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I'm new to this site. I live in Portland Oregon and I'm looking at getting the gastric sleeve surgery. I have a feeling my PCP will not want me to do this based on other weight loss convo's we've had. She feels I need to work harder at losing weight. I work a desk job 10 hours a day, ALL my blood tests look great (except for my Vit D levels are too low). My tests (including cholesterol, blood sugar/glucose, thyroid, etc) all looked great because I eat healthy, I workout regularly but CANNOT drop weight (5'8" & 300lbs) I don't have high BP or diabetes but I have back issues and sleep apnea. Every year that goes by I'm steady gaining 10-15 pounds no matter what I do. And that's when I'm watching what I'm eating! I have tried every program, diet, pill, etc. I have dual coverage, Providence Health Plan and BCBS. Does anyone know if you HAVE to get a referral from your primary or are there other ways of getting this done? Also I need a surgeon who will do the surgery without making me sign a consent for a blood transfusion. Anyone with dual coverage that can tell me what their out of pocket expense was? Thank you!

Tomorrow will be three weeks since my band removal.  So far i've managed to maintain my weight and even went down a pound or two.  So far so good.

This weekend is a big one....  I'm flying to Ga to meet Tim's family.  I was supposed to go the weekend of the 24th... but the emergency band removal killed that.  So we are going for Easter.  i'm a bit nervous.... apparently his mom likes none of her daughter in laws and never liked any of Tim's gf's or his wife of 21 years.....

So ya'll pray for me... hehe

i'll update on Monday

have a Happy Easter Everyone 

I got home late last night from an exhausting nine-day work trip to Tampa.  Even with all the disruption to my normal routines, I still lost a little over 1 pound (and I had red wine every day of trip).  My partner was able to go with me, thank goodness.  My weight loss journey and transformation was a central focus and topic of conversation the entire time as I have known many of these colleagues for 10 years or more.  As has always been the case during my journey, I answered questions honestly and spoke of my pre-op, surgery, and post-op experiences.  I got nothing but support, congratulations, and best wishes from anyone.  And one person even confided in me that my success has given her the confidence to schedule an appointment with her PCP to talk about WLS.  This is why I have been transparent.  That decision may not be for everyone, but I will certainly never regret it.  Now, I move onward (thankful that I am back home and I can settle into my normal food and drink routine!).

I watch my 600 lb story, all the time, family hates it. But I feel a kindred-ness  to some of the people and their struggles.  Although I was never at that weight. Even though some are as tall as me 5'1,

Recently I was watching the show and my daughter, rolled her eyes and said Mom do you feel that big and I said sometimes. She said Mom that's sad, do you know how many of those people would love to be the size you are now? (onederland). Honestly I never thought about it that way. But I can say that's its made me more grateful for the weight I have gotten to !!!

NEW POLL: What form of Vitamins do you prefer after undergoing Weight Loss Surgery?

5 days post plication op. I've lost another 2 kgs since yesterday, a total of 10kgs (22lbs) in 2.5 weeks including pre op diet period, so excited. I'm at 89 kgs (196lbs) with my goal weight being 70kgs (154lbs) Spoke to my dietitian about soups instead of shakes and she was very helpful. She's happy for me to eat any soup that is thin enough to drink through a straw with no lumps or pieces in it. This has made a huge difference because I seem to have lost my sweet tooth (hope it lasts) and was finding the overly sweet shakes hard going. Pain has subsided now with just the odd stomach twinge now and then. All incisions are looking good and pain free. Feeling very optimistic. 

I went to my first Dr. appointment since my sleeve and I was surprised when I got on the scale. A friend of mine had a bet, she thought I had lost around 15 pounds since the surgery, and I thought maybe 10. Well, I've lost 19 pounds in my 2 weeks since surgery!!! I didn't think it would be that much. I've noticed some weight loss in my face, but that's about it. I was very pleasantly surprised. SO YAY ME! LOL

One week down on my pre-op diet and already my weight loss has stalled. Not sure if that's normal or not.

Would love to change my look but not due to weight loss. I want to do something drastic with my hair but not to out of this world just enough to make me feel more exciting also I could use it my act.

