livvsmum

Congrats on making the first steps in the journey. You can't worry about what other people will think. You can never change that. First of all, you don't have to tell anyone you don't want to tell. Most of the people in my life don't know I've had surgery. Secondly I think you'll find that people will be so inspired by your weight loss journey that it won't matter how you get there. Good luck to you!

On my pre-op diet I was allowed Protein shakes, broth, Water, etc. What I find that helps me is warm liquids....like hot tea if you're allowed it, etc. One thing that really gets me through (if you're allowed it) is protein hot chocolate (bariwise brand). Good luck! And this part is SO hard, but SO worth it in the end!

YES! It is totally worth it in the end. And I had a little freak out when I finally got my surgery date as well because it just becomes more real. I can honestly say though that I have not regretted it one single time. Good luck on your journey!

Great job!!! Keep up the amazing work!

I found that my body just kind of settled at a weight that seems best for it. I can comfortably sit at 140 (which is 5 pounds below my goal weight) with no real dieting effort. If I want to push it, I can go lower, but I feel like my body just kind of found it's natural weight and maintaining it is definitely manageable.

It's tough when you are losing quickly and flying down through the sizes. I had to keep up a wardrobe that fit well because of my professional position, but didn't want to spend a fortune until I got to a more stable size, so I tried a few things. First I found a good resale shop that specializes in nicer clothes. I could keep my wardrobe up for work for way cheaper this way and a lot of the times the clothes still had tags on them. Secondly I found that I could get away with them for longer in skirts as opposed to pants. In pants you can tell right away when they are baggy. Skirts you can wear a bit longer. Good luck and enjoy the new you!

You know what? That is so funny that you said that because I noticed the same thing when I watched it. You can see the smile develop as the months went on. :-)

I weigh daily. I have every single day for the 14 months. For me, the only time I have not weighed myself daily was when I was at my highest weight because I felt like it didn't matter any way. Weighing myself daily doesn't make me crazy or dictate whether I will love myself or hate myself that day. It does keep me accountable though. For me, when I put the scale away, I am more tempted to go off plan because I am not seeing the results of the actions. Not sure if that makes sense, but it keeps me honest.

@@jess9395 Right now I would say I feel that it sustains me. On my long run each week I use energy chews. Once training picks up a bit more and the long runs get longer I will probably need to increase on the day before/day of a super long run. I usually feel pretty drained after them

I think it is great that you are thinking about these things now. I'm 14 months post op, and I documented my journey in my blog which is linked in my signature from the first doctor's appointment until now. Feel free to check it out for more specfics. .... But.... to answer your questions. 1. Insurance required me to do 6 months of monitored weight loss visits with my surgeon (ended up being 9 months until it was all said and done), a nutrition class, a psych eval (which in my opinion is a joke and doesn't evaluate anything), and a bmi over 40. 2. Emotional eating- I will be honest, dealing with the emotional side of things was way harder for me than any of the physical part of it. The fact that you are starting now to think about these things I think speaks a lot to your capacity for success. I would HIGHLY recommend that you read the book When food is Love before having surgery so that you can really start to work through some of the issues behind your eating before hand. I SO wish I would have done that. I actually go to therapy weekly with an eating disorder therapist to try and work through all of the emotional eating stuff. Good luck to you on your journey and with your decision making!

I just had my insurance out-of-pocket co-insurance to pay and then my $20/co-pay for office visits. The co-insurance was 10% up to a max of $1000. In the end I ended up paying somewhere around $875 for the co-insurance.

I am about 14.5 months post op and have been maintaining my goal weight (though of course I would love to lose "just another 5 pounds....lol"). Breakfast: Typically I have a sugar-free latte along with something small....either a fat-free cheese stick or hard boiled egg. Lunch: When I am working I have the same exact lunch every day. I'm a creature of habit. I have a small scoop of chicken salad (1/3-1/2 c.), with a small salad on the side (a little bit of spinach leaves (maybe 1/2 c.) a little shredded cheddar cheese on top, a couple cucumber slices, and a couple piece of broccoli. Topped with about 1/2 t. fat free italian dressing). I have a snack in the late afternoon - usually dannon light and fit greek yogurt Dinner: about 3-4 oz of a Protein (either chicken, fish, or beef), along with a veggie.... maybe a small starch last if I still have room. Snack - I have a snack in the evening but usually limit it to a protein hot chocolate or cheese stick. Protein shakes: I will usually switch out dinner with a Protein shake a couple of times a week, or switch out a weekend lunch with a protein shake. So I would say I'm doing probably 3 Protein shakes a week, and probably 3-4 Protein drinks (ie hot chocolate). Water - I drink tons of water.... between 80-100 oz. daily Exercise - SO important to maintaining the loss. I run 4 times a week and cross train on off days with 1 rest day.

Good luck on your journey and congrats on getting your date! It's an amazing experience! Yes, the liquid diet was tough for me. I was basically going through sugar, carb, and caffeine withdraw all at once. But, it's SO worth it.

I don't do a lot of weight training, but I do a lot of running and cross training. So I will run 3-4 days/week, then on the other days I do some form of cross training. Anything from a group exercise class to the elliptical or stationary bike, etc. The cross training helps with endurance and flexibility which in turn helps my running. :-) With all that said, my biggest recommendation is just find something you LOVE. I don't think it matters as much what it is, as much as it matters that you find something that you enjoy that you can commit to.

Find a good consignment shop! That's how I got through flying down from size 20 to size 4. I found this really nice kind of "upscale" resell shop and would go there when I needed to size down. Once the sizes get smaller you don't go through them as quickly. Now I don't feel badly spending money at "real stores" because I know they will last me forever.

I would absolutely do it again in a heart beat. The think that surprised me the most is that the emotional work for me has been harder than the physical work. If you want more info on that I write about the entire journey from my first docs appointment on through today (17 months post op). Feel free to browse it. It's linked in my signature. And good luck to you!

Like some others, I'm a big fan of the Dannon Light & Fit greek yogurt. HIgh Protein, low carb, no sugar.

I've always been told that you should never go beyond 3/4-1 cup of food at a sitting.

Yep you will get "stuck" along the way. For me, my weight loss slowed a bit from the really rapid to the slow and steady right around 7 months and I had reached my goal and started pretty much maintaining by about 10 months. Make sure you get ALL of your Water. Up your Protein if you can. Make sure you're not letting too many carbs back in. Track everything if you're not already. Sometimes we don't realize how much it all adds up to. And add some exercise if you're not already. Good luck!

Nope. I am almost 17 months post op and usually have 1 Protein shake or drink per day. It's a quick and easy way to do low carb high protein. Try Premier Protein. I also like Atkins Advantage either the caramel or mocha latte. I also really like chike coffee flavored. Another go-to for me is bariwise protein hot chocolate. It tastes delicious. You can't even tell it's a protein product

Checking in for the week. Super irritated with myself. My weight for this week is 143. Grr...

I definitely recommend milk of magnesia. Take it before bed and you will will be good in the morning. With high, high protein diets and low, low carb you are bound to not be getting enough fiber. That can definitely make you feel bloated and hang on to weight. Also water. Keep that water going. As much as you possibly can.

Maybe I will have a different response than most. I had my surgery after having my 4 kids. As long as I was not having fertility issues, I didn't want to have it until I had my kids because I feared losing all of the weight and then having a pregnancy and gaining it back and having to struggle and fight again to get it off. I wanted it to be off for good. That was just my take on it.

It definitely takes some time to get back to "normal" as far as emotions and energy level for sure. Take the time you need and don't undervalue self-care! Good luck!

Oh yeah. Most definitely. My largest was 42D and now I am a 32B