Trinn

Nope. I was never a big salad person -- I like meat. And now, I find that I don't really care for it, and I am so cautious about not getting stringy sorts of greens/raw vegetables. So, pretty much, I have a couple of bits of arugula every now and then, and that's just about the only raw vegetable I eat.

My life is pretty much charcuterie and cheeses. :-)

No one in my health team has ever presented me with a "goal weight" to get to -- they emphasized the lifelong changes in eating and behavior, but were not "And we want you to get to this weight." As a result, I set a weight for myself on this website that seemed, at the time, to be a crazy "OMG, imagine if I only weighed this!" thing -- 180. That would put me at plumpish and curvy -- which I like -- but not too much. Maybe.
I also have mini-goals for myself, and I tend to do cool things when I hit them. So, for example, when I got to 250, I started doing Pilates. My current goal is to weigh less than my sweetie, which is about 215 -- so, I'm *really* close, except he's been losing weight too! When I do that, it will be the first time in our 16 year relationship that I have weighed less than he does. After that, my next goal is to be in One-derland. I had *hoped* to hit that by July 1, but I suspect it will be a bit after. This month I appear to be gaining muscle mass again (Pilates!) and that's slowed my loss.

And, I'm gonna be honest, now that I'm closer to it, 180 seems a little high.So, maybe we'll see what that's like when I'm there. I suspect I will end up closer to 150-160.

I love Pilates for this. The arm/shoulder work has been doing great things to reshape my arms. I haven't had skin removal surgery, though, and my arms were not way way big. I do have some saggy skin on them, but it seems to be toning up a bit.

I date a lot (I'm not monogamous) and I had some awkwardness about the post-surgery thing. For me, it wasn't about the scars -- they're honestly tiny, and not that big a deal compared to the nearby stretchmarks from my two children! :-) However, my eating habits, that I felt awkward about on dates. Like, people would ask me out to dinner, and I would suggest afternoon tea instead, because I didn't want to spend part of a first or second date talking about why I was only eating part of an appetizer, didn't want a cocktail, didn't drink Water with my meal, etc. Or I had a friend who wanted to date me and kept talking about making me dinner at his house, and what all he would cook, and I was like, 'Uh, no, not so much with the rice and Beans..."

It's kind of awesome that one of the ways I knew one of the people I was seeing was such a great match for me was how well he took to my food choices without my making a big deal about it. At this point, he *always* invites me out to places that have good Protein appetizers, *especially* charcuterie plates. We have never talked bluntly about my surgery, but I was clear with him that I was in the process of losing weight. And he never comments negatively about my eating habits, the way some friends can be -- "Are you sure that's all you want to eat? That doesn't seem like enough. Don't you want to to order something else?" Yeah, that.

It means they'd like to see that a diet or medication or something didn't work. It does NOT mean that you have to have done that supervised for X months or something. So, for example, my surgeon and nutritionist took my history, where I explained that I had lost weight eating very low carb in the past, but I had gained it back, and found that I could not sustain that weight loss over time. I could give them dates of when I did that, and exactly how -- I used Diet-to-Go for food for a period of time, for example. They put that in my history. And then when they wrote the pre-auth documentation, they could say, ""Patient has a documented failure to respond to conservative measures for weight reduction; two separate attempts eventually led to weight regain..." and like that.

The point here is that when you meet with a surgeon, have that timeline in front of you. Write it down. Be ready to say, "From February-November 2006, I ate less than 20 gm carbs every day. I lost 50 lbs. However, I regained that weight starting during the holiday season. By the 2008, I weight 30 lbs more than before the weight loss..." Or whatever your narrative is for what you've done.

The written policy doesn't have a three month waiting period. It has a suggestion of a minimum of 3 nutritional visits, but everyone I've talked to at BSCA was very clear that there are no solid requirements. Look, they have really loosened up the policy. I was approved two months after my first NUT visit, less than three months after I attended the first information session. What they wanted was the medical info and clearances, and not a "really think about it" period.
If anyone has told you differently -- well, I'm going to be honest, some of the folks at my care provider's were so used to the six month timeline that they repeatedly insisted that *surely* BS was not going to approve me quickly with only two NUT visits. However, the BS reps repeatedly told me to just have them submit the pre-auth -- and that if they were confused, they should talk to the BS reps directly. And you know what? It *was* approved immediately.
And yes, my surgeon's office and NUT and other folks did not know the policy had changed, did not believe me, and kept looking for a secret checklist to follow. I had to print out and carry the written policy with me to reassure them. Advocate for yourself!

