920amy

Have you tried any of the unflavored protien powders? I cannot say they taste fantastic, but you can add them to any and everything, soup, broth, you name it. I find this really helps me to stay on track with my protein requirements. Also, how does your sleeve tolerate seafood? Seafood has one of the biggest 'bang' for your buck as far as protien to serving size ratio that I've found, and is one of the easiest (for me at least) to digest since it's not as dense as chicken or beef. Good luck!!

I am all about the water. I don't mind the taste mixed with water, and also I figure I don't need the extra calories of anything else mixed with it right now.

You look great!! I actually have a professional photographer taking pics of me once a month. I've asked her not to touch up any of the pics, I want to see every lump and bump, and I've also asked her not to show them to me. I will first look at the pics when I am half way to my goal, and I will look at them again when I reach my goal, and then I will probably make them into a book. I also think taking regular pictures will be a great motivator! Congrats to you on all your success and continued success in the future!!

I am so excited with my weight loss! I am a little over 1 month post-op, and before I started the pre-op diet, I was a small 24/3x. Today, I am already a regular 18/1x!! Woo Hoo!! Luckily I have saved all my 'smaller clothes' from when I was gaining and gaining, so I haven't had to buy any new clothes, but just the joy of taking a pair of 18s off the hanger that I hadn't worn in years, pulling them up with ease and buttoning them with awe, was an experience I had to share Yay!! Good luck to all of you on this journey! One day at a time!!

There are 2 Ortiz Drs. obviously, Ariel Ortiz, the otehr operates out of Mi Hospital, he is represented by ALighterMe, he is fairly 'new' to the scene (has done a little more than 500 sleeves) he was trained by Dr . Lopez & Osuana. He actually was the assiting surgeon for me when I had Dr. Lopez. I think the bottom line with choosing a Dr. in Mexico, is do tons of research, and find someone you are comfortable with. Yes, good looks are always nice, but there is an old adage 'if there are only 2 barbers in a town, go to the one with the worse looking haircut' Good luck on your choice!!

Jennifer, I had my sleeve done in TJ on Nov 3rd, but am really surprised to hear you're eating oatmeal, baked potatoes, cutie oranges and no meat. The diet plan I was given wasn't very rigid, but it did stress no starchy carbs, and 60 grams of protien a day, I have eaten just about every meat out there, and I was told no fruit for at least 6 months, even then, to go light due to their sugar content. How are you getting your protien in, are you still on shakes? I'm so surprised by how different a lot of diet plans that we are given are, it's crazy. I've seen some people don't even do a pre-op while others have 6 months of strict pre-op.

Yay for the shorties!! I am 5'3" (5'2 and 1/2 but I round up). My pre op weight was 265, day of surgery I was 248.5, this morning I am 223. I was sleeved 11/03 in Tijuana Mexico by Dr. Alejandro Lopez, I could not have been happier with my choice and I am LOVING how I feel with this weight just dropping off!! I can't wait to be as small as I was before. I had a bad first marriage and gained more than 100 lbs. in 2 months at one point. All of you are doing GREAT! Keep it up!!

I am also in a very 'business eating' work environment, I do Mortgages, and very often take Realtors and clients out. I haven't had to face it much yet, as I'm only one month out, but I have found the same sentiments that are echoed throughout this thread to be true. No one really notices how much I do or don't eat since they themselves are focused on their own eating. As the holidays are getting close, I plan to get through Holiday parties by nominating myself as the DD< so I can pass on alcohol withoout many side glances, I had a business luncheon today with my womens group, had french onion soup with no bread in it and light cheese, the cheese sank to the bottom where it sat. I ordered an entree which I silently slipped into a box and took to my father, and for dessert I ordered took a few small bites and sent the rest back, no one even blinked about it. The I'm not feeling well, I just had a big breakfast/lunch have seemed to work fine if anyone does inquire. Also, with the New Year coming around, it would be easy to tell people that you are doing a strict diet for New Years, few people question strong New Years convictions! Good luck to you!

I had a stall at 3 weeks too, but I was still losing inches. I was not really concerned about it, I also noticed another stall when I started soft foods. I didn't realize I wasn't 'going' enough, and tried a greek yogurt which made EVERYTHING go, and I lost 4 lbs over night! I also had another stall, and gain of 2 lbs for 2 days before my monthly 'time', now that I have the visit, I'm back down those 2 lbs, plus another lb. Just be patient, I think everyone here gave great advice, water water water, and stick with it! One day at a time, ladies!!

