RedSalamander

I hear you. I think a lot of people eat badly and put on 10 lbs, then go back to "normal" and lose it and assume that it's the same thing for everyone. The reality is that obesity is nothing like an extra 10 or 20 lbs and that working hard at the gym, or eating healthfully, or any number of things just isn't enough. If it were, most of us wouldn't be here! Just nod and smile and ignore the naysayers--they don't have to live in your skin. Good luck today! I'll be there in just over 2 weeks...

I had no idea that CVS sold protein! I will have to check that out...especially since if you get your flu shot there you get a 20% discount coupon.

I'm January 14th! Do you have a pre-op diet?

Hi all! I'm tentatively scheduled for my sleeve surgery on Jan. 15th, and I'm just wondering how long you ended up having to take off work? I work from home, and my work shifts are short-ish--4 hours. I'm hoping to take no more than a week off, if that much, and seriously hoping to just schedule my shifts "around" the surgery so I don't actually have to take time off at all. What were your experiences? I know it varies from person to person, but I want to know what to prepare my work for--I really would rather not tell them I'm having surgery at all if I can avoid it (one of the perks of working from home, ha!). Thanks!

Hi all! Now that I've progressed to the "try out some shakes before your upcoming liquid diet" stage, I'm thinking I'm going to buy something to help make the shakes as tasty as possible. Can anyone share what they use to make shakes, aside from a plain old Blender Bottle? TIA!

Mine was actually an at-home sleep study--I just had to sleep normally in my own bed with electrodes attached to my finger and a little flexible tube inserted into my nostrils. Then I just dropped everything off the next day.

Hi all! I am currently in the process of losing the 15 lbs my insurance plan requires before my surgery is scheduled. Since I am working to lose the weight anyway, I figured why not start making the lifestyle changes that I'll be making post-surgery? So I've been working on things like eating a more protein-forward diet, not drinking with or for 25 minutes after meals, etc. I thought maybe all of us in the same situation could share some things that are working for us here! I'll start! Meals aren't really such a problem for me personally, it's more the Snacks that I find to be a challenge. Here's a few high(er) Protein snacks that I enjoy: Lowfat or Fat-free cheese Stick Fat-free cottage cheese mixed with a few cut-up olives Fat-free plain Greek yogurt mixed with PB2 and Splenda (this has a TON of protein and tastes like Peanut Butter pie!) A couple of slices of uncured turkey lunch meat 2 Wasa crispbreads with lite laughing cow cheese, sliced tomatoes, and herbs (Ok, this one isn't so high-protein, but it's soooo yummy!) Hardboiled egg with mustard (I call it poor man's deviled eggs!) What is everyone else doing to adjust to our new life?

Hi lovelies! I'm a newbie as well. So far I've gone through my initial appointment, pre-op screenings, sleep study, NUT visit #1 of 3, psych visit #1 of 2, and am working on losing the 15 lbs I ironically have to lose to placate my insurance company (wellll...10 lbs to placate the insurance co., the other 5 to make up for the 5 I gained having all those food funerals!) Looking forward to getting to know you all as we move into this next phase of our lives!