Subaru

Thanks all!

Ok, does anyone want me to start a December Menu Thread?

Totally-tentative-doesn’t-really-count-kind-of-tentative date of Dec 28. [emoji4][emoji119]

Totally-tentative-doesn’t-really-count-kind-of-tentative date of Dec 28. [emoji4][emoji119]

Totally-tentative-doesn’t-really-count-kind-of-tentative date of Dec 28. [emoji4][emoji119]

Okay, I have a super very tentative date. So tentative it's not even penciled in. But here goes: possibly, potentially December 28!

Matt,

I don't have any new words of wisdom beyond what others have said. I'm sorry you're having to focus on a different health area before your bariatric surgery. I do agree that perhaps once you get past the initial disappointment you might be able to see this as an extension of the same journey, toward the same goal of your health. I know that doesn't help right now, but don't forget why you started this and don't lose heart! You've come so far already, you'll do great!

This is a dated thread, but I found out yesterday about the Mass General Hospital resident program for plastics. They do offer discounted rates. From the VERY little I've seen, I've only read of good results. I'll be doing more research into the program and people's experiences. If anyone here has used them, please review. Thanks!

While this is a very old post, and I am a couple of years away from plastics, I'm bumping this thread because yesterday was the first time I heard of the MGH clinic and I'm very interested.

I MUST get that mindful eating book!!

37 minutes ago, briae13 said:

So talked to surgeon's office today, a little disheartened. They told me it will be roughly 2-3 weeks before I receive my appointment info via mail. This pushed back my guesstimated timeline and now I'm thinking I probably won't be in for surgery till February, possibly march if there's any problems in testing. so tired of everything being up in there and not being able to plan for anything. So frustrating

I completely understand your frustration! It's weird (to me) how different surgeons in the same practice approach things differently. That said, your appointments may be sooner than you think. If they are in mid-late December you will hopefully get back in with your surgeon right away for the final pre-op visit and scheduling. I will keep my fingers crossed for you!

54 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

@Subaru This is only me...but I would be terrified going into surgery without having prepared ahead. Knowing that I've already been through the Keto flu months before, knowing that I don't drink pop or caffeine, knowing I'm 99.9% off sugar, knowing I'm already eating a low carb, low sodium, low fat diet and doing just splendidly is reassuring.

I have a plan on how to put Protein meals together after surgery so that I don't feel overwhelmed. I have a plan for getting my liquids/water in after surgery. I know what schedule will work to get my Vitamins in each day and will purchase them soon.

That doesn't guarantee a smooth ride. I'm sure there will be a few curve balls to negotiate. Recovery from any surgery is tough and for me, prolonged (3-6months usually). So I'm praying this one will be quicker, but am mentally prepared for 6 months of "not so much fun." And because I've done the pre-work, I took the "overwhelmed" part out of the equation (I hope).

But, you know, I'm a What About Bob type of personality. So I have to break things down into baby steps in order to make myself do something or to get through it.

I completely understand all of that!

I have been researching and planning and prepping. In terms of the active process of eating, drinking and taking Vitamins and supplements how I will after surgery, some of that I can only guess. I won't know how my body will react to Water, etc until I get there. So yes, I am trying to eat more slowly, smaller bites, and adjust how I get my water in (though the amount is not a challenge at all at present), but I'm not getting too far ahead of myself. For instance, I'm not purchasing vitamins and supplements at all, though I'm doing a lot of research. The reason? My program sends the hospital pharmacists up to the hospital room before I checkout with a big bag full of everything I need. The vitamins are done via prescription going forward at least for a period of time, so that I don't have to wonder if I'm buying the right stuff.

Honestly? I'm typically more like you. And I have been doing all of the research. But I am moving into a new life phase. Happily and by choice! But I need to wave goodbye to the old I guess.

1 minute ago, FluffyChix said:

Dayum! Aren't you afraid of gaining? My surgeon told me that I had to show a loss on the scale when I see her next. (I was up 4lbs this last visit.)

They did not tell me I needed to show a loss, and I have not had to do any sort of weight loss prior. My insurance doesn't require it. I have shown that I completely understand how to follow a healthy program, and I've done it in the past and been successful for decent periods of time. Nevertheless, I need to start being mindful pronto, for all the same reasons I'm doing the surgery in the first place!