If you're avoiding soy sources, there aren't a lot of *dense* non-animal sources. I couldn't eat enough Beans or quinoa or whatever to get 80-100g of protein a day if my life depended upon it. My vegetarian/vegan friends sometimes assert that it's possible to get that kind of protein on their diets, but I certainly can't see doing it given the limit in consumption I have. 1/2 cup of food needs to give me 20-25g protein with less than 200 calories.

Some stuff I don't eat because the tummy responses are magnified with the sleeve. The biggest of these is deep fried food. Instead of greasy food causing a little indigestion, it makes me feel *really* crappy now. So, Maybe a bite, but mo more than that. I don't eat rice/pasta even in little bits because it feels like it just swells and swells in my stomach and I go from "I'm full" to "OMG I FEEL LIKE I AM GOING TO POP" a bit after having it.
To be clear, these are not things I'm craving or eat much of -- I pretty much don't have a problem being a "Just the Protein, thanks" person at meals. But for example, last night I was out with friends having Burmese food. I was eating some lamb curry -- chunks of lamb in sauce, very well cooked and easy to chew up -- and someone offered me some of the coconut rice. Everyone was raving about the rice, which smelled like a macaroon. I had a tiny bit -- less than a teaspoon -- but would not risk any more at all, because of my experience with rice swelling up. :-)

I also tend to not eat foods that are fibrous like celery and broccoli, because I visualize the fibers getting tangled up in my little sleeve and it makes me feel queasy. :-)

I have to chime in and say I love love love Pilates. I started about four months after surgery, when I hit 250, at a Pilates studio offering group Reformer classes close to my house. Initially I was doing 2 classes a week, but now I do 4-5 a week. I LOVE the stuff. It doesn't make me sweaty, it's easy to modify for my joints, and it's doing a great job of building a flexible muscular structure under my fat/skin. *grin* I also really like that it has a focus on being aware of your body and how it moves through space. Losing 100+ pounds is a lot of change on one's center of gravity -- but Pilates has me covered in working on balance and control. It's also specfically strengthening parts of my body -- my lower back, ankles, hip muscles and abdominal core -- that were weak and/or really affected by carrying so much weight.

Benefits: I am starting to wear *heels* again! I have so much ankle strength I can do that! My posture is better. It's helping my um, bosom sit up higher even as I lose weight, because of building my pectoral muscles. It has a focus on getting blood pumping, which I think may help skin tightening. It makes me feel strong and good about my body!

I pay $169 a month for unlimited classes, and I absolutely think it's worth it to me. My nutritionist said that between that and walking, she's comfortable that I'm getting enough exercise and I don't need to add additional cardio. On the other hand, if I want it, they also have Cardio-Pilates at my studio.

No one in my health team has ever presented me with a "goal weight" to get to -- they emphasized the lifelong changes in eating and behavior, but were not "And we want you to get to this weight." As a result, I set a weight for myself on this website that seemed, at the time, to be a crazy "OMG, imagine if I only weighed this!" thing -- 180. That would put me at plumpish and curvy -- which I like -- but not too much. Maybe.
I also have mini-goals for myself, and I tend to do cool things when I hit them. So, for example, when I got to 250, I started doing Pilates. My current goal is to weigh less than my sweetie, which is about 215 -- so, I'm *really* close, except he's been losing weight too! When I do that, it will be the first time in our 16 year relationship that I have weighed less than he does. After that, my next goal is to be in One-derland. I had *hoped* to hit that by July 1, but I suspect it will be a bit after. This month I appear to be gaining muscle mass again (Pilates!) and that's slowed my loss.

And, I'm gonna be honest, now that I'm closer to it, 180 seems a little high.So, maybe we'll see what that's like when I'm there. I suspect I will end up closer to 150-160.

