Hello everyone. I am new to this forum. I had my Weight loss consultation on August 31, 2021. I am super excited and ready for this new journey. I’ve been overweight most of my adult life and now it’s time to regain control over my life. I’ve been given some guidelines to start implementing vitamins And at least three proteins shakes a day. I’ve been monitoring what I eat, making sure I get my steps in, and being mindful of my feelings and relationship the food. I was told I needed to lose 15 to 20 pounds prior to surgery. This is kind of stressful Being that I’ve been trying to lose 15 to 20 pounds for the past year and I’ve been unsuccessful. However, I’m going to continue to do my best, roll with the punches, And trust the process. Good advice is welcomed ?

The first few days when you start replacing meals with shakes are pretty rough. Just tough it out. But it's funny how quickly your stomach will get used to less food... I had to go to a breakfast meeting and had to order something to not look weird, ate three bites of scrambled egg, and was full—and this is pre-op.

For me, eliminating all processed sugars and white flour...had an immediate impact on my weight loss. I lost like crazy just doing these two things. I still ate a ton of carbs, but I ate good whole carbs with dietary fiber...beans, potatos, chickpeas, nuts, whole grains, whole fruits and veggies....and stayed away from white bread, processed foods, stuff with added sugar and no fiber like juices and jellies. I also eliminated processed products with fats, fried stuff, and fatty meats. Learned to put low fat plain yogurt and salt and pepper on my baked potatoes....replaced butter and animal fat in cooking with extra virgin olive oil. Everyone has a different diet they prefer...I tend to follow Mediterannian or Mayo Clinic diet.

Getting your steps is brilliant and will get your metabolism going like crazy.

I started at 5000 steps a day and gradually increased in little baby steps to 12,000 a day. I get 20,000 some days now because I really enjoy walking and being active...but most days are 10 to 12,000 now. Being active will help you so much.

Best wishes! You got this!

Congratulations on getting started on this path. Many people on here say it is weird, but somehow easier to lose weight once they have made up their mind to do surgery. I guess there is something to that. Less stress and cortisol or just more drive from being hopeful but it seems to help many people. Just one or two small changes and you should be able to drop 20 pounds eventually. How long do you have to wait? Do you have the 6 months monitored weight loss??

My insurance only requires 3 months to have the scheduled appts, lab work, Nutritionist, psychologist, endoscopy, and vascular appts. I received most of my labs back already. I’m so ready to get my date though. My husband told me to take the required time off for recovery. We’re already making plans to prepare financially by paying things up for 2 months.

My next change is to start walking 3 days a week for 39 minutes. I work in a hospital 5 days a week and while at work I will work to go up and down all 6 flights every night. Being that I work night, my meal times are different. However, I’ve noticed that I do much better when I’m prepared. I usually bring lots of fruits and veggies with me to snack on.