Suzannesh

Hi, Well, I think we do what is best for ourselves. Sounds like you are comfortable with your choice. I had to laugh because anytime I went to eat with any of my friends--fat or thin, I have always felt they were watching me to see what I ate and what I didn't eat. I know for many of them, at first they thought I was going to starve. But you and I know that is never going to happen. We ate until we were full and stopped. I always tell them, I never feel deprives. I try to eat healthy, but I can have almost anything I want--JUST IN SMALL AMOUNTS. Congratulations on your choice to have WLS. You are doing ALL the right things. Just remember when you are having a difficult day or need some advice, this is the place to come. Hugs, to you Suzanne

Hi, I know for me I had 3 leak test done before they let me leave. I had my surgery done in Mexicali by Dr. Aceves. Suzanne

Hi Everyone, What have I learned in the last three years since I've had weight loss surgery? This is the challenge that you will all figure out for yourself. Each and every one of us will learn what makes weight loss surgery work for us. Looking back the first month after weight loss surgery was the hardest month that I ever did. It was a total relearning process of how to eat the healthy way and to allow my new stomach a chance to heal. The biggest challenge I think was “head hunger.” For me my head was always trying to convince me that I needed eat something more to eat. Intellectually and physically I knew that I was full and didn't need to eat anything else. It was a battle because for most of my life I ate for all the wrong reasons. Now I have the tools to control this. For most of our life we ate for all of the wrong reasons and all of the wrong foods. There was always food at family events and holidays. We ate when we were angry, when we were excited or happy, when we were frustrated or angry or mad. It was all about emotions, and not what was healthy for us. Now we know how to make healthy food choices for ourselves. We have also learned that we eat food in small quantities and are satisfied and I hope you never feel deprived. What I have learned is still 3 years later, I have to stop and think about what my head still tries to convince me. That brain still tries to send me signals from my “old thinking brain.” I am in charge NOW and that feels great! I know for the rest of my life I can manage this. Nothing about weight loss is easy. We have ONE BIG advantage we have had some form of WLS and for me it was a sleeve. What I eat is always on my mind. I plan healthy meals and I shop for healthy foods. I crave healthy food now too. It does require effort and work on my part. I try 97% of the time to eat healthy and exercise. The ONE big thing I have learned is that I CAN DO THIS and I maintain my weight loss. I don’t have the fear that I used to have—will I regain the weight? I am willing to bet that sooooooooo many of us have done the yo-yo lose the weight and gain it back in our past. Before I had WLS, I thought what if I am the “one” person this will not work on? I laugh now because I learned most of us had that thought. We were so used to failure. Not anymore! I am here to tell you that it is very doable and you will be successful. Put yourself first and take care of you first. I wish you a very Happy New Years. Hugs, Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008 Lost 105 pounds

Hi, He knew what he was saying, but honestly he is either jealous or scared right now and so that is why he said what he said to you. You are losing weight he is not. food is controlling him and he can't or won't control the food. It is difficult to MAKE someone else want to lose weight. It has to be their own idea. Until he is so sick and tired of being over weight and wants to change for himself, NOTHING is going to change. So I suggest for you that you continue doing what is best for you. This is ALL ABOUT YOU and NO one else. Contine to eat healthy and exercise. Don't mention it anymore to him, even when you see him consume LARGE amounts of food. He is an emotional eater like so many of us were. For so many men they are fearful that they are going to lose you once your have lost the weight to someone else. Men will start looking at your different and that is his fear. He has many fears and he doesn't know how to communicate them to you. You can try to reassure him that this is not going to happen, but I am not sure he can actually "hear" what you are trying to tell him. This honestly is his problem, and not yours. Try sitting down and telling him one last time how you feel. Tell him when he say's these kind of thing how it makes you feel. Don't put any blame on him, but just tell him what YOUR FEELINGS are when he says things like he said. When he wants to lose weight then he will start it. We all morn the loss of food at one time, but we get past that. You have the "tool" to allow you to lose weight, he doesn't. We are here to help you, and support you. Hang in and start doing what is BEST for you. Don't allow him to bring you down. You are doing a fantastic job, just keep going. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I can only tell you what has worked for me. That is low carb and keeping the Protein at 70 grams of protein a day. You might benefit from writing down everything you are putting in your body. I always tried to keep my calories about about 800 per day. Are you doing any kind of exercise? All these things are worth trying. Carbs are my killer and once I start them, I don't want to stop them. Keep me posted at how you are doing. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I think they all have had some wonderful information to share with you. I had to make an effort to sip ALL day long on a Protein drink. The 1st month is so difficult to do. I think you will feel a whole lot better after seeing your doctor. They should run a blood panel because without it, you will have a hard time trying to figure out if your are low on anything. For me it was potassium. And that was a quick fix after they ran the blood panel. Hang in there. It will get better. It really is like a job that 1st month trying to get in the things your body needs. Just keep sipping on something all the time. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi Everyone, I had my sleeve Oct 21, 2008 and I was 63 and I am now 66. I lost 105 pounds and have kept it off. I am here for any of you if you have questions or need help with anything. I have a little history behind me so, I have been down the road ahead of you. There isn't anything that we can't talk about. So ask away with your questions. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I hope by now that you are feeling better. I encourage you to see your doctor if you continue to feel bad. It takes time. There is a lot of good information on this site. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I NEVER had any of these problems because I went to Dr. Aceves. I highly suggest you look into seeing Dr. Aceves. Nina is his patient coordinator and she ALWAYS has great communiction. I am so sorry you had this kind of stress. That is unthinkable! Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, There have been lost of questions about Dr. Almanza and Jerusalem Hospital and sending his patients to a Recovery House or Hotel to recovery. I think this is good information. http://www.obesityhe...gery-in-mexico/

