Bjornsyouruncle

Macropsia, just curious but how did they set the goal of 13lb loss for you? But you're right, you have another 5 months to lose whatever they've asked of you, so you can take your time and it is important that you focus on your eating technique. I'm still struggling with forcing myself to slow down and chew. I guess we just view the six months differently. I haven't been given any minimum required weight loss but I see it as anything I lose now is weight I don't have to keep carrying around with me.

I'm staying on plan today because the scale has started creeping down again instead of just hanging out at the same number for a week!

I hope everything goes well, and congratulations.

Macropsia, can you talk to your dietitian and maybe work out a diet plan that you think you wouldn't hate? Maybe there's another way that would be more effective for you than the 1600 calories?

That was quick, this is much easier to find!

Atkins has always worked really well for me, but the first day or two I have a headache as I go through sugar withdrawal.

Florida Girl, congratulations on all the weight you've lost so far. I bet your surgeon is really pleased with your progress! I'm trying to be philosophical about the six months. I'm hoping that by starting the changes I'll need after surgery now, that they'll be second nature by the time I actually have surgery.

I just had mine on June 5th. It was kind of in 2 parts where the first part was asking about my history, childhood, etc. The second part was more about the band, what my expectations were, screening questions to see if I was an emotional eater, what had I already done that the doctor had asked me, if I was familiar with the lifestyle changes and possible complications, etc.

Congratulations

The psych evaluation is out of network for me, but I'm going to submit the papers to my insurance to get reimbursed.

Hey Sarah. So have you been banded yet?

You can google BMI calculator to figure it out for yourself, but based on the weights I've looked at for my BMI at 5'3" I would say you're probably around 36 or 37. Do you qualify? No one can tell you except your insurance company. Your card should have a number on it that you can call to verify benefits. Call the number and ask them what their requirements are. They can give you specifics about BMI and co-morbidity requirements. Even someone with the same insurance can't tell you for certain since your employer may choose to exclude some benefits (like weight loss surgery) in exchange for cheaper policies.

If your insurance doesn't require a waiting period, start contacting surgeon's offices. Some are scheduling months in advance and you'll need to go ahead and meet their requirements (psych eval, nutritional counseling, etc) before surgery. Good luck.

I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Take a little time to get over your disappointment and talk to your husband. It could be that he feels like it was canceled for a reason and now he's hesitant to push forward with it.

I've low carbed a lot to control my PCOS, so I'm pretty comfortable following the regime. I don't tend to eat a lot of processed foods because I have 2 small children and I like for them to have homemade meals, so I used fitday.com to enter in my ingredients and used the nutritional information they supplied. My menu from yesterday is: Breakfast: 2 egg mushroom omelet: 196 calories, 6 carbs, 14 grams Protein Snack: 3 large strawberries and 3 slices of starfruit: 19 calories, 5 carbs Lunch: 4 shish kebabs (8 ounces of steak, 1/2 cup sliced summer squash, 1/2 cup zucchini, 1/2 of sliced mushrooms, a little bit of onion): 452 calories, 8 carbs, 65 grams protein Dinner: Homemade Thai inspired lettuce cups (6, using Boston lettuce, 1.25 cups ground beef cooked with diced straw mushrooms, baby corn, and peanut sauce (chicken stock, soy sauce, natural Peanut Butter with no added sugar, chili, ginger, and other spices): 653 calories, 4 carbs, 39 grams protein. Dessert: 1/2 cup Plain yogurt, sweetened with Splenda: 75 calories, 6 carbs, 4 grams protein Daily totals: 1395 calories, 29 carbs (6 of which are fiber), and 122 grams protein. Tuna salad is also really good in lettuce cups, especially if you sprinkle some seeds on it for crunch. I like to use pumpkin seeds.

Congratulations on having a date!

So this is me from last Wednesday, May 28,2008. I'm 5'3" and at the time my weight in the picture is 272. Hopefully it has gone down some but I'm trying to go a week without weighing myself since I tend to jump on the scale several times a day and that's not good behavior! Anyway, I'm wearing scrubs since I'd just gotten home from work (I work for a pathologist's group processing surgical specimens), so excuse the extremely bright red pants.

So this is me from last Wednesday, May 28,2008. I'm 5'3" and at the time my weight in the picture is 272. Hopefully it has gone down some but I'm trying to go a week without weighing myself since I tend to jump on the scale several times a day and that's not good behavior! Anyway, I'm wearing scrubs since I'd just gotten home from work (I work for a pathologist's group processing surgical specimens), so excuse the extremely bright red pants.

From what I've read it may take several fills before you have proper restriction. Good luck getting it sorted out though!

What a change! Congratulations and good luck getting to goal!

I'm 27 in Columbia, SC but I haven't been banded yet! I'm just starting out on the 6 month diet...

I'm getting conflicting information about it and I'm wondering if someone can straighten me out. When I talked to the nurse that was assigned to me she said the diet was to prove that I'm committed to changing my life and making good habits. I'm starting to make adjustments now, like forcing myself to chew my food thoroughly, not drinking at meals, etc. I've been eating healthy and low carb (just Protein and veggies, no sugar, grains, etc) so I've already lost a few pounds. I have PCOS so I respond very well to Atkins or South Beach, and I'm excited about beginning the weight loss process, even if I don't have a band yet. But the thing is that it was inferred (which could have just been me misunderstanding) at my doctor's appointment today that people aren't really expected to be successful at the 6 month monitored diet. I'm not being monitored by my PCP, but rather a weight loss specialist who deals with a lot of pre-surgical patients because I want to make sure that everything gets documented and submitted properly. Also I've had people I know irl who have been through the process say that the diet was to prove that they couldn't lose weight conventionally. So which is it? Am I dieting for real, to start the weight loss and to prove my commitment or am I just supposed to be going through the motions?

I'm going on Tuesday (May 27th) to get weighed and officially start off my 6 month insurance mandated diet. I can understand why it is a requirement, the nurse who I talked to at my insurance company explained that it is to show commitment and that I'm ready to make this change in my life. But still... if there's a thread out there with other people who are counting down the six months I'd love to commiserate with others at the same stage as I am!

Congratulations on your weight loss!

You're starting the right way, you're finding out information, figuring out if it is right for you and taking your time.