Little Green

I have the Alta HR which is the slender one. I like it a lot, but I think if I could do it again I'd get the wider Charge 2. My husband and SIL have that one and I like the display better. I love having the HR feature and specialized sleep data. It's so easy to tell if you're training in the right range. The one thing I would say is make sure it's tight when you exercise, sweat interferes with the HR sensors.

Yikes!!! That is like week 2 bariatric surgery level calories lol. It may be difficult to tell if that is from the fasting or from weird hormonal things happening because of extreme restriction. I wonder what it would feel like to do the all day fast and then have an 1800 calorie (healthy obvs) dinner.

Thanks, everyone! I bought some vitamins last night! Centrum adult chewables, lemon-flavored B12 sublinguals, I already take 5000 IU D3 so I'll keep using those, 65 mg iron, and calcium citrate + D3. Those are the five required by my bariatric surgeon. I bought the iron even though I don't technically menstruate (the booklet said "for menstruating women only") - between PCOS and my Mirena IUD, I don't get periods pretty much ever, but I'm assuming with weight loss my cycles will regulate, so I bought the iron just in case. Even then, the Mirena may still stop my period, though... LOL, I literally have no idea what my cycle is doing, ever. But better to be prepared I guess! I like the Premier Protein chocolate shake but I have not tried any others yet. We found a protein broth at Costco but not sure how many calories. On my liquid diet the broth has to have 10 calories or less. I wish there was a way to find samples instead of having to buy a big pack of stuff you aren't sure you'll like.

I think that would only be a concern if you drop below the benchmark of BMI 35. Many people who are undergoing bariatric surgery, like myself, have a BMI of 45 or 50 or 55 and it would take 100 lbs or more of weight loss to get close to BMI 35. We don't know the OP's weight so we can't say for sure. The less you weigh when you hit the table the day of surgery, the safer your surgery will be.

I strongly doubt it. I shared some similar concerns with my surgeon and she said they like to see weight maintenance or loss from the initial visit, and that month-to-month fluctuations aren't usually considered in the decision. After all, weight can be affected by any little thing. Traveling makes people retain water, maybe you didn't poop that morning, etc. Of course all insurances are different so maybe you can call and get some peace of mind, but I truly don't think it will matter. 35 pounds is amazing!!!!

All right... don't have an exact date yet but I'll be having surgery some time in the first two weeks of Feb. So I am 7-8 weeks away. What were you doing at this point in your surgery timeline? I've been holding off on buying a whole lot of stuff because I wanted to be sure about what to spend my money on, and waiting would let me research and plan. Now I feel like I have the green light to make purchases but instead of going shopping I'm feeling overwhelmed, like when I first started researching surgery! Lol. This is such an interesting adventure and the emotions are all over the place. So, what were you up to 2 months before surgery? Were you all ready and stocked up, or not even thinking about it yet? Tell me everything.

I understand your pain, keep in mind some of us have to do months-long supervised diet visits for insurance! I even had to start my visits over because I missed one in May LOL, awful... I'll be having surgery in early Feb, about 11 months after my first visit with the surgeon. 3 months sounds like a dream!

How did you fare tonight, @kaydo?

Yay for an interesting and lively discussion/debate, y'all! I'm inclined to agree with @loey13 based on my reading and countless exhortations to eat breakfast from dietitians and my therapist (an eating disorder specialist). I think that it's possible we could all agree on the following statement: If you skip breakfast, you may develop more hunger, leading you to eat more throughout the day, which could lead to weight gain. Thoughts? There are obviously exceptions to every rule so hopefully that is a reading of the study's conclusion that could apply to most people generally.

Nice. Feels good to know I'm waiting on my spa day Also a huge +1 to everyone who has shouted out Dr. Weiner's videos. His videos are the first resource that made me feel I could actually permanently change my eating habits and actually enjoy it and gain the great health that comes with eating a diet largely based on plants. For a long time I assumed I'd have to be keto after surgery and I have never enjoyed that type of eating. In addition to all that, he breaks everything down to the nitty gritty, science-wise, so you can really understand and soak up the information. Those videos are wonderful!

Thanks! I believe life insurance in the U.S. might be a bit different. There are phlebotomists who specialize in making home visits to take blood tests for life insurance, lol.

Thanks! Most of the policies I have looked into in the past require a detailed medical history and bloodwork. Do you mind if I ask what company you applied for?

Most of us cannot buy life insurance prior to WLS due to obesity, but can you buy it afterward when you are in a better BMI range? Or is it always held against you? (Does not apply to employer-sponsored insurance.)

