BigSue

On a related note: I won't miss being unable to see the clock in my car because I have to raise the steering wheel so high (to make room for my belly) that it blocks my view. I still have a long way to go before I'm not fat (not sure if I'll ever get to that point), but I can now put the steering wheel at a height that doesn't block the clock!

My surgery is tomorrow at 4 pm. I am a little nervous mostly excited. I think this is the first thing I have done for MYSELF in the last 20 or so years. Im 37, Started this process at 315, been working really hard and I am at 275. Not much support from my family except for a few of them. I really am just excited, and am not much of a sharer, so I felt this was a good step to share this with everyone. I hope everyone else finds themselves well in their journey!

I really like Protein hot chocolate. I got some from the BariatricPal Store that was really good, and then I got a big canister from Amazon that's ok but not quite as good. I have found that warm stuff goes down a little easier than cold, and the protein hot chocolate tastes like normal hot chocolate -- something I would drink before surgery. It's nice to have something a little different when you get sick of the cold Protein Shakes.

Welcome! I have chosen not to tell anyone in my life (aside from medical professionals) about my surgery, so it's nice to have somewhere to discuss something that is a big part of my life right now.
FYI, in case you don't know how to update your stats, you can click on your username at the top of the screen, then select "My Surgery" under Settings. The info on the "Surgery Information" and "Progress" screens is nice to be able to see when you post (but of course it's all optional and you don't have to enter anything you don't want to share).

I had a few reasons for not telling anyone about my surgery. I didn't tell my family because I first looked into this surgery about 15 years ago, and my mom played a big role in talking me out of it because she thought it was dangerous and that I was going to die or have horrible complications. This time around, I did my own research and made my own decision and didn't want to give my mom or anyone else a chance to talk me out of it. I have three siblings who have always been thin, so I have a feeling they would be judgmental about it. People who have never struggled with their weight don't understand why it's not that easy for everyone to just eat less and exercise more.
I didn't tell anyone at work because I have heard negative comments about weight loss surgery from coworkers. Something that has stuck with me for years is a former coworker who complained about his wife's health insurance costs going up because she worked at a small company and two employees had weight loss surgery in one year. This guy was on his wife's health insurance instead of our company's because it used to cost less, and he complained that it was now more expensive than ours because these two ladies were "too lazy to just go on a diet." I have several current coworkers who are really into diet and fitness to the point that they make me uncomfortable, and although I've never heard any comments from them specifically about weight loss surgery, I have a feeling they would be judgmental.
Finally, I am a very private person in general and I am careful about what information I share about my life. I wouldn't tell my coworkers if I were having, say, gallbladder surgery or a hysterectomy, either. People might figure it out on their own if I lose enough weight, but I'm not going out of my way to tell anyone about it.

It looks like you have two separate issues: your surgeon/hospital, and the decision to have WLS. As some of the other replies have said, I think you should consider changing surgeons. You probably have other options, and you are a customer -- if you don't like the treatment you're getting, you have the right to go elsewhere (this, of course, depends on where you live and how your surgery is being funded). Getting WLS is not just about the cutting. It's a lifelong journey, and the followup visits are a big part of that. I've read that patients who go to all of their scheduled followups are more successful than those who don't. My program requires 8 followup visits in the first two years (once/year thereafter), and you probably don't want the hassle of going to such a disorganized office so many times.
The most concerning thing to me is that you don't know which surgery you're getting. That is a pretty big deal, and you should be the one to make that decision, even though the surgeon may have strong recommendations. Now, he could refuse to do a certain procedure because it would be harmful to you, but you still have to agree to whatever procedure he does recommend. I actually wouldn't have a problem with the informal tone of his e-mail. Doctors are people, too. I bet some people like the fact that he acts like a normal person and doesn't insist on being addressed as "Doctor."
When I was looking into surgery, I was concerned about the hospital's reviews, too, but it turns out that pretty much every hospital in my area has bad ratings. I suspect that very few people have good experiences at hospitals, because you only go to a hospital if you're sick or injured. There are always complaints about wait times (because there are a lot of patients), billing (because medical care is crazy expensive and billing is complicated), and outcomes (because not every patient can be saved, and sometimes it takes trial and error to solve problems).
Now, about the decision to have WLS, I went through some very similar doubts before surgery. I lost over 60 pounds on my own before surgery, and I started to think, "Maybe I can keep going on my own instead of going through with this." I have yo-yo dieted most of my life, but I had never lost that much weight before. About 10 years ago, I lost 50 pounds and kept it off for several years, but I eventually gained it all back plus 30 more pounds. I took some pre-surgery pictures of myself the day before surgery -- after I had already lost over 60 pounds -- and that made me realize how far I have left to go. If I lose 100 pounds from my surgery weight, I'll still be obese. And every pound is a little harder to lose than the last, so the chances that I could lose that much without surgery are... slim. This is a very personal decision that you have to make for yourself, though, and if you're not ready to do it now, you can always wait and see how far you can get on your own.
P.S. If you want your stats (like starting weight, weight lost, and surgery date) to show up when you post, you can click on your user name on the top right of the screen, then select "My surgery" under Settings.

