Stephanie Stroup McIntosh

The process does take 6 months for most insurance companies, but it goes surprisingly quick and you can start losing weight today. You have 6 months of documented dieting with a doctor. This helps you to make a change now and start selecting healthier foods. It gives you the opportunity to ween down from all the sugar and fat and crap in your system.
I had to do the following...
Psych exam to make sure I was mentally ok to have surgery. I only had 1 visit, but this is something that a lot of people get hung up on so do it early.
3 appointments with a nutritionist.
6 visits at my docs office to weigh in and discuss my diet
chest xray, ekg, upper endoscopy
sleep study
blood work
3 support group meetings

There is a chance that they would find something that would prevent surgery, but this is very unlikely. They will check to see if you have a hernia that needs repaired and will look for damage caused by acid reflux. This is really a way for the doctors to make sure that the your sleeve will be safe.

At this point...why not try make a broth by cooking crawfish and veggies or whatever you like. Let your husband eat the crawfish, but you can have the broth.

I tell both. I lost 32 pounds before surgery. I have been working hard for almost 7 months now and don't want people to think its just been the couple of weeks since my surgery. I am down 51 pounds total.

Can I add that it bothers me when people reply to the post without actually reading what it says? So many times I see people give all the information in the original post and then will see people respond with a comment asking something that was clearly written in the original post. Its fine if you don't read all the comments, but please read the question if you are going to answer it.

So lately a lot of people have asked me what made me decide to have surgery and I wanted to write it out and share it publicly. I find that I am better able to hold myself accountable when I am open and honest, not just with myself but with others. So here goes my story. Well this is the short version.
I have always been overweight. I have also always been very active. I didn't see my weight as something that was holding me back. I am successful in my career and my relationships. I have great friends and family.
The company I work for started doing voluntary health screenings about 7 years ago. They even paid you to do it and there were no consequences. I knew the numbers wouldn't be pretty, but who can't use a little extra money. Pretty much the annual health screening was the only time I saw a doctor without being sick. The numbers got worse over the years, but I could look in the mirror. I knew I was gaining weight.
Two years ago, the health screenings were tied to my insurance. I could get a significant discount on my insurance if I met certain benchmarks or made improvements from the prior year. If I didn't do either of those things, I could take a nutrition class or participate in a program to get the discounts. This was fine with me. I did the programs. I played the part and did what they told me to do. Its not like I didn't know I was overweight, I just wasn't really at a point in my life where I was ready to change anything.
This past year when it was time for the health screening, I wanted to have some better numbers. I didn't want to jump through the hoops of the various programs just to save $10 a week. I decided I was going to make sure I improved over the results from the previous year. I was eating right and working out more. I was confident that I would have some improvement. I was wrong. My numbers were all worse than the year prior.
I still had a few weeks before everything had to be submitted, so I decided to try even harder and go to my PCP before the deadline to get updated results, hoping they would be better. I cut out all sugar. I stopped going out to eat. I lived on chicken breast and steamed veggies. I increased my exercise.
Guess what...3 weeks later when I went to the doctors, my blood work numbers were even worse.
It seemed like I was doomed. That is when I realized that I couldn't do it on my own. Even when I did what the doctor told me, my health was getting worse. I have some pretty severe back issues and was really limited in what I could do, but I wasn't giving up. (I completed six 5k races last year.) I also have PCOS which plays a part in my inability to lose weight.
I decided that it was time to make a more drastic change. I started the process to have weight loss surgery. I joined a new gym (and actually started to go). I donated most of the food in my house to people in need. I started talking to other people about my weight.
By this point (September 2014), I weighed 295 pounds. I probably weighed more before that, but never got on the scale. I was in horrible pain all the time. I regularly saw a chiropractor, just so I could stay upright. I was dying.
I showed up to the first consultation having already fasted, knowing they would send me for blood work. I had all of my pre-op testing done that first day. I was serious.
My routine at the gym started with 2 hours in the pool. I was in too much pain to do anything else. I went 4-5 days a week. I work as a kitchen manager, so I would often go to work before the gym even opened in the morning, but it if was still open when I got out of work, I was there. Many nights I wouldn't even get to the gym until 9:00 p.m.
I made it through the holidays and was losing weight. The ladies at the doctor's office were all very happy with my progress and encouraged me to keep going. In January, I started a weight loss competition at my gym. Previously, I wouldn't have even considered signing up for it. This competition gave me an extra incentive to lose the weight. I weighed 282 pounds, but I was already feeling better. I started working out on the machines at the gym instead of the pool. This is also when I really started to share with people what I was doing and why. My support system grew.
I went to the gym almost everyday for the next 6 weeks. I stopped drinking Pepsi (that was the hardest part) and stopped making excuses. People were staring at me at the gym. Not because I was overweight, but because I worked out so hard. One day I had a man in his 40s ask me to stop going so hard, because he couldn't keep up and I was making him look bad. That's a great feeling.
The end of the contest came and my team won. I weighed in at 269 pounds. I admit I was pretty dehydrated at the weigh in and made sure to wear my lightest clothes. The contest ended the day after my 6 month weigh in for surgery.
Both of the 2 things I was using to hold myself accountable came to an end at the same time and my birthday was just a few days away. I went back to my old habits. I jumped up to 280 pounds in a little less than 2 weeks. When I stepped on the scale, I couldn't believe how quickly I had put the weight back on after working so hard to take it off.
I was failing.
I realized that I had to change my life for good. There would be nothing easy about having weight loss surgery.
By the time I had surgery on March 23, I weighed 263 pounds. I had fallen in love with the Arc Trainer at the gym and was really putting in the effort required.
My surgery went well. My only complication being that they hit a nerve putting in an IV and I now have a lot of pain in my left arm. I am hoping it will heal on its own. I chose to spend 3 nights in the hospital, since I have had some allergic reactions to pain meds in the past. I got up and walked every few hours and felt great when I left. (I weighed 271 the day I was discharged because of all of the Water weight that comes with surgery.)
Now on April 9th, I am 243 pounds and have no back pain at all. My stomach is still sore from the surgery, but its nothing to severe. Its just achy muscles. I am back at the gym on a daily basis. I started with just walking the track and every day I am going a little farther. I did some basic strength training yesterday, but am waiting for the doctor to clear me to do more. I don't want to hurt anything.
The weight loss is already very noticeable. People who I never thought would have cared are noticing and asking about it. I am telling them the truth and explaining what my life is like now, post surgery. I have found that a lot of people know someone who has had the surgery. Everyone has been very supportive so far and a lot of people are now asking for my advice.
I have lost just over 50 pounds. I still have a long way to go, but I am confident that I can get there. I am putting in the work. The results will come.
My doctor's goal for me is 192 pounds, but I am shooting for 160. My blood work that I have had over the past month has all been better than that from September and I am feeling great. I only wish that I would have taken before measurements so that I could know how many inches I have lost. I know I have lost a few, because I can wear my old jeans again.
Thanks for listening to my story and I look forward to hearing yours.