The liquid diet is really the worst of it. The reason I say that is because after the surgery, you don't have the hunger. I also was freezing cold the entire time I was on liquids only, then bam, the surgery, and my body has had no problems regulating temp. It is strange going out to eat with family and friends and not feeling hunger, I enjoy the smells, and I do my part to 'eat' the people I'm with have more concern for my lack of eating than I do. I have even had a few waitresses ask if I didn't like my food and wanted it recooked or wanted to order something else. I do Mortgages, so business lunches and entertaining is a huge part of what I do, especially as the holidays are here. I went to a Holiday party right before my surgery, and gleefully filled up a plate in the buffet line just to seem 'normal' and then switched out my full plate for my husbands empty one as we ate, no one seemed to notice or mind much. I have told veery few people, and I am happy with my choice. Some people notice the weight loss already, and some don't. I think that the Holidays is a great time to go through this, that way in the New Year as people notice my weight loss more, or if people comment I'm not eating, I can always tell them I'm sticking to a strict New Years diet I wish both of you ladies luck, and don't feel sad about not eating, just having your family with you means more to them than you eating with them, I assure you. Congrats on making the decision to have WLS, and make a change for the rest of your life!

It might make sense in your mind to take 2 100% vitamins, but if you do, don't take them together, certain vitamins in some forms are not bio available easily, I have heard shaklee is great, I ended up purchasing a liquid vitamin from Nashua Nutirition, I take a brand called Bell, Liquid multi vitamin complex, I also got bariatric advantage calcium citrate carmel chews and Celebrate brand B-12 sublinguals. I have no problem taking them everyday. I was self pay in Mexico, so i did not get a lot fo direction as far as what brands they recommend etc, but I will be having my blood work done this week probably, and will know if I am deficient in anything then.

This is really informative, I would love to see the rest of the info. Thank you for sharing.

How crushing, Jaimy! I hope you can get things sorted! I had a similar situation, personally. I had been working with a bariatric surgeon for about 6 months, going through his program, talking with the NUT and doing the Psych evals, once I was cleared by him, I had to wait until my husbands insurance changed so i could apply to our new insurance for WLS. I applied, and found out that his insurance specifically EXCLUDED any type of WLS. It was a provision they had just put in that year. I was crushed! I had worked so hard! I had a talk with my surgeons scheduler, and she told me I could self pay, but the band (which is what I thought I wanted then) would be $12,000. I was blown away! I actually started doing more research and decided I wanted the sleeve and asked her how much that would be, $18,000!! I thought I would never have surgery. I accidentally ran across a thread about self pay in Mexico, and I did TONS of research. The end of my story is, I found ALighterMe, and was connected with Dr. Lopez. I had my surgery in Tijuana, Nov 3rd, a little over 2 years after I had started my journey. It was a wonderful experience and one I would not change for the world. My surgery was $4,750. That included 3 nights stay in a Marriott, transportation to and from the airport, and of course all of the medication, hospital stay, anesthesia, everything. It was the best decision I had made in my life, and one I would make over again in a heartbeat. Self pay in Mexico may not be for you, but if you think it might be, PLEASE contact me and ask me any questions, I would love to be a resource for you. Just know, where there's a will, there's a way!! Best of luck to you!

Simplyfedup, One good piece of news I have for you about the flavor of the protien shakes, and flavor of everything in general, is that immediately after surgery, your taste buds will change change change! I don't know the exact science, and I was kind of freaked out by it, I'd read about it but experiencing it was both good and bad. Before my surgery, I was a salt fiend, now everything is very salty. I tried a bite of bacon, YUCK! This change in taste buds for me makes the protien shakes more pallatable. I mix mine with just Water. Also, I have found that warm and hot liquids go down much easier than cold. Hopefully the tastebud change will make your protien taste better also! I recommend the unjury sample pack, you get many of their flavors including unflavored powder which you can mix with any liquid to make it have more protien. Good luck!

I have read a lot of people using wraps for the arms, and some of the pictures look compelling. I will probably try some. Also, there is always surgery at the end if they are really bad! I read that if you do any amount of exercise it should help, also I've read lotion and wearing compression garments to bed. Many people say the skin tightens a lot as time goes by, that's why they recommend 2 years after WLS before getting any plastics. There seems to be lots of difference of results also depending on age, skin texture etc also. If any of you find a miracle cure, I want in on it though!!