The mindfulness questions are great!

I'll admit that I've been having one food funeral after another the last month or so. I'm not a believer in "i can never eat x, y, or z again" unless my pouch won't allow it or it is specifically bad for new digestive system (like soda). But I do know there is food I will choose not to eat because doing so in a way that I really enjoy and/or in the quantities I enjoy would do me a disservice. So not only have I not been eating mindfully, I've been especially not connected to my food of late. Since I expect surgery will be in about a month, I need to get my ass in gear!

8 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

I use these two emojis to emote the following:

elephant = 60 lbs of weight loss = joy of losing the equivalent of an elephant penis

circus tent=party (any type) (I would prefer to use an emoji that has a noise maker in its mouth, wearing a party hat, but we don't have one)

I love that!

(I was imagining those were in direct response to my definition of CBT, which is why I was laughing hysterically!)

3 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

Seriously with the elephant and the circus tent?

Aaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

Okay, I completely understand your CBT and have used it successfully in the past. I need to refocus on it to use it successfully again!

The other CBT....erm...ah...c*ck & b*ll torture. (I read!!!)

1 minute ago, FluffyChix said:

Oh I soooo get you girl! I'm really not very disturbed by the daily fluctuations. My pattern is that I will hit a new low, and the next morning the scale will immediately bounce back about 2-3lbs. So my graph is a series of spikey steps in a downward trend. I'm happy as long as the trend is a downward line. But last weekend involved only 1 extra snack, and 1 meal and cost me 5whole pounds. Dayum! Then the next day I ate an additional 1/4c of mac n' cheese. That was enough to seal the deal. :-/ Ughhh! 5lbs. Ef me!!! LOL.

I've lived with the scale not budging at 235.8lbs almost all week. Yesterday it relented and went down to 235.2lbs--finally! Then this morning it's 232.4lbs. So I know it's gonna behave and my mood is very stable about it.) But this week was the devil's own b***h to keep myself from eating off plan! I powered through it and relied heavily on deep breathing through the cravings along with CBT and mindfulness. But the temptation to "have just a bite of xy or z" was strong. Truly the saving grace is probably that we don't keep dangerous crap in the house. To have a bite of xy or z, I would have to order delivery (which we don't have a budget for, and it would devastate Mr. F's tongue and Type 2), or I'd have to go to the store and buy it--which I'm too unmotivated to do.

Do you keep a "clean" kitchen? Or do you have to keep snacky crap around for the fam? How many days does it take you to get your mind and willpower back in the game?

CBT? (The only reference I know for that is naughty. )

I'm impressed with you powering through. That is so very hard!! I will remind myself about the deep breathing because that helps.

I have two housemates, so no clean kitchen. When I was divorcing I lived on my own for about 9 months, and also had a very small fridge and limited cabinet space. That meant I shopped several times a week and I was responsible for all the food in my house. It was healthy and I tracked everything. When I did bring in Snacks or treats it was just enough for the moment so I couldn't go back for more later or the next day. My current housemates don't have any weight or food issues and can eat what they want and top when they're full. At present, one housemate does most of the grocery shopping. The upside is that if I make a list he will get what's on it. And they are both supportive of this journey for me. Nevertheless, not living alone makes it more difficult and it's one of the challenges I will need to manage!

5 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

I'm very pleased with my Thanksgiving performance. LOL. I was well-behaved at the table, on my plate, and at the card table. I planned for the desserts...which is odd, because I'm not normally a dessert girl. I made Mr. F's favorite low carb tiramisu (and I did it with only liquid stevia) cuz he's literally allergic to every other type of sweetener. The result of that was...well a trade-off. In return for not having his tongue swell, we traded off and accepted a little bitterness. And it had a little bitter aftertaste and wasn't as sweet, but that's a win. It was a wholly satisfying meal and decent lc dessert. I even saved enough calories/carbs to enjoy a sliver (1/8" slice) of this frosted costco pumpkin roll, and 2 small (4oz) glasses of wine). It tasted divine! Had an unexpected hint of orange! No snacking yesterday and only 3 meals plus dessert. This morning, despite having cankles from doing too much yesterday, the scale is back down to 232.4lbs. It's ridiculous how much power over my happiness/mood/dietary satisfaction the scale possesses. What a little arbitrary b***h. Right? Am I right?

