DougNichols

I'm all SlimFast shakes + one meal per day. And I'm not losing any weight, despite 45 mins aerobics 3x week. This sucks, I'm starving.

Good luck! I hope all goes well.

Oh my - in one sitting? That's my total for the day right now.

Well my BMI is over 50, therefore I qualify for an unheard of FOUR WEEK pre-op diet. Looks like I'm purchasing a lot more Slimfast shakes from Amazon, plus more Protein drinks! I'm also starting a YouTube journal, will post a link once I get it up and running.

My guide says "flavored Water is ok", so I'm wondering about carbonated flavored water as well. For those on a SlimFast liquid diet + one real meal per day (5 oz meat, 2 cups veggies). thanks!

I'm feeling REALLY weak and almost sick. I want to workout, but there's no way, I'd pass out on the machine. Does this get better, or stays like this for all 4 weeks until surgery?

Yes, they are. The surgeon's sheet says "1200 calories, 120gm carbs -> lose 5% of starting weight" So apparently carbs don't matter that much.

It's liquid! Up to 5 high Protein SlimFast shakes (I'm using powder + milk, cheaper and you get more liquid) One meal = 5 oz lean meat + 2 cups veggies FatSecret says I'm consuming 1200 cals. I'm doing 1 shake for Breakfast at 8am, lunch at noon, then Dickeys BBQ brisket platter with double green Beans at 4pm. I toss the bread and sauce into the trash. Then another shake at 8pm, go to bed at midnight. I'll keep my FatSecret logs updated every day from now on.

If you're cute and the guy likes you, he doesn't care. I had multiple dates with post-surgery women. A guy's dating checklist: 1) Is she bipolar or otherwise psychotic? No. 2) Is she married? No. OK she's all good.

What Aetna plan do you have? What's the formal name on their site of it? You should have an out of pocket maximum for the year. You should not pay over that amount, no matter what the total surgery cost was. Sounds like you need to work out with the insurance why you exceeded that number.

Aetna just approved me. WIN. Now one more visit to the surgeon to see "if I need any tests", then I'm sleeved end of January sometime.

I would have ripped the waitress a new one, called the manager over and let him rip her another new one. Then demonstrated how cheap *I* was by not leaving a tip.

That's just insane.

That was the night at the clinic, alone. Doctor's consult afterwards was different. I think they tossed a high number at the insurance company, to see what they would pay.

Every Aetna story has them approving within a couple of days. I called, and they said they are "reviewing", yet I've heard nothing for a solid week. So it's probably one guy, who's on vacation for the remainder of this year? I'm impatient!

Since magazines take like 3 months before they actually start arriving at the house, I figured I'd subscribe to something. Which magazines, guides or other material can help me out after I'm a "normal weight"? Right now I just buy whatever is on the clearance rack at the Big and Tall store. thanks!

Grats! Skipping food for Christmas day (and drinking on New Year's Eve) is a small price to pay for a new life.

According to my nutritionist and surgeon's office, the nutritionist does ALL OF THOSE THINGS. Which makes no sense, I know. My nut only spends like 10 minutes with me every visit, asking if I exercised and reviewing my meals.

Did they say he works out 2.5 hours PER DAY? Wow.

Can I drive home after the 24 hours, or still need to have someone else drive me? What's your condition after the full day at the hospital?

I see the exact opposite. Look at all the husband/boyfriend photos on here and other obese boards, you see all overweight women with 99% skinny guys. The lack of fat guys is amazing, in fact I see them alone when I finally spot 'em for the most part. I just came from a Halloween party, consisting of mostly obese women. When I went to flirt with some, they would RUN FROM ME. Like go into the other room, dive into the kitchen where the other people were, anything to get away before I arrived. They averted their eyes, just kinda politely smiled then bailed as I was talking to them. I even had one lady go into the other room ALONE. She'd rather stand alone than talk to me. Seriously? And then the skinny guys would come behind me and get a great response from the same women that ignored me. But then they would come and say goodbye to me as they were leaving, maybe to rub it into my face. Reminds of my dating site adventure (Plenty of Fish) where I went on FIFTY FIRST DATES. It's like that movie, except the movie was funny, and a fat guy doing 50 first dates that epic fail is not even remotely funny. I had one woman who saw me from a distance. She was my date. And she got back in her car and drove off. And another wonderful date where this girl gets up from her chair and moves another chair down, so she's out of physical contact range from me. And of course I start sweating because I'm in a heavy Halloween outfit and fat. So they turn the air conditioner on (without me asking) when it's like 30 degrees outside, and blame me once people start complaining. That really helped too. So I go outside and there's two women smoking, who immediately put out their cigarettes and go inside as I step out the door. Another party tomorrow night, but I'm gonna pass. Think I'll grab a case of beer and down it in one sitting with some tequila shots alone in my house. Can't wait for the surgery, maybe then women will talk to me after I'm skinny... You girls think you have it rough, try being a fat GUY.

I was told the expensive CPAP machine was OPTIONAL for surgery, and OPTIONAL for daily use. During surgery, the anesthesiologist will just "make some adjustments" which eliminates the need for the machine. And of course after surgery once you've dropped weight, your sleep apnea will probably vanish. Are you sleeping fine without it? If so, call your surgeon and see if your answer is the same as mine. Which will save you some cash.

Several people have recommended a heating pad too, which helps. Thanks for the great recommendations! I had not heard about the mouth swabs.

Because they are like 15 cents vs. a can of broth is two dollars. thanks!

Do it! I'm 5'10" and about your weight. Currently jumping through all the insurance hoops, surgery probably late December or early January. Good luck, it'll change your whole life!