SerendipityHappens

Cabrera/Valenzuela, MBC, March 13th. Arrive at marriott March 12 and I check out March 16th. I'm paying for an extra day at the hotel since I have a long flight home and I remember how miserable I was after gallbladder surgery, I figured an extra day might be nice.

If you discover that your insurance does not cover or you don't qualify through your insurance there are still options for you. I am having mine done in Mexico for 4500.. includes everything except airfare. Visit the mexico/self pay subforum to read experiences from those who have taken this route.

I'm in love with Green and Black's 85% dark chocolate. A "square" of it has 50 calories and tastes AMAZING when you dip a ripe strawberry in it. The flavor is intense and explodes with flavor in your mouth! Can't wait until I can incorporate this delicious indulgence into my diet again!

A fried egg versus a poached egg... fried egg only has 20 additional calories. Eggs don't really absorb oil unless it's from an omelet or scrambled eggs. If you absolutely adore a fried egg there is no reason not to have one occasionally, but only when your tummy is ready for it. People see a lot of grease in a pan to fry an egg and get all freaked out.. The VAST majority of the grease stays in the pan... and if you transfer your egg to a paper towel after cooking you lose even more of the fat. Personally having a fried egg isn't even worth the 20 calories... but to someone who loves them it may be.

OMG SEVEN WEEKS FROM TODAY??

When I talked to Mexico Bariatric Center about Lopez they said he is a fine surgeon but that they had contractual differences of opinion about the maximum number of surgeries to be performed in a day so the two parted ways. They NEVER said to me Lopez is not a good doctor. I am going with Cabrera/Valenzuela. And my surgery date is March 13th.

Here's the link for the mexico sub-forum in case you have a hard time finding it. http://www.verticals...gery-new-forum/

It's on this website. Just go to forums home and then scroll way way down to the mexico and self pay forum.

Thanks for posting.. You should repost this to the Mexico subforum! I'm going with Valenzuela/Cabrera too. I absolutely adore Christy. She is not high pressure and has answered all of my many MANY questions so quickly. Even on Sunday.. Even on THANKGIVING she has either answered the phone or called me right back! My surgery is in 11 weeks.. Can't WAIT!

YAY! The time really is flying by! I'm getting sleeved in Mexico on March 13th. Only 11 weeks for me! Are you staying at the Marriott and getting your surgery at MiDoctor?

Some border towns are quite dangerous... TJ? not so much.. Plus, we're getting escorted over the border, staying at the Marriott and being escorted to and from the hospital and then back over the border to the airport... Sounds safer than wandering around NYC alone!

Also tastes divine with crab meat instead of beef and soy sauce instead of worcestershire sauce and those teeny tiny little salad shrimps mixed in. I buy the fake crab and mince it up really small and basically just use the cheese to hold it together. SO YUMMY

LOVING this thread and seeing all the weight loss from gals with a similar starting weight to me. I'm just 5'5" and my highest weight was 360 giving me a BMI of 60!!!! I lost 30 pounds a while ago and managed to keep it off and am working hard to lose weight prior to surgery. I hope to be 290 or less on my surgery date. I'd love to weigh 160 which was my weight in 6th grade but realistically I'll be happy with 190. Good fortune to us ALL!

My surgery isn't for 12 more weeks but I'm on an 800 calorie a day diet right now and I lost 20 pounds super fast and then gained two back and am now completely stalled. Frustrating isn't the word for it. My stall has been going on for more than a week!!!! I just keep going knowing that this time I'm going to have more determination to lose the weight than my body has to KEEP it! I expect that by the time the New Year rolls around, I'll be back dropping weight again. Keep it up. No worries!

ok, just to make things more complicated, My instructions say that on the three days of clears during the PRE-op phase that protein should NOT be added, but during the "clears" phase post-op, that protein powders CAN be added. So I guess that clears can mean EITHER protein fortified or not.. confusing? you bet.

Yes! Almond milk works just fine!

Have you tried mixing chocolate protein powder with sugar free instant pudding mix? Add two scoops of powder to the packet of pudding and mix it up... add 2 and 1/4 cups skim milk. whisk together. Assuming you are using protein powder with 25 grams of protein and 110 calories... the entire recipe has 69 grams of protein and 513 calories. That would make a half cup serving have 128 calories and 17 grams of protein.

Jay Robb. I chose them because they're sweetened with stevia. I will have artificial sweeteners here and there, but I didn't want to be having them twice a day, every day. My nutritionist has said I can also have half of a fruit or a whole cup of berries a day if I want it and can fit it into 800 calories so sometimes I'll mix the chocolate Protein powder with skim milk and a cup of frozen blueberries.. OMG,. YUM... But I don't do that every day cuz staying under 800 calories is HARD when you have a normal size stomach! Also I sometimes add a bit of instant coffee to the chocolate and some ginger powder to the strawberry flavors and it makes it quite nice. The powder calls for 12 ounces of milk, juice or Water for mixing, but I use 8 ounces of milk plus ice or frozen blueberries and it is good that way. I should point out that Jay Robb are protein supplements and NOT Meal Replacements and they are not fortified with any Vitamins. I am eating a small dinner each evening consisting of a lean protein and some veggies with an emphasis on leafy greens. I can also have two eggs, one ounce of nuts and half a fruit daily at my discretion as long as I can fit it into my calories. I'm also taking supplements (b complex, prenatal multi, Calcium, with d3).

