Ep 25: What Actually Qualifies You for Weight Loss Surgery?

WEBVTT

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Hey Steph. Hello. Welcome back to another episode

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of Bariatric Banter Podcast. 25. Five. A quarter.

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We have hit a quarter of whatever it is we're

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doing. Of whatever this is. We're a quarter of

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the way to a hundred. Oh my gosh. I know. Can

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you imagine when we hit a hundred? We'll have

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to have a party. I know. We'll have to have a

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recording party. Yeah. I feel like a meetup is

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in the book. Just me and you partying with balloons.

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But we've been kind of mocktails and balloons,

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baby. Thinking about, we haven't planned anything

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yet, but we have been thinking it might be cool

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to do a little something for people that are

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local that maybe want to hang out and do something.

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But yeah, we're, we're thinking about the next

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25 episodes of this little podcast. We can. maybe

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do a bit more with it or start to do some more

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onsite recording, maybe get cast back in. Yes.

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We definitely want to start inviting some other

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people in too. So I think that could be really

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cool. Yeah. Yeah. 25 episodes. This is crazy.

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And our new, new format doing well, shorter format

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to just take a little bit of pressure off ourselves.

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Short and sweet. Yeah. Sweet. This week's episode

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is interesting because. I do have a lot of questions

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about it. And I went back and I was like, we've

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already talked about this, haven't we? And no,

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what we talked about was like orientation and

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being in the program. But what people wanted

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to know was like, what were the requirements

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to get into surgery? What did the pre -process

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look like? Yeah. And I realized we never talked

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about it. We only talked about orientation onwards,

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like already being in the program. I was like,

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oh, this would be really interesting to cover.

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I'm sure it differs in the U .S. than it does

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here, but I think there's a lot of misconceptions

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about what needs to take place before you get

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in. So that's what we're going to talk about

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today is what are the requirements to have this

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surgery? It's funny because, right, I've actually,

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it's funny because I had a couple, we'll say

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events, like in -person things in the last couple

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months. in town and have seen a lot of people

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that I haven't seen in a long time, like since,

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since pre -surgery. And so, you know, you get

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the, Oh my gosh, look at you, look at you, which

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is great. But then I had a couple of people who

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have, who either pulled me aside at those events

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or have messaged me since and said, Hey, okay,

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I got to talk to you now because I've been thinking

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about this. I've always thought about it or I've

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newly thought about this, but what do I have

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to do? Like, what do I do? to get this started?

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What do I do to get my foot in the door? How

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do I begin this process? What do I need to do?

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So it's kind of funny timing because I've probably

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had, I'd say in the last two months, three people

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who have asked me the same question and are typically

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surprised by the answer. So I think people, like

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I said, there's a lot of misconceptions. I think

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people think it is much more involved than it

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really is. Yeah. And I think. I think it's because

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it's like some other things in medical, the medical

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world where you actually have to prove that you

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have to like basically prove. Test after test

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after test. I remember we were talking about

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cholesterol injections because high cholesterol

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is in my family. And I was kind of asking my

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mom like, Hey, I hear there's an injection and

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it's supposed to be, you know, less, less invasive

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than the pills and blah, blah, blah. She was

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like, okay, so first of all, it's like $6 ,000.

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And to get. for it you have to show that you've

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gone through multiple different processes that

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none of the other things are working um and so

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uh sorry uh had to respond to something uh you

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had to prove without a reasonable doubt that

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you've tried everything under the sun and then

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recover it so i think it just comes from like

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medical history people thinking oh i have to

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prove stuff so yeah i'm talking about this i'm

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glad We're going to, and again, this is just

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for Canada. It probably does differ other places.

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And different programs will. will also differ.

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I know some people who have had surgery in another

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program and they had to get different pre -testing

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than we had to, but I agree. I think it's because

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a lot of times, let's be honest, we have to jump

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through hoops to get things, especially we're

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going to, I'm not going to go down the rabbit

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hole, but especially when you're obese to begin

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with, there's typically a lot of hoops you have

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to go through a test and you have to get done

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because they want to find out what's the ultimate

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cause. What, what all is contributing to this?

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What is leading to this? Why do you feel this

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way? And so I know personally for me in the past,

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We did fertility treatments for a long time.

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And so it was test after test, after test, after

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test. And I think maybe that's part of the reason

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why I never thought about surgery was because

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I just never brought it into my mind because

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I just in the back of my head assumed, oh, it's

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going to have to be another one of these testing

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and waiting and go through this and then have

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this done. And then once that's a no, we'll go

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this. And I just didn't even want to go down.

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the rabbit hole of what I assumed it was going

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to be like. So it was never a thought that crossed

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my mind until my doctor suggested it. Yeah. And

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I think I also just kind of assumed they would

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just tell me, you know, that it was one of, you

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don't, you don't go into this. They tell you,

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right? Like you wouldn't go to the doctor and

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be like, I would love to discuss high blood pressure

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medication with you. Like, you know, he'd be

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like, we need to talk about medication. Yeah,

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exactly. This is happening. I think there's that

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misconception too, that like, well, they'll tell

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you when you need this. So let's talk about,

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I think first and foremost, the question basically

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was what is kind of, it was basically kind of

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like what's required to get into surgery. I think

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it was like, what were the requirements or milestones

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that you actually had to accomplish before surgery?

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So to get into the bariatric program, and I honestly

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shouldn't use the word get into. to start the

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bariatric program, there is nothing that you

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need to... I was going to say the easy answer

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is nothing. Okay. So like nothing with an asterisk.

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Let's say nothing with an asterisk. There really

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wasn't anything that was required. No. Asterisk.

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You have to be a certain... Okay. Back in the

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day, I think you had to, but like there was...

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back in the day, like you had to be a certain

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weight. You had to have a certain BMI. I think.

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Yeah. Back in the day. Yeah. I think if you're

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like five, four and 150 pounds and you go to

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your doctor and you go, I want bariatric surgery.

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The chances that you're allowed to have bariatric

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surgery are pretty fucking slim. Yeah. Because.

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I don't need it. You don't. And be like, you

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don't have a hundred pounds to lose. Let's look

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at other options. Let's look. Yeah. So basically

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it is reserved for people that. need it type

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like you have to you're usually you're usually

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obese when you're having bariatric surgery but

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not always there are some people who are overweight

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that did have yes um i say the majority are people

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who are obese who have who have tried other things

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who have other underlying health problems but

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typically you're not typically your doctor you're

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not going to bring it up or your doctor's not

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going to refer you for it or suggest that they

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refer you for it unless you Clearly, visibly,

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obviously need to lose the weight. Right. If

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you're if you're thin and you are thinking of

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this, he might they might be like suggest other

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things. Talk about this. But basically, there

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isn't like I did not have to hit a certain require.

