Diana_in_Philly

I'm 14 months out. 107 pounds down. At about 60 pounds out, a friend of mine who teaches Pilates said, you are still moving as though you weigh your old weight. She started helping me with Pilates - if you are not familiar with it - YouTube or library. It is used extensively by dancers (really good posture) and it has changed the way I move and the way I look. People think I'm taller than my 5'3" and think that I'm thinner than I am. It is about strengthening your core - your powerhouse - the muscles in your abdomen and back. Yoga helps as well. But you have to be consistent and work at it every day. It took us years to get to the way we were, and it is going to take us time to undo the damage we have done to our bodies.

That the first three to six weeks are going to feel like forever. I had two weeks of full liquids (yogurt, soup, shakes) right after surgery then two weeks of purees (ricotta bake, tuna salad, chicken salad) and then finally to soft foods. Can i tell you I never thought a scrambled egg would taste so good. Get moving and cleared for exercise as soon as you are able. it will make recovery so much easier.

@Little Green - you didn't develop all the habits that got you to where you are in six months, so trying to erase all of them in six months is kinda crazy. Pick one thing and for a solid week - work on it -- e.g. this week I will not drink diet soda. I will drink seltzer with a wedge of lime (or whatever). Or this week, I will not eat any white flour - if I eat bread it will be whole wheat. Probably the thing that helped me get my head in the right place pre-op was tracking every bite I ate. I mean absolutely everything. No cheating on the list. Doesn't matter how you do it - little notebook, My Fitness Pal, or some other app. Be honest because not being honest with ourselves about what we were consuming was part of what got us into the problem in the first place. It was hard and there were times when i felt like I was failing and over the last year I have had those feelings post op as well - but that has more to do with my issues about being an over-achiever and my need to succeed at everything. I was worried going to my 1 year appointment that I was going to be told I wasn't doing enough and didn't do well enough because I had convinced myself of that. WRONG! They asked me to be a motivational speaker to the pre-op support group as a "success story" and I don't feel like I'm quite done yet. The most important thing, in my mind, to learn in your pre-op is to get back on the wagon after you fall off and to write it all down honestly. Because then you have data you can look at and post-op it will matter -- sometimes an increase or decrease of 10-50 calories a day can break a stall. Be gentle with yourself. You are a work in progress. You've got this.

I was in the gym six days after surgery doing gentle cardio on a recumbent bike. No reason you can't do whatever your body feels capable of. I really like Yoga By Adrienne on You Tube. Also, Fitness blender is good and if you want to spend about $10/month you can go with Daily Burn and you'll have new workouts every day. By the time I was 3 months out I was in the gym 5 days a week doing cardio and weights and working with a trainer who set up a plan for me - I used my local YMCA - did classes as time allowed/

@Danny Paul you're just starting out - so that makes it a little tougher. I didn't tell my family (other than my hubby and two teen daughters) and six weeks after surgery we had to bury my mother. Large, week long Italian New York funeral - lots of food. I nibbled, pushed things around on my plate and talked with my cousins, a lot. No one noticed how little I had eaten. Everyone mentioned how good I looked. (I was probably down 30-40 pounds from the last time they had seen me.) Most of them probably won't recognize me now down more than 100 pounds. I eat out often - in both my business and volunteer role as the president of a non-profit. I take my leftovers home. I order a small salad to start and sometimes order an appetizer as my entree and just fib that "I had a big, late lunch". We are far more aware than anyone else is of what is or isn't on our plate. You've got this.

You should ask your surgeon - they should be able to tell you - someone in the office will know those numbers - they will know what usually gets covered by insurance and what the balance is. The price I pay in Philadelphia is going to be very different from what you pay in Arkansas! Also depends on whether your team requires an overnight stay in the hospital.

Then go to the website to look it up - there should be a link someone can give you so you can check things like what drugs are in the formulary. There shouldbe something like this they can give you a link to - this one is for Westminster College's plan. Your plan may be different. At least one Cigna OAP 500 that came up when I googled did not cover bariatric, but this appears it may. https://westminstercollege.edu/docs/default-source/internal-content-documents/hr-documents/benefits/medical/2017-2018-cigna-oap-500-benefits-summary.pdf?sfvrsn=2

I would make sure you let your group know about this woman's attitude so they don't send other folks to her. Just in case. Some people can't stand up for themselves the way you did.

Its not clear to me how many kids and what ages. My kids were 17 and 13 when I had my surgery, so they were pretty self sufficient. This was my experience - Surgery Tuesday. Home Wednesday. Made dinner Friday. Did anything around the house that didn't involve lifting more than 10 pounds starting on Friday. Drove Friday. Went to gym to ride recumbent bike Saturday. So, they ordered out Tuesday night. Wednesday, my hubby grilled burgers for them. Thursday, one of the girls made spaghetti with a jar of pasta sauce from the grocery store. Since school will be out, i would think your troops will not be meeting. you should have assistant troop leaders - tell them to plan something for that time because you will be recovering from a procedure if you are meeting between Christmas and New Year's. I was back at work on Monday (I'm a desk jockey) and doing everything but laundry at home (I could switch stuff from washer to dryer and fold, but I couldn't carry up and down stairs) until I was cleared for lifting at 3 weeks out. You probably don't need more than a couple of days of casseroles in the freezer. I was 55 when i had my VSG. It was way easier than either of the c-sections I had with my kids. Just sayin.

