vogue

I was sleeved on Aug 30, making me 4.5 months out... Ive lost 71 lbs... have 70 more to go to my goal....

Im eating a Protein shake for Breakfast.... tuna or chicken salad ( about 4 ounces) for lunch with some sort of green veggie ( a few bites) ...

dinner, usually I eyeball a size matching half my fist size of whatever meat I cook and 2 or 3 table spooons of a veggie...

I drink loads of Water all day...

I usally have an Isopure clear Protein Drink that I mix with Water that I sip on all day as well.... at the end of the day, I usually go to the gym and drink the last half of that Isopure ( mostly because its ice cold and I need something cool after a workout)

I usually dont have Snacks...but if I do its usually a piece of cheddar cheese

i love it... i ts a complete food and very healthy for us.... Ive recently began eating red quinoa instead of the traditional kind... pretty much same flavor

its normal...liquids in= liquids out... when you move up to more dense Proteins, you will long for the days of easier movements.....

its ok to do cardio back to back... but give a day in between weight training, as your muscles need time to rest & rebuild.... make sure you understand your body & know the difference between soreness (muscle fatigue) and pain from injury or overuse

Aug 30...day of surgery...busting out of size 20 because I was too prideful to go to the size 22 I needed to be in

Today, Jan 15... Size 14 SKINNY JEANS!!!

not as great as others, but for less than 5 months...I'll take it.... this is the weight & size I was 13 years ago POST-Parturm with kid #4 really breaks my heart to see how I let myself go....but Im on the upswing now babyyyyyyyy!!

SV =Down 71 pounds!!!

Oh and the weight management class... basically, they told you a bunch of crap you already know...eat less, smaller portions, exercise 20+ mins 3 times a week...

you were not required to lose weight but you self-reported any gains or losses and certified that you tried... you were asked to bring in a food journal for a typical day or 2 and they asked you to share & discuss what you couldve done better and what were you goals for the next month's class....

I too chose the 3 month option instead of the 6 month way... the difference is basically twice the amount of medical visits to various providers in a shorter amount of time... between logistics and and red tape, it was still 5 months between my info seminar ( March 29) first consultaion (April 17) until my actual surgery ( Aug 30) ... would've been longer but my surgeon had a cancellation....

my advice would be to schedule EVERYTHING early if you can... when I called for Psych appt, I was told there was a 3 month waiting list.... that could've pushed my date back a LOT but then, again there was a cancellation... I was a PAIN IN THE BUTT calling everyday trying to get squeezed in where I can.... I scheduled all of my future NUT appts at the same time,sometimes on the same day as my weight mgmt classes as these were usually in the daytime hours & I didnt want to keep taking days off work ..

anyway, back to your original question:

http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/100_199/0157.html

Member must meet either:

criterion 1 (physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program) for 6 consecutive months

or

criterion 2 (multi-disciplinary surgical preparatory regimen)..

3 weight management classes, 2 NUT classes ( one private, one group) plus pysch visit...

I did 1 Weight mgmt class per month and for 2 of those months I also had one NUT class each)

if you have receipts for 3 months of consistent gym membership payments, Aetna accepts those as 3 months weight management classes....

Im tri training.. right now it hasnt affected me much but my sister is worried because the heavier I train, the more calories I will need... Ive spoke with an "expert" and was told I will need to eat "bad" carbs... Bagels, etc to fuel me but that the calories burn doing heavy training will kill any potential negative affects

I drink Isopure zero carb 40 gram RTD daily, mostly after workouts because I have it pre-chilled and can drink most of it immediately to provide relief... Im thinking Im going to add the other version that is NOT carb free next month when my training gets a lil harder.. right now Im concentrating on swimming & weight lifting.... Mid-February, cycling comes into play and I will need the energy boost

at 6 weeks out I still didnt have energy to do laundry much less go to the gym, but once I started forcing myself, the energy came... its like I had to exert myself to get energy... it does get better... by month 3 you will be lighter on your feel and zipping around like a bee

