sgc

I prefer to look into actual studies than the latest fad.

I haven't seen a lot of good proof that diet pop is bad for you. There is a lot of correlation but no causation. This is like when eggs were bad for you for a couple decades and we got egg beaters. Now eggs are a super food. Diet pop has no calories and no sugar. You don't gain weight by solely drinking diet pop. It funny that people then recommend shooting chemicals into water as an alternative. Diet pop is mostly water after all. Diet pop has also been out for at least 50 years and we still don't have definitive proof of these perceived evils.

I haven't had surgery yet but my surgeon hasn't said yay or nay on diet pop. I switched from regular to diet pop and have lost 70 pounds so far. Diet pop has zero calories. People don't gain weight from drinking diet pop alone. People say there is no nutritional value, but Water has no nutrition other than keeping you hydrated and water is the main ingredient in diet pop after all.

What is the reasoning of not having diet soda preop? If the object is to lose weight and shrink the liver, having 0 calorie diet soda isn't going to hurt that.

I like chicken thighs and just brush some extra virgin olive oil on them with a little seasoning and broil them.

Pasta does have nutrients. The pasta I ate last night had 13 grams of fiber plus other minerals and it wasn't whole wheat. Add in a fresh whole tomato used for sauce, and I also got a lot of vitamin c.

The question was should they eat pasta. Most single servings of fruit have at least 25 g of carbs and usually no protein. Most pasta is about 30 to 40 grams with protein. If carbs are for life and so bad for you, shouldn't you avoid fruit?

Fruit is fruit so I guess we need to avoid all fruit?

SGC, what surgery are you having? I had gastric bypass a year ago, but like many big guys on this site, breezed through it with minimal hassle... and a year later, am dramatically healthier... surviving morbid obesity was the issue, not surviving surgery.... I am getting the sleeve. I focused more on dieting as if I had already had surgery and exercise 60 minutes a day and the weight is coming off fast. That then makes me second guess the surgery. I wanted to lose as much weight and build my cardio endurance as much as possible for the surgery. At the end of the day, I'm still hovering around 400 pounds. I have had surgery in the past to remove my gallbladder but I was younger and weighed 250 pounds at the time.

Everyone needs carbs. The key is where you get the carbs. When nutritionists tell me not to eat fruit because of carbs, I know it's a fad just like egg beaters. I know it will get compared to a Twinkie diet, but my family is Italian and have been eating Pasta for generations. My Grandparents, who were born and raised in Italy, lived into their 90's and were very healthy and ate pasta until the day they died. They didn't even know what a carb was. 4 oz of egg noodles with a fresh whole tomato as sauce, has 17 grams of Protein. To put that in perspective, two jumbo eggs have 16 grams of protein, a 3 oz chicken breast has 18 grams, a 5 oz cup of Greek yogurt has 15 grams, and one of my Qwest Protein Bars has 20 grams. The pasta is right there with all the other popular high protein meal choices and it also offers a lot of Calcium, Vitamin C, fiber, Iron, and a host of other minerals. You could even be radical and add a little grilled chicken breast to the pasta to give it a little more protein. I continue to plan on eating pasta weekly after surgery.

Got all my required info in and it's being submitted to insurance today. It's really hitting home and I'm getting nervous. Not really nervous about my new stomach but about surviving surgery.

I told my doctor I was taking Wellbutrin for depression. He asked if they were working for me and I said yes and that was it.

I just had my evaluation about a week ago. They ask about your history with weight, support, how you plan to be successful, why you want surgery, etc. My Dr. asked what sort of things am I going to do post surgery that I don't or can't do now. The whole session lasted about 45 minutes. He also added some good advice about eating habits and how to be successful. It wasn't as useless as I thought it was going to be going in.

I'm preop and am dieting and still eat Pasta about once a week. It's not quite the boogeyman it's made out to be. One serving of pasta has as much Protein as a jumbo egg which is widely recommended as a source of protein. It also has the same amount of Iron as an egg and more Fiber. It also has less saturated fat and cholesterol than an egg. There is a lot worse you could be eating than pasta. My favorite pasta is No Yolks Egg Noodles. I guess if pasta doesn't have enough protein, I'll have to find something else to eat instead of eggs for Breakfast. **EDIT** I also use fooducate.com to look up nutritional information on foods. They also have a great app which you scan barcodes and get instant nutritional information and grades. It gives my egg noodles a B+ rating.There are plenty of pastas that have A ratings. It's false to say there is no nutritional value in pasta.

