Fluffnomore

Okay, I'm going to try to upload these now. Wish me luck.

It depends on what your employer has selected. I also have BCBS IL PPO but my plan could be completely different from yours.

My plan did not require that. I had to have two visits with the NUT, one month apart, prior to approval. However, I also had several medically supervised programs in my past so maybe that counted. I really don't know. This is why the insurance question is a hard one to answer on a forum like this.

Oh, Misty, I get it. I'm constantly getting the opposite comments right now. The hard part is that he clearly doesn't really want to know what kind of success I've had. I just get comments all the time. Usually they are about how I'm leaving him behind. The other day it was "It is really uncomfortable to go out and eat with you because you eat so little." I know that these comments are about his own insecurity and his journey (with being in appeal for the surgery himself.) In fact, I know that if he succeeds with the appeal I will have to take a giant step back and let him find his own way with a lot of this. It's just very difficult to have both the concerns about the partner's weight and NOT be offensive in some way when you comment on it. Good luck with all of this. Isn't it so hard to stand our ground?

It depends on your plan more than on the insurance company. I have BCBS/IL too, and was approved with no comorbidities at a BMI of 40. My husband, who has sleep apnea and is pre-diabetic, is currently appealing the denial. Arguably he "needs" the surgery more than I did. We're working on it. Good luck!

Nicely done! Congratulations!

No, Ribearty, you beat me to it. One of my friends slipped on the ice the other day and has been complaining that she broke her butt. I told her I knew how she could tell…and she fell for it. Turns out she split it right in half down the back, just as I had suspected. Ankles suck. Well, when they don't work. I hope it's alright.

Whoa...

Guinness is just like a big, foamy Vitamin. Congratulations!

I've thought about that too, but ultimately have decided that I just need to wait and see. I'm pretty comfortably in 14s but still have some 16s. Even in college, I wavered between 10s and 14s. I just wonder if spending the money now makes sense. I haven't seen even a version of that body in so long...

The adjustment in physical hunger and the payback when you eat too much have both been incredible helps to me. Between that, and hopefully the adjustments in how and what I eat, I hope that this will be very different indeed from the past. Why is it the same? I'm still the one doing the grocery shopping, choosing whether or not to read the labels, make good choices. I'm still the one holding the fork. I'm still the one listening to my brain try to justify something that I know is not a good choice. I was in costco this afternoon reading labels as I waited for my car to get done. I mean, reading labels, making calculations, and ultimately putting a hell of a lot of stuff back. I was hungry because I hadn't had lunch and got a flat tire on my way home. The samples were mostly carb bombs and that is not the most sleeve-friendly food court. So I didn't eat there. I thought about justifying a hot dog, or ordering a brisket sandwich and eating the insides. The sleeve is able to basically help me say, "There are better choices at home. I can hold off an hour or two." Because a hot dog might not settle well. I didn't have any way to measure the brisket and I learned the hard way that my guesstimating skills are not there yet. But 3 months ago, I might have easily said, "Eff this" and eaten what I wanted. So there's the physical "eek, this might not go so well" as well as the physical "I'm not DYING of hunger here. I can wait." That is what I've gotten out of it, anyway. But there ain't nothing that shuts your brain off. Your brain likes to tell you that you deserve a treat, that you will do something "just this once" and your brain is an amazing justifier. Virtually all of our brains are like this or we wouldn't be here. I love Arts' "Skippy." I also think of mine as a 3 year old who is pouting and saying, "I work so hard." You have to kind of laugh at that mental image, right?

I've given a few of my nicer things to a good friend who is just a size larger. I plan to give the rest away.

Pantene (I think) has come out with a new shampoo system called Age Defy and the first couple of times I've used it it has pumped my hair up. It's shampoo, conditioner and a styling spray. I feel like my hair is starting to fall out, but I have very thin long blonde hair so it does this anyway (blondes shed an incredible amount.) If it starts clumping out, I don't know how I'll hide it.

I'm finishing off the beef tenderloin we made for Christmas, so today my two meals thus far have been: 1 wasa crisp 3 oz filet mignon 1 tablespoon of cheese For breakfast I either have a Premier Protein shake or a couple of eggs. Last night I had 3-4 oz of calamari. My Snacks are either a protein pudding or a slice of meat. I have to work on getting more vegetables and Fiber in. It's my next goal. Usually after I have my protein I don't really want anything else.

