BigGirlPanties

Welcome to the "light" side

Torani and PB2 can be found at Walmart. PB2 comes in regular Peanut Butter and one with chocolate added (add Torani hazelnut and make it like Nutrella) I found a better price at World Market...but I understand you can order most of these things online (try Amazon or shop.com) Carbmasters is at Krogers here...so I don't know about where you are... unjury makes a cheese sauce that is suppose to be AWESOME, I haven't ordered it yet. My husband puts the caramel and vanilla syrups in to his Water for a cream soda type taste... he loves that... have fun! there are a LOT of options!

Wow, Melrose...mine wouldn't even touch me until they knew whether or not insurance would cover me...that's horrible! Well you got some tests out of it, and the new dr, should be able to get those tests from that dr and use them so you don't have to re-take, especially out of pocket!

I had $350 for the therapist $250 for a mandatory "Success Habits Workshop" $150 for a mandatory preliminary seminar where they spoke about foods etc and gave us a black binder of things to do and not to do... total out of pocket, before surgery was $750...and insurance wouldn't/doesn't cover that part

Ok...let's see what I can do here...first and formost you have to do this for YOU. The benefits are 10 fold! I still take a sip, occasionally, when I eat...but for the most part, I'm okay with waiting... you should find (like most of us did) that it's not that bad, once you get used to it. Eliminating carbonated beverages from my life is probably one of the healthiest things I did as well. My husband has lost weight as well, and basically he just stopped drinking that junk. I never was big into alcohol, so that was no biggie for me...a bunch of wasted calories and carbs... and I'm past the age were I want to be "wasted" in any way! LOL YES you feel full and satisfied! Truly you do... Head hunger is when you think you are hunger but really aren't, and with any change in your "diet", you have to work thru it... I found a hot beverage helps at times like that, since you have to take slow sips to get thru it...but it's not a horrible thing... I still have days where that happens...but I know what NOT to eat and I follow the program Loose skin depends on a lot of things, your age, your body, etc... mine isn't all that "loose", but I would like it tighter...exercise of ANY kind helps...water is best for your body as it is very very low impact and very easy on your joints...who cares what others think...go to a Water aerobics class...and they can watch the "incredible shrinking woman"! The pills depend on the kind you take as well....I had to grind mine down for a short time...a small price to pay for the long term results. And stairs...well...it's surgery...so in the beginning they will not be your friend, and you may end up camping out on the couch or recliner for a few days... but the stairs will, eventually, be a very good thing... you can walk up and down them every day for a few minutes to get your cardio in... All in all...I am not one iota sorry I am taking this journey...it's the best thing I ever did for ME!

Congrats... Welcome to the "light" side

Every "body" reacts differently...remember you just had MAJOR surgery...so your body may be reacting to that as well... it will happen...you'll probably get on the scale, soon and VIOLA... 10 pounds gone ... it'll be ok...keep on doing the right thing

that's called a Peer-to-Peer review...and not all that uncommon for an expensive procedure or injection... hopefully they can get that approved at that time... good luck to you... I know what you mean about the knees....I have RA and need knee replacement...which is why I had the surgery as well...it has helped me immensely... I no longer need a cane/walker everytime I go somewhere (like to the bathroom, as pre-surgery) ... maybe next year I can get my knees done

Be POSITIVE... you have lost almost 40 pounds in under a month!! That's more than a pound a day...when was the last time you lost a pound a day??? You'll get there.... you may need to up your Protein intake... call your dr with your concerns! You've GOT this!

If you are feeling that hungry, you are probably not getting enough Protein in... you can add it to your other liquids to pump it up a bit...but call your doctor...he may let you have a bit of something pureed... but that's not for us to tell you. Also try drinking something hot...decaf tea or broth is more satisfying. Good luck!

You can add Protein (unflavored works best of course) to yogurt, cauliflower, ricotta, etc to up your intake! Good luck

We had to attend a "Success Habits" (based on the book by Colleen Cook) workshop prior to surgery... in that seminar, Anisa put a balloon over a carbonated beverage bottle...it blew up just from the carbonation (i don't think she even shook it)!!!! She said the last time she did this, she kept it on her desk to see how long the balloon lasted...it was 3 days before it started to deflate...THREE DAYS!!! So, NO to carbonation...now and forever... even my husband quit it, and feels better as a result. Try it yourself... be "Mr(s). Science" and see what happens, and translate that to your tummy S T R E T C H!!

Excellent reading...thank you! I plan to share with EVERYONE!

It depends on your doctor...mine said "NO"...as it's all carbs...so check with them. Try mashed cauliflower instead...if you have the crave for something like that... we both love it now...he prefers it over potatoes (I still don't eat potatoes at all)

I was looking for the Swanson flavored broths...I was going to try the Pacific ones... I guess I'll pick up a box this weekend!

Every insurance is different on what they approve and why... did you call them to check? Sometimes it needs an authorization from the dr. The surgery is now considered "preventative" for my insurance companies...so that's why it gets approved more these days...also "morbid obesity" is a diagnosis code for insurances, so you don't have to have any other co-morbidities. Sometimes the dr can give you something similiar that your insurance will approve, they just have to check... I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with your surgery itself.

After at least, 10 years, I purchased a full length mirror... I was a Kirklands...its was on sale ... it was a new Kirklands, so I had a 20% coupon and I had a 10% off purchase from my "spin to win" app.... so I got a beautifully framed full length mirror for my door for about $15... I needed to buy a few dresses for a cruise vacation for next month and wanted to see how I "really" looked in them.... HOLY COW!!! That was enlightening...but in a good way! (pictures under my profile) Just wondering if anyone else has ventured out to the full length mirror experience It's a whole new YOU!!! Love to hear your experience when you viewed your "full length self" ...

#105 So this needs to be done after surgery right? My surgery is on Tuesday. No, JMom...you don't have to wait...you can apply now...it takes about a week to 10 days to find out...because your dr has to sign off and then insurance...it's worth the few minutes to apply... I should get mine today

Have not had ANY since I started my liquid diet two weeks pre-op... and I was a Diet Coke-aholic!!!! Probably went thru 2 liters a day, easy! Couldn't pass a McDonalds drive thru without getting one My husband has also removed it from his "diet" as well...he has lost 30 pounds along with me...tho he barely needed it, just a bit of a belly...but he says the major change he made was no carbonated beverages. I don't miss it anymore...thought it would be my biggest problem...but I'm GOOD

We are here to help in any way we can