provenzee

Just wondering if it is possible to lose this much, and if so, how long did it take you? I know everyone is different. Just looking to hear some different stories

I have Anthem BCBS of Virginia and everything seems to be going well. I had my consultation, and first visit with my surgeon already. At that meeting I met with a coordinator who gave me a list of appointments/testing to complete before I see them again in six weeks. The coordinator told me that I am probably going to have the surgery in October or November. I asked the coordinator if I will be required to complete six months of supervised diet before approval, and she said all the insurance requires is to meet with a nutritionist twice within a six week timeframe and that I won't have to. I don't want to get my hopes up, so I was wondering has anyone had experience with Anthem BCBS? It says on their website they require six months. Unless they've accepted my previous attempts at weight loss even though I don't have six continuous months. I'm assuming the insurance coordinator at my surgeons office should know and be correct, right?

For the past two weeks, everytime I eat or drink anything, water included, I have to immediately race to the bathroom. I am almost 8 months out...and this just started now. Any ideas?

Myfitnesspal is the best in my opinion!

Agree with this. Also, I thought sleeve would give me a "normal life" as opposed to bypass which has a deeper risk for bathroom issues, etc...

I had my surgery on February 2nd, and I am currently stuck in a stall as well. It has lasted about three weeks (Saturday will be four weeks since I've lost anything). I'm not that worried, yet. I am going to shake up the exercise routine and see if that helps at all. Good luck, and push forward. We can break it

My surgeon allowed for coffee as soon as I was allowed liquids. The most common reason some don't want it on the approved list is because fear of it causing dehydration. You still have to get 64ounces of Water in addition to any coffee you drink. With that being said, I drink coffee everyday. I usually have a small cup of hot coffee in the morning and an extra large iced coffee in the afternoon.

Wow, Gastric Sleeve has really jumped in popularity.

I went out all the time before surgery, and I still go out now. I eat what I can, and offer the rest to friends and family or save it for another day. It has improved my social life because I am more confident, talkative, and much happier

My surgery was in February and I've lost 95lbs. I hated coffee before surgery, but now I'm pretty close to addicted. I love the stuff, especially iced coffee. I started drinking it about two months ago. Actually, I haven't had any yet today and I'm sitting here waiting for work to end so I can go. I don't really crave food anymore....BUT I CRAVE MY DELICIOUS COFFEE lol

I usually drink right up until I start eating. Then I wait about an hour after eating to drink again. As long as there is nothing in your stomach, the liquid should go right through...I haven't had any issues doing it that way

This should probably be posted in the relationship section, so I apologize in advanced if you find it rude that I posted it here, but I just needed to vent. When my significant other and I met, I was thin. Over the course of our three year relationship I gained almost 100lbs. Needless to say, he was not pleased. He reminded me constantly about how I was "not what he signed up for" and how bad I looked, and how I was embarrassing him by being overweight. I thought surgery would help, but really all surgery did was help me realize that he was emotionally abusing me all along. I did not realize it then, but he was pushing me further and further into gaining weight. By him reinforcing what I already thought about myself having low self esteem to begin with, I began to isolate myself with food even more. Between daily reminders of how big I was getting, him cheating on me multiple times, and the name calling, I was broken and felt worthless. I hoped surgery and losing weight would make him "love me" again, the way he did for the first month of our relationship before I started putting weight on. Now that I am almost the weight I was when we first met, I realized I was wrong, thanks to one encounter. I was waiting for my boyfriend at the stairs of my job. A woman came up to me just as he walked over to me. She told me how amazing I look and reinforced that statement several times. She congratulated me on my weight loss, and even used the words "wow! you look incredible". Hearing the conversation, I thought my boyfriend would be happy for me. Instead, when the woman walked away, the only comment he made was "You look terrible. How many days is this in a row now of you not wearing makeup to work? Five? Why can't you ever look classy". Obviously I was upset. I know what I need to do is leave this relationship. For as much as I love him, I can see now that the weight was never the issue between us. His cheating, lying, and name calling was all because he seeks someone to emotionally abuse. Even when I reach my goal weight, it will never stop. There will always be something else. Just another reason to be thankful for my sleeve.

I have so much anxiety going to amusement parks anymore, to the point where I don't even have a good time. I have never actually not been able to ride, however even when I was 250lbs at 5'4 I had to sit on the "big people" chairs on the steel coasters at Dorney and Hersheypark. I remember at that weight when I went, they actually had me move to a bigger seat once, and I had to have help getting strapped in on a few of them. Could you imagine my embarrassment? My trouble seemed to be on any ride that required the over the shoulder harness (the ones they give you on the fun steel coasters that loop upside down, where your feet hang). I never had trouble on any sit down rides or wooden coasters. When I was my heaviest, 298lbs last summer, I didn't even bother trying the steel coasters because I knew that if I had so much trouble at 250, I'd never get in at 298. I am going to Hersheypark at the end of august and I am currently 203lbs - hopefully by the time I go I am about ten pounds lighter, and wont have any issues. I'd assume that 195lbs should be able to ride all the rides? But does anyone have any experience? I don't honestly remember what weight I was the last time I went and felt comfortable knowing I'd fit without getting thrown off for being too big.

My surgery was on February 2nd, 2016. My weight the day of was 298lbs. My weight today is 203lbs and tomorrow is my six month surgiversary.

