BeanitoDiego

I changed my profile image to a molecule of protein. Why? Because I am certain that it saved my life.

Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.

Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.

A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.

https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises

I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.

Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.

Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣

Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!

Now that I'm in maintenance mode, I'm getting a into a routine for my meals. Every day, I start out with 8-16 ounces of water, and then a proffee, which I have come to look forward to even the night before. My proffees are simply a black coffee with a protein powder added. There are three products that I cycle through: Premier Vanilla, Orgain Vanilla, and Dymatize Vanilla.

For second breakfast on workdays, I will have a low-fat yogurt with two tablespoons of PBFit and two teaspoons of no sugar added dried cherries. I will have ingested 35-45 grams of protein at this point between the two breakfasts, with 250-285 calories, and about 20 carbs.

For second breakfast on non-workdays, I will prepare two servings of plain, instant oatmeal with a tablespoon of an olive oil-based spread. This means I will have had 34 grams of protein, 365 calories, and 38 carbs. Non-workdays are when I am being very active with training sessions, so I allow myself more carbohydrate fuel.

Snacks on any day are always mixed nuts, even when I am travelling. I will have 0.2 cups of a blend that I make myself. It consists of dry roasted peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, and Brazil nuts. This is 5 grams of protein, 163 calories, and 7 carbs.

Breakfast and snacks have been the easiest to nail down. Lunch and dinner have more variables, and I prepare enough for leftovers. I concentrate on protein first, and then add vegetables. Typically tempeh, tofu, or Field Roast products with roasted or sautéed vegetables. Today, I will be eating leftovers from last night. Two ounces of tempeh with four ounces of roasted vegetables that consist of red and yellow sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, small purple potatoes, zucchini, and carrots. I will add a tablespoon of olive oil-based spread, break up 3 walnuts to sprinkle of top, and garnish with two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. This particular meal will be 19 grams of protein, 377 calories, and 28 grams of carbs. Bear in mind that I do eat more carbs when I am not working, and I focus on ingesting healthy carbs instead of breads/crackers/chips/crisps.

It's a helluva journey and I'm thankful to be on it!

Had my 6 month post-op checkup with the surgeon 2 weeks ago. The nurse was directing me to stand on the usual scale, but I asked if I could get on the machine that can measure your fat/muscle percentage, water weight, bone weight, and some other things in addition to weight. You hold on to a couple of paddles and it sends a small electrical signal from one side to the other. She said sure, and I got on and got measured.

Well, when the nutritionist came into the room, he had this massive smile on his face, I mean huge, smiling with his eyes, looking at me fiercely. He had these two print outs in his hand, and puts them down on the table. He starts pointing out how much of my body is muscle, how much is water, how much is bone, etc. He then gets to the section that shows my body fat percentage, and shows me that I am at 22%, which is 1% more than goal! He starts giving me high fives, I start crying, he gives me a hug and a pat on the back, and tells me that I have reached all of my goals at 6 months out.

Wow! I left that appointment elated, floating, so proud of myself for finally getting fit and embracing the life I've always been meant to lead. I'm now at the point where I've got to consume more calories and transition to maintenance mode.

Amazing. I'm so, SO happy 🤩

Six months pots-op as of yesterday. I celebrated with a HIIT class where I was challenged to do a wall-assisted handstand. I truly thought there's no way in hell that I can get up there. Well... I proved myself wrong. The instructor said, "Just try getting one foot up there." I tried and it was so easy, that the other foot went up, and the next thing that I knew, I was standing on my hands with my legs up in the air, leaning against the wall.

Last weekend I challenged myself to a 10-mile hike, and I was SURE that my legs would be non-functional that night and the next day. But that didn't happen at all.  But I did learn that I need a new hiking boot or shoe. I've got a goal of walking the Portuguese coastal route of the El Camino later this year, and I good shoes will be essential.

I've hit another weight loss stall, but that's to be expected. I am so close to my goal already that if it does take 6 more months to get that last stone off, that's okay with me. And I am building muscle, so that stone may never move. S'alright friends, s'alright.

