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Many places make you go to a six month supervised diet and most places do not consider Weight Watchers one of them. I've been through many supervised diets and still had to start over and when they mean six months supervised, that means if you miss a month, you need to start all over. Many places make you go through an entire program. I had to do it as did many others. If you want your insurance company to pay, find one and start over or maybe consider going to Mexico and paying cash for it! Best of luck.

My arms are already holding me back from wearing smaller sizes, like everything fits but my arms are still too big. I will probably have plastics on them at some point, but I have a little hope for them. I have noticed this month they are tightening up a little. I purposely slowed my weight loss down a little because I was dropping too quickly and getting super flabby really fast, now that my skin has caught up, I am going to speed my weight loss up again.

I have always had large arms, but after I gained tons of weight they just got huge. I have to remind all docs/nurses to use the largest blood pressure cuff or they'll get a false high reading. That being said, I have lost almost 4 inches off of each upper arm. There is definitely hanging skin/fat still, but I'm also developing my muscles and I am pretty sure I can wait a few years after hitting goal to assess how bad they really look. And I usually don't wear anything sleeveless so it won't be the end of the world if I just keep wearing cap/short sleeves to camouflage the wobbly upper arms. I've still got a ways to go, but I feel SO MUCH BETTER and the arm thing doesn't bother me nearly as much now as when I started. I think we all tend to obsess over the little things that we are just sure will be awful in the early days - saggy cheeks, wrinkly belly, batwings - but this is such an involved process and your whole world is changing so much, that in my case, I'm no longer really that worried. I'll deal with it if it gets bad enough to bother me, but so far, I'm thrilled overall and I know it may still get better even years down the road. I think that my upper arms and the wrinkly part of my neck are the two places I mind the most, but we'll see once I hit goal how much they really bother me. I've seen the surgery required for reducing upper arms, and I am not sure I'd want to go to that extreme but it really is going to be a waiting game to see how I feel in the end.

New Day Ahead - I think loose skin is a worry for everyone. Look at it this way, your arms will be a lot smaller after you lose the weight. You can do exercises to tone the underlying muscle, but a lot is going to depend on your age, amount of weight you need to lose, genes, etc. Once you lose weight you will feel better, move more, do more, etc......a little loose skin isn't going to keep you down. From reading the boards, plastic surgeons usually require you to be at your goal weight for at least a year before they will consider doing plastic surgery. I'm not at goal, but if my loose skin bothers me I will likely look into a plastic surgery consult. Best of luck to you on your journey.

That's great! I can't wait to lose s lot of weight.

I was sleeved 4/26/2013 and I've been at a stall for 3 months. What's really discouraging is that the doctor told me 2 months ago that she thought I would have lost more weight by now, which is even more discouraging! I have been exercising. I have started Zumba, kickboxing, and walking. Any suggestions on how to speed up my weight loss. I'm looking good but the weight is not falling off as I expected.

Yes, yes, yes! I had the Lapband in 2009 and I list a total of 50lbs and gained about 30 of it back. It was such a horrible experience. I couldn't anything. I would throw up everything! It was so bad that I knew I would throw up so I would eat it anyway, and head straight to the bathroom and throw up. It wax easy to keep junk food down. And yes, I chewed my food up very well....till it was mushy. I also took small bites, all that. It didn't work. I would get fluid in and out...then it came to a point where I could eat more and went to get a fill...paid my money, and they wouldn't fill my band. It was such a frustrating situation. I couldn't eat...I just couldn't. Four days again it was reversed to a sleeve and I'm so happy I did it! No more going back and forth for fills...Good Luck!! Go for it!

Thanks for the responses. I know for a fact that I'm not getting enough Protein because I hate the Protein drinks. I also don't eat a lot. My thighs have gotten huge since I started working out which makes me feel like I'm gaining weight. Ugh

I had my surgery when my baby was 6 weeks old! It feels great! I am just a little over 6 months out. The first few months weight came off easier. I went on birth control in July and it has slowed. I still average about 11 to 16 pounds a month, but usually only lose weight about a week and a half out of the month. Yay for new moms and getting healthy!

This article may help. I'm just starting out on my WLS journey and since I have to wait 6 months for insurance - I figured I would get ahead of the game and get counseling on emotional eating and mindless eating. Good luck! Stay strong! http://www.helpguide.org/articles/diet-weight-loss/emotional-eating.htm

Congrats and welcome to the club. Dont worry about the weight gain. You are filled with IV fluids from surgery. Everyone has a little gain in the first few days post op. Also, i was in the hospital 3 days and 2 nights (standard for my surgeons practice) so just enjoy the time that other people are paid to take care of you. Again, congrats!

