Jasmine130

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I have been receiving a lot of comments from others at the office regarding my weight loss.  So many have said I look great, and are calling me "skinny". Now I know I'm not skinny!  Who, at 5'5" and 243 pounds, could be considered skinny?!  But I realize they are saying this because they are seeing a big difference in me.  I am starting to see it too, but it is amazing how much my mind lags behind my weight loss.  

But I am so encouraged at what I know is great progress.  Reading others' experience on OH has helped me in tremendous ways, including the fact that most of us still "feel" fat as ever even when the changes are taking place and evident to others.  It's evident even to me when I look at photos, when clothes that were terribly tight, or didn't fit me at all -- start to be loose and then unwearable because they were too big.  I see it when I sit down and my belly doesn't "billow" out before me like it used it.  I feel it when my husband rubs my back and feels bones instead of thick fat pads.  I experience it when I easily pass through narrow spaces when before I had to squish through or go some long way around.  I feel it when I put on my swimsuit that used to be an incredible struggle to get in to....feel loose and in danger of causing a wardrobe malfunction.

Oh my....it is really happening, I am really losing my excess weight. I love love love my RNY!

For later!

OK, here is the status of my case trying to enforce the 1999 CA statute MANDATING that insurance companies provide coverage in CA of reconstructive surgery for excision of excess skin post-bariatric surgery, WITH NO REQUIREMENT FOR MEDICAL NECESSITY (i.e., like there is no requirement for breast reconstruction post-mastectomy).

The CA Dept. of Managed Health Care agreed with my analysis of the statute, supported by letters from my surgeons that established that I meet the requirements of the statute. DMHC ORDERED Health Net to pay for ALL of my reconstructive surgeries. But Health Net refused to comply with this order! The case has been sent up to the DMHC Division of Enforcement, but there is no telling how long it is going to take for this to be resolved. It could be weeks or a few months -- if they decide to enforce it at all (although they assure me that they are taking this case very seriously).

So, in the meantime, I have contacted a law firm specializing in such cases, and I am trying to get them to take it on as a class action. One of my arguments is that there are SO many potential clients! So, I have decided to provide a TEMPLATE version of the letter I had my surgeons fill out and sign, so that all Californians who are interested in getting their insurance companies to pay for their reconstructive surgery, without having to prove medical necessity, can get their cases in line to join the case.

Please bring this letter to your plastic surgeon, and ask him to personalize it for your case (you may want to email it so s/he can just fill in the information and print it on letterhead). Submit with your request for approval, or with your appeals. Appeal all the way to the DMHC or the CA Dept. of Insurance (whichever is appropriate), and DO NOT GO THROUGH IMR, but rather file a GRIEVANCE! IMR will only result in DOCTORS agreeing that you have no medical necessity; you need to file a GRIEVANCE so the lawyers can look at the statute and enforce it.

If you use this letter, I ask you to please send me your name and email address to my email account (dianahc AT comcast.net), using as the subject line "Class Action: Reconstructive Surgery". You may or may not be contacted by the attorneys (assuming they take the case), but at the very least, I want to keep track of the numbers of people potentially affected and thus potentially members of the class.

The document is attached.

Please don't be afraid to do this -- and please tell your plastic surgeon to use the template letter as well, and to PLEASE send me a notice of having used it to bolster the class action case. The law is clear, and the message to the insurance companies should be that the law should be enforced!

Attached Files

Template of request for reconstructive surgery.doc (48.0 KB, 5 views)

Thank you thank you Mallory !

 I am so excited!  Last week I reached the century mark and today I reached my tipping point -- I have lost more than I still need to lose.  And I'm very close to getting into the 240s (which is approaching my husband's weight AND the weight on my driver's license, which is is 243).

I  my RNY!

One day after my 4-month surgiversary:  I HAVE REACHED THE CENTURY MARK!  100 lost and gone forever.

I am thrilled, excited, grateful.  My body feels very different these days. People around me are really noticing and this is a very exciting journey.

Now to get my century card and add it to my signature!!!

This is a quote from Dr. Teri Kai Holtzclaw's This Is Not Brain Surgery:

Somewhere along the way, as you continue your journey toward successful weight loss, you discover a new person in your life -- you!  Sometimes the discovery is met with great joy and many times with great fear.  That person in the mirror may look like a stranger, but a stranger can become a friend in an instant.  It all depends on your attitude.

When you discover the new you, your journey is not over.  But it does take a turn.  Suddenly, the pathway looks different, the environment changes and new relationships enter your life.  Your vision of the new your before you began the journey is being realized.

This excerpt really resonates with me tonight.  I guess I've thought than when I become thin after nearly 3 decades of obesity, that I would be my old self again.  How could I think that?!  I'm not the same person I was 30 years ago, by any means.  I think I'm an improved, stronger version. But now I will be that improved version in a thin body.  What will that be like, I wonder?  I am amazed at the potential that is before me.  