I love juicing too! I have an omega 8006 and up until I started this 12 week diet, I was drinking a green juice every day. I even did a 30 day juice fast in the past. I'm definitely sold on juicing! I hope that my new sleeve loves juice. I know that "juice" is to be avoided in the post sleeve world, I get it since most people think of juice as that syrupy sweet stuff devoid of all nutrition that comes from a bottle... but surely there is a place for yummy low-calorie, nutrient dense mean-green!

Awesome! What are you doing for Pre-op?

I used to pack for my 5 year old nephew... Here are some of his favorites. lightly steamed veggies (cold) and hummus for dipping, Spinach and lentil soup in a thermos to keep it hot, cut up fruit (for some reason way more appealing than a whole piece of fruit) with "fruit dip" made of yogurt, cream cheese and jell-o powder, a small container of that fake crab meat stuff (he requested this ALL THE TIME), mini pita stuffed with tunafish and apple slices, left over mac and cheese (not super healthy but we did use brown Pasta and real cheese!) Pita chips with salsa or hummus for dipping, raisins, Cut-shapes sandwiches. just make a regular sandwich and cut out the shapes from it with a metal cookie cutter, Cheese, turkey pepperoni and crackers... I could go on and on and on, but these things are what came to mind as stuff he really liked a lot.... Also, back when I used to pack for teenagers, popular things were: left over chicken legs, any kind of soup (kept hot in a good thermos bowl) homemade granola bars, cut up fruit with fruit dip(yeah I even cut it up for teens).. Taco kit put the meat in a small good quality thermos bowl, and pack the fixins and shell separately... also fajita kit and burrito kit were popular.

If I could lose a pound for every person who has said to me "How are you not skinny? You eat so healthy" , I'd actually be skinny!!! Yes I do eat healthy most of the time. I cook from scratch, don't use obscene amounts of fats, don't fry stuff, Don't eat white breads/pastas, Avoid any drinks with sugar, Don't eat fast foods..... blah blah blah blah blah.. But still I'm over 300 pounds. Now while my meals were quite healthy, I do have a weakness for some junk foods like Doritos and snack cakes but I resist MOST of the time. During my last push to lose weight I was logging my calories faithfully and sticking around 1600 calories and STARVING ALL THE TIME and doing over an hour at the gym four days a week and losing only ounces.. OUNCES a week. It was maddening.I even was being supervised by a nutritionist. I just gave up because I was still feeling like I was starving and not getting anywhere. Like you, I have no comorbidities. my lipid panel is awesome, my blood sugar is awesome.. Blood pressure is on the high side, but has been this way since child hood and has never increased and it's not considered actually high.. just borderline. I'm getting sleeved in March. I pray that it is the tool I need to manage my weight. I've been obese for 40 years. I NEVER remember a time in my life when I wasn't fat. I am pretty sure I'm going to be a "slow loser" but if I can lose more than mere ounces per week I will be happy! I have been on a a high protein 800 calorie a day diet since December 3rd. I'm down 20 pounds already which is shocking to me given my weight loss history, but have already stalled.. and even crept back up a few pounds without even cheating once. I am figuring maybe I'm retaining a bit of water and I'm NOT QUITTING. I'm staying on this pre-surgery diet until March. This stall has to break eventually and I want to lose 40 pounds by surgery date..... See? already the Sleeve is inspiring me to do better and I haven't even gotten it yet!!! I honestly believe we can do this. I have failed many times because I got frustrated in quit.. and because I was STARVING. I have been blessed with an efficient metabolic rate. Soon I will have a teeny appetite to match it.

YAY!!!! I felt awesome when I bought my airline ticket.... I do my deposit in two weeks. And surgery March 13

Well the first 5 or 6 days I did shakes only. Now I do two shakes and then a piece of lean meat and a salad and an ounce of nuts for dinner... oh yes and I can have half a fruit. This is all under 800 calories. After day 4, I went into Ketosis and was not as hungry. I experience a bit of hunger here and there, but nothing terrible.This is definitely easier than 1200-1500 calorie diets I've done in the past. I haven't cheated once since I started. I've been tempted plenty.. I came very close to eating a slim jim today at work (i work in a convenience store surrounded by deliciousness!!!) but I resisted. I HAVE to do this. I HAVE to get 40 pounds off of me before surgery.

Great job! I'm on day 21 of my pre-preop diet and doing still hanging in there... 9 weeks to go on this diet, then my actual preop starts!