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I didn't have to be a certain weight. Now, if

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you Google and research it, I thought I had to

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be a certain weight. Right. Oh, no, no. If you

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are considered morbidly obese, which like. most

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of the people having the surgery are, you literally

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can go to your doctor and say, I'd like to have

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weight loss surgery. Your doctor is not the one

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performing that surgery. They'll have little

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to no involvement in that. You literally just

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need a recommendation from them. So if your doctor's

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giving you shit about it, go find another doctor

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because they're going to put you into a program.

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It's not like your family doctor has to do all

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this work and has to be like, so if you don't

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have a family doctor, go to a clinic and ask.

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They're literally filling out a piece of paper.

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That's all they're doing. They're just filling

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out a piece of paper. The clinic will literally

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take over from there and do all your pre -testing

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and all your pre -work and everything for you.

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But I did not have any like questionnaire or

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anything beforehand. My doctor did say to me,

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like, I know you've tried. I know that you've

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been going through personal training. Like I

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know that you've put an effort in. So there was

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no requirement, but my family doctor kind of

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alluded to what some family doctors might. Have

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you at least put any effort into this or have

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this before? That is not a requirement. So please

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don't feel bad if you haven't, or you haven't

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talked about it with your doctor, like that shouldn't

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prevent you from it. But he wasn't doing it to

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say, you can go do this on your own. He was basically

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saying, I know you have the dedication to do

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this because you're trying. And for a lot, a

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lot of doctors, that's what it is. It's not that

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they expect you to lose weight. There is no,

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you need to lose X amount of weight. for this.

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Nope. But he basically was saying, can you be

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successful with this? Because you've been trying

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hard on your own. So while not a requirement,

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if you've put no effort in and you don't listening

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to your doctor, it's a red flag, you know, he

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or she will probably, I keep saying he, not because

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I'm sexist, my doctor, and I keep picturing Dr.

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Singh in my head while I'm talking. Uh, but they

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will probably. have a few more questions for

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you up front and maybe even how much of a journey

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this program is and ask you, are you really sure?

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Right. They might want to put it off a little

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bit, have some more appointments with you, have

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give you some more time to really make sure,

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because as we've, as we've discussed, again,

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we're not going to go down the rabbit hole. It's

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not the easy way out. There is a lot that goes

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into this. And so they just want to make sure

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that if you're going to do something that is

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this drastic and this big of a change. That you're

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in the right place. You're in the right mindset.

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You are at the right point where this is the

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right decision for you. And that's, yeah, like

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I had a new family doctor and I had had very

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bad experiences with my previous family doctor.

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And it's funny because my parents have had, well,

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mainly my mom, but my parents have had really

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good experiences with him. I did not. I did not

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like him. I had a lot of bad experiences with

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him with our fertility stuff. And so we had a

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new family doctor moving out here. And I had

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been working out for a while. I've been doing

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all the things. And as we've talked about, you

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know, you see your success and then you plateau

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and then you gain and then success and gain.

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It was just, I said to Devin and with perimenopause

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and PCOS and dah, dah, dah, said, I'm done with

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this. I'm going to go talk to the doctor. I don't

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know her. I'm just going to, I've heard good

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things about her. I'm going to go lay it out

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on the table. And so I went to her, I took, I

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put notes on my phone because I knew I was going

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to be nervous. And I knew. I knew once I saw

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her, I was going to be nervous. I was going to

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forget things or I was going to bail and just,

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I don't know, not do what I set out to do and

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not advocate for myself. So I sat down with her,

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met her. She seemed super nice. I'd met her once

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or twice quick with the kids for vaccinations,

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but never for me or for a chat. So I sat down

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and I said, here's the deal. I said, clearly

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you can see I need to lose weight. Here's my

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history. Here's the issues I suffer from. what's

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happened in the past. Here's what I've tried.

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Here's where I failed. I'm, I'm, I'm done. Like

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I said to her, I'm sick and tired of being sick

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and tired of feeling like crap of not having

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success. I'm busting my butt. I'm getting so

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discouraged. And we had a really good chat and

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I fully expected her to go down the like Ozempic

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Manjaro route. And as I've said before on here,

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no judgment to anyone who does it. If that's

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what you want. Yeah. And that works. Go for it.

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I had a lot of negative side effects with fertility

00:11:55.580 --> 00:11:59.299
medication and injections. And so I have, I'll

00:11:59.299 --> 00:12:02.200
say like PTSD towards the thought of injectables.

00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:07.080
I just, I can't do it. I can't do it. And so

00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:09.200
I, that was where I was prepared to take the

00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:12.519
conversation and never came up. Her very first

00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:14.340
comment out of her mouth was she, we had a great

00:12:14.340 --> 00:12:16.279
chat. She was very receptive and she just looked

00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:18.740
at me and goes, well, what about, what about

00:12:18.740 --> 00:12:20.759
surgery? And I literally, it hadn't even crossed

00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:22.600
my mind. I literally said, what? What surgery?

00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:26.139
Like thinking she's, I'm not here for like appendicitis.

00:12:26.500 --> 00:12:29.259
And she's like, bariatric surgery. And I just

00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:33.440
stared at her and I was like, no, no. And she

00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:35.360
told me all about Guelph. And she said how they

00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:38.679
have a nutrition program, which is shake meal

00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:40.759
replacement based. And they have surgery. And

00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:42.879
she goes, you tell me you want me to put a referral

00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:45.399
in for you and I will happily do it. And I asked

00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:46.899
her some questions. And to your point, the doctor

00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:49.000
has nothing to do with it. She, other than the

00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:51.559
knowing they have two routes you can take. She

00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:53.580
knew nothing about the program, nothing about

00:12:53.580 --> 00:12:57.039
anything. She goes, I fill out the referral and

00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:59.899
then they call you. And I was like, oh, OK, perfect.

00:13:00.019 --> 00:13:04.100
So that day she filled it out that day and sent

00:13:04.100 --> 00:13:06.700
it in. And then from that point on, she's been

00:13:06.700 --> 00:13:08.940
involved in my. No, she's been involved in my

00:13:08.940 --> 00:13:11.559
follow ups. Yeah, but that was literally all

00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:14.100
it took to get the referral was a conversation.

