Kristy29

I have these, but I don't know what kind of calcium they are. Never mind, I just checked the bottle and it's calcium carbonate. Guess I need to hunt down something else as well.

So went in for my second appointment today. I am down 5 lbs. I now need to go to 2 Protein shakes a day. Yikes, I actually tried that out on Friday and I felt so weak and hungry. I am a cashier and am on my feet all day, and it's hard to do when you haven't eaten much. The dietitian did say I could have some fruit witht he Breakfast shake and a salad with the lunch shake, so hopefully that will help. So now I have one more appointment in a month from now. If I am close to my pre-op goal, we will move forward. She said I didn't have to be at goal because by the time I meet with the surgeon and submit to insurance, I will keep losing so as long as I'm close they let us go to the next step. I also found out from my pcp today that my thyroid levels were normal when they did a re-check, so no delay there trying to get it under control. My sugars have been much better lately as well, since I am not eating carbs, so there should be no problem there either. I am confident now that I should have the surgery by the end of August. Yay!!

Oh, sorry I wasn't clear, I am allowed one meal, it's just that I am replacing 2 meals with a shake now instead of one, like I have been doing.

I got two samples of the Lean Dessert with my bariatric eating sample pack. My husband tried the chocolate coconut one and said it was nasty. I haven't gotten the courage up to eat the cinnamon roll one yet. I hope it's not as bad as he made it out to be, because that sounds like a flavor that has a lot of potential.

I really like the chicken Soup one from unjury. You make it in warm Water and it tastes like a cup of soup. As someone on here pointed out before, it breaks up the constant sweetness, since every other Protein shake is sweet. I also like the isopure grape frost zero carb one (I don't know which isopure you tried), muscle milk light vanilla, Inspire dutch chocolate cake, and EAS AdvantEDGE chocolate. DH likes the EAS strawberry one also. Both bariatriceating.com and unjury.com offer sample packs. I ordered them and still haven't gotten through them yet, and it's a good way to find out what I like and what I hate. I am limited to ones that have less than 110 calories (although the Inspire one has 126), so I have less choices. Boost, slimfast, atkins, etc are not allowed on my diet.

I am down 5 lbs!! Went to doc today and got weighed. If I am close to the 15 lbs next time I go to doc (in one month and 2 days) I get to make an appt with the surgeon and submit to insurance, woohoo!

May I ask the reason for not drinking before you eat? I understand why you can't drink during a meal and right after, to prevent flushing the food through the band. But why no drinking before you eat? My surgeon says you can drink up until the second you put food in your mouth, and then it's no more liquids for one hour. Makes more sense to me.

That sounds about right. I am in pre-op now. So far I have met with a cardiologist, who did an in office ekg, and then I had to go to another office for an echo and a stress test. Had to get clearance from my pcp, a psych eval, an upper gi xray, an egd, and 3 months of meeting with the nurse practitioner and the dietitian. The only thing you are doing I'm not is the sleep test. I would rather do all the required testing, than not do it and run into complications during surgery.

I have Aetna and my surgery, nutritionist visits, etc are all being covered. All I have to pay are any co-pays.

I was told when in my class that I will continue to incorporate protein drinks into my meal plan, even after the liquid phase post band. Also, in my support group, we have discussed protein drinks as well, and there are people there who are a year or more out, and they still use protein shakes for their meals. It is also in the book that I was given from my surgeon that explains the meal plan they use that protein shakes are to be used post op. So maybe your doctor told you that, but my doctor puts a big emphasis on protein shakes, both pre AND post op.

Interesting about the Protein drinks. My doctor is the exact opposite. We are expected to rely greatly on protein drinks. Right now I am pre-op and trying to lose 5% (15 lbs) in order to be approved for surgery. I am required to replace 1 meal a day with a Protein shake, and eventually I will go to 2 a day. When you go to their office, they have bottles of protein drinks everywhere as examples of what is acceptable. The rules are that it must be less than 130 calories and less than 3 grams of carbs. Every one meeting these requirements I have come across has zero fat. So I disagree with your doc that says it is high calorie and high fat.

So I made my first smoothie today. I took plain greek yogurt, and put in fresh (bought from my farm co-op, so really really fresh) strawberries and one scoop of unjury's strawberry sorbet Protein Powder and blended. It was pretty yummy, and better than just Protein powder mixed with Water like I've been doing. I think it would be even better with ice, but I didn't have any. What is your favorite smoothie recipe?

Yes, I understand that it isn't the root cause of all my weight, and fixing it won't be a magic cure. But I do believe it is the reason that even when I do diet and eat right and exercise, I still don't lose. Last year while living with my parents, I was walking and biking 4 times a week and eating a high Protein low carb diet with lots of veggies. I don't think I lost even 5 pounds. That just can't be right, and it is so frustrating to know I am doing everything right and getting nothing for it. I have been on the pre-op diet for over a week now. I have been eating a Protein shake of less than 115 calories for 1 meal a day, the second meal is no carbs and the third meal is very low carb. Also low fat, low calories. I have been journaling my food on SparkPeople, and have been within the calorie range to lose weight. Not an ounce has come off. So so so frustrating, especially since I can't have the surgery, per my insurance, unless I lose 15 lbs. I have never lost 15 pounds in my life.