The Pre-Op last meals are very normal and one of those necessary evils. I've had this with my LapBand surgery, and to a lesser degree the month before my Sleeve surgery. I went beserk before my band! LOL, and how I wish I hadn't because come to find out I could still eat anything and everything I wanted post banding - as long as my band wasn't tightened. Anyway, enjoy your last meals, however - once it comes time for your pre-op diet you will want to stick to it tooth and nail. It's also a necessary evil and will shrink your liver to assist your surgeon in the safest possible procedure. Also post-op your Honeymoon window is about 6 months. You won't want to spend the little space of your tummy eating poor choices. You also won't want to slow up your weight loss either. You will have the rest of your life eating whatever you want once you hit your goal - and thank goodness you will have your tiny stomach to help keeping your from eating way too much.

I am kind of going through the same thing. I found out my surgery is on November 12th and my pre-op visit with the surgeon is November 9th. I will have to be on a no/very low (less than 20 grams) carb diet for 2 weeks prior to surgery. Well, this past week and weekend, I kind of went nuts, mostly with Mexican fajita nachos and some Chinese food. I had been on a three-month diet and lost 12 pounds. Once that was officially over, I relaxed a bit and had already put on 5 pounds before the weekend. Then, much to my horror, when I got on the scales this morning, I found that I had gained 14 pounds since my last doctor's visit!!! (Note - this is a 9 pound gain within 4 days!) He is very very strict about not gaining any weight before surgery and will even postpone it if you do. I am praying that the low carb diet will take this weight off of me in time. Another thing I am stressing about is the fact that my primary physician just changed my blood pressure meds, taking away the diuretic. That means that I am about to puff up like a frog, on top of the weight gain I have already had. If I gain weight from that, I don't think it should be held against me, but I don't know what will happen. I can't believe that my surgery will be in 20 days! (Well, if I can get this stupid weight off again, that is.) Worse part of it is - there is a pizza shop across from where I work that keeps calling my name. I know that, once I have the surgery, I will be fine. It's just that there are a couple of things that I feel like I am really going to grieve over if I don't get it out of my system beforehand. I feel like a little kid in a candy shop who is being pulled out by the arm screaming! :pizza: :hurt:

Hi @@JamieLogical, I agree with @@erp and several others about taking advantage of the first year (honeymoon or not) to get to your goal. Everyone's goal is their own, with or without advice from their doc/nut, and there's no "right answer". My doc's philosophy is that we're doing this for our health, and everything else is just gravy, so if your health is good and you feel good, that's one thing. But... You also have this tremendous opportunity to push beyond the "I'm tired of this, so where I am is good enough" point. If you settle for "good enough", you may always wonder what your true goal might have brought you. (Kind of like spouses, right?) So I'm really glad to hear that you want to push on!!! Pick a number, re-focus on it, and drive towards it. Once you get there, see how you feel. If you want 5 more, go for it. If you're happy. That's great too. But don't stop short because it's "good enough". I aimed for the top of my "normal" BMI. Once I got there, I realized that I never wanted to get back to "overweight" again, so I lost 5 more. Then I was at 150 and decided that I wanted to stay below that, so I pushed to where I could touch 145. (It was also exactly 120 pounds down, which sounds way better than 115!) So now now I'm there and guess what? I don't have the desire to lose any more. I'm thrilled with where I am and just want to stay between 145 and 150, which leaves me with a 5-10 pound buffer for the "normal" range. And people who told me to stop because I was starting to look too thin 20 pounds ago, now tell me how healthy I look at this weight! You're always so full of wonderful advice, so I hope you'll take this from the heartfelt place from where it is offered. Good luck, I wish you nothing but the best – wherever you decide to go!!!

I'm not sure if I am posting in the right place. I was banded in 2007. It worked well at first but after having my son 5 years ago, I cannot get this thing under control. Multiple fills. If I have even a little bit in it, i have terrible reflux. I empty it, I gain weight. I am strongly considering the revision but have some questions... I was told the band would make me feel "full". I never feel full, just pressure and "stuck". Then, I either vomit or close eyes and wait for food to go down. Does the sleeve just give you a full feeling? No pain? No vomiting? How slow do you have to eat? What happens if you over eat? Do you get problems with reflux? I really appreciate any advice or caution moving forward. I need to know what to expect this time.

At 27 I was pushing out twins. If I could have done this by 28, I would have saved myself YEARS of trying to lose weight after having 2 big babies...at the same time. I sat on the fence trying every diet imaginable for 2 years then finally committed and had another whole year to do the work. The older I get the harder it is to change habits. I wish I had pushed more to get the surgery back then because if I'm honest with myself, all I did was prolong the weight loss another few years. Should have went with my gut then.

I am in the process of gaining insurance approval for the surgery. I was initially VERY interested in the plication procedure. However, the surgeon told me: "I could make a lot more money if you had the plication because you'd have to pay cash BUT if you were MY sister I'd do the sleeve. He said no matter what---those sutures on the folded stomach WILL come out. He said then you've undergone major surgery and you're right back where you started : ( ! He said with the plication you also keep the part of your stomach which produces the hunger hormone Grelin. So your hunger will most likely still be there. I decided on the sleeve because it's the constant hunger, along with other issues which keep me in the food instead of living life. I am praying and praying I can have the surgery the first week of December. Several have said but THE HOLIDAYS. My response is I'm going to have to deal with them at some point anyway! Whatever you decide, I wish you only the BEST outcome.

