Yaberhoo

Your grandfather is right! Focus on you.

Thanksgiving in my house has always been this wonderful ritual of cooking wherein my dad was Head Chef, and God help anyone who stumbles in his kitchen. It meant the kickoff of his annual fudge-a-thon where he would make at least 100 lbs of chocolate fudge to give to family, friends, doctors, and favorite businesses. We would start getting phone calls from businesses and his doctors in October asking if he had started making fudge and to make sure he had them on his list. On Thanksgiving day, he cooked the turkey and stuffing (from scratch) as well as a half dozen pies. We all have our side dish responsibilities. At dinner we would critique everything, discuss how to make it better, what didn't work, etc. It drove mom out of her mind (she didn't cook anything, not allowed in the kitchen). But by doing so, we had killer recipes for turkey dinner, pies, and homemade fudge. We lost him a little over a year ago and Thanksgiving was the first major holiday after his death. Last Thanksgiving we trooped into the kitchen and tried to fill his shoes for the first time. We imagined he was lovingly berating us from over our shoulder if we didn't do something quite right or smacking us on the back of the head when we did something wrong. At the end of the day, we sat around the feast with tears in our eyes and marveled at how good and familiar everything tasted. Everything tasted perfect. We had no critique to give. He was with us for just a moment. This year, we will troop into the kitchen again, this time in a new house, but I will be less than a month post op so I will not be able to taste and be part of that portion of the ritual. It hit me today that I wouldn't be able to do it and it's made me a little weepy. I still mourn his loss every second of the day, but this will be another step towards moving on. In his honor, I decided that I will do what I have shied away from for 15 months. I will make his famous fudge before surgery and pass it out to family and friends. I will have one little bite to critique it, of course.

You are starting the preliminary phases to get insurance approval for the surgery. That includes doctor supervised weight loss.

My BMI is 57, the last time I was weighed I tipped the scale at 409, and I'm 5'11". I decided to do the sleeve after doing lots of research. I have talked with several people who have lost over 200 lbs with just the sleeve. I have talked to those who had the bypass revision after being sleeved. I made the personal choice to go with the sleeve because I fear some of the effects of the bypass. If I need to do it in the future, it will still be a possibility, but I would like to try without the need of rerouting my gastric system.

As others have posted here, a food funeral doesn't mean bad stuff. I love steak, corn on the cob, chips and salsa, mexican fooooood, etc. Last night I took my mom to dinner to Celebrate the sale of our house. I decided to use the special dinner as a food funeral dinner and we had bite size steak (a regional specialty). It's going to be a long time before I can have steak and I enjoyed every savory bite. I love love love Thanksgiving dinner and won't be able to have any of it this year. Our church has a bazaar in Oct and serves Thanksgiving style dinner with all the fixings and I was hoping to have it before starting pre op. I found out today that it's a week after my surgery. Bummer. But I will survive

I quit my beloved caffeine and carbonated drinks 3 weeks ago (still dealing with withdrawal symptoms). I'm not allowing myself that even during my food funeral. I agree with you @@Pipsqueak, don't put yourself in a position for withdrawals. But I don't think that having your favorite foods one last time is going to hurt as long as you stay away from the stuff you are addicted to or could suffer withdrawal symptoms.

@@Radar, I almost didn't get mine. When they were scheduling me, they actually had an opening on Oct 2nd. My companion wasn't able for that date so I chose the next available. If I had taken the 2nd, I would have had 3 days before starting my pre op diet.

You will be fine. Smack your friend on the back of her head.

I'm scheduled for Oct 22nd in Mexico with Dr. Elias Ortiz. Flying out of Spokane and I can't hardly keep from jumping out of my skin!

Whoa, hold on. Depending on what came up, it could have been something you ate or absorbed in the skin. Poppy seed muffins can make you test positive for opiates, for example. I wouldn't worry though. It could be a false positive or a simple mistake.

