Pre-Ops ! Are you Ready ?

So many questions, so little time right .. well not so ... now is the time to start planning and plotting your journey . Many of us started out our journey months before we actually went under the knife .. I myself took about 4 months to transition into the lifestyle of a Bariatric Patient . As we know .. this is for life .. so why not start now .. Start now Tink .. what do you mean ?.. well .. you will need to get started planning your days with Vitamins and Minerals and your Protein Suppliments . Remember to always follow your surgeons plan and if you have any questions you will want to follow up with them ... We here can only tell you our journey and offer advice .. Non Medical that is .. The First thing I would do is to find your surgeon .. Remember .. YOU are the consumer here ... and your life is in his or her hands .. Do your homework here .. If you have to visit a couple .. than fine .. get one that is suited for your needs and your surgery type . Talk to others from this board or from other sources .. attend some support group meetings in your area .. ASK QUESTIONS .. Second - Once you have your surgeon and his recommended plan .. get your Vitamin schedule and start taking them... Get your protein requirements .. start doing your protein .. Why ..? Well .. protein not only acts as a muscle builder it is also a great muscle healer and you will benefit from this greatly .. post op . ( Taste subject to change after surgery .. ) Third - Get Busy .. Start Walking .. Get Moving .. You will get the pouch .. the tool , but in order to be succesful you will need to move .. to Exercise .. yes Exercise .. there are many , like myself who pre-op .. could not move a lick nor did we want to .. you MUST make yourself move ... if you do nothing but start out walking to your mailbox and back .. lenghten it each time .. the benefits of exercise are so great with this surgery , not only do you build stamina .. but you get great looking muscles .. and good tone .. and another plus.. It keeps that ole Motabolism running ... and that my friend is what helps to burn the Fat ... Fourth - Self Esteem .. WOW ... you are about to go through so many changes .. the weightloss will begin to come off .. your sizes will change .. and guess what .. your mind will need to catch up .. and sometimes this can be scarry .. so to start training your mind now .. I strongly suggest to you to look in the mirror daily .. and to voice the love you have for yourself .. as a woman .. I tell myself daily that I am beautiful.. that I deserve to be happy .. and to love what I see and feel .. and if you are a man going through this .. you too .. need to reafirm daily your value and your worth as a man and be proud of your new looks .. You matter here .. and from each day forward the time spent is all yours .. and the time has come to rid yourself of all the stigma behind Obesity .. you are a Winner .. Now tell yourself that daily .. !!!! If you have your surgery date . I would strongly suggest finding a sugery sister or brother or visting the surgery month boards here .. They are very helpful and a great way to see where others are in their journeys . And if you do not have a profile or have not kept up with it .. please .. this has been the best thing for me and for others here .. it allows you to write your feelings and where you are at in your journey .. and trust me .. you will be able to look back and see how great you did .. and why it was all worth it .. So .. in closing I say to you .. PREPARE PREPARE PREPARE .. you will not regret it .. and for support and encouragment .. Stay Tuned here at OH .. there is not a better site around for love and friendship and best of all .. time spent with Winners ! ... Best Wishes to you ... And remember ... IT IS A LIFESTYLE FOR LIFE .. Always, Natalie 325 - Goal Reached .. 125

Natalie, I cannot thank you enough for this wonderful advice. I read my handbook that my surgeon gave me, but I am still not sure about all the vitamins. So, you have inspired me to call the bariatric surgery coordinator to get and answers and get started on them right away. I started trying to exercise again the day after had my inital consult (waited 'til then to make sure I was at my peak weight for the weigh in). Now I've got to get some protein. I have Shaklee's powder. Have you or any one tried that? It's flavorless and can be mixed in anything from soups to smoothies. I have been using that off and on for over a year. I need to use it regularly along with trying some others. I keep reading about getting samples of the proteins. Where can I get samples? Are they free? Thanks Again, Tink! Robin

Robin , Sweety .. not a problem .. and WAY TO GO .. now you are on your way .. I do not have any links to free samples... maybe there is someone else that can help you there .. but I use Nectar Carribean Cooler .. and I love it .. Try and go to Google and type in Free Protein Samples . There are a few links there . Some samples like Nectar are free I think .. it would be worth a try . Just remember too that the best protein is Whey Protein Isolates with Whey concentrates .. They contain the 21 amino acids our body must have . Take care ... and be blessed on your journey . Nat

