MaureenVA

My WLS mentor had Halmi and has been incredibly successful. If I wasn't kaiser, thats where I would go.

Thanks in advance!

After surgery we are allowed very moderate amounts of starch, but, you're right, diet should focus on Protein first, flol owed by frech veggies and fruits. The list the NUT gave you is more like limits, not 'have to'. If you'd raher have salad than rice...more power to you. NuT's point is if you're going t o have carbs...have the right carbs in moderation.

My WLS mentor had Halmi and has been incredibly successful. If I wasn't kaiser, thats where I would go.

The OP specifically REQUESTED opinions. People gave just that, and backed it up with reasons. Opinions are based on personal bias or belief, and may be right or wrong.
Then there is medical best practice. Current medical standards in the United States do not indicate weight loss surgery for people with a BMI of 29. That is why centers of excellence do not do surgery on overweight individuals with BMIs under 35 unless there are comorbidities. Just because you can find a surgeon to operate on you does not mean it's a good idea. In time, perhaps medical best practice will change, but with known current standards, WLS in this individual is likely contraindicated.
Having said all that, it's a personal decision. The OP was seeking opinions to help make a good decision, and it didn't take much persuasion for her to rethink it. Personally, my opinion is that @@addygirl is making a good choice by trying to improve health with traditional diet and exercise. I don't know you, but it is the same thing I would tell my daughter.

I can't believe I'm finally here. I know I'm not on the table yet...my surgeon has a long wait. But I've wrangled all of the insurance nonsense and have been approved and referred for surgery. I was shaking like a leaf in the surgeons office waiting for the other shoe to drop...for someone to tell me some reason that I couldnt have the surgery. But they didn't!
I have to have an IVC filter placed (next week) and that has me totally freaked out. Small price to pay for an extra layer of safety...so i'm glad to be doing it. Just nervous about the procedure in general.
I'm expecting to have my actual surgery date in the next 2 weeks. Surgery to be performed in early to mid august.

This is really motivational! I went to a seminar today with my new surgeon and I'm just GIDDY. Tomorrow I call to schedule my Upper Endoscopy on my 'old' insurance and call UHC to make sure there isn't an employer specific exclusion on the policy. Then I am good to go.

steel cut oats, unsweetened apple sauce. regular cinnamon. Just how I make it for my kids!

This is really motivational! I went to a seminar today with my new surgeon and I'm just GIDDY. Tomorrow I call to schedule my Upper Endoscopy on my 'old' insurance and call UHC to make sure there isn't an employer specific exclusion on the policy. Then I am good to go.

David Stamps has several videos on Youtube. His workouts are geared for people with joint and mobility issues, plus he is easy to look at.

You know what makes me mental? Insurance companies pay for inpatient treatment, counseling, etc for drug abuse. Drug abuse! For drugs that are (mostly) illegal to be on in the first place. I'm not saying that drug addicts don't need or shouldn't get help....I'm just saying, our addiction is just as strong and we broke no laws to get tothe point of needing help...and yet we're denied.
I'm an insurance agent...if you have a meth lab in your garage and it blows up...your home insurance will not cover it. If you have a DUI or DWi and cause injury or damage....your car insurance may not cover it (this varies state to state), but if you use drugs and need medical assistance, you get help. I guess I surname companies think fat people are lower than drug addicts on the risk scale?

You know what makes me mental? Insurance companies pay for inpatient treatment, counseling, etc for drug abuse. Drug abuse! For drugs that are (mostly) illegal to be on in the first place. I'm not saying that drug addicts don't need or shouldn't get help....I'm just saying, our addiction is just as strong and we broke no laws to get tothe point of needing help...and yet we're denied.
I'm an insurance agent...if you have a meth lab in your garage and it blows up...your home insurance will not cover it. If you have a DUI or DWi and cause injury or damage....your car insurance may not cover it (this varies state to state), but if you use drugs and need medical assistance, you get help. I guess I surname companies think fat people are lower than drug addicts on the risk scale?

I don't need GPS or anything. The Loop will track steps, calories, amount of time active, and will prompt you to move if you've been sedentary too long. It will even track your sleep time. restless sleep vs deep sleep. The HR monitor will obviously give a clearer picture as to how 'hard' my body is working for workouts and which workouts work best for me. Since I'm pre-op, i want to be able to provide the powers that be all the information they need about what I'm doing at home. I don't want ANY questions about whether or not I'm doing the work needed to qualify for surgery. Obviously, after surgery, the tracker will be a whole new toy!

