SpartanMaker

I struggle with the same thing right now. One thing I figured out is that I have to start taking MUCH smaller bites first. For now, that's all I'm working on. Once smaller bites become a habit, I'll work on more thorough chewing.

Sorry you're having trouble getting the info you need. It might be that all the plans require the same pre-op stuff? In my experience, it's the employer, not the insurance plan that ultimately determines coverage requirements. For example, I currently have United Healthcare Choice Plus-HSA and had the same thing with my previous employer. One wanted six months of dietitian visits and the other only three months.

We ended with me lying on the table in the cath lab being told that I am in danger of imminent death. Now before I go on, I should explain something else about me. I’m severely hearing impaired. This is important here, because you have to picture me on that table, feeling pretty good (I think they gave me a Valium), and then waking up to find everyone in the room desperately trying to get my attention. I finally come around from my stupor enough to explain to them that I’m hearing impaired, so I don’t understand what’s going on. I’m pretty good at lip reading, but we’re in basically an operating room and everyone is gowned up and has masks on! Finally I explain that I have partial hearing in my left ear, so if they come around there and speak slowly and close to me I will probably be able to understand. It took a few tries, but I finally gather I really am in imminent danger and they were recommending that they put a stent in me RIGHT NOW. Doing so might seem like a no-brainer, but like lot’s of important decisions, there are always trade-offs. I didn’t feel alert enough, nor did I feel like I understood the options I had, so I told them no. Bottom line, they patched me up and took me out to recovery. (I’m sure they were all thinking I was an idiot and that they’d never see me again.) While in recovery, I asked them if someone could explain my options better. Fortuitously one of the heart surgeons had just finished up a procedure and he came by to discuss my options with me (with my wife present as well). After some soul searching and after better understanding the tradeoffs, I actually opted for open heart surgery. The reason is that if they had done the valve replacement via catheter (something called TAVR), I likely would not have been able to have a second one that way in the future. That would have meant that in 10-12 years, I would have needed another valve replacement and they would have had no option but to do it via an open heart procedure. I figured it’s better to get the open heart procedure done while I’m younger and save TAVR for later when I’m likely less able to tolerate major surgery. Yea, we get it dude, but what does this have to do with WLS? It means that in less than 2 months, I went from being excited to be having weight loss surgery, to knowing I’m living on borrowed time. I’m also realizing at about that time that my dreams of weight loss surgery have been dashed, or so I thought. Instead (assuming I make it to my heart surgery date), I was facing the reality of having one of the most major surgical procedures one can have. Oh yea, and I'd get to do it during peak COVID. How fun! We’ll stop there today, but in case you’re still in suspense, I still survived!

Yea. pretty much this. Well, maybe add in Deadlifts (Esp. Sumo), the various Lunges, and Hip Thrusts. (But not all at the same time!)

I haven't really had any bone broth in a while, so can't recommend them at this point. If I try a few, I'll be sure to let folks know if some of the are particularly good (or bad!). My goals are probably a little unique to me, but the thing I've learned about being on the diet and exercise yo-yo too many times than I can count, is that I do better if I start SLOOOOOW. For example, right now, my goal this week for exercise is just to ride my recumbent bike at least 3 times a week for 8 minutes each time. Every week between now and my surgery, I plan to up the number of minutes by two. Thus next week, the goal will be 10 minutes, 3 times a week. It's possible that even going up by 2 minutes a week is too aggressive, so if it doesn't happen, I won't sweat it. The reason I picked that amount was that I was hoping to be around 20 minutes a day 3 times a week by the time I hit my surgery week. I think if I get there, I'll feel better and recover faster. I'm sure to some that seems pitiful, but it's what I think I can do. It would do me no good to be too aggressive and then hurt myself. For what it's worth, I don't plan to do any strength training until about 4 months post surgery. I know that probably seems like a long time to some, but I didn't get so badly out of shape overnight. I have to keep reminding myself to be careful and not overdo things. Diet-wise, I have 2 goals right now: Start talking smaller bites and replace 1 meal per day with a protein shake. That's really it. I'm lucky I suppose in that I don't eat a lot of junk food, so I don't have to overcome that issue too. Over time, I really need to start working on the whole complete chewing thing (which is a HUGE problem for me), but I realized I have to start with smaller bites. Until that's a habit, I won't add complete chewing to the regimen.

I agree with a lot of what's been said above. I think the way to think about is that weight loss is heavily dependent on what you eat, whereas how healthy you are is heavily dependent on regular exercise. Like any pithy statement, it's not an absolute, but it is a good guideline. My point is that you can lose weight without exercising, but if like me, your real goal is to improve your health, we can't rely on weight loss alone. In fact, also like you, I have several physical issues (I'm a disabled vet), but I'm also honest enough with myself to know that some of my physical challenges are due to my weight. One of my main motivators for having WLS is to make exercise less painful so that I can improve my overall cardiovascular health via exercise.

So far, I just ordered a bunch of new flavors of Premier Protein shakes since I have a hard time finding them locally. I also put Bone Broth, Sugar Free Jello & Gatorade Zero on my shopping list for this weekend. I'm a bit of a planner too, so I've also created a list of weekly diet, workout, and other goals between now and surgery, with a different set of goals post surgery.

You might want to discuss your plans with both providers? It's not uncommon for doctors to want 6 weeks or more between surgical procedures (yes, having your wisdom teeth removed is considered a surgical procedure). Better to know now, than to find out when you go in to have the work done! Your WLS may or may not be okay with this timing as well, so it's better to check.

I hear you. I sometimes play word games with myself to make it seem closer. For example, instead of saying it's 6 weeks away, I say it's "next month". It's silly, but that feels a lot closer to me!

I would first recommend talking to your insurance company to find out if they cover bariatric surgery, and if they do, what all is required/covered. One thing I learned is that even at the same insurance company, the coverage and the requirements to qualify can vary widely. This is because most larger employers actually are "self-insured". This means the insurance company just administers the health plan and your employer is the one paying the bill. As a result, the insurance companies let the employers have wide latitude in what they will and won't cover and what the qualification requirements will be. For example, I have United Healthcare. I was also on United Healthcare last year, but with a different employer. The bariatric programs are quite different in terms of what they required and what procedures they'll cover. Note that some insurance companies also have specific providers they recommend. Once you clarify all that, check with your bariatric program/physician. The bariatric program I chose required a psyc eval, an upper GI scan, and three months of meetings with their dietitian, even if the insurance didn't require those things.

I know how you feel! Right now it's about all I can think about since after 2.5 years of trying to get this done, I finally have a surgery date.

I'm new here as well. Scheduled for Sept 20th.