YeaMe

First, you look fabulous - congratulations. You are very fortunate to not have any skin issues. Sadly I look like I am melting. Everyone around me tells me I am at the perfect weight, not to lose anymore, because my face still looks good and I look super thin. Really?!?!?! Super thin compared to my 280 top weight, maybe. My BMI is still considered overweight. I am in a size 10/12. I have 15 more lbs to lose before I hit my goal weight but I feel our goal weight we set is a made up number that usually sits at the high range of a normal BMI. I have one person who I totally trust to tell me the truth, and that is my daughter. I know though I can trust her to give me a completely honest answer and she is the person I will listen to. Also, I don't want to have to eat 800 calories to stay at my end weight, whatever that ends of being. Of course right now, being 4 1/2 months out, I can really only get in about 800-1,000 calories on a good day. So I will start playing with calories to see what my body needs to maintain once I reach that point. I feel fortunate in that I look in the mirror and don't see a fat person, I see someone who looks pretty good (despite the melting skin part) so I don't think I will have a distorted view of myself as I continue to lose weight. I wish you luck and dang, doesn't it feel good!!!!!

For the first 3 months I really liked Premier Protein. Just burned out on it now.

I am in your same shoes. Last week was the 2 year anniversary of both my parents passing. I went out to walk to clear my head and walked for 3 hours straight. I think my mind and body knew it had to be exhausted to get through the day. My heart is with you.

I had the exact same thing. I paid my surgeon his fee for the VSG, which was $5,000. I then paid another $4,800 to the hospital for the "VSG" portion of the surgery (special tools, partial use of surgical room, part of hospital stay, etc. - which the hospital figured out). They also paid all of the lab work and anesthesiologist. Out of the $4,800 paid to the hospital, I have received $4,100 back. Once the insurance company discounted everything, they paid almost all of it. I didn't question it. I previously had the band (15 years ago) done in Mexico and had a horrible time with follow-up care, so I decided this time around I would stay in the states.

Honestly, I still have trouble eating too fast. I've eaten this way for 30 years and is hard to change overnight. Good news, if I know I will be tempted by something, I eat something too fast/too big and that puts the breaks on immediately.

You should strive to be in a healthy BMI - which for you would be between 18.5-24.9 (or weight of - 110-144). You are currently 30.7. I am 5'9" and setting my goal for the higher end of "healthy BMI" 155lbs. I have 19 lbs left to go. I am going to wait and see how I feel/look when I get there on whether I want to go lower. The advice some will give is to go 10 lbs below your desired goal in case of "regain." I cannot imagine going to 145 or below, but again, I will wait and see. If I could have skin removal, it would probably take another 10 lbs off, but my entire body needs it, so it won't be happening. If I was under 50, maybe, but I'll be sixty in a couple of years and the pain/$$ required I would rather retire! Good luck!

I'm 4 1/2 months out and I push to intake 800 calories.

You need to be concerned with your protein intake, which in itself will take care of the calorie intake. We all have days where we just aren't that hungry - today is one of mine - I've only taken in about 400 calories. This though, can't be a daily thing. You are still early in your journey so you should still probably be drinking protein shakes. At the beginning I had to do that at least 2 times a day and still to this day I will chug one to get in more calories and protein for the day.

I really liked it but could only eat 1/2 of one because it is really dense and somewhat hard to macerate. So I got full, really fast.

You look amazing! Congratulations!

You are doing nothing wrong. I have gone 3 weeks without losing and then 8 lbs will fall off in 3 days. The body is readjusting itself and what you are experiencing probably happens to 80-90% of people. Also, starting at a lower weight (I know, you never thought 249 would be considered a low weight) the body seems to need more time to move everything around. Follow your plan and it WILL come off.

Here is the nutrition label from the pepperoni pizza. I pizza is 1 serving.

Super excited to read this. I went to their website and unfortunately you have to buy them in large bulk. I did see where they have starting selling them in Krogers, and fortunately, I called my Kroger and they have them! Will be trying tonight - need something different. Thanks!

Newme17 - Yes he did, as well as the nutritionist. That's when I realized I was going to have to come up with my own plan. I will definitely still go by their number of grams of protein, etc. they recommend. My last visit, last week, the nutritionist said I needed to get more fat. I was skeptical at first, but then realized I eat solely protein, except for an occasional carb (meaning 2 crackers). I'm taking the ridiculously priced bariatric vitamins and will continue to do so until I can eat more and have a well-balanced diet. Hopefully then I can switch to a "normal" vitamin.

