alwaysvegas

I know it seems like alot of hoops to jump through (and it IS), but it will all be worth it! Congrats!

Such a wonderful life-change @@Eli Alexander! Congratulations on your sleeve! Keep us posted!

OK, let's stop fighting and have a drink. First round is on me.

Sometimes you just can't catch a break. Like you said, dad meant well. So what do you plan to say? Are you going to come clean to those who ask?

I'm sorry to hear that. That really is counter-productive for your insurance company to operate that way. But I'm glad you're aware of what your insurance requires. Best of luck to you!

OK nobody throw tomatoes at me, but even intense house cleaning can be great exercise! Vacuuming, scrubbing the floor, dusting, etc. Moving furniture aside to clean those spots not often cleaned. RAWR! Not the funnest of tasks, but once the weight started coming off I was so full of energy and loved being able to move without something hurting that housework almost seemed fun again...well, almost.

Hi @@peggysue828 and welcome! Congratulations on your surgery date! I was so excited once I got my date I was bouncing off the walls. Or maybe that was just my belly bouncing. Support groups (such as all the wonderful people here) are a fantastic way to stay informed and motivated! Just remember that we all want to help, but follow your surgeon's and nutrionist's advice before anyone else's. You will see that our surgeon's/nutrionist's approach/opinions vary widely. Best of luck on your surgery and keep us posted!

Welcome and warmest congratulations on all you've accomplished! Stalls are most often normal and part of the weight loss. Unless you've changed your diet/exercise routine significantly, then your weight loss will likely start again. I've had two stalls that lasted almost a month each, but the weight loss started up again. I've read that a stall over a month and you should look closely at your caloric intake, carb intake, grazing, exercise routine, and so on...to see if any of those items could be triggering the stall. Of course, we're all different and can stall at different times and for different lengths. Continued success to you and don't get discouraged!

My nutritionist prefers that we keep our sugars under 5g per serving and I'm sort of a carb junkie, so I tend to go lower carb as much as possible. To that end, I've tried the following, which are more milk-like than almond milk or soy milk: Carbmaster. I think this is only available at Kroger. http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-kroger-carbmaster-reduced-sugar-nonfat-i321721 Lucerne. I found this at Tom Thumb/Randalls. http://www.fooducate.com/app#page=product&id=98B390AC-CAF4-11E2-A48E-1E047F2017A1 I think these are billed more as "beverages" rather than milk, which is always scary. That's like "cheese product"...ick! These do seem to taste okay, but appear watery like fat free milk. I use Carbmaster or Lucerne to make pudding and sometimes in my coffee. I've never drank either straight up. They are great for the low sugar/calories and higher Protein.

I had my first consultation in March and was sleeved the end of July. My insurance required a 3-month supervised nutrition program. I recommend taking the time required for your supervised diet to begin making your lifestyle changes such as lowering calorie intake, walking and exercising more, stop drinking carbonated beverages, quit caffeine, and so on. Making many lifestyle changes of several months will be much easier than making them all right before surgery. Also, insurance companies go by your initial BMI, so even if you lose significant weight before surgery, they will not turn around and deny you. In fact, many insurance companies will deny you if you gain even a pound from your first consultation.

Hi and welcome @@2/2015RN! I began working out before surgery and my surgeon allowed me to return to cardio 2 weeks after surgery and weight training after one month. I took it slow at first due to my limited caloric intake and to reduce injury risk, but it all went well! Sagging skin will be different for everyone, but my surgeon emphasized that weightlifting is key to reducing skin sag. It may also take time for you skin to snap back...as much as a year. I'm nearing my goal weight and I have a bit of 'crepe skin' as my friend calls it. I've been taking several baths a week using bath oils (jojoba, coconut, olive, etc.) to help keep my skin soft. I don't know if it helps with the sagging skin, but my skin sure is smooth! Overall, I'd rather have a bit of saggy skin than be lying six feet under! Best of luck on your surgery!

Puree doesn't really mean it needs to be creamed up like baby food. It really means the food is diced up so that you aren't swallowing large pieces. Think of the consistency of canned tuna. I just finely diced all the meat and added a liquid such as broth, gravy, or sauce. Some people just chew very well and don't puree at all. I chose to puree/dice because I'm a fast eater.

Friday morning just after I get up. Never more than once per week. If I'm in a stall, I weigh ever two weeks.

