riley4183

I don't do milk either, ever ever. I love chocolate Soy Slender for 1 cup its 70 cals, 1 gr. net carbs and 7g protein! I love it iced, and starbucks will use it to make my decaf lattes :scared2: I'm also fortunate that I love good, firm tofu! The super-firm kind that they sell at trader joes is too high in fat so i have just been using the lite extra firm that they sell at Safeway, I "fry" slices of it in a pan sprayed with olive oil cooking spray, sprinkle it with garlic powder and Tony Cachere's cajun seasonong and YUM even if I devour the whole package (noy likely) it would only be 200 cals and all of my protein for the day. Also good with spahetti sauce, I use vegies and mashed dark red kidney beans in my spaghetti sauce try it! Do call them again tomorrow and ask for Kelly, they have 4 gals who answer the phone and it's really all about who answers or who calls you back. If you are super flexible with your dates, tell them that! I know that have appointments come up all the time. Do you know if you are going to do psych or surgeon first?

Reggie, it sounds like you tweak your 1200 the way I do mine . . . I'll bet there are more of us too! Since carbs make the liver larger, I'm avoiding them like the plague . . . . . :scared2:

swrktp, I am so impressed that you have managed to remain vegetarian through this! I used to be (OL) vegetarian, right up until the day after orientation! There seemed no way around eating chicken and fish both on the 1200 and post-op for me. I'm mostly eggbeaters and tofu and cottage cheese and soy or brown rice protein powder, but I am doing chicken and fish (get this, I have to eat it "canned" so it does not remind me of carcass!) to get extra protein and avoid losing muscle as a lose weight so fast. My goal is to be vegetarian again when the rapid weight loss stops - hopefully when I am on full food again. I also heard (actually, read) that Robin specializes in vegetarianism, isn't that great!?! Anyways, way to GO girl!! And keep the faith . . .you are right if you are at goal weight sooner you will be banded sooner. I posted earlier about my friend who was at goal and they called her to come see the case manager the next day, they gave her a surgery date and THAT day and then called her the next day to move it up by a whole month! I went with her to her pre-op Friday and they were talking about moving it up again to monday (today) but she said no thanks - she goes next Wednesday for RNY. And they were SO NICE in there! It's almost like if you could just walk in and talk to someone you could get appointments right away . . . . but they want to see that you are motivated, and losing the weight is what shows them that you are. Keep it up! Riley :scared2:

swrktp, congrats on you 8 lbs!!! Thats huge considering that they are not even calling you, which would be totally unmotivating for me. Keep it up!! Reggie, how do you tweak your 1200?

Nicole, how did you get Dr. Baggs to waive stuff 4 you with the educator? Did you already have a class? I am in a 14-week series of classes on this surgery up here in Santa Rosa (only 4 classes left, and I'm really going to miss it!) so maybe he might waive me too?? Let's see you have a month between surgeon appt. and case manager, I go to surgeon the 23rd so it look like I can't expect case manager until the end of feb, if then! Are you calling for cancellations? Dr. Park's assistant mentioned today that there were some open appointments coming up, but I don't know if that was for her or for the case managers. Can't hurt to call, right? Best! Riley

Yea, Tera! They are SO nice down there, someone would probably just guesstimate for you about how far out they are making CM appts, I don't have one yet so I can't help! My appt. with Dr. Baggs is not until next Friday, but I went down with a friend to her pre-op today and they let me weigh in, and I was actually under my 10%! I tried to get them to set me up a CM appointment right then, but they said Dr. Baggs has to set my goal first so we know I have reached it. Rats! Way to burst my little scale-bubble! So I have lost 30 lbs since my orientation on November 4th. I do the 1200 diet faithfully EXCEPT I don't eat the straight starches (toast, potato etc.) I replace them with veggies and protein. Starches are a trigger food for me, so better to avoid them and not be tempted. I also walk 5 miles a day - 12,000 to 15,000 steps on my pedometer, including at least 1 hour of it aerobically. AND I drink ALL of my water. And NO alchohol. If I do not do all 3 things every day - < 1200, water, and 5 miles - I do not lose. If I do all 3, I lose real well. I journal everything in Calorie Counter Database - Free Online Diet Program, a free service and they give you a nutritional grade every day too (I go for the As!) Caffeine is my last hold-out, I am down to 1 half-caff cup a day but refuse to let it go until my surgeon demands it. Good luck! You CAN do this!!! Riley