Introversion, so glad to read this. Every surgeon has their take on what should be done. Mine said, I will never tell you to eat more calories and I don't believe that low calorie restriction will ruin a metabolism. While I am losing, I have to jolt myself periodically from the 850 I am now eating to continue losing. I'm 23lbs from goal and want to start increasing my calories (though I feel like I eat all day to get in 850). I want to increase my daily intake so that I can up my workout intensity. With 850, I just don't have the stamina that I hope additional (healthy) calories would help provide. I am currently on a 10 lb a month weight loss which I am thrilled with and would be fine going down to 5 lb a month for the remainder. Thanks for the information - gives me hope!

Introversion - Out of curiosity, what was your calorie range during weight loss?

I was self-paid too and chose to have my surgery near my home in the states. It thought it would be more expensive, but I decided it was worth it to have the pre/post-care that I feel is important, and in case something went wrong. I had a friend who went out of the country and she struggles because she doesn't have any post-care. I'm sure it depends on the doctor/facility that you go to as to what type of pre/post-care they offer. It was important to me to sit down with a nutritionist who specializes in bariatric nutrition. I thought I knew everything, but realized I knew very little. My insurance didn't cover surgery either, but I had a hiatal hernia fixed and they ended up paying almost 95% of hospital expenses, though I did have to pay my surgeon's fee of $5,000. I wasn't expecting them to pay much at all. It was a nice surprise.

I don't eat anything but protein. I too am craving salads but would never get my needed protein levels in if I had any.

Yes, all this is very normal. It is scary when you can barely get anything down, but it is swelling and will get better with each passing day. I am officially 4 months out today and I can guzzle water again. I managed without pain meds, but I am a woman. :-) But women tend to get the nausea that comes with the surgery so not so great. Just take it slow, do what your surgeon tells you to do, and the weight will fall off. Congratulations!!!

I'm wondering how you can ingest 1,000 calories at 3 weeks out, though not sure of your surgeon's eating plan. I was barely able to get in 600 calories at 3 weeks. What are you eating in a day?

No, I don't think losing too fast is a thing initially if you are getting in your protein and fluids. You have more weight to lose so it will initially come off at a faster rate. Also, since you have lost so much so fast, you may hit a plateau and then will be stressing that you haven't lost weight for a week or two. That is totally normal also. It all balances out in time. Just enjoy the ride-it's amazing!

I can see where you are coming from. When I finally decided something I want it done now. (Good American values). It's impossible to say what your insurance process is. You can call them and they will tell you exactly what is needed and how long it will take. My BMI was too low and if I decided to gain some weight to meet the BMI needed, I would have to go on a 9 month monitored diet first. What they refuse to acknowledge is most people are aces at losing weight, it's keeping it off that is the struggle. I decided to do self pay and within a month I had surgery. My surgeon still required appointments with nutritionist, psychologist, and a endoscopy before surgery. I ended up at the last minute having a hiatal hernia repaired at the same time and the insurance ended up paying all but $700 of the hospital, anesthesiologist and labs. I just had to pay the $700 and the surgeon fee of $5,000. The hospital still is sending me reimbursement checks still! So my out-of-pocket went from $15,500 to $5,700. I wish you a speedy process.

I think that a majority of people are scared about surgery and doubting it because there are so many what ifs: will I have pain; will I have complications; will I lose weight; will I be able to change my eating habits. You can ask these questions to 10 people and get 10 different responses. Complications are rare and this is one of the safest bariatric surgeries available. Of course I was hesitant about altering my body, but realized after 40 yrs of dieting I was still obese and I needed to go a different direction. As far as pain, I had very little, just nausea. Transitioning into post-op life, I am almost 4 months out and so far there are just a few things that have been hard. Eating too fast and not chewing enough - both of these you can start working on before the surgery (which I did not). Success so far - I am elated with not having the carb and sugar cravings that controlled my life. My primary food sources are protein with a few complex carbs. As of now, I can say this is the best decision I have ever made for my health. The one worry I still have is the long term outcome. I just have to stay focused and realize this is a "forever" change and going back to eating fast and processed foods will only take me back to square one again. Only you can decide in the end if this is right for you. Good luck!

I had my gallbladder removed years ago and was shocked by how painful it was afterwards and length of recovery time. It took a good 10 days to start feeling better. I had the VSG procedure w/hernia repair and it was a breeze compared to the gallbladder removal. Not quite sure why, as incisions are pretty much the same for both procedures. You will start feeling better soon.

You said it yourself - I feel my diet has increased and I haven't been exercising. That's exactly why.