I am supposed to have one. My surgeon was talking about a Bravo pill instead. I had one 9 years ago when I had my gallbladder removed. A gallstone had gotten lodged in my bile duct and bile was leaking throughout my body. They had to go in and remove it. Not sure if my procedure was done wrong, or they needed it to do it this way since they were removing an obstruction, but I was fully aware of what was happening and could feel it moving around in my stomach. I just tried to remain calm and just focus on something else. Towards the end I did start to gag some as they removed the scope. Everyone else I speak to say this not their experience though.

Losing weight hasn't been an issue for me. As recently as 2008 I weighed 250 pounds. I'm getting surgery to keep off the weight. I figured I better do it now since I'm only 31 as my risks for surgery will only increase as I get older and more obesity related illnesses develop. I had an echocardiogram done and my heart was fine so that is encouraging. Doing 60 minutes of cardio a day to try to get into the best shape possible for surgery but I will still be pushing 400 pounds when I get surgery. Hoping to be 380. Doctor says I should lose about 15 pounds on the liquid diet and I'm averaging about 3-4 pounds a week on my own.

Haven't had the surgery yet. Started at 475 pounds. Down to 412. Hoping to be under 400 for surgery which I estimate will be in 4-6 weeks. I'm really nervous about getting surgery at 400 pounds. I have sleep apnea and borderline high blood pressure. Really nervous about dying.

I'm over 400 pounds and ride my exercise bike 60 minutes a day. I would get winded walking about stairs. After a few weeks on the bike, I can jog up my stairs at 400 pounds. I also started doing some simple weight exercises 3 times a week. Just do a rep of bicep curls, tricep extensions, shoulder raises, and squats. It's really not for building muscle but for working on my metabolism. Doing the bike and getting in good cardio health helps do other exercises. Edit- I should also add I have not had surgery yet.

Looks I could be May. Passed my psych evaluation and now it will go to insurance. If I get approved in time, looks like surgery by end of May.

I did end up visiting Dr Hawasli. Seemed pretty nice but didn't spend much time. This was more of an orientation. Got my letter from my primary care and I'm doing the psych evaluation today so I will have everything I need to submit to insurance. Once I get that, I believe next is an endoscopy and pre op diet.

Either one with those scores I would trust. Most surgeons work with the same anesthesia provider for all their cases, they know who they trust, and someone who knows their routine. You can ask the office who it will be, and ask your surgeon if they routinely work with the same person.Looks like your in good hands and your doing your part Sent from my XT1254 using the BariatricPal App How did you find the scores for the hospitals. Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App I just Googled LeapFrog and Hospitals. Since I looked up the scores, a new ranking has come out and both St John and Grosse Pointe Beaumont dropped to a C. There was an article about it in the Free Press. http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/04/25/study-area-hospitals-need-improve-patient-safety/83400688/ May I ask the docs name. I live in the area also and contiplating surgery? Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App I am going to do a sleeve with Dr Hawasli. My primary care doctor seemed to speak glowingly about him. Two of her staff even had surgery with him and they are thin. He seems pretty accomplished. He's the head of laparoscopic surgery at St John. Just had my first appointment Monday. He seems nice and the staff seems nice. Only criticisms I have read have been wait times. I waited an hour and there was a sign that said wait times could be one to three hours. He's talking a time table of 4-6 weeks. Since my BMI is over 50, the supervised diet is waived. Did a blood test and he is talking about an endoscopy and 2-3 week liquid diet. Says he wants to see patients lose about 10-15 pounds before surgery. Shouldn't be a problem since I lost 5 pounds last week without a liquid diet.

I think the whole idea of a supervised diet is a farce. What exactly does it prove to the insurance company on whether or not they should pay for your surgery? Luckily I'm large enough to have this supervised diet waived. The only time my size has gone in my favor.

My primary care doctor had a blood test done and determined from that I had a fatty liver. The surgeon will probably know by the blood work. I have to imagine that 99% of obese people will have a larger liver than normal weight people so it can just be assumed.

I'm having a devil of a time just scheduling a psych evaluation. My surgeon gave me 5 doctors to call. One doesn't even do bariatric psych evaluations anymore. One isn't accepting new patients. One doesn't answer the phone. The other two make me leave voicemail and never call back. How can I find one who will assist me?

What are the advantages to getting surgery if after a year you will basically be back to where you were?