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I don't save anything on groceries. I do eat far, far less and waste a lot of food. I started to buy more quality products like organic milk etc. I can totally taste a difference between organic milk and non, for example and with the amount of food I consume I really want to thoroughly enjoy what I am putting in my mouth. I suppose if I was single I would probably save some money, but I still buy a lot of my food for my family at places like costco. We still go out to eat and a lot of the time I find that the healthy, high protein entree that I should be eating is the most expensive. For example, my husband and I went to a restaurant about a month ago called Monkeypod. The only thing that was healthy in my eyes was the hormone-free, grass fed filet mignon. Well, I got it. It was 40+ dollars. I barely ate a fourth of it. I did take it home and nibbled on it later. I have just come to accept that I waste food and $$ on food. It was stressing me out for awhile, but the stress isn't worth it. I just now accept that if I choose to go out and eat I will be wasting both food and money unless I can find someone to share with...which never happens for me. Even at home, I waste food. Sometimes I just don't want to eat what I bought. I do eat far healthier than pre-sleeve. That is a fact.

I was sleeved on July 28th and am on the 2nd week of soft foods. Today was rough because I threw up twice. First in the morning I had a small sip of Water to take a pill and then I ate my Breakfast (scrambled eggs). Almost immediately I threw up. I won't make that mistake again. So I felt rough the rest of the day and still needed to get 200 more calories and 10g of Protein so I had some creamy PB and 3 low fat triscuit crackers. I couldn't get all PB down and chewed the crackers like 30xs. Then I felt terrible pain and discomfort and ended up throwing up a bunch of foam. Yuck!!! I am a major rule follower and so I feel like I messed up bc I threw up. I have read some posts and it seems like I must have ate too much or too fast. I thought I did what I was supposed to do (measured and chewed) and still threw up. I know I'm learning about my new stomach but I was really hoping I'd be a "sleeve superstar" and do everything "right." Would love some encouragement/advice from fellow sleevers. I don't want another day like this.

I know everyone's surgeon/nutritionist's post op/lifetime eating plans are different. I see most folks are told to eat 3 meals plus snacks in between and second most popular seems to be ~6 small meals a day. My plan is 3 meals a day no snacks and to only supplement protein with protein shakes if need be, not on the regular. I admittedly have been having snacks in between meals like a cheese stick or something strictly high protein, everything I consume has protein, no empty calories. I cannot fathom how to get the required protein in only three post-op sleeve size meals a day. The only way I can imagine is if you eat something every meal that you add protein powder to. My manual even states that at the point I am now I should be able to get in all the required protein through food alone. I say BS if you aren't allowed a snack in between. I was curious if anyone else has this type of plan and what you think, even more curious if you follow it and how you do it? I am still losing and just had my first stall the past two weeks which broke this week, even during my LB stall I was still losing circumference so I know I'm doing OK I guess I want reinforcement. My surgeon's office also said they expect their patients to eat 600-800 (which is where I'm at) calories a day and after everything I've been reading and from this forum I think that is wrong. It seems the most successful of the bunch are into the 1000 cal/100gms protein range. My surgeon and his handiwork are excellent and I'm very pleased, but the nutritionist and bariatric nurse I feel are not progressive sticking with older ideals. I didn't go through this and pay all this money to have a couple of thin years then not be able to keep it off because I can't stick to starving myself! Just a little frustrated!! =/

Oh yes. I'm going to do that Wednesday. Was just hoping to know something before then. I know these people (pcp and surgeons nurse) personally, spits hard bc I don't want to be overbearing and a PITA, however I also want to advocate for myself.

Hi, everyone. I'm a newbie who has been lurking on the forums for the past month or so. You all are amazing and I am so grateful for your candid comments and generosity of information. I have my first seminar next week so I am trying to get my ducks in a row. My insurance does cover banding so I am very fortunate (horizon bc in nj). However, I am a little concerned about whether my lack of medical treatment records might impact the insurance decision. I do not have pcp, haven't seen a doctor in a number of years. I dont have anything "official" documenting my weight and weight loss efforts. I have a few years of cardiovascular screening records, including my weight, from my job. Do you think i can use that proof? I guess I've benn avoiding medical testing and treatment all these years because I just didn't want the doctors to make me feel any worse than I already felt. Not sure if anyone else has been through this. Thanks for any help.