I'm 6-8mo pre-op and i definitely want to invest in one to keep track of my ups and downs before and after surgery. Do you have one that you love?
I'm *thisclose* to ordering the Polar Loop. It's at my price point. It is Water proof. It 'talks' to the type of technology I have. It comes in purple. What more could a girl want?
And then I see that I COULD choose to have a bluetooth heart rate monitor. Do I need this? Do I want this? Will having a HR monitor on during my exercise make a big difference in the output received? If I don't get it now, will I wish I had it post-op? I can buy it later...but it is more expensive and I'm a little bit cheap...so yeah.
What say you?

Great news, everyone! I'm an idiot!
My insurance company has 2 surgeons in this area. An older, more established surgeon (with a longer wait list) and a younger, newer surgeon (with quicker surgery dates). Turns out, that only the younger surgeon has a BMI restriction. I happened to be at her info session...asked the question...got her answer....freaked out. Then I called the Bariatric Nutritionist to discuss another matter and asked her to explain the policy to me. She, of course, confirmed I'm an idiot. Surgeon 1 has no restriction!
Of course, I still plan to lose weight....hopefully more than the 3% (or is it 5%?) that is required by my insurance company. But that's WAY less than the 17% I thought I was facing!

An employer clause means that while the insurance company (Cigna, BCBS, Aetna) has WLS coverage available, the employer providing the coverage opted to exclude the coverage. Generally this is a cost savings to the employer, and therefore the employees.
Open enrollment for Obamacare is soon. Try to get a plan through them. That's what I ended up doing.

An employer clause means that while the insurance company (Cigna, BCBS, Aetna) has WLS coverage available, the employer providing the coverage opted to exclude the coverage. Generally this is a cost savings to the employer, and therefore the employees.
Open enrollment for Obamacare is soon. Try to get a plan through them. That's what I ended up doing.

An employer clause means that while the insurance company (Cigna, BCBS, Aetna) has WLS coverage available, the employer providing the coverage opted to exclude the coverage. Generally this is a cost savings to the employer, and therefore the employees.
Open enrollment for Obamacare is soon. Try to get a plan through them. That's what I ended up doing.

Please follow your doctors orders to the letter! You worked hard to get to this point, you don't want to fall behind now!
Remember...you didn't gain the weight overnight, so it won't come off overnight. Stay away from the scale. Drink your Water. Take whatever meds/supplements you're supposed to. Get enough rest. Get some exercise. You'll get there!

http://www.people.com/article/e-j-johnson-undergoes-weight-loss-surgery?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_279468&xid=partner_zergnet

An employer clause means that while the insurance company (Cigna, BCBS, Aetna) has WLS coverage available, the employer providing the coverage opted to exclude the coverage. Generally this is a cost savings to the employer, and therefore the employees.
Open enrollment for Obamacare is soon. Try to get a plan through them. That's what I ended up doing.

An employer clause means that while the insurance company (Cigna, BCBS, Aetna) has WLS coverage available, the employer providing the coverage opted to exclude the coverage. Generally this is a cost savings to the employer, and therefore the employees.
Open enrollment for Obamacare is soon. Try to get a plan through them. That's what I ended up doing.

An employer clause means that while the insurance company (Cigna, BCBS, Aetna) has WLS coverage available, the employer providing the coverage opted to exclude the coverage. Generally this is a cost savings to the employer, and therefore the employees.
Open enrollment for Obamacare is soon. Try to get a plan through them. That's what I ended up doing.

There's a lot to be done before surgery anyway....medical testing, surgery appointments, pre op diet...and those are just the required things!

You guys hit the nail on the head. My last WLS information meeting bc every patient who stood up to tell her story talked about how awful they were at, say, 240 lbs and their life sucked. I'm starting my journey at 403lbs and dream of the day I'm 240! The lowest weight I ever remember being was 272. Though the struggle is real for us all, we "BBMI" folks have further challenges. Exercise is a challenge...bc movement is SO restricted. Machines weren't built for bodies like ours. Unless their names are Bob and Jillian, trainers have little experience with people of my size. It makes me feel like even more of an outcast. Like I'm too fat to be with the fat folks. I'm glad y'all spoke up. I feel less alone. I'm going to attempt to start a group/area just for us. If you're interested (even if you didn't/haven't replied to this post) message me and I'll invite you when it's all set up.