This reminds me of another recurring dream of mine....not a fear of flying because I'm afraid I will fall -- but fear of flying so high I won't be able to get back on the ground.  The thought is kind of scary.  I guess I have a lot of work to do!

Here's a post from OHer MyLadyHeidi, with her permission.  I think this will come in handy as I progress on this journey:

I realize wls was a gift and losing weight a miracle, I will never be cocky and think this is forever unless I continue to work it.  We all have to remember losing weight is the easier part, maintaining it the hard work.  I come here every single day so I can stay totally grounded, remember exactly where I started and what it took to get down to where I am now.  No I will never be a size two, and is that okay, I don't know. I do measure my success based on numbers.  I have always felt fat no matter what my weight. Now its mainly skin that makes me look fat, but hopefully as I shed my skin suit, or have it lopped off as it were, I can finally see me for me.  So really I am just grateful for every single gift of a new life I was given.  I try hard everyday to make the right choices in the way I eat so I never mess up and have to start trying to lose regain.  I will never ever for one moment take anything for granted.  I know I am not a normal person and I can't ever let my guard down, because all those old food demons are just waiting to attack.  I worship my new little pouch and want us to live happily ever after.  And if you don't think taking percs with your breakfast is good, then you wouldnt be getting this sappy post and you would be getting more of my b*tching and whining about my itching and scratching form my brach surgery. 

Love to all
Hugs Heidi

All my life, I have had recurring dreams.  I pay attention to my dreams and the ones that really stand out, I try to understand -- without over-analyzing.

I used to have baby dreams, about having a baby that I wasn't caring for properly.  I was neglecting the baby, and while the baby wasn't dying, she wasn't really thriving either.  I have raised 3 very healthy sons, and know I've done a good job of parenting them, so I knew the baby in the dreams was something different.

I understood that the baby in my dreams was me -- that I wasn't nurturing myself and letting the baby grow and thrive and "become".

Last night I had an amazing version of the Baby Dream.  It started out with my husband bringing to me a baby girl.  The baby didn't look healthy wasn't dressed properly.  She was in a "sleeper" that she had outgrown.  She had brown hair and brown eyes like me.  I took her from my husband and thought to myself, he didn't take really good care of her. I was sad and a little shocked.  But I quickly understood that he had done the best he could and now it was up to me.

I realized that this part of the dream represented the years that my husband has tried to help me with my struggles with obesity.  He did the best that he could but if I was going to thrive, I would have to take responsibility for the baby.

So I took the baby in my arms and immediately she started to grow.  She stood up and walked and started talking.  I took her shopping and properly clothed her.  I brushed her hair and it was shiny and healthy.  She had a glow and even though she was less than a year old, she said amazing things and I marveled at how much she could express at such a young age.

Soon the baby was a little girl and she was my good friend.  I nurtured her and she was full of promise, light and confidence.  My husband and I were ecstatic over her development and what the years ahead would bring with this new girl in our lives.

What I learned from this dream is that the baby is me, that I have taken responsibility for her life and her health and that she represents my new birth and my future.

Today I've broken through the 260s barrier and am in the 250s!  259.8 to be exact, but I'll take it!

This means I am 5.8 pounds away from the century mark.  I am amazed, excited and so grateful for my RNY.

This coming week I'll be traveling in DC for work and need to plan what I will bring to help me get all my protein in.  I'll also be able to fasten the heaviest coat I own against the cold.

Life is good and getting better and better!

Chicken or Turkey Fruit Salad

4 C. cooken chicken or turkey, chopped
1 C. apples, chopped
1 C. seedless grapes
1 C. pineapple tidbits, packed in juice, drained
1 C. chow mein noodles
1/2 C. fat-free Miracle Whip

Place all ingredients in a plastic bag and mix to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 8 servings
Per serving: 253 cals; 28 gr. protein; 5 gr. fat; 22 gr. carb; 464 mg. sodium

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Protein Ice Cream

1 Scoop Vanilla flavored protein powder
Four-Five Packets Splenda

½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup skim milk or fat free milk
2 tablespoons FF Half and Half
1 egg
Sprinkle Nutmeg
Table Salt
Ice (enough to fill half a gallon sized Ziploc bag)
1 sandwich-size Ziploc bag
1 gallon-sized Ziploc bag

In blender or bowl combine splenda, protein powder, vanilla extract, nutmeg, skim milk or FF milk, 1 egg and blend or mix with mixer.  Pour mixture into the sandwich bag. Seal the bag tightly. 

In the gallon-sized bag, add ice cubes (or fill half the bag with ice) and add 6 or more tablespoons of table salt.

Place the sealed sandwich-sized bag into the gallon bag in the center of the ice.  Seal the gallon bag. Shake the entire contents for at least 4 minutes (shake longer for harder ice cream). Once desired hardness has been achieved, remove smaller bagg and rinse thoroughly with cold water (if you miss this step you may wind up with salty ice cream!)




