Hi all,

I have done my introductory meeting and am now waiting for my surgical consult on 4/12. I have a sleep study, a nutritionist appointment, and a psych eval to go through before I can be approved for my surgery. It will be at least a month before all this can be done. I have spent my life "dieting" and trying to lose weight and now I find I don't wand to (and maybe even shouldn't) lose weight, otherwise I won't meet the BMI criteria. I am very excited about moving ahead with this surgery but don't want to gain a bunch of weight in the next month. I attend OA and recognize I am a compulsive overeater. I guess I am just looking for support and encouragement that this is all just "part of the process". You all inspire me everyday.

Thanks,

Katie

I'm in a very similar boat. I'm waiting on insurance approval (which I expect to have this week) and then a surgery date either in mid April or mid May. I just barely squeaked by the BMI requirement (I had to slouch a bit) so I know I don't want to actively try to lose weight right now, but I'm also terrified of gaining. I feel like my body is at its bursting point and if I gain another pound I'll do an irreversible amount of damage (new stretch marks, etc.) At the same time, while I'm very much looking forward to working hard and conquering my bad habits (and there are many) with the help of this tool, in the interim I've found I've been splurging a bit more knowing my days of eating for pleasure and fun are just about over. Not to mention I'm an accountant and April is my biggest stress eating month of the year AND my birthday is in April so there will be lots of meals and drinking centered around that...I am definitely worried I'm setting myself up for disaster!

I don't know if all this is "part of the process" but I definitely feel the same way you do and vulnerable is a great way to describe it! But you know what? We've made it this far. We're not going to crumble in the next few weeks/months. We just have to see through the end of this journey - the one where we're often left feeling controlled by food - and then we can start our new one! We can do it!

Once you have your official weigh-in for submission to insurance for approval it doesn"t matter if you lose or gain, so just relax and quit worrying about it. be ready for whatever preop diet your doctor requires when the time comes. Stressing yourself out will only make the waiting worse. I know how you feel. I have been working toward this for 18 months and have experienced every emotion possible. Now that my surgery is set and I have started on the preop diet, I am feeling less stressed and more ready to move forward!

Good luck to you! It will happen for you.