CynthiaK

YAY! You made it. Keep it going girl!!! LOL! Ribs are my favorite food. But I don't want any of it right now. I'm thanking God that I am not having cravings right now. Try a nice thick chicken breast baked with BBQ sauce. I know it's not exactly the same thing, but it's good! Yeah, I'm hoping next week will be better for my tiredness and this is just because it's my first week working out.

LOL!!! You sound just like me. One minute I'm SO excited, then next I'm terrified. You only have 10 days left!!!!! I'm excited for you!!! So, I have gotten alot better about my eating. AND I'm exercising! This has put me behind at work though, so I don't have it all figured out yet, but I just put the exercise first this week. It's been hard because I will get home at 4:00-4:30 and exercise til 5:30-6:30. By time I settle down, take a shower, eat, etc. it's 7:00 and I'm so exhausted. It's been funny. I found myself having more energy at times, and then at other times I'm just wiped. I suppose I'll get used to it. Here's what I'm eating during the week (I've got this pretty much down): 8:00 - oatmeal 10:00 - apple 12:00 - chicken breast and one tray of broccoli and cheese 2:00 - carrots 3:00 - 100 calorie pack of almonds if I need it. 4:00 - 1 scoop of whey Protein in Water 6:00 - fish and veggie 8:00 - banana I've done this same thing every single day this week and it's worked out great for me. Plus I force myself to drink TONS of water. I try to have 12 glasses a day.

Hi there, I am looking for a surgery buddy and people who are also going through this to go through it with me. I currently have my surgery scheduled with Dr. Almanza on April 28 (Eeeee!!!! So excited!!!). I am wanting some positive people to do this with that will understand what I'm going through and be there to text, email or call when we need it. I am a very positive person, 39, BMI is 39. I live in Dallas, I'm a CPA, no husband or children (yet... I hope!!). Please let me know if you are interested in going through this adventure with me! Take care, Cynthia

Hi there, I am looking for a surgery buddy and people who are also going through this to go through it with me. I currently have my surgery scheduled with Dr. Almanza on April 28 (Eeeee!!!! So excited!!!). I am wanting some positive people to do this with that will understand what I'm going through and be there to text, email or call when we need it. I am a very positive person, 39, BMI is 39. I live in Dallas, I'm a CPA, no husband or children (yet... I hope!!). Please let me know if you are interested in going through this adventure with me! Take care, Cynthia

Hi there, If you know of anyone that wants to go through this with us, please feel free to invite them!

YAY! I am so excited for my surgery date to get here. So, what are you doing to prepare ahead of time? Are you nervous? Excited? I look forward to getting to know you!

YAY! I look forward to getting to know you Michelle. So, tell me, what are you doing to prepare for your surgery. Are you excited?!!!

YAY Shannon!!! I am SO excited for you!!!!!

Hi daisyleigh! Absolutely I need another buddy! How are you doing? Are you ready? What are you doing to prepare?

Hi there, So I have been so excited for April 28th to get here so I can finally get started on this journey back to the real me. I have been waiting in anticipation, all the while eating pizza, burgers, fries, soda, chocolate, chips, etc. etc. I was in a chat room the other day on this site with a person. We were talking and I was saying how I'll probably do some strength training 30 days out or something to help me be stronger for the surgery, but for now I'm just eating whatever I want and not exercising at all. She asked me, why not start now? My immediate thought was No Way! I'm about to do this horribly difficult and painful extreme thing to get the weight off. Why not just enjoy the last moments before with my relationship with food and eat and eat and eat whatever I want because it will be the last chance in my life to ever do this again. C'mon, I know many of you pre-op'rs are thinking the same thing! After thinking and thinking about this, I have come to realize how wrong I was to think like this. THIS TYPE OF THINKING IS WHAT GOT ME INTO THIS MESS!! If I am willing to go to this extreme and have most of my stomach removed, then why would I want to continue to live in the misery that I have been living in these past 12 years?? The moment I made the decision to have this surgery, I changed the game, I changed my life. If you are doing this and you are pre-op, today is the day to start your weight loss journey - no matter how far out your surgery is. You can decide to have surgery, but you can't say no to the donut? (I did this yesterday) The time is right NOW to start thinking of yourself as a sleever. TODAY is the day to do what you need to do to be ready for post-op. Start slow, don't think of it like you'll never be able to eat bad ever in your life again. Just make one or two good choices for yourself today. Go for a walk. Choose Water instead of soda. You all know how this works from the thousands of failed diets you've done in the past. Only this time you are about to get this wonderful tool to help you through this. But remember, this may take away our physical hunger, but the mind games will still be there. Today is the day to start that battle. It will be a daily fight for me, I know this. But with this decision to have surgery comes the decison to fight this battle... AND WIN!