00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:16.759
And none of what you did so was required. So

00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:19.139
I just want to know. No, none of the like having

00:13:19.139 --> 00:13:21.539
it written down and talking. No, that was just

00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:25.600
for me. There are no prerequisites, really. There

00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:28.059
was back in the day, like weight one. So again,

00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:31.320
if you're maybe not morbidly obese or obese,

00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:33.759
maybe there's another conversation you're going

00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:35.639
to have. But if you're obese or morbidly obese,

00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:37.720
don't worry. There is no you need to do this

00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:41.320
to get in. And when I was entering the program,

00:13:41.460 --> 00:13:44.200
Ozempic and all that stuff was not. was not prevalent.

00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:46.460
So maybe we would have had a discussion about

00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:49.039
injectables instead of surgery. And maybe I would

00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:50.720
have went down that route because they were not

00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:54.659
as widely done now as they were back then. And

00:13:54.659 --> 00:13:56.580
it's okay if your doctor wants you to make a

00:13:56.580 --> 00:13:59.039
different approach or think about things. That

00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:02.019
is fine. Also keep in mind, you will be in this

00:14:02.019 --> 00:14:05.019
program for upwards of 12, 11 to 12 months before

00:14:05.019 --> 00:14:08.250
you get in. Maybe do a combined effort. Let's

00:14:08.250 --> 00:14:10.009
start the injections, but please put me on the

00:14:10.009 --> 00:14:11.769
list for surgery anyway, because it's going to

00:14:11.769 --> 00:14:15.549
be an 11 month wait period. But basically there

00:14:15.549 --> 00:14:23.389
is no requirements. Time out, please. But basically

00:14:23.389 --> 00:14:26.570
not yet. None of that is required. And I think

00:14:26.570 --> 00:14:28.850
there, if you Google it, you're going to see

00:14:28.850 --> 00:14:31.490
things like BMI of 40 or higher BMI of like,

00:14:31.690 --> 00:14:34.570
no, there was literally nobody. Nobody checked

00:14:34.570 --> 00:14:37.960
my BMI. yeah, your doctor will just put you in.

00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:39.460
I think the requirements are you have to be an

00:14:39.460 --> 00:14:42.379
adult. Like that obviously. Yes. But like, I

00:14:42.379 --> 00:14:45.720
don't think once they required my BMI to let

00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:47.720
me in the program or not. Cause I wasn't like,

00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:50.799
is it high enough? Like, bitch, of course. I

00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:52.600
put it on the page. I remember putting it all,

00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:54.620
like filling out all that stuff on the paperwork

00:14:54.620 --> 00:14:58.460
to send into the clinic basically as my, yes,

00:14:58.460 --> 00:15:02.019
I want to move forward, but I never had a discussion

00:15:02.019 --> 00:15:06.169
about it. Now, the only thing I will say, and

00:15:06.169 --> 00:15:08.549
I've said it before on episodes and everybody's

00:15:08.549 --> 00:15:10.730
heard me say it. There are things that will slow

00:15:10.730 --> 00:15:12.470
you down, but not limit you. Like, obviously,

00:15:12.529 --> 00:15:14.470
if you're if you currently have cancer, if you

00:15:14.470 --> 00:15:16.549
currently have like there's probably going to

00:15:16.549 --> 00:15:19.809
be larger conversations about that. Yeah. But

00:15:19.809 --> 00:15:22.710
yes, you can do this if you're diabetic. Yes,

00:15:22.809 --> 00:15:25.110
you can do this if you have heart disease. Yes,

00:15:25.149 --> 00:15:27.529
you can do this if you like. They will they will

00:15:27.529 --> 00:15:29.330
handle that with you and talk to you about it

00:15:29.330 --> 00:15:31.929
where you won't be eligible, though. And this

00:15:31.929 --> 00:15:34.870
is. big and they will tell you this in orientation

00:15:34.870 --> 00:15:39.169
you cannot be an alcoholic or a drug addict sorry

00:15:39.169 --> 00:15:43.289
um if you struggle with alcohol or drugs and

00:15:43.289 --> 00:15:45.470
you wouldn't consider yourself an alcoholic or

00:15:45.470 --> 00:15:48.090
a drug addict but you really drink a lot you

00:15:48.090 --> 00:15:51.009
need to actually not have been drinking for at

00:15:51.009 --> 00:15:53.850
least six months if you are like a heavy alcohol

00:15:53.850 --> 00:15:57.889
dependency um once you enter orientation, they

00:15:57.889 --> 00:15:59.429
will say you need to stop drinking from this

00:15:59.429 --> 00:16:01.710
point on before you have, there'll be no smoking,

00:16:01.850 --> 00:16:05.169
no drug use, including marijuana and no drinking

00:16:05.169 --> 00:16:07.450
while you were in the referral stage. And you

00:16:07.450 --> 00:16:10.289
have to agree to that. And I'll ask you at all

00:16:10.289 --> 00:16:12.529
your appointments, have you, have you had anything

00:16:12.529 --> 00:16:16.110
to drink? If you've had major cancer, you actually

00:16:16.110 --> 00:16:18.549
need to wait two years after that to go into

00:16:18.549 --> 00:16:20.269
the program. But again, they'll work with you

00:16:20.269 --> 00:16:22.269
on that. And that's because your body needs time

00:16:22.269 --> 00:16:25.090
to heal. It's not you can't come in. It's you

00:16:25.090 --> 00:16:26.669
can't come in for two years. Same with being

00:16:26.669 --> 00:16:28.850
an alcoholic or a drug addict. It's not you can't

00:16:28.850 --> 00:16:31.169
do this. It's you need to be clean for a minimum

00:16:31.169 --> 00:16:34.529
of six months to come in. If you have psychiatric

00:16:34.529 --> 00:16:37.429
illnesses, again, it's not that you can't, but

00:16:37.429 --> 00:16:40.389
you need to make sure that you are very adequately

00:16:40.389 --> 00:16:43.879
covered, treated and have. There are a lot of

00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:45.259
stories that you'll hear out there of people

00:16:45.259 --> 00:16:47.559
entering the programs and then having surgeries

00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:49.799
pushed and bumped because you're not actually

00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:52.620
working on your depression or your anxiety or

00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:55.740
your like other issues that you have. Like there's

00:16:55.740 --> 00:16:57.779
going to be a part where your medication is not

00:16:57.779 --> 00:16:59.399
going to work as adequately as it did before.

00:16:59.460 --> 00:17:01.480
Like you have to have there's a lot of things

00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:04.180
that like if you have underlying issues, you

00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:06.980
will need to speak with someone about. But having

00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:09.589
diabetes does not rule you out. It does change

00:17:09.589 --> 00:17:11.710
what surgery you're allowed to have. That's fine.