Thanks, Nat. I am on my way! I have my psych eval on October 12th. I can't wait to find out if I am crazy. Then I've got two more appointments to fulfill before they'll schedule a date. I am soooooo excited! Thanks again, Robin

Not sure if these work or not but I used them before surgery. Enjoy and I wish you the best. www.nextprotiens.com write them an email and let them know you are having surgery for samples. Toll Free (800) 500-3069 Dymatize ask for sugar free protein samples to try before surgery 1-866-333-7403 Syntrax Free protein Samples this one has the free nectar samples "http://www.mothersoy.com/samplerequests/sampleform.htm Shannon

Thanks Natalie, you are so awesome!!! I have started taking a whey protein shake for lunch and breakfast. Once I see the surgeon (Oct24 wooohooo) I will start stocking up on the vitamins and such. I am very excited and the time is passing not too badly . I have been searching for samples as well. I know that Unjury.com (I think that's right) has samples for sell. I haven't found any others so if anyone else does please let me know. I am going to try to walk during one of my breaks at work...probably morning since it doesn't take much to get me sweating and don't want that, so when it is cooler is best I think. I went to my first support group meeting last night...they had a speaker from the sleep center. Really good information that I didn't know. Is it a bad thing to try to lose some weight before your doctors appointmen? After all they have my weight when I started all this. It was 270 and now it is 264. Still well with in the BMI over 40 and 100 lbs over ideal weight. Well going to go spend time with my little one Hugs, Anna

Anna, Good luck with all of your pre op activities - I did all of these things too in my run up to surgery. You have a great attitude which helps tremendously. I know you can get protein samples from www.vitalady.com - they cost $1.99 each - or they used to - and Michelle Curran who IS vitalady only sells products on her site that are good for us. She is amazingly helpful with vitamins etc as she has studied them for years - actually in my opinion she often knows more that the doctors - both her and her husband are over 10 years out from surgery so they know what they are talking about. You might want to visit her site and just take a look around. Support groups are very useful - you will get a out of out them. Jackie

I ditto what Jackie said - MICHELLE CURRAN is da' BOMB!!!! I was fortunate to actually know her when I lived in Washington - she lived about 30 minutes from us, so getting the proteins and supplmnts didn't require shipping charges. Just a quick hop on da' Ferry and I was at www.Vitalady.com 's house. Michelle and her husband are long term posties and they truly take the time to HELP people with their questions out of genuine concern. Heck, the first three months she responded to ALL my emails (and some of you know how much I can ramble) I never made one purchase from her site, yet she still gave countless hours of help to a stranger. My kinda peeps!

Hey Lei!! I am so jealous that you have actually met Michelle!! I would love to meet her - she is very inspirational! She also talked with me a lot before I had surgery or even bought anything from her -- I buy most of my vits from her now! Can't wait to see you again at Lexington!! Jackie

LOL - yep, she's GOOD PEOPLE, and just an itty bitty thing, more like a "Peanut" Gotta love when you can see SUCCESS that far out - they've obviously figured out how to keep working the tool and I'm all about duplicating success(es). Figure if others before me have paved the way, I should at least take the time to try and learn from them. Even if I disagree or tweak my journey differently, in the end. I'm lookin' forward to Lexi TOO!!!! Have you decided on a costume yet? I'm using an old standby that hubby and I used a couple of years ago. LOL, figure it'll be "new" to most, right? We're getting into town Thursday, early evening, assuming you, Donna and Cathy are also there, we should hook up for dinner! Several of the 'Tucky locals have suggested a restaurant right across the street that is supposed to be real good. Ive also heard some good things about the bar there at the hotel, called the "Blue Martini" ... I have to wonder just how much socializing I'll be doing, vs, attending the break out sessions. Rumor has it, we're right in the heart of a lotta great SHOPS too - all walking distance from the hotel. Bring your comfy shoes, missy, for walking AND dancing!