I just went to China too, by myself, as part of volunteer vacationing. It was amazing! I felt totally fine being alone there, I just booked a bunch of group tours and I met so many wonderful people from all over the world! But this is a little different you have to admit. Yes, I am looking forward to the adventure of it all. I guess when I think about it, the only thing that I am truly worried about is if something goes wrong, and if I can finally lose this weight and keep it off! I was so thankful that my gall bladder erupted and I needed emergency surgery to remove it the very next day after returning from China. Can you imagine if it happened over there? What would I do??? Maybe I'd still be there! LOL! I'm sure it will be fine. I am really looking forward to it and making new friends on this journey!

Wow! That's incredible. I was told to expect the same recovery as when I had my gall bladder removed in December. And I was on pain meds for about a week.. I couldn't stand the morphine after the first night though because it was just too strong, so I took hydrocodone, and then advil.

Thanks circa. But aren't you still on a bunch of pain meds at that time?

HI there, Every since I decided to do this I have been experiencing so many emotions - nervous, fear, hope, anxious, thankfulness, and TONS of excitement!! It has been all that is on my mind. I can hardly sleep at night. I am SO ready for a new life. I will do everything I'm supposed to and try my hardest to do this right. It is so important to me. I just wish I had people to talk to about it and experience these feelings with. This is such a huge deal for me. I can't believe I'm doing this! April 28th seems so far away right now.

I'm doing this alone too. My only concern is getting home from the airport after the surgery. I wonder if that will be difficult to do alone?

Ok. I'll take a look at the website, and Dr. Almanza on youtube too, thanks! I'm not tall, I'm 5'4". I am a CPA, but the reason I am not using insurance is because my insurance with Aetna specifically excludes this. It even says that they will not cover it even if I had underlying comorbilities. Ridiculous! So, off to Mexico I go. I'm really not that worried about that part of it. I was at first, but I did a lot of research on it, and on Dr. Almanza, and I feel confident about my decision there. Yes, SuperBowl tomorrow, yay! I am considering going to a party, but not sure if I want to go right now. Anyway, Goodnight!

Well, let's see... I told my best friend and she was being overly nice about it, trying so hard to support me, but I could tell that she doesn't really want me to do it. She especially doesn't want me to go to Mexico. She said her ex-boyfriend's mom almost died in Mexico. Her aunt also had lapband and it didn't work for her. So, when I posted to my family and close friends today on Facebook about it (they are all in Canada), one of the first things I said was that I have something big to tell them, but if they were going to be negative in any way about it, please don't share it with me. LOL! I hope that wasn't too harsh. I know my mom is worried about my health and really wants me to lose this weight. She has no idea how hard it is, and how frustrating going up and down 40 pounds every year is, and how terrible it feels to fail all the time. I'm not use to failing at anything, but this has got me right now. BUT, I truly believe that this is going to change my life. I am a Christian, and I have been praying so much about this both before and through my decisions this past week. Somehow, the Lord made a way, and everything has fallen into place perfectly, even moreso than I could've ever imagined! It's been amazing to be honest with you, and so I have no doubt that God is with me and He will see me through this. Oh, I am SOOOOO excited!!! Anyway, I live in Dallas, I'm a CPA, twice divorced, I live alone with my little dog Oates and my yellow naped amazon parrot named Maya. Like I said, all my family and close friends are in Canada, and my best friend down here, her and I aren't as close as we used to be. So I will truly be going through this alone. I'll be flying to San Diego on a Friday after work, my surgery is on a Saturday. Then I will fly back home on Tuesday, and be back to work the following Monday. I'm a little concerned right now about how I am going to get from the airport to my home because I know I will only be a few days out, so I have to figure that out. I hope that I can find someone to drop me off at the airport and pick me up. That would help alot. I'm really good about following instructions and staying tough, so I am very confident about my ability to heal quickly and stay on track for the first couple months. After that... well, I really want to say that it will be easy for me and no problems. But if I'm truly honest with you and myself, it's after that first month or two that I am truly worried about.

YAY! Thanks Heather! So, how are you feeling about all this? I am so excited, it's all I can think about!!

Thank you both so much! Yeah, I guess you are right, this is my thing, and no matter how many people are there for me, this is ultimately my choice, my struggle, and my responsibility. It will be I who has to make the daily choices to work hard and stay positive through this. I am sooooo glad to be here you guys. It does mean so much to have people to talk to who understand how I feel.

Yay! Glad to hear it went well! Keep us posted!

Hi everyone! I'm in Dallas Uptown and I am scheduled for my sleeve on 4/28. I am so excited about this I can hardly contain myself!

Hi there! I'm in Dallas and my date is 4/28/12. Would love to hear how you are doing now.

God Bless! Praying for a great surgery for you!

I just miss you. I'll be down in Mexico on 4/28 with Dr. Almanza. But, keep in touch! We'll go through the afterwards together on here!

You inspire me. Thank you so much for your post!