Hi everyone! I'm me and nervous. I just turned 60 years old. I think I'm officially grown up now. I'm young at heart, goofing around with my grandchildren all nine of them. I have had crohns disease since I was 19'years old. I still managed to make it through nursing school and more ask retired after 35 years. My husband and I have custody of three of our grandchildren after our son in law died and our daughter ran away. One of the things I would like to run by the members is my feeling of selfishness about having this gastric sleeve. I'm overweight, diabetes, hip replacement and crohns. I feel that if I didn't make it through surgery, it would absolutely devastate the grandkids again! I never thought I could even have a sleeve done due to having all of my colon and rectum removed. So, I have an ileostomy. I have a huge hernia at the site. I went to Duke University and the gastroenterologist suggested I have weight loss surgery because if he repairs the hernia, the weight will cause it to come back. I'm scheduled in three months. 

7/8 - Extremely healthy keto day. 

7/9 - Halo Top 1/2 Cup Chocolate Mocha Chip (I am in heaven!!). Healthy keto day. Weighed in at 208.4 lbs. Gained 1.4 lbs  

7/10 - Hung out at Coney Island with my Mom, little Brother and my dog Buddy aka Rasta Scoobs. At Nathans Philly Chicken with no bun. The guy gave me the nasty look when I ordered it. (It was like really, you are going to come here and want to eat healthy at Nathans?). With a nasty tone, he says, "It's going to be the same price and the same amount of meat." So in an even nastier tone, I said, "Did I ask about the amount of meat or the price? No. I asked for a Philly Chicken with No Bun. Thank you." He just placed my order and my brother says, "Don't be surprise if you find some special sauce or a hair floating around in it lol."

7/11 - Keto Day. Decided to step on the scale and weighed 205.4 lbs. I was like WTF!!! What is going on? At this point my weight is fluctuating up and down. I think I maybe starting stall soon and my body is warning me. It could also be water weight. 

7/12 - Another Keto Day. Went out to eat with my mom and brother and I was upset because I could have the Tacos of Bell. My mom keeps saying, "Oh you have your meal prep and you have been doing so good on your diet. Taco Bell is not good for you." I was like then why are you eating it. She says, "I'm grown and your mama. Do as I say and not as I do."  She is right but sooo annoying sometimes. 

7/13 - My day was healthy. Received two new Hidrate Spark bottles. Gave one to my mom and brother. They are in love and I set them up on their phones. 

Breakfast: 2 egg whites boiled with salt. 

Snack: 2 pickle slices

Lunch 1 - 2 : 2.1 oz of turkey with a tomatoes, a little cheese, romaine lettuce and my special dressing. (Broken up into 2 meals)

Snack: 21 olives. 

Dinner 1 - 2: 4 oz of ground beef, a little cheese, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and salsa. (Broken up into 2 meals)

So I used to do Pilates and loved the feeling of being stretched and limber afterwards. I decided to do a quick Pilates video and the first move was to lay down on the floor on your back and pull up your legs at a 90 degree angle. Easy enough right? Not when it feels like your tailbone is sitting on top of a metal rod!!!! I couldn't lay down properly. So I tried the next move, lay on your side to lift your top leg up and forward. OUCH! It hurt my hip bone!!! Then I rolled over to the other side to check, felt the same. Am I destined to get my stretches one standing up? Hurts way too much to be laying on my bones, they feel bruised and/or like I said, laying on a metal rod. Anyone else have this happen to them? Maybe it's weight loss? Maybe it's my age? I don't know! 

Post OP- Day 12

So since my pre op meeting (June 5th) I am down 40 lbs. I have lost 14 lbs since my surgery June 28th. I saw my nutritionist this morning and she said I have to work to get in more protein. I have been getting better. They found during my surgery I had a hiatal hernia, which my doctor repaired. Sometimes I gasp for air as I have not been breathing for minutes. But I have been doing breathing treatments and it is much better. Yesterday I did over half a mile on the treadmill in under 14 min. That felt good, it felt good to sweat. I am so ready to get to the gym and hit the ground running. I know I have such a long road ahead of me but I am excited for the journey. For the first time I cooked dinner for my family last night and it felt soooo good. I had been removing myself from situations involving food.  My husband and son went to Mcdonalds and I just sat in the car and waited. I would get angry and I did not like that. Cooking for them gave me pleasure and I wasn't tempted at all surprisingly. I just tasted some sauce I made to make sure the flavors were on point and boom shacka lacka! Since my surgery I have lost a loved one and gained a niece, it has been such an emotional time for me but I know that God has a bigger plan for me. <3

Well my weight loss is on vacation...lost 3lbs in the last couple weeks slow as molasses...and since I'm not eating anything (no appetite) it's really annoying. 

