betty_s

Thanks, Jim. I've read the handbook and no where does it say weight loss during the program is required. The girl was new (I had been working with another CSR the whole time then got my last phone call with her).. So maybe she just worded it incorrectly? Its so hard to actually get ahold of someone who knows the requirements of bariatric surgery at my insurance company that I figured I'd just wait to hear what my surgeon has to say Friday, since its only a week.. but this has been THE LONGEST week out of the whole 12 months! I'm sure its just me being anxious about a situation I have no control over at this point, but I just wanted to get others peoples input on the situation. Thanks for weighing in with your thoughts!

okay, so i'll try to condense this as much as possible. last week, I finished my 12 month insurance required program which included a weight loss program (I chose TOPS b/c of price and WW never worked for me) and monthly phone calls with a health coach/nurse. Over the course of the year, my weight went from 303 down to 288 and fluctuated in between month-to-month. My concern is, the health coach never stressed my weight when it would go up and would give me a 'good job' if I lost a pound or two. I called my surgeons office the day after my 'graduation' from the program, and the CSR quickly mentioned something about a weight sheet because I was not allowed to gain weight during these 12 months. This morning, I weighed in at 297, which is lower than I started January 2013 (atleast I hope his scale is close to mine), but I'm afraid I was expected to lose more during the period?? I meet with my surgeon on Friday (the 28th) and have been a nervous wreck thinking about this. That was the first time anyone had mentioned that I NEEDED to lose weight this past year. The only thing is, if I was able to lose weight and keep it off, why would I be getting the surgery in the first place, right? I don't know, lots going through my head. I tried to put myself on a 'liquid' diet on Monday (at 299) just to lose some weight before the apt with the surgeon, but that backfired and I binged all night, Monday. Yesterday and today, Ive just been eating pretty light (carrots, lettuce, tuna, moderate dinner). Ive lost a 1.5 pounds, but i'm wondering if I should do all liquids tomorrow and fast on Friday until my appt at 11am? Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. Im worried I may have sabotaged my whole 12 months by being so lax on my eating. Granted, my yearly trend it to GAIN 20 lbs, so that's better than before, but i'm just worried.

congrats and good luck everyoneee!!! so jealous, because I want my dateeeee! I completed my 12 month insurance required program, so i'm hoping to hear good news from the surgeon at my appt on Friday! it will be my first appt with the actual surgeon!

wow!!! such inspiration!! cant wait to find out my surgery date! I've already started walking/light weights.. so I hope the weight comes off after surgery!

great post!! the weight is def a big thing for me, but I also can wait to look in the closet and have to pick 'what fits' vs. 'what I actually WANT to wear', not wanted to crawl out of my skin when my fiancé touches me, looking forward to family and friend gatherings so they can see my progress instead of how much weight I've put on since last time. all the little things. I cannot wait!

atkins - always been my 'fall back' plan. I knew if nothing else worked, I could low carb it and shed the weight fairly quick. what I never understood though, is that I would always plateau at either 40 lbs or 3 months. I could never get past either one of those. then, i'd gain the 40 back, plus 15. south beach - felt similar to atkins, only I got to eat fruit! but, I eat TOO much fruit, like its candy.. so it never worked out ww - I never did like ww. I tried 3 times and I didn't like the portion sizes, always felt hungry, and got mad when people ate like **** and still lost weight and I was eating as clean as possible and not moving a pound. body for life - I liked this approach, but I felt like all I ever did was log my food into my fitness pal to make sure I was getting in the right macros. I became obsessive and it was exhausting.

Thanks for the concern. But it's been under control for over 7 years now. I appreciate your concern though.

the only thing I left out was that I struggled with bulimia. I know it wasn't something I should have left out, but its something I finally have under control and I didn't want surgery to get pushed back.

thank youuuu

I love selfies cause I hate full body shots haha

My surgeon talked down the lap-band in the WLS Orientation last year, I actually felt kind of uncomfortable. I thought it was crazy, I see how most of the surgeons in this area are doing the sleeve, above gastric and band. Does anyone else see this trend? I love the 'reversable' aspect of it, JUST IN CASE. not that I would ever want to reverse this surgery (which will hopefully be in March!) but its just so crazy to me that the doctors would try to sway you to a much more invasive procedure. just my opinion, anyone else agree?

