blizair09

I took Phentermine during the entirety of my six-month pre-op diet program; however, I was told to stop taking it 2 weeks prior to surgery. Adjusting to the Phentermine is a pretty big undertaking. The first week or so, you feel absolutely awful. I wouldn't recommending taking it short-term. It just isn't worth it.

I'm close to 210 now (at 6'0"). When I say that I want to lose about 30 more pounds, most people remark "why?", but I just tell them that at this point, it is mostly in my belly and thighs (which it is). The other thing, for me, is that my partner (who has lost 115 pounds himself) is a little bothered by the fact that I will soon weigh the same or less than him. I have always been at least 50 pounds more than him, even years and years ago before we had both gotten so big. He is and has always been super supportive of my journey, but it is an adjustment for us. The bottom line is that I started this journey to fix a health issue and it is going to keep going until I get where I need to be.

I would call your team and talk to them about all of this.

Nothing about this journey is easy. You will feel better and better with each passing day and week. Make walking and meeting your protein and water goals your full-time job right now. Doing those things will speed your recovery. Good luck!

Great post!

I am six months post-op today, and I have lost 85% of my excess weight so far (184 pounds). And I have no reason to believe I won't lose the rest (33 pounds). It is all about devotion to proper food intake and exercise.

I eat mostly lean meat (chicken, 90% lean hamburger meat, pork loin, salmon), string cheese, cottage cheese, and green vegetables. I haven't had bread, pasta, potatoes, corn, sugar, etc. in over a year now. And I don't plan on having any of those things anytime in the foreseeable future. What I do is ultra low carb. I think you can technically still be low carb if you stay below 50 carbs per day. But you have to figure out what threshold works for you.

My insurance required a six-month diet program as part of the approval process. I followed a high protein/low carb/high healthy fat way of eating throughout the program, and I lost 99 pounds (from 397 to 298) by the day of surgery. I have continued to follow that way of eating post-op (and I've lost 85 more pounds since my surgery on September 28, 2016). I find the low carb way of eating to be satisfying, and you're going to have to focus on protein post-op anyway. As far as settling into the diet program, there is no magic trick. You have to set parameters for yourself and stick to them. I began with 2000 calories and worked my down to 1800, 1500, and finally 1200 for the last 3 months of the 6. I kept my carbs below 20 grams and my protein above 100 grams from the beginning (and I still do, now). This entire journey requires patience, grit, and perseverance. The required pre-op diet programs should be used as a time to redefine your relationship with food (and following a specified way of eating is an aid in doing that) and get yourself ready for a successful post-op life. I wouldn't trade my pre-op experience for anything, and I wouldn't have had the success I have had without that time. Good luck!

In my company, you have to take 5 sick days before STD can kick in. I applied for both FMLA and STD about a month before my surgery date (which is right around the time it got scheduled). I had to call the STD insurance company the day before my leave started (which was surgery day). They approved me for 4 weeks during that 5 day sick leave period that we are required to take. They then extended it to a total of 6 weeks about 2 weeks into it. That is this company's process. I imagine others are similar, but they might not be exactly the same.

The bottom line is that if you don't change your relationship with food, you will never be successful long term. He's an adult, and he's going to have to see that for himself. I would point that out as kindly as you can, but eventually, he's either going to work to get it together, or he'll gain back all of his weight and have to live with fact that he put his body through a traumatic surgery for nothing.

My parents came down for the surgery and stayed with my partner and me for a week after. I was really happy to have them here so that my partner didn't have to take off of work all of that time. I probably would have been okay by myself during the day, but it made things a lot easier for them to be here. (And no one makes you feel better after something like that than your mama!)

Have you talked to your team about it? I would give them a call as soon as possible.

I agree with this sentence 100%. That is why I have always said that it is one's own personal decision whether to share details of their WLS or not. But to make up false information as to justifying weight loss IS misrepresenting the truth, and there are tons of threads about making up stories on this forum all the time. They are two separate situations.