Hey! Just hang in there and keep doing what you are doing. I also had my surgery in February and I noticed hair start to fall out at the 3 month mark. It's been slowly, but steadily falling out. It isn't thin to the point where anyone notices, and honestly if it wasn't for the actual hair being everywhere ALL THE TIME, it probably wouldn't bother me. You've lost a great amount of weight, so keep up the good work and focus on the positives. Your hair will stop falling out before you know it

Like the other poster said, your chances of losing a significant amount of weight and keeping it off long term is ridiculously low. I do believe it is about 5% statistically. You will not regret the surgery. I went from 298lbs on February 2nd to 209lbs today, July 25th. It is worth it

Let's do it! I would love to

Sometimes I just miss being able to eat. It is hard to explain, but when I have had a bad day, sometimes all I want is to order ten mcdoubles and a large fry and a 20 piece nugget and sit on the couch and eat it all....I guess I was an emotional eater. I do not regret the surgery at all though.

I have always thought I have been able to eat much more than others. I see people on here talking about how they get full from a few bites...and I'm just like, ugh. Sometimes I wish I could eat less, but when I start thinking like that I tell myself that what I am eating now is far less than what I would've eaten before surgery. I do get full...just not as quickly as others. I also am able to drink an entire bottle of Water in ten minutes like it's nothing. It really hasn't been detrimental to my weight loss though. I have still lost 87lbs in five months, so I cant complain. For lunch sometimes i'll eat a whole can of tuna. I'll take it, drain it, mix in 1tbsp of may, and 1/2 an ounce of cheese and eat it. I'll be full after, but not throwing up or anything. I can eat 1.5 slices of pizza, and I have eaten about 6 wings and some fries in a single sitting before. I also ate an entire mcdonalds double cheeseburger in like 10 minutes, and a six inch sub from subway fills me up perfectly. I usually weigh my food, and I can feel the "fullness" at around 6 ounces. was told it would be more like 3-4 ounces. But compared to 64ounces or more like before the surgery it is okay. Just make the most of it! Make healthy choices and you'll be fine

I took four weeks, definitely didn't need it. I had my surgery on a Tuesday and should have and was able to go back on the following Monday.

With weight loss surgery, you have to view weight loss as a percentage, not a number. You will not lose a set number of pounds, but you will lose a % of your excess weight. Most people lost about 65% of their excess weight. If the ideal weight for your height is 126lbs, and you weigh 200lbs, your excess weight is 73lbs. You can except to lose about 65% of that (more if you strictly follow your plan). Most people lose 5% of their overall body weight in the first month. For you, that would be around 10lbs. For someone weighing 300lbs, that would be 15lbs. Then following that, you can expect a loss of probably 1-2lbs a week.

I didn't follow the pre-op liquid diet that my surgeon makes everyone do for two full weeks. Not at all. I couldnt do it. I woke up everyday saying that I was going to stick to my surgeons plan, and everyday I ended up binging like crazy. I'd be good all day, and then after work I'd run to burger king and order a double whopper with cheese, large chocolate shake and onion rings, ten piece chicken nugget, and large coke. One day I went to the Chinese place and ordered TWO full meals and ate them both within an hour. I also consumed an 8piece bucket of fried chicken alone, followed by a pint of Ben and Jerry's. It was my worst two weeks, and was when I realized I needed the surgery more than ever. I was out of control. I somehow managed to stick to clear liquids the very last day before my surgery, and the surgeon didn't mention anything about my liver being too large and I have had a very successful surgery and weight loss (at least, I believe so). Phew, feels good to get that off of my chest after all this time

I can totally relate to this post! I feel like my body is fighting not to get below 200lbs. I was losing a good 3lbs a week, and now all of a sudden it slowed to maybe 1lb a week for the past three weeks! Very discouraging. I have also noticed I can eat more, and my cravings are coming back. I will get there though, your post gives me hope! Thank you!!

I will agree that surgery is not magic, and it still takes work and discipline especially as you move further and further out. No, with the surgery you cannot expect to go back to old habits and maintain your weight loss. Nothing will give you that. You will still have to log and track and watch what you eat forever. With the surgery, you will be prevented from eating more than a few ounces at a time. If you eat 4 ounces of potato chips every two hours when your sleeve empties, you will gain weight. If you eat lean Protein, you will be extremely full and will have no room for high calorie junk. You have to use the first few months when you are really restricted to start a new lifestyle. The first few months you will not be able to eat more than a few bites, and you'll be on liquids on for about a month. You will break your carb cravings and as long as you don't go back to old habits, it is a good jumpstart for a healthy lifestyle. To say that someone will only lose 60-75% of excess weight is really undermining what that means. If a 300lb 5'4" woman "only" loses 60% of her excess weight, she will end up about 195lbs. Do you realize the difference in health between a woman who weighs 300lbs vs a woman who weighs 195lbs? That person's BMI goes from 52 to about 32. Just think for a second of how many health problems can be resolved by lowering your BMI that much! Not to mention how much different she will look. At 300lbs I was a size 22, had trouble breathing, couldn't walk up stairs or fit on rides at amusement parks, and my life revolved around food. Now that I am close to being under 200, I feel like a person again. I can shop at normal stores because I am a size 14. I can go on roller coasters and walk a mile without being out of breath. I would choose to have my life and health back at 195lbs, even if that's all I lose! (I do expect to lose more, though which is completely possible WITH EFFORT). If you are expecting surgery to turn a 300lb woman into a 126lb model without effort and by magic, then you are asking for something that can only be done by the Nutty Professor in his laboratory. But if you are looking for something to change your life for the better, and give you a great tool to get healthy, and if you are willing to make a total change on how you view food, then the surgery is for you.

Looking at this progress pic makes the apples and string cheese I am eating taste just as good!!