I'm not sure this kind of thing would be too helpful, because people lose at all different rates for all different reasons - age, gender, metabolic rate, starting BMI, activity level, whether or not they lost weight prior to surgery, how closely they stick to their plan, etc. I was a slow loser from day 1, which some very insensitive medical resident pointed out to me - showing me a chart of where "most" patients are at point X, and pointing out how far behind the curve I was. It really bothered me because I stuck to my program about 99% of the time that whole first year. What else was I supposed to do? Change the fact I was female and post-menopausal and had a pokey metabolism rate? Luckily, I resolved to prove the jerk wrong and ended up losing 100% of my excess weight, blowing pretty much all the other patients in my co-hort out of the Water. But I could have responded the other way - thinking I was a failure, and thinking that he'd just confirmed it.
as long as follow your program and your weight trends downward (allowing for the occasional stall along the way), you're good.

It looks like you have two separate issues: your surgeon/hospital, and the decision to have WLS. As some of the other replies have said, I think you should consider changing surgeons. You probably have other options, and you are a customer -- if you don't like the treatment you're getting, you have the right to go elsewhere (this, of course, depends on where you live and how your surgery is being funded). Getting WLS is not just about the cutting. It's a lifelong journey, and the followup visits are a big part of that. I've read that patients who go to all of their scheduled followups are more successful than those who don't. My program requires 8 followup visits in the first two years (once/year thereafter), and you probably don't want the hassle of going to such a disorganized office so many times.
The most concerning thing to me is that you don't know which surgery you're getting. That is a pretty big deal, and you should be the one to make that decision, even though the surgeon may have strong recommendations. Now, he could refuse to do a certain procedure because it would be harmful to you, but you still have to agree to whatever procedure he does recommend. I actually wouldn't have a problem with the informal tone of his e-mail. Doctors are people, too. I bet some people like the fact that he acts like a normal person and doesn't insist on being addressed as "Doctor."
When I was looking into surgery, I was concerned about the hospital's reviews, too, but it turns out that pretty much every hospital in my area has bad ratings. I suspect that very few people have good experiences at hospitals, because you only go to a hospital if you're sick or injured. There are always complaints about wait times (because there are a lot of patients), billing (because medical care is crazy expensive and billing is complicated), and outcomes (because not every patient can be saved, and sometimes it takes trial and error to solve problems).
Now, about the decision to have WLS, I went through some very similar doubts before surgery. I lost over 60 pounds on my own before surgery, and I started to think, "Maybe I can keep going on my own instead of going through with this." I have yo-yo dieted most of my life, but I had never lost that much weight before. About 10 years ago, I lost 50 pounds and kept it off for several years, but I eventually gained it all back plus 30 more pounds. I took some pre-surgery pictures of myself the day before surgery -- after I had already lost over 60 pounds -- and that made me realize how far I have left to go. If I lose 100 pounds from my surgery weight, I'll still be obese. And every pound is a little harder to lose than the last, so the chances that I could lose that much without surgery are... slim. This is a very personal decision that you have to make for yourself, though, and if you're not ready to do it now, you can always wait and see how far you can get on your own.
P.S. If you want your stats (like starting weight, weight lost, and surgery date) to show up when you post, you can click on your user name on the top right of the screen, then select "My surgery" under Settings.

