jdforeman

I?ve struggled with maintaining a healthy weight since Iwas a teenager. I?ve probably lost (and regained!) 1,000 lbs. during my life. At 5?7? and my highest weight (282 lbs.), I had high blood pressure, asthma and frequent prolonged periods of excruciating osteoarthritis pain. I wasn?t able to hike or swim or do many of the recreational or social activities that I enjoy. I knew I could lose 100 lbs again. I?d done it so many times before! BUT I WASN?T CONFIDENT I COULD KEEP IT OFF. As a former RN, I knew the health risks of being morbidly obese, but even that wasn?t enough to get me to maintain my goal weight. I did some research and discovered that extremely overweight patients who had surgery maintained a loss of 62-82.7% of their excess body weight even 10 years after surgery (depending on the type of procedure performed). Those who used diet and exercise alone averaged a loss of only 21.6% of their excess body weight. In some studies, non-surgical patients got up to 0.6% heavier during the study period. Despite the huge amount of money people spend on diets and diet books each year, few morbidly obese people manage to lose significant amounts of weight AND KEEP OFF. AND THIS IS THE CRITICAL DIFFERENCE! I cannot recommend Dr. Alberto Aceves, his staff at the Mexicali Bariatric Center and the staff at Hospital Almater highly enough. I've been a US healthcare professional for 25 years and feel I'm a credible source for speaking about their competence and professionalism. I tell everyone you cannot buy the kind of care I received there for any amount of money in the US. In July of 2008, I had weight loss surgery. I weighed 243.5 lbs and wore a size 22-24. One year after my weight was 155 lbs and I wore a size 8-10. After a year, I was still losing at the rate of 1 to 1-1/2 lbs. per week. On October 1, 2009, I was 10 lbs. from goal. I'm using an Ardyss Body Magic and Angel Bra to give me a smooth, sleek figure and lift my breasts until I have plastic surgery. I've tried other body shapers, but they were either terribly uncomfortable or a total waste of money. People ask me if I would do it again. My answer is, "I wouldn't hesitate a half second before saying ABSOLUTELY YES!"