The only way to know is to get the details of your new potential plan from your new employer. There are hundreds of CIGNA plans out there - some may cover some may not. However, it is extremely unlikely that anyone will cover bariatric vitamins. Most plans don't even cover pre-natal vitamins. I never used specific "bariatric" vitamins. (I'm 14 months out). I buy my vitamins at Costco. I use chewable multi, tablets for iron, calcium, D and B12. (I'm low on D and B12 since before surgery). Doesn't cost a ton there. But the only way to know if things are covered are to ask HR or whomever for the information on the policy and then go to the website for your particular policy and check things out.

If you can stand it, get rid of those two pieces of toast. I'm still losing (slowly albeit) at 14 months out and it comes off much easier if I avoid the carbs altogether. Try changing up your fitness routine as well - that might shock your system a little - do something different at the gym than what you are doing. I stalled for about 3 months from 10-13 months, and dropped a few more pounds last month. Now, I'm on a sixty-day fitness challenge at my gym - I am realizing that I'm not going to lose a lot more in pounds because at this point, I'm putting on muscle and getting rid of a little bit of fat. I think I'd like to get down to 150, but I'm not really sure. To be honest, I'm pretty pleased with how I look right now.

I was between 400-600 calories a day until i was about 6 months out and then slowly increased over time to about 1,000 calories at a year. I'm 14 months out and eating 1,000-1,200 daily depending on my workout and still losing. My team's advice was not to eat what I worked out early on. I don't generally follow that completely now because if I fence for 2 hours, I'm going to burn 1000 calories fencing - so I will eat some extra on those days.

I'm sorry you no longer enjoy eating out. I'm 14 months post VSG and eat out frequently (probably 3 times a month). I'm still losing. In fact, we are having Thanksgiving at a hotel - partially so that I don't have to cook and if I only pick at what's on my plate, its no big deal - I'll just take the leftovers back to the room and put them in the fridge there. I understand tastes changing - mine have too - but I still enjoy a good meal with friends because its about the conversation. So many times i just order an appetizer as my entree. But since its your birthday, pick something you want to do. Tell them they are free to join you if they like. Go for a hike. See a show, Spa day, movies, all mentioned above are great ideas. But, for me, I'll be headed out to dinner tonight with my husband and daughter. We're meeting him at a local tavern where his running club will end up after their Monday night run. Usually I'm fencing on Mondays, but I'm nursing a knee back to health so I'm not going tonight. I enjoy getting to know the folks in his running club and since they've just run 5-6 miles, they want to eat and I'm good with that. I'll order what appeals to me. Or if when i look at the menu later, I don't see anything that floats my boat, I'll eat before I go and just have a glass of wine and chat with people.

Powder and blender bottle. You can buy water once you clear security. You cannot have the liquid through security. You can also have flight attendants give you water or milk on board your flight. Then, find a location at your destination to buy shakes. Or pack them in your checked luggage.

Are you exercising? Change up your exercise routine. That might help. Change up your diet. Are you tracking your food intake and meeting your protein and water goals? Increase exercise and reduce calories. I'm not as far out as you are (14 months) but when things get slow, its usually because I am not being good about tracking/measuring and not meeting my water and protein goals. Also, keep in mind that your body composition is going to change. The more you lose, the tougher it is to lose. Best of luck on your journey.

Three months out is about when everybody hits a little bit of a stall. You are doing a great job. If drinking milk hurts, don't do it. You could be a bit lactose intolerant right now. That may pass. I don't know that I would be eating fruit three months out. Are your meeting your protein and water goals? Are you exercising? All of those make a difference. I went through a stall at about the same time and my measurements were changing when the scale wasn't so - maybe that's what's going on. Ride it out. Work your plan and it will work for you. Maybe change up your routine - if you've been eating alot of chicken, switch to fish. Have a shake every morning if you have been doing something else for breakfast. Decrease your calories a smidge or increase your exercise a smidge. Small changes can make big differences.

I love Premier for pre-mixed and Optimum Nutrtition Gold Standard Whey (usually Vanilla). The key for me has been to mix things in with the shake. For example, I would use 1 Premier Caramel, 1 cup of strong cold coffee, and a squirt of sugar free chocolate syrup (I use Torani) and throw in the blender with ice - there you have a 30g protein frappucino. For the Vanilla, I like to use Fairlife Skim milk to add to the protein count, and a handful of frozen fruit - usually less than 1/2 cup. Gives it a nice flavor and acts as "ice" for the blender. When I'm in a chocolate mood, chocolate protein powder, fairlife skim, 1 tablespoon of PB2, and a squirt of sugar free Torani salted Caramel - add ice and blend. Snickers shake with about 39g protein and under 200 calories. Pinterest is your friend for ideas on shakes. I'm 14 months out. I have a shake for breakfast probably 3-4 days a week. I was doing it every day starting about 2 months prior to surgery. Variety is the spice of life - sometimes I use cinnamon syrups or tropical flavors - like coconut syrup with frozen pineapple for Pina Colada.

