I'm New here.

[mkovach]

Hi Everyone. I am new here. I am 37 years old and the mother of 2. I am currently around 330 pounds and am hoping to get down to about 190. I am hoping to be scheduled for surgery in December. My insurance requires 90 days of observation and work with a nutritionist and personal trainer. I have completed 2 months so far. Everything is being submitted to insurance Thanksgiving week and we are hoping for a surgery date sometime in December.

I am having a hard time with the diet the nutritionist has given me. I followed it very well the first month and lost a minimal amount of weight, 5 pounds according to the DR - but I weighed with shoes the first time and without the second so I don't think it really was even that much. The second month, was a little harder and I found myself eating things because I knew I wouldn't have them after my bypass. So far this month I am back on track and I have followed the diet religiously and have gained 2 more pound (according to my home scale). I am freaking out. I think the diet they gave me is too much food (2000 calories). I am scared that maybe I am not ready for this surgery after the slip ups of the last month and I am frustrated with the work I am doing without any results right now. I am also concerned that if I gain weight while complying to my diet that the insurance company will refuse to let me have the surgery or will make me put it off until next year.

I am really hating this feeling of limbo and feeling like I am doing all of this for the insurance company and not for myself (the waiting period not the actual surgery - the doctor said with my history he would have been fine with doing it right away instead of making me wait the 3 - 6 months the insurance company wants).

Just thought I would introduce myself and share my worries! Thanks!

 

[fkrebs]

Hi mkovach,

Welcome to the board. The presurgery steps you have to go through are always the most difficult. Just remember that in the long run this will pay off. Sticking to a diet is always hard, so you need to focus on why you're having the surgery. I found that when I focused on me and what I was going to get out of it, I wasn't so successful. Then I remembered my original reason, my 4 year old grandson and the thought that I can't play with him the way he wants to and that I may not be around for far too much of his life. Now whenever I run into difficulties I think of that and it helps.

Remember this is info being gathered for the insurance company, once they have it, you don't have worry about that again. You'll have a week or two to enjoy some of your favorites.

Good luck and stay in touch.

 

[Karenina]

Hi mkovach and welcome to the forum. 2000 calories for a female is about maintenance level and I wouldn't expect you to lose much on that many calories a day. I suggest you start journaling your food intake. MyFitnessPal.com has a wonderful tool that lets you track your daily food intake and gives you back calories, fat, carbs, and protein intake. It's a wonderful way to see where your food triggers are and helps you to make choices that might be better. When I started using it I was not committed to a diet, I was just planning on eating normally and see what it was. It didn't take too many 3000+ calorie days to convince myself that there was no way I could eat any fast food without going way over the fat/calorie chart. It also helped me recognize days when I was stress-eating and figure out better ways to get around that.
I'm not sure why the insurance company makes you wait, but I know it is a good thing. This is not a surgery you should do without much contemplation and planning. If you are not ready emotionally and mentally there is a chance of gaining back some or all of the weight after surgery. Not trying to scare you, just slow you down a bit.

 

[mkovach]

Thanks for the responses. I am feeling much better. I cut down the calories and stopped gaining so now I am feeling a lot better. I think I loose my mind a bit when I am doing what I am told to do and gain!

 

[CarolF5]

mkovach if you cut the carbs and increase exercise it will help. I am finishing up on my pre requirements as well and will be glad once I have the date and my 2 week pre-op diet and start to do the pre-op testing. Once I have my date I can put in at work (I work at the same hospital) for my upcoming weeks off I will need. The doctor told me 6 weeks due to my job there at the hospital requires alot of physical work.

I have been stocking up on protein powder samples, vitamins, etc that I will need.

I am looking forward to this.

Here's to the start of our Journey!!