Hi! I also have BCBS FED.... My last NUT appointment is in April. They best advice I could give is to read through your policy and call customer service if you have any questions. My BMI is 40 with no co morb. BCBS doesnt make you lose weight but your surgeon may have you lose some. I had to lose 10% of my excess body weight and that was 8 pounds. It is my understanding that BCBS uses your start weight.

I am a man ( 6 1'' and 360 lbs ) which puts me with 47.5 BMI, I recently contacted a dr. in Syria and he advised me to do the VSG surgery anytime soon . I a originally from Lebanon Beirut and living in vancouver BC. The surgery will cost me 4000$ inclusing everything. I am just wondering if anyone here had the surgery done in Lebanon or Syria ? how much did the surgery cost u guys in total mentioning the country? if everything went fine , I will be doing the surgery by the end of Novermber and I will keep you all posted. Thank you all in advance.

I was more excited than nervous Bc I knew this was leading up to the new me. Also, if I'm not compliant with a 2 week diet, how can I be compliant with an entire lifestyle change? You can do this. Sure, it sucks. It's no fun. But it is doable.

I am just stopping by to introduce myself. I am very excited to have found this forum. I have not been banded yet but have begun the journey. I was just approved for surgery today after having my psychological exam. My next step is to meet with the surgeon. I have not officially heard if I have been approved for insurance but I meet I criteria, so I am hoping there will be no surprises there. I started this process 3 years ago only to find out that insurance would cover RYN but not the band. After the disappointing news I tried 1 more time really hard to lose weight and had lost 35 lbs, took me about a year, then started slowly gaining it back again. Fed up with the yo yo once more I called my insurance. Since then they have approved the band. Originally I had started the process with Dr. Malley in Kansas City, but when I started looking into it again he was 4 months out before I could even start seeing him so I did some research and decided to go with Dr. Hoehn. So far everything has been great and I am happy with that choice.:tongue:

Lol yeah in terms of taste muscle milk taste great but my doc doesn't recommend them bc they are too high in calories and too high in carb...premiere is the only drink that taste good to me from what's nutritionally best for us...those other healthy shakes r just horrible! Yuckkkkk lol

Spoke to the billing clerk 7/16 about how much fills cost (my 1st 3 months were covered under the cost of surgery) I said I was wondering since BC/BS of MI doesn't cover them.......she said "yes they do" We kinda argued back and forth for a minute and she wrote down the CPT code for me S2083 Adjustment of gastric band diameter. She said BCBS covers every time, all I pay is my $10.00 office co-pay. This code is new as of July 2007 according to my BC/BS of Michigan policy. It falls under the Obesity Surgery catagory.

I have Anthem BC/BS of Massachusetts and they say if your BMI is 40 or above you don't need any co-morbids..if BMI is between 35 and 40 you need at least 1 co-morbid.

Oh cool... What flavor did u get the gas x strips bc I'm on amazon n they have many flavors. Idw to get one that burns

I used to have similar pain in my right hip down to my knee from a pinched nerve. The entire side of my leg would go numb and they sent me for an EMG. They stick tiny pins in my foot/ankle/leg/hip/back that gave tiny little shocks or something crazy. Then used some other big pronged thing jabbed into my hip area to shock the nerve and it hurt ridiculously awful! End results and how to relieve the issue...Lose weight to reduce pressure on the nerve. I wanted to slap the Dr doing EMG, bc that made me hurt more than I already did. *this was cpl years prior to my band surgery*

Thank u all. I unfortunately am really scared to actually drink anything lol bc I hate the idea of discomfort! It's just not getting easier and I just wish I could gulp! Taking it one step at a time!

OMG I hope you fed him to wild pigs. That is totally outrageous!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this website, but have been looking into the lapband for 7 months now. I recently got a new job with American Medical Response and now have Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO. I've been in touch with a few different Surgery Facilities, all saying that I will need documented medical history from a physician. One company said 6 months history, another said 3 years. My problem is that I've never had medical insurance before, therefor I haven't seen a Dr. since I was 15 years old. (I'm 25 now) Do most insurance companies want proof that you've actually seen a physician for 6 months to 3 years regarding weight loss? Or are they just looking for a physician to document a person's stated struggles and trials with weight loss? I'll be in touch with my insurance company tomorrow to find out for sure what their criteria are. Anyone have expereince with Anthem BCBS, by the way? Thanks so much!! I'm really hoping for the lapband. I know in my heart it's the best approach! :clap2:

@freshair Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post! Today, I am still spotting. I made an appointment to see my primary care physician on this Thursday afternoon. She said we need to do a pap smear and take a look into my hormone levels. Just like you said, she thinks with all the weight loss thus far my hormones are going crazy. I plan on taking another pregnancy test tomorrow morning. I remember the surgeon saying I would become more fertile and it's not recommended to become pregnant until at least a year after surgery. One of the reasons I had the surgery is because I do want a family. I have read so many stories about women who have had PCOS and then had the surgery, which led them to become pregnant. I was originally put on Ministrin, which is a bc pill. I do not want to have to take another pill and therefore, haven't taken it since I had the surgery. I know it's not smart AT ALL. I will be talking to the doctor on Thursday and ask about the patch or the depo. When you were on the depo did you gain weight?