So lately a lot of people have asked me what made me decide to have surgery and I wanted to write it out and share it publicly. I find that I am better able to hold myself accountable when I am open and honest, not just with myself but with others. So here goes my story. Well this is the short version.
I have always been overweight. I have also always been very active. I didn't see my weight as something that was holding me back. I am successful in my career and my relationships. I have great friends and family.
The company I work for started doing voluntary health screenings about 7 years ago. They even paid you to do it and there were no consequences. I knew the numbers wouldn't be pretty, but who can't use a little extra money. Pretty much the annual health screening was the only time I saw a doctor without being sick. The numbers got worse over the years, but I could look in the mirror. I knew I was gaining weight.
Two years ago, the health screenings were tied to my insurance. I could get a significant discount on my insurance if I met certain benchmarks or made improvements from the prior year. If I didn't do either of those things, I could take a nutrition class or participate in a program to get the discounts. This was fine with me. I did the programs. I played the part and did what they told me to do. Its not like I didn't know I was overweight, I just wasn't really at a point in my life where I was ready to change anything.
This past year when it was time for the health screening, I wanted to have some better numbers. I didn't want to jump through the hoops of the various programs just to save $10 a week. I decided I was going to make sure I improved over the results from the previous year. I was eating right and working out more. I was confident that I would have some improvement. I was wrong. My numbers were all worse than the year prior.
I still had a few weeks before everything had to be submitted, so I decided to try even harder and go to my PCP before the deadline to get updated results, hoping they would be better. I cut out all sugar. I stopped going out to eat. I lived on chicken breast and steamed veggies. I increased my exercise.
Guess what...3 weeks later when I went to the doctors, my blood work numbers were even worse.
It seemed like I was doomed. That is when I realized that I couldn't do it on my own. Even when I did what the doctor told me, my health was getting worse. I have some pretty severe back issues and was really limited in what I could do, but I wasn't giving up. (I completed six 5k races last year.) I also have PCOS which plays a part in my inability to lose weight.
I decided that it was time to make a more drastic change. I started the process to have weight loss surgery. I joined a new gym (and actually started to go). I donated most of the food in my house to people in need. I started talking to other people about my weight.
By this point (September 2014), I weighed 295 pounds. I probably weighed more before that, but never got on the scale. I was in horrible pain all the time. I regularly saw a chiropractor, just so I could stay upright. I was dying.
I showed up to the first consultation having already fasted, knowing they would send me for blood work. I had all of my pre-op testing done that first day. I was serious.
My routine at the gym started with 2 hours in the pool. I was in too much pain to do anything else. I went 4-5 days a week. I work as a kitchen manager, so I would often go to work before the gym even opened in the morning, but it if was still open when I got out of work, I was there. Many nights I wouldn't even get to the gym until 9:00 p.m.
I made it through the holidays and was losing weight. The ladies at the doctor's office were all very happy with my progress and encouraged me to keep going. In January, I started a weight loss competition at my gym. Previously, I wouldn't have even considered signing up for it. This competition gave me an extra incentive to lose the weight. I weighed 282 pounds, but I was already feeling better. I started working out on the machines at the gym instead of the pool. This is also when I really started to share with people what I was doing and why. My support system grew.
I went to the gym almost everyday for the next 6 weeks. I stopped drinking Pepsi (that was the hardest part) and stopped making excuses. People were staring at me at the gym. Not because I was overweight, but because I worked out so hard. One day I had a man in his 40s ask me to stop going so hard, because he couldn't keep up and I was making him look bad. That's a great feeling.
The end of the contest came and my team won. I weighed in at 269 pounds. I admit I was pretty dehydrated at the weigh in and made sure to wear my lightest clothes. The contest ended the day after my 6 month weigh in for surgery.
Both of the 2 things I was using to hold myself accountable came to an end at the same time and my birthday was just a few days away. I went back to my old habits. I jumped up to 280 pounds in a little less than 2 weeks. When I stepped on the scale, I couldn't believe how quickly I had put the weight back on after working so hard to take it off.
I was failing.
I realized that I had to change my life for good. There would be nothing easy about having weight loss surgery.
By the time I had surgery on March 23, I weighed 263 pounds. I had fallen in love with the Arc Trainer at the gym and was really putting in the effort required.
My surgery went well. My only complication being that they hit a nerve putting in an IV and I now have a lot of pain in my left arm. I am hoping it will heal on its own. I chose to spend 3 nights in the hospital, since I have had some allergic reactions to pain meds in the past. I got up and walked every few hours and felt great when I left. (I weighed 271 the day I was discharged because of all of the Water weight that comes with surgery.)
Now on April 9th, I am 243 pounds and have no back pain at all. My stomach is still sore from the surgery, but its nothing to severe. Its just achy muscles. I am back at the gym on a daily basis. I started with just walking the track and every day I am going a little farther. I did some basic strength training yesterday, but am waiting for the doctor to clear me to do more. I don't want to hurt anything.
The weight loss is already very noticeable. People who I never thought would have cared are noticing and asking about it. I am telling them the truth and explaining what my life is like now, post surgery. I have found that a lot of people know someone who has had the surgery. Everyone has been very supportive so far and a lot of people are now asking for my advice.
I have lost just over 50 pounds. I still have a long way to go, but I am confident that I can get there. I am putting in the work. The results will come.
My doctor's goal for me is 192 pounds, but I am shooting for 160. My blood work that I have had over the past month has all been better than that from September and I am feeling great. I only wish that I would have taken before measurements so that I could know how many inches I have lost. I know I have lost a few, because I can wear my old jeans again.
Thanks for listening to my story and I look forward to hearing yours.

