Stacy160

Most insurance companies require a BMI of 40 or over, OR over 35 with co-morbidities. I was self-pay because my insurance policy specifically excludes anything weight-loss related, but after hanging around on WLS boards for 3 years I'd guess that at least half of all insured people get denied the first time around, but almost all of them eventually get approved although it may take a couple of appeals.

First, don't panic... get used to it, because it happens to everyone! That's why they say you should only weigh once a week, because daily fluctuations are totally normal. It's more about holding and releasing Water from the muscles. Also don't freak when you hit a stall and the scale doesn't move for a week or two--get prepared for it mentally, KNOW it's gonna happen eventually and probably more than once, and that if you just keep on keepin' on the program, it'll break. That's also largely a water thing with them muscles, it's something to do with the glycogen in them hanging on to water. It's not at all unusual for someone to stall for a couple of weeks but still feel their clothes getting looser... then one day five or six pounds might disappear overnight. You're normal, just try not to get too obsessed with the scale, 'cause the thing lies!

You're in Twoterville! Congratulations!!

I can't believe how great you're doing! I went under 200 two weeks ago, and have been bumping up and down within a 2-3 pound range ever since. But yesterday hubby and I worked ALL DAY outside, drink like fish (water only!), and didn't really eat until we came in for the night, and surprisingly this morning I'm down another pound, so yay! HW - 258 SW - 246.4 LW-ish - between 199 - 202 Today - 198.4

I've been worried about that too. The "dowager's hump" runs in my family, but the good news is that mine's reducing along with the rest of the fat on me. That's also right over the 7th cervical vertebra, which has a larger spinous process (the part that sicks out to the back) than the rest and naturally protrudes more on everyone. The bone's supposed to be that way, so expect to still have that part of it when the fat is gone, but don't worry, it just means your spine is normal!

Sorry you're struggling hon, but I'll go with the obvious answer.... um, DUMP the rotten boyfriend!?! What's the point in hanging on to that, when all it does is drag you down?

You're OK! Almost every single one of us worried about the same thing and couldn't get all the Protein in right off the bat. It is because of the swelling... you'll notice over the next few of weeks that you'll be able to drink more, and not as slowly as you have to now. Are you on clears or full liquids? Even if you're on clears, Isopure and nectar both count and having those will kill two birds with one stone (water and protein), so having those all day long will help you get it in. Anyway though, my original point was that you're normal! LOL...at this point your big focus is on not getting dehydrated, and soon enough you'll be able to get all the protein in. Oh, and congrats on your sleeve, you're gonna love this! :001_smile:

Being dehydrated, low on calcium and especially low on potassium can all cause muscle tightness, twitchiness and spasms. Are you getting calcium and potassium in your daily vitamin? I think that'd be the first thing to check.

Nutella is the devil!! OK, it's really absolutely heavenly... ever had those amazing Belgian seashell-shaped chocolates? It's like the inside of those, this wonderful rich chocolately, nutty creamy delightful stuff. I bought it once, and once only -- before surgery -- and won't buy it again because I never actually put it ON anything... I ate the whole damn thing, spoonful by spoonful! Anyway, I was allowed to blend strawberries into my shakes right off the bat.

My work is moderately physical, and at 10 days I went back for two 6-hour shifts on Thursday and Friday with no problem, then back to my regular full-time schedule the next week. What type of work do you do?

My obgyn told me that they are not habit-forming and the body does not become dependent on them because they're not a chemical stimulant, and all they do is draw water into the bowel.

My doctor would have told me to go for it... other peoples' doctors are very strict about exercise dos and don'ts. Best bet is to see what your surgeon says.

I was able to go up and down stairs with no problem and could have been alone after coming home, but it was so nice having my son and hubby here to grab things for me, give me a hand standing up (those muscles are SORE for a couple of days!), and to have the reassurance of having them here in case anything did go wrong. Is there someone who can maybe at least spend the first night home with you? If not, you still should be fine.