00:17:11.789 --> 00:17:13.910
But I had raging high blood pressure, high blood

00:17:13.910 --> 00:17:15.869
sugar. I wasn't diabetic, but it was high. I

00:17:15.869 --> 00:17:18.069
had high cholesterol. I had joint pain. I was

00:17:18.069 --> 00:17:20.230
having muscle neuropathy. Like I was numb in

00:17:20.230 --> 00:17:22.589
one leg. Nothing. No, their comment was, you're

00:17:22.589 --> 00:17:24.589
perfect for this. Basically, they were like,

00:17:24.690 --> 00:17:27.609
let's fucking move. I would say though, like

00:17:27.609 --> 00:17:30.269
there's, there's require, not gonna say requirements.

00:17:30.349 --> 00:17:33.950
There's things I would recommend. You do before

00:17:33.950 --> 00:17:37.190
surgery. And there's foundations. I would suggest

00:17:37.190 --> 00:17:39.269
that if you're seriously considering having the

00:17:39.269 --> 00:17:41.390
surgery, they're not requirements by the program

00:17:41.390 --> 00:17:43.369
or by the doctor, but I would say would help

00:17:43.369 --> 00:17:45.970
set you up for success. And we've talked about

00:17:45.970 --> 00:17:47.730
those, but things like starting to move your

00:17:47.730 --> 00:17:49.849
body, starting to track your food, starting to

00:17:49.849 --> 00:17:52.789
look at your portions, starting to work on those

00:17:52.789 --> 00:17:56.470
healthy habits before you go in. But it's not

00:17:56.470 --> 00:18:00.490
like you have to, but I would highly recommend

00:18:00.490 --> 00:18:02.730
it. And there's some tests that you have to get

00:18:02.730 --> 00:18:05.849
done once you're in the program. But again, those

00:18:05.849 --> 00:18:09.289
likely will not deter you from continuing on,

00:18:09.369 --> 00:18:10.910
right? Like you have to get blood work. Some

00:18:10.910 --> 00:18:13.660
people have to get. sleep studies some people

00:18:13.660 --> 00:18:16.460
have to yeah scopes that kind of stuff I didn't

00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:18.240
have to have anything knock on wood other than

00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:22.359
blood work um I had to do a sleep study oh yeah

00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:24.880
there's certain and there's certain requirements

00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:27.200
that they'll say like your weight your BMI your

00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:29.240
neck circumference da da da but again that doesn't

00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:31.859
mean you can't have the surgery it really honestly

00:18:31.859 --> 00:18:36.400
post orientation so yeah it really is just do

00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:39.200
I want to have the surgery Do I feel like I'm

00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:42.200
in the right space for the surgery? Have I tried

00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:46.299
other things to see success? And am I ready for

00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:49.480
the commitment and the lifestyle changes that

00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:52.380
come along with it? Are you 18 years or older?

00:18:52.859 --> 00:18:57.440
Do you have obesity or morbid obesity? So basically,

00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:01.500
is your BMI over 30? Let's be honest. Do you

00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:04.519
also suffer from any of the following? heart

00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:07.579
disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep

00:19:07.579 --> 00:19:11.000
apnea, acid reflux. Like there's a lot of like

00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:13.400
all of that will like, oh yeah, you absolutely

00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:16.380
qualify. Yep. Boom. Straight to the, here you

00:19:16.380 --> 00:19:18.720
go. That's it. Because it will ultimately make

00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:21.500
those things better. Yeah. Because basically

00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:24.960
if you're 18 and let's say your BMI is 30, there

00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:27.819
might be a conversation of you're a bit young.

00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:30.279
You don't have any comorbidities. Why don't we

00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:34.079
try Ozempic instead? Right? But for most of us,

00:19:34.099 --> 00:19:37.119
we're over 18. We had a really high BMI. But

00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:39.000
again, they're not even really looking into that.

00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:41.259
But we have really high excessive weight for

00:19:41.259 --> 00:19:44.420
our height. We usually also have a comorbidity.

00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:47.019
So there is something else going on, whether

00:19:47.019 --> 00:19:48.759
you want to admit it or not. And family history

00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:51.900
counts, by the way. You don't have these runs

00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:53.859
in your family. That's a comorbidity that will

00:19:53.859 --> 00:19:57.079
be passed on to you. That counts. And then are

00:19:57.079 --> 00:19:59.579
you a drug addict? Are you an alcoholic? Do you

00:19:59.579 --> 00:20:02.440
drink way more than you should be? Have you had

00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:05.299
major cancer? Do you have psychiatric illnesses?

00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:09.380
That is it. That is it for eligibility. And that's

00:20:09.380 --> 00:20:11.599
just in Canada to get into the bariatric program.

00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:13.579
If you're paying for it, it's probably different.

00:20:13.779 --> 00:20:16.279
And again, we're not going to cover what comes

00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:18.359
after that, because the question was, what do

00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:20.680
you have to do before you get into the program?

00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:24.059
Nothing. There was no conversation of, Hannah,

00:20:24.119 --> 00:20:25.660
you need to go out, try to lose weight and prove

00:20:25.660 --> 00:20:27.910
that you've tried for it. year to get in. Nope.

00:20:28.049 --> 00:20:29.910
Um, there was, okay, well you need to be on an

00:20:29.910 --> 00:20:31.910
eating plan for at least a year and then nope.

00:20:32.009 --> 00:20:35.609
And if your doctor in Ontario, Canada tries to

00:20:35.609 --> 00:20:37.990
tell you that before he'll even submit, they

00:20:37.990 --> 00:20:41.549
will submit you, you need to lose weight or try

00:20:41.549 --> 00:20:44.069
eating differently. Find a new doctor. Find a

00:20:44.069 --> 00:20:45.990
new doctor because their only requirements to

00:20:45.990 --> 00:20:49.529
get in are your age, your current weight. And

00:20:49.529 --> 00:20:52.329
if you have any of the, we can't really take

00:20:52.329 --> 00:20:54.990
you because of it issues, cancer, psychiatric

00:20:54.990 --> 00:20:57.519
illness. drug or alcohol dependency. And when,

00:20:57.519 --> 00:21:00.359
when they say psychiatric illness, having anxiety

00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:02.779
or having depression, we're talking severe, not

00:21:02.779 --> 00:21:05.500
psychiatric. Like we're talking like you have

00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:09.039
bipolar two, you have schizophrenia, have severe

00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:13.000
clinical depression. Yeah. Those are things you

00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:15.900
probably need to have. And it's not a no, no,

00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:18.579
it's a, you do you have the right supports in

00:21:18.579 --> 00:21:22.160
place and the right medical team around you.