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Chocolate Fluffs :)

Take a can of chocolate Reddi Whip and spray little dollops onto a cookie sheet and put in the freezer (wax paper might help - don't know yet since I haven't tried it myself). Once frozen you can transfer them to a air tight container and when a chocolate mood strikes go and get one out of the fridge! You satisfy a chocolate craving and keep it low cal (as long as you stick to one or two)! What an awesome idea! Thanks Marsha123 from the main board! 

Just wanted to pay the recipe forward - who says we can't eat good post RNY again?! 

Jen

(And I just thought - maybe putting the cookie sheet in the freezer to chill it before you add whip creams dollops might buy you melt time. Just a thought! Enjoy!




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Strawberry Fluff
(use other flavor of jello and it's lemon fluff, etc.)

 

12 oz sf coolwhip
sf vanilla pudding 1 box
sf strawberry or any flavor jello 1 box
and 1 and 1/2 cups of milk i use carb countdown


mix pudding jello and milk until dissolved then add coolwhip place in graham cracker crust or just serve in a bowl very good to eat by itself as a reward
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Sausage (Walmart):

I found these new sausages at Walmart tonight.  They are called Bistro sausages and are mad eby Benetino's Gourmet Foods.  Smoked Mozzarella with Artichoke and Garlic, Apple with Gouda Cheese, Habanero with Monterey Jack Cheese (these three are all made with chicken) and the Italian Sausage with Imported Cheese (made with pork).  

The chicken sausages have from 110-130 calories, 4-5 grams of fat and 16-18 grams of protein per sausage and the italian sausage is a lottle higher with 150 calories and 8 grams of fat and 17 g of protein. 

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High Protein Oatmeal:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/rny/a,messageboard/board_id,5465/cat_id,5065/topic_id,3493198/action,replies/

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Lindora protein bars:

A lot of protein bars have corn syrup, and these don't, which means I won't dump. Some of the other flavors by Lindora do, so if you dump on corn syrup, check your ingredients.

It's a tiny protein bar, and packs in 160 calories, 5 fat, and 15 grams of protein. I was pretty impressed with the taste. I won't mistake it for a Snickers, but its really a good protein bar.

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It's made by Whey Gourmet. I got the "Smooth Peanut Butter Chocolate" flavor. If you like peanut butter cups, you'll love this. It also comes in other great flavors like Cappucino and Cookies and Cream, but I only tried this one. It has no protein smell or taste. One scoop has 22g protein/120 cals/2g fat/3g carbs. I mix it with a little skim milk and water.

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Boneless chix breast or drumsticks
3 ounces apricot preserves (you can get the all fruit kind)
1 teaspoon minced garlic 
2 ounces balsamic vinegar
2 ounces olive oil
ground black pepper

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Coffee Cup Muffin (makes 1 muffin)

1/4 cup flax meal or almond meal (or any combination thereof
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon splenda (I use 1 or 2 packets)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 tsp melted butter (I use 1/2 tsp olive oil instead)

Mix the dry stuff together in a coffee cup, then add the egg and the oil and mix. 

Nuke for 50 to 60 seconds and upend the cup... it pops right out, and enjoy
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Wedding Cake
-1 Tbls SF Cheesecake Pudding mix 
-1 Tbls SF White Chocolate pudding mix
-1c milk
-1c ice
-2-4 Tbls of protein powder (I used 1 scoop of unjury unflavored)
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PUMPKIN RICOTTA MOUSSE
1/4 cup canned pumpkin (100% pumpkin, NOT the ready made pie filling)
1/4 FF ricotta cheese
1 heaping tablespoon of Splenda Granular
2 tablespoons of vanilla protein powder
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

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Eggface's Protein Ice Creams:

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

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Cinnamon Braised Nectarine Yogurt Nom Nom   4 oz greek yogurt (I use 0% Greek from TJs) 1/2 nectarine, cut into tiny pieces 4 tbsp SF DaVinci Syrup (use vanilla or cinnamon, or I used Toriani English Toffee) 2 packets Splenda really good imported cinnamon 1/4 cup Kashi Go Lean   1) Use a small frying pan-- heat up 3 tbsp syrup at low heat until it starts to get sticky-- toss in nectarine pieces. Sprinkle with 1 packet of Splenda and a buncha cinnamon. Heat until fruit softens. Let cool a little.   2) In small bowl, mix 1 tbsp syrup, 4 oz yogurt, and 1 packet Splenda-- and a few good shakes of cinnamon and mix well.   3) Toss the nectaines into the yogurt and stir. Pour the Kashi on top.   Eat before the kashi gets soggy!   As above:   128 calories 0 g fat 20 g carbs 4.5 g fiber 15 g protein