Lurking Newbie comes out of the shadows!

Hello Everyone!

I have been lurking about on OH for a while and thought it was time to introduce myself! My name is Angela and I am in the 3^rd month of my 6month pre-op program. It took me a long time to decide to have surgery, but I have been overweight since childhood (I am 32 now).  I have a fabulous hubby, wonderfully talented step-daughter and 2 incredibly spoiled cats! I recently graduated with my Associate’s Degree in Social Science and am continuing my college education at Mansfield University in the fall.

I am leaning towards the VSG, but I have not had a consultation with my surgeon yet. In fact, I am scared that I will never get to that point in the program. My insurance requires a 10 lb. loss before surgery. Ok, fine – I am working on that with my nutritionist. However, I have changed my eating habits – drastically! – and tracking all my food and I am seeing NO results. I mean, none. No scale change, up or down. I am so frustrated. Last week, I was told I have to lose the 10 lbs. by July, so that they can submit to insurance. Of course I am very stressed, depressed and beginning to become demotivated. I have discussed this with the psych in the program (twice I have been on the verge of tears discussing this with her) and she did try to ease my mind about losing the weight by a certain time – but the fact remains that I must still lose those 10 lbs. within another month. She did not discuss what may happen if I don’t lose weight pre-op, so I was not feeling very reassured. Other than to tell me to continue my new ways of eating and keep at it, I am not feeling hopeful. Has anyone else experienced extreme difficulty losing weight pre-op? If so, did you have to repeat the program? I am seriously considering some sort of juice fast or that lemonade diet just to meet the deadline, and then go back to eating healthily again. I know that isn’t smart, but I feel so lost.

My hubby wonders why we have to lose weight prior to surgery – I mean, isn’t that why we are having surgery in the first place? J I know it is to help us learn how to eat, manage feelings with eating and making sure we have good habits in place before undergoing all that risk with surgery.

Thanks for reading this long post!  I hope to interact with you all at some point and trust me when I say that I have learned a lot from this site and from the encouraging words that you all give. I hope one day I will be able to post here as a permanent member on the “Loser’s Bench.”

Hello Angela and welcome. Tried posting earlier but i think something happened so if this is a duplicate sorry in advance. I was wondering if you've cut out or at least drastically lowered your sugar and simple carbs in your diet? Everyone is different but I find my body want to hold onto pounds when I eat those things. Try adding a couple of protein shakes with some Greek yogurt in place of breakfast and lunch and then have a protein forward dinner. Just a suggestion since I am a new post-op and by no means claim to be an expert. Hope it helps. I love the syntrax nectar brand. The fuzzy navel and Caribbean cooler are my favorites. They aren't thick or hard to get down. I think they even sell a sampler so you can see which flavors you like without having to buy a huge container of it.

Hi Angela.....Let me give you some pointers to try to get the 10 lbs off by July.    Log your food...go to fitday.com or mydailyplate.com and log everything that you eat.   IF you are drinking sodas....diet or regular cut them out completely.    You need to be doing some form of exercise even if you just walk...that truly helps greatly loosing weight pre op.   Exercising and eating right go hand in hand and is truly the key to loosing the weight and then keeping it off once you've lost it.     I know.....I am going on 9 yrs. post op RNY.    Don't get discouraged...10 lbs. is doable.    Make sure you drink at least 64 oz. water ( PLAIN WATER ) a day and if you get stressed go walk....if too hot outside go to Walmart and walk around the outside areas inside the store or walk at a nearby mall.    I'd try to walk at least 30 - 60 minutes a day and try to keep your calories low.   You could even do protein shakes only with 1 light meal.     I know for years ( even pre op ) I went to a gym 6 days a week and walked the mall everyday before it opened.     I lost 40 lbs in 3 months for my surgery approval and I had been overweight my entire life.    So it can be done.   Hope my suggestions help you out.   Good luck and I know you can and will loose the 10 lbs.    

Hugs and blessings ~~~ Vivian

Sounds very stressful.  But I guess that is the requirement IF you want to have the surgery done through your insurance.  Depending on what your deductible is having the surgery outside of the country can be cost effective, not to mention having so many very skilled and experienced surgeons to choose from.  And it saves you the stress of a year of hoop jumping.  You can pick your day and have your surgery scheduled on your terms.  You've likely already considered all this but, just in case, I thought I'd put it out there.  I have chosen to avoid the hoop jumping in what is already a stressful enough process.  I won't be out of pocket any more than if I went through my insurance.

Good luck with it all and try to keep your eye on the ultimate objective - improving your health. 

I have been in your shoes. I was so irritated when even working with a trainer twice a week and dieting I was not losing weight as I should have. Hence, this is why so many of us choose weight loss surgery. It is inevitably the only tool to help us get rid of the weight where other means have failed.

I would most def work on your water intake. Typically water weight is a fairly big chunk of the 10 lbs you are trying to shed. And yes, sadly sodas are not a good choice while you are trying to lose. Try to cut out high sodium and processed foods (convenience is sometimes a big killer in weight loss efforts), make sure you are getting in dairy, and cut the carbs as much as you can and bulk up your protein.

All the best to you in your journey! Please keep us updated. You can do this!!!

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions. I only drink water (sometimes with crystal light - but rarely) or unsweetened tea; I cut out sodas a long time ago. I will most definitely try to up my water consumption and add more protein to my diet.

Yes, the exercise. This is where I think a lot of people struggle...especially me. I know walking will help, I just have to stop making excuses. This is my biggest downfall, by far. 

As far as insurance, EVERYTHING is covered. Well, I'm not sure about any plastics, but the surgery and all is covered. Plus, my team at Penn State Surgical WL is pretty awesome. I feel that I've gotten pretty lucky, so I don't want to just chuck it all away. 

I use tractivity to monitor exercise (usually just the daily routine of life) and MFP for food tracking. I have been pretty good with that.

Thanks again for listening and giving me your perspective and experiences!