Elisabethsew

Congratulations on your success. I have no doubt you'll make all your goals and I look forward to following your progress.

Once I got to the soft phase of the pre-op diet, I was in heaven. LOL. Some of my favorites were (and remain), 1/4 cup of part-skim ricotta cheese. I like it as is for breakfast or lunch but you can add Splenda and it tastes like the inside of a cannoli. Add a little cocoa powder to make it a chocolate one. I love tilapia. I take a piece of foil and put the fish on it, cut an orange and drizzle the juice on top, and add a little salt and pepper. Close the foil and toss it on the grill or in the oven at 400 degrees for about 6-8 min. and dinner is done. You can use lemon in place of the orange if you prefer that taste. I can make a meal out of a small sweet potato. I make an "x" in one, toss it into the oven right on the grate and bake it at 500 degrees for 45 minutes. The outside skin peels off easily and the inside is creamy and sweet. I add a little salt and that's it.

Ok, sleeved ladies, I have a question. Do you find you have more restriction at that time of the month? I read people with the band experience it but I would swear I am experiencing it now. I'm 2 months post-op today so I suppose it could still be the healing process. Am I nuts or are others finding the same thing?

WOW! You certainly had a rough time but I'm glad to here you're now doing well and losing. Hair loss is a problem and I haven't heard that magnesium does much. Have they checked to make sure your iron and ferritin levels are OK? Take a MVI in the AM and PM and make sure it has the B-complex group in it. Some people say the surgery is a shock to the system and that the hair loss stops after 6-9 months... here's hoping. :-)

Carbs get a bad rap because people associate carbs with processed foods such as cakes, cookies, chips, etc. Now that acid reflux is a thing of the past (evil band is gone - lol) I am loving being able to eat fresh fruits and veggies. The provide a lot of fiber and nutrients and fill you up. When I was a kid, going out to dinner was a treat and McDonald's was a real treat. Of course "back then" supersize portions were unheard of. I took a paperbag lunch to school and sat down to a home prepared meal every night. Today, it's all reversed. Meals at home are becoming a rare treat and it's easier to stop and "pick dinner up" at a fast food place. Our love of convenience is killing us.

If you're going to Mexico and using a credit card, make sure you call the card company. They will charge an extra 3% typically so you need to see if they will waive the fee. Also, call the surgeon's coordinator and ask them who they suggest for financing.

I have Empire BC/BS PPO and they would not approve the VSG.

Let us know how it goes with insurance approval. Slowly, insurance companies are coming around and realizing it makes sense to pay for VSG.

Welcome and thank you for posting about your positive experience. Congratulations on your great weight loss.

Try ordering soup and an appetizer or a salad and an appetizer. I find nobody cares what I do or don't eat when I go out. It's more about the conversation.

Thank you for sharing your success story. I am a food addict and always will be. Learning new coping mechanisms while I adapt to smaller portions will be key to me being successful.

Welcome! Are you tracking all the food that goes into your mouth? There are a lot of free dietary tracking sites and you might be surprised to see that the number of calories you think you're eating is a lot more.

Welcome! I know what you mean about barriers to exercising. I'll be having 2 knee replacements in Sept a week apart and am trying to lose as much weight as I can by that time. I dread the surgery but look forward to the "after" when I can do exercises without limitations.

I love success stories and you surely are a success. Keep posting and congratulations!

Thank you for sharing your story. My weight loss slowed for a few weeks even though I was eating right. That passed and now I am steadily losing.

Thank you for posting and congratulations on your success.

I agree that this hostility belongs in a PM. What I would like to know about is your experience with the sleeve and how you are maintaining a huge weight loss. I'm newly sleeved and so are a lot of the members. We are eager to learn from the experienced sleevers.

Congratulations on your weight loss but I would say the credit for that goes to you and not the surgeon. As we all know, a sleeve gives us a smaller stomach and you can fill a small stomach with 300 good calories or 3000 bad calories. I know many people who had RNY a year or more ago, lost to or near goal, and today are back to where they were pre-surgery. Is this because their surgeon was not skilled or because they ate themselves back to obesity?

Congratulations on your surgery date. You picked a great surgeon.

You can read my story in the tell your story section of this board (the first section). I never got restriction from the band but I did get awful acid regurg and a poor quality of life. Insurance covered the band but wanted a 9-12 month paper trail of complications before they would pay to have it removed. I was offered another band (no way!) or RNY. I don't absorb Iron and wanted no part of malabsorption so the sleeve was a good fit for me. I am using my scale at home to gauge my loss and that says 25 pounds gone in 2 months. My MD's scale (the ones we're all familiar with) says I lost 35. I did a lot of research and talked to others with the sleeve and decided NOT to live sleeping in a chair risking esophageal cancer to please the insurance company. I went to Dr. Aceves in Mexico for the VSG revision and have only great things to say about the experience ($11,500). I feel full on small amounts of food and am steadily losing. I also do strength training/cardio with a personal trainer. I think you'll love the sleeve.

I'm a FT RN also and you've made a great decision. You'll learn a lot from the members here so keep on posting and ask whatever questions you have.

I'm glad everything went well. Enjoy the pain meds. LOL.

Good luck! You're going to do great!

They should develop a pill that KILLS gherlin!

As long as you take extra calcium to minimize the loss from the acid blockers it's not too bad. I would still mention it to your MD.