00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:25.589
Right. I'd say honestly. Yeah, go ahead. you'd

00:21:25.589 --> 00:21:27.950
be flagged. Like you should not be declined,

00:21:28.069 --> 00:21:30.869
but they would go, we can't take a moment until

00:21:30.869 --> 00:21:34.349
we talk to some other people. Right. Yeah. It's

00:21:34.349 --> 00:21:36.250
just, it just means then that the team at the

00:21:36.250 --> 00:21:38.430
clinic might work with you more. You might have

00:21:38.430 --> 00:21:40.329
more appointments. They might want to speak with

00:21:40.329 --> 00:21:43.390
any of the other physicians or team that you're

00:21:43.390 --> 00:21:46.730
working with. Yeah. It just means that your process

00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:48.329
might be a little bit more thorough and that's

00:21:48.329 --> 00:21:51.670
fine. I think the real big. what I'd say is requirement

00:21:51.670 --> 00:21:55.029
is just being honest, being honest with yourself,

00:21:55.210 --> 00:21:57.650
being honest with your doctor and being honest

00:21:57.650 --> 00:21:59.950
with where you're at, where you've been and where

00:21:59.950 --> 00:22:02.869
you're prepared to go. And I've even talked to

00:22:02.869 --> 00:22:04.710
people recently about this and they've said,

00:22:04.730 --> 00:22:06.190
you know, like, I'm not sure. And I said, well,

00:22:06.210 --> 00:22:08.609
then talk to your doctor about it. I said, there's

00:22:08.609 --> 00:22:10.529
no reason why you can't just have a conversation.

00:22:10.789 --> 00:22:14.009
I said, you can ask, ask me who's been through

00:22:14.009 --> 00:22:16.009
it. Talk to your doctor, get the information.

00:22:16.839 --> 00:22:18.599
And you could always the thing that I liked,

00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:21.200
too, is you could always start the process. And

00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:23.079
if at any time you didn't feel comfortable, you

00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:24.779
changed your mind, then you just said, I don't

00:22:24.779 --> 00:22:27.579
want to do this anymore. And that's it. And so

00:22:27.579 --> 00:22:31.240
just being I think being honest is a big thing

00:22:31.240 --> 00:22:34.420
about what have I really tried? What have I really

00:22:34.420 --> 00:22:38.140
done? And I think the big thing is, again, the

00:22:38.140 --> 00:22:41.539
realizing it's not. It's not a magic pill. It's

00:22:41.539 --> 00:22:42.700
not like you're going to have surgery. It's going

00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:45.500
to fix everything. Really sitting down and researching,

00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:49.440
doing your homework about what is involved with,

00:22:49.460 --> 00:22:52.579
like you're doing now, asking about the pre -process,

00:22:52.859 --> 00:22:57.119
what's involved with the pre -op process once

00:22:57.119 --> 00:22:59.240
I'm in the program, what's involved with surgery,

00:22:59.500 --> 00:23:01.420
with the recovery, and then what am I committing

00:23:01.420 --> 00:23:04.539
to long -term? And I would say that, for me,

00:23:04.579 --> 00:23:07.059
I would tell people that I would treat that.

00:23:07.450 --> 00:23:09.630
As a requirement, even though it's not, if I

00:23:09.630 --> 00:23:11.630
was somebody who was, if I was talking to somebody

00:23:11.630 --> 00:23:14.009
who's thinking about this, I would say you should

00:23:14.009 --> 00:23:15.990
treat that as a requirement is educating yourself,

00:23:16.089 --> 00:23:18.690
doing your research and having, having those

00:23:18.690 --> 00:23:21.289
honest conversations with yourself. And knowing

00:23:21.289 --> 00:23:24.549
the different surgeries. You won't always get

00:23:24.549 --> 00:23:26.289
to choose that. And that will become something

00:23:26.289 --> 00:23:28.609
you need to kind of pay attention to. The big

00:23:28.609 --> 00:23:30.990
thing that I will tell you for me, that's a requirement.

00:23:31.069 --> 00:23:33.250
Like, well, we need to give this a name. It's

00:23:33.250 --> 00:23:35.170
not a requirement, but it's a Hannah and Steph

00:23:35.170 --> 00:23:38.269
requirement. Highly recommended. Highly recommend.

00:23:38.809 --> 00:23:41.450
Your alcohol and drug use. And when I say drug

00:23:41.450 --> 00:23:44.069
use, I'm talking about marijuana. Oh, sweet Jesus.

00:23:44.390 --> 00:23:47.089
Goodbye, gummies. I read it last week, and I'm

00:23:47.089 --> 00:23:49.029
not kidding. Somebody went into the bariatric

00:23:49.029 --> 00:23:52.000
group on Reddit and was like. hey, how soon after

00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:53.960
surgery can I have a bump? And for anybody who

00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:58.400
doesn't know this, but I know they wanted to

00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:00.160
do cocaine. They were going to a party and they

00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:01.680
wanted to have a little bit of cocaine. People

00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:03.259
in the comments were like, I love that they're

00:24:03.259 --> 00:24:05.500
just putting that out there so nonchalantly also.

00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:07.519
People in the comments were like, what the fuck's

00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:09.339
a little bit of cocaine? And they were like,

00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:13.380
you need to go research transportation now. So

00:24:13.380 --> 00:24:15.460
when I say drugs, I mean marijuana. If you're

00:24:15.460 --> 00:24:18.920
doing other drugs, maybe don't have this. That's

00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:21.700
a whole other topic. But like put your gummies

00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:25.039
away. If you're a heavy drinker, especially a

00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:27.519
heavy social drinker or a heavy marijuana user,

00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:30.200
you really need to think about this because transfer

00:24:30.200 --> 00:24:33.140
addiction is massive. And what happens is you

00:24:33.140 --> 00:24:35.859
can't eat so you over drink or you overdo drugs.

00:24:35.940 --> 00:24:38.640
And I'm not talking it happens to 5 or 10%. We're

00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:41.240
talking over 60%. A lot. People that don't cut

00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:44.279
alcohol before surgery. get transfer addiction.

00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:46.420
You'll see it on Reddit. You'll see people being

00:24:46.420 --> 00:24:48.019
like, oh, I'm three months post -op and I can

00:24:48.019 --> 00:24:49.579
drink like half a bottle of wine and feel totally

00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:54.680
fine. Karen, that's not fine, but cool. That

00:24:54.680 --> 00:24:56.799
is my like, it's not a prerequisite, but you

00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:58.680
really need to think about it. Like if you don't

00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:00.619
think you can give up alcohol, don't have this

00:25:00.619 --> 00:25:03.079
surgery. If you can't give up smoking, don't

00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:05.299
have this surgery because smoking is the non

00:25:05.299 --> 00:25:08.079
-negotiable that will actually, I forgot we should

00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:10.740
have mentioned it. If you're a smoker, you will

00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:13.599
not be accepted into this program. You have no

00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:16.279
choice. You cannot remain a smoker. You can't

00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:18.400
quit, have surgery and go back to it. You full

00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:20.880
on fundamentally will be rejected if you're a

00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:24.039
smoker in Canada because it is stomach surgery.

