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yes - it's simplistic. It may give you a ballpark, but ideal weights will vary a lot depending on so many things. My mother-in-law and I are both 5'6". She's always weighed in the 115-125-ish range. When I got down into the 130s a couple of years after my RNY, I looked like hell. No way could I have looked healthy if I weighed what she does. I actually look my best at around 150. But I have big, heavy bones and I'm very muscular. She has these little bird bones. She's probably look fat at 150. That's probably why BMI ranges are so wide - I think the normal range for someone my height is 114-154 (I know the top number for sure - not sure on the 114 because there's no way in a million years I'd ever be there, so it's irrelevant to me) also, my dietitian said that she doesn't pay that much attention to BMI ranges with bariatric patients because a lot of us have heavier bones and muscle than people who've never been severely obese since we needed that infrastructure to hold up all that weight. Of course, you lose some bone and muscle during the weight loss (and it's fine - you won't need all that anymore) - but you'll likely still have some of it when you get to goal - or moreso than someone at the same weight who's never been obese before. And of course, that extra bone and muscle means extra weight...

Hello, I just have my surgery on May 28th. My surgeon requires me to be on a 1 month liquid only diet after surgery. Month 2 I am only allowed to be on a puree diet. Month 3 I am only allowed soft foods. I am not able to eat normally again until Month 4. This seems extreme compared to others I've seen on here. What is everyone's thoughts? Is anyone else on as strict of a post op diet as me. I plan on sticking to it because I follow Dr's orders. Currently I do not have hunger no am I having emotional cravings either. (very surprising to me as I was mainly an emotional eater prior to surgery).

Trust the process. It’s so easy for those of us who have done the yo yo diets to worry that this won’t work for us but if we follow the plan it will. And you will lose weight at your own pace. Try not to compare your weight loss (or recovery for that matter) to others as it is very individualized. You got this!!

Omg I’m so sorry.

So if you really wanted to use the cubes you could possibly fit some of the smaller tray ones that are like half a regular ice cube tray size. It sounds like what you are doing is working for you though.

I also like being outside vs a gym. I’ve started looking up hikes near my new apartment to walk on.

I completely relate to all of your feelings about this! I first started looking into WLS 15 years before I actually went through with it. I considered it many times over the course of those years, but the reason it took me so long to go through with it was exactly what you said -- I hated the thought of giving up everything that I loved. I couldn't imagine not eating a whole Red Baron pizza every week, or giving up my diet sodas. But I eventually reached a point where I had to choose between my health and continuing to eat the way I wanted, and that's when I went through with the surgery. The first few months (including the pre-op diet) are HARD. It is a huge adjustment to make to your life, especially in the liquid/purees/soft foods stages. Even when you get to the "normal food" stage, it's hard to know what to eat because it feels like everything you want is now off-limits. I still have the occasional pangs of sadness when I see something that looks delicious and realize I can't have it. I think the biggest surprise for me after surgery has been how little I miss my old diet. I have gradually discovered new, healthy recipes and foods that I never even would have tried back when I was eating pizza, french fries, pasta, ice cream, etc. I'm actually enjoying eating healthy food. I don't miss eating rice at all (in case you didn't know, most WLS patients don't eat rice because it expands in the stomach and can be painful) because I have found that cauliflower rice is a great substitute. I didn't even try it until my pre-op diet because I hated cauliflower, and now I eat it several times per week. I recently tried chia seed pudding and learned that I love it! I've started drinking tea since I quit carbonated beverages and now I'm discovering all kinds of delicious teas. I've found some great spice blends and sauces that make vegetables really tasty, and delicious light salad dressings. Can you believe I never tried sriracha before surgery, and now I love it (Huy Fong chili garlic sauce is even better). I'm about 10 months out from surgery, so still in the honeymoon period, but my experience at this point has been that the adjustment to my diet has been easier than I expected. The hard part for me has been making time in my life to take care of myself and my health because I didn't really exercise before surgery, and now I'm devoting over an hour per day to it. I went years without ever going to a doctor (other than the dentist) and now I have to go a few times per year, get periodic bloodwork, keep my prescriptions filled, etc. I have to take my vitamins every day. It can all be a burden, but the tradeoff is that I am in the best health of my adult life, and not obese for the first time in my adult life. I'm not saying that WLS is right for everyone, but you know all the reasons you have decided to do this and whether it's worth all of the changes you'll have to make. Good luck!

I had the same feeling in my sternum while drinking. My surgeon said I was taking too big of drinks, drinking too quickly, or both. Hope that helps.

First, I'm not sure, but jello is not usually a culprit for chest pain? Have you contacted your doc with this info? Second, regarding the timing of bites: I got mine down to a science. I'm also pretty anal, so this may be too extra for you, LOL: Take one bite Wait 3 minutes (I used the timer on my watch). Ask myself: Do you want another bite? If yes go to Step 1. If no, go to Step 2. If I have answered no to this question 3 times in a row, I'm done eating. Go to Step 4 Put your food away in the fridge and try again in an hour or 2. Goes without saying, it took me a pretty long time to eat a meal in the early days. And I got used to cold/room temp food pretty quickly. These days (2.5+ years out) I take 2-4 bites at a time and just wait a minute or so without the need for a timer. Sometimes I don't do this as well as other days and l'd pay the price either in uncomfortable chest pressure or barfs.

I'm going to politely disagree with the responses you've received here so far. Since even the initial consultation is a bariatric service, they want to verify that your insurance will cover it prior to scheduling. The initial consultation is a billable service. You either have coverage or you don't. The facility wants to know if insurance will pay or if you will be paying on your own. It is possible after the initial consult, that you choose not to proceed. However, they still want to know that you have coverage for that visit. Example: my insurance policy through my employer specifically excluded any coverage for weight management and/or bariatric services until 2020. In 2019, I was aware that coverage would be added in 2020. I tried to schedule initial consultations and dietician visits to get started but was unable to unless I wanted to pay for them out of pocket. Since I did not want to self-pay. I had to wait until benefits began in 2020. Even having a conversation with my primary care doctor regarding any potential weight management had to be done as a discussion during an appointment coded as something else. Otherwise, I would have had to pay for it. I hope this makes sense.