Oh my gosh, I wasn't told that regarding bc pills. Well, I guess it's a good thing I haven't taken them. I will ask for a blood test on Thursday just to be on the safe side. I will keep you posted. I don't know how to add you as a friend on here so if you know add me. I'd love to keep in touch with you.

So after all the trips to er and all the stick to my feelings. I ended up discovering a leak.....now I have to be fed via tube directly to body so my stomach leak can repair. Its so small that can't go back in and find it.

Hi my name is Pam Im 38 yo this Jan. (2013) I am needing some new friends Im a newbie just started on here I also have a page on facebook that I just started called MY WEIGHTLOSS ADVENTURE please like it I really need more likes on it....... anyways Im just starting Im on mnth 2 week 1 of my 6 mnth diet then its a 14 day preop diet so probley abt Juneish.......Im looking forward to haveing the SLEEVE surgery I cant wait...Its real hard for me to lose weight by myself.....I started out weighing 260 lbs and now I weigh 244 lbs so thats a little loss they want me to lose 1 lb per wk=4lbs per mnthx6 mnths =24lbs before surgery I really hope I can do this bc I really do need the surgery I cant lose 100 lbs or more without it even if its just close to 100 lbs I should be happier......(My profile picture is the same on here and facebook)......

okay this is my third attempt to reply - three times a charm right? Hello all - I'm still here barely. I was banded Feb. 16, 2009 and weighed 265 lbs (5'8") and as of this past January weighed 132 lbs. I was pleased so far except I had started having horrible night coughs - along with the occasional spit up and could barely eat anything anymore. So band doc took some out and said to get upper GI/fluoro. I was feelling a little better but still had occasional throw up session and still some night coughing. Early March I had upper GI and band slipped. I almost had a heart attack. On one hand I was so relieved because I had not felt like myself in two months which I started a new job at that time and kept thinking it was the stress of the job and I couldn't hack it. I swear I had never felt so out of sorts - not myself as I did for those two months. On the other hand, what do you mean it's slipped...fix it. So they said so much of my stomach was so far up above my band they had to do revision surgery and since my port stuck out about 6 inches out of my rib cage like a gigantic alien goose egg they could fix it at that time and they would do this fast. So I thought okay, maybe for a reason would certainly explain a few things and I could get egg fixed. So I had surgery last Tuesday NIGHT (6:00 pm - no drink/water/food since midnight before and waiting all day - can you tell I am impatient ???) Woke up Tuesday night to hear "WE TOOK IT OUT." WHAT??????????? Why? It was best - your stomach needs to rest. So I ended up staying overnight in excrutiating pain - about 50 x worse than the first time around which doc says is bc maybe I was 120 lbs heavier - idk ok. I have follow up in two weeks and I am still a little bit of disbelief. I weighed 139.2 day of surgery and yesterday 152. How does that happen? I have had nothing but Clear liquids since Wed am. My stomach is swollen but I am baffled in very many ways. Now what? Am I going to have to go through this pain agan IF they get it approved by my insurance not to mention although I have insurance I still am responsible for some of the costs which include doc visits, portions of fees, hospital stays, etc... I am open to any ideas/comments/suggestions/feedback - anything. You wouldn't know it by this 'bitchpost' but I am generally a very positive person, did yoga, chants, positive thoughts etc right before the surgery all positive imagery - took supplements/vitamins that were appropriate etc... So, How's everyone else doing?