Today, I am a 5 months and a few days post-op, and I am very grateful for being able to drink water more normally. I used to be able to swallow about 16oz. of water in 10 seconds. Now, I can drink about 8oz. of water in about 60 seconds. The change is that I am just more mindful about drinking more often.

Another change with my water intake is that being able to separate eating from drinking has become normal for me. I do wear a fitness tracker and use it multiple times per day as a 30-minute post-meal timer. I have had to sip some water to get meds down with my food, but otherwise I've not had any issues.

I experimented with eating some meat post-op, but I am moving back towards more vegetarian fare. Eggs, cheese, yoghurt, and other dairy choices are still on my menu, though. I've become a fan of morning proffee, too! A scoop of whey-based protein powder in my black coffee feels like a wholesome start to the day. I so look forward to this new ritual, drinking my two proffees and playing word games ☕

Since I have been realising some amazing fitness gains, I've noticed that the veins all over my body are popping up, even when I'm at rest. I can see my ribs in the mirror when I raise my arms. My thighs don't touch anymore. All of this, and more, I am experiencing for the first time in my life. First. Time.

A final observation. Since I am now considered to be of a normal weight, and not obese, I have noticed that strangers are more kind to me. People make eye contact, hold doors, listen, make small talk, etc. As someone who lived in a large body for almost 50 years, and who is still the same person that I always was on the inside, I feel like I have infiltrated the "other side." As a result, I am going out of my way to extend even more kindness and no judgements to everyone that I meet who lives in a larger body.

Stay the path, my friends.

Just returned from a 2-week trip, and was amazed to be able to hike/walk/jog whenever and wherever I wanted to! I LOVE being able to move my body around so freely 😎

Constantly amazing myself. This is probably a normal experience for all of us on a WL journey.

This morning I was at 174 pounds (78.9 kilos). I can perceive that my brain hasn't really caught up to this yet, as I still feel obese, even though I am close to being considered a normal weight, not even overweight. The smaller clothes, the higher fitness level, the great blood work results, the energy- these all tell me a totally different story!

I have NEVER EVER been, never, not once in my life, nada, zip, zilch, zero times, been "thin." I think this explains some of the disconnect between the reality of my body and the stuckness of my brain. I do have confidence that my mind will catch up soon ❤️

Not really having the experience of true hunger yet, but I can perceive the peristalsis of my digestive tract. And I am getting very good at spotting head hunger, and simply noticing it, like a Buddhist.

I ordered the Barbecue Protein Crisps here from BariatricPal, and find them quite tasty. The Ranch flavour, not so much. They are very filing and have a satisfying crunch.

I continue to shrink, and am amazed at the changes all over my body. Visually, it is striking to me. In the mirror, I look thin to my eyes, but I don't feel thin, although I can see more bones and veins and tendons and floppy skin. Cardio-wise, It takes a lot more effort to get my heart rate up and I'm now monitoring which heart zone I can get into and for how long. My resting heart rate is the lowest it's ever been.

If I think about it, and I left myself feel it for a time, I weep (like, boohoo cry) with joy. I am so grateful to myself, and proud of myself for having the courage to have taken the leap to better health.

I'd made this incredible, thoughtful post this morning about people who stay on the forums for a long time, and why I aspire to do the same. Then, it was apparently not submitted. I love this site, this resource, this community, and even like some of the products from the store. But the software is buggy sometimes, like the dupe posts.

Mu three month post-op checkup was yesterday. My team is amazing! I feel so supported by them and very thankful that I made that phone call for an appointment last year. The changes that I have been through in just a year are quite profound. More confidence, ease of body movement, better mental health. And oh, the joy of getting rid of size 24 clothing and not shopping in the plus size sections anymore!

I was reading about people who stick around the forums after reaching their weight loss goals. Some of them are here for 5 or 10 years or more. I aspire to be one of those that stays around to share my story. I'm not some guru, and I'm not any more special than anyone else, and I certainly don't have the magic keys to success. The reason I want to stick around is because of the people that have shared their own journeys. You have all helped me immensely, even though we are all on different plans and start at different places. And I don't believe we ever really get to an ending on these journeys. Yeah, we may reach a goal related to weight, size, BMI, BP, A1C, cholesterol, etc., but we have to stay vigilant. I believe interacting on these forums long term can help guard that vigilance and reinforce what we learn along the way.