00:25:24.339 --> 00:25:27.119
And if you smoke, it increases the chance of

00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:30.720
ulcers and you don't have a stomach left to afford

00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:33.779
an ulcer. And you can get hypertension and major

00:25:33.779 --> 00:25:37.940
issues after being a smoker. So they will not

00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:40.700
let you. And don't lie about it. If you're a

00:25:40.700 --> 00:25:42.839
smoker, you better learn. or don't have this

00:25:42.839 --> 00:25:46.640
surgery, go down the Ozempic path instead. But

00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:49.839
my rule or thing is like, if you don't think

00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:53.420
you can give up alcohol, then I don't know what

00:25:53.420 --> 00:25:55.819
to tell you. Like I've been, I haven't had alcohol

00:25:55.819 --> 00:25:58.019
in three and a half years. Like I stopped the

00:25:58.019 --> 00:26:00.140
minute I got into the program because you have

00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:02.980
to give it up for a year before because you can't.

00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:05.799
Like for surgery, you can't have been smoking

00:26:05.799 --> 00:26:08.099
or drinking for X amount of months. So I gave

00:26:08.099 --> 00:26:09.700
it up before and they ask you in every check

00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:13.940
-in, have you had alcohol? And I never reintroduced

00:26:13.940 --> 00:26:15.920
it for multiple reasons. I'm scared shitless

00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:18.359
of transfer addiction because you definitely

00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:20.579
try to fill that food void. For me, it's shopping.

00:26:20.619 --> 00:26:23.220
Not great, but it is shopping. And then I don't

00:26:23.220 --> 00:26:26.240
want the empty calories and sugar because. Like

00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:28.680
it just rips through your body. And also, I don't

00:26:28.680 --> 00:26:30.799
like the feeling of being drunk. Who enjoys that

00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:34.000
feeling? It's not great. So I haven't gone back

00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:36.440
to it. And I know a lot of the younger generation

00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:39.039
are actually giving up alcohol in general. So

00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:41.099
I think for some of the younger people entering

00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:44.660
surgery, this is not that big of a hurdle. But

00:26:44.660 --> 00:26:47.079
in my orientation, I was the youngest by decades.

00:26:47.160 --> 00:26:49.799
Like it was a lot of 65 plus year olds that kind

00:26:49.799 --> 00:26:52.359
of have run out of options that need to have

00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:56.029
it. giving up alcohol was like really hard. Every

00:26:56.029 --> 00:26:57.730
other question in orientation was like, well,

00:26:57.750 --> 00:26:59.190
for how long? Well, when can I start drinking

00:26:59.190 --> 00:27:02.269
again? Well, I want to drink again. I would just

00:27:02.269 --> 00:27:05.269
say like, be careful because if it's that. There

00:27:05.269 --> 00:27:07.630
are people who do drink after. Which is fine.

00:27:07.769 --> 00:27:09.950
And some people, some people can handle it. And

00:27:09.950 --> 00:27:14.069
that's exactly, that's cool. But if you, like

00:27:14.069 --> 00:27:16.990
Hannah said, if you are questioning your ability.

00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:20.099
to be able to handle it, or to be able to be

00:27:20.099 --> 00:27:22.579
one of those people who can have one drink and

00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:25.500
walk away, it's probably, you're probably one

00:27:25.500 --> 00:27:28.420
of the people who should not go back to it. And

00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:30.700
if, if you want to drink post -surgery, that's

00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:32.160
cool. If you think you can handle it, that's

00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:34.440
cool. But if you are one of those people that

00:27:34.440 --> 00:27:37.680
already is like jonesing and you're already thinking,

00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:39.740
oh shit, I can't just have one. I can't just

00:27:39.740 --> 00:27:42.920
have one. I can't just, then yeah, that's a different,

00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:44.890
different story. And your friends will drink

00:27:44.890 --> 00:27:47.789
as they do. But yeah, I like if I had alcohol

00:27:47.789 --> 00:27:50.970
since surgery. Yeah. I had champagne one New

00:27:50.970 --> 00:27:55.049
Year's. I had a shot at Christmas once. I but

00:27:55.049 --> 00:27:57.049
for the most part, that's it. I don't keep alcohol

00:27:57.049 --> 00:27:59.049
in the house. I don't drink like I've had. I

00:27:59.049 --> 00:28:01.490
think I've had two, two drinks total that I can

00:28:01.490 --> 00:28:05.190
think of since surgery. So in three years, because

00:28:05.190 --> 00:28:08.289
I count orientation in that. Yeah. And I didn't

00:28:08.289 --> 00:28:10.470
finish a champagne because I was like, no champagne.

00:28:10.589 --> 00:28:13.549
Good. And the shot was just dumb. It was like

00:28:13.549 --> 00:28:16.130
a Christmas thing. The whole family did it. I

00:28:16.130 --> 00:28:17.970
was like, I'd like to vomit. Like it just did

00:28:17.970 --> 00:28:21.849
not. Well, and some people, alcohol affects them

00:28:21.849 --> 00:28:23.230
totally different after surgery. You have to

00:28:23.230 --> 00:28:24.809
keep that in mind too, right? Like there's some

00:28:24.809 --> 00:28:27.829
people who will drink and it's fine. It's as

00:28:27.829 --> 00:28:30.170
if nothing ever happened. And that's cool. There's

00:28:30.170 --> 00:28:32.730
other people who will have one beverage and be

00:28:32.730 --> 00:28:36.970
blackout, white girl wasted, shaking it on the

00:28:36.970 --> 00:28:39.190
dance floor with no recollection. of what happened

00:28:39.190 --> 00:28:41.150
the next day. And that's why they tell you to

00:28:41.150 --> 00:28:44.470
be careful. That's why, so on my 40th birthday,

00:28:44.549 --> 00:28:45.930
when we were in Canmore and everyone's like,

00:28:45.990 --> 00:28:47.250
you can have a drink for your 40th, you can have

00:28:47.250 --> 00:28:48.650
a drink for your 40th, it's as big as your 40th.