My name is Ashley and I'm a 25yr old mother with a wonderful son and a amazing husband. My husband loves me the way I am but sees that I need to get healthy and get some of this weight off. He sees that it is starting to affect me. As a child I was never overweight until I hit puberty then it all went down hill. I was very athletic and fluctuated between 160-180, until I got pregnant with my son when I was 20. I have never been able to get the weight off. I have been at my highest these past few years, 275lbs. My self - confidence has always been an issue for me, but i have been working on it and all i want right now is to lose this weight and be healthy, being skinny wouldnt be a bad thing either. :tongue_smilie: My weight hasnt caused any other health problems yet but i dont want to give it a chance to. The only thing that it has affected is my ability to get pregnant. My husnband and i have been trying to get pregnant for 4 years now with no avail. :thumbup: My insurance makes you go through a 6 month diet program and if you miss one visit, bc you have to go every month, you have to start all over. needless to say that i have had a rough time bc when i started the program eveything was great at home then my husband lost his job and with only 3 months left to go i had to start the 6 month diet program all over again. so i started my journey back in 3/2009 and i just finished the 6 month diet program and got approval. my dr. requires a liquid diet for 2 weeks before the surgery with the optifast shakes and i am on day 4 with the shakes. all you can have with the shakes is sugar free calorie free drinks, popsicles, and jello. have you ever taste sugar free jello? its disgusting!!! i can also have broth if i get lightheaded or anything. the first day was hell for me. all i wanted to do was eat. i was exhausted and felt like crap. i went home and my family was having bbq chicken and yellow rice. i stuck my finger in the bbq sauce then made a cup of broth and cried myself to sleep. my husband is very supportive of me in doing this. he knows its something that i want BAD. so he was there to comfort me and tell me i could do it and it will be ok. it has gotten easier with each day but yesterday i wanted a smoothie soo bad i was good and didnt get one. when i got home i went with my husband to the store and he ran to bk. i told him i didnt want to go bc this is soo hard but we went ahead and went and my husband asked me if i wanted anything. i just looked at him and started crying and then it dawned on him what he did. he kept apologizing which made me cry even more and then i was able to calm down but as soon as i went home i went to bed. i dont blame him for it and i know he didnt do it on purpose but it still hurt somewhere inside. todays day 4 and like i said its gotten easier with each day so im hoping todays a good day.

Hi. where you overweight when you married her? Do you feel that you settled and now that you have your options, you no longer feel that "need" for her? I am trying to look at this from your side and her side. I have been on her side where after I gave birth to my daughter, my husband said that i was fat..i was a "great" person and deserved to be really loved. It hurt like a Mother F*er. But now that i am almost 2 years out of that relationship and loosing weight and feel better and better about myself i realized that when I got together with him and settled (eventhough I grew to love him because I kinda had to as a wife) most of my love came from settling. I didn't think I would be able to find another guy who cared for me as he did. (he was very much into me when we met eventhought i was overweight). But yeah, I loved him bc he was my husband and i settled. I think that if i was still married to him, I would take have of the crap he put me through and would have fallen out of love with him as well because I actually would feel better about myself and love myself enough to realize that. This might be two different stories but what i am saying is that i kind of understand where you are coming from. However, I do believe that she stuck with you through thick and thin and i don't know what kind of relationship you had with her before this, but i agree with the prior post that it sounds like you already made up your mind and that is why the counseling is not working. There must have been something that you loved about her and maybe she is in a rut and as her husband, her best friend, her life companion, you should help her get out of that and be as happy as you are now. No judgment here :biggrin: you have to do what you have to do but don't forget that you are not the only person in this relationship and what you decide will effect her life as well. I believe that marriage is a life time commitment unless you are physically and mentally abused. and i also believe that if you really want to - you can make this a great marriage but I have a feeling you don't as you are probably not used to the attention from other woman and now catching up with the lost time. Good luck :laugh: Stacy