Hi Everyone, What inspires you? Different things inspire each one of us. I know how difficult the Holiday Season can be once you have had WLS. Just remember this is a whole new life for you. You have made the choice to have the WLS or will be one of these days. To have a new life you need to make lifestyle changes. Good choices when it comes to food too. This means you look at this holiday season in a whole new way. It is a holiday so Celebrate all the wonderful things that you have accomplished. You still can have some of the food, only in small amounts. Sometimes just having a taste of something satisfies your need to eat it. Take a bite and enjoy it, wait for a few minutes before you have any more of it. Sometimes just that one bite is all you need. Anything is possible; you have proved this by having WLS. You want your life to be better, and you want to be healthy and you want lose the weight. DO NOT allow others to make you feel like you are different. You be the one to defines who you are. The journey is yours and you can be just who you want to be. Life is good be happy. Be the best you can for yourself and NO one else. You are already successful, because you are on this site doing things to change your life. Hugs and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Suzanne

Not all Protein is created equal. Many of the protein shots are made from boild cow hide. I really don't feel this is quality protein. Here are some examples of protein that I have found to be very healthy and good for you. These are just suggestions. PLEASE be catious about the quality of protein that you are getting and where it actually comes from. Protein drinks. My all-time favorite is: Premier Protein Drink. It comes in 11 oz. drink boxes already mixed. There are 30 grams of protein in each box, 160 calories per box, 1 gram of sugar and 5 grams of carbs. The flavor I buy is Chocolate—that is all I can find at costco. I get mine at Costco and I understand that you can get them at Sam’s Club too. You can order these on line at Costco and Sam’s club. They are also available at this Web Site. http://www.premiernutrition.com/product.html I pay about $25.00 for a carton of 18 drink boxes at Costco in the city where I live. I drink one of these every morning for my Breakfast and nothing else and it has been almost 3 years since my “sleeve surgery.” The next Protein Drink that I have tried is called: Matrix 2.0 Mint Cookies made by Syntrax. You can check this out on this Web Site. http://www26.netrition.com/syntrax_matrix_page.html The cost for 2.16 lbs. is $22.99 plus postage. Item # 39-0963 My next Protein Drink that I have tried and like is: nectar, variety pack, you get 13 single servings in a variety pack. The cost is $22.95. This is the Web Site and they are made by Syntrax also. http://www6.netrition.com/syntrax_nectar_page.html There is one other Protein Drink that I found on Obesity Help.com that was rated really high by 188 people. I have never had it, but you might want to check it out. The name of the protein drink is: Carb Solution High Protein Power—it comes in more than one flavor. They also have cans of it already mixed. The Protein Powers cost $12.99. It has 110 calories, 1 gram of sugar, 4 carbs, and 20 grams of protein. This is the Web Site for Carb Solution at Wal-Mart. http://www.buycheapr.com/us/result.jsp?q=Carb+Solution&qs=ti&ga=us7&ts=go On www.ObesityHelp.com they have a lot of different information about Protein Drinks and they list so many different brands and people have rated the ones they really like check this site out. It has a lot of information about almost all the protein drinks that we find out there. http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/nutrition/a,prodsearch/searchtype,1/criteria,11/ I hate Isopure. It does NOT taste good to me—I know that some people like it. I call it Isopuke, and it reminds me of pond scum. I have been told if you buy it at a GNC and don’t like it and still have your receipt they will refund your money if it hasn’t been more than 30 days since you purchased it from them. I guess they will do that with protein powers too—ask before you buy what their policy is about returning something if you don’t like it. So if you want to try it remember this. There always seems to be a GNC in most Malls.

