BladeFox

Good for you for realizing that you need to get back on your grind. I can completely understand stress eating because I have been under quite a bit for about 5-6 months on the job. What I have done is surround myself with good snacks in the fridge and I have told my husband to stop buying me my 'crack' habit which is Skinny Pop Popcorn. He couldn't wrap his head around why popcorn is so bad for you in excess, so I broke it down to the way that we see food and he got it. Now, because I still need it, I ask that he only brings two bags home on the weekends ONLY. So my cheat days are the weekends. Good luck on getting back in the swing of things, I'm rooting for you and watching

Great article and very timely!

I am not a slave to the scale, however, when I go to the doctor's office they make me feel like I should be. How do you balance between the scale and the doctor when they still use this as a measurement of success?

How about, "this too shall pass." Candy will be here until the end of time so wait for your time. Or, I know what it taste like and there's nothing new, so I digress. That's what got me here in the first place.

It's been Halloween in our office for over a month now and to hard to just walk by everyday. Sleeve patients don't have as big a problem as gastric patients do, so I have kept Protein bars around me instead. I also don't gain weight from candy for some reason. I gain from starch.

I see no problem in continuing the Protein shakes actually for life. Sometimes it comes in handy when you are running all day and just haven't done a good job at getting your protein in. I am 4 months out and my must haves at home are Jay Robb whey protein (chocolate), soy milk, cocoa powder, skinny girls stevia, cottage cheese, greek yogurt and babybel cheese in those rare cases when I know I didn't get my protein in for the day. Plus, instead of eating something before and after a workout, it sometimes feels good to drink a Protein shake. Cool and refreshing.

Update...If anyone has been reading my post about my frustration with my nutritionist you will know that I have gone from mad to frustrated to do something about it, to ok...NOW, I'M HOT AGAIN!!! So I emailed my PA to request that they submit my paperwork for approval since I am in the pre-op diet phase. I received an email from the nurse coordinator telling me that I had to complete 4 more things before submission. Two of the four things have been completed, which clearly tells me that they are not paying attention to my file or that they have poor record keeping. The only thing left to do is lose the weight by December 18 and visit with the DR. Ok, so maybe they don't want to submit the paperwork to insurance until I have done the two, but don't tell me that I have to do the other two when it is already done! That is straight up incompetence at play right here!!!! So, I emailed them back an ubber professional reply about my concerns - I had to go in management mode like I would with my direct reports and let them have it regarding my records and their processes. Nothing I said would hurt you, just cut and sting a bit to jar them into reality that they are not dealing with a helpless and incompetent person. I requested that they contact me basically with better news. Please tell me if anyone else has gone through this before? I don't want to be alone in this one. Help me to help them.....

This Thanksgiving will be my final feast and meal that I prepare. My family doesn't know this yet and I'm sure they will be surprised. For the final goodbye, I will cook a pleasurable meal that will consist of an apple cider brinned turkey, spicy fried chicken, cornbread dressing, greens, mashed potatoes with parsnips and chives and sour cream, brussel sprouts and leaks, and top it off with a peach cobbler. For snacks, I'm roasting chickpeas covered in cocoa powder, brown sugar, and sea salt. (*Remember the warning*) I plan to partake in some of it because I am still in the pre-op phase of my plan so I plan to drink loads of water and exercise like nobody's business to help purge over the weekend. However, this will be my last hoo-rah with these fanfares. I've had final goodbyes before to food but what makes this one special is because I know that the sleeve won't permit eating like this again. Therefore, my teen kids and my supportive husband will need to adjust to this new way of living. This is their final Thanksgiving meal of this magnitude at our home. Say hello to a NEW lifestyle! Gobble - Gobble

So I calculated the pre-op diet that I'm starting next week. Yes, the week of Thanksgiving. I'll do it for two days and then re-start it on the following Monday. Anyway, my Spark People calculated a days meal on pre-op to be 784 calories...WHOA! So I honestly asked myself if I can do this plan and I believe I can with a lot of grumbling. I also calculated what I currently eat on a bad day and that came out to be 2,596...WHOA! I said to myself. So here's the mental challenge. I don't think the plan that I got from the Nut has enough protein to help me feel full which is very interesting coming from them, so I will incorporate another 150 calories that will come from protein. That should do it.

Today I visited with my nutritionist and shared with her my frustration in not having a clear process to date. My insurance only required 3 visits with the nutritionist but here I was at the 4th and according to their records, one of the nutritionist had me down for two more which would have been 6 total!!! I asked why so many times and they didn't have a clear answer except, committment to the process... What!?! What's not to commit to, I have done everything that they have asked me to except lose 5 lbs!!! I was waiting to do that with the pre-diet! So, after deliberation with the nutritionist, I finally have the pre-op plan for my now 8 lb weight loss. YIPPEE!!!! Here's how it will work from this point on and I'm holding them to it: Next Nut visit: December 18 Must have 8 lbs lost by then. Schedule Dr. visit within the same day or next day Dr. approval for submission of paperwork to insurance Insurance approval roughly 2 weeks Date scheduled after approval Must maintain weight loss until surgery Anticipated surgery date: Sometime in January Geesh!!!

My blues comes from my own reaction at the doctors office when they didn't look at me and say, "ma'am we would like to recommend the surgery for you soon, within the next two weeks, from the looks of you, you desperately need it." I assumed that most pre-sleevers feel the same way because why else would we now turn for help in this way if it weren't for medical conditions, lack of mobility and having tried several diets that failed to help keep the weight off. Couldn't they see in my eyes the desperation other patients experienced when walking through their door? My subtle yet humble expression that I need them to feel my pain and the urgency of placing me at the top of their list? Couldn't they see my obesity and hear my knees crack while getting up from the waiting room chair, the anxiety of wanting to take off my shoes to weigh myself (as if that would help anything,) the difficulty of putting my shoes back on because I have a thick layer of abdominal girth to manuever around, my vague belabored breathing from walking from the car down the hallway and into the office and briefly sitting down just to be told quickly to 'follow me?' My blues is simply my impatience in waiting for all the wheels to churn in the right direction, the inability to wait for the process to work its way out and to allow life to offer up its perfection that will eventually culminate to a new me. Yes, I pine for others to see my outward pain and hope that they will react, but in all honesty, I would rather be the success the doctors and I want to achieve and that may take Time. I hope you other impatient pre-oppers will find this useful~