Dar200

I have Medicare and it paid 80%. I'm in Texas and was told that Medicare pays for WLS in some counties in Texas, my county being one of those. I did not have to go through a long process of dieting under the supervision of a nutritionist. I just had to do a thirty day program showing I was able to follow a diet enough to lose some weight. That was the length of time my surgeon required. I talked to another doctor's office in the same city and was told 90 days were required. So I called Medicare directly to find out why I was hearing the discrepancy. The lady I talked to read me the portion of the coverage that explains that and it seems that it is up to the surgeon as to how long you are required to do the pre-surgery supervised weight loss. This is evidently a fairly recent change in Medicare requirements. I hesitate to even reply to questions on Medicare coverage because it is confusing, doesn't make sense logically, and I got different answers from different surgeons offices. This was the bottom line in my case: (1) Medicare approved me for surgery immediately following my first appointment with my surgeon. Just as an aside, I had a very high BMI and comorbidities. (2) When I was first weighed by my nutritionist a week later, I was told that if I gained any weight at all from that weight until my follow up visit thirty days later, Medicare would not cover the surgery. (3) I think it still depends on where you live. So if I were to have to start this over tomorrow with no referrals from a current doctor, I would call three surgeon groups in your city and ask to speak to a patient coordinator who works on insurance approvals/qualifying.

Hi. I'm 64, had gastric bypass on October 26, 2015. I've lost from 278 to 161. I'm enjoying my life again! Everything is different, better, brighter. I say go for it!

I used to eat fish. I get nauseated just talking about it now.

Took me 10 minutes to figure out what a MIL is. God I feel old.
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So just a couple of things I wanted to share... since I started my journey, I've lost over 100 lbs! Cautiously optimistic that my tool is working
Secondly, I was able to buy shirts at Old Navy today. Clothes shopping was easy!

Down 98 pounds and my trunk is full of bags of clothes I will be donating to Goodwill. I told my sister I was going to wear my large clothing until my pants wouldn't stay up any longer but had to give in because those baggy clothes just started looking plain weird. Lol. Ive been shopping in just little bits and pieces because I don't want t to spend much money on clothing until I get to my goal weight. I've noticed some little things too. Like my arms lay against my sides, all the way down. I can cross my knees again. Subtle differences that just surprise me when I notice them the first time. Then some big ones like it isn't excruciatingly painful to get on the floor to look for something that rolled under my bed. At seven months out my energy has just taken off! I'm not doing everything I would like to, but I'm able to nudge myself along to keep doing more and keeping at it a little bit longer each day. It's all good!

Down 98 pounds and my trunk is full of bags of clothes I will be donating to Goodwill. I told my sister I was going to wear my large clothing until my pants wouldn't stay up any longer but had to give in because those baggy clothes just started looking plain weird. Lol. Ive been shopping in just little bits and pieces because I don't want t to spend much money on clothing until I get to my goal weight. I've noticed some little things too. Like my arms lay against my sides, all the way down. I can cross my knees again. Subtle differences that just surprise me when I notice them the first time. Then some big ones like it isn't excruciatingly painful to get on the floor to look for something that rolled under my bed. At seven months out my energy has just taken off! I'm not doing everything I would like to, but I'm able to nudge myself along to keep doing more and keeping at it a little bit longer each day. It's all good!

Absolutely amazing gorgeous! I appreciate how you help and encourage so many people and how you share your great recipes!

Down 98 pounds and my trunk is full of bags of clothes I will be donating to Goodwill. I told my sister I was going to wear my large clothing until my pants wouldn't stay up any longer but had to give in because those baggy clothes just started looking plain weird. Lol. Ive been shopping in just little bits and pieces because I don't want t to spend much money on clothing until I get to my goal weight. I've noticed some little things too. Like my arms lay against my sides, all the way down. I can cross my knees again. Subtle differences that just surprise me when I notice them the first time. Then some big ones like it isn't excruciatingly painful to get on the floor to look for something that rolled under my bed. At seven months out my energy has just taken off! I'm not doing everything I would like to, but I'm able to nudge myself along to keep doing more and keeping at it a little bit longer each day. It's all good!

So I'm only 8 weeks out but already I know that I needed to put my scale away. I started weighing every 1-3 days. When the weight just fell off I was indifferent about it. But around 3 weeks when I hit the dreaded stall, I nearly screamed when I didn't lose anything for 3 days. Lol.
There's tons of research out there that says weighing daily will not give you accurate numbers. I know this. Yet if I don't lose, I will weigh every day until I do. Lol. Watching that scale causes me stress. Stress impedes weight loss. So I put the scale away. The average recommendation is to weigh once every two weeks. I'm at one week right now. But I hope to push it to two weeks & eventually get to where I weigh monthly.
I'm working my program, working out every day. I get in my Protein & Water & keep my numbers on track. So no matter what the scale says, I know I'm getting healthier & stronger.
I also started measuring myself. Lost 4 inches in my waist even though the scale barely moved the last few weeks. Workout clothes are falling off of me. It's so much more than what the scale tells us. ◡̈
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I can find studies to dispute anything from another study.
For example...
Weighing Yourself: Helpful Habit or Unhealthy Obsession?
In a study that monitored the weighing practices of 1,900 young adults, Carly Pacanowski, PhD, RD, and her colleagues found that those who weighed themselves more often experienced higher levels of depression and weight concern (thinking a lot about being thinner and fear of gaining weight) and lower self-esteem and body satisfaction. Interestingly, more frequent weighing did not lead to better weight control.
Weighing isn’t necessarily problematic for everyone. “There is evidence that self-weighing may be an effective strategy for some adults to prevent weight gain,” says Pacanowski. “However, that doesn’t mean that everyone should adopt this behavior.”
Weighing yourself can lead to self-judgment and guilt, which can fuel a cycle of emotional eating. For some it can promote eating disorders and other unhealthy eating behaviors. With 89% of women unhappy with their weight and 39% worried about the number on the scale, millions are stuck in a counterproductive and potentially harmful cycle.

