Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!

I'm Approved....What Now?



Recommended Posts

Greetings,

I know many of you are just starting out on this journey and may want to know what to do after approval ?. Here are some tips that are helping me:

1) Stock up on your Protein shakes. During your visits to the doctor, you should have been trying to find a shake that you like. For me, it was difficult since I am lactose intolerant. Even a small amount of lactose makes my stomach hurt. I spent 3 months testing Protein Shakes. The following two are great for me:

Premier shakes
Orgain Shakes

You can get these from target, Vitamin Shoppe and Premier is sold at BJ's.

2) Stock up on your vitamins. If you're like me and cannot take pills, try this brand sold a Target called Olly. This brand comes in a chewable form and consist of the following you will need:

Calcium (Bones)
Multivitamin (Men and Women)
B12 (Energy)
Vitamin D (Sunshine)

3) Find a food Processor (Not a chopper. They look similar but are different apparently)

4) You can purchase glass baby jars (??) for your puréed stage or you can purchase condiment holders. They both will work with holding your puréed food and helping you measure it out.

5) Gatorade will help with the electrolytes loss. Make sure it is sugar free. It may taste nasty but hey sugar is what got us to where we are now.

6) I created a Pre-op diet schedule and Post-op diet schedule. For those whom need to have an idea of when to eat based on their schedules, this can help.

7) Practice your eating and drinking schedule?. Don't drink 30 minutes before and wait 30 minutes after eating to drink. Slip slowly. Chew your food slowly. There is an App which can help you time yourself.

8) Incorporate more vegetables. Limit your fruit intake because that is still sugar.

9) Continue reading and learning.

10) If you are surrounded by people whom are not supportive, try to not discuss this process with them as they will not be understanding of it. This will stress you out and you may have second thoughts.

11) If you are surrounded by people whom are supportive, try not to overwhelm them. It's a catch 22...I know but show them what you are doing or going to be doing. They may not understand the process but they will see how important it is to you. Try not to talk too much about it, when they have questions, they will ask.

As a reminder, this is not a medical opinion but tips that I use to help with the process. There are days in which I want my comfort foods. Sometimes I indulge but most times I ignore the cravings. We are not only changing our bodies but we are also changing our minds. Use this time wisely. Be prepared. Good luck and you can succeed.


Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Agreed! This is a great list of things to work on in the meantime!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Trending Products

  • Trending Topics

  • Recent Status Updates

    • Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
      I live on the island of Oʻahu and spend a lot of time in the water- for exercise, for play,  and for spiritual & mental health. The day I had my month out appointment with my surgeon, I packed all my gear in my truck, anticipating his permission to get back in the ocean. The minute I walked out of that hospital I drove straight to the shore and got in that water. Hallelujah! My appointment was at 10 am. I didn't get home until after 5 pm. 
      I'm down 31 pounds since the day of surgery and 47 since my pre-op diet began, with that typical week long stall occurring at three weeks. I'm really starting to see some changes lately- some of my clothing is too big, some fits again. The most drastic changes I notice however are in my face. I've also noticed my endurance and flexibility increasing. I was really starting to be held up physically, and I'm so grateful that I'm seeing that turn around in such short order. 
      My general disposition lately is hopeful and motivated. The only thing that bugs me on a daily basis still is the way those supplements make my house smell. So stink! But I just bought a smell proof bag online that other people use to put their pot in. My house doesn't stink anymore. 
       
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
  • Recent Topics

  • Hot Products

  • Sign Up For
    Our Newsletter

    Follow us for the latest news
    and special product offers!
  • Together, we have lost...
      lbs

    PatchAid Vitamin Patches

    ×