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I only told ~ 5 people--my closest, inner circle friends--including the two men who helped me: One guy took me to surgery and dropped me off at the other guy, who kept me at his place for 3 days post-op (and took me to the doctor's office for my 2-day post-op visit [my VSG was out-patient]). Months later, when I resumed eating out, some friends later noticed that I was eating small meals, ordering appetizers only,a nd even having to take some of that home. They'd also noticed my weight loss. I said, over the past months I'd limited my portions and went mostly high-protein. Facts. You don't have to tell anyone you don't want to tell. Besides, some are ignorant of the 'whys' of having wls, or that wls is 'the easy way out,' etc., and you don't need naysayers who may not understand and lack knowledge of the struggle.

Some people do a variation of ice cream with frozen bananas...(if you google no doubt there will be a few different recipes...I have seen some with banana, peanut butter and a little cashew milk. But simply...peel and chop a couple of bananas, freeze them, and then blend. Here are a couple of recipes I copied yesterday from the pound of cure website with the intention of trying them somewhere down the track. Chocolate Peanut Butter Nice Cream Serves: 1-2 Ingredients: 4 ripe Bananas, peeled 2 ounces Peanut Butter 2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder Directions: Peel 4 ripe bananas and place them into the freezer for 2 hours. Add all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Scrape down the bowl if necessary. Enjoy! NOTES: Depending on your blender/food processor, your nice cream may become too soft. If that happens, just pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes. If you have a hard time creating a creamy consistency, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of cashew milk. Peanut Butter and Banana Nice Cream Serves: 1-2 Ingredients: 3 ripe Bananas, peeled 2 ounces Peanut Butter Directions: Peel 3 ripe bananas and place them into the freezer for 2 hours. Add all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Scrape down the bowl if necessary. Enjoy! NOTES: Depending on your blender/food processor, your nice cream may become too soft. If that happens, just pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes. If you have a hard time creating a creamy consistency, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of cashew milk.

1. The longer I go without seeing people, the greater my opportunity to surprise them with my new skinny self! 2. It doesn't matter that my bras don't fit, b/c I don't have to wear one! 3. By wearing jammies every day, I have no idea what size clothing I wear, so it will be a fun surprise when I finally decide to get dressed again! 4. Working from home, I don't have to worry about temptations from coworkers bringing in donuts, cookies, etc. 5. Also no restaurant temptations, since I eat every meal at home. 6. I can use all the $$ I'm saving on not getting hair and nails done to get extra glamorous when I break out of here someday. 7. Amazon delivers my favorite protein shakes. 8. I have plenty of time to try various free workout videos on YouTube. 9. Plenty of time for weighing experiments, before shower/after shower, before pee/after pee; the possibilities are endless. 10. I can drink as much water as I want, b/c I can pee every 10 minutes if I have to (which is also fun for #9).

I think scheduling surgery in the next couple of months is completely safe for the majority. There are a few areas were the virus was more pronounced and still have a heavy load. If you really want to know if your area hospital is overloaded simply ask what their census is in both the general patient and the ICU. Most have available space to care as many are not pursuing elective procedures. It really is dependent upon each areas impact or concentration of the pandemic. I am scheduled for a hernia repair in May here in Nashville, TN. My WLS won’t be until August or September. My confidence in this area is strong.

My procedure was scheduled for April 1 and we pushed 3 weeks to April 22- and DID IT!!! there was some additional screening and more restrictive hospital policy with COVID- but it was an easy choice for me

I'm just messing around in my closet. Trying to throw some combinations together, lol!

Thank you for these replies and the information! I am in South Jersey so I’ll check Dr. Balsama out. My insurance does cover it. I’ve actually been on the websites and just from that it looks like I’m a candidate. I’m going to call them and start calling doctors. Luckily I live outside of Philadelphia and there are great options here. I do not need a referral from my p doc. Thank you thank you thank you for your help!

