food choices before, what makes me think I'll make good food choices in the future? If I've always struggled with maintaining a regular exercise routine, what chance do I have of sticking with one now? How do I know I'm really ready, committed and prepared for this journey? So my question is simple....how did you know you were ready to make such a life-altering, irreversible decision? If you're already had WLS, what advice could you offer that has helped you stay committed in your post-op journey?

Thanks for the feedback DLCoggins and Music1618! Sometimes I tend to over analyze and perhaps this is another instance of just that. I think I'm also trying to achieve some level of pre-op behavior modification 'excellence' and need to recognize and accept that each step I take toward the transitions matters (like spending an entire day in a conference room yesterday with a platter of French pastries and not touching a single one!). I finished reading 'The First Aid Kit, A Practical Guide to Bariatric Surgery' last night and found some reassurance that perfection isn't a criteria for success, the truth is, we won't make the right choice every time but the key to long term success is not letting one or two miss-steps define your future and derail your dream. As I finished the last few chapters I realized this little book is absolutely full of wisdom that I will revisit time and time again and not just left on a shelf. So, another test today, same conference room and another platter of French pastries! Go me!!!

Congrats on your approval! That is awesome news!

I've tried the EAS AdvantEGDE Chocolate Fudge and it's okay. I really like Premier Protein Chocolate best, 30g protein, 160 calories but they do have 1g sugar. I am pre-op and, based on what I've been reading, taste preferences change post-op so probably not much help:(

Hi, I am hoping to have surgery before then end of the year. Have completed 3 months of medical weight management and psych eval, chosen a surgeon, completed blood work, verified insurance but now waiting on insurance approval. I still have to attend per-op education and trying to learn as much as I can, especially about the realities of post-op transition.