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Hi everybody, I am super new to this site. I have my FIRST consultation on Thursday, May 7th and I'm not sure what to expect. I'm nervous about not getting approved or not saying the right things. I just turned 21 in April and I've been overweight for most of my life, basically since I was about 3 years old. I probably hit obesity during my teen years. I've tried many diets, and even went to "fat camp" when I was 13 and 14, and then another one for adults 18 and over, two years ago. I also went to culinary school and my family owns a restaurant, so I am around food all. the. time. Food is my life, and I've wanted to be thin ever since I can remember, so surgery seems like my only option at this point. It doesn't seem like there can ever be a time when I'll be able to lose weight without it, especially after trying so many things over the past years. Anyway, if anyone can tell me what to expect at my first appointment, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading

"My so called best friend last week commented on our old coworkers weight loss and said "idk why the eff she keeps posting pictures of her in the gym when she knows dam well she had surgery and she is not losing that weight on her own. She needs to stop taking pics of her at the gym." Wtf! Why do women treat eachother so badly?! She should be proud of her for going to the gym and kicking ass! Not talking about her behind her back!

For me, once I got into the habit of it, it's not a big hassle to do so. I think MFP is amazing, especailly considering it's free. I'm not neurotic about it, I don't weight or measure things like spinach. I do weight most things though, cheese, jerky, salad dressing, meat, beans, etc. I don't cook a lot. It's pretty pointless when I can only eat 2 oz. But when I do I use MFP recipe builder. It works really well, IMO. For a big recipe I just guesstimate on the number of servings. I eat out a lot, and mostly at non chains. I also generally use the highest calorie option for a dish. I don't stress out too much over it, I figure logging, even if it is 100% accurate gives me a better record than not logging. MFP is fantastic about having ethnic dishes in their data base.

I see a difference but I know what you mean about the pant sizes. I guess because most of my pants have a stretch waist and since our tummies are somewhat moldable into pants, I wasn't really noticing a difference for a bit. It just seemed like, yeah, I'm still wearing the same ones, I have finally gotten to where I am wearing a few I wasn't able to wear. I think when you carry a lot of upper body weight, it just seems to be slower. You are doing great!!

Love the smile on the after surgery picture. But, do you have the weights mixed up? You don't weight MORE after surgery, do you?

You may have "risk factors" and don't realize it. Your frequent heartburn is probably one. Find out what the criteria is for your specific insurance carrier. I'm fairly new at all this too, but from what I've learned, risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, abnormal blood glucose, joint pain, decreased mobility, asthma, breathing issues and all sorts of things you have learned to live with. Talk to your PCP as well. Gaining 5lbs weight may be an option, but be fully informed before you binge. Good luck.

Hey all! Woah, I didn’t mean to make this so long, but I’m a rambler. This is my first post and I'm not sure if it belongs here, but it’s going here lol. I’ve been battling depression and obesity since I was a child. I hit 200lbs when I was 12, and although I was an active dancer in highschool and walked so so so much (my friends and I were mallrats with no cars) and saw a nutritionist in my junior and senior year, I was probably around 215 when I graduated. For a 5’2”, 17 year old girl, that was already morbidly obese and it just went up from there. I was definitely in survival mode for the next few years, on a few antidepressants, working and going to school, just trying to live. The earliest data I have from my FitBit and MyFitnessPal has be at 275lb in 2016, and I know I went up to the 290s in 2017, because 2017 is a blank on my trackers, and knowing me, I was too ashamed to record it. The next I have is 273 in 2018. I went off my antidepressants around the end of 2017, and while I was mentally “white-knuckling” it, I started losing weight. But it was very much a lose 10lbs, gain 15-20 cycle. Then my birth control made it worse. At the beginning of this year, I was stuck in a plateau of 231, and I talked to my doctor about my disordered eating, and she got me a therapist and I got myself a personal trainer. At that doctors appt, I almost asked for a referral for surgery, but chickened out and asked for a therapist and a nutritionist instead. Love my therapist, but the nutritionist wanted me on a 1200 cal diet that didn't mesh with disordered eating at all. An important note here, is that my mother, who has passed, had the RYGB circa 2002. So surgery has always been in the back of my mind. After a series of unfortunate events in March, I lost 10lbs rapidly and realized my bmi (40) was at the cut off for surgery with no comorbidities. At the beginning of April I asked my doctor for a surgery referral. She offered me Wegovy or Saxenda, but I really can’t see myself using injectables for the rest of my life, so she went ahead with the referral. Had the first consultation a little over a week later, did a few zoom classes, completed forms, did the psych eval (actually awful), and today I got an email saying my insurance approved me and my program would contact me soon for a date. My reasoning is that I see my trainer twice a week and my therapist and I are working on my relationship with food, but I’m getting older and I have that historic lose/gain cycle, and my weight has been a source of unhappiness literally my entire life. Surgery isn’t going to fix everything, I know that, I’ve talked to my therapist about that, but she and I agree this would be a great tool for me in conjunction with the other changes I’m making. My trainer, who is a family friend, doesn’t like the idea. But she’s only known me as an adult, she doesn’t see that a lifetime of yo-yo dieting and trying to stay active isn’t cutting it when I’m still carrying an extra 100lbs. A close member of my family wants me to do keto again, because that was my biggest diet win, but that also didn’t mesh with my disordered eating in the long run. Since my consult, I’ve lost about another 6lbs, firmly putting me where I was when I was a teenager, which is a surreal feeling, but it’s being used as proof that I can “do it on my own.” Honestly, my mindset is that I’m eating less in preparation for surgery. There’s been memes shared on instagram stories of people who I know must know I want to get wls done, calling the surgery “body mutilation” and how “surgeons regret performing bariatric surgeries because it's unnatural.” It makes me doubt myself, like is this just my depression wanting to “mutilate” myself, or is this me trying to overcome my depression and finally do something for myself? What was it for my mother? I was too young to ask her these questions and now I can't. This is a very long post to ask; I’m doing the right thing, right? Am I being rational and making sense? I know I can lose the weight, but keeping it off is constantly clawing and if I slip now just a little, the lose/gain cycle could catch up, and I'm so tired of it.