Lying on a life insurance application, if determined after your death, will void the policy and your survivors will get nothing. Period. Full Stop. I have represented insurance companies in these types of cases. Don't lie. If you don't get the coverage you want from the first carrier, try someone else. SOmeone will write the policy, but don't lie - because you will have wasted your premium money and your family will get nothing.

I started cooking three days after surgery. I had two teens at home when I had my surgery 14 months ago. I cook high protein, low carb for the house. Everyone survives just fine. Steak, veggie, potato for them not for me. Chicken, rice, salad. No rice for me. Pretty straight forward.

Day of surgery 246.9. One year out I was (to the day) 171 so down 75 pounds. But, I really look at my high weight which was end of April 2017 at least the recorded weight - 271.5 I think I was higher at points, but didn't get on the scale and my weight now - at 14 months out at 166. I'm down 105 pounds. In an average day I eat about 1,000 calories with 60-90 grams of protein, and 64 ounces of water minimum. I usually start with a shake (fairlife skim, protein powder and 1/2c fruit for 35 g. protein), lunch is usually 3 oz grilled chicken with a salad and dinner is whatever the family is eating. Snacks are usually Oikos Triple Zero yogurt, fruit or cheese. I eat a pretty normal diet. Best of luck to you.

Surgery Tuesday. Discharged Wednesday. Drove Friday. My doc said as soon as I was off pain meds I could drive. I didn't take any meds after I left the hospital. Didn't have anywhere to go on Thursday. Friday went grocery shopping for my family and made them carry all the bags inside when I got home (10 pound weight lifting restriction) and used one of the "helpers" my grocery store offers to put the bags in your car for you.

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. I realized after firing my PCP of 20+ years that she had a weight bias. She never suggested i even consider this - just stressed that I wan't trying hard enough to lose weight with the various plans she recommended. My new PCP said in our first visit - I think you're a great candidate for bariatric surgery. If you have decided on Mexico, then do it. Find a new PCP for your aftercare who deals with people who have had surgery. I have no tolerance for physicians with a fat bias

Here goes - I'm 14 months out. My biggest complication has been to create a budget for new clothes. I'm 56. I have two teenage daughters - one a freshman in college, one a freshman in high school. At my highest known weight I was 271.5 (photos I have seen indicate I was probably larger at points, but didn't get on scales). That was April 2016. I had my surgery August 2016. I weigh 166 right now. My BMI went from 48 to 29. I still want to lose another 15 pounds. I'm 5'3". Sometimes, I get nauseous if I eat things with too many carbs or too much sugar - that's my body reminding me not to go back to bad habits. It has happened about 4 times since surgery. I took my nausea meds for a day or two after surgery and that was it. I didn't use any pain pills after discharge from the hospital. I take a PPI daily and have no issues with heartburn or reflux. I drink wine when I want (but only after I have met my protein and water goals for the day and have calories left over to do so). I eat what my family eats because I cook for them. I use Barilla Protein Pasta instead of the regular Barilla pastas and we all have spaghetti or ziti together. My bloodwork looks great. My team wants me to be a success story for our support groups. I've gone from barely fitting in a size 22 to being a size 8. My profile photo is from about six month ago - so its not accurate. I fence (en garde) 5 hours a week and work out in the gym another 2-3. My biggest complication has been wrapping my head around the fact that I'm not fat anymore. I still, in my mind, see myself as the fat woman I have been for so long. I weigh less now than I did when my husband married me 20 years ago. What makes this surgery successful or not is getting your head in the right place. If you are already resentful, then you are not in a good place to do this. You may want to work with a therapist on what is holding you back from taking care of yourself. This only works if you are going to make the plan work and are committed to it. I decided I didn't want to be the fat mom any more. That I wanted to be able to dance at my daughters' weddings when they married and not be in a wheelchair because my joints gave out from carrying almost 300 pounds on a 5'3" frame. I wanted to be healthy. The only regret I have is that I didn't do this 10 years sooner. Best of luck on your journey.

It depends on what you do. I have a desk job. I brought my insulated lunch box with my shakes inside and my yogurt. I had plenty of access to water. I brought in packets of Crystal Light type stuff. I was back at work 6 days after surgery. One day I treated myself to egg drop soup - but the sodium content messed with me. Wasn't really an issue, but I don't know what you do.

"I'm having a procedure. What? Oh, did you have sex last night? Oh, wait, you find that question intrusive?" Hint. Hint. Just keep repeating - I'm having a procedure my doctor has told me is necessary. No one is entitled to know anything more. (I only told my husband, two teen daughters and two very close friends. My mother and sister don't know and I'm 14 months out.)