Jobber

So this might be a stupid question, but does everyone save leftovers for subsequent meals or is there a lot of food being thrown out? Seems very wasteful if you're not eating everything prepared.

1 hour ago, leebick said:

Oh, mostly bad foods. popcorn, ice cream, potato chips, mashed potatoes (especially with pan juices/sauce), beer, Cookies, pie... all things that aren't part of a healthy lifestyle, but are a part of life. I have learned to dish out a very small portion and then put the rest away before I ever start eating. That way, I don't mindlessly keep noshing on something. As I said, I didn't have this surgery to be on a strict diet for the rest of my life, so I don't have a problem with having these treats occasionally- operative word being OCCASIONALLY. Rare treats, serious Portion Control, eating slowly and chewing completely (mindful eating), getting temptation out of the way are all practices I am still trying to make into habits for all my eating, but they are seriously important when it comes to the "easy" foods. "Easy" foods get ugly, too, because not only are they mostly empty calories, but by the time they flip my switch and I realize I'm done, I'm actually WAY done, WAY too over-full, and then I'm in for some ugly hours. Mostly I can keep this under control, but sometimes it gets out of hand, like when we are at the movies and my husband buys the popcorn and it's just there, I'm paying attention to the show and not to my hand going into the bag, into my mouth, into the bag... Even at two years post-surgery, even with the successes I've had, I STILL have to pay attention to this new eating style!

My main nemesis is cheese, glorious cheese. I have a love/hate relationship with it and it's mostly why I've gotten to the point I am at now. I'm hoping this surgery is going to help me with this obsession.

Thanks for sharing, I'm learning a lot about WLS from this site, much more than in the classes and Dr visits.

@leebick may I ask what foods you know "go down way too easily"? I want to get a feel of things I want to start letting go now while I'm in the "pre-op" phase. Thanks

1 hour ago, AshAsh1 said:

Biggest piece of advice I can offer is... Don't use Protein Shakes before you absolutely have to! I made the mistake of supplementing some of my meals with shakes to "prepare myself" for the pre-op diet. Big mistake. You will get to the point where they are DISGUSTING, and you don't want to increase the timeline of that by drinking them before you need to.

Thanks Ash, I think this sounds like solid advice. If I haven't learned that from using slimfast, it sounds like it's going to be a similar experience with these.

Just now, Jobber said:

Sort of like when I did Atkins diet for a couple months in the early 2000's. I like turkey and port more than anything, but recently I've gotten into Bison meat. It seems to be even better for you than chicken since it's so lean.

*pork

On 9/15/2018 at 2:50 AM, Auroragirl4489 said:

So i had egg whites for Breakfast, Protein Shake for lunch and chicken or seafood for dinner. Eat as much meat u want with lots of salad to fill u up. Never had issues during preop phase

Sort of like when I did Atkins diet for a couple months in the early 2000's. I like turkey and port more than anything, but recently I've gotten into Bison meat. It seems to be even better for you than chicken since it's so lean.

On 9/14/2018 at 5:11 PM, Orchids&Dragons said:

Quite a few people have used shakes before surgery. It's entirely up to you. However, they are very sweet and really easy to get burned out on. You'll see a lot of people complaining how much they hate them post-op because of that. Additionally, not all Protein Shakes are created equal. Some have a ton of sugar and calories. (Beware, smoothie King!) Since your stomach is still full sized, maybe try adding a snack of string cheese wrapped with ham, or a couple hard boiled eggs, etc to your 6-month pre-op diet. They're high-protein, low calorie options.

I can understand getting burned out on shakes, about 15 years ago I did slimfast and lost about 50 lbs and by the time I stopped, I was so sick of the shakes it started making me nauseous when I smelled vanilla. Thanks for the advice.

I had my first NUT appt and they mentioned making sure to keep Protein levels high while dieting during the pre-op 6 month phase and I know she meant through food, but has anyone used Protein Shakes or powder as Meal Replacement prior to surgery or any liquid diet? I'm tracking my nutrition using my fitness pal and seem to be lacking in the protein department.

I searched protein in this forum and only got 300K results so I couldn't find this easily, most were about supplementing protein post-op. Thanks in advance

On 9/13/2018 at 7:51 AM, MargoCL said:

I noticed you had this question posted on another forum. I'd listen to Green - follow up with your surgeon.

But, I'd ask you this first. Had you spoken to your doctor in the past of getting help with weightloss? Had you been on a dr. approved plan prior to speaking to your surgeon?

For me personally, getting my PCP referral was easy because my PCP and I had focused on weight management for 3 years and little success. So when I went to her for a referral letter after seeing my surgical group it was an easy referral as there was documented failed weightloss attempts with her practice for more than the required time.