I have told anyone and everyone about my entire weight loss journey (including the surgery) since I began my six-month pre-op diet program March 21, 2016. It keeps me accountable, and it also educates people on the realities of weight loss and the surgery itself. I have never had one person say one negative thing to me. I have lost nearly 185 pounds. That is an incredible accomplishment, surgery or not. At this point, people just want to talk about the transformation, and they don't really care about the surgery part. And, most importantly, I am not a liar. I don't want to purposefully mis-represent my situation. Frankly, I consider the surgery to be a supporting player in this journey. I lost 100 pounds during the six month pre-op diet program before I even had the surgery. The sleeve is only a tool that has been around since the beginning of the second half of my journey. I am the one who has done all of the hard work. And with my level of weight loss, people would assume that there has been some level of medical intervention. Everyone has the right to share or not share. But to go out of your way to deceive people is another thing entirely.

Great story. Good for you!

I was the same way. It is hard to get the mind in a place to let you rest when you have such a big day tomorrow. Try to at least rest, even if you can't sleep well. Good luck tomorrow. I'm sending you good thoughts.

Good luck tomorrow!

I took off for 6 weeks after my surgery. I cannot imagine having gone back before about 3 weeks, but honestly, I needed all of that time to recover physically, to devote myself 100% to meeting my protein and water goals, and to deal with the intense fatigue. And the fatigue was still a serious issue for me for the first 2 weeks after I did go back to work. My advice is to take as much time as your personal, professional, and financial situations will allow. Good luck!

I will be 6 months post-op on Tuesday. I eat 7 times per day, about 2 hours apart. And I eat the same thing every day. Meal #1: 1 scrambled egg with 1/2 piece of American cheese and 2 oz of chicken or pork loin (scrambled in the egg) Meal #2: 4 oz cottage cheese with 1 T sugar-free strawberry preserves Meal #3: 2 oz salmon or chicken, 1 string cheese, 10 ParmCrisps Meal #4: 3 oz chicken, 1 oz green Beans, 5 ParmCrisps Meal #5: 2 oz hamburger steak (90% lean), 1 oz green beans, 5 ParmCrisps Meal #6: 3 oz salmon, 1 oz green beans, 5 ParmCrisps Meal #7: 4 oz cottage cheese with 1 T sugar-free strawberry preserves I drink 32 oz of Water after Meal #1 and Meal #2, 16 os of water after Meal #3, Meal #6, and Meal #7. I always allow 30 minutes after eating before I drink and at least 30 minutes after drinking before I eat again. (It is almost never time to eat again 30 minutes after finishing the water, so that is never an issue.) This comes out to 1000-1100 calories, 20 carbs, and 110-130 grams of Protein depending on the day. The only time I ever have to have Protein shakes is if I am traveling for work. And even then, I usually only have to have 1 since I can't drag food around with me everywhere I go. Good luck!

The liquid part of the experience is something that you have to just persevere through, unfortunately. You'll likely have to remain on liquids for a time post-op, as well. (For me, it was 3 weeks post-op.) The good news is that it won't last forever, but it is an important time in the journey. It certainly isn't easy. Good luck!

It really just depends on your insurance company. In my case, once my PCP sent the surgeon's staff my medical clearance, they filed with the insurance the next day. I was approved two weeks later. The day I was approved, we scheduled the surgery for about 1 month later. Including the six month pre-op diet program (insurance required), from start to finish, the whole process took 7 months.

I am sorry to hear about your trouble with this. My partner (not a WLS patient, but someone who has lost 115 pounds in the past year) is struggling terribly with hemorrhoids right now. He gets some temporary relief with the creams, etc., but I am trying to convince him to see a doctor about it. At least hearing what you're saying will give us some idea of what might happen, but I hate for him to have to hear that. (He's on the fence about going to the doctor about it anyway...) I hope you get to feeling better.

I followed a low carb/high protein/high healthy fat diet for the entirety of my six month insurance-required diet program. I lost 99 pounds (from 397 to 298) during that six months by the time of surgery. I have continued to follow that way of eating post-op, and I have lost an additional 83 pounds since my surgery in late September. I have about 35 pounds to go until goal. My doctor had no weight loss expectations pre-op. I made this decision on my own and I am so glad that I did!