Allow me to introduce myself . . .

[Guest guest]

Hi my name is Selene Gentry. I met with the nutritionist at Kaiser

yesterday and she told me about this group. So I joined immediatly.

I've been reading a few of the posts and I'm excited to hear that it

takes about 4 months to get the surgery. That's cool.

I have a couple questions that I didn't see on the threads.

1. At what point do they check to see if you have lost the 10%. Do

they go ahead and make the appointments with the surgeon before you

have lost the 10% or after you have lost the 10%?

2. Does anyone struggle with the idea that if they could lose 10% on

their own then they could lose it all? That's one reason why I

haven't signed up for the surgery until now. I figure if I could

lose 10% I could lose all the weight.

3. For the people who have had the surgery. Has anyone ever stuck

with the soft foods for longer then a month? Do you have to switch

to the solid foods so quickly?

Thanks in advance

[Guest guest]

Hi Selene,

Welcome aboard. I hope that you find this group to be as wonderfully

supportive and helpful as I have. I know that there were times that I

would have been lost without them.

I don't want to dampen your spirits - but, please don't count on

getting to surgery in 4 months. The time that it takes varies

dramatically. Four months is definitely on the short end of the wait

time. Unless things have changed a lot, the average time is closer to

a year. Which facility you are assigned to will make a difference, but

the greatest factor will probably be how fast you can drop your 10%.

But whether it takes you 4 months or longer . . . that time can be put

to very good use in establishing habits that will help assure your

long-term success.

I can't really address your first question because things have changed

a lot since I had my surgery and it also depends on which facility you

are with.

You aked, "Does anyone struggle with the idea that if they could

lose 10% on

their own then they could lose it all?" Sure . . . I

think most of us have thought about that. That sort of thinking sent

me on a detour that delayed my surgery by about 3 years. I just had to

give it one last try without surgery. I lost a bit over 20% and then

watched it come back. Of course, we can lose weight without

surgery . . . the big problem is keeping it off. I don't recall the

statistics exactly, but I do know that around 95% of folks who lose any

significant weight without surgery will gain it back and add more

pounds in the long run. With surgery . . . the odds tip in our favor.

Yes . . . it is still possible to regain weight, but the vast majority

will keep most of it off. That hope is what led me to brave surgery

and having WLS was certainly one of the best things I have ever done

for myself.

Some people do stick with soft foods for longer than a month. Some of

them chose to . . . others need to. One of the things that you find

in this journey is that every body is different. What foods you can

tolerate, how fast you lose and everything else you can imagine vary a

lot from person to person.

I look forward to hearing more from you as you progress on this

incredible journey.

Take care,

Kay (in San Leandro)

open RNY Dec. 1, 2003

selene_gentry wrote:

Hi my name is Selene Gentry. I met with the nutritionist at Kaiser

yesterday and she told me about this group. So I joined immediatly.

I've been reading a few of the posts and I'm excited to hear that it

takes about 4 months to get the surgery. That's cool.

I have a couple questions that I didn't see on the threads.

1. At what point do they check to see if you have lost the 10%. Do

they go ahead and make the appointments with the surgeon before you

have lost the 10% or after you have lost the 10%?

2. Does anyone struggle with the idea that if they could lose 10% on

their own then they could lose it all? That's one reason why I

haven't signed up for the surgery until now. I figure if I could

lose 10% I could lose all the weight.

3. For the people who have had the surgery. Has anyone ever stuck

with the soft foods for longer then a month? Do you have to switch

to the solid foods so quickly?

Thanks in advance

[Guest guest]

I should be assigned to the Richmond center. My friend is going

through UCSF and she's been waiting for 2 years and hasn't gone to

orientation yet. I'm just glad I'm able to go through Kaiser.

>

> > Hi my name is Selene Gentry. I met with the nutritionist at

Kaiser

> > yesterday and she told me about this group. So I joined

immediatly.

> > I've been reading a few of the posts and I'm excited to hear that

it

> > takes about 4 months to get the surgery. That's cool.

> >

> > I have a couple questions that I didn't see on the threads.

> >

> > 1. At what point do they check to see if you have lost the 10%.

Do

> > they go ahead and make the appointments with the surgeon before

you

> > have lost the 10% or after you have lost the 10%?

> >

> > 2. Does anyone struggle with the idea that if they could lose

10% on

> > their own then they could lose it all? That's one reason why I

> > haven't signed up for the surgery until now. I figure if I could

> > lose 10% I could lose all the weight.

> >

> > 3. For the people who have had the surgery. Has anyone ever

stuck

> > with the soft foods for longer then a month? Do you have to

switch

> > to the solid foods so quickly?

> >

> > Thanks in advance

>