I'm nine months post-op, and "liquid breakfast" is just part of my life now, and has been since I started pre-op almost exactly a year ago. In the morning I have either a PP shake with a Starbucks Via added (my *one* dose of caffeine a day!) or a Syntrax nectar chocolate Truffle with a Starbucks Via, a little milk, a little cocoa powder, and some cinnamon. I make that up really watery -- about 24 oz total. Whatever I'm having, I drink it with my morning Vitamins. I feel like it ensures I start the day with a strong baseline of Protein and liquid.

I have to chime in and say I love love love Pilates. I started about four months after surgery, when I hit 250, at a Pilates studio offering group Reformer classes close to my house. Initially I was doing 2 classes a week, but now I do 4-5 a week. I LOVE the stuff. It doesn't make me sweaty, it's easy to modify for my joints, and it's doing a great job of building a flexible muscular structure under my fat/skin. *grin* I also really like that it has a focus on being aware of your body and how it moves through space. Losing 100+ pounds is a lot of change on one's center of gravity -- but Pilates has me covered in working on balance and control. It's also specfically strengthening parts of my body -- my lower back, ankles, hip muscles and abdominal core -- that were weak and/or really affected by carrying so much weight.

Benefits: I am starting to wear *heels* again! I have so much ankle strength I can do that! My posture is better. It's helping my um, bosom sit up higher even as I lose weight, because of building my pectoral muscles. It has a focus on getting blood pumping, which I think may help skin tightening. It makes me feel strong and good about my body!

I pay $169 a month for unlimited classes, and I absolutely think it's worth it to me. My nutritionist said that between that and walking, she's comfortable that I'm getting enough exercise and I don't need to add additional cardio. On the other hand, if I want it, they also have Cardio-Pilates at my studio.

No one in my health team has ever presented me with a "goal weight" to get to -- they emphasized the lifelong changes in eating and behavior, but were not "And we want you to get to this weight." As a result, I set a weight for myself on this website that seemed, at the time, to be a crazy "OMG, imagine if I only weighed this!" thing -- 180. That would put me at plumpish and curvy -- which I like -- but not too much. Maybe.
I also have mini-goals for myself, and I tend to do cool things when I hit them. So, for example, when I got to 250, I started doing Pilates. My current goal is to weigh less than my sweetie, which is about 215 -- so, I'm *really* close, except he's been losing weight too! When I do that, it will be the first time in our 16 year relationship that I have weighed less than he does. After that, my next goal is to be in One-derland. I had *hoped* to hit that by July 1, but I suspect it will be a bit after. This month I appear to be gaining muscle mass again (Pilates!) and that's slowed my loss.

And, I'm gonna be honest, now that I'm closer to it, 180 seems a little high.So, maybe we'll see what that's like when I'm there. I suspect I will end up closer to 150-160.

You may not be too familiar with internet forums so I will give you a bit of friendly insight.
First, there is no rule that the responses must stop when you feel you got the appropriate answers. There are threads on this board that get bumped after 2-3 years of dormancy, such is the way of internet forums.
Second, this thread is not YOURS. You posted on a PUBLIC FORUM. You will get answers from the public. Some will be very educated, some will not. Some will be warm and fuzzy, others will be blunt and to the point. And some, like yours, will be overtly hostile.
Third. You cannot interpret the tone of the author of the post. You can read the words but that does not mean you are clearly interpreting the intent of the message being presented. This thread was a perfect example. Everyone here was very polite, you simply CHOSE to read into the words and take them as unkind. That's on YOU, not on the people responding to the question you asked and the scenario you presented.
Fourth. Topics will go off course and discussion will ensue even after the initial question seems to be resolved. The topics presented are NOT just for the benefit of the person who initiated it, but also for other forum participants current and future.
If you CHOOSE to read my comment and tone as b!tchy, that's on you, not me. No skin off my back, quite honestly. You can block me quite easily, it's unlikely that I will change who I am because you choose to read something into my words that is not there.
I was being neither passive aggressive or patronizing. Anyone here who knows me will tell you that I have no problem telling you exactly how I feel, no passive aggressiveness needed. I simply made the comments here that I did because I remember that I took things (on the internet and in real life) very harshly at your stage of the game. Many people do. Many come back and even say, "Hey! Sorry I was such an idget. I've been really touchy with my family, too." Just like with pregnancy, your hormones are doing crazy things. It causes changes in personality. But that said, if you are insisting that this is your normal personality and you are this cranky all the time...again that's not on me. I was simply trying to be understanding and empathetic.
As for your opinion that my words "don't support ANYONE"? I didn't realize you spoke for EVERYONE. Cool Beans. I'm quite certain MANY will disagree. As for your opinion on why I am a host here and that I should not be? OK. You got me.

