Denied - Tuesday's Menu Plan

Before I list what I'll be eating today, I have some things to say first. I called my insurance company (United Health Care), and they don't cover any Weight Loss Surgery at all! I was thinking of getting it, because I feel so far I'm going no where on Weigh****chers. So since I'm stuck with doing it the slow way, does anybody have any suggestions as to how I can improve my diet? I know I need more exercise, and I know I need to make some more changes. Please make the suggestions be something I can live with, not just soup and salad, or low carb. Breakfast 1 cup Cheerios 1 cup skim milk 1/4 cup cheesy scrambled egg substitute (with fat free cheese) 1 banana Coffee 2 cups water AM Snack 1 Slimfast cookie bar 1 Oreo 1 Keebler chocolate chip cookie 2 slices Italian bread 2 cups water 1 pouch W. G. Twists Lunch I don't know, since Almost Family/MedLink will be providing my lunch. I am going to a two-hour inservice there. Dinner Chicken breast with white sauce 1 cup mashed potatoes with margarine 1 can chicken soup 1 can fruit ****tail Crystal Light peach ice tea Please send me your suggestions. I welcome them, since WLS has been denied to me! Denise Phares

Hi Denise! I've been trying to lose weight on my own as well though I'm still hoping for WLS. I can only suggest limiting yourself to a certain number of calories per day and keeping a journal of sorts with nutritional information so that you don't go over that certain amount. I use fitday.com combined with a slimfast plan. I really like the "hunger control products" though it might be all a mental thing..you know how these marketing people can be. Anyways, slimfast.com semi-customizes weekly meal plans for your needs. If there is a meal that you don't like on that plan there are available substitutions along with recipes. It's not too bad in my opinion though this is only my second day, but I think I'm on the right track...and again this is only a suggestion. good luck! April

Denise, Hi there. I'm sorry you've been denied for WLS. I know the let down must have been pretty rough. You have mentioned that you are doing it the "slow way." The way I look at is we didn't put this weight on overnight. For myself, I have been obese for over 16 years. Before that I was overweight. I have never seen a normal weight range in my life, and I am not so sure I ever will. When I embarked on my journey I realized that it was going to be one baby step at a time. Thankfully my weight came off rather quickly at the beginning, enabling me to keep going because I saw results. I have compared my weight loss to those that had surgery on the same day I started my program and I have lost as much as, and in some cases more than some of them. I also calculated that had I stayed on weigh****chers and lost at the rate I had been losing at when I ended in April of last year, I would have lost about what I lost now by the end of last year. It's all about figuring out what works for you and sticking to it, through thick and thin. It's about sacrificing and realizing that for our health we really have to take control and give up some of the things in our life that gave us comfort in the past. I look at this not as a punishment but as a way of getting my life back on track, and uncovering what has been hidden so long. You have been doing great on your program. A weight loss of 2 pounds a week ends up being 104 pounds a year. Think of it that way. I have looked back on all the years I was obese and thought that I could have avoided that had I been committed for just one year!!!! Remember, even with WLS you would have to watch every single thing you eat. Along with that though you would be taking a risk that something more horrible could go wrong healthwise. I don't have any other suggestions as to what to do that isn't extreme. I chose low carb because carbs are my absolute enemy and I am out of control with them. You have truly chosen one of the most wholesome programs offered today. Stay here for support and just keep on going. You'll see soon enough your numbers will start adding up!! Donna

Hi, I'm a WW too. Had no WLS. Lost 180 lbs., gone from a tight 28 to an 8 and have been at goal or within 5 lbs since Sept 2004. Because you have asked for suggestions I'll give you some. The first thing that jumped out at me is that I don't see very many vegetables. Your morning snack is almost all empty calories and carbohydrates. I don't know how many points you get a day, but you still need the vegies or fruit. I also only see 2 cups of water, but I will assume that you drink water throughout the day. Tha****er is really important. I don't know what W.G. Twists are. My whole thing for eating is to see how much food I can eat for my now 22 points a day. I started at 32 points. I refuse to be hungry or to feel deprived. By eating 3-4 of my vegies/fruits before lunch I am not too hungry. I typically eat about 6+ servings of vegies/fruits a day. Also, if I eat some protein that will keep a lot of my carb cravings away. In the afternoon about 3PM I want to eat everything in our office kitchen and there is always junk there not to mention the vending machine. Luckily it doesn't take dollars and I never keep change on me. I will typically have a WW yogurt and about 1/4 cup of organic, high fiber low point cereal mixed into it. Yummy! It doesn't have a lot of protein but it seems to cure my ails. I also like to munch out in the evening so I save points for my popcorn, or WW ice cream cones etc. I have some questions about your dinner too. But I don't want to keep going on and on. I'm not a preacher, I just know what works for me. A couple of my favorite suggestions are to use a baby spoon and a ****tail fork to eat with. My brain accepts the fact that the more spoon fulls I get the more food I have eaten. Even if it looks like a dinky portion on my plate. My second one is that when I am faced with doughnuts every Wednesday from the bakery not the grocery store at our sales meeting I just smell them. No, I eat them with my nose. I take a deep full smell and experience that smell. Sometimes I have to do that more than once, but it does satisfy me. Besides I have told myself that they are not for me and I hear my mom's voice...It it is not yours...don't touch it!!! I would be happy to tell you more if you are interested. I could tell you all the food I have had to eat today. I think you'd be shocked. Mary

