peaceout

I went on vacation while on my pre-op diet, which was awful, but not quite the same as 16 days post-op. Just from my experience with Carnival I have a couple of suggestions. Breakfast will be the easiest- they will have scrambled eggs, yogurt, and cottage cheese every day. lunch and dinner may be a little trickier, but they should have 1-2 Soups to pick from. If you're cleared for soft meats you can almost always find fish; just chew like crazy. I still would have been on pureed foods so small amounts of mashed potatoes, refried Beans, etc. would all be put to use. I would recommend bringing a Blender Bottle and some Protein powder. It might be difficult to eat as often as you need to. There is always food around, but with the exception of the traditional meal times, it's all sandwiches, burgers, pizza, etc. So being able to mix some Protein Powder on the go might be helpful. Carnival may not be very helpful when it comes to changing your cruise date, but they've always been accommodating to my food allergies and if you feel comfortable telling them about your restrictions, I bet they would go above and beyond to help you. But I also don't blame you if you don't want to tell them. Have a great time,and good luck!

Congrats! That's a huge success in such a short amount of time. Keep up the great work!

201.5 this week!

Congrats! I'm glad everything went smoothly for you!

I'm sure everyone is a little different, but I haven't found that adding Quest bars has slowed my rate of loss yet at 11 weeks out. I don't eat them every day, but probably 3 or so per week. If you only eat 1/2 per day, that would make us about equal in how much we're consuming. So, I'm definitely interested in others' responses. Maybe if my weight loss slows/stops, that'll be something I eliminate to change things up. I know there are lots of people on this site that like the Quest bars, so hopefully you'll get some good feedback. Edit to add: I forgot to mention that I eat them on the days I do my resistance training at the gym, as recommended per my nutritionist. I don't know if that matters or changes anything.

Welcome! I'm also from west Michigan. I know Priority Health requires 6 months of supervised visits (that's what I have, and the representative I spoke with said it should be the same across the board, but who knows). I'm not sure if BCN will have different requirements. My surgeon's office didn't submit for approval until the 6 month requirements were completed. I think every office handles that a bit differently. Best of luck to you going forward!

CW: 204.0 GW: 190.0 Thanks for putting this together!

@@dhrguru I don't know what your tastes are, but there are some pretty good recipes for making low-cal pumpkin "shakes" or "smoothies" that taste great with some vanilla Protein mixed in. And sugar-free Coffeemate pumpkin spice creamer with some coffee or tea is a go-to for me all fall, and for 2 TBSP is only 30 cal. And now I, too, am going to go investigate this pumpkin spice protein. Happy fall!

Congrats! I just hit that point, too. It's really motivating to see the ticker say that you've lost more pounds than you still have to go! Keep up the awesome work.

I understand your rant completely! I am just now starting to fit in to "regular" sizes at most stores, and it's really exciting to go in places and try things on and have them fit. But I haven't purchased anything yet, mostly because I'm doing all my shopping at thrift stores/consignment shops these days, but there's another part of me that doesn't want to give them my business. I definitely have had the "if you were too good for me before, why would I give you money now?" thought going through my head on a few occasions. That being said, I know I won't be able to hold my grudge for long. Once I get near goal and start building my wardrobe, I won't be able to resist marching into those stores that I was never able to before.

Congrats! You're looking great!

First-timer here! Count me in. Goal weight: 190

When I started my journey back in December, my weight was at an all-time high of 259 lbs. I weighed 242.5 pounds on surgery day, June 26. As of this morning's weigh-in, I'm at 207! I'm down 52 pounds overall. I have a hard time seeing the difference when I look in the mirror, but when I saw these pictures of my Grandma and I (6 months ago vs. 1 week ago), it really hit me. I look and feel so much better! Gram's also lost a few pounds herself. I have a long way to go yet, but I couldn't be happier with the results. Thanks to all the great people on this forum for the wisdom, advice, and laughs! You are all the best!

Congrats! I'm not in school anymore, but I remember those seats and I remember the shifting required to let the neighbor pull up his desk. Awesome NSV!

Maybe they are just preparing you for worst-case scenario. Two different people at my surgeon's office told me that they submit to insurance the same day as the last appointment, and then they get you scheduled ASAP after approval. They didn't submit to insurance until a week later and then even though I was approved in 2 business days, they didn't call me to schedule for two weeks after that and were then booking surgeries over 2 months out. I almost wish they had told me to expect the 2-3 month delay so I wasn't so disappointed when it happened that way. Then, if you do get in sooner than that estimate, it'll just be an added bonus. Whatever happens, I wish you the best of luck. No matter which of those months your surgery ends up being in, it'll be here before you know it!

Welcome! I can't add pictures from my phone app, but I've not had a problem when using my laptop. If you're trying from an app, maybe switch to a computer? If you're already on a computer, then I can't help. I've reached the end of my IT knowledge base.

@@Leesa926 : if your last appointment is in December but surgery isn't slated until February, it could be due to your surgeon's schedule. You can ask to be put on a waiting list, but if your doc is taking 2-3 weeks off for the holidays or something, that could be why the surgery is scheduled out so far. I started the process in December 2014, had the last of my pre-op stuff done by June 6, but then couldn't get in for surgery until August 31, 2015. That was because my surgeon took a vacation of some sort in July. I did ask to be put on a waiting list in case someone cancelled, and luckily for me I got a date of June 26th instead. So now I'm over 2 months out, instead of going in for surgery today!

Congrats! That is such a huge turnaround in just 11 months. I'm glad you were able to have such a great celebration too. I'm wishing you continued success! Even though your rate of loss is slowing down, just keep your head up and keep pushing through. Your body is probably in utter shock!

Another vote for Fairlife! It's got more Protein and less sugar than traditional skim milk. Of course it's going to have some sugar- all dairy products do. I do prefer it over almond or coconut milk at this point because I usually need those 13g of protein to put me into the desired range.

I went back after one week, but I was very tired at the end of the day that whole week. I would come home, drink my Protein, and basically be done for the rest of the day. Hubby had to walk the dog and do all the laundry, mowing, etc. I'll be honest, my biggest motivator is that I don't get any paid leave because I piece together two part-time jobs. If I earned any sort of sick or vacation or personal days at all, I probably would have taken another 2-3 days at least.

What a great success story! You look fantastic!

One of the biggest things I'm learning on this journey is to listen to my body. It will tell me when I'm full. It will tell me when I need more fluids. And it will tell me if I need to dial back the workouts a bit. It sounds like yours is telling you to slow down a little. It's awesome that you're trying to get a jump-start on things, but just take it as slow as you need to, and try not to get too frustrated when things aren't progressing the way you think they should.

Congrats! Keep up the excellent work!

That was very similar to my plan, but instead of 8 weeks I only had to do 6. To me, it looks like you can have tuna and light mayo, you just have to put it in the blender first. If that's the case, you'll be great! It'll seem like the best thing you ever ate after all those liquids. Good luck to you. You can do this!

I don't have any experience with appeals, but do they provide their reason for denying you? It seems like they'd have to give you some feedback if you thought you met all the requirements but they thought you didn't. If you knew what the problem was, you could take steps to add whatever additional information they need?