Jcool, I actually did the pre-op for 1 month prior to the surgery. I am 5'2" and my starting weight was 265. I was terrified my liver would not shrink enough. Also, once I booked my surgery, I knew if I didn't start the pre-op ASAP I would probably eat myself into more weight gain out of nervousness/anxiety before the surgery. I still had some 'cheat' meals. My last big meal before I started the Clear liquids only was sashimi and I even had some mochi (japanese rice cake dessert). I weighed 148.5 the morning of surgery. I had no complications, so I was really relived. When I did the pre-op diet, I did isogenix. I don't do them anymore, because they are 250 calories per shake, but I followed the isogenix program completely for the month of pre op, 2 shakes a day and one meal with grean veggies and lean Protein. It was easier to follow than I anticipated. The 3 days of clear liquids only I thought I would claw someones eyes out, lol, but it was over fast enough. Now that I am post op, I am drinking a variety of shakes. On this forum, under diet and nutrition, protien shakes, there are some forums about protien shakes and where to buy 'samples' I bought about 100+ different samples, and each day I have 2 different ones. I have a notebook I write down the name of each sample, and make notes about it. When I am done with all the samples, I will go back and review all of my notes and then order the powders I think taste best. I am doing it this way because I have read a lot of people who go and buy tubs of protein powders (which cost 40 to 60 each) and then don't like them. When I was on clear liquids immediately after surgery, I drank Isopure premixed drinks. They are interesting. My best way to describe them is they taste like bitter koolaide at first, and the after taste is like skim milk. They were not gross, they just weren't incredibly good, lol. They were 40 grams of protien each though. The main thing I focused on after surgery was getting my liquids in. I didn't want to get dehydrated, and yes, it was tough being sure I drank 64 oz of liquid a day. You can only sip at first. I am not quite 1 month out now, and can drink fairly normally again, but I certainly can't gulp anything down. Message me anytime with any questions! I am so glad I can be a resource and help! I am excited for you and your daughter!

Jesser, lol! He is though, and he knows it too! Abraham is older, but not bad on the eyes either, and Dr. Lopez and Ortiz are both surprisingly young, and handsome as well! It was nice to have some eye candy

For all of you that are going to TJ for surgery with Dr. Lopez, it is my understanding that for now, Dr. Osuana is NO LONGER doing suregery in TJ with him, she has her own practice (In Puerto Viarta maybe?) Where her family is based and her 2 children live. Because of this, she is no longer travelling at this time to TJ to do surgery. PLEAS PLEASE know this before you go, ask Ronda or Janese, maybe it ahs changed. I found this out only 3 days before boarding my plane to go to TJ for the surgery. I admit, I was REALLY upset I felt like I had been lied to, but in the end I still went, and I'm thankful I did. I ended up looking at it this way. Lopez and Osuana are the only 'team' that I know of that advertises together, Ortiz (who assisted with my surgery) was trained by Osuana and Lopez. He has done over 500 sleeves himself now, and he is also a certified bariatric surgeon. Many Drs do not even tell you who will be assisting, so with Lopez you still have 2 certified bariatric surgeons instead of one, whether it is Osuana or Ortiz assisting. I also found Dr. Ortiz spoke more English, and he was the one who came to my hotel the night before I left and removed my drain. He was very personable, and had great bedside manner. Bottom line, just research a ton, and ask millions of questions! I know I did. I sought out previous patients of theirs on my own, I called Ronda and Janese both, and I ended up having a great experience. Whatever you decide, just remember when you are doing your research, no question is a silly question! YOu deserve the best experience ever! Don't rob yourself of that on accident! Good luck to all of you no matter what you decide!

I was sleeved Nov 3rd by Dr. Lopez. I have nothing but GREAT things to say about my entire experience, and I think taht ALighterMe was a huge part of that as well. I took my mom with me (I'm not sure I had a choice, lol) and she was so worried about me, she refused to leave my side the entire time, and waited nervously while I was in surgery. Abraham and Eduardo were so caring toward her, they brought her food, and Eduardo stayed wiith her while I was in surgery. They did this WITHOUT even asking, they were just great wonderful caring people!! The Marriott was great, I was there the night before the surgery, and you are given complimentary chicken broth and popsicles. You have to pay for jello, but the jello was delicious and worth it! I stayed 2 nights in the hospital, my mother and I had our own room it had a small TV in it. The wifi was great in both the hotel and hospital. After my hospital stay, I had 2 nights in the Marriott, and we were checked on regularly. Dr. Ortiz (who assisted on my surgery) came the night before I left and took out my drain. I was given the personal numbers of Eduardo and Abraham, they picked up right away everytime I called. The nurses were helpful, I was never in pain, I was given pain meds, and antibiotics when I left the hospital along with a copy of my flouro scope. I think the care I recieved was top notch, and I am doing great now. The weight loss is so easy, in fact I went on vacation to Las Vegas for 10 days only 8 days after my surgery, and I certainly didn't stay in my room the entire time!! My recovery was great, and I'm still in contact with Ronda and Janese both. These ladies are great and really care about everyone. I can tell you I was super nervous, but it was all for not, my experience has been great and I'd do it over a million times! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions, I love to be a resource and share what I've learned on my short journey so far. I wish you all the BEST of luck, and can't wait for you all to join me on the losers bench!