Mary, Welcome to the non-op board and amazing congratulations on your success!!!! I read your profile and see that you were scheduled for surgery on November 10. Would you be willing to let us know how that went?? I'd be very interested. Thank you and welcome again!! Donna

Sure, I had my extended abdominoplasty on November 10th. I am recovering nicely although I started my exercise routine back up a bit too soon and am continuing to have to take that easy. I did reply today to post by a Mary Gainer (I think) that was new and shared quite a lot about my surgery. Please look at that posting as my hands are getting tired... The best side benefit of having my tummy tuck was unexpected. I didn't realize how much my hanging, sagging gut (I hate my arms the worst) affected my self-image. Didn't even think about it. All I knew is I wanted the skin gone so I wouldn't have to tuck it in and deal with it. After my surgery I looked at myself in the mirror naked and I looked normal to myself for the first time in my life! It was an amazing moment for me. I think that my brain is slowly coming to the realization that that girl is me. Wow! Weird. Well, thanks for the welcome. Mary

Denise, I am sorry you were denied. I hope you will check, double check and appeal, because customer service reps have been known to give out incorrect information. I agree with Mary Rosner that your current diet is too low on fruits and veggies. Your AM snack is nothing but overprocessed, high carb, low nutrition, calorically dense food. If you have raw fruit instead, you'll consume fewer calories and have more fiber, vitamins and antioxidants. For dinner, instead of soup, how about a salad with fat-free dressing? You can also add some steamed green beans or squash, which have fewer than 100 calories. If Weigh****chers isn't working for you, try something else. I count calories, but Atkins or South Beach are good. And as you said, you must slowly build up to some serious exercise. I started at about your BMI, and I could not do more than walk for 10 minutes at a time. I increased it 30 seconds each day. Now I'm a gym junkie. Best of luck. Kasey 365/210 (nonop)

Hi Denise, I can just tell you some of the things that worked for me. I really watch sodium content in foods. I use Morton's Lite Salt - allowed 2 tsp. per day. Canned, processed, and packaged meals have tons of sodium. I was shocked when I looked at the sodium content of a South Beach meal that my daughter had at her house. I eat only fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables(mostly fresh). I tried WW and it didn't really work for me. I lost about 25 pounds and then just quit losing. But I was eating a lot of WW processed foods. Find a program that is "doable" for you and be faithful to it. WLS gives people a jump start during the first months, but their weight loss slows down too. It took me 1 year and 8 months to reach my goal, but I still feel like I am new at it. The time goes by quickly. Breakfast: LA smoothie with mango, 1 oz lowfat cheese stick, 3 lowfat Triscuits, 1/2 oz. mixed nuts, lemon LA Lite Bar Snack: chocolate chip cookie dough LA Lite Bar Lunch: orange, LA chocolate protein meal replacement drink, Dannon lowcarb yogurt Dinner: grilled chicken, salad- lettuce, baby spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, tomato, fat free dressing Lynette

Hi Denise, Sorry about your insurance company denying WLS. I remember being at the end of my rope and totally depressed when my insurance company played around with me and then finally denied the WLS. I switched insurance companies during open enrollment, got one that doesn't exclude WLS, but had to wait a few months for it to "kick in". In the mean time, I started a new food plan, found a "diabetes and weight management MD" I knew I must not gain another pound before I got the surgery...I was having a hard time just completing everyday tasks, I was even getting out of breath just taking a shower. Low and behold, the food plan started working, I got motivated, and started swimming (indoor pool) and using a tread mill. This is all very recent. I'm a work in progress. For the time being, I have put the WLS on the back burner. I've lost 39 pounds since the end of Oct. 05. I know that's not a huge amount, but I figure if I lost almost 40 in 3 months, if I keep going at this rate, or even slow down, I could hit the 150 lb. loss in a year. Now, about what I've been eating....poultry, fish, lots of fresh veggies and lots of fresh fruit, eggs, fat free cool whip.... (no high starch veggies and no legumes or seeds)I came up with my own turkey chili recipe and I eat it many times a week. It's so good and it doesn't feel like "diet" food. I eat as much of it as I want. All the spices make me feel like I'm having something special and the chili realy fills me up. Whenever I'm craving a cookie or something sweet, I slice a raw apple, sprinkle it with splenda, and give it a good covering of cinnamon. I have that in the morning with and egg omlette for breakfast sometimes....the apple has the texture of potatoes, so I feel like I'm having hash browns and eggs....and it is real filling......PS, everything doesn't always work out perfectly, the new insurance company that I switched to, has higher co-pays for everything, doesn't have some of my doctors in their "network", including the "Weightloss and Diabetes Specialist" that I've been seeing. She has been nice enough to charge me just what my co-pay would have been....because she understands the reality of what it's like to be obese. Exercise has really helped me a lot. Yesterday, I went to the gym twice. In the morning, I did a mile on the treadmill and an hour of water aerobics. In the evening I swam 100 laps. Remember, 39 pounds ago, I was out of breath just taking a shower. Not only the weightloss, but also eating healthier foods has made me feel less depressed and more motivated. I wish you success and I hope you find what's right for you. By the way, if you want the turkey chili recipe, just ask. Take care, Laurel