cindym44

My husband is the only person who knows. My children don't know, my parents don't know, my siblings don't know and the people I work with don't know. I was only off work a week, so I used vacation time. People comment all the time telling me how good I look and my response is...Thank you, I struggle with what I put in my mouth every day. Which is the truth. If I didn't have the puncture marks on my mid section, I could wear a bikini for the first time in my life. But, because I am afraid that the puncture marks will lead to more questions, I am going to stick with a one-piece.

Don't do it! Forget the food funerals...Eating anything you want now will only increase the fat in your liver and that will show up in your pre-op blood work. My surgeon told me that if she could not lift my liver out of the way for surgery, she would cancel surgery. It isn't worth the chance....

Oh how I would love to be able to sing!! I sure hope this comes true for me...right now, I can't carry a tune in a hand basket!

Hi everyone - I LOVE my new body and would like to lose about 25 more pounds, but if I don't...that's ok. That's ok because I haven't been this size in over 12 years. I am pretty happy with the way I look and I pretty much eat what I want, but I follow the strict rule of protein first. If I still want more to eat, I will eat veggies next and then maybe a bite of carbs. I can't tell you the last time I had a sub or even a sandwich...I already know I can't eat it, so why bother buying it. My question is this...when will I know when my body is "done" losing weight? I am 4 months out and also wonder how many months will I go until I am "done" losing weight? How did you know? Thanks all!

I was able to document a consecutive 6 months of Weight Watchers and it was accepted. I did not have to have to attend supervised weight loss classes. My doctor's office submitted to my insurance company and I was approved in 1 day. From consultation with my surgeon to surgery date took me about 10 weeks.

I am a happy girl....Life is Onederful! I finally broke the 200 mark and for the first time in 10 years, I am in the Ones.... I am beyond thrilled.... Merry Christmas everyone!

I have BCBS in Maryland and I got my approval in 1 day!! Make sure your surgeon's office knows what they are doing to submit because I was told by my surgeon that if you get denied the first time, it can be very difficult to overturn.

I had my sleeve on September 14th and had my first drink about 4 weeks later. I also enjoy an occasional cocktail, and know all about the empty calories so I switched from my regular rum and coke to vodka and diet cranberry juice - which has become my new drink of choice. I still enjoy a cocktail or 2 about once every 10 days or so. My surgeon had told me that I had to be careful with alcohol because l would be feeling the effects sooner that I expected. I didn't experience that but think it was because I sipped the 2 drinks over a period of 3 hours. On the benefit side, the alcohol helped my bowels move as I am constantly constipated from all the Protein I am taking in.

Yes, the 2 week pre-op is to shrink your liver, but if you have a fatty liver already and then do the food funerals, your liver becomes even bigger and fattier. I lost 11 lbs during my 2 week pre-op but the blood work taken right before the operation still showed a fatty liver.

Don't do the food funerals! I did and was worried I wasn't going to be able to have my operation because of my fatty liver.

I was approved in 1 day. My insurance is BCBS Carefirst.

For anyone thinking that this surgery will magically make the scale go lower, without any work from you, you are WRONG. This surgery is a tool. Period. You will have to be on a diet for the rest of your lives. You will have to commit to this change and embrace it, or the surgery will be a failure. You are allowed to make bad food choices, BUT if you are making bad food choices most of the time, you will fail. If you are dining out, start thinking about low fat and low calorie appetizers as your main course - not the usual 14 oz. steak dinner with 2 sides and dessert. You will miss eating these dinners, but those days are gone. If you eat like you did before the surgery, again, you will fail. Exercise. You need to exercise. Take the steps instead of the elevator. Park your car in the parking spot far away from your office front door. Go to the mall and window shop for those clothes you will buy after you lose the weight. Walk, Walk, Walk. Be prepared to give up some things you really like. No more carbonated beverages. A glass of wine is a rare occurrence. Bread, Pasta, and other unhealthy carbs will be gone until you reach your goal. And after you reach your goal, you must still be committed to working to keep the weight off. It will be a daily struggle - all day, every day. All this said, the surgery does work - with your commitment and hard work. You, and only you, will be the deciding factor. If you are lucky enough to be approved for this surgery, use it a chance to start over. It's hard work, but you can do it - if you really want to.

Although my insurance required a 6 month history of a supervised diet, they accepted my weight watchers booklet showing my weekly meetings and my weigh ins. From consultation to surgery took me just over 2 months. I was a happy girl.

I was sleeved 6 weeks ago and have been through some ups and downs. I too, was frusterated because I could hardly eat anything. I survived on soups and soft foods for weeks, plus Protein shakes. I lost weight and was happy. Then I got tired of the soups and soft foods, but still kept going. Then I stalled and was constipated for days. Frusterated again. All of sudden I was vomiting the foamies when I ate...another disappointment, but I kept going. I went out with friends last night and realized for the first time ever, I would never be able to eat a full meal again. Never. But that is ok with me, but I find myself making excuses for why I am not eating like I used to because I kept my surgery a secret. In the end, I still think it is worth it...but there are definitely some adjustments along the way. I don't think the adjustments will ever go away....

I had my 6 week check up today and am only down 17lbs from day of surgery. I am having a hard time getting all my Protein in and I am not eating much. I am just not hungry. My doctor told me to kick it up a notch with the protein and I would notice more weight dropping off. So that is my new goal...more protein...every day, plus I need to eat every 2 hours. Hoping this makes a difference for me.