Wow!! I am two years post op and consider myself successful. I have been maintaining since about post op month 9. There are many things that have helped me get to where I am at today. That being said what works for me may not work for anyone else.
I think it is vey rude to say that if someone is doing something different than you or doing something different than a research article suggests then they are wrong.
I would never shove my opinions down someone else's throat or condemn them for taking a different approach. It's great to have a normal BMI but sometimes being a nice person is even better!!!

You have been very creative! I remember being soooo frustrated the first two weeks after surgery - I was so hungry but so nauseated at the same time. It is a difficult time to great through but I promise it gets so much easier. I even went through a rough patch 4 months out because of an ulcer but pulled through that too. Just keep at it and do the best you can. Good luck all!

I have the exact same feeling of whether I will fit through something! It's so weird. When I'm at family gatherings and someone say "just sit over here" and I'm like "I can't fit through all these people". I guess this must be a normal sensation as we are losing weight so fast.

I had to drink room temperature Water for several weeks after surgery. If I had very cold water I felt a heavy pain with each sip. Some people need even warmer water and drink herbal teas to make sure they are getting their fluids in. It will get better. The first few weeks are tough because your body has been through a major overhaul. It will get better.

The first two weeks were sooooo hard for me. I can relate totally to what you are going through. Please know that it does get better. For me it was just a gradual easing of anxiety. Once I felt like I was getting into a routine, it starting getting better for me too. I think that made me feel like I had some plan and control over this crazy thing going on with my body. Hang in there! It will get so much better!

I reached Onederland yesterday! 199.0 on the dot. I kept creeping around the 200's and finally made it. So happy to be here!

I reached Onederland yesterday! 199.0 on the dot. I kept creeping around the 200's and finally made it. So happy to be here!

I reached Onederland yesterday! 199.0 on the dot. I kept creeping around the 200's and finally made it. So happy to be here!

I reached Onederland yesterday! 199.0 on the dot. I kept creeping around the 200's and finally made it. So happy to be here!

I reached Onederland yesterday! 199.0 on the dot. I kept creeping around the 200's and finally made it. So happy to be here!

Stalls happen, and they are not only completely normal but necessary! I finally just broke out of a 5-week stall myself. It stinks, but sometimes your body needs a break from this intense, rapid weight loss.
I stall every month, sometimes twice a month, for weeks at a time. And yet, I'm 7 months out and have lost 125 pounds since surgery. You will get there, and don't torture yourself worrying about it until then. It all balances out in the end.
By the way, increasing exercise unfortunately never helped me. Neither did decreasing exercise, increasing calories, decreasing calories, increasing my Water intake (though my skin and hair felt so much healthier after I started that) or any combo thereof. It's not something most people can control.
As they often say around here, and very rightly so: "embrace the stall!" And don't sweat it, just focus on your Protein, Water, and Vitamins, and your good health and weight loss will follow.

I didn't have RNY, I was sleeved, so take this in context:
I eat chocolate all the time:
Chocolate Calcium chews
Chocolate Protein shakes
Chocolate Protein pudding
Chocolate Protein Bars
Chocolate PB2
Chocolate protein hot chocolate
Chocolate tea
You get the idea.
I even have had on occasion some real, rich dark chocolate (no cheap crap -- if I am going to eat the real stuff it is going to be good).

I had crazy head hunger the first week home. I thought I was going to lose my mind if I didn't have a taco. Of course I couldn't eat anything even close to that, but I noticed that whenever head hunger set in, I would have some Protein Drink and that would make the crazy hunger thing subside. As time goes on, it works better and better. I start thinking about how much I want a hamburger, for instance, so I go to the kitchen and eat Greek yoghurt and I don't think hamburger for weeks. I'm so thrilled it works so well.

I lost about 2 pounds a week for the first 4 weeks and then it started coming off a little faster. Your body is going through a lot of adjustments right now. You are losing and that is fantastic! I had to start weighing once a week to keep from freaking out every time I would stay the same or even increase from one day to the next. I don't know whether anyone has ever not lost weight after the surgery. But I know if you follow the recommended Protein, Fluid and Vitamin intake you will lose. And you are! I even gained some weight while I was in the hospital which is not uncommon either. I was on IV fluids for three days so I was fairly floating when I got home. Just focus forward and keep up the good work!