ShoppGirl

I am 5’8” and was 235 when I started my journey. I can’t even remember my weight in high school or college because it was just NEVER A concern of mine until my late twenties when the symptoms of bipolar began. Between depression and the medication for the illness I just gained and gained. Dieting and regaining over and over until I finally got the sleeve. Now at 11 months out I am just above the “normal” range of BMI. I have to accept that on these meds I will never be a size one or even a three again but I am still very happy with my decision to do the sleeve. I have to admit that all I have been doing in terms of exercise is walking so with more exercise I would definitely be a normal BMI by now I’m sure.

Being able to lose weight shouldn’t hold you back. Many of us have lost significant amounts of weight several times throughout the years but couldn’t keep it off. As for gaining a bunch of weight quickly I doubt that would matter. Some companies I have heard on here do require a weight history for several years but I don’t think many do. Many companies require you to do a six month long physician monitored diet where you have to get weighed once a month before they submit to insurance for approval.

Most likely you would have to pay out of pocket but some surgeons will do the surgery with a BMI of 30. it’s usually the insurance company that dictates the 35 BMI minimum and that’s with at least one comorbidity for most companies. One thing that may help though is if you haven’t measured yourself in a while to do so. You may be shorter than you think and your BMI a little higher. I was.

If you add the ranch dressing seasoning to Greek yogurt it makes a really good ranch dipping sauce too you could dip meat in that to add moisture.

Well for what it’s worth I got to 9 pounds from my goal without any exercise other than walking just by measuring my food so it can be done. I need to add exercise to get all the way there I think. At the same time when I lost a family member recently and went off plan it was super easy to gain some too. I think because I could eat so much when I wasn’t measuring.

I didn’t feel restriction until I got to regular food and even then I could eat more than I was expected to if I wanted. I still have to measure my food or I could easily overeat. According to my doctor this is rare though. You should be able to feel restriction with recommended portions around when you get to regular food.

I have never been there. I tried looking online at a menu and it doesn’t have the nutrition information. But it says they use individually quick frozen fruit and veggies that are In their own juices and they use chobani Greek yogurt. Seems like if you don’t get one with added sugars it would be okay and one with added protein I don’t see how you could go wrong. I am going to inspect the macros on the menu and watch closely as they make it for sure but I am going to check it out.

I am glad you have a plan for your transportation now and that you are not letting your family stop you from continuing with this life altering journey. Hopefully they will come around in time.

Have you tried the clear protein drinks or mixing the unflavored protein In other things?

Fingers crossed that it comes back negative and you don’t have to change anything but at least if you do it’s just the testing part which is probably with office staff and not the dr so the appointments should be easier to get.

That stage was pretty boring. I ate ALOT of the ricotta bake and refried beans as well as mashed potatoes (which are not allowed on some surgeons plans but were on mine). Luckily it doesn’t last too long. Technically you can have pretty much whatever you want as long as you puree it but that thought grossed me out personally.

The best way to tell the difference between head hunger and actual hunger is what you are craving. Head hunger you crave something specific, usually something you shouldn’t be eating. With actual hunger you could eat anything. Even vegetables or whatever healthy option you usually don’t love sound good.

I have posted it here several times so you may have seen it already but I bought an extra long phone charger cord on Amazon and was very thankful I had that and a pair of pajama pants to wear around the hospital.

Try your best. Keep sip sip sipping but also keep in mind if you see signs of dehydration that your doctor should be able to arrange for you to get fluids as an out patient. I was terrified I was going to have to go back to the hospital and all that worry was unnecessary cause I got fluids and it was no big deal at all.

It’s not a link. It just underlines certain terms automatically. I think ones that are searched for often. I was saying that premier protein is the shakes that my doctors office recommended. Ooh, I just clicked it and it looks like bariatric pal automatically adds the links to their products.

No, mine didn’t take any photos at all.

That is the shakes that my surgeon recommended.

Idk if you will ever “chug” a lot at least. I can drink normal swallows and I can “chug” like half a glass now at 11 months out but that’s about it. You can take a little bit bigger sips as it is comfortable and then take a couple or a few swallows as your body allows. Some people never chug again and some can drink the same as they did preop. I’m guessing most fall somewhere in between. Regardless, take it super slow.

I always take a crystal light packet with me and Mix it in a glass of water.

The stalls are upsetting but they do pass. Mostly what I have heard is 1-3 weeks but some have lasted longer. As long as your are sticking to your plan and not near maintenance though the loss will start again. Most times dropping a few pounds real quick when it does.

I have been able to do Normal sized bites all along. I just chew them better most of the time. Honestly I have caught myself eating fast and it doesn’t bother me but I try to chew better and slow down between bites.

I went to Marshalls and tried on a few swimsuits today. The smaller sizes fit now but between a long torso and larger bust I had no luck finding anything that fit properly. Someone told me about a swimsuit specialty store that I plan to visit and hope to find a good fit to treat myself for all my hard work.

Very few people have actual hunger post surgery. It’s possible it’s real but not as likely as it is that it’s head hunger. If it’s head hunger you can get past it by keeping yourself busy. Taking a walk or doing a craft. Getting involved in a really gold movie or book. Whatever you enjoy doing, really. Just learning to ignore the desires to eat because of boredom or emotionally eating. Some of us need to see a bariatric therapist to learn to deal with this. If it is truly actual hunger, people have said that hot tea helps.

If you can still take Alieve (you can’t post surgery for sure) it was the only thing that helped with my caffeine headache.

I was told for veggies and meat to oversteam them to start and slowly steam less and less till normal. Raw veggies are not until after you can handle that. And for meat to add some type of sauce or gravy to start but slowly add less and less until you can eat it regular because of course the condiments add calories.