another hurdle hopped

i had my orientation on october 22nd! things are looking good. i'm at the lower end of the spectrum, so oddly enough i felt i had to "make weight" and make sure my bmi was over 40. so i had some very salty soup and drank a lot of water and my bmi raised to 42 LOL. maybe i shouldn't have worried.

the session went well, it was quite informative but i was pleased to see almost nothing was a surprise. i've learned SO much from this site. they said in a few months i'd meet with the dietitian, then psych, then the dietitian again, then the surgeon. they estimated it'll be 9 months or so til i have surgery *sigh* but i hope it'll go well. 9 months from now will be late july/early august, so if i get surg in august, i can look forward to looking pretty good by christmas and i'll ask for new clothes gift cards :) that'd be exciting!

i don't tolerate chemical sweeteners well. that's the one concern i have - the boost diet contains splenda. i've been looking at other high protein controlled carb products and may have found something that'll work - it's higher protein than boost, same carbs, less fat. and, no artificial sweeteners of any kind. but it's within 10 calories of the boost diet if i do it right, so i hope the dietician will find it acceptable.

You will have to double check with the dietician. I hope they are becoming more acceptable of people's diet concerns. I know for my cousin and myself, we were told to love with the issue of lactose intolerance when we did the boost. It wasn't too bad but I was miffed by their lack of understanding.

I had my orientation in April of 2013 and surgery in November 2013, so it really depends on the surgeon's slate once you get to see them. Good luck!

yeah, i can see them not worrying about lactose intolerance as it's very easily treated. still, they could have come up with an alternative. the alternative i'm going to suggest has a bit more protein, a bit less fat, and the same carb count as diabetic boost. and if i drink 4 of these meal replacements, it's the same as drinking 5 diabetic boost. within 10 calories.

but, you never know, they could be stubborn.

I was at the same orientation and was pretty happy with how it went.  So I've got to agree first hurdle down.  I've got my application in and this afternoon I received a letter and got my date for the interview.  Fingers crossed.

what kinds of things are we supposed to say on the goal sheet? i'm rather stumped. is it simple goals like eliminating soda? or is it big stuff like "lose excess weight by my 42nd birthday"?

Just put what goals you are working on. I think I put something about making changes so I could be healthier, stuff like being able to do things easier at work. I felt they mostly want to see where your head's at and if you are willing to make changes. Once you have your appointments you will get the goals they want written out for you...

When is your date for the interview and does this involve the whole team.

just an update! 

my psychiatrist and the bariatric psychologist talked and i've been given the thumbs up! so now they've signed me up for craving change january-february. 

i keep forgetting to get my bloodwork done. 

the dietitian was good with what i'm doing food wise. the kinesiologist (god i don't know how to spell that) told me to go to a physiotherapist to get tests done on my back. 

that's about it for now :) 

Do you have a surgery date yet.  I have my orientation in a couple of weeks.  How was the orientation