SerendipityHappens

My sister recently lost a great deal of weight. She went from 220 down to 155. She said nobody at her work even noticed until she lost 30 pounds! Whaaaaaa? I noticed after she lost her first 10! I'm thinking that on me nobody will notice until I get under 250 :-(

Bogey, Don't be nervous. I actually find this MUCH easier than eating in moderation! You just resign yourself to the fact that now is not the time for eating. The first three days are really hard, I won't lie. You might be cranky, kinda sick, have headaches, and of course you'll feel STARVING... but around day four you'll feel much better. Ketosis will kick in and your body will turn into a fat burning machine and your hunger will subside. Be prepared to be the stinky kid though. Seriously, fat burning by ketosis is a stinky, stinky business.

Nope, I meant 12 weeks. It's NOT required... but I want a super skinny liver and I want to lose as much weight as possible prior to surgery for my own comfort and safety. OH and as a bonus, if I lose 40 pounds my surgery will cost me $750.00 less!

What about low carb turkey meatballs with delicious marinara sauce and low fat mozzarella cheese? Got the italian flavor with cheezy-tomatoey goodness with a good amount of Protein without the carbs. Also, you can make pizza on a low carb pita bread. You're not really "cooking" more just assembling and toasting in a toaster oven or under a broiler. I love these http://www.josephsbakery.com/SubPages/StaticPages/ProductDetails.aspx?ID=8483be23-39fb-492a-82c2-3d045680ff03 They just never filled me up since I have a great big stomach. I'm looking forward to being sleeved and trying these and having one "pizza" on a mini pita bread actually be filling.... rather than gorging on an entire medium pizza from Domino's.

I'm on day four of twelve weeks. I'm doing great so far. Today was an easy day. Yesterday was brutal. I work in a convenience store. I have to tend to the hotdogs and sausages and all the yummy fast "convenience store foods" ALL DAY LONG I'm straightening up Doritos, stocking candy, snack cakes and beef sticks. I just plan on taking it one day at a time.

We'll be there at the same time. I'm scheduled for the 13th but may move it to the 12th depending on when I can get a flight! You're at MiDoctor hospital and then Marriott?

Damn. That sucks. Sorry for that. I would definitely get a second opinion AND of course continue as you are trying to lose as much weight as you can before surgery. Honestly even if a different doctor told you the same thing but in a more compassionate way, I'd go with him instead. I don't know that I'd want to go to a doctor with zero compassion. BTW, you're doing a great job losing weight. Way to Go!!!

Nope although I seriously considered them. I'm seeing Cabrera/Valenzuela They also practice out of MiDoctor in Tijuana. They met all my other criteria, but the price was a bit lower for Cabrera/Valenzuela.

Experience. It doesn't have to be the doctor who's done the MOST sleeves but I wanted someone who has done at LEAST a few thousand bariatric surgeries. no negative reviews how many surgeries they perform per day.. No more than six. I chose a team so I've got TWO doctors working together on EVERY procedure modern hospital hospital stay time/time in mexico total. I didn't want a place that kicks you out the next day! coordinator/booking agency has to be fabulous Cost Ease to get to

OMG that looks SOOOOO TASTY! With my current stomach I could eat four of those. No joke- FOUR. Can't wait for my sleeve!

My philosophy on telling something like this is that if you feel you made the wrong choice by not telling then you can always tell someone later on when you're 100% sure that your ready, but you can never "untell" someone.

If you stick it out for a few days, ketosis will kick in which will naturally curb your hunger. Just DON'T CHEAT as that will prolong the period when you feel hunger. You might also find it helpful to save one shake until an hour before bedtime. During the day you can do other things to take your mind off your hunger but when your laying in bed, it can be pretty harsh without something in your belly.

I hate to break this to you sweetie,,,, but you no longer need to be shopping at WomenWithin! Your next shopping trip will be in the "regular" woman's section of your favorite department store!

The whole recipe has 53 grams of carbs- less than 60 due to actual carb being rounded up in the individual meatball....25 carbs in the package from spinach 10 from the artichokes... 25 of the grams are from fiber.

OMG, just look how small your waist is getting!

Tina, I have a goal of losing 40 pounds by surgery getting me under 300 for the first time in 10 years!!! I'm doing a twelve week 800 calorie high Protein VLCD. It ain't easy, but it sure will be worth it! WE can DO IT. No sweat... (ok maybe a little sweat :-p )

What I don't get is that the vertical sleeve was originally intended for very high BMI patients who due to their BMI, were a poor risk for the duadnal switch. So the doctor would do the "quick and easy" part of the surgery(what is now known as VSG) and then hope the patient could lose sufficient weight from just the sleeve in order to bring the BMI down enough to be a good risk for the full DS at a later time. So if the Vertical Sleeve was created in the first place especially for for people with very high BMI, Why would doctors now be demanding you BMI be under 50 in order to qualify?

