SoCalDixieGal

On time airport pickup and an easy border crossing. Marriott is quite nice. Been upgraded to a nice view (platinum Marriott status). I killed some time in the lobby for a bit and now I'm enjoying the first of what will be many bowls of chicken broth in the restaurant. It is good. Also a nice cuppa tea. There's a big buffet across the room. I think it would be harder to travel with someone and watch them eat and drink. Course being pre surgery I'm currently starving and pictured about a hundred ways to kill the guy in the lobby with a piña colada and snack mix. Since I'm traveling solo, I'll check out in the morning and meet the van at 6:40am then recheck into the hotel when I return Tuesday. I'm surprisingly calm.

I think you're doing great! That's a lot to lose in just two short months. I think a lot of those huge fast weight losses are also with folks who started off heavier than you did at your sleeve weight. I've read in medical journals that the overall average loss with the sleeve tends to be 10 - 15 lbs per month. Upping the calories makes a lot of sense. I read somewhere about the science behind stalls, Water weight and the like. Sometimes it takes a calorie increase to get back to losing. You're to be congratulated on your success! Also, just think that pre-sleeve how much would you have gained during this past holiday season? Best of luck on your continued success.

That's great! Glad the return to work is going well too.

Will be there until Saturday (band revision so the stay is longer). I'll be doing a chemical peel the day you get there.

It just strikes me as ironic that people are afraid to go to Mexico yet tend to ignore the violence in their own backyard! I'm only about an 1 1/2 hour drive from the San Diego airport so a good friend is driving me down. We'll chat up a storm along the way! My kindle though is loaded with all sorts of good books I've been waiting to read. And the Ambien is ready to help me get a good night sleep (doctor said it was okay). Going to go jump in the hot tub to unwind.

I think we too often over excuse our decisions. And, kudos to you for putting yourself first! Just because some people are whopping it up shortly after surgery there are tons of others who are dragging for weeks afterwards. We are each unique, we all recover differently, lose differently and choose to live our lives differently. I second the advice of Amanda Rae and the others - fewer words the better. You do not need to continue to elaborate. If questions come up around timing, just tell her that this was the only date available. If you want to do the tentative thing go for it, but ultimately do what you want to do.

Sounds like it will be awesome. If you play an instrument watch out for how heavy the case may be to lift. Not sure if you'll have a 10 or 20 lb lifting limit, but it's amazing how quickly that adds up. I just bought a rather small super light weight suitcase that only weighs 4 lbs, my regular TravelPro is nearly 10!

I have my first business trip for the 5th week after surgery. I've rejected all the requests I've had for earlier travel. As said above, watch the lifting of suitcases, carry-on, etc. You're still healing. Make sure your laptop case is a roller one and you won't be cleared to lift it into the overhead. I've seen a lot of posts from people who are doing great within days, then lots of others where people are dragging through week 5 and beyond. You're going to get the double whammy of a 10 - 12 hour time change (or whatever it is from where you live). That alone will exhaust you. Yes, while a lot of folks travel for the surgery, business travel as we know is a different ball-game. It's not just the flight but working, meetings, dining out, etc. You actually have to perform when you land and be on your game. You will not yet be on solid food (likely) at 3.5 weeks out. I'll just be transitioning to soft food for my trip and plan on packing some food items and definitely checking luggage. I'd be sure to have a Protein drink shaker bottle (I bought the smaller one and am carrying it in my laptop case) along with some individual packets of Protein shake mix which just uses Water - I'm using the Chike brand. You will not be able to eat out for client/team dinners so check with your boss if that will cause a cultural issue. You will likely be hosted and that can sometimes be an issue - especially if you attend something with food and are not able to eat.

Normally flights are cheaper at least 2 weeks out. However, based on timing, flight load, etc i've actually had super cheap flights at the last minute. However, to get the best seats you need to book as early as possible - AND pay extra for the better seats. They won't be wider, but you may get more leg room in the front rows. Many airlines allow you to purchase those seats and they are well worth every cent. Be sure to check your bag especially on the return flight - you do NOT want to be lifting your bag into the overhead as you'll be on a weight lifting restriction.