Momcof3, who does the fills, the surgeon or someone else? Riley

You poor thing! I think that are catching up there tho; a gal in my support group got a call from Liz this afternoon asking if she could come to her case manager appt. tomorrow, and if she is at goal weight still, surgery will be in 2-3 weeks! Just like that! After she had been waiting 6 weeks for them to give her an appointment after her surgeon visit. Sweet! It WILL happen :thumbup:

So glad you all had fun and found support from one another! It is SO important. Wish I could have been there but work is a real bear right now. I would loved to have seen little Audrey, I miss my babies so much! They are 25, 20 and 17 now . . yeez So I saw mt PCP today and he really wanted to emphasize to me that he thinks I should have Lap-Band and not RNY. I guess he has a patient that is so malnourished after RNY that she can't stop losing weight (she went from 315 to like 105 and is still losing), they keep putting her on IVs and stuff and I guess now they are going to operate again. . . . I have never heard of it being that bad, but the whole malabsorptive thing is not my cup of tea anyways. He did not say if she had had the surgery done at Kaiser, I kind of think not but I didn't want to ask . . . I will ask my support group leader tomorrow night if she has heard about this, she tells us the risk stories too so we are very well-prepared. I wish you guys could all have this class too! It is so helpful. Now you can form your own group in Sacto! It is so helpful (and it sounds like Christine is providing a little comic relief!) When I got weighed in today and my doc saw I was down almost 25 lbs over the holidays he said wow whats your secret so I can share it with my other patients, and I said it was the support! OK gonna go put some more steps on the 'ol pedometer, you girls have good night! :tongue2: Riley

How did it go today ladies?!?! Does "Team Richmond" have good things to report from your lunch? Thanks for your protein suggestions the other nite when I was starving, I did in fact have a protein shake. And it's working! Lost almost 5 lbs in the last 2 weeks!

So the I had egg beaters with Tabasco (I have GOT to go meat shopping!) and spinach with vinegar. And I'm STILL starving! I know it's from all of the activity today; my pedometer says well over 1,000 cals burned so there's a good reason for my hunger. But I don't want to eat those burned calories; that was hard work! Does anyone else have this problem & can make some suggestions? Chicken broth is not so much cutting it . . . Riley

Arggh, I am starving! I walked 8 1/2 miles today, including some steep hiking and I'm POOPED - and starving! I just had some celery with like 3 tbsps of soy nut butter and 2 cups of ceasar salad, and I want more more more! I had eggbeaters with onions & bell pepper for breakfast, and topping from 2 slices of cheese pizza + 2 cups of salad for lunch, so nothing left on my 1200! Any ideas for me?

Heck ya! And someone was saying that at first of the year you no longer need a referral from your PCP, so imagine how busy they will be now, yikers! Well it does help to have support, I have this group and my class at my local Kaiser, and now that class has branched off into an "activity" support group, where we walk or whatever. In fact we have a 3-miler at 9 this morning, and it's 31 degrees out there! Yikes! The trail is all shaded too, we'd better move pretty fast or we will freeze to death. Does anyone know if you burn more calories shivering?? So I am real lucky to have those support groups, and there is also a huge one monthly held at the Wells FArgo Center, that one is not just Kaiser but everyone . . . .I have not been yet but I hear that they have a clothing exchange too, which I'm going to need! Have fun on Monday guys!! :thumbup: Riley

I live in Santa Rosa, too far to meet up with you Monday!! Unfortunately my schedule is less than flexible, but that's OK as I don't intend to switch surgeons, I asked for Dr. Baggs. They did offer me a couple of earlier appts. with Dr. Fischer - one the very next day, in fact - but I held out for the appt. with Baggs. I am just concerned that I will be at my surgery goal weight and have to wait for months to get in to see the case manager, since they only have the 1 right now. Maintenance is always the problem with me, and as soon as i get discouraged I tend to revert back to my old eating behaviors. Alas . . . . Christine, did you find out if you can do case manager and nutrition class together? :tongue2: Riley

Nicole so glad you liked Dr. Baggs! I hear good things about him. I hope to have surgery in early March, I don't see Dr. Baggs until 1/23 so do you think that's a resasonable expectation? Riley

I'm on the 3rd step - surgeon on the 23rd of this month, and will be at my 10% by then . . . . I hope that I can get the case manager appt. and the nutrition class the same day. Has anyone had that at Richmond, or does only SSF do that?:confused: Riley PS Happy New Year all! This is our year, claim it!!!