My taste didn't change too much, although I don't need foods to be as sweet or fatty anymore. I do now love cottage cheese and tofu (sometimes together) and I thought both were gag-worthy before surgery. Although I don't think liking these items is due to a taste change, I think I just learned how to dress these items up and now I love 'em. All food tastes fantastic and I enjoy it just as I did pre-op, but I love being satisfied with a healthy quantity...currently about 4-4.5 oz per meal.

I agree @@JALUVIC and felt the same way before surgery. But don't forget that our fat stores ARE energy stores that the body burns to make up for the calorie deficit. I was about 500 calories a day the two weeks following surgery. Now I'm up to about 1,000 calories per day, feel completely satisfied. My surgeon/nutritionist are monitoring my vitamins/minerals via blood tests, so they will let me know if anything is off. So far, all blood tests are normal! Hopefully everyone else has their Vitamins checked also.

Non-scale Victory! Yay! @@gettinghealthymom1 That's definitely a great NSV!

Did your surgeon or surgeon provide a list of recommended foods? I only ask because different surgeons have different phase requirements. "Full liquid" to me means protein shakes, sugar free popsicles, and so on.

Brisk walking with the dog. At the gym, I love the elliptical!

I bought the cheapest possible clothes I could find and I have been donating them on the way down. If you're losing slowly it may not be as much of an issue. But I'm not spending $50-60 on jeans that will fall off me in a month or two. I honestly didn't start buying fitted until I'd approached closer to my goal weight. The body adjusts so much after the weight loss that it's hard to tell exactly how things will fit even a month after you've bought it. I also felt like if I bought something fitted and something stuck out, popped out, or fell out...I'd feel a bit defeated despite all the great success. That's just my personality though. However...just after surgery I *did* buy a few "dream shirts and pants" that were (what I considered) waaaay small and it'd be heaven if I fit into them. I'm wearing them today! Best of luck on your journey!

If you do eat out often, you may need to find someone to split it with (which is great) or expect leftovers. My grocery bill is a fraction of what it used to be. So many benefits outside of health.

I'm over 5 months out and I eat 4-5 oz per meal (3 oz Protein + 1 oz veggies) per meal and I generally eat 4-5 meals per day. I feel perfectly full for several hours after eating 4 oz. I randomly track my calories to get an idea of what I'm consuming and it's around 1,000 per day.

I hated the pre-op diet also, but it had so many wonderful benefits in addition to shrinking the liver: I lost 25lbs between two week pre-op and two week post-op It completely reset my palate. I actually don't need foods to be very salty, sweet, or fatty for me to enjoy them. I appreciated the transition to purees. Those foods were so good and filling. I learned that I needed much less food than I thought to live a healthy life. I realized that I could control my food and not have it control me. Some days I didn't feel like this at all...but in the end...yeah, the pre-op helped tremendously. The hunger pre-op and post-op was night and day. I remember being really hungry the day of surgery, but couldn't care less about food for weeks after. Your mileage may vary of course, but hang in there! This is just a blip on the radar of your life and sticking the plan will help you in the long run as you've already stated! Best of luck on your journey!

As always,@@BLERDgirl has fantastic advice! Also, you could simply be on a plateau/stall that is not the result of you doing anything wrong. I've had two stalls almost a month long each. My weight either stayed the same or went up and down a few pounds, but I still weighed myself only once per week and kept eating/exercising as I had all along. The weight loss just naturally started again. Yes, it's discouraging, but you weight loss will start again. Sometimes breaking a stall is like the flu shot...you don't know if something you did started/stopped the stall much like you don't know if the flu shot prevented the flu or you wouldn't have ended up with it anyway. Best of luck on your journey!

Warmest congratulations and welcome to the losers' bench! It's amazing how different we feel after this surgery. As @@JamieLogical said said so well...you will feel normal again and likely sooner than you think! I remember fearing every sip and gulp at first and wondering if I was doing it wrong...drinking too fast, not enough, too often. But if you keep up with your surgeon's directives, you'll do just fine! Best of luck on your journey!

I had to pay whatever was left from my max out-of-pocket for the year, which came to around $1,000 in out-of-pocket. Insurance covered surgery, nutritionist, pysch eval, Protein drinks, and Vitamins. I'm not an insurance expert, but I think you should expect that whatever your max out-of-pocket is left on your insurance the year of your surgery, you'll end up paying. Having this surgery will save me so much in food and medical costs down the road that I was prepared to pay for the surgery myself if necessary.