SerendipityHappens

Dr Alvarez in Mexico has many testimonials on his youtube page. Many are from US medical professionals.. I remember one testimonial was from a US a cardiologist and several were from nurses. Yeah, yeah, he could have faked the testimonials, but he's a high profile doctor so he wouldn't get away with it. I chose the right doctor for me based on many factors including cost. You DO have to be careful that you're not going to some chop shop. Make sure the doctor is reputable and make sure that the surgery will take place in a real hospital. If I was being treated for a rare disorder, yeah, I'd want to be in the USA, but for a fairly common, straightforward procedure, I'm VERY comfortable with seeing a doctor in Mexico who specializes in that procedure.

40 years old an I'm going for surgery in March! I've been fat since birth... I was 200 at 14, 230 at 18 and 280 at 25..... My Highest weight ever was 360!

Hope you're all doing well on your preop diets! I started my 12 week liquid VLCD yesterday and I'm super excited for the ketosis to kick in. I hate the first few days of headaches and hunger. But I've done liquid diets before and I know how awesome it can be once the first few days are over. You can do this! Just don't forget to keep drinking your protein. If you get hungry from not having the protein in your belly, that's when binges can happen. Just take it one day, or even one shake at a time!

This is what I'm doing but it's NOT doctor supervised. It's advised that if you do a VLCD that it be dr supervised. What I did is I read the ingredients/nutrients for Optifast , which is what doctor supervised VLCDs use. I made sure that my nutrients equaled or exceeded the optifast. My plan is to do three scoops of Protein in 36 ounces fat free milk per day giving me 110 grams of protein and adequate potassium which is something most multivitimins lack (actually a little low on potassium, so I'm adding extra magnesium to aid potassium absorption.. also since my sodium is sooooo low during this time, it is ok to be a bit low on potassium). I'm also taking a prenatal multivitim divided into two doses so I'm taking half the dose in the morning and half the dose in the afternoon. One Vitamin b complex capsule, and one vit d3 tablet with magnesium. One Omega 3 salmon and borrage oil. I'm also doing one kale/lemon/ginger juice shot sweetened with stevia per day. I don't recommend the juice shot unless you're an experienced juicer. Kale shots can be very hard on the tummy if you're not used to them. Ordinarily I'd put some green apple and an orange with the kale and enjoy it as a yummy juice, but I can't do the carbs right now because I want to be in ketosis. Also I should mention that I don't have any vitamin deficiencies/excesses or anything to begin with. I've had a full blood panel done recently. I wouldn't be doing this if I had any vitamin deficiencies to begin with.

I'm on a liquid 800 calorie VLCD until my surgery in march. I weigh a lot more than you do and I want to lose as much weight as I can BEFORE the surgery in order to have the best outcome possible. I DEFINITELY need to be under 300 prior to surgery but I think I can get down to 290 or even 280..... Well you asked, and that's what I'm doing.

Shakes do have a lot of air in them when you first make them. Try letting it sit for a while so all the frothiness can settle down. I am enjoying Jay Robb Shakes. They are not the best tasting shakes out there... but they are sweetened with stevia and avoiding aspartame was important to me so I'll sacrifice a bit on flavor in order to get something better for me.

Well, in the end it's all about your safety. We all know that anesthesia is more risky for heavier patients. I think they do the intubation this way if they think they may have a problem with the airway due to some aspect of your anatomy. Here's some information: http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/private-operations/anaesthesia/awake-fibreoptic-intubation/ Also, if they give you verced for your nerves then you have nothing to worry about. You'll barely even know what's going on or care or remember it afterwards.

I will never ever, ever, EVER grow tired of posts titled "onderland." YAY! I haven't lived in Onderland since Jr. High and for the first time in my life, I'm feeling that it might actually be attainable. Thanks for the inspiration!

Well today is the last day I will eat for a very long time. I'm doing 90 days VLCD prior to my surgery in March. I'm hoping to lose 30-40 pounds during the next three months to make my surgery go smoother and have fewer worries. Today I did eat more than usual, but I didn't "pig out" so I'm quite pleased with myself. I ate some of the things that I've been wanting for a WHILE but had been telling myself I could have later. I knew if I didn't eat them now, it would be bothering me for the next several months. So I ate an order of 5 small chicken wing pieces (not five whole wings, but 5 of the little half wing pieces) I could have eaten two dozen of them, but I figured I'd try to exercise some moderation. I had a HUGE salad with tons of fresh vegetables. A few cookies that we started carrying in the store two weeks ago that I had been resisting., a 50 cent bag of Doritos, a large coffee and a half pack of mini donettes (so that's three mini doughnuts for those of you keeping track), a big juicy granny smith apple, two oranges, a 40 calorie slim jim, and a a fun size Charleston chew. .. Now that I say it all it sounds like a LOT, but trust me, I could have done far FAR worse. .... I really REALLY want to go to the pizza place and order two orders of garlic knots and just eat them all myself, BUT I'm going to resist because I know that that will just make me feel really REALLY sick so Instead I'll have another salad for dinner and call it a day..... Tomorrow starts an 800 calorie liquid diet for three and a half months, then surgery, then post op diet. Starting the VLCD tomorrow really makes this whole thing finally seem real!

