ShoppGirl

Oh. I am definitely not trying to preach against having little treats now and again. I just thought that If it’s true about the sweeteners messing up our tastes for sweet that may really help the majority of the time. My husband makes apples on the grill like that with cinnamon. That or the air fryer. They cook faster if you slice in wedges first. I add Splenda to them which is back to my issue with artificial sweeteners and how we started this conversation. I also seen somewhere it you add PB2 powder and cocoa powder to greek yogurt it’s supposed to be kinda like Reese’s. I would think it may need splenda too but we already know I have a problem. 🤣

The nutritionists keep telling me that if I were to give up the artificial sweeteners that fruit would taste a lot sweeter and be more of a Desert on its own. I haven’t been able to do it yet but the one I talked to last told me about true lemon to add to my water. They have a lot of flavors not just lemon. I’m trying to make the switch now. Hopefully it works.

I just got my labs and EKG today. I’m really hoping that’s okay because the lady put four of the little sticky things under one of my boobs. They have always put them on both sides so that was weird. The dr looked though and didn’t say it was bad or anything. I actually just had one like a month ago but they said they wanted the labs to be within a month of the surgery so I said let’s just do it again just in case. I don’t want anything to push my surgery date. Im trying to get back into the habit of taking my vitamins too. It’s really hard to remember them. I take the procare health multi and bariatric advantage calcium chews but i did try the bariatric pal ones and they aren’t bad. I just want to ask the NP about them before I make that switch. I bought the bariatric advantage chewable multi for the first month. That’s awesome to hear about the smoking. I quit a while ago and it’s definitely an accomplishment. I remember it being kinda freeing that it was one less thing I always had to keep track of and worry about. And now I don’t now how I ever was a smoker. I smell it and it takes my breath. It’s so weird. I meet with the NP tomorrow to verify but I think my liver shrink diet is supposed to be a week long. If so, that means next week I will do a low carb diet to prepare. That’s not required but I just don’t want to go from eating like I do now to the LSD. If I’m correct, I will be starting that process this Tuesday. I am trying to tie up all my loose ends by next week. I don’t want to have anything extra to do the week I am on the liver shrink diet. I figure I will take that time to get my house in order. Every surgery I ever had I sit here and look around at what I could be doing if I wasn’t physically restricted so I hope to get it all done this time.

I have no doubt that you will get there with your current attitude. I hope you plan something really cool for your 60th because you will definitely have a lot to celebrate with lots of little victories along the way.

Haha. I started typing something pretty much exactly like that but couldn’t figure how to word it without sounding offensive to the men that actually do their part. I know not all men think like that but it sounds like this person has no clue what it’s like to have 4 Kids running around.

I’m guessing that if you just got to go to work and come home and rest you wouldn’t feel as overwhelmed by the idea. Perhaps the dr didn’t understand your home demands on top of work. Trust what your body is telling you and go back when you feel ready. Even when you do go back if you can solicit help from others with the home stuff definitely ask for it. Everyone’s recovery is different. Your surgeon should know that.

Let me know if what you come up with is good. I absolutely love pizza and one slice of it the way I make it isn’t bad but I always go back for seconds a little later. I would love to find a way to make it even healthier.

Okay so tonight I had cauliflower crust pizza. I didn’t make the crust. It was frozen. Not the absolute greatest but not terrible either. I made it with ricotta, mozz, chicken and onions so I got my protein at least. I have a battle between my brain and my stomach trying not to eat too terrible in these next couple of weeks Before I start my preop.

That sounds like a lot of fun. Enjoy it.

Congratulations on your surgery date. That’s a pretty long liquid diet but I guess it’s because you have a specific amount of weight they need you to lose. It will be well worth it because it will make your surgery that much safe plus be that much less you have to lose afterwards. I can’t suggest much for the wedding but When I did my sleeve I celebrated my birthday early because of the pre op diet. I guess you missed that window but you can celebrate late (a half birthday this year perhaps). But honestly one thing you will learn from this surgery is that we tend to celebrate things with food but there are many other ways to celebrate. You can take a weekend trip somewhere you’ve been wanting to go, spend a day at the spa or buy yourself something you have really been eyeballing. And you can have people around who will inevitably need to eat something but not have the day centered around food. Or you can schedule something between lunch and dinner and ask people to not bring food. It’s your day so you get to celebrate it how you want.

I love that you are able to compartmentalize it and focus on your non scale victories. That attitude should carry you far in all of this.

I’m so sorry. That would be such a letdown. Try not to let it get you off track though. You already went through the rough part of detoxing from all the stuff you crave. If you stick to a lower carb diet it should be that much easier for you the next time. Also, I would ask if they can keep your number handy in case they have any cancellations.

I did this too and it seemed to help make the liver shrink diet easier than others described. I think we need to name this week too. 🤣

Maybe set reminders in your phone calendar for like 5 months, 11 months, 17 months, 23 months, etc. To schedule such appointments. Hopefully they can get you in within the month. And if possible just ask your surgeon for a list of labs to ask for at your primary doctor at your annual appointment.

