BloomingLotus

They knew what my requirements were, but not everyone in the office does. For example, when scheduling my 4 months of appointments, I was scheduled to see the doctor only when my insurance required monthly nutritionist appointments. We didn't catch this until after all of the appointments were set in stone, which required some work to rearrange. At my last appointment I wasn't given the pre-op booklet, so I had no clue about the PCP clearance and pre-op testing. My emails went unanswered until I called to get the information.
When all was said and done, everyone worked with me to rectify all of the issues above, and I was approved on time. I also managed to proceed with surgery on the date scheduled. So everything worked out just fine, but only because I also knew my requirements. Once the issues were discovered they were solved quickly, so I give credit for that.
Call your insurance and know your requirements and make sure you're covering it all!

I also was sleeved by Dr. Schwack at NYU a week ago. I have not had any problems with him at all. For anyone intending to use him though, stay on top of your pre-op requirements for insurance and the office itself. I found that on a few occasions I had to be the one asking what to do next because I wasn't fully informed. Overall, still a very good experience.

I had it all planned out in preparation for those kinds of questions. If anyone asked, I just told them that I was preparing for surgery to complete my transformation. When they asked what kind of transformation, I told them I was having a sex change, that I was a lesbian trapped in a man's body. That tended to shut them up, cause they couldn't figure that one out!

Do you know for sure that you'll need to stop the patch? I was concerned about hormones as well. I am on continuous birth control for very bad endometriosis, and I have not had a period in 14 years. When I do, I'm bedridden the pain is so horrific.
I brought this up to my surgeon, who said that he doesn't have a problem with me staying on. Speak to your surgeon - you may be able to stay on, with extra precautions taken to avoid clots.

Celebrations centered around food. Always.
"You got a new job, let's go to dinner and celebrate"
"It's your birthday, let's order a cake and celebrate"
"Graduating from anywhere, let's over do it with food and celebrate"
"Any holiday ever...food, food and more food!"
Why, does everything have to be centered around food? Why can't we Celebrate with a painting class or roller skating or a trial membership to a zumba class for everyone! It's sickening to me that our entire focus for living is so food-centric.
I know it's not just us, it's everywhere and it's not going to change, but I can change me. You want to celebrate one of my accomplishments? Let's repaint my living room together. Let's get our nails done then binge watch Breaking Bad!
I eat to live, not live to eat. (drops the mic)
-dt

What about half-caff? That's how I began to wean off. Keurig has green mountain brand half caff that aren't too bad. When you're out you can always ask for half regular and half Decaf at coffee shops too.

@@julia4mom I hated my Calcium too- but I just bought a soft chew from GNC that is dulce de leche flavored and it's fantastic! If what you ordered doesn't work out, give those a try!

I have the one @@joatsaint listed. It really is awesome!

Ok good - I can handle a few months - year. I can drink lactaid milk now without issues, which is a good sign. I bought lactaid pills for other things. I'm just about 2 weeks out and cream Soups have been my go-to, so I'm having a pill now with them.
I was drinking an 8oz glass of milk with unflavored Protein powder mixed in each night for a Protein boost but would later get severe lower right abdomen pain (appendix is gone & too high to be female-related) with gurgling in lower belly. Followed by some unpleasant trips to the bathroom. After going through my diet I deduced the milk items as the culprit. ????
I used lactaid in my (decaf) coffee this morning without pain or unpleasant side effects. I'm having creamy Soup for lunch and will hope this pill does its job because I'm at work!

I have the one @@joatsaint listed. It really is awesome!

Today is exactly one week from surgery. At this time last week I was on the operating table under anesthesia. I have come back to work today and will see how it goes. My job is mentally draining but not physically demanding. No one here knows about the surgery so I need to put on my best "yes my vacation was SO relaxing" face and suck it up!
At least I only work 2 days and then have a weekend to recover again!

@@VGB I think it really depends on your job, the energy required and your duties. Normally my job has me out of the office and running around, but thankfully in winter it slows down and I have more office days (read: less physically demanding).
I'm fully capable of getting in my Protein and Water, but being at work makes it a challenge for sure.
Today's challenge: my office mate is in today and brought in the most delicious smelling lunch in the history of delicious smelling lunches *sigh* I'll be force-feeding myself my chocolate Protein shake if you need me haha

I'm 11 days post op and I think last night was the first night that I actually slept normally. It takes a while but each day gets a little better. Keep your head up, in a week or so you'll feel like a totally different person!