It looks like you have two separate issues: your surgeon/hospital, and the decision to have WLS. As some of the other replies have said, I think you should consider changing surgeons. You probably have other options, and you are a customer -- if you don't like the treatment you're getting, you have the right to go elsewhere (this, of course, depends on where you live and how your surgery is being funded). Getting WLS is not just about the cutting. It's a lifelong journey, and the followup visits are a big part of that. I've read that patients who go to all of their scheduled followups are more successful than those who don't. My program requires 8 followup visits in the first two years (once/year thereafter), and you probably don't want the hassle of going to such a disorganized office so many times.
The most concerning thing to me is that you don't know which surgery you're getting. That is a pretty big deal, and you should be the one to make that decision, even though the surgeon may have strong recommendations. Now, he could refuse to do a certain procedure because it would be harmful to you, but you still have to agree to whatever procedure he does recommend. I actually wouldn't have a problem with the informal tone of his e-mail. Doctors are people, too. I bet some people like the fact that he acts like a normal person and doesn't insist on being addressed as "Doctor."
When I was looking into surgery, I was concerned about the hospital's reviews, too, but it turns out that pretty much every hospital in my area has bad ratings. I suspect that very few people have good experiences at hospitals, because you only go to a hospital if you're sick or injured. There are always complaints about wait times (because there are a lot of patients), billing (because medical care is crazy expensive and billing is complicated), and outcomes (because not every patient can be saved, and sometimes it takes trial and error to solve problems).
Now, about the decision to have WLS, I went through some very similar doubts before surgery. I lost over 60 pounds on my own before surgery, and I started to think, "Maybe I can keep going on my own instead of going through with this." I have yo-yo dieted most of my life, but I had never lost that much weight before. About 10 years ago, I lost 50 pounds and kept it off for several years, but I eventually gained it all back plus 30 more pounds. I took some pre-surgery pictures of myself the day before surgery -- after I had already lost over 60 pounds -- and that made me realize how far I have left to go. If I lose 100 pounds from my surgery weight, I'll still be obese. And every pound is a little harder to lose than the last, so the chances that I could lose that much without surgery are... slim. This is a very personal decision that you have to make for yourself, though, and if you're not ready to do it now, you can always wait and see how far you can get on your own.
P.S. If you want your stats (like starting weight, weight lost, and surgery date) to show up when you post, you can click on your user name on the top right of the screen, then select "My surgery" under Settings.

Welcome! I first looked into weight loss surgery about 15 years ago, but I didn’t get any farther than the initial consultation with the surgeon before my family talked me out of it. This time, I didn’t tell anyone because it was my decision and I didn’t need their input. Sometimes I wish I had done it back then because I feel like I’ve missed out on so much because of my weight, but I also think that I wasn’t ready at the time to make the changes necessary to succeed in long-term weight loss, and I have a much better shot now than I would have had 15 years ago. It looks like you are ready to do this now, too!
i hope your endoscopy goes well. Make sure the anesthesiologist knows what happened last time so he or she can take measures to prevent it from happening again.

when I started out (at over 300 lbs), I had to lose A LOT of weight before I could go down a size. And others didn't start noticing my weight loss until I'd lost around 70 or 80 lbs. Now, at normal weight, a drop in just 5 or 10 lbs will take me down a size. Just keep at it - the more you lose, the more often you'll start changing sizes.

Everyone's insurance requirements is different, but there was a woman who was having the same surgery as me and was going through the six month requirement just as I did. We were both there for our pre-op appointment and were discussing our weight loss. I said I'd lost a total of 64 pounds in that time and she said she GAINED 15. However, we were both approved for surgery. The six months is mostly to prove to your insurance that surgical intervention is needed. I was actually worried that my insurance wouldn't approve my surgery because I'd lost so much on my own, but I was still 321 pounds on the day of my surgery which is still in the super morbidly obese category (BMI over 50) so the surgeon had assured me I wouldn't have any issues. I honestly don't know how your insurance works, but I don't think they'll pass on you.

On a related note: I won't miss being unable to see the clock in my car because I have to raise the steering wheel so high (to make room for my belly) that it blocks my view. I still have a long way to go before I'm not fat (not sure if I'll ever get to that point), but I can now put the steering wheel at a height that doesn't block the clock!

You are far from the only person who had gained weight during quarantine! There was a very intense thread about it on this forum recently (so intense, it had to be shut down). Nobody should judge you for that — it’s a tough time for everyone.
Some insurance companies, and maybe some bariatric programs, do have a requirement that you not gain any more weight before the surgery. This may or may not be the case for you, but you might want to check.
I bet you can lose 10 pounds, or close to it, before September 10. You said you track everything in MyFitnessPal, and that’s a great start. I lost over 60 pounds in the 5 months before surgery just by doing two things: tracking everything in MyFitnessPal (and staying well under my calorie limit) and intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting really helped me to get out of the habit of snacking. I did 16 hour fasts every day, starting after dinner and ending with lunch the next day. It was hard at first, but not so bad once I got used to it. I could push through the hunger and temptation knowing that I could have an indulgent dinner. I think it was a good workout for my willpower.
Look for foods that are filling and tasty but relatively low in calories. Look at the foods you normally eat and figure out which ones are the healthiest. Salads are great, especially if you use light dressing. You can have a big salad with lots of grilled chicken for under 300 calories. popcorn was another one of my favorites. Not exactly the healthiest snack, but a mini bag of “blast o butter” microwave popcorn Is just 210 calories and really filling (even lower in calories if you pop your own with an air popper, but you have to start somewhere). I LOVE Built Bars (protein bars). Some flavors used to be 110 calories and made a great daily treat (they recently changed and now they’re 130, but still a heck of a lot better than a candy bar).