I agree with this. it was my PCP who started me on the path to WLS and straight told me that she would write a letter of medical necessity if I needed one. This was after almost 5 years now of attempts under her supervision using various dieting, appetite suppressants and pills that turn your poo to grease, etc. How would you start this process by not consulting with your PCP first, that seems unusual to me, no offense?

On 9/12/2018 at 8:06 PM, skinnylife said:

You may want to contact your insurance company.

I second this. Every Ins co is different and has different requirements.

Yes. My wife said somethign similar before I even had my first surgeon appointment. I posted about it here and got some very good advice to invite her to my first surgeon and NUT appointment. I changed my user name because she's smart and may find this board now that I'm in the process and mentioned that I'm frequenting online forums to get educated, so she would know it was me asking why she doesn't support me, etc... and that would be a big problem.

Good news is that I followed the advice and played it cool. Once we had the surgeon and his supporting resident sit down with us to talk about the process, he also explained why so many struggle and fail. I consider myself very lucky to have had him do that and it was based on some strategic questions I had lined up prior. I really want my wife to be on board and I was taken aback when she asked me after the appt if I had decided if I was going to go through with the surgery. This doesn't seem like much, but to me, it was a huge win because when we've talked about it before, it wasn't even a question she would ask, it was more of "you don't need this, just diet and exercise and stick to it". I repeat your sentiment of "DUH". I've been doing this for 20 years now and not had much luck...

Anyways, I played it cool when she asked me and said I hadn't decided and that I wanted to go through some of the process and get further along the 6 months before deciding. I knew that was probably the best way to let her know that I'm not just deciding to do this emotionally and that I'm doing this based on my research and experience instead. That will strike the final blow in swaying her to my side, I have no doubt.

She's my everything so making sure she's on board is everything to me. Good luck to you. I don't have any good advice beyond making sure that your SO knows why you want to do this, which is to be around longer for them and for your family, not because you want to lose weight and run off with someone else which is probably what some spouses think.

On 8/28/2018 at 10:45 AM, skinnylife said:

Those old behavior made you feel better in the moment. May be why you feel a bit sad to let them go.

All of us have behaviors to overcome to be successful long term. The good thing is you recognized you are stress /emotional eating. The next step is finding another way to cope without food. I'm sure there are many here that can give you ideas on what they do to cope. An option is to speak with a counselor/therapist.

Ways I cope:

Keep busy. I know the feelings will pass. It helps keep my mind off food.

Listing to music and going for a walk. I process mystress/ emotions while I exercise. Confronting life's issues has worked better for me than soothing them with food.

Hope you find what works for you.

Some things you may already know

Healthy snacking or more frequent meals that keep your calories and macros in weight loss range is fine.

Be mindful if you see yourself grazing. It's a common reason why people gain after surgery.

"Grazing" is a maladaptive repetitive eating pattern. Eating more frequent/ repetitive meals that put you over your calorie and macro goals. This can be a combination of healthy and unhealthy food choices. It is easy to eat substantial calories and gain weight. It's as if you never had surgery.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5748772/

I think this is why I'm hesitant to even go through the process of WLS. I have my first consult in a couple weeks and if I'm still struggling with cravings after wls, I'm going to struggle with this, big time.

I know it's a complete change in behavior, but I am very much scared that this will be a waste of time and money for me, not to mention all the "I told you so's" i'm going to get after I fail. I'm very weak when it comes to coping tools, I have an alter-ego (I'm not crazy, I swear) that likes to sabotage me. How many people actually lose their cravings by having wls vs how many don't and struggle with this beyond? I've read a lot here and I'm seeing both. How do I know if it's worth it for me?

@FluffyChix very solid advice, I think this is my best option because debating (as well as getting too emotional) has never worked for me. I will quietly let this happen organically and hope for the best.

thanks!!

14 hours ago, Sosewsue61 said:

@PENGU1N, you are a very kind, reasonable person from what i can discern in your writing and this will serve you well on your journey.

Some people just see surgery as resorting to having no willpower, and maybe the seminar or surgeon nutritionist can be convincing otherwise but then maybe not. You will do fine either way because it is what you need and want. Good luck.

Thanks for the nice words Sue.

4 hours ago, Mitzimom said:

I would definitely ask her to go with you to meet with the nutritionist as well so she can ask the questions she has - like the whole , well if you diet for 6 months thing- and the nutritionist can explain to her why that’s not enough for some of us.

