bandmomtb

Those of you successfully losing, can you give me specifics of what your waking hours are in terms of food/drink/exercise? And if you give me feedback, tell me why I shouldn't believe that my NUTs tell me. LOL I have been a slow loser in this process. I am currently 204, been here about 3+ weeks. I was 296 Dec 5, and 256 on my surgery date March 11. Basically 90 pounds in less than 10 months which is awesome, but the scale just moves so slow for doing everything right. Its beginning to really upset me. I have gone from a 24 to a comfortable 18, 3x to XL/L which is awesome. My NUT at my surgeons office says don't count calories, count protein of which I am getting over 80 grams a day via chicken, greek yogurt, cottage cheese and a GNC protein powder in my water 30 mins before working out. I round that out with various fruits and veggies - lots of variety here and no starches. I get 64+ ounces of water daily. And working out - I walk 2.5-3 miles at lunch in about 45min to an hour. And I do weights every other day via machines in a gym in the evening. Sometimes, I do additional treadmill or elliptical cardio in the evening for 45 minutes to an hour. I don't track my food because its so similar everyday and when I was doing MFP I was getting about 800-900 calories a day. I am becoming OCD about what I eat. I won't dare cheat and saboage this but its becoming emotionally exhausting because I am blaming myself that I must be doing something wrong and I know stress is horrible for weight loss. I am doing exactly what I was told to do and its not working. It's $74 for 30 minutes to go back to the NUT. I can't afford that right now :-)

I am looking for other options similar to Syntrax nectar. I like these because they are lightweight, like drinking a juice or lemonade, perfect over ice for summer. I never was a soda or juice drinker pre-surgery, but the flavors help me get the Water in, with the added bonus of 23g of Protein in a serving! But it annoys me that you either pay for single use packets or a huge 30 serving "bucket" for $30some dollars. No in between options so you can have different flavors. I bought the bucket of lemonade and halfway through I was tired of it. And even with the Blender Bottle, it always has clumps when you shake and mix it, so for me its a hassle to clean at work, can't just rinse and go. Anyone have any suggestions?

I also have found success in using the squatty potty... I bought mine on Amazon :-)

It's been a week of waiting...watching my phone like crazy hoping for the call :-)

I also have Anthem BCBS. My paperwork was submitted yesterday. The surgeons office manager says not to worry, but I do!!!

I am also hopeful that I will be February. I have an endoscopy in 2 weeks and then should be able to schedule...

I find this kind of funny in this C-section pain... I say my weight problem is still baby weight...*LOL* I have a 19 year old and a 16 year old, and never had a weight problem till I went through pregnancy. Both of my daughters were c-sections, the 2nd one being 100% easier than the first one. So as I go into having the sleeve (hopefully in February) I am constantly telling my teens that this is my 3rd c-section... removing the big brat called my stomach thats been incubating and telling me the wrong thing hunger thoughts for all these years.

ElyQuint - can you give some more insight and advice on this?

I am a 42F in the pre-op process, been in the 230-290 range for the past 15 years. Just need an endoscopy mid-Jan to be scheduled. Likely will be having surgery in February. I have seen other threads where people say this isn't the magic bullet or the secret answer to weight loss. So why do it? I am not questioning my own decision as I am moving forward, but my worry brain keeps me awake at night saying "You've been unable to lose weight before, Are you really going to succeed this time?" Thats why I am limiting who I tell because I am afraid I will somehow fail. Yet with 75%-85% of my stomach dissapearing, how can I fail? My body is going to be helping me this time, right? For those of you that have done this, what made this different than everything you tried and failed in the past?

Thanks so much for this thread! I am still pre-surg(hoping for February) but it is so helpful to read others experiences.

Yes, I also found the psych to be no big deal. I had been through some therapy in the past and take anti-depressents, but the provider I saw just asked me a lot of yes/no questions. I found the nutritionist appoint to be more intense than the psych because she pointed out things I do wrong... felt more personal and invasive, and was an hour longer than the 30 minute psych. *LOL*

My doctor lists the Slim Fast High Protein shakes as one of the options, but I don't have high opinions of them because they are in the Weight Loss business and not the nutrition business. (My own personal opinion of course). I chose to use another one on the list : Premier Protein that I get a BJs Warehouse. The cost was less than Ensure and each 11oz carton is 30g of protein, 1g of Sugar and 160 calories. I am still presurgery but following the pre-op diet at about 75% in order to lose the 14 pounds my doctor wanted.

Thanks so much! I have to lose 14 pounds before my surgery and it's so hard staying on track. Its leaving me feeling a little worried.

Thanks. I definitely need to reaffirm these thoughts into this process. I appreciate all you are sharing :-)

I am in Lafayette Hill and in the pre-op process with Dr. Noonan at Abington. Hoping for VSG surgery in Feb.

Yes, just because you have United does not mean the will or won't cover. It totally depends on the policy you have, of which United has 1,000's of different ones for different groups and employers. My husbands company had United and the plan specifically excluded any bariatric surgery, but my girlfriends work did cover it with a $3,000 co-pay. Your best bet is to get a copy of your plan benefit documents as well as the exclusion list from HR. That will outline everything. The people on the phone deal with 1,000's of plans.

I also have to lose 14 pounds so I started the Pre-op diet that was given to me for the two weeks before surgery... I did a week great, then came all the holiday parties and such, so I started back up again yesterday. I am scheduled for an endoscopy mid-Jan which is my surgeons pre-requisite for scheduling so I am hoping I can be down 10 pounds by then from where I was when I was in the office earlier this month.