You are doing everything right. Unfortunately there are a lot of Mr. Wrongs and only a few Mr. Rights. It may take some time, but its important that you find someone that is supportive of the decision you made and will be a positive part of your life. Don't settle for anything less.

I would just make sure you are comfortable with the procedure and his requirements. Make sure you know what he is going to do and what you will need to do. I googled a lot and my doc had me watch videos ahead of time, so I didn't really have any questions.
2 weeks Post-surgery, I wish I would have asked about how much he thought I should lose in 2 weeks, 1 month etc. That would be helpful to keep on track.

I would also like to join. I haven't done this before so let me know what I need to do.

Only take 20 minutes to eat and put your spoon down between bites. Its sounds to me that you are eating too much. Are you getting enough Protein? How are your calories?
I am only 2 weeks out and just starting on yogurt. I know I could eat a whole container, but I start to feel different about half way through, so I stop eating.
Eat slowly and listen to your body.

You are doing everything right. Unfortunately there are a lot of Mr. Wrongs and only a few Mr. Rights. It may take some time, but its important that you find someone that is supportive of the decision you made and will be a positive part of your life. Don't settle for anything less.

You are doing everything right. Unfortunately there are a lot of Mr. Wrongs and only a few Mr. Rights. It may take some time, but its important that you find someone that is supportive of the decision you made and will be a positive part of your life. Don't settle for anything less.