I LOVE old navy's yoga pants and capris. I'm 300 lbs/5'7" and an extra large fits well, they also have a fold over band that doesn't slip but also doesn't squeeze anything I usually just wear t shirts to the gym, but I think they have some cute workout tanks in plus size as well. They're all a pretty good price too

Thanks guys! I won't let the stupid comments get me down, people just need to check their filters every once in awhile!

ugh, "you've got a pretty face" has been said to me more times than I'd like to remember. My mom gets SUPER jealous when I lose any weight, so I'm sure he comments will come rolling in after the surgery. My dad always mentions how much weight since last time I've seen him, so I'll be interested to see what he says now. Thanks everyone for the comments, it's a shame people just can't be happy for you. Now if I could just get my mother in law (to be) to stop telling everyone I'm getting the surgery

yes, i'm so happy I have a super supportive fiancé, as well. I've talked to her about a lot of stuff and I wanted to let her know why I would be missing some work days, because I usually never take time off. I only bring it up when they ask me. I guess I should have kept it to myself! Thanks for the support everyone! I would never let anyone discourage me from getting this surgery.. I've been thinking about it since my 18th birthday, but I just can't get over how rude some people can be about it.

that's exactly what I thought.

so.. I've told a few people in my department at work, including my manager, that I will be getting the lap-band surgery (4 days left of the 12 month program required by insurance!!!!). I notice that my manager, who I've talked about struggling with weight, because she too is overweight, ALWAYS has some little jab to throw into the conversation. It's usually "i'd rather be fat", but the other day, we were all chatting and someone asked if I had my surgery scheduled yet, since I have been talking about it for awhile, I replied "no", and they asked a few more questions.. could I eat bread, could I drink coffee/soda, etc. when I replied that I would probably keep to a lower-carb diet, my manager says "couldn't you just do a low-carb diet without the surgery?" the more I thought about this comment, the more it pissed me off. for someone who has struggled with their weight as well, I thought she would be happy for me. shes done ww and other diets, but they never worked, at least for an extended period. i'm 26 years old, I remember starting my first 'diet' with my mom at age 6.. my weight has been a constant battle and I've never been completely happy with myself. THIS is why I was so reluctant to tell people in the first place. I waited 9 months before I told anyone, and still wasn't sure I should. I try not to let comments like that get to me, but the fact is, I DONT HAVE THICK SKIN, ive been teased my whole life and its taken a huge toll on my self-confidence. just needed to vent. not sure if anyone else has dealt with this kind of situation, but I was just so pissed off, I had to get it out.

yay! congrats!!! i'm sure the liquids are getting boring, but it will be SO worth it in the end! I cant wait to get my band! (still haven't waiting on one more month of my 12 month program.. wahhh)

so excited for everyone!! hopefully my date will be late feb/early march. my insurance requires 12 months with a health coach, which is feb 13.. so this has been a LONGGG process for me! good luck to all the feb bandsters!

ugh, that's awesome!!! i'm on month 11 out for 12! its seemed like forever and has also gone seemed fast in certain aspects! i'm wrapping up doctors appts (psych eval, general doctor, h pylori test) now, cant wait get approved and get my date!

this is my plan of attack! I've always been most successful with a low carb diet, and hope the lap-band will restrict the binging that comes a few months later!

just wanted to say hi and introduce myself! its always nice hearing from people my age (in my 20s) and their experiences and how everything has worked out for them! i'm about 1 1/2 months out from completing my 12 month supervised coaching program through anthem cova care. I have two of my doctors appts on jan 6 and I hope to talk to my doctor to see when we can get this ball rolling! this has been such a long process, i'm so anxious to just get the surgery over with! please feel free to add me as a friend, I would love all the support I can get

I'm currently 1 1/2 months out from lap-band surgery (*HOPEFULLY*) from a 12 month coach program because of insurance requirements. My fiancés mom had the sleeve 2 years ago and will only tell me the negative from her experience.. it doesn't seem like shes trying to discourage me, but more like scare me (?), maybe? i'm not sure. she originally lost around 60 lbs, but then started to gain because she constantly Snacks on chips and nuts because most other food gets 'stuck' my question for you all: what foods get stuck the worst with the band? are there anything I should avoid eating altogether? It looks like I may try to go low-carb for the most part, only because I get very bad heart-burn/gerd when eating large amounts or carbs (fruit included). What are your favorite meals? I just want to be prepared as possible for this experience so I can be as successful as I know I can be. I have about 120 to lose, so I know I need to be diligent during this process and not get discouraged easily.

my wishes: 1. to wear something because I like the style, NOT because it fits my body! 2. hopefully have a smaller shoe size! 3. gain confidence in my entire body, not just my facial features.

thanks so much, lisa. I think there is only one coordinator and she's hard to get ahold of. I only spoke with the doctor at the orientation, briefly. I see your point on getting relationships going now, since this is a very important event in my life. thanks for the info!