There were no visitors allowed when I had my surgery, but I wouldn't have had any visitors anyway, so it didn't make a difference to me. You can always call or Facetime your family/friends from the hospital. Just bring something to do or read to pass the time while you sip fluids (which demands more of your time and attention than you would think) and you'll be back home with your family before you know it.

Hi. I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Denise and I am at the beginning of my journey. I have my last appointment scheduled for February so it is likely that I will have my surgery in February, March, or maybe even April. I have been on this journey before and completed everything but the surgery. My surgery was scheduled for Monday and I called on Friday and cancelled (this was in 2014). Truth be told, my mother had just passed and I don't think I had my heart set on the surgery or the journey. I think that I only wanted something else to focus on. This time, I am set on the surgery, internalizing all of the information, and just looking forward to a healthier me. My husband is not the most supportive but he is trying to be more supportive than he was the last time around. He still can't understand why I want to do this when "I can just lose weight on my own." He's very stubborn and honestly, I don't know how to explain to him why I think this is the best option. Last time around, he refused to take me to any of the appointments but this time, he's learning that it's okay to agree to disagree. It's not his body. I have my endoscopy on Monday (which my husband will be driving me to) and tbh, I'm a little nervous. Last time I had this done, I woke up with the tube down my throat. This time, they said that I will have the general anesthesia so that shouldn't happen but last time, I had the same anesthesia and woke up with the tube in my throat. It haunted me for a week afterwards. I hope I have a better experience.
All in all, I'm glad to be here. I didn't know you were here the last time I went through this but maybe this time, I can have the additional support. Thank you and nice to meet all of you and read your stories.

I didn't do any meal prep before surgery, and I don't think it's really necessary. After surgery, you'll have a very limited diet. Depending on your program, you'll have some period of time that you can only have liquids (which require little to no prep) and then only pureed foods. There are a lot of no/low-prep pureed foods, like applesauce, yogurt, sugar-free pudding, cottage cheese (which is actually available pre-pureed now), mashed cauliflower, and refried Beans. Most of it requires no prep other than stirring in some Protein Powder and maybe throwing it in the food processor. If you really want to do some advance meal prep, maybe make some pureed Soup and freeze it in small containers. You are going to be eating very small quantities, so one recipe can make many servings. I made some black bean soup and one recipe came out to 14 portions. Ricotta bake makes 8 portions. Just those two recipes make dinner for 3 weeks.
Since that didn't really answer your question, I would suggest you check YouTube. There are several videos on WLS meal prep. I find them very boring because they're mostly just mixing Protein powder into food and dividing it into a bunch of containers!

Yeah, 222 is a pretty low starting weight. You can’t expect to lose as quickly as someone who started 100 pounds higher. 10 pounds in a month is pretty good, considering your starting weight. And 1200 calories is quite high for a month out. I’m 6 weeks out and averaging just over 400 calories per day (I’m supposed to increase to 800-1000 now).
By the way, if you want your info (surgery date, surgery type, starting weight, current weight) to show up when you post, you can update it by clicking on your username at the top of the screen and then “My surgery” under settings. If you want to share any of that info, it helps for people to see it as context when you post.

I didn't do any meal prep before surgery, and I don't think it's really necessary. After surgery, you'll have a very limited diet. Depending on your program, you'll have some period of time that you can only have liquids (which require little to no prep) and then only pureed foods. There are a lot of no/low-prep pureed foods, like applesauce, yogurt, sugar-free pudding, cottage cheese (which is actually available pre-pureed now), mashed cauliflower, and refried Beans. Most of it requires no prep other than stirring in some Protein Powder and maybe throwing it in the food processor. If you really want to do some advance meal prep, maybe make some pureed Soup and freeze it in small containers. You are going to be eating very small quantities, so one recipe can make many servings. I made some black bean soup and one recipe came out to 14 portions. Ricotta bake makes 8 portions. Just those two recipes make dinner for 3 weeks.
Since that didn't really answer your question, I would suggest you check YouTube. There are several videos on WLS meal prep. I find them very boring because they're mostly just mixing Protein powder into food and dividing it into a bunch of containers!