I think about a lot of the things I used to eat, and then I wonder what the hell I was doing! I'm talking about doing 4 or 5 rounds at a buffet or just totally eating way more than any normal person would eat. Things get much easier as time passes. Your weight drops. Your outlook on life becomes much more positive. You will look forward to having an active, healthy lifestyle. It's tough in the beginning, but once that scale really starts moving things will be much better.

@@WhitneyMc - Welcome to the community! I was a self-pay patient (mostly because of the time insurance takes to approve), however I did look into it, and I know many on here have been through it. If you have started a Medically managed weight loss program for your insurance, then you should be getting diet advice directly from the medical personnel who are assisting your weight loss. Your surgeon most likely has a Nutritionist on his/her team that will give you instructions on what they recommend. If you ever have a question on whether something fits into your new diet, you should just ask your nutritionist. They should be able to provide you with literature and some resources that would benefit you in this part of the process.... Good luck on getting the approval!

First of all, take a deep breath. This is incredibly hard work and you are doing a great job. Statistically speaking, people who are obese and have been for a significant period of time, only have about a 5% success rate of losing the weight and keeping it off long term. The reality is, obesity is an incredibly hard thing to overcome, and for most of us, surgery is the tool we need to succeed. That, in addition to counseling to heal my relationship with food and my body, has been absolutely life changing. It sounds like you have done your homework about medications, surgery, and other treatments. You've come to a soundly investigated decision based on what is best for YOU. You are doing the mental and emotional work to set yourself up for long term success and wellbeing. As for those around you who are naysayers - they do not live in your mind or body and have no right to opine on either. Frankly, folks who have never lived through a life of obesity and disordered eating simply cannot understand it or truly empathize. My husband is the MOST supportive human on the planet and has been my biggest cheerleader through every diet, exercise program, and finally surgery. Truly, he is a gift to me. BUT, he is rail thin and always has been. He openly acknowledges that he cannot understand a life with obesity and because he can't, he has trusted me to make the right decisions for myself and supports me unconditionally without reservation or opinion. If the people in your life cannot see their own bias and acknowledge that they cannot support you without their own opinions clouding things, then maybe they should not be allowed the space to speak into your life. You can love them, but they don't deserve the right to give you their opinions. Only you can decide what is right for you and it sounds like you already have. Trust that. You got this.

I've got a really good gym quality treadmill. I'd love a punchng bag. We have odd weights and resistance bands lying around but I really want to get myself some of Jari Love's Ripped Series and a proper barbell set and start doing some strength training. I do run outside quite a lot but I have the opposite problem at the moment, its stinking hot in Melbourne, 36 degrees celcius today and really oppressive, way too hot to run.