It's a big change for your body to suddenly be down so many calories and so few carbs, etc. I agree that you should increase your broth for the Protein. I have been making homemade stock in preparation for my preop and post op liquid phase. Homemade is super tasty and can be doctored up any way you want. You should be able to put some spices into your regular broth to change up the flavor.

I am in the middle of my food Farewell Tour, my surgery is Oct 22nd. I don't see it as a sign that I am not ready. I see it as a conscious decision to change my ways, revisiting my favorites one more time, before it is a loooooong time before I can have a bite of it again. We did the same thing when my dad was diagnosed with tonsillar cancer (yes, you can have tonsil cancer). Before he started the chemo and radiation we encouraged him to have his favorites as much as possible. We knew that he wouldn't be able to eat it during radiation and there was a high possibility that his taste buds would be permanently damaged (which they were). Enjoy your funeral and keep your eye on the ball.

I have an huge amount of weight to lose, even by the standards of this forum. I have decided to do the sleeve for a few reasons. 1) I am concerned about the dumping syndrome issue that occurs with bypass and sleeve doesn't have this issue. 2) people can lose as much weight as those who do gastric bypass and things aren't rerouted. 3) revision to RNY is still possible if sleeve isn't enough. After lots of research, I felt that I was more comfortable with having the sleeve.

Thanks! I got the mirena specifically to reduce my periods length and pain. I was miserable before I got it.

I am ordering them on my own. After doing research, I have chosen to use Bariatric Complete by ProCare Health that I found on Amazon and it's $14/month. $250 is insane when there are other options.

The fact that the psychologist called your husband without you present is appalling! I would definitely look into filing a complaint. Secondly, it's not the psychologist's decision as to which surgery you have. Unless there is a solid reason why your surgeon wouldn't recommend the RNY procedure, there is no reason why it can't be your decision on which surgery to do. GO WITH YOUR GUT. It's sending up some serious red flags!

I see them as a badge of honor. You have them because you lost the weight, which is a great thing! If they bother me when the time comes, I'll start saving for surgery to de-wing. I'll likely need to de-wing, de-apron, and de-flappy thigh. Compared to where I am now, I look forward to that "problem".

The hormonal changes that you are having since surgery and the stress of the surgery on your body could trigger the period. I haven't had my surgery yet (come on Oct 22nd!), but I have a period about every two or three months. Having a lighter period on Mirena is normal. Some lucky few don't have one at all.

Carbquick is terrible. Ugh, I remember trying it when I did Adkins. Shudder.

Some women can't tolerate it. I have had my Mirena for 3 years and haven't had an issue since the first 4 months passed. My best friend had it for a year and couldn't wait to rip it out.

@@Remmy75, is this your first surgery ever? The nerves are understandable. My surgery is scheduled for Oct 22nd. I have some fears, but I am WAY more excited about it than afraid. Anesthesia is the Best. sleep. Ever. I had wrist surgery about 10 years ago, and dang, awesome sleep. Any surgery has risks, but the complication rate is very low. Way lower than than the chances of dying from your excess weight. Stop focusing on the fear. Focus on the "I will be able to...". I will be able to play hard with my daughter, I will be able to reduce my pain, I will be able to tie my shoes without breaking a sweat. I will be able to...

You guys are missing the big question. WAS IT DELICIOUS?? Seriously, it's not a big deal if it doesn't cause you pain.

You can't expect to be perfect all the time. Acknowledge the slip up, learn from it, and start fresh. This is a tool. You still have to work out your inner demons to be successful. All of us have been using food as a crutch, which is how we got to this place, and now your crutch has been taken away. The demons remain and you have to find a new way to deal with them. Take a deep breath, reflect on what you were feeling when you started reaching for poor food choices, resolve to make better decisions RIGHT NOW, and go for a walk or hit the gym today. Face those demons head on. I agree with @@defibvt's advice to restart the preop diet and move forward again.

Back away from the Bisquick. In maintenance this would be ok, but eesh.

I bought it. It has 2 samples of each flavor as well as a sport bottle to drink from. I thought it was worth it because I'm pretty picky in regards to Protein shakes. I have only tried the chocolate splendor and liked it!