Maggie Journey

Hi Tssiemer1, I'm sleeve pre-op. My primary motive is reversing co-morbidities. I had constant pain. During my nearly 6 months since starting this process to get the surgery, I started out searching for an anti-inflammatory diet and landed on Paleo. There are lots of different ways to do Paleo, and I'm doing mainly an auto-immune protocol (AIP), but I do eat some dairy. I've been learning and doing it now since about November, with full focus since January. I've lost about 20 lbs, several inches in my waist, but best of all, the health benefits have been amazing. My inflammation and pain are a non-issue most of the time now. It's really true, Paleo reduces pain and inflammation. The food is delicious and very plentiful. Sugar cravings gone and under control. I'm feeling like I'm going to be a sure thing for long-term success by adopting this lifestyle now, and then keeping it going post-op. My NUT and team were vague about these 6 months as far as what to eat and how I was supposed to lose weight (I must meet with them every month, show diet journals, progress, etc.) They're very supportive about what I'm doing, though. I have my last NUT visit, #6 of 6, in 2 days. Nothing left to do after that but submit everything to my insurance company and then book me for surgery. I am beyond excited! Hoping for a surgery date this month, but it might be May.

I'm still doing Paleo and getting better at it day by day. Pantry & fridge are all cleaned out and I'm working on collecting recipes to keep this going. The withdrawal from grains & sugar wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It passed pretty quickly. I'm avoiding all the goodies at work, etc. Proud of myself! I've been keeping up with logging everything with MyPlate. I also have started journaling daily, including emotional/stress issues, which is keeping me very aware to not fall off the wagon with emotional eating. This morning was my monthly nutritionist visit. I'm excited to report that I'm down 3 pounds! This is exciting because I made it through the holidays with weight loss, and also after weeks of being sick and on steroids, too. Happy! One of my emotional obstacles the past couple of weeks is that while sick, they discovered a growth when they sent me for x-rays, followed by CT scan and ultrasound on my thyroid. I have a biopsy scheduled for next Monday. Even with this stress, I'm staying on track this time and this means the world to me.

Lori, you literally made me laugh out loud!

I've talked to two of them. One was the 6-hour required class, and the other was the NUT in my Dr.'s office. Both of these cost $$ out of pocket, and were mostly disappointing. I came prepared with some simple questions for the staff NUT, which didn't seem to register. I was surprised. For example, I wanted/needed their input on what they recommended for me pre-op (I have to "diet" for several months, journal and report to them each month before I qualify for surgery with my insurance). I asked her what she recommended as my daily ratio for Proteins / fats / carbs. She just looked baffled like I was speaking a foreign language. They seem to be stuck in the 80s or 90s? Like, "just eat 1,000 calories". However, I'm going to keep on asking questions and seeking their advice. I'm bringing in my new grass-fed non-GMO whey Protein for them to look at. I'll report back on this thread after my next appointment this Thursday.

A few months ago, I got the Nutri-Ninja Duo with Auto-IQ. It's got a very high power at 1,500 w. Usually to get this high power, you go into brands that cost over $500! I think this is a bargain after my comparison shopping. This "duo" one comes with a 72 oz (huge) blender and also a food processor. There are different blades for different purposes, and it comes with 3 different sizes of smoothie cups with lids and sleeves. It comes with a recipe book, and you can get many more recipes for free on the Ninja website. I added an extra set of smoothie cups to my order, and glad I did. I like to use a variety of super-food ingredients, make a big batch in the 72 oz blender, pour them into about 3 smoothie cups, and freeze the extras. Then, I take one green smoothie out of the freezer each day. This keeps the ingredients really fresh, and the clean-up just once every few days. I LOVE my Ninja! http://www.ninjakitchen.com/nutri-ninja-auto-iq/autoIQ-compare/