My mother says "No wonder Americans don't eat vegetables look how they cook them!" I prefer to eat my veggies raw. You should follow your doctors orders regarding what veggies to eat. Clearly some are higher in Carbs than others. As long as I don't eat corn or potato I allow myself to eat whatever raw veggies I want. Some of my favorites baby carrots, mini sweet peppers (Come in a bag red, yellow, orange; just wash and eat no cutting!), Snap peas. Back to my mother. Greeks love to roast veggies in the oven with a small amount of Olive Oil and LOTS of garlic. Available at my grocery are containers of garlic cloves that are already cleaned (super convenient). As long as you don't use too much olive oil it is probably the best fat you can eat. The up side is you don't need to add butter at the table. This is great time for you to develop a new relationship with food. This is not a diet. This is a way of life. Due to medical condition that needed resolution; I had to wait almost 8 months for surgery. I lost 50 pounds. More important I reevaluated what and why I was eating. My doctor required 3 sessions with a pychologist who specialised in eating disorders. I highly recommend seeing a therapist. I was NOT happy about the prospect of going to this woman. They turned out to be really really helpful to me. She did not say "You're over weight you can never have dessert again!" Instead she talked about planning and making conscious decisions about food. She was a very thin woman. She admitted to having an issue with ice cream. Instead of eating low fat/cal ice cream everyday she only eats a child size cone of the full fat variety like once a month.

You will be glad you did it. Good practice for post surgery and also according to my surgeon it helps your liver get to a reasonable size and keeps it from hanging over the place where they cut. You will also lose weight, so enjoy.

All your are saying sounds very familiar to me. A little here a little there. And you're right, why sabotage this unbelievable opportunity I have to be able to lose weight. We had surgery the same month-let's stay in touch.

Yes, harder than it looks. As you progress you can also ask the instructor ways to make the moves harder. Does your pool have lighter and heavier weights for the pool? If so after a while you can move to the heavier ones.

Please suggest

What you are experiencing is very normal. It sounds like most of your surgery swelling has gone down, so your appetite has returned. Since your band was most likely put in empty (unfilled), you will feel little to no restriction with your eating until your first adjustment. Just be patient....the first 6 weeks after surgery are for healing, not weight loss. Once you get your first adjustment, you will really feel how the band will adjust your appetite.

I'm sorry my current weight is 150LBS!!

Hi ladies/Guys I am 1 year and 8months post op Sleever and some how I have found this love to inspire others to do the same not saying the actual surgery but the WeightLoss part and building the self esteem of others. I am curious to see who would be interested in something like this ? Here's a little about me I have always been a big girl but to be honest I never thought I was insecure , I always dressed up being in the fashion industry as I am for over ten years you have to look and act the part so I think I spent so much time acting that I never realized how un-happy I really was until I was 5'2 264 pounds , chronic asthmatic , sleep apnea , one step away from type 1 diabetes . Long story short I am now so happy and completely comfortable with my self inside and out and I'd like to help others with that ; inspire you as you can also inspire me Don't think that because I lost the weight that I am sitting here feeling perfect NO there are things I still deal with from day to day .

I haven't lost any weight in 3 weeks. I'll be 7 weeks out on Tuesday. I didn't expect my "stall" to begin this early. I've only lost 18 pounds since surgery. It's really making me feel down, which leads me to old habits (and bad food choices). I'm starting over on a liquid diet tomorrow, maybe that will help me break through my stall. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I've also heard - no idea if it's true - that once you've been obese for a while and lose weight, you'll still need to eat 20% fewer calories to maintain than a person at your same weight who has never been obese. Has anyone else heard this? Any legit science behind this?

@@akreese02 what kind of foods have you been eating when you gain weight? I've done ALOT of research about this lately because it's driving me crazy. I always heard weight loss is calories in vs calories out. But im now learning that the TYPE of food has alot more to do with it then I thought. Which I guess is why we're told high protein/low carb. Unfortunately doing the under 30g carbs that my Dr suggests makes me sick (super dizzy, spacey, etc..). Still figuring out what works for ME

Yes, my surgeon said the same thing. I don't think he gave a specific percentage, but he used the example of identical twins, one of whom was normal weight, and one who was obese, then lost the weight. Even though she now weighed the same as her twin, she would have to consume significantly fewer calories to maintain that weight than her twin consumed.

I am 3 weeks post op met with my nutrionist today for the 1st time since my surgery and she is starting me on soft foods next week. I have to say that I am so sick and tired of protein shakes and just started yogurt this week. Does anyone else feel the same as I do? There are those who think I have taken the easy way out to lose weight but we all know that is just not the case. I am thankful for the protein shakes, they do take away any hunger but still I am at my witts end.

I am one week out, feeling great and I have taken on a healthy "I just dont' even care" attitude. For now, I am on a clear liquid fast and I just don't even care that I can't partake in the beautiful food I am feeding my dh and 3 kids. I just don't even care how long it takes to lose this weight, because I know that every day I make good healthy choices, I will be lighter tomorrow. If it takes me 4 years, I will still be here, God willing. I don't care that I only have one pair of pants that fit because I know that each and every day I will be getting closer to fitting allllllllllll those sizes in my closet. Looking forward to each and every day.