Less than a week to go.  Blood tests and ECG today.  I'm almost at the target weight that my surgeon doubted I'd make pre-op (It gets me below the cut off for an extra charge the hospital makes), I'll beat it easily before surgery day.  Feeling nerves for the first time.

So today while I was watching this female Asian longhorned beetle oviposite her egg I was thinking about the science behind WLS. How many experiments aka..clinical trials have been done, are still being done, and will be done in the future to help doctors figure out the complex mysteries of this disease we call obesity. It blows my mind to even try to think of all the variables involved in the design of these trials.

My research focuses on this beetle, a much simpler organism, and yet it can take days of thought and reading current published research to determine the variables that need to be considered and controlled during a planned experiment. Sometimes we even design pre-experiments just to figure out whether something is going to effect something else before we run the main experiment. All of this thinking has made me realize how little we really know. Why has my diabetes gone into remission after surgery? This surgery has done what following a low carb diet alone could not do, normalize my blood sugars minus any medications. I haven't had time to read all of the published literature on this subject, but I would like to.

My mind is trained to looked for patterns in data so of course this is the way I am approaching my journey after this surgery. I am logging everything I eat, drink, and my exercise. I will export the data to excel and graph it to see if I can figure out how my body works now in relation to theses things and weight loss.  I know for some people, maybe most, this is not something they would want to do. It may seem excessive and time consuming, but I hope to learn something that will be useful to me during the maintenance phase. 

I am increasingly more convinced that low carb is going to be the best diet for me to follow long term. I just don't see any reason to test the waters when I am doing so well right now. I have zero cravings for sugar, bread, rice, pasta... my energy levels are good, my bs are excellent, and I am losing weight.  These are my musings for today, 5 weeks post-op.

Officially 7 days into pre-op dieting. July 6th is my official VSG date. Its Wednesday so I report my weight with my nutritionist and on the graph page with my user ID. Last Wednesday I said 295lb. When really I was 293.8, but likely for fear of not being successful at losing 15lbs by surgery date, I 'padded' my number..wait, wait, that was sugarcoated hey, ok, I lied because I was afraid of failure, there I said it.  My week has been a breeze, I feel like I'm running on motivation (while carrying a water bottle of course) Now keep in mind, I have been living off green vegetables, steak,chicken,shrimp,coffee,water,and when I cracked I had 5 potato chips. I barely notice the kitchen cupboards are even there anymore, because I know there's no snacks in them that I can have. I open the fridge and inside is my own shelf of what is allowed for me. I swear the entire shelf is green with the exception of the styrofoam carton of eggs on the edge. Yesterday there was a giant box of pizza on the shelf just below, and if it weren't for the smell of the hawaiian (I didn't even have to open the box to be able to tell the type, honest lol) I probably wouldn't have noticed it was there. Essentially, after a week, I'm kind of bored of food for now. Which in my opinion is exactly what I need prior to surgery. Oh, quick note. I have nocturnal epilepsy but I've been seizure free for like 8 or 9 years and take medication-so my concern with this pre-op diet was that it was going to effect me neurologically. I've been perfectly fine, I just make sure to eat proper foods at proper times. 

Now, onto my weigh-in day. I had a $15 scale for 9 years that was like it had been built by NASA, it was the most accurate thing I've ever owned. It broke during bathroom renovations 2 months ago and I was devastated. Some time later, we buy an expensive scale (haha it was like $30) and I can stand on it 5 times in a row and get 5 different numbers, in like a 9lb range, I **** you not. Okay I know its time to get a new one, as soon as my schedule permits. Today however, I need that number or my nutritionist will actually contact me. Deep breaths, I take my first step, 280.2. I step again, but close to the outside edges trying to trick it or something, 280.2. I stand close to the front, 280.2. Close to the back, 280.2. I move the scale to the other side of the bathroom, and stand on it backwards, move it to the hallway stand backwards again, stand on it crouching down, sideways,backwards;The number won't go away. I actually told myself walking into the bathroom that I needed 20 consistent numbers to be convinced (that shows how little faith I have in this scale)

Well, long story short, I'm convinced. 280.2 it is, and I'm not padding my number for once. It feels freeing. A brief idea went through my head as I stood there in my birthday suit, while processing the number that my toes pointed too, that I need to "maintain" this until surgery..that thought bubble immediately morphed into "eff that, I'm going to keep working" and being successful, because its the attitude I will need to have after surgery as well. I don't say this often enough, but GO ME!