Janice, I had surgery Nov 3rd in TJ, I did not have any liver issues, but I did have a drain. My surgeon puts them in everyone. That thing was gross and scary! I was so thankful when they took it out! I could not believe how long the tube was they pulled from my body!! I am not sure if you got your drain out yet, but for me, I felt SO much better when my drain was out! I am sorry you had a tough time, but am glad you made it through and are on your way to recovery and successful weightloss now!! Congrats!

Every person and body type is different. SOme people have a dent in their mid section, hence the reason for that type of surgery, for the back fat and 'rolls' a surgeon could either do a full body 'lift' which is basically a full incision around your entire mid section, or they can do what is called an extended tummy tuck, which is basically a tummy tuck, but the scar goes farther around your midsection. Another reason some people may have an extended tummy tuck is to get rid of 'love handles. Be sure you get a good surgeon if you are considering this surgery, research research research. I took my mom to multiple surgeons when she was considering this surgery, and pictures tell a MILLION stories! Also, be sure to ask your surgeon about 'dog ears' we went to one who said that they are unavoidable (YIKES!) my mom got her clothes on FAST after that consultation! I agree google is your best friend when it comes to beginning your research on any procedure. Good Luck!

Way to go, girl!! 50 lbs is HUGE in 2 months!! Keep up the good work!! I have also read that by upping your caloric intake even a bit for a day or two each week, it actually helps you to lose more faster, since your metabolism gets kind of revved up on your high calorie days and stays revved! You are looking good!

My understanding is that no amount of exercise will be able to allow us to avoid the sagging of the breasts, my mother lost more than 100 lbs. doing Adkins, and worked out like a fiend (she still does to this day) but her breasts sadly were like tube socks with change in them (her words not mine!) She said she would never have surgery until one morning she said she was sitting in her recliner drinking coffee and reading the paper when the dog jumped up on her. She yelled in pain as he was sitting right on her boob, she looked down...and the dog was in her lap. She tells the story now and laughs, she ended up having a lift and a fill. When she had a tummy tuck last year, I had researched it for her, and she also had her pubis mons lipo suctioned at the same time which got rid of the 'lump' she had remaining, and since that area was pulled up to meet with her new tummy skin, she said her 'sagging' down there has greatly improved also. Surgery is a personal choice for everyone, but the good news is if you are self concious after your weight loss, there are solutions. My mother is 56, and had a triple by pass also. She had her surgeries after her bypass, and pulled through great on them. So in my opinion, regardless of your age or past, just like with the sleeve, if you want a solution, you can find it one way or another! Good luck to all of you, and I will also be doing wraps throughout my journey

One thing I did, was I looked under the protien shake forum and topics, I found some links where people listed places to purchase 'samples' I purchased about 100 different samples from various places. These are single serving protien powders. I have a little notebook, each time I drink a shake right now, it is a sample. I write down the name os it, then make notes, chalky, tasty etc and rate from 1-10 when I get done with all the samples I will look back decide what I liked best then buy a full size package of the protiens I liked best. I think it's a good way to change it up, and I'm not wasting 40-60 dollars at a time on tubs and tubs of protien I may or may not like. I also am a HUGE iced tea fan, but was told no regular tea after surgery due to the caffine, so I have switched to herbal teas, green, and flavored teas like blueberry and mixed berry, etc. I am not sure if this info helps, but this is what I've been doing. I also personally found warm to hot liquids go down easier for me, I used to be an ise fanatic, but since surgery, cold drinks don't go down for me. I have unjury unflavored and Iso pure unflavored protien powders also, I've not tried them in tea, but they dissolve well in broths I've found. I do not like the aftertaste they give though, it tastes like egg white to me, but others say they have no taste of it, everyone is different! I hope you find a happy medium soon, and maybe my info helps! Good luck!!

I think it's possible, you just have to be sure you get enough protien from other sources. Do your research though on absobtion of soy and plant based protiens. One of the reasons most of our shakes have whey protien isolate is that it is the most readily absorbed and easy on the digestion. Just do your research, be diligent, and go for it!