00:28:49.009 --> 00:28:50.329
And I was like, I don't know. At that point,

00:28:50.369 --> 00:28:51.809
I didn't know. I thought maybe I would, maybe

00:28:51.809 --> 00:28:53.390
I won't. We'll play it by ear. We'll see what

00:28:53.390 --> 00:28:56.549
happens. But my fear, and it wasn't the fact

00:28:56.549 --> 00:28:58.849
that I was worried about having a drink and that

00:28:58.849 --> 00:29:01.430
I was going to spiral or anything. My fear was

00:29:01.430 --> 00:29:05.799
I'm going to be in a... public place, not the

00:29:05.799 --> 00:29:07.579
comfort of my house. My children are going to

00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:11.200
be there. I'm not going to be at home. I'm in

00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:16.619
a different province. I don't want my first alcoholic

00:29:16.619 --> 00:29:19.640
beverage post -surgery to make me the white girl

00:29:19.640 --> 00:29:23.559
wasted girl on the dance floor and have some

00:29:23.559 --> 00:29:27.380
sort of crazy, horrible reaction. way in that

00:29:27.380 --> 00:29:30.980
situation. Um, so I did not have alcohol on my

00:29:30.980 --> 00:29:33.759
birthday. I have not had alcohol since, uh, before

00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:38.119
surgery. I think it's been 14, 14, 16 months

00:29:38.119 --> 00:29:40.819
since I've had alcohol. Um, and I might, like,

00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:42.279
I've honestly, I thought about it on the long

00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:43.960
weekend. I thought maybe I'll have a drink. I

00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:47.079
just never ended up doing it. Um, it's not something

00:29:47.079 --> 00:29:48.859
that I feel like I have to do. Yeah. I might

00:29:48.859 --> 00:29:52.960
here and there. Um, but I, yeah. I said, if and

00:29:52.960 --> 00:29:55.059
when I do have a beverage for the first tempo

00:29:55.059 --> 00:29:58.759
surgery, it will be at home, in the comfort of

00:29:58.759 --> 00:30:02.039
my own home, in case I am one of those people

00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:06.160
who has a drink and can't handle it. Let's not

00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:08.200
have that happen in public. Yeah. But again,

00:30:08.380 --> 00:30:11.160
these are not requirements. These are just, we're

00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:14.440
kind of personal. Yeah. We're kind of recommending

00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:16.839
that this is something that you consider doing.

00:30:17.480 --> 00:30:20.819
Bo is going crazy. Bo is chiming in on his thoughts

00:30:20.819 --> 00:30:24.690
here. Give me a minute. But yeah, again, none

00:30:24.690 --> 00:30:27.609
of it is, it's just our suggestions. But for

00:30:27.609 --> 00:30:30.990
those wondering, no, the bar is fairly low. And

00:30:30.990 --> 00:30:33.049
again, if you have any of the things that we've

00:30:33.049 --> 00:30:35.589
said would make you, and eligible is not the

00:30:35.589 --> 00:30:38.529
right word, but would make them need to have

00:30:38.529 --> 00:30:41.109
a conversation with you, being a smoker, being

00:30:41.109 --> 00:30:45.890
underweight, having had cancer, you think you

00:30:45.890 --> 00:30:48.470
have a psychiatric illness, just go talk to your

00:30:48.470 --> 00:30:51.480
doctor. Yeah, have a conversation. Or, yeah,

00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:54.319
and like, again, I want to stress, like, cancer

00:30:54.319 --> 00:30:57.299
won't disclude you. You just have to, like, at

00:30:57.299 --> 00:30:59.900
the end of the day, still get put into the program

00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:02.019
because a lot of stuff they will deal with in

00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:04.119
the beginning. Because you get into orientation,

00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:07.079
and then to get into the program, you have to

00:31:07.079 --> 00:31:10.279
sign a document. agree to a bunch of blood tests

00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:13.079
up front and have a conversation with certain

00:31:13.079 --> 00:31:15.980
people to get into the program so there are checks

00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:18.019
and balances you're not don't panic and be like

00:31:18.019 --> 00:31:20.759
oh my gosh i'm gonna sneak in and then they're

00:31:20.759 --> 00:31:22.819
gonna realize too late no they're not gonna realize

00:31:22.819 --> 00:31:24.500
anything too late at the end of the day if you're

00:31:24.500 --> 00:31:27.359
overweight and you're over 18 chances are you're

00:31:27.359 --> 00:31:29.400
going to be put into this program unless you've

00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:33.000
had major cancer or there's a major reason that

00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:36.859
your doctor um was one of those reasons we listed

00:31:36.859 --> 00:31:39.319
sure but if there's if there's no reason and

00:31:39.319 --> 00:31:41.880
your doctor's hemming and hawing if you really

00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:44.180
trust them then listen but if not go find someone

00:31:44.180 --> 00:31:48.259
else to put you in the program because um there's

00:31:48.259 --> 00:31:52.500
no reason to to not be in it um to not at least

00:31:52.500 --> 00:31:54.539
be in it now once you're in it that's a whole

00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:56.500
other thing that's not what the episode is about

00:31:56.500 --> 00:31:58.359
that's a whole other thing so if you get into

00:31:58.359 --> 00:32:00.019
it and they reject you while you're in it or

00:32:00.019 --> 00:32:01.559
they change things around while you're in it

00:32:02.089 --> 00:32:05.089
that's different. But just to go into the orientation

00:32:05.089 --> 00:32:07.670
and referral program, there's very, very, very,

00:32:07.750 --> 00:32:09.869
very little that should prevent you from being

00:32:09.869 --> 00:32:12.410
put into orientation. Yeah. It's a conversation

00:32:12.410 --> 00:32:14.690
with your doctor and a referral piece of paper

00:32:14.690 --> 00:32:18.190
and welcome to the program. If you don't have

00:32:18.190 --> 00:32:21.269
a doctor, go to the clinic. It's just a doctor

00:32:21.269 --> 00:32:23.710
has to just submit you to the program. That's

00:32:23.710 --> 00:32:25.730
it. It doesn't have to be a family doctor. It

00:32:25.730 --> 00:32:28.309
just has to be a doctor. And I'm pretty sure

00:32:28.309 --> 00:32:30.670
when I talked to my family doctor, I said something

00:32:30.670 --> 00:32:32.769
about, I was asking her, do you need information

00:32:32.769 --> 00:32:35.329
on this part of my history or whatever? Like

00:32:35.329 --> 00:32:36.589
we had talked about it, but she didn't really,

00:32:36.650 --> 00:32:38.710
she took some notes. And I, but I remember asking

00:32:38.710 --> 00:32:40.809
her like, do you need more info on XYZ? And she's

00:32:40.809 --> 00:32:43.250
like, honestly, Steph, I check like three boxes,

00:32:43.349 --> 00:32:46.089
put your info on the sheet and I fax it in. Like,

00:32:46.130 --> 00:32:48.529
it's not even like it was a heavy, heavy lift

00:32:48.529 --> 00:32:51.890
on her part either. So don't worry. Don't like

00:32:51.890 --> 00:32:53.730
I said, don't fear that you're going to be rejected.

