Nylaj

Okay, I am more than a year out, so I'll tell you what worked for me at the beginning, and what is still working...
Protein shakes: I like unjury initially, then it became too sweet for me, I then drank one of the Premier Protein shakes every day, even though it killed me because of my lactose intolerance. I now am on to Quest bars, but I really only eat one on the days that I work out.
Meals: At first, softer foods were my go to, like stews and chili. I could eat about 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a sitting. Now my go-to meal is a salad with chicken on it. I probably eat some version of this every single day, lately my craving has been for Panera's Mediterranean quinoa salad. I can only eat about a half portion of it, but I order the full-size, and make sure I eat all of the chicken.< /p>
Snacks: This is something that really hasn't changed for me since surgery. I have been snacking on cheese, either string cheese, or some other portion controlled packaged cheese, like baby bellas since right after my surgery, I usually eat about two ounces of cheese per day. I did find that when I hit a stall a few months ago, and was looking over my diet, that I had started to snack on crackers and other carb-heavy things. When I cut those out was right about when my weight finally got under 150!
Vitamins and other Supplements: Here's what I take every day: My protonix (prescribed), a Vitamin B complex, and a stool softener every morning. Here is what I try to remember to take later in the day: a chewable multi Vitamin, and Biotin supplements. I remember to take these probably every third day...
Fluids: Water, Water, water. I go through crystal light, and iced tea phases, but water is literally always available, and I drink it all day, every day. My surgeon did tell me that diet soda is okay in moderation, so I usually drink one diet coke per day.
Workout: I had a weight lifting routine that worked for me prior to surgery, so once I was cleared to lift, I got back into that, and have been doing it fairly consistently since. Cardio was another story. I thought I hated running. Turns out I only hated running when I weighed 230 pounds. I started couch to 5k last summer, and now run 3-4 miles a couple of times a week. I am half-heartedly training for a half marathon... we'll see.
Sorry for the long-winded response, I hope it helps!

My insurance is with BCBS out of OK [i'm in Iowa} and the employer has an exclusion for ANY type of weight loss program/surgery.

My husband met with HR about this and they told him that they have made exceptions for other employees not specifically for weight loss surgery but for other excluded items.

So the HR guy took the handout information I gave my husband about the cost benefits of covering WL programs/surgery to the proper channels and it looks like they may go ahead and include my WL surgery.

Just a thought for those that might in similar situation.

The minute I made the decision to have the surgery, all of my habits went away. It was weird. I am a person that LOVES coke/pepsi & fast food. But now? I still love fast food, but I am 4 weeks out of the carbonation beverages. I been drinking unsweet tea, Water, lemonade, & juice. I find myself looking at the nutrition label & making sure it has Protein & not much sugar or 0 sugar.
I sitll eat too fast, but I decided since I gave up caffeine, now I will give up fast food. Then I will make sure my portions are smaller..
I think something 'clicked' inside of my brain & I am happy that I am making better choices.
I know how you feel though. Every time I made better choices, guess what? I went backwards b/c I wanted coke with the biggest burger at the fast food place. Then I would eat when I got home. My eating was out of control. In a way, it is still out of control. But I find myself telling myself out loud, NO. Whenever I want to cheat or do wrong, I just say outloud, NO. I find that is helping a lot.
I think you should tell your therapist how you feel. Don't keep your feelings inside.
Here if you ever need a ear.
Prayers for you & your struggles.

The minute I made the decision to have the surgery, all of my habits went away. It was weird. I am a person that LOVES coke/pepsi & fast food. But now? I still love fast food, but I am 4 weeks out of the carbonation beverages. I been drinking unsweet tea, Water, lemonade, & juice. I find myself looking at the nutrition label & making sure it has Protein & not much sugar or 0 sugar.
I sitll eat too fast, but I decided since I gave up caffeine, now I will give up fast food. Then I will make sure my portions are smaller..
I think something 'clicked' inside of my brain & I am happy that I am making better choices.
I know how you feel though. Every time I made better choices, guess what? I went backwards b/c I wanted coke with the biggest burger at the fast food place. Then I would eat when I got home. My eating was out of control. In a way, it is still out of control. But I find myself telling myself out loud, NO. Whenever I want to cheat or do wrong, I just say outloud, NO. I find that is helping a lot.
I think you should tell your therapist how you feel. Don't keep your feelings inside.
Here if you ever need a ear.
Prayers for you & your struggles.