Hi I have been around for 3 years and have never heard about them. I want you to be careful. Not all Protein is good protein. So make sure that you have good quality protein. There is no short cuts to eating healthy and lose weight. This is something that you are putting in your body to please make it is good quality protein. If you need any suggestions about some Proteins I am happy to share with you what I like and use. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Don t beat yourself up over this. It is done, you can't change the past. Move on and change tomorrow. Your new sleeve is just fine. Do some extra work outs this next week. Make some healthy choices and get back on track. In a few days you will feel just fine. You are the 1st person to do this or the last person to do this. Hugs, Suzannne

Hi, The goal I would like to see you have is to eat a WELL BALANCED healthy meal when you get to where you can have regular food. I see you husband exchanging bad old eating habit to new eating habits that are NOT a balanced meal. You need to have Protein first, then fresh veggies, and a little fruit. I only see him eating protein. He needs to have a balanced meal. It is good that he is eating small amounts of food--that is pretty normal. The popsicles are just fine as long as they are sugar free. This is the time to make a lifestyle change not go back to eating unhealthy. I hope that helps you. I hope you have great success with you WLS. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I was sleeved over 3 years ago, so what I am writing pretains to my Sleeve surgery and what I ate and how I ate. There is a reason why you should be keeping track of the all the foods you putting in your body. This is important if you just had WLS. I have been doing this for over 3 years now. I have to admit, I am a pretty good at reading the labels, when I am at the grocery store. I was looking at the carton on Skim milk that I bought the other day. Boy was I shocked when I read that in 8 oz of Skim Milk there are 12 grams of sugar and 12 grams of carbs. I didn’t use very much milk when I first had WLS. So when you are starting out and trying to keep your carbs at about 20 to 25 per day that is half your carbs. Who would have thought Skim Milk would have had sugar? I read more than one Skim Milk carton. There are a lot of places to keep track of what you are eating every day. Yes, it takes time to keep track of what you are eating. But you are worth the time an effort it takes to be successful. This is just another tool you can use to be successful. It also figures in your exercise too if you are doing it. I use the following site: food that you are eating healthy and the right things or that you are keeping it at about 800 calories. It takes a little time to figure these things out. Take the time to do it. I wish you great success and if you are having problems with you food and what you are eating, ask questions. There is a lot of experience out here and we are here to help you. Suzanne

Hi Everyone, You know most of us plan things everyday in our life. That is how we stay organized and manage our lives, homes and famlies. I want you to start thinking about making some BIG plans in your life too. Consider WLS. But, take your time. Ask hundreds of questions. This is going to be a life changing event. You deserve to have the very best you can. Research and read all you can about WLS. I had "sleeve" surgery and I feel it was the very best kind of surgery I could have. It was what I wanted after doing a lot of research. Never allow anyone to get in the way of your own good judgment. Ask other people about the doctor they went to. Check out that doctor, find out what kind of a hospital he uses--NEVER have surgery in a Clinic. Check out where you will recover and how long they will keep you and what kind of staffing that hospital has. NEVER go to a Recovery House--not safe, and usually not staffed with anyone who has any medical training. There really is a reason why some doctors charge a lot less. You are NOT getting quality care. When it comes to something that you are going to be living with for the rest of your life--you want the very BEST care and surgery you can have by the very best doctor. I am always out here if you have any questions or just need to talk. Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, Gee thanks, I am sure that you will do just that. I found that so many people on this board and other boards were there for me for my hundreds of questions along my weight loss journey. I learned a lot and try to give back that knowledge. It is easy to give back, I want people to know that this will work for them, they can become healthy and very successfull. Your entire life will change and this was the ONE thing that worked for me to lose the weight and keep it off. Hugs and thanks for your sweet words. You are so nice. Suzanne

Hi, That is good. Then that might be what you need. I found that the almond milk does not work too good when making instant sugar free pudding. The pudding does not set up too well. Maybe it was the brand that I was using. Suzanne

When you can use the Almond Milk read the label--it has more sugar than the Skim Milk, because after reading the Skim Milk label and I went and read the Almond Milk label at the grocery store. This is what I am talking about, you really have to take time to read about what you are putting in your body. It is like having a second job....LOL I wish you a lot of success, hang in there it does get better. Suzanne

Hi Everyone, I know it is such a big step to have Weight Loss Surgery. Then what kind and where are some of our next concerns you must be thinking about. I had WLS 3 years ago in Mexicali, Mexico. I did a lot of research for about 6 months before I made up my mind what doctor I was going to have do it. I also went by myself. I had people who would go with me, but it really was easier and better that I went alone. Some people will want someone to go with them, and that is good too. Do what makes you feel comfortable. I am so pleased that I had this done in 2008. I lost 105 pounds and have kept it off. I want you to know that I am out here to answer any questions that you might have when it comes to Weight Loss Surgery. I had a "sleeve" and honestly that was the best surgery I could have ever had. So please feel free to send me any of your questions that you might have. That is how I educated myself, I asked a ton of questions from a lot of different people. There are no bad questions, and there isn't anything that we can't talk about? Hugs, Suzanne

