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I wouldn't worry about it. Stress is another factor in losing weight. It could be that all this stress is causing your body to produce more cortisol which is a natural steroid. Doing all those things plus worrying about the surgery plus feeling crappy from the diet is a lot of pressure. This doesn't mean anything about how you'll do once you get sleeved. You're committed and are going to do great. I've always done that exercise so I didn't add it for this phase. I just didn't discontinue it. I'm a diabetic so exercise is critical for me to maintain a healthy level of blood sugar. I also think that it's helping me lose weight because it's combined with the significantly reduced calorie diet. I still feel lousy and hungry though just everyone else.

Sounds great. I'll be right there will you next week. Hope it goes as smooth as yours has

I've lost around 8 pounds pre-op. Mine is different than yours. It was 4 Optifast shakes and 4 oz of protein for week 1 and 5 Optifast shakes week 2. 5 Optifast shakes is 800 calories. I also run 3+ miles a day and do 30 minutes of yoga. Have you been exercising while on the pre-op diet?

There's plenty to fear from being morbidly obese. Heart attack, stroke, diabetes, sleep apnea, joint replacement etc.... I know that surgery is scary but it's a lot less scary than all those things that are at a much greater risk for being this heavy.

It tasted like a sweet chalk milkshake. Not good but not that big a deal. Upper GI was one of the easier tests.

Every insurance company that I've heard of has a cutoff at 40 BMI or 35 with 2 comorbidities from a list they put together. It could be that the surgeons see 30 as a liability risk and won't do it even if it's self paid. Unfortunately they come up with these arbitrary numbers based on a chart and your stuck with it. Good luck

I'd kill for some lettuce at this point. 5 Optifast shakes a day. Yuck!

It's ridiculous that you have to gain weight so an insurance company will decide to authorize a procedure to help you lose weight.

I have heart issue and diabetes issues and have had them for years. I told them I am getting laparoscopic heart surgery to fix a problem brought on by my diabetes. It's not far off from the truth. I'm a 245 pound man who I'm told will shrink down to 180 - 190. Honestly wearing work clothes every day I doubt too many of my coworkers are going to even notice the weight loss. If they do I'll tell them I'm on a special diet related to my diabetes. It really depends on your office and what part of the country you live in. I'm in the NY area and there is no such thing as understanding here. My office is too small to qualify for FMLA and even if it did they can find a way around it if they wanted. I saw my wife get fired from a law firm as soon as they found out she was pregnant. Suddenly she was getting reviewed every week and there were constant issues with her work and they let her go for 'performance' reasons. No offense to any lawyers here but too many in that profession feel they are above the law and know all the tricks to get around it. I'm not trying to scare you. Most here seem to have understanding employers. I would just be absolutely sure of the situation before you said anything.

Only you know the answer to your question. I know in my office only bad things would come if they knew I was taking time off for a voluntary surgery. I want to keep my job so there is no way that's going to happen.

I usually go to MTBR.com. I'll check out bikeforums.net though. I love the Ogre. It's a great bike. I ride a Jamis Dragon and a Santa Cruz Heckler on the trails for the exact same reasons.

That's because if your body thinks it's in starvation mode it's not going to give up weight as easily.

So cool! I really want to try that.

Use your start weight so you never forget where you came from. 3 numbers like that can be very cool.

My NUT pushes whole eggs. That's good enough for me

The only real way is to create a spreadsheet showing the whole year and add up the premiums from each. Then see how much lower your deductible has to be to make up for the difference in premiums. I wouldn't try to figure it out in my head. Better to lay all the math out and see what comes up.

i'm on 5 Optifast shakes a day. The program is called Optifast 800 because 5 a day is 800 calories.

You're an amazing success. Keep it up. You're doing great!

The other trick is to put your egg whites and a little water into a blender. That will whip more air into them than most can do with a whisk. Just make sure you have your hot pan read after you blend.

Uncovered assistant surgeon? I'd be fighting that too.

3 months isn't so bad. The 6 months that many insurance companies still required was way too long. Good luck and do your research during that time.

That's all good Donny.

Speedy recovery to you.

I'm also part of the 30th club. Halloween is going to be a little different this year

Last week I had 4 Optifast shakes and 4 oz of lean protein each day. This week it's just 5 Optifast shakes each day. Yuck! Hungry all the time just like you but I'm sticking with it.