Mattymatt

Agreed, @James Marusek. If healthcare really cared about people instead of profits, they would do as you suggest.

I am pretty much forced to make changes and this is really a good thing. I have to get my A1C below 8% and my blood sugar was not well controlled. As of my last test, it was 10%. When I first got the news, I moped around. Then, I got my butt in gear. At the beginning of this month, I began carefully tracking sugars and eating the right carb to protein ratio. Now my average reading on the meter is 129 which puts me well below the 8% threshold. If I can maintain this momentum through December, I think I can meet my goal. I'm glad that I have to do this. Otherwise, I might have continued to gain weight and just said to hell with it.

You look fantastic! Keep it up!

Well, I am not a fan of making healthcare HARDER to access. I think the point that @James Marusek was trying to make is that the changes coming are not good ones and run antithetical to better health. The changes in the British NHS have 0 to deal with health and everything to do with politics and money. If I had to hazard a guess, this is actually a play to begin to lower taxes for the wealthy and shift the burden onto the working class. By spending less money, the NHS would naturally need less money from the tax base so tax cuts can strategically happen for the wealthy. I'll bet England's wealthy elite have their eyes on what is going on in the States and they want some of those same tax advantages. Yes, I am more than a little cynical.

Call me callous, but I do not understand why people would cheat during this phase. I mean I understand that there is temptation but the surgery is so close. For those getting covered by insurance, many of us have to wait 3-6 months. To me, cheating would seem like too much of a risk of having to start the entire process over again because the surgeon cannot operate due to the liver size. My wait is only 3 months and even that seems like an eternity. I am not about to let 2 weeks potentially get in the way of having the surgery done. When I first started the journey back on Oct. 23rd, it felt like late January - early February might as well be 10 years away. Now that I am about to have my second nutrition appointment and the psychological, be damned if anything that is under my control is going to derail this.

Humor is the best way to deal with this! Thanks for the laugh. My moobs are perhaps the only thing that I am really self conscious about. The rest of my body, well, I could give less of a ****. But those man titties need to go.

Yeah, I'm not well controlled right now. I'm just trying to get A1C at or below 8%. If I can just achieve that much, I'll be so much better off.

Well, I think I discovered something very interesting this morning. On the advice of one of the people in this bariatric support group that I attended over the weekend, I tried a low carb breakfast at only 7 grams of carbs. This morning I woke up with a blood sugar of 121 and 2.5 hours post-breakfast, my blood sugar is 90. My insulin resistance must be pretty bad. Well, I now see that this journey is about a permanent lifestyle alteration. I am so over pricking my finger 3x per day to check my blood sugar. Also, I am done swallowing those Metformin horse pills. I am going to have to start collecting some food ideas.

I'm on insulin and hoping for the same result as you. My endocrinologist said that after surgery, I would be sent home with nothing. I would be told to stop Metformin and Glipizide as well. I cannot wait!!! Type 2 Diabetes sucks.

I went to a support group for bariatric surgery this past Saturday. I learned so much that now I'm sold on the idea. Even though I'm still quite a ways from a surgery date, the learning has been invaluable. One thing I really struggle with is breakfast because most breakfast foods are carbohydrate rich. Someone recommended taking some canned chicken and mixing it with mustard. Made quite a delicious and filling breakfast. I added some pecans to the mix as well. Sometimes we get so ingrained in our habits that we forget that we can go outside the box. Hearing other people make recommendations was so helpful. I learned of another great idea. Take a premiere protein shake, caramel flavor, and mix PB2 with it. I never heard of PB2 but the person's description of this protein shake made my mouth water.

Funny, my Vitamin D was low too. Even though I'm not even one month into this journey I'm learning so much.

I'm in West Chester. I'm going through Penn Medicine's program.

My doctors recommended RNY for the same reason. It was their opinion that RNY would be better for type 2 diabetics. They all said the chances of reversing diabetes is better through RNY.

The recovery is not necessarily longer for RNY. I've been told it is about the same but it really depends on the individual person. The RNY is a good way to go. The statistics favor RNY for long term success. Even though I really don't have GERD, I'm still doing the bypass because all of my doctors think it will work better for me.

I changed my mind. Initially, I was going for the sleeve but I decided to do the bypass because I tend to be a sweet eater. I'm hoping I'll get the dumping syndrome so I will be strongly discouraged to eat things like donuts and cake.

If you're losing 10 pounds a week, that's fooking incredible!

I'm so sensitive about my moobs that I won't swim without a shirt on.

I treat people whom walk in the same shoes that I am in with empathy. I meant that I would never forget from whence I came.

Well said @ChaosUnlimited. Once I reach goal weight, I will not discriminate against heavy people. In fact, I have a moral responsibility to be empathetic and understanding, having walked the mile in their shoes.

Well, at least there is an eventual end to it. At least mine are soft. ROFL! Big Tex, you and I will probably get more weight off than we've set our goal.

This does not look nutritious at all. Yes, it's high in protein but it is still relatively high in carbohydrates and calories. As an occasional snack, I think it's not bad but I wouldn't make this a daily thing.

I sure as hell hope that I lose my man boobs. Jeez, they're a little embarrassing.

It's understandable that a surgeon might require some weight loss, depending on the surgery. Surgery always has risk involved and overweight patients present a higher risk to the patient. That much said, I hate fat shaming and that kind of behavior is never acceptable.

Men are also on the receiving end. I've had pitiful looks and outright glares of disdain from women. It certainly is very hurtful, and for the most part, I am simply taking that negativity and turning it into a stronger resolution to beat this weight problem into submission. I am the decent, kind-hearted person on the inside and out. The only thing is that I am heavy: it's neither weakness nor character flaw. Anyhow, I don't like my women super skinny. A little meat on the bones is okay with me! When I say personality matters, I mean that personality matters. We all age and even movie stars cannot keep their looks forever.

It's funny, it never occurred to me that they bias could be biologically-based. That's pretty insightful!