JamieLogical

Where are you with protein and water? Are you meeting your daily goals? Trail mix doesn't seem like the greatest option for a snack, but if you are having it right before a work out, then it might be okay, as it is good to get in a few carbs to fuel a workout. It's natural to experience some stalls and weight loss does slow down a lot as you get closer to goal. At seven months out I was only losing about 6 pounds a month and then it slowed down to more like 2-4 pounds a month.

There's no rule that says you need to be at goal by 1 year out. Your sleeve is forever!

The purpose of the pre-op liquid diet is to shrink your liver, not lose weight.

What are your specific requirements in terms of being able to swallow pills versus chewables versus gummies? I was allowed to swallow whole pills 7 days post-op, so I never had to deal with chewables or gummies. I take Vitaleph bariatric multivitamins, my store brand version of Citrical Maximum +D3, and MyKind spray B12.

You'll have to contact your insurance company to ask if your policy covers weight loss surgery and, if so, what the requirements are. I did not meet my insurance company's requirements and ended up having to pay out-of-pocket for mine. But every insurance company and policy is different.

My weight when I started looking into surgery was 260 pounds. I lost 24 pounds pre-op, so I was 236 day of surgery. I am now 160 and have been maintaining for over 5 months. I'm 5'6".

I guess it depends on what you mean by "feeling full". I no longer go from feeling fine to "OMG, I'm going to explode!" in one bite like I did for the first 4 months or so. But I do still get "full" feeling to where I don't want to eat anymore pretty quickly. It's just not so painfully uncomfortable now. Like, I just had my morning protein bar. It's 2.22 ounces. And I definitely feel too full to even want to take a sip of water right at this moment. I'm 17 months post-op.

24 pounds in 6 weeks and you are disappointed? You've lost more than I had at 2 months post-op. If there is anything you are doing "wrong" it might be just not eating quite enough? I was told to try to get 100 grams of protein in as quickly as possible (though I don't think I was there yet at 6 weeks). And I was told to get my calories up over 800 a day before starting any intense exercise.

I'm starting to worry this post is going to be taken down, which is unfortunate, because there is some interesting info and commentary here. I hope that if the post is closed, the OP will still post back about her progress and what the surgeon says.

Hey Jamie, Wondering since you lost weight at a steady & slowish pace if you avoided any hair loss? Thanks, J I only had a little hair loss at about 3.5 months out to about 5 months out and it began regrowing immediately. The hair loss itself wasn't visibly noticeable, but all the little baby hairs sticking up all over the place as they grew in was a little funny looking.

I'm glad eating more seems to be working. You have to fuel that machine! That's the way you really need to think of it. Not eating for pleasure or because you are hungry, but just fueling your body.

It sounds like everything is going right. Does the number on the scale matter as much as feeling great, eating right, and being active? You are living a whole new life and that is what is going to matter long term.

I think you should be fine by 5 months out. You should work hard to meet your protein goals with real food instead of supplements ASAP, because I am not sure how much access you'll have to supplements like protein bars and shakes in those places. You will also need to be sure to bring all your vitamins with you.

I usually stay away from workout DVDS because of my knees. But it sounds like this is one I might be able to do. Thanks and congrats!

@@lopeg748 I hope you read my post above. I started at a higher weight than you and only lost 14.8 pounds my first month. I still got to goal and I'm now maintaining. You aren't doing anything wrong. Some people just lose slower than others. Doesn't mean you won't still get where you're going.

I have Blue Cross Blue Shield, but every employer plan is different, even within BCBS.

You will! Just stick with it!

Oh yeah. I was allowed eggs and refried Beans partway through my pureed stage, so those might be some extra options.

I wasn't eligible for WLS through my insurance because they require a medical history showing a BMI of 40+ or 35+ with comorbidities for five years. I had lost 90 pounds "on my own" a few years back and my BMI have just crept back up over 40 when I started researching surgery. I felt like I was being punished for at least TRYING to lose the weight and keep it off myself. I ended up being self-pay and going to Mexico for VSG. The alternative was to stay fat and wait nearly 5 more years to be eligible.

The losses definitely slow down in later months. How many calories you need to eat is somewhat dependent on how much exercise you are getting. I'd guess that at 7 months I was up around 1500-1700 calories a day, but I was running regularly. The real question is, are you getting in all your water and protein, that number is MUCH more important than calories.

I had to push up over 800 calories a day to even do moderate workouts and then get up over 1200 calories a day when I started running regularly. Now I am in maintenance and training for a half marathon and working to try to get over 2000 calories a day. Have to get creative!

You have me curious as to why you wouldn't recommend it.

You can bring packets of Protein powder and a collapsible funnel with you. Then just buy bottled Water or milk once you are through security and mix the Protein Powder into the bottle. A lot of airports also have thing like yogurt or cheese sticks for sale at various stands. Are you allowed cheese sticks in your pureed stage? I was. If you don't know, maybe you can ask your nutritionist ahead of time. For eating out, you are going to be pretty limited to just Soups. Be careful to not eat any of the more solid chunky bits. Definitely do NOT eat the celery if there's celery in there. It's way too fibrous, even cooked.

Cottage cheese is good protein. Surprised you don't have issues with it being too salty, since there's a lot of sodium in there as well. Have you tried fresh cut deli meats? They are usually much lower in preservatives than the pre-packaged stuff. How about sausage and pepperoni and such? Old Wisconsin makes "turkey sticks" that are like beef sticks, but turkey instead. I find those to be a good snack. I also eat a fair amount of turkey pepperoni with slices of cheese.

I cried a LOT in those early days. First of all, it's just physically pretty miserable. Second of all, hormones are stored in fat and as that fat breaks down, they get released back into your bloodstream. So you will definitely experience mood swings and intense emotions from the hormones.