MrsSugarbabe

Where are you in NC? I'm in Charlotte and scheduled for surgery on 12/8.

I'm scheduled for December 8th . My preop liquid diet begins the Monday before Thanksgiving--guess I'll be having my unjury chicken Soup that day which isn't a problem since hubby and I rarely have a traditional Thanksgiving meal. My remaining pre-op appts. are all scheduled the last couple of weeks of November. Thought I was done with all the appts. until I got the call last week that I'd been approved. It's all starting to seem more real now that I have a date.

My surgery isn't until 12/8. When brewing coffee at home, I brew a 50/50 blend of regular & decaf. I drink one mug of this blend while getting ready for work. When at work and mixing a shake of half vanilla/half chocolate unjury Protein powder with skim milk, I will add about 4 oz. of coffee, sometimes regular, to my shake to make it a cafe' mocha flavor. These beverages, and the occasional glass of iced tea (a blend of black, green, & decaf), are the only times I drink anything with caffeine.

In preparation for having the sleeve surgery, I have completed everything except my appt. with the surgical dietitian and that appt. is next week. At this point, I do not know if I will be required to have a second appt. with her. Once she clears me, then paperwork will be sent to insurance for pre-approval. It is conceivable that I could have a surgery date as early as Sept./Oct. My question for this group is about when would be the best time to take a cruise. My husband and I are considering taking a 14 day cruise later this year (Dec.) or early next year (Jan., Feb., Mar.). For the special rates being offered, reservations have to be made by Aug. 30th. Since I don't know what to expect following surgery, and knowing that cruising isn't all about just the food, I'm wondering if it would be better to cruise first and have surgery afterwards. From a time off perspective I would have to work a few weeks between the two before/or after having the surgery. If I had the surgery in Sept./Oct., do you think I'd feel well enough that I could truly enjoy the cruise, and the food, but just in considerably smaller portions? Has anyone been down this road, or a similar one? Thanks for any and all suggestions and wisdom!

UPDATE: So, my health benefits will be changing in 2015 significantly enough that I moved my surgery date to December 8th, which is when hubby and I were supposed to be on our cruise. Early last week we had already started talking about possibly canceling our cruise plans due to health concerns and travel so when I learn of one particular change to our benefits, I decided I'd use that time off for the surgery instead. I am hoping there will be a cancellation on 12/1 or 11/24 so that I can be back to work prior to the Christmas holiday so as to not mess up any plans my co-workers/peers may have. I was planning to be off for 3 weeks. I would like to ask any prayer warriors out there to pray that I can get the surgery done sooner rather than later (11/24 or 12/1). My surgeon only does surgeries on Mondays and limits his cases to 3. I told his scheduling nurse that I would be checking with her periodically for any cancellations. Thanks y'all!!!

Malabsorption of vitamins and such and the fact that with the sleeve, the digestion process isn't changed drastically were all big factors for me.

As I have wrapped up all the pre-surgery appointments and am awaiting insurance approval, I've been wondering how spouses/SOs have done during your journey. Has he/she lost weight along with you because of your lifestyle changes? Or have they gained weight for some reason? My husband is very supportive of my decision so I'm hoping he, too, will benefit from my journey.

Dragonfly1111: Thanks for the warning re: Isopure (you and several others). When you tried the unjury strawberry sorbet did you mix it with lemonade or something else? It's not my top favorite, but I do like it in lemonade and drink it occasionally. For lunch at work, I frequently drink the chicken Soup (watch the Water temp!) and for Breakfast I will mix one serving each of the vanilla and chocolate splendor with skim milk and add a little room temp brewed coffee for a mocha shake - this is my favorite so far. I've also mixed in a banana with the vanilla PP and skim milk which is delicious. I wish you luck in finding a beverage that works for you Wouldn't it be great if there was one place we could go to try samples of all these things before we bought it?

Thanks for the info, Bufflehead. I'll certainly check out your recommendations. Congratulations on your weight loss to date!!! What you're doing obviously is working quite well for you. Clear liquids will be a must for me following surgery, for a short time. The NUT suggested finding some RTDs now to try, but not to load up on just one thing since my taste preferences could change. She didn't say I had to stay with the isolate, that's my preference at this point. Some of the mixes I've tried and like are the concentrate, but they don't have as much Protein in them as the unjury. Seems that the concentrate mixes have more carbs per serving and I am trying to keep that a low as possible. I wanted to start experimenting now since I have some time to go before surgery. Thanks for sharing!

Ya'll have had a couple of major lifestyle changes in the past few years. It's wonderful you are both being supportive of the other and successful together!

