Tony22

I had my 4 week appointment yesterday. 4 weeks to the day and was given the all clear to resume normal eating with no restrictions. Of course that doesn’t mean to go back to candy and all that other junk, but i can eat whatever I want. It’s on me to be smart about it. I started morning of surgery at 275. Four days later I was at 266.6 (8.4lb loss). One week out i was at 259 (16lb loss) and two weeks out I was at 252 (23lb loss). I’m now at 247. Total loss in 4 weeks is 28 pounds so I’m pretty pleased. 1st week was just chicken soup broth, premier protein shakes (Costco), surgar free jello, popscicles, and sugar free pudding. 2nd week, same as week one, but a couple times tried mashed potatoes. Started walking on treadmill few times a week. 15 minutes each. 3rd week, same as 2nd week, but tried meatballs and diced chicken breast. Tried chicken tacos. Chicken, corn tortillas and salsa. 4th week, beginning of the 4th week tried steak quesadilla, chips and salsa. Keep in mind very small portions. That’s where I’m at now. Was also cleared to lift weights which I will be starting next week. At no time have I been nauseous or thrown up. A few times my stomach would rumble for a second or two, but nothing significant. I’ve probably been a bit aggressive in introducing the foods, but it’s worked out fine and I’m happy with the results. It’s all up to me now how I handle myself going forward. As far as recommending this surgery, for me it worked out great and was fairly easy. However, that may not be the case for everyone. I made the decision by realizing it was something I needed to do at late 40’s to improve my health and way of life. I chose not to pay too close attention to the negative reviews because as with any surgery everyone handles it differently. Good Luck

You’re going to lose muscle no doubt. I began weight lifting and cardio as soon as my doctor cleared me at the 4 week mark. Best of luck!

To be clear, I'm only trying these foods to see how I handle them. I am not re-introducing them into my daily diet as normal intake. I travel a lot for both work and pleasure, so I want to be sure of what foods I can handle and what foods I can't. If I'm in a situation where there's only certain foods that I like I want to be certain (at home) that I can handle them (while out in public). As far as the honeymoon and continued weight loss, that doesn't concern me at all. Unless all you're eating is sweets and breads, you will lose weight simply because of the limited amount you can intake. Allowing myself a slice of pizza one night every one or two weeks or eating a couple chicken tenders once every one or two weeks isn't going to cause me to gain weight. I'm not going to deprive myself of the foods I enjoy. I will, however, be smart about how and when I have them. Five weeks post op and I'm 25 lbs away from my goal. With my workout regiment and knowing the amount of food I can eat and what I will eat, I'm not at all worried about losing/gaining weight. I believe someone asked about a plan and what the macros were. As I described in the initial post, I did have a plan for the first week, second week, 3rd week, etc. Once cleared by the doctor to try anything I wanted I built up to that. I didn't immediately eat pizza or bread or salad. I slowly introduced new things like ground beef, chicken, etc. before I led up to pizza or bread. As far as my protein, I'm suppose to be at 106g a day. I still incorporate the "PremierProtein" drinks from Costco into each day so I'm getting sufficient protein. The important thing here for everyone who is considering having this surgery is that everyone handles it and responds to it differently. That's medicine. From someone who has had several surgeries in recent years I've developed my own plan along with my surgeons post operatively. That is because everyone handles pain, recovery, and follows plans differently. You have to do what works for you.

Do a lot of walking within a couple hours of being brought up from recovery. Can't stress this enough. I've had many surgeries and walking is the best thing you can do for pain and discomfort. As far as preparing before, have fun. enjoy the food you love because after next week you reset everything. Doesn't mean you can't eat down the road, but you may miss it in the beginning. I'm five weeks out and have no eating restrictions. Haven't gotten sick once and I've re-introduced pretty much everything I ate prior to surgery, except for soda and sweets. First night will be hardest as you can't have anything. Not even water. Ask for wet swabs to wipe your lips. As soon as you drink the dye and your cleared the next morning you'll be able to start. Pain shouldn't feel more than as if you did a bunch of sit-ups. Will start to decrease beginning day 3 and then be completely gone after the first week. Good luck!

As a follow up now during week 5 I've introduced chicken tenders, pizza, salad, vegetables and no issues. Again, in small quantities, but haven't had any issues whatsoever and still losing weight each week. I'm completely unrestricted in diet now.

My approval happened all within 5 days from submission. I had to get involved though and contact customer service myself. They were extremely helpful. My doctor's office misunderstood the request for more information. They thought I needed to wait six months and have multiple weigh ins, etc. etc. etc. They also thought I needed to have it done at a center of excellence, which would have been two hours away. However, I did not. I have Anthem BC through work. Once my doctor's office submitted it they got a response within a few days. When the confusion came about I immediately called Anthem and they connected me with the dept that authorizes everything. Straightened everything out and they issued the approval within the hour and confirmed I did not need a center of excellence and was able to go to my local hospital. I only needed to show the 15 minute face time meeting with a "therapist" and a one time meeting with a nutritionist. So from the first doctor's appt all of this took only a couple weeks.

I had mine on a Thursday and was back to the office on Monday. Use to having several reconstructive surgeries so this surgery was minor to me. One thing I learned from all my surgeries is the importance of walking asap. Within an hour of being brought up from recovery I was walking around the nurses station and down the hall and doing that quite often. That's a huge help in keeping the gas from building up. Greatly reduces bloating and pain.

I had my 4 week appointment yesterday. 4 weeks to the day and was given the all clear to resume normal eating with no restrictions. Of course that doesn’t mean to go back to candy and all that other junk, but i can eat whatever I want. It’s on me to be smart about it. I started morning of surgery at 275. Four days later I was at 266.6 (8.4lb loss). One week out i was at 259 (16lb loss) and two weeks out I was at 252 (23lb loss). I’m now at 247. Total loss in 4 weeks is 28 pounds so I’m pretty pleased. 1st week was just chicken soup broth, premier protein shakes (Costco), surgar free jello, popscicles, and sugar free pudding. 2nd week, same as week one, but a couple times tried mashed potatoes. Started walking on treadmill few times a week. 15 minutes each. 3rd week, same as 2nd week, but tried meatballs and diced chicken breast. Tried chicken tacos. Chicken, corn tortillas and salsa. 4th week, beginning of the 4th week tried steak quesadilla, chips and salsa. Keep in mind very small portions. That’s where I’m at now. Was also cleared to lift weights which I will be starting next week. At no time have I been nauseous or thrown up. A few times my stomach would rumble for a second or two, but nothing significant. I’ve probably been a bit aggressive in introducing the foods, but it’s worked out fine and I’m happy with the results. It’s all up to me now how I handle myself going forward. As far as recommending this surgery, for me it worked out great and was fairly easy. However, that may not be the case for everyone. I made the decision by realizing it was something I needed to do at late 40’s to improve my health and way of life. I chose not to pay too close attention to the negative reviews because as with any surgery everyone handles it differently. Also, insurance covered it at 100%. They approved it within 5 days and didn’t require a center of excellence or any waiting period. Anthem Blue Cross. Good Luck

Also had the surgery on Thursday and was back in the office on Monday. Only one minor issue with surgery. One of the incisions became infected, but I cleared it out myself by cleaning it and using peroxide. All good now.

Forgot to mention. Had surgery on a Thursday and was back in the office by Monday.