I am just going to tell you, I am totally feeling you on the crazy heavy period thing. I have spent my life as as "2 days and done" sort of person. The first period after WLS was some sort of crazy Biblical apocalypse. I was basically hysterical in the middle of the night one night because I had an accident in the bed, and was trying to clean it up, then it happened *again*. My sweetie finally made me some tea and just sat with me, he felt so bad about how upset I was about it. But I tell you, the next time was a little better, and two months later, it's reasonably manageable.

Quest Protein chips do it for me.

I like Fitbit aria.

It depends on the Protein source. I can eat 4 ounces of fresh mozzarella (with a drizzle of balsamic and some pepper!) and that's about 20g of protein. Yay! The same with chicken breast or fish. OTOH, I cannot eat enough egg in one meal to meet a 20g protein goal per meal, so I have to supplement that. And yes, I'm a Protein Shake person. I use them two ways -- in the morning, I often have one as Breakfast. If I don't, then in the evening, I add up my protein grams, and if I'm short, I have a protein shake or Syntrax Nectar to help boost that number. I am 3 months out tomorrow, and while I do have days with no Liquid Protein, they're less than half of my days, total.

I got my date about 7 days before my surgery. :-)

This topic says "Blue Shield of California", so I am responding with the assumption that you and other posters have Blue Shield of California. If you have another insurance provider, this is not a good thread to ask your question.

"Conservative measures" could include medications, exercise, eating less -- as opposed to a formal weight loss program.

You're just going to have to wait to see the surgeon first.

I am also going to recommend the Syntrax nectar flavors. You can either call them for a sample box, or one of the other Bariatric supply sites has an assortment. They're not milky. Like many people, I like the "Fuzzy Navel" flavor, which is kind of like Tang. You can dilute them to get in more Fluid, even. I tried a mess o flavors, and my favorite are the Fuzzy Navel, the Roadside Lemonade, and the Ice Tea with Lemon. I usually like my Premier Protein shakes just fine, but after surgery, I could not handle the milky thick thing at all, so the nectar stuff saved me. :-) And if you order them, you can have them in two days. Oh, and I tell you what, that powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury chicken Soup isn't half bad, either. Salty, but a definite change from all the sweet flavors of shakes.< /p>

Also, it's not your job to write to the insurer -- your care provider will submit the pre-auth request with all the documentation. Do not try to "write a letter" in advance of a denial. You just end up looking like you don't understand how the system works.

I can't think of anything I wish I'd done, but I put a lot of effort into doing stuff that I'm glad I did. @@LadyWarren covered a lot of it. I made sure to have tasted a huge range of Vitamin options and Protein sources, so that I had at two options I like of each -- one and a backup, for when I hated whatever was my first choice. I stopped caffeine 3 months before surgery, along with carbonated beverages. I started eating increasingly more like I would after surgery, tapering down to small meals that were mostly Protein. So, from 2 months out, I was doing about 1200 calories, and by the time it was time for my 2 week liquid thing before surgery, I was already at 800. As a result, I never had the "shock" of suddenly post surgery going to far fewer calories. I had already adjusted.

Basically, the closer your eating and life habits before surgery are to what they will be after surgery, the easier that transition would be. When I went in for my pre-admittance visit to the hospital, one of the other people having surgery the next week was still drinking a 2 liter of Coke a day -- he told us that -- and didn't know he would need to stop carbonated beverages or caffeine.