Best of luck to you! We're all here for you on the forum so you're not alone! Deep breaths and a big virtual hug.

"appreciate it more . . " oh puleeze! That's ridiculous. That's a shame she wasn't supportive. As a doctor I'd think she'd support whatever path you took to be healthier. Sounds like she's pretty ignorant on WLS overall and the issues people who are overweight deal with. What has your primary doctor said? And, just as with anything you can regain the weight, but you're more likely to be successful with than without WLS.

if you follow this link it has a good comparison of the different WLS: http://www.lapsf.com/weight-loss-surgeries.html I'm revision a week from today!

One way to look at it is body composition. Years ago I had one of those tests that calculates how much your bones, muscles, organs etc weigh. Then you factor in a healthy 20% or so (forgive me if I'm off here but going by memory) body fat and you'd have a good weight target. For me at 5'8" that put me at about 150 target. Personally, I can't even imagine! I think one thing we tend to get wrong is if we've been overweight all our lives we tend to think we're "big boned" when we may not be!

For some the band worked really well, for others like me, not so much! The first 20 was in the first 6 - 8 months then it took another several years to lose another 30. I never had good restriction with the band - unless it was too tight then it was horrible. Grew up in New Orleans area, plus have lived in Phoenix, then Atlanta and now Orange County. I get double Dixie!

Not sleeved yet, but love reading this thread. I think it's going to be hard to get over the instant gratification factor. Have WLS = lose weight quickly! I actually want to lose a bit on the slower side as I'm only telling a few people and don't really want to deal with the response to a super quick loss I travel frequently and while I'll follow the rules, this still needs to fit into a realistic life Easier on wardrobe expenses! I still need to look professional hopefully better potential for skin to bounce back I just don't want to be as slow as the band, where it took 3 years to lose 50 lbs, that's too slow! But, one medical site actually said that on average, weight loss is about 8 - 10 lbs a month.

One thing to just consider in domestic versus going out of country is the credentials of the surgeons. Healthcare in this country is just stupid expensive that I'd look very closely at the doctors and facilities who are doing low cash price surgeries here. They may be great, but it warrants lots of research.

I know a several folks have had surgery this week (or very recently) with Dr. Ariel Ortiz. Just checking in to see how it's gone or going.

That is sad and you can't help but be shocked no matter how much you only want to focus internally! There's probably not much difference in this between insurance/US surgeries and those that pay cash. I think there's always some that no matter how educated they are on the surgery still have a "magic bullet" mentality. "I can eat whatever and lose because I had WLS." As to the concierge lounge (at the Marriott) food, my opinion is part of it is that it's free. Most people don't seem able to pass up free food no matter what. Similar to "eating your monies worth" at a buffet. While I haven't had the surgery yet, the idea of complications terrify me so I know I'll be following the guidelines to the letter post-op. Which for me will be saying no to the concierge lounge food

Oh, I'm totally having my toes done since I can't have my nails painted! Been thinking about squeezing in for highlight refresh, but just don't think I can make that work.

start early! I have slipped one or two meals, but haven't beat myself up since I gave myself extra time. I'm traveling on business nearly all next week so that's also why I officially started a day early. There's one dinner that I absolutely can't get out of, so I've given myself more time to focus.

sounds like everything is going great!

Right there with you but several days it- it does get better. First couple days totally suck, and I've turned into a raging beotch with just about everyone! Funny thing I recognize how aggregated I am so I'm actually kinda enjoying the massive loss of temper.

just loaded a case of chocolate and a case of vanilla in the frig and heading to Costco this weekend for more

A friend of mine who is a sweet tea aficionado yet a sugar nazi, uses a combination of a blue packet and a pink packet. He is dead on in that it totally tastes like regular sweet tea.

Sometimes the coordinators just have blanket information. The practice I'm going to asked me to send one of the doctors a list of medications that I take. I wasn't told to stop all 3 days before surgery and was even told I could take an ambien the night before. However, none are for pain so I realize it's not apples:apples, but I'd recommend if you could get the doctors email to contact them directly.