Today is a good day, and I have a can of tuna with my name on it that needs eating...yay

Day 2 (pre op diet)

Why is the evening the hardest.....I am working m-friday 8-5pm and then get home and remote in and work 7-9 Mon-Sunday.  This week is a beast. I have gotten dizzy and the room started spinning. But I am just drinking water a ton and trying to , you guessed it remain positive. Sometime I plan on letting my husband read this, so I want to say sorry for snapping at you last night. I know I apologized in so many words but sheesh this is hard. Anyone who has had weight loss surgery clearly knows this is NOT the easy way out. 

Hi i am trying to get back on track with my weight loss. Had lapband in feb 2014. did great then a series of events happened. Broke my back , tore up my knees, couldnt exercise, plus lost my job so alot of depression. I really want to get back on track. I still will have certain foods back up (u guys know the feeling)  but Im not sure how to rejoin the forum to post things. Thanks for any help you can give. Has this happened to anyone?

I wonder if I could be approved for a panniculectomy or brachioplasty at my current weight (or maybe a little less).  I can not take these flaps anymore!

5/20 - Ate the eggplant ricotta bake. I had that foamy feeling in my mouth and the rumbles. I guest eggplant does not sit well in my tummy. Went to the Taco placed and got a naked chicken burrito. I tried their new kind of chicken (FYI The guy failed to inform me that it was chipotle spicy chicken. Oh it tasted delicious. 5 minutes later I was puking up foam. I ended up spending my lunch break laid on the floor in the back of the office curled up in the fetal position. So spicy food does not love me anymore .

5/21 - Did not have any meal prep because the eggplant would not sit well in my tummy. The left over Halal chicken that I had, I spilled pulling it out of the my lunch box (Damn Portion8 container lol) I ended up getting a chicken Salad from the Turkish place downstairs. It was an interesting taste. It was sweet. Felt very disappointed after I weighed in. I only lost 4 oz for that week. I had worked out really hard. I did however notice that my stomach is getting smaller. I might have just lost inches and gained muscle. Lost 8.8 lbs during my second month post-op. Current 220.6 lbs

5/22 - Wanted to get a Protein Drink from Vitamin Shoppe. Ended up getting some Atkins Granola bars. DO NOT BUT THEM. They are delicious, high in protein but have 17g of carbs in one bar but they advertised it at NET Carbs 3g. SNEAKY SNEAKY. I ate two of them and then realized it. They also are 210 calories each. It works because I will be full off of one for 2+ hours however 420 calories on just two bars is a lot. Now I have to be really mindful of what I am reading. When I see low carbs I have to check to see if it says NET (they do some type of convoluted math to get to that low number). Went to the gym before work and the trainer really kicked my butt. I am sore but loving it. Today, we focused on Cardio. Tomorrow he said will be weight lifting. Wish me luck!!! Oh dinner and lunch consist of grilled chicken breast and a dipping sauce that I made (1/4 cup fire roasted tomato sauce and 1/2 tsp of ricotta). Watermelon on the side for snacks. 

Hey everyone i had my vsg on 1 may and in the initial first week i have lost 10kg but now my weight is stuck. Its showing same scale everyday moreover i started feeling hungry now a days no doubt i cant eat to a large portion as i did before bt m on puree diet bt still feel hungry anyone having same problem plz help bcoz this is demoralizing me 

Had my surgery on May 2 and finally into the Puree stage - which I'm told I will be on for 4 weeks. I was back working half days as a clinic nurse the monday after surgery... so you could say the recovery was pretty painless other than that dang internal stitch! Getting my protein in was such a challenge for the first 2 weeks - and getting enough fluids in is STILL hard. Taking my vitamins religiously. Weight dropped super quickly in the first two weeks and now has settled at about the same weight for about 4 days. Maybe my first stall?

So march 23rd i got my beloved Tina removed.... it has been hard and scary, but i'm crusing to month #2 with no weight gain... hopefully i can keep this up.

Went to West Palm Beach, Fl this weekend to meet tim's son, his wife and his granddaughter.... 

Had a wonderful time

I tried to create a ticker today but gave up because, according to my account, I have already reached my goal weight. I have no idea how this setting got so fugazied up but whatever. If someone wants to take a stab at helping me fix this, I am all ears ... er, eyes.