So I have decided that when I lose 100 lbs, I am going on a cruise. As a reminder of this and as a visual motivation, I bought a bathing suit in a size XL, and it is hanging in my bedroom where I can see it every day. I hope I get to wear it while lounging at the pool on my cruise sometime soon! Anyone else planning a reward for themselves or have a motivation of some sort?

I also have Aetna and am in the middle of my "3 months". It's not actually 3 months, because it only has to be 3 appointments in 3 separate months, so first appointment was May 24th and last is July 12th. Every month I need to meet with the dietitian and nurse practitioner. Plus my surgeon requires that we attend at least 3 support groups, and I also need to lose 5% of my weight.

I live in the Poconos, which is a big tourist destination. I live in a gated community on top of a big hill (or a small mountain, whichever way you look at it). I have close neighbors, but most of them are vacation homes so empty half the time. It is 10 minutes to the nearest grocery store, 25 minutes to the nearest walmart, and half an hour to the tiny mall. Any big box stores are near the mall, and there are only a few of them but they are building more every year. It is very peaceful here, we have birds, deer, turkeys, squirrels and other animals we see all the time. I like it but hate the inconvenience of it. I wish I lived in a town where I could walk places, I can't even walk to my mailbox here. We get a lot of tourists for skiing in the winter, and camping, shopping and river activities in the summer. This creates a lot of traffic, but as locals we know all the tricks to get around it. We moved here because we were living in NJ and couldn't afford it and we wanted to buy a house. Now that the market has gone down so much, and it's especially bad here, we can not sell our house so even if we don't want to be here anymore, we are stuck. I try to tell myself it's beautiful and I should love it, but sometimes I just don't want to drive so damn much all the time.

Betsy, my insurance requires a letter of medical necessity from a doctor other than my surgeon. My pcp did it, but I don't think it has to be a pcp. Sette, is there another doctor you could go to? Maybe get a new pcp, or if you have any co-morbidities, maybe a doctor for that, like an endocrinologist for diabetes.

So I have a full size blender/food processor combo that I got for my wedding. I am wondering though if I should get something more along the lines of a magic bullet. If I am only going to be eating very small portions, I am afraid the blender won't even be able to get it because it's too big. The Magic Bullet reviews are so mixed though, and it's $50. I saw a personal sized blender that had good reviews, but it says not to blend any meats so it wouldn't work in the mushy stage, although it would work for any smoothies. It was only $17. So what do you use to blend any protein drink smoothies and also foods for the mushie stage?

It's for pre and post op. They want us off carbs to help with the 5% weight loss before surgery, and also to get prepared for after surgery since we will be low carb then too.

So my doctor is very very strict. According to the booklet I got at the seminar, I will not be allowed to eat any Soups, Beans, or carbs until I get to my goal weight. I am not sure how I feel about that, and will be discussing it with the nutritionist on monday. If I do follow those guidelines, what can I eat in the mushy stage? Whenever I read a thread on here, mashed potatoes, mashed beans and soups seem to be pretty much the only suggestions.

Hello everyone. I am here, but not by choice, lol. My surgeon requires everyone to do low carb. The dietitian said I could start with eliminating carbs for one meal, but eventually I need to eliminate them completely. It's going to be hard!

When I went for my seminar, I was told I would be eating 9 oz at each meal, so I don't think you are doing anything wrong. Are you losing? As long as you are losing I think you are ok. And as long as the 9 oz you are eating are the right foods, and you are eating your Protein first, I think you should be ok. But I don't have my band yet so take all the with a grain of salt.

Haha, yeah that's the thread that I was reading when I decided to post this. Lots of soups, hummus, beans, and mashed potatoes on that thread. None of which I am allowed according to my doctor. Also a lot of the recipes have flour or milk, also which I am not allowed. I am so screwed.

Not in that he doesn't want me to have the surgery, but in that he thinks I will fail or quit. He keeps saying, oh you won't do it, you won't go through with it, you can't lose the 5%. :mad2: It's weird because he has been begging me to do surgery to lose weight for years, and now that I want to do it and am excited about it, he all of a sudden is being unsupportive. I have said straight to his face that I want him to encourage me but he won't do it. All he does is point out that I haven't started losing weight yet and I had pizza for dinner, and blah blah blah. Funny thing is that he decided we would have pizza for dinner tonight, but then made sure to bring it up while we were fighting. It almost seems like he did it on purpose. ' I just wish he could say things like I am proud of you for making this decision, for going to your appointments, for trying to change your life, for trying to get healthy so we can have a baby. It hurts inside every time I think about his comments. Also, my surgeon is very very big on making sure we have a support system. I don't have any friends where I live, my parents are 1000 miles away in Florida and my sister is in Japan. Here where I live, he is all I have. So now I have to go into my psych eval and my support group and lie, or else I'm afraid they won't do the surgery. :cursing: