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I had to do a six month monitored weight loss for my insurance and even though I actually didn't have to diet I chose to start early to prepare myself. The first month I cut my portion sizes and stopped eating seconds. The second month I cut out soda. Third month I cut out rice. Fourth I cut out pasta. Fifth I cut out bread, potatoes, bean, etc. And sixth, seventh, and eighth month I just maintained that diet (they were scheduled out so it took them two extra months to schedule my surgery). I lost 64 pounds before my surgery. It's been almost five months since my surgery and I've lost an additional 70 pounds in that time. Bad habits are hard to break so trying to break those habits early on will only help you. I wish you the best of luck on your journey!

Great minds think alike! With so much down time right now - I'm thinking of getting my horrid bat wing arms done over the summer to be compatible with Dr. Dana's other magic. Might you message with the Miami surgeon you like? Dr. Dana is less experienced in bariatric type skin - but very good. Would like options... Do keep us posted. Take good care. Hugs! Does anyone know what to expect with this procedure? Downtime? Recovery? How are you healing, GT?????? x o ;]

Don't stress for me I couldn't eat much at all for months even got sick a few times from eating to quick but now I can eat almost anything without any issues just smaller portions but normal not like a rabbit... I don't think it is stretching but it's just your body and mind getting used to needing more volume than before

I've told my mother and a few close friends of my decision, and, at least on the surface, they've all been super supportive. My mom had the sleeve done 5 years ago and it very pleased with it, and another of my friends is going through the process right now as well (we call ourselves the "No Tummy Buddies" lol!). The two others I've told have said they are excited for me and hoping the process goes smoothly. I'm not planning on telling very many people, only those I trust and I spend a lot of time with so they aren't surprised by the change...I'm not ashamed, but I don't need unnecessary opinions from people who don't matter in my day-to-day life either.

Don't beat yourself up. Freaking out in some way or another is very normal in the first few weeks. It will get much easier as you move towards eating more normal food. I'm 3 months out now, and my husband and I eat together sometimes, and separately other times. When we eat together, I just eat much smaller portions with more of the protein and vegetables and less of the carbs. Recently I've been able to add in very normal foods that I find tasty - like steak and salads - just in much smaller portions. We even made pizza together this weekend - he just ate 5 times as much as me, and I ate an egg before I ate my slice. 😂 The only thing I still consider completely off-limits is sugar (except for fruit).

Your very welcome. Dr. Ortiz speaks perfect English and he lives in San Diego with his wife and daughter. He commutes to Tijuana to do his surgeries, see his patients and run his clinic (this fact made me feel a lot more comfortable with making the final decision in choosing him). As you can tell, I did loads and loads of research on this procedure, him and the OCC center, which has been named as a international center of excellence. Here is a link that may give you a better idea of Dr. Ortiz and his center. When I did this surgery, I had no one to help me or advise me. I was terrified about going to Tijuana and coming back experiencing major complications. All my family and friends were terrified and told me not to go to this surgery in Mexico. I did not even know about this community that could help me on bariatricpal until I was post op. I hope by sharing my experience and story I will be able to help you and others to not feel so alone (like I did) and make the right decision that fits your needs and gives you the results you seek. I feel so blessed that I found OCC and Dr. Ortiz. I know there are lots of Dr.'s in Mexico who charge less. But to me, paying the $7 k but knowing I made the best decision I could to chose the best center and surgeon for my needs was worth every penny. The last thing I wanted was to come back home to the US and deal with side effects and complications post op all alone, face my family and friends and deal with their "I told you so".

That's good to hear, @Losingit2018! I was getting pretty nervous. I even called my hospital where I had surgery to ask, but since its the weekend, the specialists weren't in the office. I am still going to call Monday, though. I am not sure if I should be sticking to 100ml or if its okay to do 100ml-200ml per half hour. Tomorrow will have been a week since surgery. I've lost roughly 7.5lbs so far! *happy dance*

Yes. Water always gave me a hard time. Since day one of my sleeve.

Definitely take it after surgery. My doc told me I didn't have to, so I didn't (IMO, bad advice).. you're in pain and things are foggy during those days & you have to crush your medicine, so I just didn't take it. BIG MISTAKE. I went into a huge abyss of depression. I resumed taking Prozac 20mg about 5 days after surgery.. I also take Xanax for anxiety.

I had a great experience and results with Dr Sauceda in Mexico. I personally think now is the time to focus on getting fit and slim.... worry about plastics later!