Babysteppin

Good to see another Bostonian on here! I have Harvard Pilgrim too, and it hasn't been bad at all so far. They don't require a 6 month weight loss program before surgery, and they didn't really check into to my past attempts at losing weight either...well, nothing beyond what my doctor had written in his notes anyways. HP told me as long as I go to a Center of Excellence, the surgery is covered. There's just a whole bunch of appts to go to for the hospital's program, and paperwork that needs to get pushed around first.

Hope pre-op stuff goes well for you, and hang in there! We'll each get there

Found these great bento lunchboxes...might do the trick: www.laptoplunches.com

Thanks you guys!

So not sure if others have been given this advice, but my NUT said buying children's sippy cups was a good way to train myself to take small sips, and help stop me from gulping.

Maybe it's just me, but I'd be totally embarrassed walking around with a sippy cup that has handles on both sides, and Dora The Explorer pictures all over it. LOL. But wanted to share that I FINALLY found an "adult" looking sippy cup!!! So if anyone's been looking for the same thing, here's one I found online at Target:

http://www.target.co...lot=medium_1_48

Ahh, the simple joys in life.

Anyone else feel sad they wont be able to binge eat after surgery. I feel down I won't be able to. I know it's not good for me but to not be able to eat 'normally' is a strange feeling.

I can relate! I think I'm even already 'mourning' over not having the ability to binge anymore once I'm sleeved. It's like I get nervous butterfiles, and a sinking lead feeling in my gut when I think about it. (Hello, addiction calling!) Up until now, I never realized how much I actually ENJOY binging, and the thought of not being able to do so after surgery is scary to me right now. Is that totally crazy?!?

Hopefully like I've heard other post-op folks say....once you have the surgery, your whole mindset around binging can change...and the thought of doing it is completely unappealing! Good luck to you, and hope it helps to know that others are feeling the same things.

Wow. Looks like a 'bulimia device' to me. Great way to foster an eating disorder! Let's hope this thing never makes it off the cutting room floor.

Here is a great site that may help you out: http://theworldaccor...reed-foods.html

This page had some great ideas. Thanks!

Probaby got your attention just by using the word 'porn' on here, heh heh...but I call food related tv - food porn! And it's gotta go in 2013, cause it's not doing me any favors.

But really. As I enter the pre-op weight loss phase, I realize there's no easier way to trigger a raging case of head hunger than to watch the food network, cooking channel, etc. Here in Boston we also have a show called the Phantom Gourmet and it airs for like 2 hours on BOTH Sat & Sun mornings, and shows you anywhere and everywhere to find the most awful food!! (And by 'awful', I mean ridiculously wonderful.)

While I'm a self-admitted foodie, (surprised?) and I enjoy finding new healthy recipes: Do I really need to tune in to find out where to get a sandwich that boasts a full pound of bacon?...Or a burger that's coated in beer batter, stuffed with mac n' cheese, and deep fried to perfection?? No.

I'm really trying to focus in on my pre-op diet, because my doctor requires patients to lose 5% of our body weight before she'll even offer a surgical date. And so....the conclusion to this rant is, that food porn's gotta go. It's one of many head hunger triggers, and serves no purpose other than to show me how to make my own deep fried butter!

Anyone else think the food porn thing is a slippery slope? Or, even a mild form of torture? lol.

Thanks for posting this question...I don't have much feedback since I'm pre-op, and still struggle a bit with binge eating (and have a greater capacity to binge).

But...I just signed up for a course on "Mindful Eating" strategies. I think it might help to research this topic as a means of centering myself while eating -- and to strengthen my ability to either prevent a binge, or stop one in it's tracks and move on. We'll see how this class goes! But I think there are also a lot of books on the topic in case it's something of interest.

