FrankyG

Not an expert, but I'm 99% sure that an appeal will do nothing if your insurance specifically has excluded weight loss surgery. Even if an insurance company would cover weight loss surgery in general, it has to be selected to be covered by your company, as they would need to have that coverage for all their employees (and pay the premiums - and depending on how many employees your company has, it could be tens of thousands a year, which is why many companies refuse to include it in their health insurance coverage). You may need to start thinking about alternatives like having the surgery in Mexico or doing some intense saving for the next year or two to afford it here in the states.

This is your second post worrying about the fact that your weight loss has slowed down/stalled and you sound like you're panicking about things. If your doc told you to eat a certain way for X amount of time, and you bumped it up a few days and didn't hurt yourself or make yourself sick, you're fine as long as you're hitting the protein/water goals. Later down the road, you should focus on eating Protein first, then healthy veggies, and complex carbs in moderation (always making sure you drink your water/liquids). Once you're cleared for "all food" the only things to add to that first part is to make sure you watch your calories and keep the carbs moderate. It really is pretty simple. Did you read the "embrace the stall" post by Inner Surfer Girl? Stalls are normal and rapid weight loss is not going to happen all the time (and might not ever for some), and the entire process of losing weight will not be a fast or steady ride. You will stall frequently, sometimes it might be a week or 2 or 3 weeks before you see the scale move again. This is NORMAL. Your body will do what it needs to do as long as you are eat enough protein, watch your carbs, drink your Water and getting a decent amount (not too little, not too much) of calories each day. Stalls are healthy and vital. You would not be able to go without sleep for a month right? Think of a stall like your body taking a rest break and getting a good nap in. It needs to pause to rest, and then once it's ready, you'll start losing weight again. You can't force it to do things on a set schedule just because you're upset about the pause. Give your body (and yourself) a break and focus on eating healthy foods, getting your protein and water and exercising. And if you're not doing this already, take measurements of things like arms, chest, waist and hips. Sometimes the stalls are actually when your body is exchanging fat for muscle. A pound of fat is much bulkier than a pound of muscle, and you won't see the change on the scale, but your clothes will start to feel loser and the tape measure will show the progress - and this is just as important as seeing numbers dropping on the scale! I actually think it's even more important because building muscle and losing fat is a GREAT thing! But really, calm down, give yourself permission to stop focusing on the weight loss and just work on eating healthy and drinking and getting more active. The rest will take care of itself.

Are you tracking all of your food intake for fat, carbs, Protein and calories? Are you drinking your daily requirement for Water? What is your average daily food menu? Exercise is really important for general health and building muscle, but it is not going to help you lose much weight. Food intake - how much, what kind - is the way to lose pounds. We need more information to try to brainstorm ways you can work on the weight loss...

Doing food funerals is just reinforcing binging behavior and your poor relationship with food. It happens, but you should absolutely not think they are "normal" because they are just awful and depressing and pointless. You can have any of those things after about a year out (once you're through the healing and relearning to eat properly process). You could eventually have soda and bread and such, but you can't have those things regularly and you need to make sure they fit in your calorie allotment for the day and don't over do any of it. This is stuff you have only occasionally - like eating a small slice of cake at your birthday party. But there will be many times where you may even decide that you don't like that stuff that much any more if you are good about finding healthy foods you love to eat and don't hurt you or cause you to feel poorly. (I was recently trapped on a layover for hours with nothing but a damned vending machine full of crappy food - I had to eat, but the junk made me feel bloated and gross and I have no desire to eat that stuff if I have healthier options). And I do drink soda several times a week, but it is diet and I pour it over lots of ice and let the bubbles die down quite a bit, and up my Water intake to account for the dehydration that a soda can cause. You learn to make adjustments if you want this to work out for you in the long run. Your surgeon is being a bit extremist but it's likely he is doing this because he's seen too many people come through his doors expecting to be able to eat that crap like they always have and still lose all their weight. Some folks are just not realistic about what to do and expect the sleeve to do all the heavy lifting for them. This is not a diet. This is a total lifestyle change. And gorging on foods that you think you will miss? That is just sad and will make you obsess over them after the surgery. Stop giving CRAPPY food such power over your life. It's just junk. You can have it, but hopefully you won't really want it anymore (at least on a daily/week/monthly basis). The big deal with having this surgery, according to my doctor (who is a national bariatic training surgeon that taught other doctors how to perform things like the sleeve) is that anyone can lose weight for the first year or so even eating absolute crap - cake, Cookies, french fries and deep fried whatever due the forced portion control and reduction of daily caloric intake. But after about a year to 18 months, the body adjusts to what you're eating and if you are still eating crap, then expect to have the weight start coming back. And then those folks blame the sleeve for failing them - when they are actually the ones that failed. (eating high fat/carbs/sodium foods like snack and fast food that tend to have very little Protein, Vitamins and other important nutritional needs, which mean your body is literally starving for nutrients while being bloated with fat and carbs and salt. So you'll keep craving more food because the body is trying to get what it needs from the crap foods and you'll possibly gain back every pound in the process) He said the point of this surgery was to provide you with a restriction to get your food portions under control and also to reduce hunger cues so you're not binging on bad-for-you foods like cake or bread or Pasta. The hard work comes from breaking your dependence on unhealthy foods while you're in this honeymoon period and regain some control over your appetite and cravings, and teaching yourself how to eat healthy foods. High protein, low carb, moderate fat diet, with small portions is the way this ends up working for the rest of your life. Take a big step back and focus on eating a bit better and really work on your relationship with food. And definitely start trying real, healthy foods now as well. Mourning the loss of crappy stuff is the wrong way to be; focus on the amazing, awesome stuff you'll be able to do very soon and learning how to eat healthy whole foods and improving your health - be positive instead of negative and I just know you'll be much happier too. Good luck!!