Is your mood controlled by the scale reading?

Excellent job!!

As far as the scale, my mood is less controlled by that than it used to be. I did weight watchers (and similar) type programs on and off for years and only weighed once a week. A few years ago I did a different weight loss study that involved daily weighing. The daily weight supported what I learned from the weekly weighing, which is that, overall, if I follow a plan my weight will trend down. Soooo....when I do weigh daily, I'm not particularly bothered by a jump. I start to recognize patterns, etc. What I struggle with, when I'm being diligent about what goes into my mouth, is the "bad" food day itself. One day is not awful, but if I have a few in a row, or over the course of a week or so (other than a vacation) it's more challenging for me to get back on track.

On 11/22/2017 at 6:53 PM, briae13 said:

On 11/22/2017 at 6:53 PM, briae13 said:

I'm hoping for January but I have to give my work a month advance notice so all depends on when I can get my date. As far as I know I'll be having the same tests. I am excited but crazy nervous!

Me too crazy nervous! My work knows, at least just my immediate team, so I've some flexibility on timing since I have a general idea when I expect to go. At Thanksgiving yesterday I reflected on how different my dinner plate will look next year (and was extra mindful of when I got full this year).

I hope you hear about the testing soon! For me that took about three - 4 days, but I knew before the surgeon's office did because of Lifespan's web portal. If you're connected there you'll probably get a notification before the doc's office calls. It's fun having someone else going through the same thing and program at about the same time!

3 minutes ago, briae13 said:

I'm approved! Just waiting to hear back about scheduling testing appointments

That's fantastic!! Congratulations! Mine were scheduled about 4 weeks out (give or take). When are you hoping to go in for surgery? What all testing are they having you do? (I've got an EKG and an upper GI, plus blood work to be done within a week or so of surgery.)

Are you getting excited? I don't get nervous for surgery typically, but I'll admit I'm getting a bit nervous for this!

14 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

We're in a holding pattern this week. Both my PCP and oncologist are supposed to have sent letters to the surgeon. They switched my hospital to a COE designated hospital, and are going to resubmit with the additional 3months of doctor supervised weight program and we will see. I have another RD appointment Dec. 6th and am scheduled for the next 3 months just in case. We think, that the insurance is gonna be a stickler and want full 180days of RD coverage. She said in Texas they have a 6mo minimum.

I'm also going to see my pulmonologist and go through the sleep study thing...ugh. I'm torn between wanting to have a recurrence of the sleep apnea, and dreading if they find it...cuz I hate the CPAP so much! I'm very claustrophobic, so the mask is hard to get used to, but I'm a mouth breather... Wah Wah Wannnnnnnhhhhhh!

@Berry78 Now that I'm out of ketosis, I might try bean and eggs for Breakfast this morning! Advantages of having a craptastic diet screw up weekend. I'm up 5.8lbs this morning.

I hope the revised approach gets it settled with insurance so you're not stressing over it!

I'm fairly luck with my sleep apnea that I am able to use just the nasal pillows. Even though I'm a mouth breather as well, somehow I manage to mostly keep it shut when I have that on. That said, I was really good about using my CPAP for the first 6 or 8 months, but the last 5 months or so I've just sucked about it. I need to get back on track with it.

6 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

If you're gonna use them, you should start now cuz they can cause gas as first. It's the only thing that really keeps me regular. So post surgery my RD told me to switch to Benefiber for the early days (like the first 3 months). Then once I'm completely healed, I can try/test if I handle the psyllium husks ok. I would need to start with a tiny amount and test it. It no longer makes me bloat, so I think I should be ok?

I actually use benefiber now (when I remember, which is my ongoing problem with all things healthy!).

I think if it no longer makes you bloat you'd be fine. But def I would try to go slowly! How is it going with insurance?

15 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

I use them to keep me regular. They are soluble fiber. I use NOW brand whole psyllium husks. They make the shakes thick and filling.

Awesome! I'll keep that in mind!