Lady K, being satisfied with a single envelope of oatmeal is the FIRST thing I thought of when considering this sleeve. I need to eat three packs just to feel satisfied... four would make me feel full!

WOW, you've been losing like a pound a day!?! Amazing!!! And you look fabulous too!

YES! This is REALLY happening! WOOT WOOT!! My boyfriend asked me the same question today that you asked yourself. I told him I wanted to lose 40 pounds before the surgery and he was like "well if you can lose 40 pounds, then why can't you lose the rest of it without surgery?" I explained to him that first of all 40 pounds is a lot different than losing 150 pounds and also even if it did lose it all, I'd need the sleeve to help me keep it off. For me the sleeve isn't so much a tool for losing weight as it is a tool to help me maintain my weight. Have a good flight and a quick and pain-free recovery.

I couldn't afford it either mini-me... then I decided to look into Mexico... $4,500 for a doctor who has done nearly 3,000 bariatric procedures, two nights in the hospital and three nights in the marriott. That's a good deal! Glad you are able to find something similar there.

There seems to be a divide among nutritionists regarding fruits. Personally, I'm 100% convinced that eating fresh fruits did not make me fat. I'm pretty sure it was processed flours, added sugars, and excessive oils that made me FAT! Now sure, when you're trying to loose weight, I totally get that you have a limited number of calories and you need to focus on getting in proteins and also vegetables because vegetables are more micronutrient dense than fruits. As long as your maintaining your weight and are able to still get in all of you required nutrients, I really don't see the problem.

Make your own yogurt. it's less sour than store bought. Sweeten with a very small amount of stevia and flavor with high quality vanilla extract. Homemade yogurt also thins easily in a blender to a drinkable consistency making it a fabulous base for your Protein powder. oh yeah, and the ingredients are simple to remember : Milk, live cultures

Hello all my pear sisters. Please research lipoedema aka lipedema. This is not the same as lymphedema. My sisters and I are all pears and we all have it. Even my skinny sister struggles with disproportionately large legs. (even at 112 pounds she was a size 00 top and a size 4 bottom.. a size four bottom is small... but not when you're a 00 top!!!) Lipedema is basically fat that accumulates on the legs and lower abdomen and butt. As the lipedema progresses it can become painful along the shin. The fat is not "normal" it does not release like regular fat does, so you might find yourself losing a lot from some areas, but hardly losing any from your legs and lower body. Here's a picture of an otherwise thin person with lipedema http://painmuse.org/images/lipema.jpg Here's another site: http://lipedema-simplified.org/treatment.html I'm not saying that all pears have lipedema, but if you're a pear and have a hard time losing weight below your navel, you should research this condition.

YAY! I got that peaceful feeling when I realized that I was choosing from among a whole group of fantastic and well qualified doctors so it was just a matter of finding the right "fit". Now if I could just get that peaceful easy feeling about booking my flight. I hate thinking about squeezing my size 28 ass (can we say ass on this forum?) into a 17 inch seat.. I'm actually considering taking the train to Boston to visit my sister for a few days and then flying out of there so I can take jet blue. They have an 18.25 inch seat.... and trust me, that extra 1.25 inch makes a big difference!

Spend a lot of time helping out in the kitchen. When it's eating time, say you've eaten too much already while working in the kitchen. Also you can try a half-truth... Tell them that you're on a strict medically supervised diet that only lets you drink shakes and you REALLY need to stick with it for health reasons. When they argue with you that it's not healthy and try to get you to cheat... just tell them about how your doctor said it was urgent for you to lose weight due to your fatty liver and high blood pressure or whatever and that you take what he tells you seriously because you need to look after your health.... then get all weepy and say "you don't want me to DIE do you?"

Makes total sense! I set my goal at 200... I know it's still obese but I know I'll feel great at that weight since it's 30 pounds LESS than my lowest adult weight! Anything beyond that is gravy. I have not weighed less than 200 since 8th grade so I can't even wrap my mind around weighing the 145 that I'm "supposed" to weigh.

Wow, happy surgiversary! I'm looking forward to being sleeved in March. I'm not looking forward to the actual surgery, but when I read testimonies like yours, it makes me believe that it will all be worth it. Thank you so much for sharing.

FYI the 8004 is the EXACT same juicer except it is white instead of silver in color.... and the 8004 costs less. It's an expensive juicer but it has a 15 year warranty so you know this thing is built to last. It's EXCELLENT on greens.... the best juice around at getting all the juicy goodness out of kale. I don't love whole kale in my smoothies so I will make a regular fruit smoothie in a nutribullet, then just add the kale juice from the omega juicer!... or if I'm going low carb, I'll just do a kale shot with kale, lemon ginger and some stevia. Tastes not so great, but it's a great way to get the benefit from real live plant stuffs when you're dealing with a low carb, high Protein diet. Also I like to do ginger juice in it. Ginger is a great anti-inflammatory so I juice ginger and put the juice in tea. I have used my juicer at least twice a day for the past six months! It's been the perfect fit for my needs. Edited to add... I certainly wouldn't buy this juicer for the purpose of pureeing foods, an immersion blender would do a fine job of it at a much lower cost.... BUT if you're considering a new juicer anyway, I'd definitely look into the Omega.