Last night I had Soup I bought from target - chicken tortilla Soup. It's noodle-free but has chicken, black Beans and spices. I put it in the nutribullet with some extra chicken broth to thin it out, and then strained it after to make sure there were no lumps.
It was flavor heaven. Granted it was maybe 6 spoonfuls of it, but MAN having something with flavor really does make a difference.
You can get inventive with your Soups and experiment with spices to stay on plan!

Only?!
Don't diminish a 22lb loss! I'm pre-op right now and losing 22lbs in a month seems glorious! I know compared to some it may seem slow, but everyone's body moves at a different pace. Be proud of your loss and be assured that more is on the way!

Thank you! So far so good. I share an office and thankfully my office-mate is not in bc I have my pants unbuttoned and I keep burping! Glad I can shut my door and just work!

Last night I had Soup I bought from target - chicken tortilla Soup. It's noodle-free but has chicken, black Beans and spices. I put it in the nutribullet with some extra chicken broth to thin it out, and then strained it after to make sure there were no lumps.
It was flavor heaven. Granted it was maybe 6 spoonfuls of it, but MAN having something with flavor really does make a difference.
You can get inventive with your Soups and experiment with spices to stay on plan!

Well this morning I finally made it to goal! It took me exactly 7 1/2 months to get here and I'm totally thrilled with the entire journey! For those wondering how it happened so quickly, I can only say that I followed all the rules meticulously: 80-100 grams of Protein, no starches/sugars, some veggies, no booze/soda, and 64-120 ounces of Water every...single...day, plus daily walking and once a week workouts. I always had a plan for what I was going to eat, even at parties and restaurants, and if I deviated from the plan, it was always protein-based, like cheese, nuts and beef/turkey Jerky. So... going in, was I worried about missing out on food? Yes. Did I feel deprived during my journey? Nope, as my tag-line says, "Nothing tastes as good as slender feels!" What's next? Lose 4-5 more pounds so I can have a little wiggle-room and still stay at or below my goal weight. Will I go crazy now and eat all the stuff I've missed? I don't think so because I've tried to get my head straight about this being a lifelong effort. Can you do it too? Absolutely!!! Thank you to all who have given me support and guidance along the way. I hope I was able to help you too. And my plan is to keep coming here and posting my message about The Dreaded Week-3 Stall, because it almost broke me at the beginning of my journey. I wish everyone who reads this a world of success!!! If you want to ask questions or get tips on how I worked my program, send me a message and I'll try to give you a thoughtful answer. Okay, here are some embarrassing photos and some slightly less embarrassing photos.....

I will not miss my pants leaving button-and -thread imprints on my body. Ouch.

My surgery is Tuesday and I can't be more excited. And what makes it so much better is that my church family is noticing my loss already and I'm only 20 pounds down. This makes me believe more that I'm doing the right thing! Oh.....and my daddy noticed it too...he thought it was just my outfit today but its not! Lol!!!

From 3x top/2x bottom to MEDIUM!
HW/SW 270 CW 176 GW 145 Sleeved 4/7/14

What about half-caff? That's how I began to wean off. Keurig has green mountain brand half caff that aren't too bad. When you're out you can always ask for half regular and half Decaf at coffee shops too.

Today is exactly one week from surgery. At this time last week I was on the operating table under anesthesia. I have come back to work today and will see how it goes. My job is mentally draining but not physically demanding. No one here knows about the surgery so I need to put on my best "yes my vacation was SO relaxing" face and suck it up!
At least I only work 2 days and then have a weekend to recover again!

I have a friend who is an alcoholic. She described her addiction by saying that the idea of not drinking as much as possible was never an option. One drink just made no sense to her. Well, if you substitute food for a drink, you have the same addiction. I know that I never looked at a bowl of Pasta and thought, 'oh I'll eat a little...no need to eat it all.'
So when someone says to you, just walk away from the table, it's like telling an alcoholic to just have one drink and walk away. They can't do it and neither can we. The difference is that a drinker can stop drinking. We can't stop eating. There is no addiction like food addiction...and I include drug addiction as well. As horrific as it is, you can stop taking drugs...you can't stop eating.
I just wish the world understood this and stopped with the fat hating. I'm not that far out where I've forgotten what it was to be the biggest person in the room. It's not pleasant and I have great sympathy for those battling this addiction.

@@greatestnameever you still win... Coming to work was the first time I left the house! I'm halfway through, chugging along. Honestly my commute was the hardest part! I'm in nyc and walk about 3/4 of a mile to get to an elevated subway, where I have to take 4 flights of stairs up. I switch to a different subway and have 5 more flights of stairs up after that. Getting in was the true test! At least going home all the stairs are walking down