I've thought this through because it's a concern of mine, too. I want and need a support community and resources (bariatric recipes, etc) as I go through this journey. My regular FB is full of co-workers and others who do NOT need to know my personal medical plans and medical history....Definitely none of their business. I'm sure that several people I know would be judgy, critical and gossipy, including family members. I want to "like" all the Bariatric FB pages (including BariatricPal), but your FB friends can see the pages you "like". It would be very easy for regular FB friends to figure it out, even just by what pages you like. My solution was to create a new alternate FB profile. It's very simple to do. I created a new personal email address to open the new FB account with, and that email address is specific to my bariatric journey, too. Now, I can "like" everything I want to on FB without any of my regular FB friends seeing what I'm liking. I've liked/joined a couple dozen awesome pages already. I will join groups with the new FB account, secret or not secret groups. I will make FB friends with the new profile who are genuinely supportive, especially new friends going through the same thing. It's making me feel really free to be doing my thing, and have a "safe" community via FB. I'm still pre-op. After I have the surgery and lose noticeable weight, people will be asking me how...especially certain snippy & gossipy people at work. I won't tell them about the surgery, but I will tell them about counting calories, tracking everything I eat and drink, drinking tons more Water, eliminating the "white stuff", working out a lot more, etc. It will all be true. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010667087919

Hi all, I'm putting together my weekly supplements and meds (pre-op). I've looked online at the nutrient labels for the bariatric Multivitamins, and compared the label with my Adult 50+ Multivitamin that I use now. Although the levels vary, most of the Vitamins were on both labels. The exceptions are that on the bariatric label, there is no Vitamin K and no Potassium. Does anyone know if there's a reason that these two aren't supplemented for bariatric patients? Also.... what about other things that I take now like coq10 and fish oil? Does anyone take these post-op? thanks!!

Everyone, thanks for your input. I want to be sure to get the supplementation right, because the very low calories post-op & lack of anti-oxidant foods (no fruits & very little veggies) are going to leave a big nutritional void without the best supplements. I want to learn everything. The main reason I currently take coq10 is because I have to take a statin drug, which depletes our bodies of natural CoQ10. I hate being on statins for high cholesterol, but it's one of my necessary evils until after I reverse my obesity-related health issues. Rick, I hate the horse sized pills even pre-op! I found a great small fish oil for Omega 3 that's very small and goes down easy. It's CVS brand "Half-the-Size Fish Oil", 1000 mg. However, I'm not sure if bariatric patients are supposed to take it. I was taught in my pre-op nutrition class that we're not allowed to have softgels. I currently take softgels for my fish oil, Vitamin D and vitamin E. Is this pretty commonly taught for bariatric patients, no softgels are allowed? If so, why?

Congratulations!

Thanks for all the encouragement! I'm really glad to be here, and can't wait to get to know you all.

Hi everyone, I've started hanging out and reading/learning here. I'm on the way toward having VSG. I've had my testing and approvals done by my PCP, have had my first appointment with my surgeon, attended a required day-long nutrition class, made the appointment with the psychiatrist, and scheduled all of the monthly appointments with the nutritionist It will be April 2016 before I'm done with all the appointments, and probably May before I can hope to get my surgery. I'm 56 years old. I've developed obesity-related issues over the years that have gotten gradually worse each year: HBP, high cholesterol, borderline diabetes, GERD, arthritis, really bad knees, etc. Serious permanent weight loss is my only hope. I've been overweight since age 8, and dieting off and on all my life. I was diagnosed as a teen with PCOS, which makes weight loss extra-hard. I've occasionally lost a lot of weight dieting, but eventually something happens, "life happens" and I would get derailed and gain. I'm definitely an emotional eater and that's going to be my biggest challenge. There's always so much shame in regaining / failing, and I want to break that cycle once and for all. Once I took the step in the direction of weight loss surgery, I was surprised and disappointed when I learned it would take over 6 months to get through the process to be able to get the surgery, but I'm just moving forward and taking it one appointment at a time. I want to really learn and absorb all of the lessons they're trying to teach me, because I want to be successful, once and for all. I really want my life back, and I desperately want to be able do all the physical things that have been slipping away from me the past few years. I've started logging my food and Water on www.myfitnesspal.com, and I'm really going to try to eat and drink the way I'll need to do it in a few months. Sometimes I find myself craving things just because I'll probably never have it again, and my "obesity voice" is telling me to get it while I can. I'm fighting this battle every day right now. At the nutrition class last week, I received a book and workbook called "The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients" by Colleen M. Cook. I'm going to start reading and working through this material today. Has anyone here used this material? I'm single. The one family member who knows is my 28 year old daughter. We're very close; she's going to be my helper when I have the surgery. I'm keeping the surgery private from most everyone I know, because I'm sure I'll get negativity and I don't need that. I want only a few very positive & supportive people to be in on this with me. So, I hope to get to know you, and I hope I can be of support to others.