OutsideMatchInside

Keep good options at your desk. I worked in an office for a little while recently and all the food around was mind boggling. One thing that helped was most of the people that ate that food looked like. They were overweight, bad skin, always had colds and in general poor health. Everyone eating cake and donuts? I grab a protein bar, sweet, but not as bad as the other options. People snacking and eating chips whatever. I have Quest chips. Then I just take a moment, and think about my health pre-op how bad it was, how my knees and ankles hurt, and then how hard I worked post-op to change my eating habits. Count to 10, temptation has passed.

You should be find for travel and for eating in restaurants. I chose not to eat in restaurants at 6 weeks but you can do it if you want. If you are traveling in the US, I would get protein shakes and keep them handy. You can offset your calories eating out by using protein shakes.

Did you have complications? Why were you in the hospital 3 days? Or is that standard policy where you have surgery. I spent about 26 hours at the hospital.

I am glad to know I am not the only one with a loud stomach. I thought mine was so loud partially because it is no longer buried under so much fat. I wonder if our stomachs are louder because they are concentrated to such a smaller area and the part we are left with is the more muscular stronger tissue not the thinner looser tissue that is cut away.

It helps to find someone to talk to. Therapists are usually useless for specific weight loss related issues, but they might be able to help you with just general identity issues. I never had good luck, but you might find someone better.

Cruises don't interest me as a world traveler because of their track record, I would never go on one, especially not as a woman. My opinion is based on the fact that there are always lots of cruise and food questions posted on WLS forums (just like this one). No one ever posts that they went rock climbing, swimming and had a blast or talk about their excursions (these are all some of the things that are available on cruises), not to mention the entertain shows on board. All people do is whine about the food, and drinks and try to figure out how to drink alcohol even before they are 6 months from surgery. You made a thread about cruises and food, but you are complaining that someone is asking questions about cruises and food? If there is more to do on a cruise than eat, why are you complaining about the food situation on the cruise? If food wasn't an issue or you had such a great time, why would the wait staff asking you a few questions be worthy of a forum post and a youtube video? You are making it seem like food is the central attraction and issue on a cruise. If everything else on the cruise made a greater impression, you wouldn't even care about the food issues. I went on vacation this summer and food was not the highlight of my vacation or a major issue (and I had lots of delicious food at some great restaurants), I went hiking, kayaking, shopping and a lot more. Food isn't my focus, I eat to live, not live to eat. So why all the cruise and food and alcohol posts? Why a cruise when you can just fly somewhere, and stay at a resort with activities?

@lisaBme I guess it depends on the type of attention and if you had attention before. I always had a big personality, and I have always kind of been the center of attention. The attention I get now is slightly different but it is not more, if anything in some situations it is less because I fit into normal society so much better. Can you elaborate?

I have never been on a cruise but I have a question for people that go on cruises. Why put yourself in a gluttonous environment that is not conducive to your new lifestyle? These cruises are like putting a heroin addict in a drug den. I do not understand why people make these choices, then get upset when people react to them acting abnormal.

I had BCBS of Illinois. I was approved in less than 5 business days. It was a quick and easy process. No supervised diets. I went from first Dr visit to surgery in 8 weeks. How easy or hard your process is depends on your insurance plan and also the program you select. Some programs make you do 6 months so they can suck as much money out of you as possible, even if your insurance doesn't require it.

It isn't that necessarily. If you have ever used clothing patterns or have experience as a seamstress, the cuts of plus size clothes are completely different and allow for more weight fluctuations, also currently most clothing has a touch of stretch in it which also allows for weight fluctuations. Which is why personally I am so against wearing things like leggings and stretchy clothes all the time. They allow you to gain weight and not feel the effects. Even jeans have stretch now. Clothes without stretch, the slightest weight fluctuation, you feel it right away. It is a good way to keep yourself in check.

The more involved she makes this, the more she has to keep up with. The best way to keep a secret is to keep it simple. The more involved it is, with more details, it increases the chance of being discovered. I have not had to lie or be deceptive about my surgery to people I closely interact with on a daily basis. OP should have never lied, this an almost impossible secret to keep in her circumstance. Since she works for a small business with little worker protection, she has risked her job, reputation and integrity with this story. At this point it is imperative that she remain undiscovered and minimize the damage by not combining it with more deception.

Living in Florida self pay is your only option. Florida doesn't consider Bariatric surgery a medically necessary item so marketplace plans don't cover it. Or find a job with insurance that covers it. Good luck.

The longer someone is heavy, the more their body adjusts to carry that weight. I carried over 300 pounds for about 18 years. My bones are 3x denser than a normal person my age (DEXA scan). I have more muscle mass than a normal woman who was never morbidly obese would have. Most women my weight wouldn't be this physical size at my height and weight.

@IveGotThePower I am definitely still having plastics, but not until at least 3 years post-op, maybe closer to 4. My body keeps adjusting and I do really want to have at least one year of stable weight. Your body really does change a lot if you let it do its thing.

Nope, the whole point in having 85% of my stomach removed was so I wouldn't ever have to use diet products again. You don't need stuff like that if you eat protein and veggies and follow your plan. Losing weight post-op is the easiest weight loss you are ever going to experience in your life, as long as you follow the rules.

Here is a recent thread with pages and pages of responses. A ninja or any blender is exactly what you don't want post-op. You don't want something putting air etc into your food/shakes and making it thicker and harder to eat. You will get less food in, when you want to maximize your small sleeve space for as much protein as possible.

I used to add like 1 strawberry to a shake. I don't see why anyone would need a cup. Also if you are going to use protein powder, why use milk? You can just use water. There are so many ways to cut the calories and carbs on this. Still I don't drink my calories so it is a no from me dawg.

@heycrystal2052 I made a nutrition label with basic information, OP didn't really provide much to go on like the type of milk or anything else. Depending on the ripeness of the cherries it can add more calories. I wouldn't spend my macros and calories on this, I would still be hungry. Liquids do nothing for me.

OP could just have a protein shake at lunch, even someone 4 weeks post op can down a full protein shake over a lunch hour. If she did that every day she would look like any other dieter, at least until OP can just have 4 ounces of dense protein. That will take her to winter time. Or she could have soup. There are a ton of food choices that look like you are having more food than you really are. It isn't hard to fake if you try. Also people stop notice that you eat very little when you eat every 2 hours. There are so many ways to limit suspicion, instead of more lies.

@Dknal2 Damn girl you got divorced quick as hell! Congrats on the weight loss.

The first step is to track your food. You can't correct anything if you don't know what you are doing.

I don't think OP should compound the first lie with more lies. Just saying that they are recovering and eating better is enough. Making it more dramatic is even worse. OP wants less attention and focus on them instead of more.

@Redo2017 They are going to get used to it. Just stick to it, plus eventually as you heal you will eat a little more and a little more. At 2 years out, if you saw me eat out or at home, you wouldn't know I had surgery. You might think I am a picky eater or don't have much of an appetite, but I don't eat so little it is alarming.

I told my real friends. They were supportive. I told 4 people. I didn't tell my family or people I knew couldn't keep their mouth shut. 2 years later I am very happy with my decision because while at first you feel like a weight loss patient. I don't feel like a weight loss patient now and I don't want other people putting that label on me for the rest of my life. I previously had a co-worker that had WLS (RNY) and all people at work did was comment on what she ate behind her back and the fact that she was still huge even years after surgery (she was 5 years post-op and still a large plus sized lady). I didn't want those kinds of problems.

What are you doing now? I also find it so weird that so many Drs have weight expectations. My Dr never put any on me at all.