I think with restaurants that you almost have to tell them that you have an allergy to get their attention. They don’t care if you just on a diet. They still want it to taste good.

Yea, my dr didn’t even mention it but I would for sure what longer than a week. And even still take it easy.

Honestly I never had any serious issues with constipation so I can’t really answer that for certain. Now that you put it in my mind I may notice a differnce but honestly I didn’t pay too much attention the few times I had it. I will say that some doctors say no to decaf even immediately post surgery though so be sure to check.

I haven’t tried contrave but I’m pretty sure that is one of the meds that my doctors considered for me when I started to regain as well. I wasn’t able to take it because of my other meds in on, unfortunately. I do have a friend that took it within the last year. She said Her dr wrote the rx for the two meds that it’s made from separately because it was quite a bit cheaper that way. I guess it wasn’t the right med for her, though, because she is now trying Wegovy. They started her at a really low dose and she said it will take until month five or six for her to be on the therapeutic dose of the Wegovy. I’m kinda surprised if you had side effects right away if they started you low as well. If so, that’s for sure not the one for you. Anyways, there is a reason that all those meds continue to be sold and prescribed. What works For one person may not work for another. It’s the same as antidepressants. There are a zillion of them because it really does vary from one person to the next. I’m my opinion it’s definitely worth a try. I did take phentermine when I was younger if they offer that option at some point. It worked during the day but of course as a stimulant was designed to run out at night. I did lose a little but not what I had hoped. I’m all fairness I tend to do the majority of my eating at night anyways. I can see where it could work for someone who does not have that terrible habit.

I had the sleeve 3.5 years ago and I remember testing the waters pretty early out too. Not saying that it was that which caused me to go off course and gain it back but it’s definitely a slippery slope for some of us. Just be careful ❤️ .

Good for you. I hope things continue to go as planned. I have seen quite a bit of research about it as a virgin surgery and it seems extremely promising. Not as much about it as a revision. My surgeon seems to think it’s my best outlook for losing what I want to lose, though, with the added bonus of being able to still take the occasional NSAID. I am second guessing my decision a little but I think it’s just the typical pre surgery jitters. A month ago when he was ordering tests to verify whether it was appropriate I was afraid that the results would say I couldn’t get the SADI so I know it is really what I want. I’m just getting nervous.

Is yours a virgin surgery or a revision??

Wow. You definitely have done your research and your team sounds like they are amazing. My surgeon is one of the best in my area but he hasn’t done a lot of this particular procedure so his team is definitely not up to date with it. That’s what my appt on the 19th will be about. I am very concerned about my post op care since I will be seeing the PA or NP for follow-ups. In terms of post op pain I can speak for the sleeve portion. My experience was very little pain. Until I tried to sit up (and felt like I had done about 1000 crunches) I didn’t have any pain at all. I thought that they just put me to sleep And woke me up. I literally worried they didn’t do the surgery for some reason. I hade heard many people with the same surgery who had tremendous pain for a week or longer. I am not sure why but I think more gas gets trapped for some people than others and that’s the majority of the pain or lack thereof. But I was very lucky and even asked them to take me off of pain meds because I didn’t need them. I do have a long torso and kinda wonder if that gave him a little more room to work in there?!

Yea. I checked and I don’t have any coverage for them either so to get the real deal I would be looking at a considerable amount out of pocket like you. I didn’t mind the suggestion though, some insurance companies are actually covering them for weight loss now and when they do they are much more affordable. I have a friend who just got on Wegovy for weight loss and her copay is only $25 a month!!! If I had that coverage I would for sure be asking more questions. A lot of companies are also making compounded ones that are like $2-300 but it’s not really clear if they are as effective and/or safe quite yet. . My primary provider said they were working on getting the compounded ones in their office so I assume those would be safe but still I question the effectiveness and they are only beginning to work on it now so who knows when it will actually happen. My primary said if it was her she wouldn’t wait for that option to become affordable since my numbers are creeping up. Anyways, your surgery is getting really close. Are you excited? Nervous? I am already a little of both. Mine is Aug 7. I keep on questioning if I am crazy to go with the newest option just because there isn’t as much help out there for me post op. At least I haven’t found it yet. I already spoke with two nutritionists and both of them claimed to know beforehand about the procedure then both of them pushed the same information on me as they would for a bypass. Total waste of money. I have an appt soon with the NP at my office, though. I’m hoping to get some answers about the regular diet and the supplements that are specific to the SADI. Have you started your pre op diet yet??

I don’t think at the two month mark I was Consuming anywhere close to 1000 calories either but 300 may be a bit low. Are you getting all of your protein? That seemed to be all my nutritionist was concerned with at that point. If not, I would definitely be adding in shakes. Otherwise, listen to your team because everyone’s goals are differnt depending on a number of factors. Your goal will most likely not be the same as your friend.

I wouldn't be able to remember a month later 🤣 I bet it will be really cool to pull out any time you may struggle a bit.