Hi, I think being honest is the best thing to do. You have done NOTHING wrong. Why do we feel that we need to please our PCP? We are NOT little kids, we are adults who are taking charge of our own lives. We hire or PCP, they work for us. We pay for our care. We should be treated with respect and they should be pleased that we are doing something to make our selves healthy for the first time in a long time. I was lucky, my doctor was really good. I told her before I went. She ran all my blood work any time I needed it. If your PCP treats you poorly, find someone else. For the most part, the doctors in Mexico are excellent and we get better treatment and care than most US hospitals. Bring back any e-rays and the report that your doctor in Mexico should send home with you. Take them in to your PCP and have them put in your health records. Do NOT allow them to intimidate you or be rude to you. Sometimes our doctors just need to be educated a little on the type of surgery we are having. I know mine did and she was glad I brought the information in to her. Suzanne

Hi, I have never had to deal with insurance. I was a self pay. But, what I see on here and read about. It can take any where from 1 to 2 years. Sometime they deny you, and you have start all over. The longer they drag their feet the longer they have your money invested and are making money off of you not getting this done. I am so happy to see that the Insurance Companies are starting to see that it really does save them money by you having Weight Loss Surgery. So maybe it won't take you that long. I wish you great success on your journey. Suzanne

Hi Everyone, I think so many of us feel that “if we just lose the weight” everything will be perfect and so will we. Today I post this on Facebook. “food and thought to myself “what have I done to myself????” I will NEVER be able to eat like that again. That was my “OLD” brain doing my thinking. About a month later, I was thrilled that I could NEVER consume all the food every again. This is a challenge, and with time it really becomes a way of life. Holidays are probably the hardest to do. We as a society seem to Celebrate every Holiday with a lot of unhealthy food. I keep saying we have to make this a lifestyle change and be comfortable with it, so we can eat like this for the rest of our life. I have found that being older exercise is really important to me. Without exercise, I just don’t feel good. It helps me also maintain my weight loss. I know that there are people who say they do not exercise, they may find out as they get older they may need it. I have been asked how did I know what I wanted for a goal weight. I thought when I feel good and comfortable that is going to be my goal weight. I still go up and down about 5 pounds depending on what I am doing. I had weight loss surgery 3 years ago. I know for a fact I would not feel as good and healthy as I do now at age 66 if I would have not had this surgery. Don’t waste your time thinking or wanting to be perfect. Be your true self. Be proud of your accomplishments. I think the thing I am most thankful is, my good health and my body does NOT hurt anymore. I spent a month in Europe in Sept 2011 and walked all over the place—a dream come true vacation! I could have never done this if I would have not lost this weight. Happy Holidays and Hugs to you,http://images.obesit...y/msn/heart.gif Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008 Lost 105 pounds

Hi Everyone, Did you every stop and think “you really do get what you pay for.” Yes I know that there are a lot of different prices when it comes to Weight Loss Surgery. If you are a self-pay patient people look at going outside the US—it just cost a lot less and for many Mexico is the first place they may look. All you have to do is look around on the internet. So ask yourself why are their prices lower for so many doctors in Mexico? What I am going to talk about are some of my concerns about WLS in Mexico—and yes I went to Mexico myself. Here are some of the things I have learned while doing my research into doctors and hospitals or clinics. 1. Your recovery is done is a Recovery House or Hotel for some. I have heard some of you say that there are nurses 24-7 in these Recovery Houses. PLEASE ask to see documentation that proves they are really a RN. There is nothing wrong with asking questions—this is your health and your life we are talking about. Make sure that is truly who will be taking care of you during your stay in a Recovery House. If it is a hotel they come and check on your and are NOT there 24-7. 2. Ask questions about what kind of staples they use-I have heard that some of these doctors are using black market supplies—such as staples. We go to these facilities thinking that we are getting top of the line supplies, drugs and staples. You should receive very best medical titanium staples you can have. Please make them prove to you what they are going to use on you. Feel really comfortable with the answers they give you. 3. You have every RIGHT to know what they are putting in your body. They are going to be there for the rest of your life? Why is it that we think that we can’t question a hospital or a doctor about these things? We ask more questions when we go to buy a new car than we do about Weight Loss Surgery. Well at least a lot of people do. We want this surgery and we assume too much sometimes. I know that I had the answers before I went to have Weight Loss Surgery. I knew I was paying more, and I knew why. I have also heard that some of these less expensive doctors are using veterinary supplies. We are not animals we are humans and we do deserve to have the very best we can. Please READ EVERYTHING you can find about the Doctor you are going to have do your surgery. I am also saying there are some very good doctors in Mexico, but take a little time and check things out. Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2011