I was WFPB for years before being sleeved, am still WFPB, and will remain WFPB for the rest of my life. For me, a WFPB diet has been as instrumental in improving my health and well-being as having WLS: before going plant-based, I had extremely high CRP, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, was pre-diabetic, had severe IBS and allergies, was exhausted all the time and had zero energy, and was depressed. Within a few months of going plant-based every single one of these health issues reversed, I got off statins, I lost weight, my sleep improved, and I felt fantastic and had more energy than I had in years. Since being sleeved, my labs are perfect, I have enjoyed an astonishing rate of weight loss, have even *more* energy than before, and continue to enjoy even lower CRP, cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose levels. It's highly unusual for WFPB eaters to experience GI issues after transitioning. Fibre is present in all unprocessed plant foods in high amounts. Fibre what makes up the structure of the plant, and the more of it you eat, the more you access all of its benefits. While you may have more gas than usual during the first few weeks if you don’t prepare your beans properly (by pre-soaking, rinsing well before cooking, and either pressure-cooking or boiling with added kombu until fully cooked to break down the sugars that cause flatulence), eating a plant-based diet improves the health of your gut so you are better able to absorb the nutrients from food that support your immune system and reduce inflammation. The increased fibre lowers cholesterol and stabilizes blood sugar, and it’s the best medicine for optimal bowel management. In fact, many people who had IBS prior to going plant-based find that they no longer have IBS, myself included. You could go cold turkey, or start out by eliminating meats while cutting back on dairy. There are no specific foods to either focus on or avoid, other than incorporating more of the flavours and textures you like most into your diet each day. In addition to plenty of fresh fruits and veggies each day, incorporate a wide variety of beans, lentils, legumes, pulses, seeds, and nuts, as well as seitan, tofu, tempeh, nutritional yeast, whole grains and sprouted whole grains (buckwheat, teff, amaranth, quinoa, farro, spelt, etc.), wild rice, hemp hearts, chia seeds, spirulina, nut butters and nut milks (homemade when possible), spices, herbs and other natural flavourings, minimal added oils, green smoothies, etc. Supplement with faux meats once in awhile for variety and pleasure, always checking the ingredient list and trying to consume the least highly processed varieties (i.e. soy curls). You do NOT have to worry that you won't get enough protein or enough of the "right" kinds of it: protein "combining" was never medically or scientifically legitimate and was discredited almost as soon as it first appeared over 50 years ago (for a very brief overview see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_combining). In my opinion, WFPB eating really is the anti-diet: you can eat a lot of delicious food, never feel hungry, never gain weight, and enjoy remarkable physical and mental health benefits. More important than opinion and personal experience, however, is evidence-based nutrition. A few good places to start learning include: The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: https://www.pcrm.org/news/exam-room-podcast/vegan-after-weight-loss-surgery and 21 Day Vegan Kickstart https://kickstart.pcrm.org/en Dr. Garth Davis (bariatric surgeon): http://proteinaholic.com/lifestyle-first-and-always/ and http://proteinaholic.com/ Dr. Matthew Weiner(bariatric surgeon): https://www.youtube.com/user/DrMatthewWeiner and https://www.poundofcureweightloss.com/ Plant Trainers: https://www.planttrainers.com/eating-plant-based-after-weight-loss-surgery-ptp082/ And: If you’re neither a reader nor inclined toward research, it would definitely be worthwhile to invest in an online visit or three with a WFPB bariatric nutritionist to fine-tune your new diet to meet your individual health needs and taste preferences. Another option, though not inexpensive, is the online plant-based nutrition course from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell. It's a superb resource for anyone, especially those new to a WFPB lifestyle.

Hi guys. Just checking in. I'm down 41 pounds and feeling great! I would like to lose 25 more pounds, but my weight loss has really slowed, only 1/2 pound last week. No complaints, though, I'm really feeling good.

You may want to also come join us for our online weekly support meetings face-to-face. It's a great group of people who really help you work through your struggles and help you do the head work. And we have great ideas for getting back to basics. PM me if you want the deets. (It's in addition to getting back here to BP and staying active and engaged.) We will always be pre-disposed for regain because of our disease. WLS only puts that disease into remission. After that remission is determined by our gut/head/fork. (hugs) Sorry, but it's true for the largest majority of people in this world. Only a short few are blessed to never have to revisit the risk of regain. But I've seen SO MANY tackle their regain (100+lbs) of it and be victorious by strapping on the brass balls, rollin up their sleeves and getting back to basics!! It can be done. You guys can do it! @catwoman7 is living proof and so many others like @healthy_life2 (not tagging for some reason).