The minute I made the decision to have the surgery, all of my habits went away. It was weird. I am a person that LOVES coke/pepsi & fast food. But now? I still love fast food, but I am 4 weeks out of the carbonation beverages. I been drinking unsweet tea, Water, lemonade, & juice. I find myself looking at the nutrition label & making sure it has Protein & not much sugar or 0 sugar.
I sitll eat too fast, but I decided since I gave up caffeine, now I will give up fast food. Then I will make sure my portions are smaller..
I think something 'clicked' inside of my brain & I am happy that I am making better choices.
I know how you feel though. Every time I made better choices, guess what? I went backwards b/c I wanted coke with the biggest burger at the fast food place. Then I would eat when I got home. My eating was out of control. In a way, it is still out of control. But I find myself telling myself out loud, NO. Whenever I want to cheat or do wrong, I just say outloud, NO. I find that is helping a lot.
I think you should tell your therapist how you feel. Don't keep your feelings inside.
Here if you ever need a ear.
Prayers for you & your struggles.

My favorite Vitamin is optisource, I love Premier Protein all flavors

I love the EAS Advantage low carb Protein drinks! I eat a lot of roasted chicken and grilled shrimp. I also eat a lot of greek yogurt. I love Colby Jack cheese cut into squares. I can eat 3-4 squares of that with 2 or 3 ritz crackers. I find that with most of my meals I am really focused on the protein part. I don't mind having a little potato salad, etc on the side because I am good about eating my protein first and then maybe one or two small bites of a side.

Oops...my favorite blender is my Vitamix! I don't think you need one to be successful but it has been fun to play around with different Soups and smoothies I can make in it.
My favorite drink is definitely unsweet iced tea. I love Water but unsweet tea is a welcome change!
I bought a food scale but ditched it pretty early on as my stomach was pretty good about letting me know when to stop.
At first I used a salad size plate (well, right after I used a ramekin) at home but now at 4 months out It doesn't matter much to me what size plate I have.
Good Luck with your surgery!! I am almost 4 months out and am 58 pounds down! I've gone from a size 20 to a size 12. Best decision I've ever made for myself!

I did awful on every Protein shake/powder I ever tried (to the point where I preferred not to eat at all), so now I live on a carefully cobbled-together diet of random things:
Frozen greek yogurt bar in the morning (low cal, low carb, 7g Protein, I need something sweet in the AM)
Fairlife skim milk (LOVE this! Ultra-filtered high protein, high Calcium, low carb/low cal milk)
Sugarfree strawberry Syrup or diet cocoa mix for my Fairlife milk
Low fat string cheese (7g protein, nice little snack!)
Couple tablespoons of cottage cheese with a tiny bit of Tomato Soup on it (tastes like lasagna ricotta!)
I use the opurity bariatric Vitamin (vitamin made specifically for sleeve patients) so that I only have one supplement a day to take. Originally, I was supposed to take Calcium as well, but the Fairlife milk has so much in it that my doc gave me the go-ahead to hold off on it and do a bloodwork check next month to see if I can go without it.
Honestly, I didn't buy special blenders, plates, etc. Sometimes I feel like we try to hype ourselves up through unnecessary purchases, lol. I keep it simple and try to stick to food prep/diet that I can sustain. It's a marathon, not a race.

@@The Candidate - I totally agree!! I spent a bunch of money on other bottles and way to keep Water cold all day. Then I heard about the Hydro Flask and bought the 32oz. I absolutely love it!!!
Totally worth the price too!

I tell you something that has absolutely blown me away is the Hydro Flask. During my classes a gentlemen had his with him and kept going on about how great it was so I purchased one myself.
I can put Water and ice in this thing before I go to work, and that ice will still be there keeping it icy cold up to 24 hours later! It still amazes me. I knew that it also claimed to keep hot stuff hot for up to 12 hours, so I recently tested it out with broth. While it didn't stay hot quite that long. It stayed too hot to drink (I used boiling water) for at least an hour, and hot down to lukewarm for the next 6 or so hours. And it doesn't sweat on the outside either. I swear I'd volunteer to be their spokesperson, I love it that much!
It's a bit pricey, but well worth the investment long term, and they come in a variety of sizes. I've thrown all my other Water bottles away, as they don't come close to comparing. Love it!