Mine grow and shrink with weight loss and gain. I'm only 5'2". When I am 50 lighter I wear a DDD, which is manageable and looks good with the rest of my body. Right now I'm an F which is just plain ridiculous, I'm looking forward to them shrinking. They're not perky anyway thanks to their size and nursing 2 babies, but at least when they're "collapsable" you can stuff them in a pretty bra and not look like you have a bed pillow under your shirt like I do now

I'm actually hoping my breasts get a bit smaller, but so far they are the only place I haven't lost weight from. Right now I'm a DD and would prefer to be a C or D. I'm pretty close to goal, so I don't have a lot of faith that they are going to get any smaller.

Most of the time when people are talking bad about the surgery they don't really have any clue what there talking about. The stories are always about there friend's cousin or something, and they don't even know which surgery they had. So unless someone is telling you something about the surgery and they themselves had it, I wouldn't put to much weight to it. Being scared is completely normal and common, just try to keep in mind your reasons for having the surgery and that will guide you through. Good Luck.

I am so ready for this surgery. I worked in the ER and it had got to the point where I just couldn't keep up with the demand and I was eating myself to death. Now I'm working in the Hospice House and I'm ready to leave for something different but one thing at a time. I am having my surgery on Sept 11th. When you lose you gain hopefully strength and stamina.

Hello everyone! I am new to this community. I am currently working on getting the Gastric Sleeve surgery. Right now I have to gone to 3 of the 6 monthly weigh-ins that are required and I have noticed everytime they weigh me it's anywhere from 3-5 lbs more then what I weigh myself at home and at my personal trainers. Has anyone else experienced this?? It's very discouraging for me cos I'm working really hard to lose weight (eating healthy, small portions, personal trainer 3x a week)and when the scale at my home or gym says I've lost and their scale at the office says I've either gained or stayed the same. My appointments are always first thing in the morning, so I haven't even eaten anything yet. I don't know what to do about it cos I don't want the insurance company seeing those weigh-ins and decide they can't cover it. [emoji53]

Everyday I'm worried I did this for nothing. I'm still on full liquids and feel like it's not good enough. I can drink a whole shake at a time and don't feel overly full! I thought I'd be full after a couple of ounces! Arrrgh. I feel you. I'm almost 4 months post op and I've been in a stall and frustrated for a couple reasons. 1) I have no problem drinking a Protein shake in less then 20 minutes and have been this way since 1 week post-op. 2) I follow the nutritionists guidelines and eat my protein and calories, consume between 65-80 oz of Water a day and haven't lost anything in 3 weeks. I am In a Support group through the surgical office and have tried talking to them about it and it just makes me feel worse. I feel worse because people with a lower BMI (mine is currently at 53) have lost more weight in less time and people that had surgery the same week have lost more. When I ask what they are doing compared to what I'm doing I again feel like a failure. Some of the people are 6+months out and still at 300-400 calories a day. At 2 weeks I was told to move to 600-800 calories and at 6week 800-1000 and I tell people that and they are appalled. So I tried going backward in calories - back to 600-800 but I am hungry ALL THE TIME! I try to make good choices but this past week since I haven't lost anything in over 2 weeks I've just given up. Anyway, just came looking to see if anyone else has any of these issues or thoughts since I'm apparently unique my my face-to-face support group and it discourages me so bad. Try thickening up your shakes I do almond milk and zero carb Isopure powder! Full of protein. No carbs and very filling in a blender with ice! Fills me up at like 140 calories and 25 gms protein. I drink 2-3 a day with grilled chicken, tuna, pork tenderloin, or some type of lean meat every few hours. Or 1/2 cup cottage cheese. After 2-3 Ounces of meat I'm full. Ground chicken is also really lean and yummy and filling (I put home made taco seasoning on it)! I eat veggies a couple days a week but shy away from Beans and legumes as the high carb content stalls me I stay as low carb as possible except one day a week I allow myself carbs from nuts beans and nut butter etc (carb cycling). Eating every couple hours keeps me from being to hungry. The lean meats keep my calories low everyday. Measure and record everything! Before I got a good scale I thought I wasn't eating much but turned out I was eating double what I should have been. Hope it gets better for you! Sorry your group isn't very supportive! It'll get better! You can do it!

Excited, nervous, and scared!!! February 10th is coming up quick for my mini sleeve surgery I'm 46 years-old, male that has been overweight most of my life. Although most of my life overweight, I still have been athletic. Currently I'm 6'7" and 360 lbs with a goal weight of 260. I don't think it's unrealistic to lose this amount. I'm very active, and lift weights but love food and drinks. I'm currently cutting back on both, trying to get a jump on my diet. If anyone else is getting there sleeve in February, let's buddy up. I'm sure as a team we can succeed I'm a cash payor, so Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using the BariatricPal App

Three weeks? I bet it's water weight. Out stomachs swell, we retain water, there is still swelling in your body. It's perfectly normal and natural.