Cristin

Good luck! It's crazy complicated but somehow we all manage to figure it out

Vegan sources of protein that I've liked have been: Chia seeds Quinoa Vegan protein powders (blanking on the names, sorry!) Tofu Gimme Lean vegan sausage is really good, too! There are also vegan Peanut Butter powders out there (Just Great Stuff brand) and I add that stuff to everything. SO GOOD! That and avocado are my saving graces.

Oh, and my date is March 13! I'm on day 5 of the two week preop liquid diet. It's not too bad!

I'm in! I might start at 30 and move up by increments of two. I've been active a long time and the only thing that keeps me active is gentle pushes into harder stuff I'm definitely the tortoise from the tortoise and the hare fable.

I bought Red Mill Quinoa on Amazon in bulk and there are just endless uses for it. I love to make guacamole with it - so that half the guacamole is puffed up with Quinoa. High Protein, less fat, more filling. It's a miracle food! There are a TON of great Turkey Quinoa Meatball recipes, too. Mmmm so good!!

I'm expecting to deal with that. You'll be in mourning for the loss of food as a source of comfort. Hang in there. I'd highly recommend asking your surgeon to refer you to a counselor specializing in bariatric patients.

Thank you so much! That's very sweet!

Getting your appendix out is unnatural. If you have appendicitis you should do the natural thing and let it burst inside you, and then die. Haha "unnatural" is one of the biggest b.s. words ever.

Doubts are normal. You're going to make a huge change to your body. I have yet to meet anyone that has regretted making this choice, except for the less common cases of extreme complications. And even then, most people who had complications say they'd do it over again. You will be just fine. Believe in your heart and your strength. And good luck on Monday! You'll be in our thoughts.

My guess is hormones. Your body just went through a major trauma and is probably going a little haywire. Fat loss also results in tons of hormones releasing from said shrinking fat cells. Sebum, the naturally occurring substance that provides oil to the hair, is produced by the sebaceous glands in the scalp and throughout the body, providing moisture to the skin, keeping Water in and fending off bacteria. For teenagers and young women with oily hair, overactive hormones may result in equally overactive sebaceous glands. This also may occur in menopausal women because of the transition their bodies are undergoing.

Awesome we're here for you! And one thing I found that sped up every stage of the process was following up relentlessly. After my claim was submitted to insurance, I called my insurance provider every day to check its status. I didn't try to rush anything because they don't really have any control over that, but ultimately it was good because I found out I was approved on the DAY it happened, not when they finally got the letter to me 4 days later. Then after I found out I called my surgeon and asked if we could schedule preop tests based on the info I had. They did, which surprised me because I didn't have a formal letter yet. Once I got my preop dates I called the hospital where the tests were supposed to happen and got them all moved up two weeks. That made feel like a badass lol. Be an advocate for yourself and I would be surprised if you couldn't speed things up And I hope you get both the cruise and the surgery! Good luck!!

Oh don't worry you'll be able to make a December cruise without a doubt in my mind evening your surgery is in the first couple weeks of October. However, my surgeon was only booking 2 weeks out. 1-2 months out is more common. Honestly we just aren't in control of these things. I had to adjust my expectations and deal with disappointment several times. One of my favorite quotes is that if you don't want change to happen unless the circumstances are perfect, you'll be the same forever. Some people have a much shorter wait than I do, but prepare yourself for a longer one. It is worth it and you can always put the surgery off until after the cruise if you have to.

I didn't like any of the protein shake flavors I tried until I started mixing peanut butter powder with the chocolate flavors. So good!!