I'm on day 3 of a 12 week VLCD (under 800 calories per day) I can have 3 shakes, four if I need it. I can sub one shake for four ounces of plain fish and a salad with dark greens and low carb veggies and no dressing. I think I'm going to stick with just the shakes for the first month and then start doing the fish week 5... that will give me something to look forward to. Anyway. I need to lose 40 pounds by surgery but I'm hoping it's 50! We can DO THIS!

This recipe yields 20, 3 ounce meatballs. 11 grams of Protein, 6 grams of fat , 3 grams of carb and 108 calories per 3 ounce meatball. I didn't know what Spicy crackers were, so I just used the nutritional value of 8 Ritz crackers.

YAY!!! We're in the same boat. I'm on day 3 of a 12 week liquid diet. I can have a 4 ounce piece of plain fish and a small salad with dark greens and low-carb vegetables in place of one of the shakes if I want.... Which I think I'll start doing at week 5 because by then it will feel like such a treat! Right now I'm waiting for ketosis to kick in... and then it will get much easier. I did a 30 day juice fast a few months ago and after the first few days it got much MUCH easier. Is your 6 weeks mandatory? I'm doing 12 weeks because I want to lose as much as I can in the next 12 weeks pre-surgery to have the surgery be as easy and safe as possible..... AND to fit in my airline seat!... AND to avoid the $750.00 high BMI charge.I need to lose 40 pounds before surgery but I'm hoping to lose 50.. I wouldn't be surprised if YOU lost 50 pounds in 6 weeks... since you're a guy and starting at 375, I'll bet it could happen.... How AWESOME would that be?

I'm pre-op so take my recommendation with that in mind.... Of course the vitamix is the holy grail of blenders.. I'd love one too.... But THAT'S not going to happen anytime soon! I've heard very good things about the nutribullet but I don't have one. I do have the magic bullet and I love it.... They're similar but the nutribullet has more HP and is just supposed to be an all around better machine. I love to just mix my Protein shake with ice and then drink out of the same cup I mixed it in! It also gets the ice really small. Also, it's intended for smaller portions which will be great for the needs of a sleever. http://www.nutribullet.com/

Pre-op here...I am using a high quality prenatal vitamin during my 12 week pre-op VLCD. The dose is two pills so I take one in the morning and one in the afternoon. For post op. I'll be switching to Twinlabs bariatric support simply because they're chewable... It only has 100% of RDA of most vitamins so the advice I received is to just take two. I'm also taking vitacost brand chewable calcium citrate with vit d3 and magnesium and I'll continue that after surgery. The final supplement I'm taking is a b complex... it's not chewable so I don't know what I'm going to do after surgery. I know they have b-12 dots but I haven't found any chewable b-complex supplements and my Dr. is recommending b-complex.

My understanding is that they do it if they think they could encounter any difficulties intubating you after anesthesia is begun. It's not because the anesthesiologist is a sadist, if he does it prior to putting you out, it's for the safety of the patient.

I am pre-sleeve but, I love to do the joseph's low carb flax and Omega 3 pita, put a bit of the canned garlic and onion added diced tomatoes on it (DRAINED OR YOUR pizza WILL GET MUSHY), some fresh mushrooms, finely chopped bell peppers, 2 small slices of turkey pepperoni diced into small bits, 1/2 to 1 low fat mozzarella stick chopped up, and if you're feeling wild and crazy, a small sprinkle of feta. Put on the middle rack of the toaster oven. The top will get all melty and the bottom will get a little crispy. Also if you want a more "traditional" pizza, just use a pizza/marinara sauce instead of the diced tomatoes. SOOO YUMMMY! My only complaint about this pizza was that it didn't satisfy my hunger... hopefully that will change post sleeve! Course right NOW I can only dream of this pizza I'm on an 800 calorie VLCD for the next 12 weeks and then surgery and more liquids and mushies after that..., but I look forward to eating this "pizza" again from time to time in the future.

I set my goal weight at 200 pounds. Well Actually, I'd like to be 190. I'm 5'5" so that's still obese but considering that I've been very obese since childhood and my highest weight is 360 pounds, I felt like 200 was realistic... but 190 is achievable with more effort. During my late 20s I made a very sincere push to lose weight... I stuck with it for a long time but couldn't get below 230.