Are you tracking every bit of food that goes in your mouth? Are you drinking your Water? Are you in a general good range for calories? If you're eating too many or too few calories, you'll stall. Are you eating high Protein, low carb? If you're not tracking your food, start back on it ASAP and don't just eyeball things; make sure you're weighing/measuring because portion sizes are one of the biggest issues in the beginning and can become a problem if you stop paying attention to them down the road. Are you measuring yourself? Because sometimes when the scale numbers don't move, you might be losing fat and gaining muscle - so you absolutely should be taking measurements each month. A pound of fat is way bulkier than a pound of muscle, and your body might just be "stalled" when in reality its working really hard at exchanging fat for muscle... Without more details however, we can't help you much.

The only thing I could tell you is what you already know. Stop buying the bad stuff and recommit to staying on track for your surgery. You don't have that much longer to wait, and eating total crap now is just going to make things that much harder on you. If you don't put the crap food in your cart then it doesn't go home with you. And you should be avoiding fast food junk like it is poison (because it kinda is). You have to get your head in the game and stop doing bad things just because you can. You will eventually need to adjust your thinking to find other ways to deal with stress after surgery, so why not start now? Instead of turning to crappy food for comfort, try going for a walk, play a game, read a book, call a friend for a nice chat, have a big glass of ice Water, take a bubble bath, paint your nails... anything but using food to medicate whatever problem crops up in your day to day life that makes you want to turn to junk food to make it all feel better. Really, really try to stick to your preop diet. It is absolutely necessary to do this, as the main reason is to make sure your liver is shrunk enough to not be harmed during surgery. It lies across your stomach, and they will need to lift it and hold it out of the way while they work on your stomach. If you don't stop eating crap, they could get in there and discover your liver is too fatty/large to safely perform the surgery and you'll have to recover from the incisions and gas inflation (NOT fun) and start all over (I think even with the insurance too)... that is if your surgeon even allows you to do so. And heaven forbid they proceed if they think your liver is borderline okay and it is damaged while they're moving things around in there. That is serious and life threatening and you do NOT want even a small chance of that happening. I say this because this is scary stuff, and you can use this fear to commit to trying harder and to stick to your diet. Definitely helped me anyway! You can do this. You just have to find the strength and motivation to get your head on straight and power through the next month to make it to your surgery. Get fired up and excited about the wonderful new life you're going to have after - you don't need to eat crummy stuff to feel better - you are going to get control back over your relationship with food and be so much happier and healthier very, very soon!

I was on lifting restrictions (no more than a gallon of milk ~2-5 pounds) for the first two weeks. You may be just fine, but you are taking a risk of something happening. Call your doctor's office and ask about any weight limits ASAP. It isn't just about pain or lack thereof, it's about pulling your stitches out or otherwise stressing your body in ways it should not be stressed so soon after surgery.

I am like 99% sure your dietitian is wrong. My surgeon said leaks will happen rarely and if they do, it will be in the following weeks after having the surgery. He made no mention of it being something to worry over for the rest of your life. And the idea that you could actually stuff enough food into your stomach to cause a leak let alone stretch the stomach (another one I see frequently on here) is pretty much impossible unless you like forcing food to the point of feeling like you're going to explode. You'd feel horrible way before you got to the bursting point, and you'd be vomiting up quite a bit of food so yeah, not likely to happen. Seriously, this is so small a likelihood, I'd actually discuss what the dietitian is telling you with your surgeon ASAP so they can reassure you, and also correct the dietitian from spreading this kind of false information.

The issue with straws is you might be prone to suck air as you get down to the bottom of the glass. Be aware of that - Don't try to suck up every last drop, and you're fine. Been drinking from a straw from like the second week as it helps me to sip better. Doc was fine with it.

I've done it a few times. It works well for me. I know to use it when I get too carby and have to reduce my carb addiction/cravings.

My doc told me to eat more due to my exercise levels. Sounds like you might want to add in a few hundred extra good quality calories to see if that breaks your weight loss stall. I'm still losing at over a year out, just lots slower and lots of stalling. Average is about 1.5 lb a week/2 weeks. I'm super with that as I'm now working on building muscle and losing fat, so the numbers on the scale are not necessarily reflecting what is going on with my body. I am eating WAY more calories than you (my average is at 1500 calories/day) and I weigh less than you too, so for my situation, eating more helped out quite a bit. Slow but steady improvement is my goal anyway.

I'd just tell people you have to have abdominal surgery to correct an issue. If they press you, tell them that you're not comfortable discussing the details and change the subject: Coworker: So what is the surgery for? You: Oh, it's just fixing a long standing issue. So how is your daughter doing in school? If they insist on redirecting the convo back, then tell them you're not comfortable discussing the details and excuse yourself. You don't owe anyone more information just because they asked. They are in the wrong if they ignore your boundary. Don't feel bad about (politely) shutting them down: Coworker: Talking all about daughter... But no really, what is the issue you're getting fixed? You: Coworker, I know you mean well, but I really don't feel comfortable talking about my medical issues at work. Thank you for understanding.

I was on the phen/fen combo for a very short time in the 90s. It was discontinued due to serious medical issues developing from use - even deaths. Phentermine is an amphetamine that is occasionally prescribed for short term weight loss, but I wouldn't bother with it since it will only cause temporary weight loss (as soon as you stop taking it, you'll regain) and still is possible to cause all sorts of heath issues (it is speed - can mess up your metabolism at the minimum). If you're getting it from any source other than a licensed doctor in the U.S., you may be getting something fake and/or dangerous. Be careful!

I was told fruit juice was prohibited as it was useless calories and too high in sugar and could make you sick (dumping syndrome). I had that happen once, and I still can't touch juice. And as far as the amount of soup you're trying to eat; just keep sipping at it. If you can get down at least 4-6 ounces every hour, that's good.

I haven't reached goal, but I plan on tracking my food pretty much for the rest of my life. I'd advise you to go back to tracking and measuring so you can get back in control of your portions and fat/carb/protein and calorie counts so you can see where you're going off track. You may only need to do this for a few weeks as a reminder/reset. If the weight keeps creeping up, then you could do a 5 day pouch test to go back to the beginning. It is very easy, and I did do it once already when my carb levels started creeping up (it knocked them back down and got rid of my carb cravings). http://5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html Don't be depressed; you have options. If you let the sad overwhelm you, then you end up doing nothing. Use this weight gain as motivation to get back on track!

I am obsessed with reading nutrition labels, and I'm obsessed with finding new and exciting recipes and cooking healthy versions of things I used to make. But it's a good thing. I no longer have feelings of guilt and anxiety about my food even when I eat something "bad" because I know I budgeted for it in my daily calorie/carb allowance. I prefer to think of it as me in total control of my diet. It is definitely a positive. I plan on tracking everything I eat probably for the rest of my life because that works for me (I like the daily affirmation/accountability). So I guess you could still call it obsessed, but it's an obsession that brings me peace, contentment and lets me control my life and my health, so I am perfectly fine with the label.

