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I have Anthem Blue Cross of CA and based on what they've told me over the phone and the medical policy they directed me to, I have to show documented attempt at non surgical weight loss for 6 months within the last two years. So Anthem told me it could be WW receipts, or invoices for the medical weight loss program I used. But the surgeons office Told me that invoices aren't good enough, and that they need to see that I was counseled on nutrition, the actual numbers of pounds lost, etc. Does anyone know what passes as valid documentation for Anthem?

I'm 8 weeks out, and I work out 3-4x a week doing cycling or Orangetheory Fitness. And I'm wondering if perhaps my calorie intake might be too low? I'm currently consuming roughly about 800 calories per day, but I typically burn 450-550 calories during a workout. So my net calorie intake would be pretty low on those days. How far out are you, and how many calories are you consuming these days?

The Very Real Risks of Consuming Too Much Protein http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/09/03/too-much-protein.aspx

He's citing peer-reviewed journal articles and other sources as his sources to how he formulated his theory. He doesn't have to perform scientific experiments to form a theory based on his experience and readings....it's simply.... a theory. Just about every other book on weight loss has a similar formula. They are all theories.

I'm two months out, and my 11 yr old daughter is the same way. She was terrified for me at first, but once she saw I was okay, she was completely on board. So much so that she's taken it upon herself to start reading food labels, to learn more about healthy eating.

The citations are in the End Notes.

I'm down 30lbs, but I think I'm at a stall because the scale hasn't budged in a week or so...

How far out are you now, and what's your current intake?

Has anyone heard of or experienced this phenomenon, the "whoosh effect"? I read somewhere that as you lose fat, the cells fill with Water as a placeholder to regenerate fat, and then all of a sudden the water is released from the fat cells and that's when your stall is broken. I'm just curious, because I'm 5 weeks out and the scale was moving pretty consistently until week 4. And for the past week it went up about .2 and has stayed there. I know I shouldn't be worried, but the irrational me keeps interrupting to suggest that maybe the surgery isn't going to work for me like it does everyone else, maybe I won't lose much weight at all. I know it's all in my head, but it's hard to reconcile after so many years of trying to lose weight, stalling, and gaining it right back. Lol

I'm in Silver Spring. I was sleeved 3/16 at Howard Univ Hospital, Dr. Daniel Tran. Where in MD are you, and where are you having your surgery?

Yeah, you may want to try bumping up the calories if you're working out. Because if you're eating only 600 but burning 300 working out, that's a net of only 300 calories for the day. At least, that's how I understand it works. Are you tracking in MyFitnessPal? Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I did. I got sick of the sweet stuff all the time around day 5 and tested some hummus. It was great. I had about a spoonful. I figured of I could tolerate thick stuff like pudding, why not hummus of the same consistency? It was fine, but I didn't take it too far after. I also started my purée diet a couple days early with purée grilled chicken with honey mustard dressing mixed in. Wonderful! Lol Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Syntrax nectar, Isopure, and GENEPRO are my best friends. I just started puréed food yesterday and was able to get most of my Protein from food. For bkfst I made a green strawberry & spinach smoothie with coconut Water and a scoop of Genepro. Each scoop is only a tbsp and 30g protein. You can add it into anything, it's great. A lot of times I add it to unsweetened applesauce. Then for a mid-morning snack I used a Hillshire Snacking pack (grilled chicken bites) and puréed the chicken with the honey mustard dipping sauce. Each pack is 15g protein and 120 cal. It was delicious. lunch was a pack of lemon pepper tuna mixed with a couple tsp mayo, puréed. That was only about 123 cal and 18g protein. And dinner I puréed some grilled chicken and hummus, with a couple of pitted kalamata olives thrown in. That was about 200 cal and 20g protein. In between all of that I drink as much water or Syntrax Nectar (if I need protein) as I can. Some days I don't hit 64 oz but I try to get as close as possible. Syntrax makes it easier to hit liquid and protein simultaneously. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I know the goal is supposed to be 60-70g Protein and 64oz of Water, but two days out I don't know if I can get that much in yet. It's 5pm and I've been sipping since I woke up around 7am. I've managed to drink about 40oz and 46g of protein, thanks to my nectar drinks. I'm only 2 days out, so I know it gets easier as time goes on. So how is everyone else doing? I'm really afraid of getting dehydrated and going back in, so I'm trying hard to get it all in.

Just the broth. That in itself was much more satisfying than canned chicken broth. [emoji37]

Vietnamese Phô broth is what kept me going. It filled me up, tasted great, and contains some Protein in it (3g per cup according to MFP). I'm 4 days out, and it's been hard getting cold liquids down, and the warm phô broth makes things so much nicer for me.

One thing I've noticed, is that warm liquids seem to go down easier for me. Has anyone else experienced that? I can take 8oz of warm broth in less than 30 min than I can the same amount of cold Nectar. The Nectar will take me forever in comparison.

I've never had issues with Blood Pressure before. The day of surgery, my Blood Pressure was pretty high, something like 156/90-something. We all figured it was my nerves. I had my surgery on the 16th, the next day my Blood Pressure was still pretty high. They let me go home and told me to watch it, but I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this issue. Also, it seems that my temperature is elevated. Not quite a fever yet at 100.1, but close enough for me. Has anyone experienced this as well? I'm guessing it's from the trauma my body just went through with the surgery, but it does have me a bit concerned. It has fluctuated from 98.93 to 100 throughout the day.

Yeah, it must've just been the stress of being in the hospital or an inflammatory response. I took my BP again today and it's back down to 121/68 and my temp was 98.6. Yay.

I was able to get down 16oz of Syntrax nectar yesterday within 2-3 hours before going to sleep at 7pm, which I though was pretty good being that I came home from the hospital at 4pm. I had a few sips of broth, Water and tea each, for the first time yesterday at the hospital as well. So my plan is to start early this morning with the sipping. Took my temp this morning and it was back down to 98.6. Not sure about my BP yet, I need to send my aunt to get me a monitor later today. But I definitely don't feel like I felt yesterday when it was up. So we shall see.

Can you drink coconut water in this stage? It seems like it would be a great alternative to say, Gatorade.

Has anyone used Lipo- or Adenosine B12 injections post-op to help with the weight loss/fatigue? Did you feel like they boosted weight loss and your energy?

Yeah, these are the lipotropic shots. The weight loss place I used to go to does them, and when I called to ask if they had a program just for the shots, the office mgr suggested I use the place they get theirs from - b12shots.com. They have a subscription that's a lot cheaper than the $25/shot at the doc's office.

I know some can have a high sugar content (esp flavored), but the Vita Coco Pure is only 5g sugar, so I'm thinking it should be okay.

I'm in the DMV area, Silver Spring MD