Finding-me

You look great! Congrats!

I prefer this loose skin:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153274107813812&pnref=story

HELL YES!

I have an overweight teenager and I try so hard to get him to eat right. I also pay $500 a month for him to go to a personal trainer 3x a week. So please don't always blame the parents. My son doesn't care that he's over weight and says he'd rather eat what he wants than diet. And it's not always junk he eats big portions and 4 meals a day. I have another son who is 12 and is actually 50% for weight. He loves to exercise and Snacks throughout the day. I didn't raise them any differently.
~LA

I think it's all just a slippery slope to fat shaming. There are so many factors to consider. food Desserts, the effects growing up poor has on your views towards food AND your taste buds.
Listen I was a chubby kid who turned into a fat adult. I also traveled while fat, skied while fat, hiked while fat. I never felt ashamed or embarrassed with who I was. I loved clothes and fashion, still do.
As much as I think wls needs to be de-stigmatized, I also don't think we have the right to feel superior for choosing it.

http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/570-pound-man-commits-to-finishing-a-5k-per-month-in-2015?cid=social42432476&adbid=10152672181486987&adbpl=fb&adbpr=9815486986
Thought I would share this. Everyone has to start somewhere. look at this guy go. signing up for 1 5k per month.

There is no way I could possibly even begin to explain how important Protein is in your body. Protein is used In every cell in your body. You need protein for protein synthesis and DNA replication. The body's primary building block for muscle, bone, skin, hair, and many other tissues is protein. There are over 10,000 different Proteins that are found and needed in the body for maintaining life. After Water has been excluded 75 percent of your body weight consists of protein. Crazy huh?! Proteins play many important roles in the body including the structure of enzymes; these are important proteins that help reactions occur in the body, such as releasing from the food we eat. Proteins also function as transport proteins such as hemoglobin; an Iron containing protein that transports oxygen to exercising muscles via the bloodstream. Protein consist of amino acids. Amino acids are extremely important . There are twenty different amino acids of which eight are considered essential because they cannot be generated by the body but are necessary for survival. The body uses amino acids circulating in the blood stream, released from the breakdown of tissues, or consumed in the diet to make protein. It's incredible just how important protein is in our bodies not just for building muscle. Eat/ drink your protein whatever just get some I've been studying protien in college for years. Every one of my mastering courses that involves the human body has a section on the importance of protien. Ok, that's enough class for today!!! Class dismissed!

My surgeon requires a colonoscopy prior to gastric surgery if you're over age 50. I had mine in January. While I was under, they also did an endoscopy and took a biopsy of my stomach.
The colonoscopy is covered at zero copay to me, as it is one of the special screening procedures. I expected a small bill for the additional work for the endoscopy.
The hospital bill came in the mail. My insurance paid around $1500, and they said my part was around $1600, which was a combination of deductible and copay.
I called my insurance company and asked if the colonoscopy was indeed covered at 100%, and they said yes. So I said if I had only had the colonoscopy, my portion would be zero. How is it then, that adding a minor procedure that was performed while I was already in the operating room, already under anesthesia, caused my portion to go from zero to $1600??
The rep said he would attach the surgeon's bill to the hospital bill to show it was mostly a screening procedure, and send it back for review.
I got the result today in the mail. My insurance company paid the $1600 they originally said was my portion, bringing my portion to... ZERO!