Vikkie, thanks for posting! We are all a little tired with the waiting game, it is so great and heartening to see that you were once waiting like us and, a year or so from now, hopefully we will be at or below goal and maintaing, too! Congratulations! :confused: Riley

Wow Minxz! Good for you!

Vikki, Kim, Warrior - where are you guys? Are you still on this forum? We have a new bunch of Kaiser Richmond folks, I'm at Kaiser Santa Rosa with Dr. Baggs in Richmond for my surgery - I would love to hear you you are all doing!! Riley

Ugh! I think it's the big needle-with-the-hole-in-the-side-stuck-in-the-belly part for me. I am OK with little needles - my sons got diabetes at age 7 so I have given hundreds of injections - but this puppy was BIG!! The video that really got me is the one where they kept pulling it out and going back in again . . . ralph :frown: I get sick when they put in my IV too, I'm just a big woosy (sp?) but hey, it's not gonna stop me! I would do it a hundred times to be healthy and trim!

Yucko! Yucko yucko! :tongue2: Those videos are GROSS I don't want a fill. But I will when I'm starving because of no restriction Oh man . . . .

Fill videos on you tube! I'm gonna check that out! I have a friend here @ work who had RNY and got pregant only 1 year out. They have a beautiful baby girl now, but she had SO many problems and complications because the pregnancy happened so soon after surgery. She was on disability for over a year. And all of the weight that she gained from the pregnancy, she did not lose back. She lost almost 200 lbs, so she is much healthier now, but gained 80 back. Weight is stable now and her health is back (still has dizzy spells but that's it) but she was really, really sick when her body needed all of the little nutrition it was absorbing for the baby. Just a thought - Going to you tube to see a fill before my lunch is over :tongue2: Riley

True, true! Do check and see! While Kaiser IS very different (it's an HMO, so you can only go to their facilities but as long as you do you're covered), Monkey is very right about what it might cost you, co-pays, deductables and so on. All the plans are different, and the individual plans are different-er yet. I have the highest level of Kaiser coverage, and I still have a co-pay as of the beginning of the year - and I never did before. So do check! In my class the out-of-pocket costs for bariatric surgery - all at Kaiser Richmond of South San Francisco - range from $10 to a couple of thousand. Check it out!:tongue2: Riley

Hi Pammy! Kaiser does indeed cover the Lapband if you meet the criteria (BMI 40 or over, and pattern of unsuccesful attempts to lose weight and keep it off) (or BMI over 35 and 2 co-morbidities). They have their own surgeons and each center that does the surgery has their own rules. I started the process by emailing my PCP and telling him that I had been doing a lot of research and this is what I wanted, he emailed me back to make an appointment and come see him, meantwhile I signed up for the Healthy Lifestyle classes, when I went in a couple of days later my BMI was well over 40, my blood pressure was uncontrolled enough for him to put me on a second medication, he saw that I was in the class and he sent a referral over for me. BUT. I understand from my Kaiser support group that each bariatric center is different, and that some may still want you to complete classes before they will accept you into the program. In Reseda for example you need a 6-month class to be referred for orientation. There is a program in Harbor City and they are just starting one in West LA, I don't know where the other SoCal ones are. Most Kaiser paitents have to drive an hour or more to the surgery centers I think. I know I do! Go to kp.org and search by the facility . . . . for my program (Richmond), the is a whole information binder available online that tells EVERYthing about the steps in the process. Good luck! :tongue2: Riley

Good afternoon everyone! Whatever you all decide - Lapband or RNY - let's do keep our little online Kaiser Richmond support group going! I'm finding it very helpful Riley:smile: