BLERDgirl

I am laughing so hard! @@Elode thanks for this post! I don't know if it's the holiday season or what but this board has been cracking me up today.

Welcome and congrats on making one could be the best decision of your life!

I woke up having to pee in recovery. They put me in a wheel chair to get to the bathroom, but I walked in and took care of business on my own. You're not going to be an invalid after surgery. Depending on your pain threshold you may or may not have a bit of pain but you should be able to manage most things on your own.

@@Bandista - I've made salads with avocado, mango, and chickpeas. Sounds like a good combo to me!

It i the dreaded stall. Stop making yourself crazy and step away from the scale. Look for other NSV (non scale victories). It could be taking your measurements (neck, boobs, waist, thighs/hips) and measuring the differences. It could be noting the changes in your body; can you walk further? It it easier? Do you have more range of motion in your knees?, etc.... Throughout your weight loss journey there will be stops and starts as your body adjust to the changes you are making. Do not let them frustrate you. As long as you are following the program, the weight will come off.

I'm a planner and a list maker. It may be a tiny bit OCD but it helps me organize and relax. If I can plan for something I feel in control. When I was prepping for my surgery I told 2 people. One was my friend who had gotten a bypass the year before because I wanted to know who did her surgery and what her experience was like. Another friend who is about a month and a half ahead of me. My best friend and sister I told about 2 weeks before. My mother who is a worrier I told 2 days before. Everyone else gets told on an as need basis. I'm not hiding it but I've never been one for oversharing my life anyway. Once I made a list of what needed to be done, I would just check it off as it was done. Going through that list kept me calm. I felt secure in the knowledge that I had done my due diligence to make sure everything went as well as it could. The day of surgery I was completely calm, cool and collected.

I can't speak on the drinking part because I haven't had a drink since surgery. However I don't think there would be much more of a difference between self pay versus insurance. There are pros and cons on both sides. Most insurances makes people jump through insane hoops in order to qualify so hopefully that makes people take it seriously. On the other hand if you are serious enough about this surgery to pay out of pocket or get financing then I would hope that would be enough to make you take it seriously. Regardless of funding I think attitude and your view on why you need this surgery are the min thing tht will make a difference.

Congrats! You're doing great!

Sounds like a good program for you. Congrats on your success so far!

I'm sure you can start taking them pre-op. You can buy all of them OTC. 90% of the population is vitamin D deficient anyway.

Polycystic ovary syndrome. I have BPPV (Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo). Think of it assort of a permanent vertigo. When it's under control I still have to be conscious of how I turn my head. Even sitting up and getting out of bed wrong can send me into the spins. There has been some research that suggest Vitamin D helps with cases of BPPV so even though my last bloodtest had my D levels within normal range I make sure to take my D's regularly.

I would give them few days. Things may be delayed with the holidays. Maybe wait until the end of next week to follow up.

Are you North or South Jersey? I started by checking for bariatric programs in my areas at hospitals I knew had good reputations. For me it was between Temple and UPenn. After googling info, and speaking with people who have had surgery, I attended the seminar at UPenn. I really liked how detailed they were with their program.

@@mroth28 - Are you on any ant acids at all? I was prescribed omeprazole in the hospital. I found you have to figure out what time of day to take it is good for you. Some people take it first thing in the morning, at least 30 minutes before eating. I tend to get gas in the afternoon/evenings. I take mind around 2 or 3pm.

It's hard to describe because it's related so closely to the physical changes made to your body. My nutritionist actually had me start practicing eating slowly pre-op. Some people use baby spoon and dessert plates. The average sleeved belly only holds 4 oz. Then there are things to contend with such as gas from the surgery and the tendency in the early post op days for the new belly to produce a lot of acid. All these things combined make it more comfortable to eat slower. Especially for those who experienced negative effects like sliming, frothing, painful hiccups, heartburn and/or vomiting. For me personally they all help me to be more mindful of not only what I eat, but how I eat. Instead of blindly shoving food in your mouth, you are now taking the time to savor each mouthful. Instead of overeating you stop when you are full.

It depends on the nutritionist. I actually drink 48 ounces of straight Water a day, but I am also allowed to count my Protein shakes as part of my fluids. So at the end of the day I am getting 64 ounces or more of fluids since my Protein Shakes are typically 20 ounces.

Well congrats on how far you have come. I think it's great to go to the gym. I LOVE my gym. (LAFitness). That said, you don't have to go to the gym to work out, but you do need to work out. Get an activity tracker and download a few workout apps. If you want to see a big guy at the gym check out this guy on IG. He is awesome!

I think this is good discussion to have with your primary and/or bariatric surgeon. It depends on your relationship with food and your previous attempts at losing weight. I was told that is is recommended that you not try to get pregnant until a year post op. At 3½ months out I am only now returning to a regular diet and still eating under 1,000 calories a day. I expect that by a year out I'll be back to 1,200 but I'm sure that plays a part in that recommendation.

Many people use the premier protein post op. If it feel too thick for you you can dilute it with lowfat milk or water. To be honest I never use a food scale or measuring cups. I guestimate. Years of watching what I eat have made me pretty good at it. Every once and while I double check and measure something. I'm usually not too far off. As long as I'm still losing, I'm not too worried about it.

It still boils down to context for me. I am not easily offended, nor to I spend my time worrying what people are thinking of me. There are some people, like the old ladies in my congregation who have no filter and I just grin and smile because I know anything is likely to fall out their heads. I try to practice tact so yes, there are occasions where I will hold my tongue if I don't have anything nice to say. I also know the difference between friends and acquaintances and I have a pretty decent BS meter. My friends I confide in. We can be brutally honest with each other. I not only want that from them, it's expected. You need to have good friends who check you. An acquaintance does not have those rights. Lastly there is a difference between honesty and sarcasm or shade. Most importantly I like me. I have always liked me and thought I was cute. Not cute for a fat girl but cute period. So nope, not gonna let someone try to make me feel bad about myself. I think it's okay to disagree here. There are a zillion situations in which this could be okay and just as many where it wouldn't be.

I may have to find a vegetarian gelatin and try that.

I use it for everything. I cook with it, I use it on my body as a moisturizer, and I use it on my hair. I used to use it for oil pulling but now I use plain, brown Listerine instead. I buy the cold pressed, virgin coconut oil from Whole Foods.

2 ounces = ¼ cup I regular sized ice cube is approximately 1 ounce (helpful if you make a large batch of Soup and want to freeze it for later use. Conversion chart I tried Premier Protein RTD. I found it insanely sweet and preferred diluting it with Water & ice. If you use milk you might want to get skim or 1%. Plain greek yogurt is higher in protein. I buy FAGE 0% and add my own fruit I was prescribed omeprazole (generic prilosec) in the hospital.

The exact opposite for me. My skin looks GREAT. Hair is doing okay. Not much of a change there. Nails are horrible! I just cut them down.