I know, the jar would be a total memory maker! Great things to look at on a rainy day too

I just saw this idea in a post on FB, and thought it was a great idea for 2013. For me, I'm going to call it a Gratitude Jar -- and I think it'll be amazing to start putting thoughts in it now...and then look at everything a year from now once I'm hopefully sleeved and down a whole lot of pounds! Just wanted to share

Starting January 1st, write down good things that happen to you on little bits of paper and put them in a jar. Things such as:

- surprise gifts

- accomplished goals

- the beauty of nature

- "LOL" moments

- memories worth saving

- daily blessings that come your way

Then...on December 31st, open the jar and read all the amazing things that happened to you in 2013! We often lose sight of all the 'little' wins in life...Well, not this year because they'll sure add up!

I love my Fitbit! Def worth the money. All I have to do is slip it into my pocket, and it tracks my steps, # flights of stairs per day, calories burned, etc. Really accurate too. But I like that it's small, and not a bulky thing I have to clip on to the waist of my pants, digging into me and falling off. It still has a clip though, if you want to do it that way and it holds on tight. What I really like though is that it automatically shoots the daily exercise info over to an online account so you can keep logging in and see your progress throughout the day. (it gets addictive!)

Anooother cool thing is you can connect your Fitbit account to your MyFitness Pal acct...So if you use MFP, it shoots all that info over to Fitbit and you can see the whole picture of your exercise & food it one place.

P.S. Oh and the sleep tracker does work! The first night I wore it I found out I woke up 17 times!!! No wonder I was groggy

HaHA! Football friends: "What the hell are you doing??" You: "Oh, nothing just eating floss." lol.

Oh, and the psych also said to STOP eating meals in front of the tv to break the ties between tv and food. Whaa???

Preaching to the choir, girl! heh heh. I know in the support groups, the psych told us that a part of the challenge is getting over the 'trigger' moments to eat. He said one of our ingrained triggers is actually tv! We're so used to associating them with each other, it's now unconscious. Grrreat...

Woah, just thought of an idea though (I should really try it before becoming a hypocrite haha): maybe when we feel the urge to snack on something, just get up and walk away from the tv and do something else till it "hopefully" passes. Or maybe make a cup of tea, or heck -- chew a freakin' pen cap to keep our hands and mouths busy till it passes! lol. But um yeah, I really need this surgery too man.

Hate to be a Debbie Downer...but unfortunately there's only so much weights and toning exercises can do. Bummer. When I struggled before with excess skin, my doctor said you can totally tone and strengthen the muscle behind the skin, which can improve the looks of it (in some people it's enough to make it all come out fine)...but the skin itself can't change with exercise. But...the younger a person is, the better the odds -- there's still a good deal of elasticity in the skin which allows it to bounce back easier. Another thing my doctor told me is that part of skin elasticity is actually in the genes! Here's hoping the gene pool is on your side! (Genes weren't on my side for my tummy and legs...but oddly enough it WAS for my face and neck! heh heh.)

I've been doing so good while going thru all my appointments. Now, knowing that the pre-op diet is just days away, I can't stop eating stuff. I HAVE NO FREAKING CONTROL!!!!!

I can relate...thanks for sharing. I feel like for me, I struggle with 'self-sabotage' at moments like this because I feel pressure to lose. I also feel the urge to have food funerals in case I can never tolerate certain foods again...and also because it's my last chance to be able to eat the foods I craaave in large volumes. (although after surgery I'll bet I'll be toootally over it when it comes to bingeing.)

It's good to know there are others struggling with this stage in the game...but it still stinks that we're going through it! Don't know if I'm much help here...but at least know you're not alone. Hang in there. Each day...heck, each HOUR is another chance to try again. Hour by hour: babysteps!

Wow, I don't think she posted asking if she should eat fast food. I love when people have to add their two cents to point out others faults.

Along the same lines as this....The way I try to see it is that sure -- it's not 'ideal' for me to eat fast food...and I should definitely work hard not to make it a habit, and plan my meals and Snacks and pack stuff. But sometimes unexpected twists & turns in daily life are less than 'ideal' themselves - and it becomes neccessary to look to a quick dine out option.