Nice! I'll be very close to you. Should be between mid-Jan to early Feb.

I'm not sure about SAD as I already have depression but definitely have been feeling gloomy and not wanting to go for walks. Which is silly b/c I have fleece-lined active wear that keeps me toasty and I absolutely love being outside on nature trails. So why don't I want to do it? Very weird... not sure if it's seasonal or something else. But you are not alone!

@GotProlactinoma thanks! I'm not quite to the liquid diet stage yet. Just curious about the 6-month (or however long) process prior to getting a surgery date. If people were able to make changes and eat healthier consistently during that time.

Hey folks, I'm pre-op, will be submitting for insurance approval in December. I've been struggling with my pre-op diet for a while and wanted to know how much you were able to change about your eating habits and such prior to surgery. I go back and forth between feeling really down on myself, wondering if I should postpone surgery since I "can't do it" and maybe that means I'm not ready, and then also feeling like all bariatric patients struggle with changing eating habits and if it was that easy we could just do it without surgery so I shouldn't be too hard on myself. What do you think? Were you still struggling with eating unhealthy foods before surgery or did you have a pretty good handle on things? I've been in weekly therapy for over four months trying to deal with issues around food and I thought I would have made much more progress between then and now. It's pretty discouraging and makes me worried that I won't be successful after surgery. My bariatric team and therapist are all super supportive and have told me they are behind me whether I go with surgery or not. I definitely still want to have surgery but I'm just constantly second guessing myself.

Overweight/obese since childhood followed by 10+ years of non-stop soda drinking and 2x a day fast food once I got my driver's license and a job. I'm sure there are genetic and hormonal factors that caused me to gain weight as a child, but anybody would probably get fat eating like I did. As far as how people reacted, I got made fun of a lot in elementary and middle school but I was mostly okay in high school. I didn't have a lot of attention from guys and I was choosy about the attention I did get, so I only had a few partners before I met my husband. I was only 23 when I met him so at that time I felt like I was doing fine and was in no rush to find a long-term partner. Honestly until the last 3 or so years, my weight rarely bothered me, and that's why I never did anything about it.

Great post, @Monasmle! I really appreciate you sharing how you got through that struggle. I totally understand the feeling you were having during that 3-hour back and forth with yourself. Oftentimes I experience this around lunchtime b/c I used to eat fast food lunch every single day and of course I am pre-op so if I wanted to I definitely could eat it, no problem. I fight with myself and end up waiting hours to eat until I am finally hungry enough that nuts or cheese or yogurt sounds tasty lol. I think I'll try to incorporate your tactic next time.

I like the show, generally. I think about Dr. Now sometimes when I have cravings or want to make a bad choice, LOL. I do agree with the poster who stated the folks should be in therapy WELL before surgery. What I mostly love is how the show still airs the episodes where the people don't make any progress. I feel like that's the reality and proves to our naysayers (or SHOULD prove) that the surgery by itself cannot save you. Surgery + permanent change in eating habits + regular physical activity = successful, long-term weight loss and maintenance.

I've seen a lot of folks summarize their surgeries with something like, "It's been wonderful, I wish I had done it sooner! I had a/some complication/s but they were fixed and now I'm doing great!" I would love to hear some experiences from folks who have had complications - whether mild or severe. I've obviously read about different complications you can experience but would love to hear personal stories.

Lauren aka ChemistryQueen posted this video the other day about moving into maintenance after losing 175 lbs with WLS. I found one of the parts of her video both amusing and illuminating at the same time and wanted to share it with you. She's talking about how our main focus is on losing weight because that's what we've struggled with our whole lives. She says, "I've been chasing this rainbow my entire life and I got to the end and there's no pot of gold. You know what was at the end of that rainbow? Maintenance, and loose skin." She goes on to share some more insights about having other goals besides weight loss so that you don't get discouraged as the reward of a lower # on the scale disappears. (Dr. Weiner also talks about this in several of his "preventing weight regain after bariatric surgery" videos.) Check out her video, she's great!

Good luck! You'll do great. What is prompting your revision?

Congrats!!! It will wax and wane, that's for sure. I'm committed to logging everything in MyFitnessPal whether I'm proud of it or not I also come here any time I need a boost in motivation.

There's also My Body Gallery if you want to take a gander. I'm 5'8 and about 359. I wear size 28 or 30 pants but I usually wear dresses/skirts and I take a 3X in most of those. Shirts 2X or 3X.