Wow, I weighed 185 pounds this morning, or 83.9 kilograms.

That means I've lost 91 pounds, or 41 kilograms.

A third of my body weight.

I knew I was over 100 pounds overweight, but I didn't know what that really meant. I definitely have a good idea of what that means, now!

My goal is 150, so that means 35 more pounds. I'm three months out from surgery and I expect that the rate of loss will slow. And that is perfectly okay. My health journey is far from being over!

I just returned my first post-op vacay. I was gone for a week to two different areas. The first place was a wilderness area on the Atlantic ocean, and then I visited an historic city for a few days.

On my most active day, I was able to hike 11 miles, and I accomplished my first solo backpacking trip. All of the other days, including the city, were 6-8 miles of walking.

One issue that came up for me was my mobile phone. I have become reliant on it for tracking macros, calories, and water intake. However, in the wilderness area, I did not have access to mobile data nor wifi, and the app that I use for tracking will not work if it is offline. I am sure that I met my water goals, but I doubt that I was able to reach my protein goals.

My second issue that came up with the mobile phone was, well, I broke it while in the city! So, in the span of 8 days, I was only able to track my intake for 1. It remains frustrating, as I haven't replaced my phone yet.

I will need to get some kind of paper logbook/backup option for travelling in the future. I am going to search the forums and start a post to find out what others use as an alternative to electronic journalling. 

Please excuse me, for I must shout this from the rooftops...

I DID THREE COMPLETE CHIN-UPS AT THE GYM YESTERDAY!

I have never done any chin-ups in my entire life. EVER.

I wish that I had done some measurements with a tape for my arms, legs, waist, hip, and chest before I started this journey. It would have been a cool metric to keep up with.

In one week, I go for my 3 month post-op followup. That's when I will start my forever way of eating.

It was hard the other day at work... Someone was having an event where they had ordered a LOT of pizzas. Holy smokes, those things smelled so good! I've been able to resist most temptations. I will confess that last week I had two very small pinches of sourdough bread, 20 M&Ms over the course of a few days, and 1 small piece of Dove dark chocolate on a different day. I didn't feel any horrible effects from eating those things, and I hope that I am not setting myself up for failure. My true Achilles Heel is salty-crunchy things, like all varieties of corn chips, crackers, popcorn, puffs, etc. These are the "slider" foods that I have been warned about, and I am working on ways to shift my focus to other activities while I'm still in a good space mentally. Speaking of activity pivots, I am heading to my gym right now to lift some weights before too much more of this day passes.

9 weeks post-op. I tried deli sliced turkey today, and it was dee-li-shus! I've been nervous about trying real meat too soon, and I'm glad that I waited. I've read a lot of stories about people vomiting after eating meat after surgery.

As far as that goes, I've actually not experienced foamies, vomiting, dumping or any other upper GI issues. A little pain if I drink too much water too fast. And constipation, but I figured out that was because I was eating too much dairy. Keeping it to one serving of dairy a day seems to be the key for my body.

Getting ready to go walk the dog, and then come home to go to bed. Y'all take care out there!

9 weeks post-op. I tried deli sliced turkey today, and it was dee-li-shus! I've been nervous about trying real meat too soon, and I'm glad that I waited.

I've not experienced foamies, vomiting, dumping or any other upper GI issues. A little pain if I drink too much water too fast. And constipation, but I figured out it was because I was eating too much dairy. Keeping it to one serving of dairy a day seems to be the key for my body.

Getting ready to go walk the dog, and then come home to go to bed. Y'all take care!

I weighed 199 pounds (90 kg) this morning! I felt accomplished and happy, and celebrated by going to the gym to lift some weights. Hoping everyone else out there is making progress, whether you are pre- or post-op 😊

Today is 7 weeks and two days post-op for me. I've been through two stalls already, but I am sticking to the program. I want long-term success from all of the sacrifice and pain. You all know I mean!