I continue to love this forum and the advice is so helpful. So I asked for everything in writing and responded back with 19 pages of documentation and the names and titles of 7 different associates at CareFirst that pulled my benefits and verified them to discuss my case. Just for good faith I got two extra names from my surgeon and a copy of their verification as well as from the phsyc eval.
I have had 4 phone calls from CareFirst today and 2 emails
The 1st just being another apology and stating that it was a mistake but that I was excluded. As suggested I used words like egregious error and system wide, epic failure for 7 plus months. I explained I now have two "almost" co-morbidities as I waited this 7 months which is true and documented in my file. That I made medical decisions that I would have made differently, I have other costs associated now not to mention the time and mental anguish. I now have adult onset asthma and pre-diabetes
All advice from awesome forum
I told them I would pursue this in anyway, I appreciate their kind response but an apology and addressing the issue with their associates was not going to be a satisfactory resolution and that I will be extremely diligent in pursuing this in and all ways available to me.
This last call was better, moving in a more hopeful direction. They have a meeting with today, a tribunal of sorts she called it to discuss my case and how this could have continued to happen, they will be reaching out to my plan admin as well. I told her to read the email with a CSRII when I was getting frustrated trying to get "exactly what needed to be submitted for WW structured diet". The CSR responding shared with me she was going through the process of bariatric surgery as well and understood my concern to get all the documentation straight. I said ask her to imagine after 7 months this happening to her. The Supervisor said I don't have to because I had lap band last year and I know I would be devastated.
You just never know do you
sorry long post but just feel like I need to give back in case anyone else goes through this, had I not had all your posts to read I would have been lost

So I am on my website for my insurance this morning checking my prescription prices and I notice a tab that says "authorizations". Curious I click it and lo and behold I find out that I have been approved for my surgery for March 30. On top of that it was not my surgeon's coordinator (who is still collecting documentation she said I needed) who got the approval it was my PCP'S office. Now he referred me back in January. So how long has this approval been sitting here? What really frustrates me is that I told this coordinator that I shouldn't need all this documentation and testing as my BMI had been greater than 40 for the last 2 years and I have Medicare, even though it is an Advantage Plan. My PCP's nurse had supplied me with all of my BMI's and had faxed them to this coordinator as well. Obviously she submitted this information to my insurance and while the surgeon's office was wasting my time I was already approved. Well Water under the bridge. The great news is I am getting sleeved March 30th yea‼️

Conscience, schmonscience!
I think you're doing great. I say the bigger, the better. You could even add these:
1. They discovered I have a tapeworm, and it's so big they have to operate to get it all out.
2. Now, they've discovered that the big tapeworm has had baby tapeworms, and they have to do even more complicated surgery to remove the baby tapeworms. It's becoming very dangerous!
3. Turns out it's not tapeworms, after all. It's Amazonian leeches that have attached themselves to the inside of my intestinal walls. We have NO idea how they got in there. It's possible they crawled into my mouth while I was asleep on a Caribbean beach last fall when hubby and I were on that cruise. But it's bad!
4. I just had a pre-op endoscopy, and now it seems that I've also swallowed some car keys--three of them, the electronic kind. And none of them are a match to our cars. My husband thinks this could also have happened on that cruise. One night I didn't get back to our cabin until 5:00 am and don't remember a damn thing after the baked Alaska. Hubby won't stop teasing me about it. I'm pretty pissed.
5. Hubby bought me a beautiful new ring for my birthday and also as an apology for teasing me so much about the car keys in my stomach. Trouble is that he hid it in a piece of birthday cake, and I swallowed the ring! And it hasn't come out the other end yet! The doctors are worried that it's been swallowed by one of the Amazonian leeches. So we're adding that to the list of things they're going to remove during gastrointestinal surgery.
See ... you could get much more creative about all this.
Have fun!

I started my journey at 268 lbs and today I am 170 lbs. my survey was 9/11/14. It has been awesome. My energy level. My ability to just move. Yesterday I went to Old navy and tried on a size 12 pair of jeans and they were to big. I am happy to say. I walked out with the size 10. I have never been able to fit a size 10. My next NSV will be running the Susan Koman 5k here in Philadelphia this Mother's Day. I thank God everyday for giving me the courage to decide to have this surgery.

hey guys, wanted to update!!!
im doing good! drinking, eating, even went walking around a track for a hr. it killed me & im still sore 2days later but im glad i was able to do it! i pray i keep progressing

@ Thank you!

I went to a general sports wear store today, I brought an adidas jacket .. It wasn't even the biggest size they stock !!! I am super stoked , I have never been able to go to a regular store and buy off the rack, always had to go to a plus size store and go to the back of the rack for the 3xl .. feeling happy