2-3 oz of lean Protein (when you are approved for that stage) then, cooked vegetables (1-2 tablespoons) and carbs as will fit. I don't usually get much past the protein. I'm 9 weeks out. Don't know what your guidelines were but mine were pretty strict for the first 6 weeks, loosened from 6-8 and I'm supposedly allowed to do pretty much what my sleeve will tolerate now.

I've been making a "peanut butter cookie" cream of wheat and/or steel cut oatmeal for myself and my kids. Tablespoon of PB2 powder, and some equal brown sugar (or whatever that stuff is, the one that isn't straight brown sugar.) A little butter or cream on top. It's great for those days that you want a little something carby in your belly in the morning and the PB2 adds to the Protein a little without adding a lot of extra. When you're in full liquids you can also add it to shakes. Great taste.

Maybe try something like a G2 Gatorade too. It's really the dehydration that will get you at this point. It makes everything else feel miserable. For whatever reason G2 is what works best for me, even at this point. It's not as cloying as some of the crystal lights, and it has some electrolytes too.

Not really after the first day or so. They kept me hopped up on the anti-nausea stuff in the hospital and I haven't needed it since. I really got lucky with recovery!

Oh, great! I had to do all the steps before approval; glad you have your approval! I am happy so far with my loss. Bit of a stall the last two weeks, but overall I'm down 41 pounds. I'll take it!

I had surgery 10/24…and I'm doing great. I might have some Protein samples to get to you, the closer you get to your surgery. We can message about that if you would like. Is the consultation in January your first step?

I have always hated cottage cheese. Such a bummer. But I am enjoying jerky now, which is new for me. There's one called Krave that isn't widely available but I can sometimes get at Target. Yum. http://www.kravejerky.com

I don't know, man. He's too cute to compete with. Also, I don't have many baby pictures on this computer. I will have to look and check back in. One of my babies was gorgeous, and one looked like Mr. Magoo the first year. He got much cuter as a toddler.

I am, I'm also in the western suburbs but closer to the city. Had my surgery in Chicago, close to Elmwood Park.

I think someone posted about "normal" on another thread…what it is to feel normal, and like the body you have when you are at goal. It got me thinking back to my early 20s aka the last known time of a regular BMI for me. Was I happy with my body then? More confident? Hell, no. I remember jokingly saying to one of my friends a few years back, "I never realized that I could easily wear a bikini until it was too late to do so." I was never the thinnest girl and I thought that was the requirement. So, I think about this now. I weigh less than I have in about 5 years (since I was very sick) and even though I'm 20 pounds above that point still I am starting to fit into those clothes. I must be in better shape. Wouldn't it be easy to accept things in about 10 pounds? Yes, but I would still be very much in the obese range. I promised myself if I did this I would take it to the limit of what is healthy and good for me. I can already sense some of the discomfort in my family with my physical changes. My kids last night said, "You're getting so skinny!" I'm not skinny by a long shot. My daughter said, "All of the other moms will be jealous of you." I said, "Oh honey, I can't help that. They already are because I'm so gorgeous and awesome," and everyone laughed, but I thought this was interesting. Why do my kids have any skin in this game, of my looks? Why is it about my looks, for them? Is it easier for them if I remain hidden behind a layer of fat? Does it mean I'm less of a mom to them? We are such weird creatures and once again I've veered off the original topic. It is wearing to constantly be on guard. But it is also wearing to not live up to your potential. That's what I have decided anyway.

I'm 9 weeks post op and like some of the others I still have hunger. But it's not all-consuming. Yesterday I went to swim at 12, without having lunch first (something I would never have done prior; I would have eaten at 11.) Afterwards I had to do an errand at Target. Long story short, I didn't eat until 2:30, and this was after a workout…At no point during my stop at Target did I have that weird "starving" mentality like, "I need to stop and get some lunch" or "what can I buy here?". I knew I had food at home and that was fine. In the past I probably would have picked up a sandwich somewhere between the gym and the store. Now, on Christmas Day when I was home the whole time and my job was to cook and hang out, I had more head hunger for sure. It is habitual for us (maybe we don't even realize HOW habitual) to kitchen surf, open the fridge, set out food, nibble. At one point I had a piece of leftover bacon. Why? It was there. It could have been much worse, but I think these are the types of situations I personally have to be aware of. The days of opening a bottle of wine or making a bloody mary on a holiday morning and then proceeding to cook all day are over, and have to be tempered with common sense.