macadamia

I just noticed that right before I read your post. That's awesome!

I've gotten there as well... it sure does not take long when you are serious about your own health...

Good luck to you!

Welcome! There are quite a few of us who are having surgery in September - mine is scheduled for September 6th. There are a couple of threads for people with surgery dates in September. Here is the link to the one I started: Good luck with your pre-op phase and remember we are all in this together.

I'm sorry you are not feeling well. Remember, Monday is a holiday.

I got the official word Friday afternoon that I received final approval from my insurance company. I'm good to go for Thursday.

Thanks, ladies!

Thanks for the information. I'm going to try your recipe.

I've been off of caffeine for a few months now and I can say it definitely gets better. The physical withdrawal symptoms only last a few days but the psychological symptoms can last for a month or more. For me, I would drink iced tea with sweet-n-low sweetener all day. I had trouble letting go of the sweetener. I still get sleepy in the afternoons at work, but I've used this as my signal to go for my walk, instead of drinking anything with caffeine. Good luck and keep up the great work!

Welcome and good luck with your pre-op phase! I've had a few slip-ups so far, but overall I've been able to stick to it. I'm down 34+ pounds so far.

Welcome, and I hope your appointment went well!

I now officially have less than 150 pounds to lose to meet my goal! I'm very excited! One week until surgery!!!

For my post-op diet, I'll be on clear liquids until I leave the hospital, then full liquid / pureed foods for four weeks. I was told the thinner, the better. It should fall through the tines of a fork without any trouble. I do not see any issue with what you ate, except for the rice. My diet does not allow starchy foods until after week 8. Also, you may have just eaten too much. I have been told that for most of the pureed stage, I will only be able to eat two to three tablespoons of food at each meal. Each tablespoon of food is about 0.5 ounces, so four ounces of food would be about eight tablespoons. I'm glad you feel better.

You've got this! Your health is the most important thing here. Keep at it and remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. It took time to get to your weight, it will also take time to get to your goal.

While I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, your doctor has a lot to say about whether or not you are approved by your insurance. Your doctor will ask your insurance company if you are covered in the beginning, then you will start based on what they find out. So you have a six-month "medically-managed weight loss" requirement. This means that you must follow what your doctor sets forth for those six months, including any dietician/nutritionist appointments. From what I was told by my surgical team is the doctor will submit a report after the six months and request for an insurance review. The insurance company will review the policy requirements and compare that to the report the doctor sent. If you meet the requirements, you will be covered. Since the six-month "medically-managed weight loss" requirement was not told to you as a specific amount of weight necessary to lose to be approved, you may be good to go with only a few pounds lost. The big thing to get from this is any psychological eating issues taken care of and learn how to portion control and eat healthily. Your doctor will know if you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from losing a bunch of weight, and this will be specified in his report. One thing also to remember here - if your doctor does not think you are doing what you need to be doing to be approved, he will definitely tell you. I recommend asking as many questions as you have to your team and follow what they are saying you need to do. You can do this. It is not impossible or no one would ever go through with it. Many of us have had set-backs, stalls, gains, and frustrating conversations with doctors/insurance companies. It is all part of the process. Nothing you are doing, nor will do is a waste of time - especially if you are doing it for your health. Good luck!

What about just adding more salt to what you are already eating and not trying to find a snack to add?

What do you consider "weight-control oatmeal"?

Welcome! There are a few people who have spoken up for that week, so I'm sure you will be able to find others for surgery buddies. Good luck on your pre-op phase and hang in there! Being nervous is natural.

Well, the small bowel obstructions cannot really be helped. I never know what will get stuck on the scar tissue in my small intestines. This is one of the things that the other surgeon is supposed to fix in the same surgery as my sleeve. I'm confident that all will be well after next Thursday! Thank you for the concern, I appreciate it!

Awesome transformation! And, thrift stores - that's a great idea, may I steal it? You have a wonderful looking family as well. I hope to be able to buy clothes from a regular size department instead of always the big & tall, although I will always need tall shirts. The closer I get to my surgery (scheduled for September 6, 2018), the more I wish I did it years ago as well. I'm 52 and have been large my entire adult life, and have been over 300 pounds for at least the past 10 years (I actually cannot remember the last time I weighed less than 300 pounds, so it may be much longer...) Keep it up! and thank you for the inspiration!

I do not know what is wrong with the quote feature on the site, but it is not working for me and has not been for a few days... @andicapri@aol.com Welcome and good luck with your surgery! This site has been instrumental in my learning process, especially in hearing what people are going through and dealing with. As you have probably read, my surgery is on September 6th. Next week will be here before we know it and I'm getting nervous - I'm feeling like I'm not ready...

I do not know what is wrong with the quote feature on the site, but it is not working for me and has not been for a few days... @beingdina Great news! Welcome to the thread and good luck on your pre-op phase! Your surgery will be here before you know it! Keep up the great work!