This is normal. There's been tons of posts from people just a few weeks out panicking about the stall... but it is perfectly normal and will happen quite a bit more over the next year or two. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/351046-embrace-the-stall/ I've just posted this same advice in another thread recently: I know it can seem like you shouldn't have to deal with stalls since you went through surgery, but try to think of them as rest breaks for your body to catch up. You couldn't run flat out for 100 miles without a break - you'd need to stop every so often and catch your breath, have a few swigs of Water and get revved back up to hit that trail and run fast again. That's exactly what your body is doing - taking a breather in preparation to performing another sprint (drop a few pounds). Sometimes it might need a short rest, sometimes it might need longer (weeks). But if you keep giving it what it needs (water/protein/exercise) you'll start sprinting again. And get out a tape measure and take measurements NOW. Arms, chest, waist, hips and thighs. You'll see during those stalls that you might just be dropping fat (it gets burned off and replaced with muscle). Since a pound of fat and a pound of muscle weigh the same, it might not show up on the scale, but fat is MUCH bulkier than muscle, so you'll see it in the tape measure and how your clothes fit. Stalls are vital. Stalls are GOOD. It means you're hitting a new peak and getting ready for some weight loss coming up.

Your body is still healing. Weight loss is not fast and constant; you will stall and stall often. At the beginning, you're lucky if you didn't gain weight from all the fluids and drugs they put into you. The fact that you lost 10 pounds is amazing. Definitely look at the "Embrace the stall" post by Inner Surfer Girl. It will explain things. Stalls are good and very necessary. Your body needs to rest through the weight loss process. It is the same as stopping to get a good night's sleep. It can't go forever dropping weight constantly just like you couldn't stay awake for weeks at a time; you'd feel awful and get sick.

There was a new study released that shows long term usage of PPIs can lead to kidney disease and dementia later in life. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/heartburn-drugs-ppi-prilosec-nexium-prevacid-risk-of-dementia/ I would ask your doctor about the new findings, and if they need to be taken longer than a few months. Most people don't need them, or could be switched to something else if they continue to have issues. I'm glad I was only on them for a short while... I have enough mental issues already without adding in dementia!

I would be a bit upset with him for that, but try to be calm about it and ask him what he meant, with specific examples of what he is seeing you eat that is bad stuff. If he is seeing you eat things that are bad for you and you're not registering that you're doing this, then that is concerning. If you have changed your eating habits (eating healthy Proteins, veggies and then complex carbs in moderation) and your boyfriend still said that, then he's very out of touch with what is happening with you. So is it because he hasn't been paying attention or is acting kind of snarky (annoying and needs to be discussed calmly with him), or because you aren't eating as healthy as you think you are (concerning)? Not trying to sound mean, because I know I did try to eat some things in the beginning months that were still crap foods, and kind of lied to myself that they didn't matter since I was still losing weight. It is easy to fall into that trap. Eating as clean as you can for as long as you can definitely helps reprogram your appetite and encourages you to build better food habits. So that when you're several years out, the occasional bad food isn't something that you want all the time anyway. You can still lose lots of weight eating crap food but after about 1 year - 18 months, your body will eventually adjust and you'll regain the weight if you haven't gotten the healthy eating habits down. Again - not saying you're not doing a great job - I can't know exactly what he is or isn't seeing with you; just offering some perspective and ideas to discuss with the boyfriend. And do tell him that sometimes things like what he said can be a bit hurtful and ask him to think before he speaks if it turns out he really doesn't have any food observations worth anything.

Just my advice... For the first month, I would not be trying to walk for extended periods of time or any other exercise other than just getting up and doing a slow circuit around your house - like 5 minutes every hour or two. Trying to do a 30 minute walk in the first month when you are barely consuming any nutrition/calories is going to make you feel crummy. Your body is still adjusting to what happened, and devoting all of its energy to healing and basic body functions; adding in exercise at this point is not necessary. And if you have a toddler, you're getting up and down quite enough, so don't push yourself. Wait until your calories getup closer in the 800/day range, and then start adding in some walking 12-30 minutes a day. Of course, if you feel super and want to exercise, go for it. But don't feel you need to be doing a bunch of exercise this early in your post-op time. It's okay to just rest, heal and move a little bit right now.

I really hope not in the same obsessed way as David Koechner's character "Scout Leader Rogers" in the movie "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse". I just saw that, and nooooo. (but super funny)

That's a great thing to be under 200. BIG hugs and so happy you're taking care of yourself so you can be there for your son.

@@FrankiesGirl I ❤ you so...... Aww. Back at ya! (can I call you baby girl? ) ETA for those playing along at home: the twit also called Babbs "baby girl" while insulting her. So it is funny because of reasons.