I just know in the past, saying: I will never eat fast food no matter what, caused me to ignore thinking about ways to handle an unplanned fast food situation...and then either: a) starve till I could get back to my controlled food environment...or get stressed and make a stressed decision at a fast food joint, and then feel guilty about it later, thinking "was that ok just then?"...or even still feel deprived cause I was afraid to eat much of anything. (Orrr...just have an all-out crash and burn food session cause it's an 'all or nothing' thing, right? Wrong!! )

Anywhoo, don't know if anyone else can relate - but that's just been my experience. Gladly I'm learning not to be so rigid with myself, and to take it in stride if the situation happens. It's also helped me to make a 'master list' of all fast food joints I might go to, and what options would be ok for me based on their nutritional guide info.

<end of good intentioned rant>

I think Chipotle is a pretty good fast food place...fresher & less processed ingredients, and no fried stuff either The burrito bowls are great because you can watch how they're putting it together, and direct them on how to make it. Leftovers also wrap up nicely for later.

PB2 is delicious! It's basically just roasted peanuts that they grind and dehydrate into a powder, but they press out 85% of the oil from the nuts so it's got way less fat calories. If you just add a tiny bit of Water to the PB2 powder, it turns into peanut butter! Also great blended into shakes, puddings, etc.

I have thought about contacting my Dr and nutritionist, but the truth is, I am too embarrassed and ashamed because I have failed myself.

I can relate with feeling embarrassed about regain. But I'm sure your medical team would want you to come in so that they can help. They'd rather see you with extra pounds, than to NOT see you at all and have you struggle alone! But yeah, it'll probably still feel a little embarrassing...but try to remember it's just the 'pride' talking, and to not let it override your worthiness of receiving help. Hang in there...I know you got this one.

I always wondered about the differences on here with people's pre-op diet instructions too. The surgeons in my doctors office won't even give patients a surgery date until all of the preop weight is lost! Somehow that frustrates me, and it'd be more motivating to me if I had a date, and was working on getting the weight off for then. Ah well...hopefully all these little things will become a distant memory for us soon enough!

...And on a lighter note: eventually none of us will require a bariatric body bag when the time comes! (Umm...I 'think' that's on a lighter note anyways.) Heh Heh

Have you ever had any surgery under general anesthesia at all??? I had a kidney stone removed under general 2 years ago and I was TERRIFIED!!!! They had to give me a Xanax to calm down. I threatened to leave against orders and everything. I was really being a horse's butt! But, when I was scheduled for my sleeve, I wasn't nervous or scared at all. I never had fear at all over this surgery and it is a big one!!! I was surprisingly calm. I realized I was scared of the unknown from anesthesia. Will it hurt? Will I really not feel anything when I'm under? Will I wake up? Will I remember anything? Once I had experienced it with my stone removal, it was a piece of cake. If you haven't had surgery before, then I totally understand. If you have had surgery, then just keep reminding yourself who you are doing this for and why!

Thanks Mezanne, you're right - it'll help to just keep reminding myself of all the reasons why I pursued surgery in the first place. There are a lot of 'em! I've had surgery once before, so thankfully I kind of know what to expect out of that part. For me, I think I'm more scared of the "after surgery and beyond" part. I mean, there's no going back once it's done! I'm hoping the benefits will outweigh the sacrifices...and more than anything, I hope my body reacts well to the sleeve and doesn't cause any lifelong woes or random horror stories. So far in my lifetime, I've made a few different doctors say to me: "hmm...I've never seen anything like this before." Greeaat. I seem to attract medical weirdness....and it better not happen with my sleeve!! lol

Thanks everyone. For starters, it's a relief to know that my fears are normal and that others have been there and it didn't stop them from going for it in the end. Maybe another one of my problems is that I've been comparing myself too much to people who've been confident and seemingly "fear-free" during the whole process, thinking: "Why can't I be like that? Does it mean maybe I'm not cut out for this because I'm freaking out this much?" Whatever. I think maybe I just need people to remind me over and OVER again about how good this will be if only I take the chance! You guys are great, thank you.