You are doing everything right. Unfortunately there are a lot of Mr. Wrongs and only a few Mr. Rights. It may take some time, but its important that you find someone that is supportive of the decision you made and will be a positive part of your life. Don't settle for anything less.

You are doing everything right. Unfortunately there are a lot of Mr. Wrongs and only a few Mr. Rights. It may take some time, but its important that you find someone that is supportive of the decision you made and will be a positive part of your life. Don't settle for anything less.

I think its hard for family members. They are just scared. I would try to educate them on the whole process and show them that this isn't something you decided to do lightly and that you did your research and that its safe. Your odds of living actually increase with the surgery.
My husband spent the last 2 weeks leading up to my surgery telling me how beautiful I was and that I didnt need surgery and that he didn't know how he would live without me if something happened. He loves me and was being a little selfish to want to protect me so he didn't lose me. You have to reassure them that this is a smart and safe choice.

I had the best luck finding suits at target. I could never find regular clothes there but have always been able to get swim wear. I got my step-daughter swim shorts there this season.

I just checked them out. I am so excited to buy some, but I am still fitting into clothes in my closet at this point.

You are doing everything right. Unfortunately there are a lot of Mr. Wrongs and only a few Mr. Rights. It may take some time, but its important that you find someone that is supportive of the decision you made and will be a positive part of your life. Don't settle for anything less.

One of my girlfriends has been trim her whole life. Over the last year she put on quite a bit of weight. she is 5'7" and as a young woman, was one of those 100-115# chicks. Even as a post 60 year old, she was mostly in the 140s. She got up to like 180 in 2014 and has dieted down - yeah! Yesterday, she announced that she weighs 155, which is the same as what i weigh. She isn't back to where she wants to be but has made amazing progress and credits me for some diet coaching since it is a subject I have much expertise in...
I had one of those..whoa, you are taller and 12 years older, I SHOULD weight less than you!
She made me do a side by by side body comparison -
Me: toned and no extra fat on calves and arms
She: cellulite on calves even, i had never really noticed that. We didn't have a tape measure, but my legs are definately smaller trimmer. I have trouble with tall boots being way too big and she is having to make sure they don't hug her calves too much.
Me: waist measurement, about 30
Her: many more inches than 30
Me: pant size:fairly slim 6-8ish range in most brands (up from my slimmest when I was a solid 4)
Her: double digit pant size
Me: big on top - usually a med but sometimes need a large. I have the breasts, but more importantly, the big ribcage, broad shoulders. I sometimes don't like that athletic build but bones don't shrink, so it is what it is... get over it.
Her: Med on top, never needs a large. However, she does not have much difference between bust and waist.
We compared wrists and looked closely at our forearms. Mine are just bigger.. way more bone and as we compared upper arm - mine have defined muscles. She was born to weigh less than me and it is just a reality.
So, it is good to have friends give you a shake of reality and it points out the dangers of striving for somebody else's ideal weight and not your own. Point is, at the same weight, I look and feel fitter and slimmer even though she is 2" taller. I would love to weigh in the 140s again, but I am pretty good where I am at.
I hope that as some people just starting our think about goal weights, they can use charts for guidance, but be real and be kind to yourself. We are not all built the same!

Welcome to the group. I encourage you to explore the different threads and ask any question you may have. Congrats on making this decision!

I am a movie popcorn addict. Thats the main reason I go to the movies. You are just to early in the process to eat popcorn. It is something that is hard to digest and you just aren't ready for that yet. If you are looking for salty foods try some low-fat Soups or mix unflavored Protein powder into foods that are on your approved list.
You just don't want to hurt yourself or delay the process. It will get better and you will be able to have popcorn again. but not for a few months.
Stay strong

i put this story on my blog but itts worth the quick retell. i was in Walmart buying underwear because heck mine were floating on me, so just for giggles i grabbed a black suit jacket off the rack, and said to my wife " im just curious" and the damn thing fit beautifully. I was absolutely stunned. not only did it fit, but its the first time in my life i have been able to fit into something like that off the rack not in a big and tall section and not without needing alterations, or being labelled portly or wide cut etc. i actually kinda teared up for a second. weird such a moment in a walmart lol.

I brought a night gown to wear. Its challenging to wear your own stuff because of everything you are hooked up to. Between the iv and heart monitor you have tubes and cords coming out of everywhere. What I brought was a tube top dress. That way my arms were out and the cords/tubes could go where they needed too.

Limit fat and sugar before your surgery. That is the most important part. If you have been eating well and losing weight during the pre-op your doctor may not be as concerned. Sugar and fat are stored in the liver and the liver has to be held throughout the surgery so you want the least amount of excess there as possible.