This is a great idea, I will do that. Thanks MM

6 hours ago, GreenTealael said:

She may never be on board, be prepared for that. However you are not a ward of the "state", or a minor requiring consent from a "parent", if she can still love love and stand by you and allow you to make personal decisions, that's a good place to be in

I will definitely prepare myself for this. I probably need to not put the cart before the horse and see what happens during this process. Once again my anxiousness about all this is probably clouding my judgement of the situation a bit too. Thanks GT

thanks @AshAsh1 I really appreciate the feedback. I really don't think it has anything to do with jealousy or potential jealousy, she's never been the type, which is one of her best qualities. I think she just needs someone in an authoritative position to let her know more about it. That's my hope as to what happens next.

thanks again

So.......I tried testing the waters this weekend and I brought the subject of WLS up with my wife. I might as well have asked for the Red Ryder BB Gun from a Christmas Story because she basically gave me the "you'll shoot your eye out" response I was dreading.....ugh

I started by telling her that I had done some research on the options, the surgeon, the recovery and looked at a WLS forum to get patient experience information as well. I approached it very "matter of fact" explaining what our insurance required, how long the different surgeries took, the recoveries, the pros/cons, etc.

When I got to the part about insurance requiring psych eval, gastrointestinal exams, and visits to a nutritionist with a 6 month diet, I was basically told, "well, if you have to do a 6 month diet first, you might as well not get the surgery because you will already have changed your ways and can lose the weight naturally."

After that, there was no more convincing or facts or anything I could say except, "lets talk to the surgeon next month and see what he has to say". I didn't say much about it after that because I was stunned and upset, but I didn't want to show it in an emotional way so I just said nothing and changed the subject.

I'm not sure what to do at this point except wait for my initial consultation and go from there. Maybe 6 months from now I will have been able to show her why I need this and why WLS is not "elective" for someone like me with my eating behaviors.

15 hours ago, ChellNC said:

It wouldn't hurt to call your insurance to see if your PCP visits are acceptable. Have you seen her every single month for 6 months?

If your insurance has specific requirements that weren't met by your PCP a letter won't be useful in bypassing their policy.

Like others have said, the time goes quickly & it prepares you for surgery. My surgery is 2 weeks from today & even though I went through a 6 month program to get here I'm starting to freak out thinking I don't know what I'm doing with the diet & such.

Good luck!

I thought about doing this, but every time I call my insurance I get the most useless people that don't seem to want to help or just don't even know. I may still give it a shot, though, thanks.

19 hours ago, Chrisb428 said:

Mine was six months and I'm scheduled for August 28th. I agree with Wanda, it gives u time to learn, prepare, and adapt to the changes you need to make. Also gives you time to make sure you really are committed to the changes you will have to make.

Thanks Chris, I'm just a little eager to get going now that i'm in the mindset where I'm ready to do this.

19 hours ago, wanda247 said:

You're welcome hun. When you start the process there is so much that you have to do and it will keep you so busy before you know it...BAM! It's surgery time. LOL

So is it 6 months for most folks altogether or is it 6 months of the diet, then a month to get approved, then 2 more months to get scheduled?

19 hours ago, GreenTealael said:

You are going to be surprised how fast it goes and how necessary it is to make lasting changes like giving up sugar, carbonate beverages, caffeine, and smoking. Or organizing your house and family to not sabotage progress after surgery.

I certainly hope so, thanks GT. I can give up the sugar, carbonated beverages and I don't smoke, but boy o boy, giving up caffeine is going to be a killer...

4 minutes ago, wanda247 said:

I think that you pretty much have to go through the the steps required by the insurance company and I don't think that there is no other way around it, the insurance company is forking out a lot of money for your surgery so they want to make sure that you are willing to put in the hard work that it takes now and after surgery to succeed. From my experience it does go by quickly and I know for me I needed that time to get my mind in the right direction and in the right place to prepare for surgery. Each insurance requirements are different also, mine required 4 months of supervised nutrionist visits and other test etc. I started in April and my surgery is scheduled for August 29th. When I was first told it would be 4 months I thought wow what a long process but now I am so glad that they required that because it gave me time to research, change my eating habits and to prepare myself mentally. You can do it! Keep us posted on your journey and I wish you the best!

Looks like I just need to strap in and let it happen how it's supposed to. thanks Wanda!

13 minutes ago, Chrisb428 said:

I had been seeing my PCP, a nutritionist, and an endocrinologist for a year and my insurance wouldn't count it.

UGH....

thanks Chris!

I tried searching for this question in the forum, but I want a more recent answer, if possible.

My PCP said that she would write me a letter of medical necessity for the surgeon/insurance if need be to help me get qualified for WLS as well as provide any records of mine where she was monitoring my use of prescription appetite suppressants. Does anyone think the insurance would accept this instead of needing to spend 6 months trying another failed diet again?

I know insurance companies will always err on the side of not having to pay for surgery, but I'm just curious if anyone got past that 6 month supervised diet with a note from their PCP before.