I had a lot of trouble getting enough Water the first few days. Even drinking 3 ounces per hour made me feel like I just ate Thanksgiving dinner. The good news is that they pump you full of IV fluids at the hospital, so that will help prevent dehydration at the beginning.
I'm two weeks out now and I can drink water at a reasonable pace without feeling stuffed. You are doing it right by sipping throughout the day. You don't need to worry about set meal times until you start eating actual food (pureed stage), and at that point, you'll have to wait 30 minutes after the meal to drink anything (some programs also say no liquids 30 minutes before the meal).
As for the pain when the water hits the pouch, I was told it is fairly common to have cramps or spasms in your stomach, especially when drinking cold liquids. I was given a prescription for hyoscyamine to help with that (which I took for the first few days, but I haven't had any more issues after that).

Yeah, 222 is a pretty low starting weight. You can’t expect to lose as quickly as someone who started 100 pounds higher. 10 pounds in a month is pretty good, considering your starting weight. And 1200 calories is quite high for a month out. I’m 6 weeks out and averaging just over 400 calories per day (I’m supposed to increase to 800-1000 now).
By the way, if you want your info (surgery date, surgery type, starting weight, current weight) to show up when you post, you can update it by clicking on your username at the top of the screen and then “My surgery” under settings. If you want to share any of that info, it helps for people to see it as context when you post.

I weigh almost everything. It's more precise and I don't have to wash a measuring cup. It's easier to divide things into equal servings that way, e.g., dividing a 150-gram yogurt into three 50-gram servings, or calculate how many servings (or what fraction of a serving) I'm eating for the purposes of food tracking. Some things are difficult to measure accurately by volume, like Protein Powder. "One scoop" can be very different amounts depending on how tightly you pack it in the scoop.

I bought a big bag of GENEPRO and I don’t like it. Even though it’s unflavored, it still has a taste, and it’s unpleasant. It’s useful for mixing into purées like refried Beans and mashed cauliflower that cover the taste well enough. I mixed it into broth when I was on clear liquids, and I could only add a little bit or it would taste too bad. I never tried it with plain Water, but based on how it tasted in broth, I wouldn’t want to. I did see someone on YouTube making a Protein shot with it (mixing it into a small amount of water and drinking it quickly), but I don’t think I could stand to drink that.
Rather than mixing GenePro into flavored drinks, I would recommend getting clear protein drinks. Protein2O is popular. I bought a case of it and I didn’t like it, but I suspect I might have gotten a bad batch or something because every time I drank it, I got solids (the texture of cooked egg whites) precipitating out in my mouth. Premier Protein makes a ready-to-drink clear protein but I haven’t been able to find it where I shop. There are also some clear protein powders on the market, like Syntrax Nectar.
I bought some Bone Broth, but I didn’t care for it much. I ended up preferring broth made from Better than Bouillon (which I already had in my fridge since I use it for recipes). I was able to mix a little GenePro in it without it having too bad of a taste.
One of my favorite protein drinks is protein hot chocolate. I got it in the BariatricPal Store and it was really good. I mix it with warm Fairlife milk for a nice protein boost, I bought a big canister of it on Amazon, but that’s not as good as what I got from BariatricPal. I’ve found that warm liquids go down easier than cold, and the hot chocolate is a nice change of pace from cold Protein Shakes.

I usually use the BariatricPal Portable Protein Mixer, Blender, and Whipper (you can get the same thing on Amazon). I got it as a free gift with my order, and I wouldn’t have bought it otherwise, but it has turned out to be very useful. I use it every day. It still produces some foam, but it makes it very easy to mix powder into liquids without lumps. It’s also easy to clean.
During my pre-op diet, when I was drinking a lot of Protein Shakes, I used a Blender Bottle. These are very inexpensive (certain colors are a few dollars less than others) and they work very well for Protein Powder. I don’t use them as much anymore because I’m not making full-size 8-ounce shakes these days.

Welcome! I have chosen not to tell anyone in my life (aside from medical professionals) about my surgery, so it's nice to have somewhere to discuss something that is a big part of my life right now.
FYI, in case you don't know how to update your stats, you can click on your username at the top of the screen, then select "My Surgery" under Settings. The info on the "Surgery Information" and "Progress" screens is nice to be able to see when you post (but of course it's all optional and you don't have to enter anything you don't want to share).