Elisabethsew

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

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.

I will start by saying I hate eggs so the raves I get for this recipe are from people who do enjoy them. Quiche is usually made with half & half or cream but this is a lighter version with a lot of protein. 1. Take a store bought deep dish pie shell and prick holes in the crust on the bottom and sides. 2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (bake). 3. In a bowl, whisk together: - 4 eggs - 1.5 cups of skim milk - Canned all white meat chicken or turkey (drained and flaked) - 11-12 oz - 1 tablespoon worstershire sauce - 1/4 cup of low fat ricotta cheese - 1 tablespoon onion powder - 1 teaspoon garlic powder - 1/2 cup of low fat shredded cheddar cheese or another cheese you like - 2 tablespoons of corn starch (this is the secret ingredient that thickens the quiche) 4. Pour the mixture in the pie crust. 5. Bake for 45-55 min at 350 degrees. If the quiche is not golden brown and set, bake for an additional 10 min.

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!

Yesterday, I had not one but TWO meals out. I was a little nervous because the first meal out was with a good friend from work who did not know I had weight loss surgery (WLS) and the second was dinner with family members. I had a very early MD appointment and skipped breakfast as my friend wanted to meet for brunch. She chose the international house of pancakes. The last time I ate breakfast out was literally years ago and I have not been to IHOP in well over ten years. There were 3 of us and 2 had the usual breakfast. I searched the menu and selected what I found to be the best bet; a spinach salad with apples, diced chicken cutlet and about 2 tablespoons of finely shredded cheese. I had them hold the hard boiled egg (hate them) and serve the balsamic vinegrette on the side. I started with a few bites of the chicken, ate one wedge of the apple, a few fork fulls of the spinach leaves, and was stuffed. I had a huge portion left so I offered some to the 2 other ladies saying I was full. They each shared it and only a few spinach leaves remained. Nobody questioned why I was eating so little and the conversation flowed. One down, one to go. Dinner out was to celebrate my brother's birthday and his oldest daughter's graduation with her Master's degree. It was me and 6 family members and they decided on a diner. I had brunch at 10:45 AM and dinner was 7:00 PM and I ate nothing in between. They wanted to go to a diner. I ordered an appetizer of baked clams (4) and a turkey sandwich with mayo on the side. I gave away one of the clams, ate 3, and could not eat anymore stating I was full. Everyone was eating and talking and sharing food and nobody cared what I was or was not eating. It helped that my petite niece ordered stuffed mushroom appetizer as her meal (no wonder she's a size 1). The waiter wrapped my sandwich up and I took it home. I'll use the turkey on a salad... several salads. LOL. Clearly, the get together is far more important than what someone is eating or not eating. I had no reason to worry and my secret was safe. Since childhood I have always been on one diet or another so me eating light was natural and not questioned by family or friends. My advice... don't worry about social gatherings involving food. Just go and enjoy the occasion and the people. Nobody cares what you do or do not eat.

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.