abefroman329

Check your binder! It’s in there, and it’s your Bible! Mine allowed me to drink 8 oz of decaf as soon as the liquid phase. My bariatric cookbook included a recipe for a frappe-type drink that used decaf.

I usually go daily, with the help of 10 psyllium fiber capsules a day. Any longer than that and I’ll end up with a blockage, and passing those is not fun.

Unfortunately, as I’ve discovered, losing weight quickly means expensive clothing isn’t a wise investment. Thrift stores are an option, sure, but most of the stuff I’ve found there has been stained and/or threadbare. So it is kind of jarring to be small enough to buy clothing off the rack at most retailers, but still have to wear Walmart dress shirts and jeans. It is pretty awesome the first time you can buy clothing for yourself in a store, though; two years ago, when I lost some weight on Saxenda, I went a little overboard on a trip to an outlet mall.

You’ll get there. I was never insulin-dependent, but was on two Janumet XR pills a day. The day of surgery, that was cut to one, and then about two months later, I was able to stop taking it entirely. I was also able to stop taking Farxiga/Invokana the day of the surgery. Overall I’ve dropped from four prescriptions to one (with a drastically reduced dosage), and I should be able to eliminate that one in May.

Just red meat.

Work travel was (and is) really difficult because you’re eating out 3 meals a day and there’s always the damned hotel all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, plus I used to take it as a personal challenge to use my entire meal allowance. On previous and long business trips, I used to avoid major weight gain by going to the hotel gym every morning and getting a parking space that involved a long walk to the office. Fortunately all of my business travel is to my employer’s field offices, and they all sell high-protein, low-carb snacks such as cheese and pepperoni or hard-boiled eggs.

That’s just awful. When I was at my heaviest, they would either discreetly hand me one or I’d have to ask for it. The latter was embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as what you were subjected to. One interesting thing I learned about airline seat belts: They start out really long when the plane is new and, as they start to fray or have some other problem with the belt part, they just chop off the problematic part and reattach the buckle further down, shortening the belt. So there’s really no way to tell in advance how long a particular seat belt will be before you sit down in the seat. Unfortunately, that also meant that all those times I was like “I must be losing weight because this seat belt fits comfortably!” were probably incorrect Nice to have all that behind me, though.

I’ve been asking for booths obsessively since the surgery because we always had to ask for a table and now I’m like “f*ck yes I want a booth!” But we still can’t get one when we eat out with my parents because my dad won’t fit, and my wife is pretty close to not being able to fit her baby bump into one.

Way to go! You look great, as does the food!

In fairness, I’ve been seeing him for 4 years (since we moved to Chicago), and nothing to this point has worked long-term, including two different (and very expensive) prescription weight loss medications. Well, three, if you count the Ritalin, which wasn’t prescribed for weight loss but, for a time, was a hell of an appetite suppressant.

I saw that my primary wrote in his notes that he doubted I’d be successful with the surgery. f**k him. I’ll prove that bastard wrong.

Currently, I can fit in coach on airplanes, in movie theater seats, and in seats on buses and trains. I can cross my legs in confined spaces. I’m noticing that bone touches bone more and it hurts! Clapping hurts now! This summer, I should be able to ride most, if not all, of the rides at theme parks, and I’m 15 pounds away from being able to skydive.

1) The hospital is probably not going to let you take a cab or Uber home by yourself. You will, at minimum, need someone to ride in the cab or Uber with you. 2) You won't really need anyone to take care of you at home, honestly. You definitely won't be up to grocery shopping for the first week or two, but non-perishable food can be purchased before the surgery, and for perishable foods, there's Peapod or Instacart. I was able to cook for myself, make my own shakes, etc.

We ARE a rare bred on here. Look how infrequently men post in this forum.

Yum! I still remember the first time I ate pizza post-surgery and tolerated it well.

Congrats! I’ve dropped from 3X to 1X. I went to buy some new sweatshirts at Walmart.com and quickly realized I’m no longer on the big and tall section!

Yes, it does stink. I had a couple of 24-hour periods in the last week before surgery where I took a break and ate regular food. But my surgeon said that patients tell him the pre-op diet is the hardest part of surgery, and he’s absolutely right.

Thanks, that's nice of you to say.

I've been drinking it on weekends, but I really need to get back to drinking something caffeinated in the mornings to get me going. Probably tea until it's warm enough to start making cold brew coffee again, since drip coffee seven days in a row really wreaked havoc on my insides pre-surgery (and who knows what it would do afterwards!)

Huh, that’s the smartass comment I came here to make! I’m already below the weight that was on the first driver’s license I received. If I can get below the weight that was on my learners permit, I’ll be happy.

Things I brought and used: My CPAP, a nightshirt, a book, my phone. Things I brought and did not use: Several changes of clothing, my toothbrush. I wouldn’t bring too much in the way of entertainment, I found I didn’t really have the energy to read or do much besides catnap and watch television.

And to think my therapist said that some people find being underweight unattractive. I was dumbfounded! In conclusion, f*ck him.

I agree with bliz that you should perhaps not be with someone who tells you that your weight is a concern for them.

You will know, and FYI, it doesn't happen until you start wearing smaller underwear.

It’s probably going to vary plan by plan and practice by practice. That being said, if you’d been seen by my surgeon, you would’ve had to have been on a pre-surgery liquid diet for a longer period of time than someone with a lower BMI, and might have had to go in for blood work while you were on the pre-surgery diet. All plans and practices seem to require some form of supervised medical weight loss program and a psych evaluation, as well as a screening for sleep apnea if you haven’t already had one. Also, though I haven’t heard it mentioned here, my surgeon requires that patients get their A1C below 7 before surgery.