I think one problem we tend to have is that before surgery, may of us didn't have that "I'm full" or "I'm satisfied, don't need any more" signal, and we only knew we were done when we couldn't stuff any more food in. I know I have to consciously think about how I feel when eating in order to stop when I should (if I haven't measured my food), otherwise I'll keep eating until I'm at capacity, which is not a good thing. I haven't vomited because of eating too much, although I have because of eating too fast, but not for the last couple of months. Do follow the suggestion to measure your food out first, recognize that even if you're not totally stuffed when you're done, you're also not hungry any more, and see if that helps you out. Good luck!

Believe me, EVERYBODY has this fear, and I mean everybody. We've all failed and failed again at the weight-loss thing... that's why we ended up here, right? So I know, it is impossible to imagine or really let yourself believe that it'll work. I'm halfway to goal and I STILL occasionally have those feelings, especially during a slow week or two.... and then the next week, four or six more pounds might be gone, I'm down another size, things that I couldn't even think about wearing three months ago are now too big LOL... trust me, you'll see for yourself, this works and you feel so "normal" with it, it's awesome!!

I did not make my 15 points last week because I didn't have a chance to do anything at work Friday, and Saturday morning we wound up going down to my in-laws for the weekend. I'm pledging 15 points again this week, and got off to a good start yesterday. First I need to clarify, do things like yardwork count? If so, then between raking and clearing away hedge clippings for a hour, and taking an hour-long walk, there's 12 points. If not, then we'll just count the walk and there's 6 points! And I'll change my pledge to 20 since it's still so early in the week. Working on the gumption to go out and mow the lawn before it rains this afternoon... it's a self-propelled walk-behind mower, does that count?

Keep reading, here and at obesityhelp.com (the VSG and/or revisions board) and I think you'll have a much easier time making your decision. I first looked into the band, but it only took a few days before I was thinking "No freakin' WAY" about the thing. The complication and failure rates are soooo unacceptable, and there's a reason why there are SO many band-to-sleeve revisions being done. I'd rather have stayed fat than put one of those things in me to deform my insides and keep me fat and miserable (and still starving). Personally I think the band should be banned, but unfortunately it's still big business to the poor uninformed people wanting it. Welcome, keep reading, and good luck with whatever you decide!

It's normal...there's pretty much nothing solid going in there! After maybe day 3 I started going daily, but it was just a little bit of very liquidy stuff. That all changes once you move to purees and mushies. Since you specifically asked about constipation though, it can be a major issue when you do move to more substantial foods, since you're not getting much Fiber at all. I was supposed to put Benefiber in my shakes... well, that stuff does nothing but make things worse and more uncomfortable for me. I've found that if I take one stool softener with each main meal (especially if it's mainly meat; I generally don't take it if I have cottage cheese for breakfast), then I'm fine. Otherwise, ugh.... misery. Lots of people depend on Miralax, but you have to drink it and it's way more expensive than a bottle of store-brand stool softener (which Miralax is) pills, 350 for $11. Anyway back to your question...not unusual right now from what I've read although if you start getting bloated and uncomfortable, you might try taking something 'cause you sure don't want to already be backed up when you go on purees or mushies!

Exactly... the fact that you don't see many "regrets" posts by post-oppers speaks for itself.

Depends on your doctor's guidelines... at 16 days I would have been doing purees only, but other people are cleared for stuff like chili after a week. Guess you could always puree the chili though, if you had to! I LOVE Wendy's chili, started having it at the soft foods stage and probably have it at least once a week now.

You're doing this to get healthy, right? So...why would you even want to?? :tongue_smilie:

congratulations!!!

WOW, that was fast... good job!!

Depends on what I'm eating. Two ounces of chicken breast or drier steak stuffs me to the gills... more tender meat, I can do about 3 ounces of. Last night I had 4 oz. of shiratake noodles and 4 meatballs (with sauce) and was very full after that. If I treat myself to a bowl of Cereal, I'm satisfied with a cup of cereal and half a cup of almond milk, but could probably get more in if I let myself. I've done an entire bag of microwave popcorn... not proud of that. You'll hear people talk about "slider foods" ... those are the ones like the popcorn, and the cereal, that are really light and usually full of carbs, that go in easily and slide right down. If you stick with the denser Proteins, you'll get fuller faster, and stay that way longer.

I got 45 minutes on the treadmill this afternoon, and did about 15 minutes of upper-body strengthening at work yesterday, for 60 minutes of work, putting me at 11/15 points for the week. I really like this idea and thread!