byebyedarkpassenger

I'm in NoVa and though I haven't had the sleeve yet (August 25 is the big day), I'd certainly be interested in participating in a support group.

I'm from the Alexandria/Arlington area.

August 25!

Now let's hope all pre-testing goes well and insurance approves. Good luck to all August sleevers out there!

Can you provide more info? Have you had your surgery? If so, how far out are you? Regardless, if you're concerned I would definitely recommend that you call you physician.

I've also heard - no idea if it's true - that once you've been obese for a while and lose weight, you'll still need to eat 20% fewer calories to maintain than a person at your same weight who has never been obese. Has anyone else heard this? Any legit science behind this?

Looking great! Best of all you look really proud and confident!

This thread isn't about you or your beliefs. Haters back off.

Mine, the free version, automatically lists calories, carbs, fat, protein, sodium, sugar.

You'll make the right decision for your circumstances. Whatever happens you're among friends who support you.

I use my fitness pal..

Did you notice that you said 396 instead of 296? How cool is it that you have to now train yourself to start your weight number with a 2 instead of a 3! You go girl! If getting down to the 100s is called Onederland, is there a term for reaching the 200s? I'd vote for Twomorrow. As in some day I'll lose weight. Maybe tomorrow. Oh wait, tomorrow is here!

I had my first face-to-face with my surgeon on Friday. Right before seeing him I was weighted, blood pressure taken. I was given a folder with information about the process, starting with the first surgical appointment and then a checklist of tests to get and nutrition/psych evals etc. Then when I was with the surgeon, he asked me questions about my medical history, we talked a bit about the surgery that I'm interested in (the sleeve), and then he left a ton of time for me to ask any questions I might have. I've read up so much on this procedure and his webinar was so informative that I had very few questions. That's about all we did on this first appointment. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Chin up and eye on the prize! I haven't had my surgery yet but yes, I see from the forum that the 3-week stall is quite common. I plan to treat it as a tiny hurdle along a lengthy journey - I'm sure the human body is still going through changes even though they may not be reflected on the scale. People report they're still losing inches but the scale doesn't move. Keep looking far into the future at the new you and try not to worry about what the scale says today. We're not embarking on this journey to be a slave to the scale. We're doing this to get a healthier body. That's the ultimate reward!

We've seen the term head hunger used with great frequency. What does it mean to you? What do you experience? How do you differentiate head hunger from empty-stomach hunger? What do you do to avoid it? And when it strikes, how do you manage it?

I was kind of freaked out about the drinking rule when I started to look into WLS. I haven't even had my first surgical consult - that happens at the end of the week - but for the past 2-3 weeks have been separating eating time from drinking time. It's SO much easier than I had expected and for me has essentially been effortless. Hope that helps alleviate your anxiety. Now to learn to chew chew chew. That's gonna be tough.

I asked at the seminar. The surgeon guesstimates that about 15% of people who want WLS get disqualified. This was during a busy Q&A session so he didn't elaborate.

Can't wait for your next update. Keep up the great work and keep inspiring!

Slow and steady wins the race. Congratulations on making it through all these hoops!

I quit smoking years ago and still have dreams when I start smoking again and hate myself for it. Then I wake up and am so glad it was only a dream. I call it my phantom addiction dreams. I imagine that after surgery I'll have similar dreams, but about food.

That's a good question. I'm seeing a surgeon next week and I'll try to remember to ask.

What sorts of negative things did you hear about the sleeve? It would be helpful if you could share this. As you look through this forum you'll find an enormous amount of information that may help relieve your fears.

I have my first seminars at a couple of Bariatric centers over the next 2 weeks. I called my insurance co. today to get a list of their requirements so I'm just starting out like you.

Ask whether you'll need to be on a liquid diet before surgery and if so, for how long. On this site, off the top of my head I believe I've seen requirements ranging from a day or so to three weeks with the most common being 2 weeks.

I'm regretting starting this thread because so many of my frustrations with clothing are coming to the surface! Now let's talk chub rub. How many pairs of pants have we thrown out because of irreparable chub rub holes? Hard to believe the clothing industry hasn't found a way to mitigate this. On second thought, chub rub holes guarantee the sale of new pants at regular intervals so it's good for business.