I buy a can of salmon ( chicken of the Sea) and can make 2 patties= 4 meals for under $1.50

I coat with an egg and use spicy panko as a coating...then pan fry with a table of coconut oil.... crunchy & tasty with no guilt... and since my sleeve behave so well, I still can only eat a half piece then take the other half to work for lunch the next day WIn-Win!!

my sleeve doesnt seem to like sugar ( gives me the runs) ... so Ive not had cake yet... my Birthday is in 6 weeks and I plan on trying a slice then

your husband may be well intentioned... trying to make you feel "normal" ASAP... explain to him that you are in for a LONG journey not a quick sprint to normalcy...

FWIW, Im more than 4 months out and those dense Proteins like roasted turkey & chicken still dont sit well with me... your DH may be forewarned that he may be the object of your projectile vomiting if he doesnt stop trying to force food on you...

all things in due time

all I know is my incontinence issues seem to be gone... no more mad dashes to the bathroom...

Im hard headed... Ive tried them 3 different times, most recently yesterday... 2nd fried left me with a pain in my chest....10 minutes later mouth full of fluid... 5 minutes later a mad rush to the porcelein god...

Ive lost 50% in 4 months with very little effort... I just started MAJORLY exercising in recent weeks so I expect to lost the last 50% just fine.... my Dr said he considered my surgery a success if I got to 50% EWL...so I guess his numbers are happy....my EWL was 120 lbs according to them...I said from the beginning, if I "only" had 50-60 lbs to lose, no freakin way would I even had surgery

I dont know how I was taught to drink... but when I drink from a glass or cup or a sippy, my mouth tends to grab air... when I drink from a straw its as if my lifs suction to it...so for me, a straw works... and its the only way for me to get in my liquids most days....

My Dr was against it at first but Ive had no problems with gas & have been making my Water minimums so he said OK

I find it difficult still to digest meat in general... chicken, turkey and beef... so I pretty much stick to seafood...

I used to have a slice of cake or a cupcake EVERYDAY, most days 3 or 4 slices.... I HAVE NOT HAVE ONE SINCE PRE-OP.... at this point I think Im scared.... Sort of like an addict... Im thinking if I try it I will be hooked again\

I also used to drink a half gallon of OJ a day... I was very particular about brands, etc... Now they ALL taste bad to me... I tried to take a sip every once in a while when I dont want to taste my meds going down and hated it.. was like the worst kind of grapefruit juice...very sour and left aftertaste...

I just stick to Water or the occasional apple cider

Just ran out on my lunch hour to d**k's Sporting Goods to get goggles for my swimming lessons.... they were having a clearance sale ( additonal 50% lowest ticket price). I purchased 3 Dri-Fit workout shirts in size MEDIUM... MED-DEE-UMMMMMMM!!!! for $6 each... I was tempted to buy more but since I still have weight to lose these will due for now....

They had a LOT of XL and XXL stuff on the clearance rack..not much in medium...

So I was reminded 1 of the downsides of losing weight...the middle sizes are the first to go... the extremely tiny and the humungous clothes seem to hang around the racks a little longer, especially in stores like this...

Im a sugar addict so Ive not been doing fruit at all post-op.. its a trigger for me, so I find other ways to get Fiber in

I use it daily... ALpine Punch and Grape are my go to flavors... I usually mix it with 2 parts Water to 1 part Isopure and take all day to drink it....that way Im guaranteed to get at least 40 ounces of Water plus 40 ounces of Protein with little effort...

it does have a "whey" aftertaste but by diluting it, I hardly notice it... there are days I drink it straight

Is Caltrate 600 + D acceptable?

I'm just in the beginning stages.

Thanks for any info you can offer

NO!!! VSG Patients need calcium citrate... Caltrate doesnt have this... Caltrate has Calcium Carbonate which VSG patients do not absorb well.