I want to hear YOUR favorites!
Favorite Vitamins.< /p>
Favorite Protein powders.< /p>
Favorite recipes.< /p>
Favorite meal.
Favorite blender.
Favorite cup/drink.
Favorite plate.
Favorite food scale.< /p>
Favorite brands for other things that you use to help you stay on track!
I am curious of everyones answers b/c I am about to start buying b/c my Doctor stated I need to start vitamins now. I been changing my eating habits slowly. I already gave up coke/pepsi drinks. I am a month out on that. I am slowly switching to non-sweetened tea.
So, share your favorites! (:
Thanks!

I want to hear YOUR favorites!
Favorite Vitamins.< /p>
Favorite Protein powders.< /p>
Favorite recipes.< /p>
Favorite meal.
Favorite blender.
Favorite cup/drink.
Favorite plate.
Favorite food scale.< /p>
Favorite brands for other things that you use to help you stay on track!
I am curious of everyones answers b/c I am about to start buying b/c my Doctor stated I need to start vitamins now. I been changing my eating habits slowly. I already gave up coke/pepsi drinks. I am a month out on that. I am slowly switching to non-sweetened tea.
So, share your favorites! (:
Thanks!

I am approved.
I go for my pre-op appointment on August 18th.
Then one month later, I will have it. Sept 17th cannot get here fast enough!
And for those wondering, I got approved in North Carolina with the State Hlth Plan at BlueCrossBlueShield.
Btw: I work with insurance companies all the time with getting these types of cases approved.
If anyone ever needs any or guidance, let me know!
I will try to help you all.
Have a great day!

I am approved.
I go for my pre-op appointment on August 18th.
Then one month later, I will have it. Sept 17th cannot get here fast enough!
And for those wondering, I got approved in North Carolina with the State Hlth Plan at BlueCrossBlueShield.
Btw: I work with insurance companies all the time with getting these types of cases approved.
If anyone ever needs any or guidance, let me know!
I will try to help you all.
Have a great day!

I am approved.
I go for my pre-op appointment on August 18th.
Then one month later, I will have it. Sept 17th cannot get here fast enough!
And for those wondering, I got approved in North Carolina with the State Hlth Plan at BlueCrossBlueShield.
Btw: I work with insurance companies all the time with getting these types of cases approved.
If anyone ever needs any or guidance, let me know!
I will try to help you all.
Have a great day!

I am approved.
I go for my pre-op appointment on August 18th.
Then one month later, I will have it. Sept 17th cannot get here fast enough!
And for those wondering, I got approved in North Carolina with the State Hlth Plan at BlueCrossBlueShield.
Btw: I work with insurance companies all the time with getting these types of cases approved.
If anyone ever needs any or guidance, let me know!
I will try to help you all.
Have a great day!

I have PCOS as well, but that has nothing to do with what you are having done. I find that mind blowing.
Do you have stomach issues? I work at a hospital & I do all the pre-authorizations/benefits for bariatric procedures & we never asked for a endoscopy. I might have to pick my Doctors brain.

Who is your Surgeon? I work at UNC Hospitals. I am going with Dr. Farrell.

I am approved.
I go for my pre-op appointment on August 18th.
Then one month later, I will have it. Sept 17th cannot get here fast enough!
And for those wondering, I got approved in North Carolina with the State Hlth Plan at BlueCrossBlueShield.
Btw: I work with insurance companies all the time with getting these types of cases approved.
If anyone ever needs any or guidance, let me know!
I will try to help you all.
Have a great day!

I am approved.
I go for my pre-op appointment on August 18th.
Then one month later, I will have it. Sept 17th cannot get here fast enough!
And for those wondering, I got approved in North Carolina with the State Hlth Plan at BlueCrossBlueShield.
Btw: I work with insurance companies all the time with getting these types of cases approved.
If anyone ever needs any or guidance, let me know!
I will try to help you all.
Have a great day!

I am approved.
I go for my pre-op appointment on August 18th.
Then one month later, I will have it. Sept 17th cannot get here fast enough!
And for those wondering, I got approved in North Carolina with the State Hlth Plan at BlueCrossBlueShield.
Btw: I work with insurance companies all the time with getting these types of cases approved.
If anyone ever needs any or guidance, let me know!
I will try to help you all.
Have a great day!

Rex hospital

I am near Hickory, but having surgery at UNC Chapel Hill. I am going tomorrow to meet with the surgeon and set my date. I hope it is within the next week.

I'm in Mooresville nc with an August 6th surgery date