Bandista, my hubby expressed a similar concern about what might happen after I lost a lot of weight, and I assured him I with him till death do us part (his first wife lost weight and left when other men tempted her). We've been married 10 1/2 yrs. (my 1st and only; his second). We're two peas in a pod. That's a great idea about the party arrangement! Love the "delicate eater" description. I'll have to borrow that phrase in the future. Thank you for sharing!

What wonderful success you and your wife have had, Bob2013!!! Congratulations to you both!! Thanks for sharing the photos Very encouraging!

I'm happy to hear that your husband finally came around to support you on your WLS decision The responses to my question have been so much more encouraging than what I think I was expecting initially for which I'm thankful. Keep up all the great work you've been doing!! You and your hubby on are your way to enjoying all those things you enjoy doing together!!

That's great, macman!! Great weight loss! I hope you and your wife continue to do well with your lifestyle changes. I'm hoping my hubby will benefit from my journey and be able to lose some weight.

It's great you've adapted to his healthy lifestyle post-surgery. Keep up the great work!!!

Good luck with surgery on Monday!! It's wonderful that your husband is traveling this road with you

ready2B -- It's great your family is supporting you in their individual ways. Sounds like everyone is preparing for your success as well as their own following your surgery.

That's great that your hubby has lost so much weight!! Sounds like you two are a great team!

It's great hearing others' comments about the different kinds of Protein drinks available. I've been drinking the unjury since about May 1st and love it. The surgical dietitian I met with last week suggested I try some other brands because taste preferences may/can change following surgery. Since I don't plan to have the surgery until February 2015 there's plenty of time to try other options. Today is the first time I've heard anyone say they don't like the Isopure (glad I haven't bought any yet). Has anyone tried the Premier Protein from Sam's yet? Thoughts? I've heard it's good. What I'm discovering is that most of the protein beverages that are truly good tasting are a whey protein CONCENTRATE rather than whey protein ISOLATE (like the Unjury). I've been having better weight loss results with the ISOLATE/Unjury than anything I've tried before. I, too, would appreciate some suggestions for protein beverages (ready to drink or powder) that are good tasting and high protein content. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing! Because my hubby is diabetic, we already weigh and measure everything for dinner so I'm hoping he'll trade Breakfast or lunch in for a Protein shake. I'm not pushing him to do what I'm doing, but I do know he'd be a bit happier if he could lose some weight.

I'm sorry to hear that you have not fared well since surgery. Hopefully, things will begin to turn around for you soon. I've been drinking unjury Protein shakes 2x/day since the beginning of May and have let him taste various ones to see if he'd like it and maybe jump on the band wagon. Just today he emailed me to say he'd tried the vanilla with some extra flavoring and liked it. Time will tell. We love each other regardless of what our weights are. He's been totally supportive!

Uh oh. My hubby plans and prepares a lot of our suppers (some weeks)...he's retired, I'm still working full-time.

Mine doesn't require a weight loss pre-surgery, but it is encouraged because it will help with surgery by ridding your body of some of the internal fat they have to get through. And, of course, the commitment factor. My appt. with surgical dietitian yesterday was very helpful and she was encouraged by what I'm already doing to help myself be successful post surgery. Changing habits now will go a long way to help you adjust post surgery (at least that's what I'm reading and hearing).

Thank you for posting your feelings, Ash51. I've had a lot of the same thoughts and feelings. I'm presurgical and will probably go for it in February. I've already completed everything that is required of me; my last appointment was yesterday with the surgical dietitian. My journey started in June 2013 when my PCP suggested I consider surgery since what I was doing wasn't going anywhere fast and at my age the only way to lose the 100 lbs. I needed to lose would be surgery; the logic being that I would have to exercise a heck of a lot more than I already am along with a very low cal food plan. I have several comorbidities that will be greatly improved with the loss of that 100#. Even though I've jumped through all the hoops already, I still haven't firmly said "Yes, I'm having sleeve surgery," nor have I told any family other than my husband who is 100% supportive of whatever I decide. Some coworkers know only because they've had WLS surgery and I wanted to hear the details of their experience. Your post has inspired me and I'm feeling the time is soon to start talking openly about having surgery. Good luck to you!!

I haven't had my surgery yet, but have been using the unjury Protein powders to increase my protein intake to 100 grams/day as recommended by the bariatric doctor to lose weight. Each serving is 21 grams protein, 100 calories, and only 4 carbs. Go to their website and read the reviews; that's what really sold me on the product, including their return policy if you don't like it. I have used all the flavors regularly except for the cheese which I've tried once and added it to a prepared dish. Having the chicken Soup option is nice since the cold, sweet drinks get boring after awhile. The strawberry sorbet mixed with lemonade is a nice change, too.