I don't believe I said you have to do what I'm doing. Did I tell you how many calories I take in on a normal day? Did I tell you my BMR? Did I tell you how many calories I burn in a given week through exercise? No. Actually, I did none of those things. THAT would be trying to say that we are all the same. My post was pretty much for people to FIND exactly what works for them and not just starve the hell out of their body because that's what they were told to do. I AM recommending that people get out there and start researching to see what their body needs. But when you have people on 800 cal/day and NOT losing and can't figure out why - might be time for them to take a look at what they can do differently. That is what I was suggesting. :cursing: It's not a fluff term, unfortunately. I wish more people were aware of it. I'm not speaking of people that CONTINUE losing on low, low, low calories. If that works for you - go for it. I still say you're going to lose muscle. And strength test is not enough to measure that - body mass analysis can do that. But anyway...a few in the medical and scientific community that have mentioned it: Minnesota Starvation Experiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (if you don't like wiki, then find another source, This is a well-known study and produced 1,385 pages of text called The Biology of Human Starvation) Why hasn't the study been reproduced? It's hard to find people willing to put up with all that these subjects went through. Especially when you take a look at the mental/emotional trauma that many of them suffered. Other quotes: Abdul Dulloo from the University of Geneva regarding the above-mentioned study: Adaptive reduction in basal metabolic rate in response to food deprivation in humans: a role for feedback signals from fat stores. Dulloo, Jaquet 1998. American journal of clinical nutrition. Quote: “It is well established from longitudinal studies of human starvation and semistarvation that weight loss is accompanied by a decrease in basal metabolicrate (BMR) greater than can be accounted for by the change in body weight or body composition” “the survival value of such an energy-regulatory process that limits tissue depletion during food scarcity is obvious.” Doucet, et al 2001. British journal of nutrition. “Evidence for the existence of adaptive thermogenesis during weight loss.” quote: “It should be expected that the decrease in resting energy expenditure that occurs during weightloss would be proportional to the decrease in body substance. However, in the case of underfeeding studies, acute energy restriction can also lead to reductions in resting energy expenditure which are not entirely explained by changes in body composition.” Handbook of Obesity Treatment, by wadden and stunkard (two of the top obesity scientists and researchers in the world ) quote: “The starvation response - which is an increase in food seeking behavior - is most likely mediated by the decrease in leptin associated with caloric deprivation.” Biochemical And Physiological Aspects of Human Nutrition by SM. Stipanauk, professor of nutritional sciences, Cornell University (WB Saunders company, 2000) Quote: “During food restriction, thermic effect of food and energy expenditure decrease, as would be expected from reduced food intake and a reduction in total body mass. Resting metabolic rate, however declines more rapidly than would be expected from the loss of body mass and from the decline in spontaneous physical activity due to general fatigue. This adaptive reduction in resting metabolic rate may be a defense against further loss of body energy stores.” American Journal clinical nutrition 1997. Dulloo “post starvation hyperphagia and body fat overshooting in humans.” American Journal Clin Nutrition 1989, Elliot et al. “Sustained depression of the resting metabolic rate after massive weight loss” quote: “Resting metabolic rate of our obese subjects remained depressed after massive weight loss despite increased caloric consumption to a level that allowed body weight stabilization.” and Dulloo 1998: “The reduction in thermogenesis during semistarvation persists after 12 weeks of restricted refeeding, with its size being inversely proportional to the degree of fat recovery but unrelated to the degree of fat free mass recovery.” Major and Doucet in the international journal of obesity called, “clinical significance of adaptive thermogenesis.” Here’s a quote from this latest (2007) study: “Adaptive thermogenesis is described as the decrease in energy expenditure beyond what could be predicted from the changes in fat mass or fat free mass under conditions of standardized physical activity in response to a decreased energy intake, and could represent in some individuals another factor that impedes weight loss and compromises the maintenance of a reduced body weight.” --------------------------------------------------- What is leptin, then? Leptin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The studies mentioned above: Dubuc G, Phinney S, Stern J, Havel P (1998). "Changes of serum leptin and endocrine and metabolic parameters after 7 days of energy restriction in men and women". Metab. Clin. Exp. 47 (4): 429–34. PMID 9550541. Pratley R, Nicolson M, Bogardus C, Ravussin E (1997). "Plasma leptin responses to fasting in Pima Indians". Am. J. Physiol. 273 (3 Pt 1): E644–9. PMID 9316457. Weigle D, Duell P, Connor W, Steiner R, Soules M, Kuijper J (1997). "Effect of fasting, refeeding, and dietary fat restriction on plasma leptin levels". J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 82 (2): 561–5. doi:10.1210/jc.82.2.561. PMID 9024254. ---------------------------------------------------- Don't feed people the BS that it doesn't exist without doing your own research. I'm not even selling anything, so what do I have to gain by trying to ask people to RESEARCH this? Not a dang thing. I'm trying to help. If you don't like the info, then don't accept it. It makes no difference to me. But don't say it's not backed by the medical/scientific community - that is simply untrue. I did want to add - about the half-marathon. I didn't just hop on the road and get running. I put in a lot of work to get there, to include going through the C25K program like 3 times. It's not easy. Some days are a b*tch. I have bad running days and good running days. But anyway - I was running for about 6 months before deciding to try to work up to running one, then I followed a difficult 12-week program to build up to it. I wish I was one of these genetically-blessed people that doesn't have to train at all and can peg a personal record (yuck - one of my friends on FB...LOL). It's all baby steps.