Tomorrow will be 7 weeks since surgery. Yesterday i found that I was able to finally drink more than a sip at a time. I am SO grateful! I have always loved drinking water and it has been my primary beverage for most of my life; losing the ability to drink a lot of it was my first post-surgical regret. Being able to drink more than a tiny sip at a time makes me feel so much more normal.

I'm eating around 500-700 calories a day, and have hit my second stall. I have begun to only weigh myself once a week. I've made to the gym twice since surgery, but I've been walking my pup and walking at work up to 3 miles a day on average.

I've also been using resistance bands and stretching. I'm not quite ready for twisty yoga stuff yet. Or jogging. I did do a 10+ mile bicycle ride last weekend with a friend to a coffee shop where I had a cold decaf coffee with half and half. That was another activity that made me feel kinda normal.

I'm still drinking one protein drink a day, trying to hit my goal of at least 60 grams a day. Today I got 72 in thanks to a cold G Zero with 10 grams.

My abdomen is still a bit sore in general. The way I understand it, the inside is not fully healed until 3 months after surgery. That means sometime around November 1st. This is when I will go on the forever way of eating according to my provider's plan. I look forward to that day.

Oh! And I should mention that I learned about a chain restaurant that is in about 30 or so states. It is called Clean Eatz, and they have a menu that is friendly to we bariatric patients. My support group last night talked about getting pizza and flatbreads from there. I checked it out and it looks like it's both eat-in and takeaway. This is the first place I'm going when I feel ready to eat out again

Today was my 1 month followup, 5 weeks post surgery. My dietician gave me a gold star review for my post op diet, and I graduated to Stage 4 of my program. Stage 5 should be approved in November, and that is the forever way of eating.

I had to go to a post op nutrition class as part of my appointment today. There was a young lady in there that had been eating WAY off diet, and she was not doing well... She had been eating fast food, but peeling the buns off, eating vegetables that were not well-cooked, and eating all kinds of foods that were not part of the detailed instruction that everyone in this program receives. We had SO many caveats from Day One to not try to jump ahead on the schedule for the foods that we eat. I was baffled that someone would decide to eat off program, especially so soon after surgery. She became tired of the liquids & soft foods, so she chose to eat ahead.

The result of her skipping ahead was that she had experienced a lot of vomiting & foamies, a lot of pain, and was unable to drink any fluids. She started feeling flushed and faint in class and had to be sent to the hospital to get some IV fluids.

The discipline that one needs for bariatric surgery cannot be overstated. We have to dig deep mentally and physically to get through surgery itself, learn new things, manage medications, and really lean into that crucial change of mindset and behavior. I hope that this young lady is able to get herself together to make the most of her surgery.

Going to ride my bicycle to work tomorrow. The round trip is almost 8 miles, something I would do frequently before surgery. I've been wanting to ride for a few weeks, so I'm really looking forward to it. This will be the biggest exercise-based calorie expenditure I've tried since surgery 🚴‍♂️

Wow! I am finally not obese any more! I am simply overweight; first time in my life 🤩

24 days post op. The sipping never stops.

I can usually get ~80 grams of protein and around 500 calories in, and ~64 ounces of water. I do get some additional water from sugar free popsicles- I can eat 3 of those in a day.

Have been tolerating all of the new foods okay; eggs, ricotta cheese, powdered peanut butter, cottage cheese, refried beans, soft tofu. I have not have any canned chicken or tuna yet. Trying those at this point makes me a bit nervous. I would like to avoid throwing up for as long as possible.

Pain is better, but is still a constant companion. My left abdomen hurts and I have been treating it with acetaminophen and ice packs. The ice packs seem to have helped a whole lot!

Still learning about surgery and how my life must change in order to make this work. I find that I have cravings for certain things like tacos and salty/crunchy things. The lack of chewing solid foods is mentally tough. And waiting for 30 minutes after I eat to drink any water means every small meal takes an hour or more.

I'm thirsty right now. I can drink some water in about 10 minutes, and I can't wait.