MissSimpson

Are you sure that insurance will not cover it? My surgeon has said that as long as he deems it medically necessary, the insurance will (should) cover it. It is my plan to have my excess skin excised using my medical insurance once I reach my goal.

I'm really hoping 2 weeks is all I need!

Lucky you! I needed more than two weeks.

Just tell them you're having surgery, and that's its very personal to you. Social workers should understand that. I'm a teacher, and several others at my school been sleeved. I'm lucky that I could be open about it. After the surgery, I had to tell my students because I was getting used to eating again. I would have to run out of the room to throw up. They were extremely supportive for a group of 4th graders. They even helped me watch what I ate, and at lunch would make sure that what I had wouldn't make me sick.

My students told me that I got mean after the surgery.

I feel you so much on this! I teach 4th grade in Mississippi. Everything is rewarded with food, or every reward includes food. Cookies, hot chips, Kool-Aid, snow cones. Kids bring Snacks from home. Hot chips all DAMN DAY! I swear, I'm always saying to quit eating chips in my room. I had a kid who ate a huge bag of Takis on the bus headed to school and THREW THEM UP IN MY ROOM! Omg. I'm sorry, I got sidetracked, but I feel you. I bought a "treasure box" of cheap crap from Oriental Trading, and they love digging in it to get rewarded.

Our school nurse crushes pills and puts them in applesauce for kids who can't swallow pills. I think that would be ok.

It was hard for me to get my regular pills down after surgery. I still choke on them sometimes. I take Women's One A Day gummies. It's almost like a snack! Hahaha! I got some dissolving Biotin from BariatricPal that are good. Just make sure your Vitamin has Iron in it - a lot of them don't. Mine doesn't, so I take a tiny pill for that.

My students told me that I got mean after the surgery.

I feel you so much on this! I teach 4th grade in Mississippi. Everything is rewarded with food, or every reward includes food. Cookies, hot chips, Kool-Aid, snow cones. Kids bring Snacks from home. Hot chips all DAMN DAY! I swear, I'm always saying to quit eating chips in my room. I had a kid who ate a huge bag of Takis on the bus headed to school and THREW THEM UP IN MY ROOM! Omg. I'm sorry, I got sidetracked, but I feel you. I bought a "treasure box" of cheap crap from Oriental Trading, and they love digging in it to get rewarded.

Agreed.

@Creekimp13 your friends and family must be nicer than mine. If I ever served black bean brownies I'd never have anyone attend a party at my house again

I do not know one family that uses their benefits for steak and lobster (I just said that because they are not processed). I do know my work kids eat a lot of fast food and processed food. I finished college with my oldest two still in diapers, so I have eaten my fair share of Ramon. My issue was that the kids I work with do not seem to want to eat much of anything except processed food. They can all tell you the secrets of making Ramon better though. You can add cheese, hot dogs, Louisiana hot sauce etc...

The problem here is you are comparing your journey to theirs, your life to theirs. That's not going to work out, too much comparison. Comparison is the thief of joy. Let people live exactly how they want to if it does not quantifiably affect you day to day, tolerance.

VSG2017 HW 249 SW 238 CW 169

You are right. Well said.

I breastfed all my kids into toddlerhood and served mainly whole foods - always vegetables with the main course and homemade treats - oatmeal Cookies, homemade pizza too. I was a poor military wife and on food stamps - but I learned better nutrition from La Leche League, I made all my own bread for years and years. My kids were not fat, thought yogurt was an amazing 'treat'. They all like most vegetables and eat nearly anything to this day. I used Portion Control with treats.
I was devastated when the 2 middle kids of the 4 developed type 1 diabetes, I was totally devastated. Of course it was no one's fault - and there are no family members that have type 1 other than these two. Anyway....at least adapting to eating like diabetics was not difficult for the family.
My bio sisters/brothers are/were not obese, my bio mother was not obese, nor my bio father. I was not raised by them. My paternal aunt and husband raised me from infancy and produced mega self-esteem issues in me. I used food for major comfort, was only slightly chubby all through school, weighed 135 in high school. Fast forward - I continued to eat for comfort in my alcoholic marriage for 18 years...piled on the pounds.
And so on......but I still Celebrate with food, food is meant to be enjoyed within reason. I think food at family functions is an important aspect that I am not going to give up. (But there are no chips in my house unless a non-resident brings them over)
We eat too much processed food and took home-ec out of schools, need to require nutrition, how to shop for food, and cooking classes with those SNAP benefits. They actually did that for people on food stamps in Hawaii through the home extension programs. We also need to move more, some states don't require gym class either..we need balance.

This is an education I never expected to get with this thread. LOL. Interesting, though. How weird!

True but I also believe that the ingredients added to common foods in America vary greatly from other countries...

VSG2017 HW 249 SW 238 CW 169

Okay, not my kids, but working in an alternative school K-12 with average 60-70 students and a 98% poverty rate, has raised some eyebrows for me when it comes to nutrition. Last school year we had the district dietitian give classes. The students at my school are not allowed to bring their own lunch and many have never been to a sit down restaurant. About 90% of the students throw away the fruits and vegetables every day (we offer ranch dressing and encourage them to eat them, but no dice). The teachers and principal offer hot chips, Cereal bars, Cookies, and assorted other processed Snacks as rewards for doing school work and behaving appropriately. Treats such as pizza or ice cream are a regular thing for students with good attendance and behavior all week. We have a weekend back pack pack program with some healthy Soups (sometimes even organic) and there is usually a few snack items. The students just want the snack items. All they eat is processed food and we wonder why they have ADHD and other issues...
The dietitian made them smoothies with fruits and vegetables. I think she got through to a few of the girls, but the boys were either showboating or just didn't get it. All the students were in agreement that the drinks needed more sugar.
I was eating a full sized carrot at lunch one day and a middle school boy asked me what it was. I told him and he looked confused and got his baby carrot from his lunch and wanted to know what happened to mine. I guess if he has been to the store at all they skip the produce isle...
We got a greenhouse put in over the summer, so these kids are going grow and learn about food. I don't think I can change the food reward culture though...
It also does not help that the SNAP card (food stamps) are now accepted at many fast food chains in Texas. I would rather they spent it on steak and lobster from HEB.

Regardless of genetics (my husband is genetically a beanpole so who knows where my kids will end up) no Kid NEEDS the crap that is the Standard American Diet (SAD).

My whole family changed when I had surgery. Sure my 15 year old still goes to In and Out with his buddies and orders pizza once in a while. Heck I even buy him Cheetos now and then. But none of that is a daily thing anymore. Nothing is forbidden, I just don’t buy it it’s not in the House. They eat what I eat plus some whole grains and fruits and Pasta and whatnot. Why not?

And as for caring with food... it can be done, but it’s a balance. Perfect example... when my little sister was about five she pulled on the cord of an Iron and brought it down on her forehead, needed some stitches. After the hospital trip Mom said “let’s go get some ice cream to make it feel better.” Well we did. Guess what? My sister looked at the cone and had a weird look on her face. She raised the ice cream to her forehead and smashed it onto her newly stitched up cut. Well, how else would it make it feel better? That’s rational!

BTW that sister probably weighs more than 300lbs right now. Genetics? Maybe. Probably even. But not completely.

Soup 🍜 n say you dont feel well.

I vote for Soup!

I gave 1000 different responses to nosey coworkers... anything from hernia repair to vaginal rejuvenation.... eventually they got the point lol

Told my crew that I will be out on vacation. Of course it's up to whomever to guess what that vacation might entail......

I’ve been absent for awhile. It’s hard to respond easily from my phone and I was having problems with the app. I’m trying to catch up a little but still on my phone.

Three weeks out today (Dec 28!) Overall it’s gone well after the initial nausea slowed down. That was rough and kept me in the hospital an extra day.

I feel this week is when the nerves are starting to heal so I’m feeling different things from my tummy. I’m feeling hunger and feeling “stop eating” a bit more now. Some things are making me queasy. Etc. none of it is bad, I’m just getting a chance to learn my new tummy.

As far as Vitamins, etc go: I’m still not taking them all. Because of the nausea, the surgeons office said to hold off on incorporating all that stuff for a few weeks, so I’ve been slowly adding them in. In a week or two I’ll have everything incorporated.

Food is going fine, if boring. I’m still on puréed food, though I’ve allowed myself some stretch on “how” the food gets puréed. (Meatball gets puréed in my mouth. )

Anyway, mostly all is well. How about the rest of you?