00:32:53.849 --> 00:32:55.390
Don't worry that you're not going to get in.

00:32:55.809 --> 00:33:00.660
It is really just a simple process. making sure

00:33:00.660 --> 00:33:03.420
you've got your research done. You're in it for

00:33:03.420 --> 00:33:06.579
the right reasons. You've had those honest conversations

00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:09.059
with yourself. You're prepared for the changes

00:33:09.059 --> 00:33:10.799
that you have to make and the changes that you're

00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:14.180
going to have in the future. And then start the

00:33:14.180 --> 00:33:15.920
conversation. And like I said, worst case, you

00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:17.619
have the conversation, you do the research and

00:33:17.619 --> 00:33:19.900
you think, okay, maybe this isn't for me. That's

00:33:19.900 --> 00:33:23.039
okay too. But just have the conversation. And

00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:24.859
if you have any questions, you can message us.

00:33:24.980 --> 00:33:27.140
We are more, again, we're always happy to chat.

00:33:27.529 --> 00:33:29.589
We're not medical experts. So again, if there's

00:33:29.589 --> 00:33:31.490
something that has come up in your doctor, I'm

00:33:31.490 --> 00:33:33.509
like, we're not advocating to not use your medical

00:33:33.509 --> 00:33:36.670
doctor, by the way. We're just saying if you

00:33:36.670 --> 00:33:39.289
think that they are making it harder than it

00:33:39.289 --> 00:33:42.130
needs to be, but also if you have a good relationship

00:33:42.130 --> 00:33:44.250
with them or they genuinely are looking out for

00:33:44.250 --> 00:33:46.210
you, please understand that it's okay for them

00:33:46.210 --> 00:33:47.769
to ask questions. It's okay for them to - That's

00:33:47.769 --> 00:33:50.240
their job. Yeah, it is okay for them to question

00:33:50.240 --> 00:33:52.180
you wanting to be in the program. It's okay for

00:33:52.180 --> 00:33:54.299
them to push to say, do you think you can do

00:33:54.299 --> 00:33:56.420
this? Like, can you actually commit to this?

00:33:56.480 --> 00:33:59.019
It is okay for them to maybe say things like,

00:33:59.099 --> 00:34:04.039
I'd like to see you try this or this, right?

00:34:04.119 --> 00:34:06.319
Like that is not the clinic's requirement. But

00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:08.219
if your family doctor thinks that he just needs,

00:34:08.300 --> 00:34:12.920
they need to see a little bit more like. Don't

00:34:12.920 --> 00:34:14.340
be like, well, Hannah and Steph said I need to

00:34:14.340 --> 00:34:16.199
leave this doctor. What we're saying is if you

00:34:16.199 --> 00:34:18.800
have a bad family doctor. Or you don't have a

00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:21.300
doctor. And you genuinely think they're derailing

00:34:21.300 --> 00:34:23.599
you. Yeah. If it's like someone that you've never

00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:25.099
seen before in your life and they're like, I

00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:27.079
don't know, lose 20 pounds and come back. No.

00:34:27.360 --> 00:34:29.159
But if it's your family doctor that you've been

00:34:29.159 --> 00:34:31.480
seeing for years and like if Dr. Singh said to

00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:34.039
me, I'm going to need you to try Ozempic for

00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:36.599
a bit or I'd like to see you try something, something

00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:38.920
before. Like I would do it because I was dedicated

00:34:38.920 --> 00:34:41.039
to get into this program. If I thought he was

00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:43.900
yanking my chain and not getting me in, I would

00:34:43.900 --> 00:34:46.639
maybe go somewhere else. But again, just want

00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:48.420
to preface, I'm not saying don't listen to your

00:34:48.420 --> 00:34:51.380
doctors, folks. But just know that the clinic

00:34:51.380 --> 00:34:55.820
side of things, there is no major things that

00:34:55.820 --> 00:34:57.440
you need to do to get in. And there's nothing

00:34:57.440 --> 00:34:59.179
that you need to hit. There's no milestones you

00:34:59.179 --> 00:35:01.400
need to achieve, again, except for being cancer

00:35:01.400 --> 00:35:04.219
free for two years and not being alcohol or smoke

00:35:04.219 --> 00:35:06.860
dependent for six months. But there are no major

00:35:06.860 --> 00:35:09.300
milestones that you yourself need to hit. You

00:35:09.300 --> 00:35:14.099
just need to be 18 and fat. Perfect. Easy peasy.

00:35:14.500 --> 00:35:20.340
Easy peasy lemons. I nailed those. But it was

00:35:20.340 --> 00:35:22.739
a great question. It was a good question. Great

00:35:22.739 --> 00:35:24.800
questions like that. We're going to be back next

00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:26.519
week. We're going to be talking and answering

00:35:26.519 --> 00:35:28.599
actually even more questions that you all have

00:35:28.599 --> 00:35:30.639
submitted. Yeah, put more in the, if you're on

00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:33.119
Instagram, put more, send us. Like, don't wait

00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:35.360
for us to put, I put a question box the other

00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:36.860
day. Don't, you don't have to wait for that.

00:35:36.940 --> 00:35:38.360
Just send us a note and say, hey, can you talk

00:35:38.360 --> 00:35:40.019
about this? Or hey, can you answer questions

00:35:40.019 --> 00:35:42.840
on this? Just send them. We keep a running list.

00:35:42.940 --> 00:35:46.019
So please do that. We're going to talk about

00:35:46.019 --> 00:35:48.179
calorie counting. We're going to talk about cravings

00:35:48.179 --> 00:35:50.440
and food noise. We're going to talk about a lot

00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:52.659
of great things. So keep them coming. This was

00:35:52.659 --> 00:35:54.539
such a good one. We love the shorter format.

00:35:54.679 --> 00:35:56.440
We hope you do too. So let us know what you think

00:35:56.440 --> 00:35:58.719
of the shorter format. Please do. And like always,

00:35:58.739 --> 00:36:00.719
Steph, I really appreciate you being here with

00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:02.719
me today. And thank you to everybody listening.

00:36:03.280 --> 00:36:05.179
Thanks, guys. See you in a week. Bye.