Machalo

Way to go!

Oh, I'm sorry to hear of your delay in hearing from insurance! I was told it would be four or more weeks for my insurance as well and my decision came back in 2 days. Now I'm waiting on the surgeon's office to call so we can arrange my pre-op visit to set my date. I think they do it on purpose to make sure that we're actually serious about the surgery and that it isn't just a passing phase or something. I raise my glass of water to you for your patience in waiting 5 weeks already!

Just seeing this thread, I've been absent for a few weeks due to work, but Wow, Steve! You are a remarkable man! I wasn't ever blessed to be able to have children, but you're sure the kind of son I would have been proud of!! I think you made the best decision for yourself in the writing of your final letter to that woman and I pray that she indeed won't ever contact you again. Super supportive hugs!!

Congratulations! I hope you continue to feel better and are able to go home soon! You're on your way now!

Wow, surgery this month! How very exciting for you! I'm not quite there yet, but keeping on the forums here I've found to be important for my motivation and goal tracking. I did the "last" Christmas and New Year's excess intakes and am seeing the result now that I'm back to controlling all of my intake. What a difference being on this site is! It reminds me to keep my goals in mind and not just mindlessly put things in my mouth that have no nutritious value or aren't "pouch-worthy" as someone on here puts it. Looking forward to sharing your journeys!

Hello ladies! Welcome! This is a great site, full of all kinds of useful information, awesome people and lots of support! I started trawling in here over summer last year when I first started the process. Now, I've got one more nutrition (NUT) visit and then my nurse practitioner reviews my case to send forward to surgery. That's the next thing I'm worried about. Have I dotted all the "i's" and crossed all the "t's"? I'm thinking I'm going to have an April date too, so I'm really happy to meet you! I have a great team here in Virginia, and while it took a little while for my husband to come around to the idea, he is now supportive. Now that it's the New Year, I'm excited to be getting closer. Work has been all kinds of crazy so my efforts have been a bit haphazard and I've not gotten in the 5 small meals a day they want a lot of the time because I forget to eat. Or I had planned to eat at such and such time, but forgot to stop drinking and so had to wait until it was 30 minutes. So much to remember! It is a very exciting journey and I'm very grateful to be on it. I haven't had time to be on the site recently (again because of work) but I can already feel my motivation and excitement coming back just reading this thread. Thank you and I look forward to getting to know you!

I seem to be having a problem with sticking strictly to my food plan on the weekends. I do fine at work, but when I'm home, I generally don't drink as much water as I need to and my protein levels go down while my carbs go up. While I'm not on a prescribed diet yet, I'm trying to habitualize as much as possible before surgery to make the after effects easier. I have weigh in on the 22nd so I need to be good and strictly on plan until then. Just reminding myself of why I'm going through this journey; I want to be healthier and live past my 50s. I want to be able to care for my husband with greater ease and I want to be able to move around not worrying whether I'm going to make it in one stretch or if I'll have to stop mid-way to catch my breath.

Picked up the recommended book (it's free on Kindle Unlimited) and will order the workbook after Christmas. Really looking forward to this group.

Welcome Em! I see that no one has posted on the warmth issue, it is something I'm slightly anxious about as well. Especially the extremities. I can put on a jumper to keep warm at the office and will bring in a lap blanket if I must, but my hands are constantly exposed to air as I type and move about my office. I'm hoping the body's temperature regulation kicks in for you soon!

Hi Brandy! Welcome welcome! Glad you found us. I look forward to getting to know you through the threads.

I'd also be interested as long as my budget could handle it.

My plan is to use as much sugar-free options as I can after surgery and see how that does. I already "dump" with too much lactose, so I'm not afraid of it. I just know that I'd rather not experience it. I have GERD too, so the bypass has been recommended to me, and that's what I'm preparing for. The four months will fly right by as you prepare your mind, body and home for the new you! There are so many different tests and appointments that you'll have to have prior to surgery that there always seems to be something going on. Use that four months to wean yourself off of the things you can't have right after surgery, like sugar. Carbonated drinks have been one thing that I've had to wean myself off slowly. i'm down to 1 a day and in January I'll quit. This after being a complete soda drinker all day long back in August. If I can give up soda and sugar, I know you can give up the things that you currently crave most. Just take it one day at a time, one hour at a time if necessary. Before you know it, you've broken the physical addiction, and then you can work on the mental and emotional addiction. We're all here to help you, so dig into the threads. You're on your way to a brand new you.

That is such great news! I can hear the excitement in your typing, and that is great too! My program is opposite yours. I do all the front work with the rest of the surgical team and get all my clearances before I get to meet with my surgeon. I guess it's so they can utilize the surgeon's time most effectively. Anyway, I'll get to see the surgeon at the end of January after my last weigh in for insurance. I'm super excited for you! Keep us posted on how things are going.

Into December now and I'm closer to getting through my to do list for insurance to approve surgery. I took a break over Thanksgiving from tightly restricting and gained 7 pounds. Thankfully it was water weight, probably from all the salt on the things I ate. Today I'm back down that 7 pounds and sticking to my plan. I want so much to get under the 320 mark! 2 pounds doesn't seem like much, but this 2 pounds have been super hard, even staying under 1,000 calories a day and pumping in water. I will have to try to move more often. I was going to renew my gym membership last week but we had a financial crisis and can't afford it until next week. Anyway, I'm down to 1 caffeinated beverage per day and am trying to stick with 2 cups or less for each meal. I did great with it until lunchtime today, when I probably ate a quart, I was so hungry. No excuses, it was all my choice, my poor choice and now tomorrow the scales will probably have gone up again instead of down. I have a story to tell and then a dream I had a few nights ago, that wakened a fear about being thin that I didn't know I had. But, I'm out of time for today so the tale will have to wait until Friday.

I use Biotin 10,000 and L-Lysine 1000 since I already have thinning hair and don't relish the idea of losing any more after surgery. I'll have to add in the collagen to see if that does anything.

My advice is to be very careful not to make it a habit. Chew/spitting is a habit a lot of anorexics have to avoid food. i'm not saying anyone here has anorectic tendencies, but it is a slippery slope that I would avoid if at all possible.

No, this is the right forum. i'm either a March or April bypass. Welcome to BariatricPal. It is a great forum with lots of wonderfully supportive people. I look forward to getting to know you.

Seeing as I'm seeing this two days after you posted it, hopefully your constipation has resolved itself? If not, I would definitely go with the Colace. I've been having a little of it myself and have used my go-to enhancers: milk and black coffee. Since I'm lactose intolerant and don't drink coffee, one or the other usually does the trick for me. If not, the two together do, even if it isn't immediate. Hope you're feeling better.

My plan to try to avoid some "saggage" is to increase my pectoral exercises. I have no idea whether that will help, but I figure it certainly can't hurt. I can't imagine having someone say that to me either. If she wasn't joking, and since you've not come back to say she was, I'll assume she wasn't, I have to wonder what kind of friend she really is. Is she a work friend or a home friend? I find work friends tend to think they know me so much more than they actually do, and home friends, usually have the tact not to say something like that. Either way, I'm sorry you had to go through that hurtful statement.

Congratulations, Mike. Well done on your continued weight loss and on keeping to your plan. Your example inspires me to keep going on my pre-surgery weight loss even though it is a holiday week here in the US. I can overcome it. Blessings to you.

Glad to hear your surgery went well and that you are off to recuperate in a nice hotel. Keep up the great walking and sipping, remember to get as much protein in you as you can, and keep us posted on your progress. You are on your way!! ((HUGS))

Thanks for the referral, @sidvicious, I will take a look at the book. Maybe it will help both me and hubby. Right now I'm working through Bariatric Mindset Success, which is fabulous.

All the best to you both for successful and uneventful surgeries. Come let us know how you are doing when you can.

Wow! Sounds like you've been through the wringer. (If you don't know, that's how you used to "wring" your clothes out after washing them. Before automatic clothes washers. Yes, I'm old) Please take good care of yourself. You only have one you and you deserve everything good you can give yourself. ((HUGS))

Aww, take good care of yourself! And come back whenever you can - we love hearing your story. Congratulations on all you got accomplished, it made me tired just reading it all. You've done an awesome job. ((HUGS))